Specialty Fabrics Review June 2020 - 24

The TigerStop™ control panel enables
Wizard Screen employees to set automatic
measurements for material cutting, thereby
ensuring accuracy and reducing waste.
Photo: Wizard Screen Solutions.

AUTOMATION ADVANTAGES
Arthur's main objectives for incorporating
automation into his operation were
ramping up production while keeping
quality consistent and predictable-goals
he has achieved. Darcy Puri, general
manager for Wizard Screen Solutions, says
these were the goals of Wizard as well.
Located in Burnaby, B.C., Canada,
the manufacturing company provides
retractable screens to OEM, window and
door companies and to the Wizard dealer
network. The company began automating
in 2017 using computerized TigerStop™
cutting guides, a customized testing station
for quality assurance of its architectural
and large-format products, and an impulse
welder using a Matic bar welder.
"It was important to ensure best-inclass products," says Puri. "To do this,
consistency in our components was key.

Darren Authur, owner of Nautilux Custom Canvas, began automating his operations
more than eight years ago, purchasing this single-fly Aeronaut cutter. He has since
moved on to incorporate different digitizing devices, including an Artec Leo 3D
scanner. Photo: Nautilux Custom Canvas LLC.

Automation has helped achieve these
goals while building capacity and cost
savings in the production process."
Technology has sparked innovation,
enabling the company to align its
products to market trends as well as
improving service levels. Automation
has also kept the doors open despite the
COVID-19 crisis, which has resulted in
staff reductions. Normally, the company
has 30 full-time and two part-time
employees. As of this writing it's down
to 10, comprised of management.
"The only reason we can do this is
because of automation," Puri says. "People
were cross-trained to operate the software,
and this is keeping our plant going."
Faith Roberts is president of Banner
Canvas, a custom marine interior and
exterior canvas manufacturer located in
Ham Lake, Minn. The company also has an
industrial division that fabricates products
from blueprints for the coal mining, food
handling and aerospace industries.
In late 2018, Roberts bought a Carlson
CTx 72-inch air bed cutting table, purchasing a digitizer at the same time. Her primary
purpose was to streamline manufacturing
within her industrial division.
"The blueprint files come from
a CAD or other computer process that
I prequalify with my customers so their
files can be downloaded into the cutter
bed's software," she explains. "The digitizer
allows me to input an existing pattern
to cut and store for future use."
Additionally, given the challenge
of finding qualified employees, Roberts
also wanted to cut manufacturing time
and stay profitable.
FLEXIBILITY AND EFFICIENCY
Using a competitor's plotter/cutter is a
strategy Roy Childres, president of Double
C Canvas and Repairs Inc., has deployed
when needed. This won't be the case much
longer. Childress, whose Midlothian,
Texas, company manufactures truck

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Specialty Fabrics Review June 2020

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