In and Around the Trade

Oakland University Creates an Open Forum for Die Makers, its Customers and Other Key Stakeholders

By Joe Brown

Nobody can deny that North American tooling companies have been taken advantage of, their receivables repeatedly floated out anywhere from 6 to 18 months. These companies have been forced to finance automotive tooling programs while shouldering the brunt of demands for lower costs. While many North American tool and die shops have scrambled to set up shop in China, South Korea and other low-cost countries, others, rather than overreacting and hitting the panic button, have buckled down and readied themselves for a battle. Help also is on the way from the business school at Oakland University (OU), Rochester, MI. This month in Tool & Die Authority, Joe Brown describes how Oakland University's Center for Integrative Business Research and Education (CIBRE) kicked off its 2009 program with a forum titled, "Preservation and Prosperity of the U.S. Tool & Die Industry."

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Making Sense of Error Proofing

Creative Error Proofing

By Drew Stevens

Sometimes the standard fix for a common problem won't work on a specific die—this is when creativity comes in handy. In the next few issues of Tool & Die Authority, Drew Stevens will offer a few unconventional error-proofing ideas that hopefully will stimulate some create thinking. His first application: Detecting the proper nesting of a round part in a transfer tool. To sense that the part sits flat in the die, he suggests the use of an air-pressure transducer as a sensor. A figure offered by the author shows the die station and the part that needs to sit flat. With the part correctly positioned, air flows into the sensor and the sensor sends a signal to the press to indicate that the part is placed correctly in the station. With the sensor removed from the actual working area of the die, we eliminate common problems associated with various types of sensors.

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Professor Pete's Lessons from the Die Shop

A Split Decision—Part Two

By Peter Ulintz

Pete continues his real-life solution to a real-life problem scenario, troubleshooting a metal stamping (for which he offers an illustration) which exhibited splitting in a highly strained area. The manufacturing team concluded that the stamping process was not very robust, since small changes in material properties, lubrication or restraining forces were contributing to the necking and splitting issues. After careful consideration, the team decided to add material gainers to the blank in the problem areas. The assignment covered in this column: Give the responsible die maker the precise location, shape and size of the embossments that will serve as material gainers. Simulation tools to the rescue—and Pete includes informative screen prints from the use of computer simulations to show where the gainers should go, and how big they need to be.

Sponsor Metal Stamping by Design CD A CD-ROM full of articles focusing on tooling issues that metal stampers, tool-maintenance personnel, and tool designers and builders wrestle with every day. For more information, click here.

Quinn's Efficient Die Making Tips

How Does Tooling Price Impact Piece Price?

By Bob Quinn

Bob's die shop recently added a module to its quoting system to rapidly calculate piece price on production parts, even though he has no real obvious need for that information. Almost immediately, the shop experienced a perfect example of how this extra knowledge can help. The scenario: The shop received a part to quote that was needed in a left- and right-hand version, so a two-out die was requested. After studying the part more closely, his people realized that the only difference between the left- and right-hand parts was the location of a couple of holes. "So, we looked at the tooling from two standpoints," writes Quinn, "a two-out die as the traditional method, and as a one-out die using two sets of punches for an interchangeable version of a die. His chart compares costs for the two methods based on production volumes over a 4-yr. run. "We did another study looking at a random sampling of six production jobs," continues Quinn. "We looked at the total production volumes and the tooling prices for each job, and ran some calculations to see how a 30-percent reduction in tooling price would affect overall job costs." As another chart shows, "The net results were an average total PO (purchase-order) savings of 12.6 percent, hence the continual push from our customers for lower tooling prices."