Bespoke Bed Company

Background

A bespoke London-based bed company, specialising in making handmade and delicately crafted beds from the finest wood and metal materials. Proud of their heritage and craftsmanship, the business prides itself on the quality of its beds – ensuring every single one, not only meets, but exceeds their customers’ expectations.

The Challenge

During the abrasive process, the workshop was struggling with grit optimisation when using their wide belt machine. The company were getting through their belts at a rapid rate, and wanted to work out why this was the case.

Keen to reduce spending and improve their abrasives methods, the company contacted Redwood, and after an initial phone conversation with one of our Sia technical advisors, a meeting was arranged at the client’s London HQ to assess the issue further.

Redwood then set about creating a tailored-solution for the organisation.

The solution

Richard Albon from Redwood and Andy Knight from Sia Abrasives visited the client’s workshop to take a look at the belt set up they were having issues with. The main machine had three heads – one for calibrating, the second for removing the scratch lines and the last for wood finish. On the first belt, the company were using a 40 grit belt, followed by an 80 grit on the second and 120 grit on the last belt. After careful consideration, we suggested removing the 40 grit belt from the first head and replaced it with a 50 grit belt instead – this removed the pressure put on the 80 grit head, meaning it didn’t have to work as hard to remove scratch lines. The paper used was the Sia 1919+ paper, which is specifically known for its endurance and excellent finishing capabilities. It is also has Toptec technology, reducing dust build up and offering precision belt joints.

The outcome

Since changing the abrasives belts used on the main wide belt machine the client has noticed a significant increase in how long their abrasive belts last – especially the 80 grit. This has not only increased productivity, but also helped the company to reduce excess expenditure on abrasives.