Page 20 - MetalForming Magazine March 2022

Set up and out of the way, this front-and-back transfer system allows simple access to the press bed for die changes or maintenance. Front-and-back systems, as opposed to through-the-window systems, also enable full use of the press bed, and reduce vibra- tion of transfer tooling due to shorter structural members.
North America's shift to the truck mar- ket,” Siess says. “We produce almost nothing automotive; everything is truck—so we have come through this period very well.”
Capturing lower-volume electric- vehicle (EV) contracts does entail some smaller-run jobs at BAE.
“We’re playing a little bit below 50,000 now because we know that we need a place in the electric-vehicle market,” Siess reveals. “We have seat mechanisms going into a couple of the new EV programs. We are black-box seat and latch providers who can meet the unique floor-architecture designs inherent in EVs.”
Transfer Performance Keys Productivity
A key to meeting production and profit targets on volumes large and small involves transfer system perform- ance, according to Siess. BAE houses two Atlas Technologies front-and-back three-axis electronic transfer systems. One, a Flex 1500 model on a 1200-ton 144-in.-bed press at the Warren plant, was installed in 2015; another works on a 2500-ton 240-in.-bed behemoth in Fraser, refurbished and added to production in 2017.
The high-speed programmable Flex 1500 can integrate with a new press or be retrofitted, and can transfer as much as 450 lb. of parts and tooling, offer Atlas Technologies officials, at stroke rates to 36 in. An overhead-mount design eases access to dies, with the bolster left open for scrap removal, and press windows clear for part-feeding equipment. And, jogging—forward and reverse, using a virtual press-simulation feature—acts independently of press actuation, allowing for cycling without the risk of die interference.
Siess signed off on both Atlas Tech- nologies’ transfer additions, owing to his experience on working with the supplier for more than 20 years.
“When I came to BAE, we had one transfer system inhouse already, dating to about 2004,” he recalls. “To be prof- itable in offload business, we needed
geared toward automotive. The Tier One and Two operation boasts 165 employees working across two shifts, responsible for concept, design, pro- totyping, manufacturing, assembly and delivery.
In addition to the Warren plant, BAE, under the direction of sole proprietor Jesse Lopez, operates a 40,000-sq.-ft. satellite stamping facility in Fraser, MI, and a 120,000-sq.-ft. main assembly facility in nearby Auburn Hills. And, warehouse operations in Silao, Mexico, support customers there.
On the nonautomotive side, busi- ness consists almost entirely of serving industrial-bulk-container customers, as BAE produces one million 330-gal.
container kits annually, including base pans, transversals, base rings and more. Dominant automotive production includes seat and latch mechanisms. As a black-box engineering company, BAE designs and markets its own mechanisms to the Big Three, and also supplies Tier Ones.
The Warren plant stamps 340 to 950- mPA material, with 550-mPA steel most common,accordingtoBrianSiess,P.E., its vice president of operations, who recently led MetalForming on an exten- sive tour. Job volumes at Warren reach 6.5 million parts annually, with 50,000 parts representing the low end.
“I give Jesse Lopez a tremendous amount of credit for understanding
18 MetalForming/March 2022
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