Parametric production of Venetian Blinds with coil-to-window technology

Parametric production of Venetian Blinds with coil-to-window technology

External venetian blinds are being more and more requested for the application in commercial buildings, in central Europe but also in farther markets such as Australia and China.

Being applied outside the window, they combine two functions:

shading the sun, preventing the sun rays to get to the window and therefore reducing the costs for air conditioning

with their adjustable inclination, they allow to modulate the amount of light that enters the room

The production and installation of venetian blinds requires more accessories and technical abilities than the rolling shutter blinds. Their production in particular requires the roll forming of the aluminum slats and their assembly onto textile tapes that provide the connection between the slats and adjust their inclination.

Fully automatic production system

Modern production and assembly systems allow the production and automatic assembly of both C and Z shaped venetian blinds, at production rates that can reach 60 and even 100 windows per 8 hour shift (depending of course on the window sizes).

The following video shows a complete production and assembly line for C80 external venetian blind. (also follow this link for more information on production systems for venetian blinds)

Profiles need to have service holes holes in specific positions: slats need to be produced knowing the dimensions of the finished window (coil-to-window production systems).

A typical coil to window system for high production of venetian blinds includes:

Vertical or horizontal decoiler

Rollformer

Set of punching and cutting units

Belt conveyor (creating a buffer between two subsequent processing stations)

Unit for the application of the head pins

Belt conveyor

Threading unit for loop tape (for Z or S shaped slats) and for string tape (for C or flat shaped slats)

After the threading unit, sometimes a palletizing robot is positioned to ensure the line continuity of the processing line.

Rollforming line for Venetian Blinds

These high-tech machines can include as many as 500 inputs and outputs to manage all assembly movements, sensors and controls. Fortunately, the programming of this equipment is simple and requires little intervention from the operator.

Industry 4.0: complete production management

The production list (also called Job List) is prepared in the office, deriving all important parameters from each window directly from the ERP database. The office software allows the import of job lists from the ERP via CSV or excel files.

The table includes all the parameters that define the produced window, such as window width, height, curtain color, quantities. The production manager can check a simulation of the finished window and launch the production to one or more production lines.

The centralized software then allows the production manager to know the status of the production, which window blind has been produced and when.

Coil to window production systems allow also the manufacturing of venetian blinds with the smallest amount of scrap, highest efficiency and smallest WIP, providing at the same time to the window blind manufacturer a system that embodies the "Industry 4.0" principles.