Page 42 - MetalForming June 2009

Tooling Technology ToolingUpdate
Die Shop Assigns Waterjet-Cutting Machine to Carve Out Die Sets and Stripper Plates
goals. We’re now cutting die sets, strip- per plates and aerospace parts that involve different fixturing and tooling.”
Using the new machine, “we’ve real- ized a tremendous improvement in pro- ductivity,” adds Gramse. “For example, cutting die-set plates, what previously took 25 hr. to accomplish now takes just 15 hr., with nice edge quality.”
Flow Intl.: 253/850-3500; www.flowcorp.com
Space-Saving Flat Reflective Sensor
The RLF24 reflective sensor from STM Sensors Inc., Toledo, OH, features
MRG Tool and
Die, Faribault, MN,
manufactures
metal-stamping
dies, plastic injec-
tion molds, jigs and
fixtures, and also
offers production
stamping and
machining servic-
es. When the firm
recently went looking to produce parts more quickly and efficiently, as well as reduce material costs, MRG sought to implement state-of-the-art cutting tech- nology. It ultimately acquired a waterjet-
cutting machine from Flow Intl., Kent, WA.
“Machining molds and dies, we used to rough things out that we’d finish- machine later,” says Rebecca Gramse, an engi-
neer at MRG. “We wanted to do a better job by cutting more quickly and efficiently as well as save money on material. Flow’s 87,000-psi waterjet-cutting machine helps us accomplish those
40 METALFORMING / JUNE 2009
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