Page 16 - MetalForming December 2010

Sheetmetal Fabrication
Automatic load/unload of the new CNC turret punch press allows Durex to run the machine lights out, minimizing overtime costs while enjoying double-digit growth in 2010.
tool-making shop complete with pro- duction CNC vertical machining; a fabrication department with more than a dozen punching, laser cutting and forming machines; and a pressroom with more than 65 mechanical presses, to 500-ton capacity (a Heim 500-ton double-crank straightside model with variable-speed drive and programmable controlled die protection).
“We’re Like a Good Utility Baseball Player”
Diversification is the name of the game at Durex, which doesn’t book more than 15 percent of its business with any one customer, nor more than 25 percent in any one industry. “We have such a variety of equipment that we can be flexible and reactive, and be all things to all customers,” Denholtz says. “We can run jobs five at a time, to 100,000/week.
“We’re like a good utility baseball player,” continues Denholtz, an analo- gy that points to his company’s ability to be a jack of all trades. “We can allow an OEM to transition from multiple vendors and roll them into one diver- sified supplier. We can make a part one-off in a laser for example, and move to a blanking die in a stamping press. Those stamped blanks might then route to a press brake for forming, or move to a hard tool for stamping depending on order quantities. Ven-
dor consolidation is a trend that’s here to stay, and we’re positioned to be a vendor of choice.”
A key component to not only getting on the preferred-vendor list but to stay- ing on it is meeting (or exceeding) cus- tomer expectations for quality and delivery. In this regard, Denholtz shares another key management decision:
“I don’t like to get painted into a cor- ner with our equipment capacity and capabilities,” Denholtz says, noting how uncomfortable it can be when produc- tion of a certain component or assem- bly depends on the availability of one machine, be it a laser or stamping press. “We outfit our shop so we have backup equipment capable of producing any- thing that needs to get done, should a machine be down for maintenance.”
New Equipment Acquired on a Dice Roll
Most recently, the firm’s capital investments to avoid being “painted into a corner” included acquiring two new pieces of sheetmetal-fabricating equipment from Amada—an EM2510NT CNC turret punch press, with an auto- matic load/unload system for lights- out fabrication; and an Apelio III com- bination CNC turret punch press and laser-cutting machine, the second Ape- lio Denholtz has installed in the Durex shop.
“I bought the new stand-alone turret
press late in 2008 for two main rea- sons: to boost employee morale, by showing that I would continue to invest in the company even during challenging economic times; and, to impress poten- tial customers as they toured our com- pany and considered contracting our services.”
Denholtz recalls that late in 2008 the new machines sat relatively quiet for a few months. That changed early in 2009 when the shop was contracted to fabricate power-supply chassis. Chassis sheetmetal is 0.090-in.-thick alu- minum, heavily loaded with perfora- tions, and the high-speed EM2510NT turret press proved the perfect machine for the job. The press boasts (says Amada) a newly designed AC servo- direct twin drive that provides a max- imum hit rate of 500 hits/min. on 1-in. centers, and an 1800-strokes/min. marking system. Its 100-in. x-axis table can process 8-ft. sheets without repo- sitioning.
“And, the automatic load/unload system (Amada’s MP 1225NJ unit) allows us to run unmanned overnight,” says Denholtz, “reducing our overtime hours. That’s been key as we’ve been able to keep our costs under control while still enjoying double-digit growth.”
The twin-pallet load/unload system removes and stacks each punched sheet from the press, and then loads a new sheet at a cycle time as quick as 34 sec.
14 METALFORMING / DECEMBER 2010
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