Page 64 - MetalForming October 2010

Tooling Technology Assembly
Automation:
Think Out of the Box, and
In the Die
Assembling parts in the die rather than using secondary operations provides metalformers with a powerful weapon against escalating high costs due to secondary production equipment, wasteful material
handling and the buildup of work-in-process inventory.
Suppliers to European automotive OEMs have long understood that welding nuts, studs, bushings and other components to stamped parts is out, and that fastening them mechani- cally in the die is in. Simply, if you want to be competitive in that market space, in-die fastening is required.
Now, U.S. automotive OEMs are taking the same approach. “General Motors, Ford and Chrysler all have fasteners in their current catalogs suitable for in-die assembly,” I was told by Victor Lanni, CEO of MDS Fastening Systems, Romeo, MI. “And, they all have been open to new designs in their quest for better and more cost-effective assembly,” Lanni adds. “The Tier One suppliers have been right there with them, and the trend also is growing amongst OEMs in the trucking industry as well as in the white-goods industry. So, if you’re not doing it (assembling in the die) today,
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
you will be required to do it tomorrow, or risk losing your customers.”
MDS Fastening Systems supplies the equipment and the engineering sup- port (fastener selection and die design) metalformers need to automate their fastening operations, so we asked Lanni to establish the lay of the land in the application of this important and grow- ing technology trend.
“We’re seeing a big pickup in inter- est in the technology from stampers because their customers are requiring that they move in this direction,” Lanni says. “There’s initial concern about pos- sible press slowdowns when in-die automation is added, as well as con- cern for added setup time and a possi- ble reduction in run time. But the real- ity is, if a system is properly engineered and planned for, our customers typically only experience an additional 5 min. of setup time related to the in-die assem-
Want to see just how versatile and complex in-die assembly processes can get? Check out this sample of parts being assembled in-die at various metalforming facilities. From top to bottom: a seat part with pilot pin, processed at 35 strokes/min. with an installation load of 3 metric tons; a ball-pin application that runs at 45 strokes/min.; and a door-hinge bracket with a floating nut bracket, which runs two-out at 40 strokes.min.
bly automation equipment. And, the systems can feed and assemble at the same run rate as before the press was automated—special high-speed feed- ers are rated at 800 parts/min., or as many as eight different assembly heads
62 METALFORMING / OCTOBER 2010
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