Page 32 - MetalForming December 2016

Punch-Shear Combo
Shear and punch fabrication of sheetmetal parts at custom door manufacturer LaForce, Inc. more than triples thanks to implementation of a new servo-electric punch-shear combination machine.
In 1954, Joe LaForce purchased a modest hardware-supply business in downtown Green Bay, WI. Today, his company, LaForce, Inc. has evolved into one of the largest U.S. distributors of commercial doors, frames, and hard- ware and building specialties. Its prod- ucts can be found in a variety of office buildings, healthcare facilities, hospi- tals, nursing homes, clinics, schools, retail outlets and sports stadiums.
In addition to its Green Bay head- quarters, LaForce operates 11 other U.S. locations, where it performs cus- tom manufacturing of doors and frames, and offers product installation, pre-installation, pre-finishing, security integration, specification writing, fire- door inspections and key system serv- ices. Its 12 locations employ approxi- mately 500 people.
In its early years, the company oper- ated mostly as a distributor. By 1969, LaForce realized that he needed to bring door and frame production inhouse, in order to sell with consistent quality and make timely deliveries. Toward that end, the company purchased two turret punch presses, two hydraulic shears and several press brakes to fabricate and bend its products.
Improved accuracy and repeatability from the punch-shear combination machine has led to savings in downstream processes such as in press-brake forming, where dimen- sional accuracy from SGe enables faster setup times, and in welding due to improved part fitup.
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a Labor Saver
Fast forward to 2013, and LaForce began a search for a more efficient and productive way to fabricate its products at the 310,000-sq.-ft. head- quarters facility.
“We used to shear the sheet to make blanks, and then punch the blanks into parts,” explains Brad Johnson, indus- trial engineer and continuous improve- ment coordinator. “We sought a way to avoid many of the wasted hours required for material handling and nonproductive labor.”
After much research, LaForce accom- plished just that with the acquisition of a servo-electric punch-shear com- bination machine (a Prima Power Shear Genius SGe, acquired late in 2013).
Sheetmetal Transformation
With the punch-shear concept, the objective is to provide a machine capa- ble of transforming a full-size sheet into finished parts. Parts then can be moved to final production stages for immediate integration into final prod- uct assembly.
The heart of LaForce’s Shear Genius SGe is a servo-electric 30-metric-ton punching machine with a maximum stroke speed of 1000 hits/min; an index speed to 250 rpm; and a maximum sheet-position speed of 150 m/min. The machine’s right-angle shear boasts a servo-electric actuation system that makes shear movement quick and fully CNC-controlled. It can shear aluminum