28 Apr Out With the Old and In With the New
It’s been an exciting time at Datum of late, with the arrival of some shiny new toys and tools to enhance the business and allow us to really ramp up our production capability.
NEW MACHINERY
In December, we took possession of our new CNC router machine, which was about as exciting as the night before Christmas! From the initial order to delivery, it took about 18 months to reach us, with all the usual delays due to COVID etc.
A computer numerically controlled (CNC) router is a computer-controlled cutting machine, which allows us to produce all the items which are integral to our fit-outs, such as panels, framing, furniture – you name it. Our new ‘beast’ is 1800mm wide by 3600mm long, as opposed to the old machine’s 1200mm width, allowing us to produce large or oversized panels. It’s faster, cleaner, and more efficient, meaning we can turn around our clients’ designs that much quicker. Another upgrade is the ability for the team to work next to it while it’s running. If you touch any component of the machinery while it’s going, it will just stop immediately. So, from a safety perspective it’s great too.
Running the new machine in tandem with the old one has given us much more capacity, keeping our specialist operators busy. While the new machine has now become the preferred router, it means we can – if needed – have two on the go at the same time. We can offload one, while we are loading the other. How cool is that?
EXTRACTION UPGRADE
The other big upgrade is an extraction set-up for the factory, and boy, does this thing suck! We figure we’ve got the most amount of suck in all of Auckland, extracting around 30,000 M3 per hour. We were previously running on about 8,00M3/hr, using a model we’d bought second-hand about seven years ago. So, that’s a massive improvement. What it means is that all our machinery, the CNC routers, the saws, drills, planers and edge-banders can run at the same time. And the extraction system is very quiet and clean. It makes for a much more pleasant working environment, and everyone has commented on the difference on the shopfloor.
Installing this has really ‘future-proofed’ us; we could easily add several new machines and there would be adequate extraction for them.
Of course, the big upside is that we are looking after our staff so much better, with less noise, less dust, and a much nicer workspace.
NEW FLEET
Last on the ‘new’ side of the ledger, is a slick new vehicle fleet. Keep an eye out for the team zipping along the motorways in their freshly branded company cars, trucks, and vans – the Datum logo front and centre! The upgrade means the crew get to drive a modern, high-spec’d vehicle that is unlikely to break down or have any issues en-route to a job or client meeting. It increases our (already legendary) reliability, feels great to drive and makes everyone happy to jump behind the wheel and fly the Datum flag. For our project and factory managers, we went for a new hybrid model – our first foray into reducing our carbon footprint – something we are increasingly focused on.
While new tech and new toys are great, we’re committed to making sure Datum rolls into the future with happy, healthy, well-resourced staff – and the right tools at their disposal to do a really great job. If you want to put our new gear to the test, or just chat about your next fit-out, get in touch.