Page 41 - MetalForming July 2019

Thin-gauge aluminum and steel forms the bulk of stamped material at Mar- shalltown. The parts, produced
mostly through progressive and one-hit dies, are des-
tined for construction tools.
he says. “As some of our dies run mul- tiple parts, the new controllers allow us to set up the tooling for each specific part.”
Before, dies and part production only featured tracking based on the die number, not on the various parts that each die could produce.
“Now we can call up each specific part run on the controller, and better track the amount of different products that run through a die for each specific setup,” says Rhodes. “The job call-up capability helps expedite our setup process because the presses interact with servo feeders (Coe Press models). The SmartPac Pros send information for each job to the strip feeders, which frees operators from having to set up the feeders as well. Besides saving time, the controls reduce the chances for human error in job setup.”
On the three SmartPac Pro-outfitted presses, part runs average about 10,000, with three to four job setups per shift on a mix of progressive and one-hit dies, according to Rhodes. Gathered tool and job data feed into a compa- ny-wide system.
“Whether it’s the production super- visor, plant supervisor or toolroom supervisor, the system tells them the number of the die in the press, the batch size and more,” Rhodes explains.
“This lets management know how much longer the die will runwithinthepress,soweknow when that die will be pulled,
what will run next and other information.
“ThroughtheSmartPacPros, we can access the current tool- ing program, number of hits,
data from our die-protection inputs and our cam-action out- puts,” he continues. “We know the status of all of that at any
given time.”
Rhodes describes a bit of a
learning curve as data collection and reporting represents a rela- tively new path at Marshalltown, but the curve was flattened with assistance from Wintriss techni-
cal support.
in service in the 1990s. They still ran rock-solid, but it was time to update. We also wanted to do more with data collection to help with our scheduling processes and actually have a record of press uptime, as well as dis- play the presses’ current statuses and what dies they were running. Mainly, communication and data collection
drove the SmartPac Pro upgrades.” The SmartPac Pro press-automation controller features a large touchscreen interface; dual-core processors; user- configurable dashboards; virtually unlimited tool-setup storage; and the
ability to share setups among net- worked SmartPac Pro units. Notable feature improvements over previous editions include a new tool-summary screen that enables users to view the entire contents of each programmed setup on a single screen, providing the ability to place notes for the job, and allowing all content to be exported via a USB stick as comma- separated values. Users also can cre- atecustomhome-screendashboards to display often-used information. The dashboards can be named and saved in the Favorites menu and recalled at any time.
Control architecture supports advanced connectivity features such as remote access from PCs and mobile devices, email messaging and
compatibility with Wintriss’ IIoT production- tracking ShopFloorConnect software. And, a Wonderware host- ing option enables the control to run independently created third-party human-machine interfaces for asso- ciated automation, thus reducing the number of individual display screens
required on a press.
The new controller maintains com-
patibility with previous Wintriss legacy SmartPac 1 and 2 modules, as well as sensor-interface hardware including the DiPro sensor interfaces previously installed at Marshalltown.
Better Die and Part-Production Tracking
Immediately apparent to Rhodes and others at Marshalltown: The new controls have improved die and part- production tracking.
“Many of our products feature a steel blade, which we blank using dies that deliver a variety of hole patterns,”
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Data gained through the controls upgrade include hits, part counts and stoppage reports. All of that routes to a company-wide system to keep personnel apprised of job, tool and press status.