Page 6 - MetalForming December 2010

Serving those who create precision metal products using stamping, fabricating and other value-added processes.
© 2010 by PMA Services Inc. 6363 Oak Tree Blvd. Independence, OH 44131 216/901-8800
fax: 216/901-9669
E-mail: metalforming@pma.org www.metalformingmagazine.com
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is strictly prohibited.
NewsFronts
PMA President
Publisher
Editor
Editorial Manager
Art Director
Production Manager
Circulation Manager
William E. Gaskin, CAE
wgaskin@pma.org
Andy Flando
aflando@pma.org
Brad F. Kuvin
bkuvin@pma.org
Marlene F. O’Brien
mobrien@pma.org
Donna D’Amico
ddamico@pma.org
Susan Cubranich
scubranich@pma.org
Barbara Tillett
btillett@pma.org
Sales Staff
Letter to Editor
Dear Mr. Kuvin,
I recently read the excellent article you published on safe rigging practices (August 2010 MetalForming), and felt compelled to point out an unsafe condition in the photo- graph appearing on page 20. The hose from the clutch/brake valve is excessively long; from my experience, as the rotary union wears and develops more friction, it will want to spin with the rotation. This typically leads to air-hose kinks that will cut off the release of the air from the clutch/brake. When this happens, the machine will continue to run and possibly cause a catastrophic situation. I’ve seen this hap- pen on several presses with older hoses and longer hose lengths. We therefore recommend keeping these hoses as short and as straight as possible.
Dean Phillips, sales manager, Link Systems; dphillips@linkelectric.com
Orange County Choppers. OCC will use Esab equip- ment and filler metals for the upcoming season of the shop’s TV show, American Chopper, which debuted in August. The shop also designed and fabricated a custom chopper for Esab, unveiled at Fabtech in November.
Stamper Fills Order for Unusual Snap Ring
Evans Technology, East Providence, RI, specialists in miniature deep-drawn and flat stampings, recently completed an order for an unusual piece—a snap ring with a thin 0.010-in. open- ing and an OD of 0.1625 in., stamped from Type 305 stainless steel. The firm produced the first 300 parts in one week, using transfer- press tooling and custom secondary operations, then automated the process for the remainder of the 50,000-piece run.
Agreements
Little Rock HVAC Fabricator Acquired
M&M Manufacturing, LLC, Fort Worth, TX, acquired The Wilkins Corp., Little Rock, AR. Wilkins operates a 50,000-sq.-ft. plant to manufacture steel duct pipe and fittings for the HVAC industry. M&M, also a supplier of HVAC pipe and fittings, operates facilities in Fort Worth, Dallas and Hous- ton, TX, and also operates a Precision Products division that manufactures precision sheetmetal parts for a variety of industries.
Andy Flando, Publisher
MI, OH, International
6363 Oak Tree Blvd. Independence, OH 44131
Ph: 216/901-8800 • Fax: 216/901-9669 aflando@pma.org
Ryan King
North Central
855 Featherstone Dr. Fontana, WI 53125
Ph: 773/414-9292 • Fax: 262/394-5269 RKing@rkmediaadv.com
Vivien Tomsik
Western NY, Western PA, Mountain, Pacific, Canada 6363 Oak Tree Blvd. Independence, OH 44131
Ph: 216/901-8800 • Fax: 216/901-9669 vtomsik@pma.org
Rick Edman
New England, Eastern NY, Eastern PA 576 Post Rd.
Darien, CT 06820
Ph: 203/656-1000 • Fax: 203/656-1007 Rick_Edman@edmancompany.com
Bob West
South Atlantic, South Central
855 Georgian Hills Dr. Lawrenceville, GA 30045
Ph: 678/377-5749 • Fax: 678/377-9098 MetalForm_bobwest@msn.com
Facilities
New ThyssenKrupp Facility Adds Tight- Clearance CNC Shear
The new ThyssenKrupp Stainless USA facility in Calvert, AL, has installed a new CNC shear to cut stain- less-steel sheet to 1⁄2 in. thick. The machine does the work of two shears, says its supplier, Hydrapower Intl., Marco Island, FL. It features CNC control of blade gap, rake angle and backgauge
position, all optimized based on sheet thickness to avoid burrs and minimize distortion. Also included are special, closely spaced holddown cylinders and a safety light curtain.
Orange County Choppers Inks Welding- Equipment Deal
Esab Welding & Cutting Products, Florence, SC, now is the exclusive welding- equipment provider for cus- tom motorcycle shop
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METALFORMING / DECEMBER 2010
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