Page 12 - MetalForming July 2010

Productivity-Improving Obstacles
capacity, using automation control
inputs to direct all of the action in and
around each press cell, including: 350
• Pulse-spraying of lubricant; 301 307.45
• Operation of pick-and-place part- handling automation devices;
• Pulsed air ejection to move parts off
300 250
of dies; and 209.75
• Shaker-conveyor action.
200
167.5
“Most of our dies have at least two
sensors,” he says. “Die crashes are way
down, to a maximum of one or two
per month, a huge improvement from 100 the double-digit monthly die crashes the
firm once endured. “And now when a 50 press stops, everything else stops as
178
127.75
106 121.325
Die-Breakage Track Record—2008-2009
150
138.5 106.75
60.375
42.25 30
75.5
99.625
10 8 11 14
66
134.425
Man Hours Occurances
January February March April May June July August September October November December January February March April May June July August September October November December
Man Hours
well,” says Butler. “Not so long ago we were averaging 40 man-hr./day for die maintenance; that’s now down to just 5 hr./day.”
Save a Press— Monitor Tonnage
The controls’ tonnage-monitoring capabilities are in full display at Clairon Metals, too. Tracking tonnage has allowed the firm to relocate several tools to different presses to avoid impending press damage.
“It’s amazing how one relatively sim-
Press Area Production Efficiency
0
(Top level review SCM)
2009 Goal Front and Front and
Front and Back Press—2008 Front and Back Press—2007 Front and Back Press—2006
85% 80% 75% 70% 65%
60% 58% 55%
0.8
72%
63%
58%
0.8
71%
61% 63%
58%
49%
76%
66%
64%
53%
50% 45%
46%
0.8
69%
0.8
67%
65%
57%
72%
76%
67%
72%
67%
67%
51%
74%
65%
75%
64%
62%
55%
76%
69%
68%
55%
78%
66%
62%
54%
54%
62%
51%
65%
51%
61%
JFMAMJJASOND
The domino effect from Clairon Metal’s ongoing improvements is best illustrated by this graph of production efficiency, which has climbed from barely 50 percent in 2006 to near 80 percent today.
10 METALFORMING / JULY 2010
8 8
15
21
18
27
11 3 11 9 4 2 1 3 5 3 3 1 3 52 61
Clairon’s in-die sensing program, ramped up since it installed new controls on its 10 hardest-working presses, slashed die-repair costs by 70 percent in 2009, and the firm expects the figure to drop another 80 percent in 2000.
ple and affordable change like new press controls can change everything you do in your facility,” says Butler. “With ton- nage monitoring, we’ve been able to treat any press-overload cases like cor- rective actions. Doing so, we’ve avoided
any ram-adjustment issues and failures in areas such as tie rods and counter- balance rods. We also use the data from the monitors to take a proactive approach to scheduling preventive-maintenance activities, such as tool sharpening.
“In 2008 we spent more than $50,000 to repair broken tools,” Butler adds. “In 2009 that cost dropped by 70 percent, and this year we’ll reduce that expense by another 80 percent. Next year we’re aiming to cut it in half, and we’re con- fident we’ll get there.”
Not content to rest on its impressive 4-plus-year track record of continu- ous improvement, Clairon’s on a mis- sion to keep pushing for more. Among its most recent improvements, says But- ler: “We’re focusing on streamlining our troubleshooting procedures at the press. When a die-maintenance tech- nician goes out to a press to address a problem, he’s now got 30 min. to decide whether to pull the tool or repair it in the press. We’ve developed specific guidelines for them to follow so that they make those decisions more quick- ly and, in the end, make sure our press- es are running at the highest level of productivity possible.”
And the dominos keep falling...MF www.metalformingmagazine.com
Back Press—2010 Back Press—2009
52
26.5 11.5 23.25