Page 41 - MetalForming April 2011
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Operating
Old Metalforming
Equipment?
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downtime.
manufacturer’s hydraulic press, press brake or
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Made in the USA
The Science of Forming
coils, thirty 20,000-lb. master coils, or some other combination based on customer orders and mill inventory. These master coils could be further subdivided into even smaller pup coils.
Since master or pup coils may undergo completely dif- ferent processing steps as they transform from a slab to a final shippable coil, each will exhibit different mechanical prop- erties. For this reason, mills assign a unique number to each coil. If the coil receives additional processing at a service cen- ter or warehouse, the processor may assign a new number to the coil, while maintaining records that allow tracing the processor’s coil number back to the original mill coil num- ber. This means that the customer must retain the coil num- ber attached to a problematic coil, not only the heat number.
For troubleshooting a potential problem with multiple coils (mults) slit from a single larger coil, a suggested pro- cedure is to identify each mult with an additional code, such as a letter (see figure). The metalformer then keeps track of the coil number and the mult codes during part produc- tion. If all of the problematic parts come from the mult marked A, for example, and if the left edge of mult A is the raw mill edge, then resolving part-quality issues might simply require slitting the edges of the larger coil to remove the raw tapered edge. Further, if the right mults from the larger coil (H in the figure) never experience problems, then mult A can be rotated 180 deg. to match the profile of mult H. The reversed coil then would be fed from the bottom instead of the top.
A customer that alerts its supplier about a coil (identified by its coil number) producing 15-percent character-line splits, compared with other coils producing zero splits, is pro- viding insufficient information to allow the supplier to begin tracing the problem, except for the production records for that coil. When the customer provides a sample piece from the problem coil for chemical, metallurgical and property evaluation, more useful data is available to the supplier. However, the stamper must take the sample from the area of the coil that produces the splits—taking the sample from the area of the coil making good parts achieves nothing.
A better option is to supply samples from the problem area of the coil and from the good area. The best option: Include the two mentioned samples from the problem coil plus a sample from a coil that has produced the best parts. The cus- tomer may want to capture a few extra samples of this “excel- lent” steel before consuming the entire coil.
Let’s assume that a particular service center or ware- house supplier works hard for its metalforming customers, provides good service and is receptive to new ideas, but may not be up to speed on best practices, new procedures, leading technology, troubleshooting techniques and other skills necessary to be considered top of class. Metalformers should look for opportunities to help their steel supplier become top of class—invite the supplier to send its key employ- ees to a seminar, or arrange for an in-plant seminar and invite key staff from the supplier. This way, important ideas taught during the seminar can be discussed among supplier and cus- tomer, which can lead to dramatic improvements. MF
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