Page 27 - MetalForming March 2023 - PMA Chairman Jeff Aznavorian

wasteful transport time, cost and the carbon impact that normally would exist in the supply chain from trucking coils and blanks to downstream fac- tories. The cost savings are shared with customers.
Numerous stamping presses occupy the pressroom, as large as 2000-ton capacity with some running hand-fed, while others run progressive dies or employ automated transfer production. Adjoining the pressroom: a fabrication department featuring an array of soft- tooled equipment including laser cut- ting machines and press brakes, as well as stations for automated and manual welding, and assembly. PMI also runs CNC machining centers, and it recently initiated a new training center to sup- port its workforce-development efforts. Every new employee runs through a basic training course—a manufactur- ing boot camp if you will—that starts with familiarization of the language of stamping and fabrication, tours of the plant to view all of the various opera- tions, safety training, and then job- specific education and practice. Learn- ing occurs on equipment dedicated to training, including a stamping press, press brake and machining center, as well as quality-control tools such as portable CMM arms and visual-inspec- tion technology.
Relentless Drive to Innovate
PMI’s relentless drive to remain innovative has led to numerous stamp- ing-equipment upgrades, first and fore- most the replacement of aging controls. “Several factors were considered when selecting a new control,” says Erik Lar- son, vice president of operations, “including capabilities, ease of use, reliability, long-term part support and local dealer support.”
Knowing that enhanced productiv- ity was the end goal, the firm decided on controls from Link Systems.
“As far as capabilities go, Link offers multiple options,” Larson continues, “including its smaller MPC control, well- suited to our simpler press operations that use fewer sensors and PLSs than some of our other presses. The larger
When PMI sought to retrofit robotic automation to its presses, “the robot supplier was pleasantly surprised to find that the existing press control already had all of the capabili- ty required to seamlessly interface to the robots,” says plant manager Eric Lewis. “It also has a special operating mode called ‘Automatic Single Stroke’ that allows the automa- tion to trigger a single stroke of the press between part-handling tasks.”
24 MetalForming/March 2023
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APC controls from Link, used on our more complex press cells, essentially offer unlimited channels of die protec- tion and PLSs, and signature-analysis tonnage monitoring, and the controls came with more very advanced features.”
Another selling point for Larson: The controls are easily upgradable, and the MPC uni ts can even be converted to become APC controls if needed. In particular, Larson appreciates the diag- nostic-history capability of both control models.
“The fault log will show many days’ worth of records on every reason a press has stopped,” he shares. “It records the reason for the stop, the job that was running, the press speed and even the exact degree at which the fault was initiated. This has elimi- nated the need for countless hours of troubleshooting of intermittent faults for things such as an airline flexing into a light-curtain sensing field, or a pressure switch with an intermittent
fault in the contacts. Our tech walks up and scrolls back to the day and time of the fault, and immediately can narrow the issue down to one input. He then quickly can determine why that input initiated a stop—did the pressure drop, is the pressure switch failing or is there a loose wire at the switch, for example.”
Sensors and Die Protection
PMI continually invests in die-sens- ing technology, even installing sensors on customer tools to ensure high uptime and part quality. “The Link con- trols have met every sensor need we have had and, frankly, they have yet- untapped capabilities ready and wait- ing for us when it’s appropriate, to sup- port a client’s needs,” Larson says.
The AMC and APC controls can run any combination of NPN or PNP sen- sors, N.O. or N.C. configurations, and have extensive diagnostic histories. PLSs all can have time off, input drive,