Robots help frame the future at Jambmax

One doesn't often give too much thought to the window and its structural makeup through which one is looking when looking through a window at something. Rather one focuses on the view itself and does not pay particular attention to how that frame was constructed, unless you were looking at a particularly striking structure that is.

A Yaskawa Motoman machine tending robotic arm transfers sheet metal to a JFY MT series punching machine

But there is much more to windows and door frames than meets the eye. These structures speak to a number of our primary senses, often all at the same time, without us even thinking about it because we are just so used to it. Vision, smells and sounds are all conveyed to our brains in and instant by the manner in which these representations are transferred to the brain. The soothing sight and sound of the waves lapping at the shore through a large bay window, or the vast openness of a landscape below viewed from above through an aeroplane window.

A Fanuc robotic arm transferring sheet metal to and from a JFY PR6 series CNC bending machine for a set of bends

The windowThe word window is first recorded in the English language around the 13th century and it replaced the Old English eagþyrl, which literally means ‘eye-hole’, and ‘eagduru’ meaning ‘eye-door’. Windows had been used for centuries before this but the modern form has evolved somewhat from unglazed openings in the roof, to sometimes masterful creations that took great lengths of time to fashion from elaborate combinations of materials.

Jambmax acquired their first robot in 2005 – a robotic arm for welding. Although they didn't know it at the time, this would be their initial venture into automation. The Fanuc robotic arm working in tandem with a JFY PR6 series CNC bending machine supplied by Puma Machine tools

A Yaskawa Motoman machine tending robotic arm transfers sheet metal to a JFY MT series punching machine

Windows can be an infinite source of imagination for the mind because no single view can be seen in quite the same way ever again, nor can it be interpreted in exactly the same way from one individual to the next.

Humble beginningsJust as the window hails from a humble beginning, so does Jambmax – Steel Door and Window Frames, based in Brackenfell, north of Cape Town. It was back in 2002 that Deon Smit began his operation from a 400m2 facility in Contermanskloof near Durbanville. With years of experience as a property developer, Smit was looking to do something new.

A JFY MT 300E servo-motor-driven CNC turret punching machine works alongside a Yaskawa Motoman robotic arm

A Trumpf Trumatic 260 Rotation turret punching machine used in the production line

After consultations with a cousin in Rustenburg manufacturing similar products, Smit set out to manufacture his first door frame, with virtually no experience at all. A long-standing business relationship with Derek Marriott allowed Smit to acquire his first machines – a press brake, a cam lathe and three eccentric presses. These are still fully functional and operational today. Smit decided to specialise in steel and his experience with the material taught him about one of its most important properties – its longevity. Not only does steel offer a long-lasting solution, but it can also add an upmarket feel to a property.

In action: A Yaskawa Motoman machine tending robotic arm transfers sheet metal from a JFY MT series punching machine

Here a Fanuc robotic arm transferring sheet metal to and from a JFY PR6 series CNC bending machine for a set of bends

Smit also decided that he was going to provide a turnkey product and service, and this is evident when paging through the Jambmax product catalogue. Jambmax supplies various fully assembled door frames, window frames and countless variations thereof into the construction and hardware industries. Other industries served include the low-cost housing, hospital and school construction industries. Jambmax also manufacture french doors, steel cupboard frames, steel doorjambs, fixed louvres and steel stack-away and sliding doors and various burglar bars, as well as round windows. Jambmax has also worked on special set-building projects for the local South African film industry.

GrowthJambmax supplies its products throughout South Africa as well as into Namibia, and with various moves and warehouse acquisitions over the years as the business grew, Jambmax is now housed under 3 500m2 of space, all neatly arranged out as a modern production line. Jambmax are able to manufacture up to 1 200 door frames per day and up to 300 window frames per day.

A roll feeder cut-to-length coil line being used during the manufacturing process

The roll forming line with press tools to shape the sheet metal

It wasn't long before Smit's son Wynand joined the business. Wynand is a draughtsman by trade and his knowledge and experience and hands-on approach to the entire manufacturing process can only be described as invaluable. This is what it means to know your product inside and out.

"We pride ourselves in contracting special designs and architectural frames, thus making the building easier with these special designs," says Wynand. Remarking on the properties of steel, Wynand makes the observation: "You only need to take a walk around the old parts of the city in Cape Town, all those frames are still there and mostly original. Because they are made of steel and can last more than a century if properly maintained and cared for."

The Clisco Window frameOne of Jambmax's speciality products is the Clisco Window frame. Effectively this type of window frame is an all-in-one window frame that requires very little effort when it comes to installation. This makes sense when you consider the number of windows and frames in a hospital or a school, or when building a housing complex. The frame recesses perfectly as one unit, including reveals, into a predetermined window frame size in the building, with the windowsill being either flat or sloped.

Components exiting the roll forming line

Hinges manufactured on site by Jambmax

Some of the benefits of such a window frame include that no lintols are required for supporting the frame, windowsills are also not needed, no plastering of reveals is required, no chipping of blocks is necessary, and a highly skilled labour force is not essential.

Jambmax is the only company in South Africa with a SABS – SANS 613 approval on their Clisco window and they are also the only company approved by the Housing Board and the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), a regulatory body of the home building industry.

These Clisco windows are supplied either pre-galvanised or with a red oxide primer finish, as are the majority of Jambmax's products and components. Products can also be hot dip galvanised – another form of corrosion control.

"Red oxide primer is a lead-free, oil-based, high-quality, rust-resistant primer ideal for use on metal surfaces such as aluminium, iron and steel. The corrosive resistant pigments of red oxide primer make it an ideal choice for use on farm equipment, railings, window frames, fences, structural steel, pipes, field machinery and storage tanks to act as protection from exposure to chemical fumes, excessive heat and humidity, rain and wind."

Father and son, Deon and Wynand Smit

A butt welding machine ensures incredibly strong and durable joins

A process of butt welding is used to create incredibly strong and durable joins. Butt welding is a technique where two pieces of metal to be joined are in the same plane. These types of welds require do not require much preparation and are they used with thin sheet metals that can be welded with a single pass – perfectly suited to operations at Jambmax. The process can be automated or done by hand.

RoboticsBut a turnkey production process isn't merely about increased productivity and significant cost reductions for high-volume production. It's about everything that brings this about. Jambmax acquired their first robot in 2005 – a robotic arm for welding. Although they didn't know it at the time, this would be their initial venture into automation.

At the time they were unable to operate the arm and incorporate it effectively into the production line, but the seed for framing the future, as it were, had been sewn. When you are processing 180 tons of steel sheet a month, a helping hand can go a long way. Hence the introduction of a Yaskawa Motoman machine tending robotic arm supplied by Productive Engineering in Cape Town, and a Fanuc robot interfaced with a JFY PR6 series CNC bending machine, supplied by Puma Machine Tools. The Yaskawa transfers sheet metal to a JFY MT series punching machine, and the Fanuc handles sheet transferring it to and from the JFY bending machine for a set of bends. It goes without saying that the level of accuracy and consistency the machine cells add to the production line is invaluable, not to mention the added benefits of quality control.

Door frames coated with a red oxide primer finish

Jambmax are able to manufacture up to 1 200 door frames per day and up to 300 window frames per day

These additions to the production process all complement Jambmax as the biggest stockist and supplier of window sections in the Western Cape. Jambmax also design and manufacture their own hinges used with their products. While not a job shop in the traditional sense, the Smit's say that they would never turn away a walk-in customer.

For further details contact Jambmax – Steel Door and Window Frames on TEL: 021 982 0660 or visit https://jambmax.wixsite.com/jambmax