Joseph Machine Company, Inc. ( Dillsburg, PA) is a company dedicated to automated equipment for the window and door fabrication industries. Joseph Machine's president, Joseph Pigliacampo, worked in the machine industry for more than 30 years before starting the company with his wife, Aleta. Joseph Machine is well known for pioneering new manufacturing technologies that eliminate material and labor waste in window manufacturing. In addition to its standard line of machines, Joseph Machine has a significant customized machine business. Its customers include the best-known window manufacturers in the world, including Andersen Windows and CertainTeed Corp.

Over the last few years, building supply manufacturers such as CertainTeed have responded to intensifying competition just as many other industries have: by consolidating small companies into bigger ones and then deploying the pooled resources to become better and faster at satisfying each customer's unique demands. In window manufacturing, production trends are shifting from large runs of a single, standardized product to small runs of many specialized products to fill individual orders. Some orders are replacements for existing windows of varying ages, while other windows are for new construction. The result is a multitude of subtle differences between one window model and the next that may be as small as 1/8".

However, in today's booming construction market, all windows share one common characteristic: a tight production schedule. So, after CertainTeed acquired a windows plant in Richmond, VA, it had to implement a just-in-time system that would meet customer demands, on demanding schedules. CertainTeed's system needed to:

• receive customer specifications from the order
• transfer the specifications automatically to the machine that makes the product
• automatically adjust the machine on the fly to transition from one product to the next with no setup changes and no downtime

In short, CertainTeed required not just an automation strategy, but a system that would execute one customer's order and then automatically jump on to the next order with no delays and with minimal operator intervention.

Joseph Machine's Lateral Loader enables CertainTeed to do just that - and at the Lateral Loader's core is a Control Technology Corp. automation controller, which controls outputs, servos, and a computerized numerical control (CNC) saw with two additional axes of motion. Serial connections to a PC-based human-machine interface (HMI) developed by Joseph provide an avenue to the controller for customer specifications, which are downloaded as a comma-delimited file from the HMI to the controller. The HMI receives input directly from the main order entry system via an Ethernet connection.

The Lateral Loader accepts up to six lengths of extruded plastic. It indexes to the first piece and feeds it into the machine. The CTC 2600 determines the length, hole-punching, and notching that needs to be done for the customer's order, and the best sequence in which to execute these three operations. The Lateral Loader can perform all three activities on a continuous-feed basis for maximum efficiency.

CertainTeed has four machines that cut the different parts of the window: one for the head and sill, one for the jambs (sides), one for the sash's horizontal rails, and one for the sash's vertical rails. The four machines can receive concurrent instructions over Ethernet connections from the order entry system's server to build each order, so that all of the parts the operator needs to build each window may be machined at the same time.

The Lateral Loader combines what used to be several manual operations into a single machining center, with a much smaller footprint than manual techniques required. It also provides better quality, consistency, and efficiency than manual techniques. Consequently, the Lateral Loader and its related models have been very well received by customers such as CertainTeed, Harvey, Jeld-Wen, Republic Windows, and WeatherShield.

Joseph Machine has used CTC controllers on a number of different machines for several years now. A Joseph Machine spokesman explains: "The programming language is easy to work with. We've worked on projects from no axes to six or eight axes, and CTC's programming language can handle them all. It's modular, very cut-and-paste." Where a significant portion of Joseph's business comes from customized equipment, ease of programming is important for meeting delivery deadlines and controlling project costs. Ease of communication with the PC-based HMI also was a big plus.

For Joseph's customers, perfect cuts begin with great connections. CTC controllers give Joseph Machine the connections and control they need.