Page 38 - MetalForming February 2022 Special Automotive Issue

Betting on BEVs
BEV needs cer-
tainly will test the
flexibility and capa-
bility of a stamping
press. Here, an invest-
ment in servo-pow-
ered machines can
pay off. Press require-
ments for exacting,
tight-tolerance parts
produced from tough
materials, according to Stephan Robertson, general manager and vice president of sales and operations for press manufacturer Simpac, certainly include “excellent ram parallelism, minimum bed deflection and perpen- dicularity within 0.05 mm.”
Feeding the presses demands beefed-up coil handling and straight- ening systems. Time and again, Met- alForming has published case histories where decisions to invest in more- robust coli-handling equipment pay off over tempting fate by overtaxing machinery with specifications mis- matched for the material application.
In many cases, transfer systems get the call to move automotive parts through the press line, and if correctly specified and integrated can allow presses to perform at their maximum capabilities. Producers of this technol- ogy see the BEV trend.
“The overall increase in new pro- grams and new EV OEMs is a big part of our growth,” reports Paul Stirrett, vice president of sales and marketing for Linear Automation Inc. “Some are building brand-new facilities and need all-new metal forming equipment, so this definitely is a very positive trend for equipment builders. We’ve already been involved in supplying transfer technology for battery-cooling com- ponents—one of many new BEV prod- uct lines.”
Lamination stamping is another product line experiencing an uptick, according to Stirrett, with electric motor drives, offering ever-increasing capacity and efficiency, gaining in pop- ularity. Metal formers should pay atten- tion to this segment and consider investment in assembly automation to
take best advantage. And, with elec- tric-grade steels in demand, Stirrett recommends that part providers edu- cate themselves on these materials.
In sum, he says, “if you are in the powertrain business, you need to adapt your business for BEVs.”
And again, going back to data reflecting greater competition in the BEV market as compared to ICE vehi- cles, parts suppliers need optimal per- formance of all line components. This includes conveyor systems, according to Kyle Rhodes, vice president of busi- ness development for Magnetic Prod- ucts, Inc. He, like other producers of press-line equipment, has noticed the BEV uptick. He urges metal formers to look closely at how they handle scrap, as poor scrap handling can drastically cut productivity and eliminate play in the BEV game.
Examine scrap-handling-related downtime as well as excessive down- time at job changeover due to conveyor repositioning, Rhodes advises, noting that modular conveyor solutions and newer low-maintenance conveyor technology, and resulting productivity gains, can help capture and keep BEV contracts.
Unique Volume Pressures for Metal Former
While many metal formers and fab- ricators prefer to stay tight-lipped about BEV impacts on their business, rest assured that many auto-part suppliers will be experiencing the ramifications at some point. Already feeling the impact is Bill Adler, president of Strip- matic Products, Inc., a Cleveland, OH- based supplier of metal tubular shapes to automotive and other industries.
“New BEV work requires us to shift from high-volume production mode on all of our existing ICE platform work to low- to medium-run mode as demand ramps up,” Adler says. “Pur- chasing small volumes of materials has become much more difficult in today’s market and comes with higher costs than we quoted. This makes job changeovers much more critical to profitability and scheduling. As vol- umes of these parts increase, eventually we’ll have to add capex to meet these volumes.”
BEV contracts awarded thus far to Stripmatic require parts similar to those the company already produces, Adler reports, but have necessitated development of a new automated join- ing process and expansion of part-size limitations.
Interestingly, “most of the BEV parts we produce originally were sourced to suppliers in Asia,” he says. “This reduced the normal 18-mo. develop- menttimeonourendto5to6mo.We jumped through hoops to make that happen.”
What challenges does Adler see in continuing to supply BEV parts?
“My biggest concern is the contin- uing labor shortage,” he says. “I do expect steel pricing and availability to continue improving over the next 1 to 2yr.”
Another challenge involves bringing in the equipment Stripmatic needs to stay on top of production.
“Every piece of new capital equip- ment ordered by Stripmatic has been delayed from weeks to many months due to supply-chain issues—mostly on electronic components, optics and other technical systems.” MF
36 MetalForming/February 2022
www.metalformingmagazine.com
“New BEV work requires us to shift from high-volume
production mode on all of our existing ICE platform work
to low-medium run mode as demand ramps up.”
—Bill Adler, president, Stripmatic Products, Inc.