Door processing made easy

Since 1994, Christchurch firm Independent Doors has been providing high quality interior and exterior doors and sliders for the residential and commercial construction markets through out the South Island. In the middle of last year they purchased a 5-axis pod & rail Rover A from Biesse allowing them to automate much of their machining process.

The company purchases it doors as blanks and had previously done the machining for hinges and handles on both doors and jambs by hand, the purchase of the Biesse has transformed this process.

“We use the Biesse for preparing our doors and the jambs prior to prehanging. The hinges are machined and the preparation for specific door handles is all done automatically which has really improved on our processing speed and versatility,” says Business Development Manager Chris Maguire.

“During the machine selection process, we did our market research and narrowed our choices down to two options, eventually deciding on the Biesse Rover A. It fitted our processing requirements and we received very credible word of mouth on the company’s performance from local colleagues whose opinion we value.

“The machine itself has performed brilliantly since installation last June, with very little in the way of issues arising. It has made a huge difference to our capabilities and streamlined our door machining processes. Mortise locks, special pivot gear and closers which would normally have to be done by hand are now very simple processes driven by the machines onboard software B-Solid. They now take perhaps a third of the time as in the past when done by hand.

“Despite little experience with this type of software we found it very user friendly and quite easy to pick up. Although there is a large array of options it is quite easy to navigate.

“The installation process was very efficient and we found training very intuitive and easy to follow. The ongoing customer support has always been fantastic, ordering any spare parts required has been seamless and we have found local Biesse rep Warrick Small very pleasing to deal with and an extensive source of knowledge and assistance.

“Our machining capabilities with the 5-axis has gone to a new level, machining times have been reduced significantly and some processes, just not possible before, such as concealed hinge manufacturing and grooving designs on panels are now not just possible but very simple,” says Chris. “It has made our door prep a lot easier, faster and improved accuracy.”