Page 35 - MetalForming July/August 2009

and the subsequent value-added steps, into small machines with simple tool- ing. This dramatically reduces the ton- nage needed to run a large progressive die, resulting in a series of low-cost, small machines that accomplish each step of the process.
The machines are configured in a U-shaped production cell located close to the point of use, to minimize part travel and operator distance. The pro- duction line is extremely flexible to accommodate changes in production volumes, by simply adding or remov- ing operators from the production cell. Only actual customer-required part orders are processed in the cell, made possible because there is little or no setup required. Equipment is ded- icated and the line can produce the entire product mix without addition- al setups.
Further, tooling costs are signifi- cantly less than with traditional stamp- ing dies, making the line profitable at lower production volumes. Equipment is mobile—on casters—so that when the product mix changes, the tooling and machines can be easily reconfig- ured. Therefore, the cost of the entire line of machines can be amortized over the lifetime of the various processes.
Apples to Apples
Ken Lambie, Kimball Office’s tooling manager and overseer of the firm’s right-sized manufacturing program, describes a typical job run on its new, right-sized Chaku-Chaku line.
“An excellent example of ‘Chaku- Chaku’ is use of the cell to manufacture a pedestal drawer,” Lambie says. The job comprises fabrication of two styles of drawer fronts—extended pull and attached pull—produced in two sizes, or four different parts.
Describing the process, Lambie says that, “Cold-rolled steel coil feeds through the back of a small press into a die, which profiles the bottom features of the drawer front and cuts the draw- er-face blank to size. The press feed is programmed to feed to four different lengths. The operator presses one of
four buttons to select the required draw- er-front blank, then picks up the draw- er blank from the output tray. The coil advances and the press cycles. One drawer blank sits on the output tray waiting for the operator to return. The operator then places the drawer blank— profiled on the bottom and cut to length —into one of two gravity-fed notch dies, which profile the top of the draw-
er blank. One press profiles the top of the extended-pull drawer front and the other profiles the top of the attached- pull drawer front. This strategy enables all four drawer fronts to be blanked without any setup changes.”
The production line completes draw- er-front forming operations in 13 small presses configured in a U-shaped line. Each forming press performs one bend.
Right-Sized Tooling
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PO Box 43038 6650 Beta Drive Cleveland, OH 44143
877 Mayfran (877 629 3726) adinfo@mayfran.com
www.metalformingmagazine.com
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JULY/AUGUST 2009 33
SHUFFLE DRIVE CONVEYOR