When we went back to Ash and Lacy’s we were separated into three groups to look at the process of making cladding. The design team sends the design sheets electronically and also physically (also known as the design package). The design sheets gives information to the CNC machine so that it is able to cut a sheet to the correct size. Information includes batch number, size of panels, depth of router, drill bit, and so on.
There are two different materials the company commonly uses inluding a 2mm or 3mm thick aluminium sheet or an “Aluminium composite material” sheet (otherwise known as AMC). Although the company uses both materials, AMC is the preferred choice as it is cheaper, lighter, and a lot easier to handle compare to an aluminium sheet.An AMC sheet consists of two sheets of 0.5mm thick aluminum, bonded to a polyethylene or mineral core. The reverse of the sheet is routed to create a more crisp fold.
CNC machine cutting the sheet of AMC
The surface of the machine uses a vacuum so that the sheets won’t slide about when it’s being cut. When the design team sends the design sheets to the machine, small gaps are left out so that the parts that are cut out won’t slip away or move slightly when the sheet of metal is being cut. When the machine is finished a person then manually cuts the small gaps separating the parts to be used from the waste material. It is then checked and then handed over to the finishing team who puts it together.
workers cutting and adjusting the sheets of AMC after it’s been cut by the CNC machine
sheet after cutting to be stacked and handed over to the finishing team
People included in the CNC group – Stanley Fu, Surika Dhuna, Kimran Farooq, Fran Chappalow
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