Page 35 - MetalForming June 2009

less force to terminate a wire than con- ventional crimping, minimizing shock load on the PCB assembly.
The crimp terminal is produced in a high-speed 14-station progressive die. Zierick has sold more than 9 million terminals with zero customer returns
and zero complaints. Company offi- cials estimate that this wire-attachment method can save users as much as 90 percent in cost and more than 80 per- cent in labor time when compared to alternate methods.
The Higgins-Caditz Design Award,
created by the Worcester Pressed Steel Co., Worcester, MA, and sponsored by the Quarterly Club, recognizes a manu- facturing company for outstanding achievement in developing an innovative product design. Zierick Manufacturing will receive a $1500 cash prize.
to insert the shock assembly.
Radar Industries expects to supply
more than 500,000 vehicles with its stamped metal shock clevis, with two
parts per vehicle.
The Ulbrich Award for Compet- itive Excellence in Product Development, sponsored by Ulbrich Stainless Steels and Special Met- als, Inc., North Haven, CT, acknowl- edges a manufacturing company that demonstrates outstanding innovation in developing and manufacturing a product that best uses metal in place of a non- metal competitive material. Radar Indus-
tries will receive a $1500 cash prize.
Excellence in Product Development
Radar Industries
Radar Industries, Warren, MI, received the 2009 Ulbrich Award for Competitive Excellence in Prod- uct Development for developing a stamped shock clevis that attaches to the lower control arm and supports the shock tube in a vehicle. The award- winning part, originally a casting, was redesigned by Radar Industries as a progressive-die stamping. Two versions of the clevis were designed for the cus- tomer—a weld-on application and a pinch-bolt application. Both patent- pending designs are being tooled for production, with a progressive two-out die producing the weld-on clevis in a 2200-ton Schuler press.
Factoring in all of the manufacturing
and machining costs of the cast part, Radar replaced the casting with a stamping for less than one-third of the original price. The changeover also brought sev- eral functional improvements as well as less weight without loss of performance.
Unlike the casting, the stamped part requires no sec- ondary machining. On the pinch-
bolt design, the ears of the part are formed into the clevis, allowing the operator to simply attach the clevis to the shock assembly with a nut and bolt. The customer is satisfied because the new part designs allow simple assembly with no need for specialized machines
Excellence in Productivity
ART Technologies
ART Technologies, Hamilton, OH, received the 2009 Zierick Manufac- turing Corporation Productivity Award for automating four machines across two operations to improve pro- ductivity and increase capacity. ART Technologies supplies stamped race thrust bearings used in the automo- tive, heavy truck and RV industries.
The emergence of Asian bearing manufacturing spawned a number of low-cost competitors, so ART Tech- nologies needed to decrease costs and improve pricing to compete. As a result, the company developed a process to automate the loading of two assembly machines and two presses, which brought a 33 percent capacity increase for bearing assembly, a 57 percent capacity increase for small race coining,
a 24 percent decrease in
annual labor cost for
these products, and a 43
percent increase in sales
of the products. In addi-
tion, the reduced labor
cost and increased capac-
ity has enabled customers
to bring bearings previ-
ously sourced to Asia
back to ART Technolo-
gies in the United States.
The project ultimately
resulted in a two-person
staffing reduction per
machine and a 25 to 140 percent increase in hourly production. The company also rearranged coining press- es into a workcell, leading to a partial- person manning reduction and
improved manning stability.
The reduction in manpower result-
ed from attrition and retraining. The remaining manpower was incentivized by increased pay and job responsibility.
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