Page 28 - MetalForming June 2011

Carbon-Fiber Tooling
and still would not realize the high stiffness properties of carbon fiber.
According to Zeleji, “because car- bon fiber made the overall tooling so much lighter, we were able to handle additional part weight, achieving a 10- to 15-percent increase in production weight. We also realized a 6-sec. reduc- tion in cycle time, representing an over- all productivity gain of 15 percent. And, part consistency and process repeata-
bility improved because the new tool- ing proves to be more harmonically stable—there is less bounce.”
The Ergonomic Advantage
Further process improvements included increased ergonomics, noted particularly when it comes time to change tools. Says Zeleji: “We don’t have automated tool change capabili- ty, so it was important to make it easi-
er for our operators to change tools— yet another benefit of switching to the lighter-weight carbon fiber tools.”
George Douglas, Schuler’s mainte- nance supervisor and process engineer, adds that “with aluminum, changing one end effector was a two-man job. With carbon fiber, while we still need a second operator to help guide the end effector to its nest, the tools are light enough for one operator to carry. The carbon-fiber tools also prove easier to guide into place because of their increased rigidity, which helps avoid damage to magnets and other parts dur- ing changeovers.”
Speaking of damage, Schuler found that its older aluminum tools were prone to bending or breaking in the event of an occasional crash. Not so with carbon-fiber tooling. Says Douglas: “With carbon fiber, in the event of a crash only one piece of the tool breaks, and there are no bending problems. This makes crash recovery much sim- pler and quicker. And, there’s no dust like there is with aluminum.”
The Transition is Complete
In spite of the misconceptions sur- rounding carbon fiber, the benefits of developing a lighter, stiffer and more harmonically stable tool was a chal- lenge that Schuler could not afford to overlook. The value proposition of using carbon fiber over aluminum or steel is justified in the design and con- struction of stamping and body-shop end tooling, particularly in high-speed robotic applications.
Recently, Schuler’s facility has made the transition complete. According to Zeleji, “the entire shop is now fully real- izing the benefits of carbon fiber, and there hasn’t been a single instance where we have not been able to use it. There has been no call to develop spe- cial tubing profiles—everything has been issued in standard stock. Aside from having to develop some custom bracketry, carbon fiber is working on everything.” MF
Article provided by Bilsing Automa- tion: www.bilsing-automation.com; 586/463-0686.
GLOBAL FURNACE SYSTEMS GROUP
26 MetalForming/June 2011
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