Page 18 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian
P. 18

 slide positions in terms of degrees of rotation, feed angles, sensor signal angles, feed velocity, pressure require- ments, signal lag-time and other tech- nical aspects necessary to run a pro- duction line. They also understand how these parameters will change with press speed and feed velocity—not to men- tion the impact of servo-driven presses with programmable slide motions. Press technicians understand the forming process as “math in motion.”
An apprenticeship for press techni- cians—approximately 1 yr.—would include subject matter transferrable to other apprenticeship programs, creating a career path within the organization. Some technicians may aspire to install, repair or maintain press equipment, others to maintain, repair or build dies. They possess valuable process experi- ence and the necessary technical train- ing that can be applied to these other disciplines, thus providing a supply of apprentices from within the plant.
Another benefit: breaking down bar- riers between the skilled trades and production. Because skilled-trades apprentices come from the production area, they possess a better understand- ing of the overall production process and the challenges existing in manu- facturing areas. And, die-design and toolroom apprentices must deal with difficulties in aligning a die to the feed line; start new coils strips that bind on lifters or other die components; assess whether a pilot punch has entered the strip far enough to engage the roll lift; obtain correct straightener settings; and deal with erratic or inconsistent part and scrap ejection, and sensor faults. Thus they more likely are able to design and build dies that can be set quickly and accurately, and that more easily handle coil changes and can be maintained in the press. This benefits not only the press technician but the entire company. Presses run- ning unattended allow technicians to run multiple machines with minimal downtime and die damage because these technicians understand the entire process and are supported by those that also understand.
In many companies, the people pos- sessing the most knowledge about the manufacturing process tend to reside in the toolroom or engineering depart- ment. In contrast, the closer that people move toward the manufacturing process, the more that they need to know. It makes little sense to have this knowledge reside somewhere else in the plant. Today’s press operators must become highly trained technicians for
companies to succeed at a high level. Structured training programs that develop stamping press technicians with upward mobility into more skilled trades would be a novel approach to apprenticeships. MF
Correction: In the January/February 2023 issue of MetalForming, in the Tool- ing By Design column, Step 2 in Fig. 4 should read “Enter Die Matrix 0.030 in.,” not “0.30 in.”
Tooling by Design
    78%
Instead of expensive nitrogen tanks... TAKE IT FROM THE AIR
Switching from bottles to an onsite N2 generator? To ensure success, feed it with the most reliable source of clean, dry air.
OF AIR IS
NITRO
O
OGEN
               866-516-6888
 us
.kaeser
.com/metalf
orming
            www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/March 2023 15














































































   16   17   18   19   20