Page 26 - MetalForming September 2010

Die Shop
Automates
to Wrangle Work Back from Overseas Competition
Efficiency climbs noticeably at an Ontario die shop after it adds four seats of design and build software
to its engineering department and three seats on
the shop floor, to design and build in 3D and program
its CNC machines directly from the software.
Among the newer CNC machines acquired by Rezmin Tool & Die is this DMG five-axis CNC univer- sal milling machine, which boasts a swivel rotary worktable, digital drives in all axes and a motor spin- dle speed to 18,000 RPM. Programming the machine with Cimatron software has reduced setup and machining time by as much as 65 percent.
When Zelko Rezler and his partner Alan Minello started their tool and die business in 1996, they set out to differentiate themselves by pro- viding top-quality tools that would be long lasting and require minimal main- tenance. Over the years, the company has earned a reputation for delivering on this promise. Serving primarily Tier One automotive suppliers, Rezmin has been challenged by low-cost competi- tion from overseas shops.
“When the accountants and pur- chasing agents were just looking at the price of the tool, it was difficult for us to compete,” says Rezler. “They now are starting to realize that they get what they pay for, and we’re earning quite a
bit of work completing or fixing tools that were made overseas that have not been up to the customers’ quality stan- dards. And, we are even starting to see more work that doesn’t go overseas because of quality concerns.”
Estimating Accuracy Critical
Still, the overseas alternative and the downturn of the economy continue to place a constant pressure on Rezmin Tool & Die, in Oldcastle, Ontario, Cana- da, to reduce the cost of its tools while increasing the speed of delivery and maintaining its quality standards. This constant cost pressure and lack of accu- rate estimation tools also have made quoting more challenging. Rezler
spends 5 hr./day working on quotes. “We used to do the quoting based on experience,” Rezler explains. “If we knew a part was going to be a bit difficult to form, we tended to protect ourselves by over-quoting. To make ourselves more competitive, we had to become more
efficient and use more automation.” The company has invested in CNC equipment to eliminate much of the handwork processes, and outsourcing of die sets. Producing die sets inhouse has returned as much as a 50 percent cost savings. To take on this work, Rezmin purchased four seats of die design and build software (from Cimatron) in its engineering department, and three seats on the shop floor. Also, die makers on the shop floor use two additional seats
of Cimatron Viewer.
“We use the software to design and
build in 3D,” explains Rezler, and perform the NC programming and run the CNC machines directly from the software.”
The firm also uses Cimatron Fikus software to create wire-EDM programs directly from the 3D design data. “Elim- inating the need to translate the data has simplified the data flow. It makes wire programming less labor intensive and more accurate,” adds Rezler.
To further increase efficiency and speed, Rezmin added four- and five- axis machines to its shop, for boring,
22 METALFORMING / SEPTEMBER 2010
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