A Snapshot Of Changes In Modern Manufacturing Processes For Wooden Sash Windows
Sunday, August 22nd, 2010The modern manufacturing processes for wooden sash windows are a far cry from even just the recent past. During the last century, mass production required days of retooling if new specifications were introduced. Of course, even those time consuming factory procedures were an enormous improvement on the time it took to make window sashes by hand
Each sash was handmade and required hours of work and hours of training. Usually a single master craftsman would pass his skills on to one or more apprentices. They in turn would practice the proper construction and carving of the sash. It was a lengthy process.
Today, a cutting edge, modern factory can change sash specifications in a matter of minutes. Just a few key strokes can reprogram dozens of robotic stations to perform the same tasks that would have required hours to set up in factories only few decades old. Now employees learn computer programs rather than how to sharpen a cutting tool.
Mechanization has evolved rapidly. As early as 1900 there were mass production lines that tried to increase the production of sashes. They became increasingly automated as the century progressed. And now can include more robots than human workers.
Of course the need for handmade sashes exists in various niches throughout the world. Any restoration of an historical nature may frequently require craftsmen who can reproduce the fixtures of the past. Putting a mass produced sash on any window of a house on the National Registry of Historic Homes would hardly be seen as appropriate. The cost of individually produced sashes is of course much higher than the mass manufactured product.
Changing a sash profile is one of the most time consuming issues that modernization has be able to reduce. Instead of closing down a manufacturing line for days, a computerized program can shift the movable cutting knives in a modern plant in minutes. The entire production line can be ready in just a few hours or sometimes even less.
The facilities for construction have evolved over time as well. Vast automated factories can cover acres of ground. The efficiency of these behemoths is greater as well, lessening the need for waste handling. With robotics and other modern processes, as-needed shipping is becoming the norm. Gone are the guild halls when it comes to quality control.
It is clear that modern manufacturing processes for wooden sash windows have indeed come a very long way. From single blades handled by one master craftsman, the manufacturing process has evolved and changed. The flexibility and efficiency have transformed the availability and cost of the modern day product to something quite different.
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