Supporting aluminium growth
The recent increase in the number of aluminium fabricators entering the sector comes as little surprise to machinery experts Haffner, as managing director, Matt Thomas explains.
Working in machinery sales offers a unique vantage perspective, allowing us to observe industry trends as they unfold in real time.
So, it was no surprise to the team when recent industry data showed a 4.7% increase in the number of aluminium fabricators since 2019 – a trend mirrored by the rising demand for our FMC range of aluminium fabrication machinery from Fom Industrie.
With many PVC-U fabricators expanding into aluminium window and door production, a popular choice for this transition has been the FMC 120 CNC machining centre. This machine features three controlled axes and a worktable with pneumatic positioning at 0°/90°/180°, capable of performing precise drilling and milling on aluminium or steel profiles up to 3mm. Its design ensures great stability and precision, with waste easily collected due to the machine bed configuration.
The independent axes are controlled by servomotors by means of a high precision, milled recirculating ball screw and preloaded lead screw for the Z axis (vertical) and the Y axis (transversal). Sliding of the X, Y, Z axes is along high precision linear guides and is interpolated. The machining head allows machining on three sides of the profile and on the two ends with the aid of milling disks and blades.
It’s sold exclusively in the UK by Haffner and is an impressive machine that combines compact working dimensions and high machining performance, enabling fabricators to seamlessly integrate aluminium bi-folds, windows and doors to their current PVC-U production.
We are also seeing that fabricators who moved into aluminium a few years ago are now looking to enhance their automation to help them scale up operations and meet growing demand. For these fabricators, we can offer everything from single mitre saws to full blown machining centres.
The natural follow-on machine for this type of customer is the Haffner AL 220/80 aluminium machining centre.
The AL-220/80 profile machining centre is a standout solution integrating all cutting, milling, drilling and marking operations into a single machine. The machine offers an impressive combination of volume and precision and can stack seven profiles up to 6.5m with automatic profile cutting at all angles between 45° and 135°.
The machine offers an attractive step-up because it enables fabricators to achieve more output with fewer personnel.
There is also increasing interest in automating the fabrication of curtain walling and roof lanterns to capitalise on these architectural trends. Our machinery options support fabricators at every stage of their aluminium journey, ensuring they can meet current and future market demands.
At Haffner, we prioritise understanding each fabricator’s specific needs and objectives to offer the machinery solutions they need. For example, our recent collaboration with Selectaglaze on the FMC 340 CNC machining centre involved extensive consultations and live demonstrations, ensuring their team was confident in their machinery purchase and its potential benefits.
Duncan Saunders, head of production at Selectaglaze, noted: “Haffner gave us the best service and technical advice, helping the team to decide which machine best suited our needs.”
Our approach even extends to working with customers to develop specifically tailored machinery that meets a precise need. We do this because we firmly believe that machinery should fit the expectations of the fabricator and not vice versa.
In short, whatever your situation, Haffner is here to help with intelligent advice, proactive customer service and exceptional machinery that helps you move forward with aluminium.
