Page 22 - MetalForming May 2011

Stamping Stainless Steel
complete with walkways and aisle space for lift trucks, to realize Brenda’s vision of bringing the stainless-steel work inhouse, saving the company a lot of money.”
Sweden-based AB Electrolux launched its global manufacturing system (EMS) in 2005 to improve safety, quality, cost and delivery. Nearly all of its plants have adopted the system, which address- es three fundamental strategies:
• Stability—defined as standardizing methodologies throughout the com- pany to eliminate waste.
• Process improvement—contin- uously improving working methods to upgrade quality, cost and delivery performance.
• Culture change—focusing on building leadership skills and team- work, and investing in training for every member of the company’s team.
Now Electrolux has begun to spread the love, by conducting EMS work- shops for its suppliers. A big part of implementing EMS and gauging its success is the constant measuring of key performance indicators (KPIs)— at each plant and company-wide. The EMS reaches throughout each factory, with KPIs established at varying levels specifically for use in either a produc- tion office or out on the shop floor. Typical KPIs include overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and job-change- over time including die-change times.
At the Springfield facility, improving OEE and changeover efficiency delivers numerous benefits, the primary bene- fit being expanded press capacity. Its average press-line OEE is 70 to 75 per- cent, an improvement of 10 to 15 per- cent since implementing the EMS. And, die-change times on some presses have been reduced by as much as 40 percent.
Back to the Stainless-Steel Press Shop
Starring at the new Electrolux stain- less-steel press shop are two new Stamtec presses—600- and 400-ton capacity, 144 by 60-in bed. They run the stainless-steel parts five days/week, two shifts/day. A team of five works at each press—four press operators who manually transfer blanks through the die sets, at 300 strokes/hr., and a mate- rial handler/inspector.
“We now have press capacity that we didn’t have before,” says Frauendienst. “So, we’ll be looking to add feed lines to the presses within the next year or so to increase flexibility.” Also possible down the road, as stainless-steel appliances continue to gain traction in the mar- ketplace and volumes pick up: transfer automation. In just the last few years, the company’s orders for stainless-steel appliances have nearly tripled.
“We may soon have to look at adding transfer systems to these two presses,” says Frauendienst. “There’s plenty of space on the presses for mounting a transfer system, and the controls (OmniLink 5000 models from Link Systems) make the presses automation-ready.”
BETTER LUBRICATION
FloaterCoater R
A major advance in stamping lubrication, the patented FloaterCoater is constructed with the ruggedness that prevents breakdowns and clogging. Rollers follow the movement of the stock, and the unit floats as it coats. If precise and reliable lubrication is what you’re looking for, check out the FloaterCoater.
The LSP FloaterCoater can lubricate specific areas or single sides of the coil stock when applicable. This saves on
lubricant consumption and also on cleaning and disposal cost.
2511 - 20th St. Rockford, IL 61125
Request a copy of our new 8-page brochure.
An air cylinder on each side of the FloaterCoater opens the rolls to feed the coil stock. Once the stock is loaded, the FloaterCoater is closed with springs, and the coil is held firmly between the rollers.
An Electronic Controller opens and closes a solenoid valve, precisely controlling lubricant.
Tel: 815-226-8090 Fax: 815-226-9250
P.O. Box 5303
E-mail: sales@lspind.com
20 MetalForming/May 2011
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