Blind machinery update

BM Blinds

Michelle Macready Sales Manager at BM Blinds, tells WFA the company is currently installing its third new state of the art Veri Shade cutting machine, “increasing our capacity and efficiency in manufacturing Veri Shades.” 

“A hotwire cutter was installed with a rising exhaust that is funnelled directly out of the building. This ensures that the fumes from the cut are not disbursed back on to the fabric and to prevent the staff from inhaling the fumes.”

“New benches were also custom-made to help support the machines together with additional training to cross-train staff from the various departments to cover this increase in workload.”

Macready says while some manufacturers shy away from new improvements in machinery for products other than roller blinds, “at BM Blinds we are constantly looking for advancements that improve the quality of our finished product regardless of the range.”

“At BM Blinds we have been manufacturing Veri Shades for well over three years and continue to offer a variety of options. With the unobtrusive Belle & Cube tracks, these are as sleek as your customers’ décor requires. The tracks are available in four colours including White, White Birch, Grey and Black. Our operating systems include wand control or standard cord and chain control. A specially designed white track is also available for clients wanting a motorised Veri Shade.”

Raytech Curtain Machinery

Given recent global developments, it’s perhaps no surprise that Raytech is promoting not just its technical advances, but the unique advantages of a home grown offer.

“When you look at videos of some impressive European curtain machines it is tempting to say ‘that is what I need’ and if you want to spend a fortune you’d be partially right. What also has to be kept in mind is that Europe manufactures immense volumes of curtains so automation is really an imperative. They also have skilled mechanics and technicians looking after these machines on an almost daily basis as they are prone to small or large problems. No factory can afford their production line to be halted for long and the need for in house or close support is essential.

“In the real world of Australian curtain manufacturing, for the most part we don’t do automatic hook insertion and don’t have skilled technicians on standby to sort our technical problems. What is needed are reliable machines developed by locals with decades of experience that will assist operators by giving them tools to aid their consistency and accuracy, all without breaking the business bank account. 

“Whether a manufacturer is considering to start making S Wave curtains or a current curtain manufacturer is looking for ways to improve quality and efficiency in the various pleated blinds, the chances are we’ll have a sewing machine solution configured perfectly to make the operator’s job a whole lot easier. And we can come to site to set up and train the operators. All of the sewing machines are manufactured and customized here in Brisbane, using proven and reliable Brand name imported machine heads. This combination ensures price competitive, reliable machines.  Some examples of these are below. 

Skilled labour is a big saving due to the use of new curtain machines, the company confirms.

“Raytech, in cooperation with Sewing Machine Supply Company now offers you some great machines for curtains including:

• Straight sewers with customised guides, pullers to eliminate puckering

• Overlockers with pullers 

• Header tape machines

• Pleating machines with adjustable pleat size pleat spacing 

• Lift and trim Inspection Hoists 

Perfect for S Wave curtains: A 12 needle chain stitch machine allows Header tapes to be easily attached with 2 rows of stitching in a single operation. These adjustable guides allows 30 -75 mm header tapes and the distance between the top of the curtain and the header tape is also adjustable. 

Perfect for pleated curtains: A Pleating Machine that makes pleating faster and easier with Laser line positioning for the spaces between pleats and the adjustment of the pleat size is also adjustable.

“With value for money in mind the one imported machine we offer is the inspection and cut off hoist. This machine has all the features a curtain maker could wish for and yet it is incredibly affordable. One example of a great feature is that the curtain is automatically dropped into the collection trough when it is nearly fully lowered after cutting.  A large auto lift, inspect and motorised cut machine is typically around A$40k ex GST. This machine will typically double the daily output of a small factory and save a minimum of one staff member so it will pay for itself in just a few months. We can also offer an Australian made inspection hoist however to include all these features it is a significantly higher price bracket.” 

Ultracut Industries

Ultracut Industries has further extended the welding capacity of its Duoweld to 8.0 metres capacity for the “Extreme” category of side retention systems.  

“Some customers want to offer extremely wide side retention systems so this fills the gap,” Alex Jackman, Ultracut Sales, tells WFA. “The major benefit of this machine is the sheer welding capacity and ability to either weld one long piece or multiple smaller jobs simultaneously to speed up the output.  It offers the same patented programmable kedar/zipper clamp system, eliminating the need to swap and change jigs manually as on other machines.  

“The ability to switch from 10mm to 20mm weld widths at the push of a button is also a main feature that sets these machines apart from the opposition.  It also features an easy to use operator interface making perfect welds every time with minimal operator skill level and input.”  

“With the first machine on its way to the USA, Jackman says it won’t be long before more of the machines are in the market domestically and internationally.  

“Impulse welders and Ultrasonic fabric cutting tables are the main combination purchased from Ultracut.  Customers like to deal with one company and Ultracut can supply all the equipment required for production of roller blinds and awnings.”

Ultracut is the only Australian company to be producing Impulse welders, XY Ultrasonic Fabric Cutting machines and Single axis Ultrasonic Cutting machines so if supporting Australian made and local support is of importance Ultracut can deliver.

Rollease Acmeda

Rollease Acmeda tells WFA TR1500 welder is designed to accommodate the production of growing popular external shading systems, providing semi-automatic operation to efficiently weld zips to fabrics and PVC.

“This versatile machine features variable settings for welding and cooling times, allowing it to work with a variety of coated and uncoated fabrics while delivering a slim 10mm weld. Pneumatic cylinders ensure even distribution of clamp pressure for a uniform weld across long widths.”

Available in 5 and 6m widths, the TR1500 stands at 1.8m tall with a 1m wide footprint, making it a compact and efficient solution for production facilities. The machine boasts easy push button control and is certified to meet all the latest safety standards.

One of the latest advancements in the TR1500 is the semi-automatic pocketing function, which allows pockets ranging from 20-80mm to be formed via a simple control mechanism. 

“This feature adds to the machine’s versatility and makes it a valuable addition to any production facility that needs to create external shading systems efficiently and effectively.”

Aeronaut

Adam Dent, head of sales at Aeronaut tells WFA the company is “continuously researching and innovating new ways to enhance our cutters for both existing and new customers.

“Some improvements come in the form of hardware like new servo motors that provide the level of reliability and speed that is synonymous with the Aeronaut brand while running much more quietly and also providing feedback to our machine control software, Tangent.

“Other gains come from our new motion controller firmware, Aeronaut Motion Contoller (AMC) which can improve the time to cut a job by 20% or more. Additionally, AMC now uses ethernet to communicate between the operator’s computer and the motion controller, reducing interference, increasing data speed and generally just being a nice setup.

“Apple’s recent transition to the M1 and M2 chipsets has also been a boon for our machinery with a speed boost to Tangent across the board. Adding to that, future versions of Tangent will leverage Apple’s hardware acceleration framework, Metal to see a significant reduction in the time Tangent spends thinking about large, complicated and detailed files.”

“On the bleeding edge of our software development we’re preparing for the full release of a new version of Tangent designed exclusively for nesting and managing multiple cutting machines. We’re not quite ready to share the full story, but for our customers with multiple machines this will offer a manager level overview and significant fabric efficiency gains. For those in the window furnishings industry, this software pairs perfectly with ParaSol R+R and order management software to maximise fabric efficiency and job planning.

“Moreover, the current shortage of skilled labour has put additional pressure on small manufacturing businesses to find ways to fill these gaps. By incorporating an Automated CNC machine into their processes, these businesses can free up their skilled staff to work on higher priority projects. In this way, Tangent Office and other Tangent updates can help to address the challenges facing businesses in the manufacturing industry today.”