Page 35 - MetalForming Magazine February 2023 - Metal Forming for the Automotive Industry

BLANKING LINE
Supports Automotive’s
Southeastern-U.S.
Progression
A new 660-U.S.-ton press equipped with a rolling bolster and end-of-line automation for blank stacking has this newly commissioned Olympic Steel stamping facility prepared to meet the needs of the expanding automotive supply chain in the Southeastern United States.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Migration of the automotive industry into the Southeast- ern United States began in the 1960s when Ford located in Ken- tucky, triggering nonstop investment into the region by nearly every automaker—Nissan, GM, Subaru, Toy- ota and others. In just the last couple of years, this movement gained new momentum as Hyundai, Rivian and other OEMs looked to launch electric- vehicle production in Georgia and other southern states. And as sure as the OEMs continue to invest in the South, right behind are the Tier sup- pliers to ensure a localized supply chain.
Case in point: The Winder, GA, divi- sion of Olympic Steel, which recently added blanking/stamping capabilities when one of its Tier-One automotive customers requested stamping support in the region. “To ramp up support in the region,” explains Olympic Steel general manager Jamie Esway, “we con- verted our 295,000-sq.-ft. Winder facil- ity from a fabrication and distribution facility into a metal-distribution- focused plant and created room to
grow our blanking and stamping capac- ity, along with continuing to offer slit and cut-to-length product.”
In 2020, Olympic Steel moved all of the sheet metal fabrication equip- ment—16 machines—out of the Winder facility and into a facility in nearby Buford, GA. The first piece of stamping equipment to move into the reimagined Winder plant: a refurbished 600-ton, 204 by 108-in. Verson mechan- ical press. “That first press was our ‘toe- dip’ into stamping here in the South,” says Esway, “and we have since grown our business in blanking, recently adding a second, local Tier One cus- tomer. That sales growth led us to invest in a second, new blanking line com- missioned in 2022.”
Double the Stroke Rate Calls for Automated Blank Stacking
Olympic Steel’s Winder facility pro- duces blanks for unexposed automo- tive parts, primarily from aluminized steel—advanced high-strength grades to 145-ksi yield strength, 24 to 12 gauge in thickness. Some parts run two-out, with part weight ranging from 3 to 20-
plus lb. Within the first year of running the Verson, the facility took in 13 tools, but that number quickly rose to the mid-30s, hence the need for the second press line.
For its newest line, Olympic Steel turned to Stamtec, which provided a 660-U.S.-ton eccentric-geared mechan- ical press—12-in. stroke, 180 by 102-in. bolster. It boasts a Coe 72-in. coil-pro- cessing line comprising a heavy-duty servo roll feed, Coe 306 straightener, and 50,000-lb.-capacity coil reel. Coe designed the line to feed steel rated to 90-ksi yield strength from 36 to 72 in. wide, from 0.029 to 0.110 in. thick. Feed speed peaks at 393 ft./min., with a feed accuracy of ±0.003 in.
“We’re able to run the Verson slow enough to stack parts by hand,” shares plant operations manager Rodney Whidby. “The Stamtec runs at speeds two to three times times faster, which necessitates investing in an end-of- line automated stacker. And, while ini- tially we targeted the new line for thin- ner-gauge sheet and lighter blanks, its ability to run faster has lured us to move some of our bigger, heavier parts
32 MetalForming/February 2023
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