WoodCAM slashes productions times
From 8 to 1.5 hours: WoodCam slashes production times at AB Cabinets
AB Cabinets is a thriving cabinet making business in Geelong, Victoria. Having been in the business for 14 years, founder Adam Briers and his team manufacture hundreds of kitchens, bathrooms and ensuites every year for major builders like Metricon.
Yet, until recently, Briers’ business was being crippled by inefficiencies and the burden of having to pay too much overtime to staff. “We were stuck in a particularly inefficient way of doing things – and didn’t even know that there could be a better way to run our workshop,” he said.
It was only when Briers implemented Cabinets by Computers’ cabinet making software package, WoodCam, that he saw just how efficient and cost-effective his business could be.
Stuck in the ‘old school’
Previously, AB Cabinets was firmly stuck in the ‘old school’ camp of cabinet making. The 10-strong team used manual cutting lists to produce each job. These lists would take up to four hours to create, and would then be passed from machine to machine to get each piece of the job finished.
From the panel saw, to the boring machine and then to the edge bander, each job would take about a day to draw up and cut in preparation for construction.
What’s more, given the manual approach, there was a lot of wastage with each job. Briers predicts that about 20% of each sheet of particle board would end up in the bin.
A cutting edge solution
Recognising that technology was starting to play a role in the cabinet making industry, Briers invested in a Biesse cutting machine. The Biesse came with software which automated a lot of the tasks that the team were previously doing manually – but not all of them.
In May 2011, Briers decided to ditch the Biesse software and switch over to WoodCam – which would still work with his Biesse machine.
Being pretty computer illiterate, Briers wanted something easy to use. “From the demonstration that Gary from Cabinets by Computer gave me, I could see that using WoodCam just needs common sense – it is clearly designed by someone who understands the trade.” said Briers.
WoodCam delivers from day one
From its first days of operation, Briers was blown away by how easy the package was to use – and how efficient it made their daily work.
Using WoodCam, Briers now enters a job onto the computer, which then sends the job specifications to the flat-bed router – complete with specs for screw holes, hinges and handles. WoodCam automatically configures each piece in the cutting list to minimise wastage on each sheet of particle board, and Briers estimates that 96-98% of each sheet is now effectively used.
Whenever there is an issue with the WoodCam program or a particular job, Briers calls Gary Cannard, who logs into the job remotely.
“The service we get from Cabinets by Computers is second to none. If I have a problem, I know that the solution is only a phone call away – Gary offers excellent ongoing support” Briers said.
What used to take a day now takes under two hours. Briers and his team have kitchens cut and ready to assemble by 9:30am each day, minimising the workload and dramatically reducing the amount of overtime in the workshop.
“I have never seen anything so easy to use and so accurate. WoodCam has certainly transformed the way we operate, and has paid for itself in no time at all.” Briers said.
