Page 21 - MetalForming April 2010

The 70-ft.-long 400-ton press line includes a knurling machine that profiles the strip coming from the feed line. Two loops even out material flow—one loop lies between the decoilers leading to the straightener and out into the knurling tooling and then into the profiling station, and a second loop lies between the profiling station and the press feeder.
the plant invested in two new press lines, the latest centered around a refur- bished 400-ton Bliss press along with a new servo feeder (from Cooper-Wey- mouth, Peterson) and refurbished Brown & Boggs straightener. All of the equipment was purchased through local distributor Wenco Machinery, Ring- wood, NJ. Full production for the new line begins in April of this year.
The 400-ton line joins a line installed in 2008 anchored by a brand-new 220- ton Stamtec press, also equipped with a CWP servo feeder as well a refurbished Raster reel-straightener combo and Prab scrap conveyor. The conveyor runs under the press and through an outside wall to a motorized chute and into a hopper. An automatic rotating spread- er evenly distributes the scrap through- out the 20-yd. scrap hopper.
The CWP ServoMax SE servo feed includes matte chrome rolls, 500-job memory and a hand-held remote jog pendant, and boasts roll-position accu- racy to ±0.002 in. Vogelsang’s model offers maximum stock width of 18 in. and full-width thickness capacity to 1⁄8 in. And, its Stamtec S2-series straightside press generates as much as 220 tons of force, 50 to 120 strokes/min., 6.3 in. of stroke length and a bolster measuring 72 by 48 in. Sideframe opening is 31.5 by 19.7 in.
“The Stamtec line was added to our equipment list strictly for the anti- vibratory products, to process steel sheet less than 2 mm thick and parts 4-in. dia. and smaller. Larger bushings run on the 400-ton line,” says Stuban, “to 1⁄4 in. thick and 7-in. dia., since that press has more available stroke length.”
The newest job to run on the 400-ton line stamps and forms 4-in.-dia, by 4 in. long bushings from 0.130-in. steel. “The part has windows in it,” Stuban shares, “and we also knurl and profile the inside and outside edges, all done in the flat before we wrap and clinch in the press.”
Together the two new lines account for about 15 percent of the company’s overall revenue, and Stuban expects that percentage could double in the next couple of years—hence the likeli- hood of a third press to be added to the family.
Profiling the Strip Inline
The 400-ton press line includes a knurling machine to profile the strip coming from the feed line. “We can take a standard-slit strip, profile the edge to create a range of chamfer angles and lengths, as well as inner grooves,” explains Stuban, “then feed it into the press where we cut the windows and slots, then U-form and wrap the cylin- der in the die.”
The press runs a die that combines the features of a transfer die and a pro- gressive tool. The material stays with the coil as it runs through knurling, profiling, and then into the press. After U-forming, the part is cut free and a transfer tool pushes the part into a final rolling operation to close and clinch the seam.
Two loops even out material flow— one loop lies between the decoilers leading to the straightener and out into the knurling tooling and then into the profiling station, and a second loop lies between the profiling station and the press feeder. The 70-ft.-long line runs at 40 to 60 strokes/min., “although we expect to run considerably faster with the line in full production mode,” Stuban adds. “And, the process gener- ates very little scrap since we’re devel- oping trim lines—there is no cam trim- ming.
“Clinch seaming is our niche in the market,” Stuban continues. “Any parts from material thicker than 0.100 in. we can clinch in the press. Thinner work is clinched in the press and then plasma- arc welded in a secondary operation to prevent seams from opening up during transport. Overall, we’re saving our cus- tomers as much as 25 percent in piece- part cost compared to using machined tubing.” MF
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