In these tough economic times, we all search for ways to make our operations leaner and our products less expensive to build while maintaining quality.
Doweling is one of those manufacturing home runs that once you invest in the CNC equipment to drill and insert dowels, you realize just how much you have really gained. We rarely see customers return to their prior joint techniques which may have included dado, staples, cleats, screws, and steel or plastic connections.
Most medium to large cabinet and millwork companies are nesting their parts but less than half have invested in precise, flexible machinery to dowel. Doweling is a perfect fit for nesting. We have a host of white papers that cover the subject of doweling.
You're probably asking yourself "Why should I change what already works?" Some of the benefits of dowel construction are:
*Dowel construction will reduce assembly time, and with the right equipment, substantially
reduce manufacturing time.
*The process is very lean as material handling is greatly reduced.
*Remove stack tolerances like those found in processes that require multiple machines.
*Faster and more predictable production allow you to deliver quickly and on time
Dowel construction is not a new technique but has seen a resurgence in the US in recent years.
The reasons are:
*The commercial case goods market for Tenant Improvement is still a relative bright spot in the
US economy and dowel construction is a natural fit with this type of cabinet.
*Nested Based machining has seen tremendous growth and dowel construction is a natural fit
with this manufacturing method.
*Much of the popularity of nested based machining is due to the continual advance and
refinement of manufacturing software. The custom product takes no more effort than the stock
product from an engineering, design, and manufacturing point of view. Advances in machine
technology, especially CNC nesting and doweling machines and flexible case clamps has
freed up operator time that can be used elsewhere, helping to reduce overall labor costs.
*In today's economy landing a contract often times requires the ability to provide short lead
times and the labor-savings and material handling reductions offered with dowel construction
go hand-in-hand with lean manufacturing principles.
SCM Group is an authority on the subject of nesting, doweling, and rapid case assembly and sells the OMAL range of CNC bore and dowel machines. We have machines that drill and insert 1/4" by 1" dowels up to 3/4" x 5" dowels...Plus, these same machines can be equipped with miter saws, routers, and haunching saws for beaded frames.
We welcome the opportunity to show you the gains that you can make with doweling. Please contact us with any questions.
We look forward to talking with you soon!
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