Page 28 - MetalForming January 2012

Awards of Excellence
Excellence in
Product Development
Sulzer Friction Systems
Sulzer Friction Systems (U.S.) Inc., Dayton, OH, received the 2011 Ulbrich Award for Competitive Excellence in Product Development, for replacing a forged brass blocker ring with a stamped steel blocker ring, resulting in improved performance at a signifi- cantly lower cost. The blocker ring is a key element of the manual-transmis- sion synchronizer system in GM pick- up trucks, built in Mexico. The original forged brass blocker ring required machining on two surfaces to meet customer requirements, while the new steel part is stamped to net shape with- out the need for secondary operations.
Several functional/performance improvements resulted from the stamped ring design, including reduced weight, inertia and thermal expansion (resulting in improved dimensional stability), with increased resistance to cracking and wear of the teeth and lugs.
When considering all of the manu- facturing and machining costs of the original part, costs related to stamping the steel part are one-third that of the original part. In addition, reliability of the stamping process has proved to be superior to that of the forging process. The stamped steel design also incor- porates several unique innovations, including allowing for a much thinner cross-section that resulted in the steel ring being significantly lighter than the equivalent brass ring. Six centering bumps and three V-lug features were added to replace the thicker brass cross-section. In addition, the stamped steel ring can be nitrided at a nominal
cost to dramatically improve wear resistance of the teeth and lugs.
The Product Development Award is sponsored by Ulbrich Stainless Steels and Special Metals, Inc., North Haven, CT.
Excellence in Quality
Pridgeon & Clay, Inc.
Pridgeon & Clay, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, received the 2011 Waukesha Metal Products Excellence in Quality Award. At Pridgeon & Clay, nearly all depart- ments have developed scorecards to monitor progress to established goals. The scorecard for the quality depart- ment has helped the department grow and accomplish goals far beyond expectations.
Recently, the quality department had determined that the company was spending a significant amount of money on gauge development after completed build, and worked to cut this cost in half by revamping its gauge- build process. To accomplish this, tech- nicians were reassigned so that they could become experts in specific areas. A dimensional planning process was formalized to allow a cross-functional team to review a concept and part func- tion, and develop a strategy for metrol- ogy that remains consistent. Formal approval is required by the team as a key milestone.
In addition, during the past few years Pridgeon & Clay has maintained single-digit PPM, and reorganized its quality department to accommodate increasing internal requirements result- ing from building its own dies, and increasing external requirements for part quality and PPAP detail. The firm had to reexamine scheduling to sup- port die runoffs that previously were performed at die shops. An extra load had been placed on the part-layout group due to multiple layouts, as well as the gauge-technician group when all gauge certifications began being com- pleted inhouse. It was determined that one off-shift technician would relieve the part-checking activity of the CMM programmers and keep the CMMs run-
ning on routine items and annual val- idations on second shift. In addition, one technician was moved to third shift where she can use the CMMs nearly full time.
Pridgeon & Clay also evaluated its internal quality processes and found that the cost of these processes was much higher than in previous years, due to increasing customer-specific requirements for PPAP. Based on 200 new-product kickoffs per year during the last three years, Pridgeon & Clay decided to pursue a nearly $1.2 million cost avoidance. In doing so, cost cal- culations were reviewed and the quote and sales groups now incorporate these costs into their original quotes, with no negative feedback from customers.
The Quality Award is one sponsored by Waukesha Metal Products, Sussex, WI.
Excellence
in Productivity
Waukesha Metal Products
Waukesha Metal Products, Sussex, WI, received the 2011 Zierick Manu- facturing Corporation Productivity Award for its efforts to significantly increase productivity and reduce piece-
part price when fabricating high-vol- ume stainless steel cassettes designed to hold dental instruments. Due to cos- metic and burr-free requirements on the brushed-finish type 304 stainless- steel assemblies, existing cassettes had been manufactured using a labor- intensive seven-step fabrication process that included sanding, remov- ing a PVC protective coating, using protective film and taking extreme care to ensure scratch-free surfaces.
Initially the firm felt that stamping the cassettes complete in a progressive
26 MetalForming/January 2012
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