As part of its drive to promote British engineering at its best, Jade has invested £330,000 in a Star SX38 sliding head lathe – the perfect solution for producing small fixings and fasteners in smaller batch numbers quickly, efficiently and cost effectively. Product differentiation across the window industry is crucial for market competitiveness, and with the Star machine Jade can offer fabricators and component manufacturers the ability to up-design elements to outclass the competition.
The Star machine is a hands-off lathe that, once set up, can operate for 24 hours with minimal need for manual intervention. As a consequence, Jade can respond to urgent requirements for smaller bespoke batch production requirements within a much faster turnaround than sourcing the same process from China.
“By making this investment we wanted to minimise the risk to the overall supply chain for the industry,” commented Jade director Adam Jones. “It allows our customers to have greater control over their overall design processes. While outsourcing it to China can cheapen the final component price, glitches in the supply chain can often add back onto the overall cost. Our Star machine can give control back to our clients, giving them greater agency across the entire process from initial briefing to final delivery – all within days rather than within weeks.”
Jade can accept individual requests for small batch fasteners and fixings, often for as few as 5000 units to be delivered within a few days, depending on the overall design process. Once calibrated the Star lathe will run consistently 24 hours a day, producing a uniform quality that matches the quality of the largest and most prestigious of manufacturers on the Asian continent.
“Bringing British engineering excellence back to the supply chain we believe will give back the reassurance and confidence to help rebuild the economy over the long term,” continue Jade co-owner and director Sean Mackey. “Speedy response times, a bespoke service, a deep seated understanding of what is really required will help UK manufacturers and fabricators to plan more effectively for their future. Our long term vision is to be seen as a true partner to the industry, working side by side to firmly place UK manufacturing back into the leading position that it deserves.”
The Star SX38 incorporates a gang type pool post and a 10 station turret to enable simultaneous machining operations. The turret includes an independent Z3 axis which allows two different features to be machined simultaneously using the Star’s ‘super position’ control mode.
