Cabinet Vision Frees up Joiners
Based in Dunedin, Ron Kirk Joinery Ltd has been tailoring bespoke cabinetry, joinery and furniture for clients throughout Otago for over 25 years. We speak to Hayden Kirk, second generation joiner and son of founder Ron about how the recent purchase of Cabinet Vision software, to support a move to full nesting, has changed the environment of the company for the better.
Ron Kirk Joinery purchased Cabinet Vision’s high end Solid Vision Ultimate version from NZ agents Joinery It in the middle of this year. Previously the company had been nesting with a CNC panel saw and when they stepped up to a full nesting operation with the purchase of a Biesse machining center they knew they needed a software specific to their tasks to maximised their investment. Hayden had had experience with several different software packages over the years and liked the fit Cabinet Vision had with their work.
“We do anything and everything and so does Cabinet Vision. Phil Smith from Joinery It had been calling in for years so I was reasonably familiar with what the package offered and I spent some time on-line watching videos of it in operation. It seemed very easy to design and prepare a whole range of products for production which suited the diversity of our manufacture.”
“Following purchase Joinery It’s support has been very good and I had a pretty good gist of the program after about three months. Initially I had regular TeamViewer session, maybe 1.5 hours, 3 or 4 times a week, watching and participating on TeamViewer while talking on the phone, which I found a great way to learn. Now I’m still in contact maybe once a week for technical instruction or to clarify an issue as I need it. I feel this is one software package I will never outgrow. There are no limits to what it can do, it’s endless and grows with you as your skills develop.”
The advantage of the program came quickly for the company making everything faster and more efficient. “Drawings come out quicker and clients can see exactly what they are getting. The detail is impressive right down to drawer divisions and arrangement of shelves and any resultant client changes are very easy to make” says Hayden.
The benefits continue through to the shop floor. “All parts are labeled with full assembly instructions,” says Hayden. “The boys in the shop love it, it easily shows how all the parts go together resulting in less errors and perhaps more importantly, less question asked of me about how it all goes together. There is probably a 20% efficiency saving right there.
The beauty of Cabinet Vision is that it frees up our experienced joiners by providing such detailed information to machine operators and apprentices that they need little further guidance to get the work done”
“I can’t speak highly enough about the program, it has improved labour and material efficiencies significantly, virtually eliminated bottlenecks and bought a big change to the environment of our company with a huge reduction in stress.”