Page 36 - MetalForming March 2012

firm will add a waterjet-cutting machine in 2012, “to relieve capacity issues from our wire-EDM depart- ment,” says Aaron Wiegel. “We need to increase capacity, and it makes more sense to add a waterjet-cutting machine than a new EDM. We’ll use waterjet to rough-out tooling and carve large openings in the blocks, which ultimately will reduce cycle times even more than they already have shrunk.”
Lead-time reduction has many faces at Wiegel, beginning with an invest- ment made in 2005 into new 3D solid- modeling die-design and simulation software—Siemens’ NX. It also has standardized on die-plate thicknesses and tool steels.
“When die-design drawings are approved,” says Manschula, “rather than ordering blocks of steel from our suppliers, we can keep on hand large steel plates, cut them to the size spec- ified and store remnants for future use. The plate then would be squared up
and ready for tapping, minor machin- ing, heattreat, and a final skim pass on a wire-EDM machine.”
Wiegel was, back in 2003, a beta site for NX and Siemens’ optional Progres- sive Die Wizard module. The module significantly reduces modeling time from hours to minutes, says Wiegel, and also displays strip-layout simula- tions for immediate feedback when making design and process changes. Design time, he says, was reduced by about one-third when the software became fully functional, and his pend- ing investment in waterjet cutting is expected to reduce lead times by another 15 to 20 percent.
“Waterjet cutting will increase the speed at which we execute roughing cuts,” says Wiegel, “by a factor of 10 to 15 when compared to EDM.”
“The way we do it now,” adds Wiess, “adds three to five days to our lead times by the time we order mate- rial after having received a final die design. Then we have to pay for squar-
ing of the blocks. Waterjet will elimi- nate that process, and our heattreat- ing costs will drop, since we pay by the pound.”
Not only will faster turnaround of new dies help its own pressroom, but Aaron Wiegel finds that customers are getting used to paying a premium for speed. He counts about 20 key stamp- ing customers that source his compa- ny for tooling.
“We see OEMs dragging their feet when launching new programs, for a number of reasons,” he says, noting that while a project’s launch date may get delayed, the date of first-part off rarely if ever moves accordingly. “When this happens—and it happens quite a lot—the quoted lead times of our cus- tomers can shrink by as much as 60 percent, and they often must pay expe- diting fees to meet the original target date. If we can continue to reduce our lead times to help our customers meet their goals, that makes us that more attractive.” MF
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