Page 47 - MetalForming May 2012

work together. As a result, we’re able to run both robotic cells with one opera- tor, optimize green-light time and gen- erate cost savings we can pass along to customers. That’s allowed us to grow our business in areas where we had not been able to previously.”
High-Volume Technology in a High-Mix Environment
As an example, Pierce cites a high- volume job the shop ran during the summer of 2011 for a large solar-ener- gy project that had the firm’s pair of robotic press-brake cells churning out parts 16 hr./day, 5.5 days/week. In fact, some of the press-brake production ran lights out. Of course, once that huge job ran its course, it was back to the typical day in the life of a contract fabricator—short-run, quick-turnover jobs. Surmising how Metal Works has been able to adapt robotics to its fab- rication shop, Pierce says:
“We’re utilizing high-volume tech- nology in a high-mix environment.”
Asked to provide the key to pulling that off, Pierce says that, “the biggest hurdle was finding the right person to head up the (robotics) program. We went through a learning curve, thinking initially that putting a press-brake oper- ator in charge of the robotic bending cells made sense. But in the end, we had to think more outside of the box and, ultimately we had more success when we handed the cells over to a person more versed in software and programming, who also had some working knowledge of the press-brake forming process.”
Now, the two automated bending cells typically run 1.5 shifts/day, under the guidance of one operator who also assumes responsibility for offline pro- gramming. Programming is performed on the shop floor using a laptop com- puter on a roll-around cart, equipped with Amada’s Dr. Abe automated bend- ing-expert programming software. Pierce is pushing hard to have as many programs developed as possible to run work on his two automated cells. While the ideal parts routed to the automat- ed cells are the more bend-intensive
Metal Works produces these Suntron/ZeeVee electronics enclosures in batches of 1000 to 2000. The enclosures measure roughly 18 by 24 in., fabricated from 18-gauge mild- steel sheet that arrives at Metal Works in 4- by 8-ft. blanks.
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ones, with six or more bends, there are efficiencies to be gained with just about every job requiring press-brake work, says Pierce. As such, Pierce says at least four or five bending jobs get pro- grammed for the robotic cells each week.
Just What the Doctor Ordered
High-mix small-lot production, it turns out, is exactly what the Astro II 100NT is configured for, with remarkably fast backgauge motion (80 mm/min.) and two robots working in concert to move material in and out of the cell, while positioning parts against the back- gauges in sequence. The press brakes are 110-ton HDS-1030NT models with 122.4-in. bending length and 7.9-in. stroke. The robots? They’re five-axis models with 44-lb. weight capacity capable of handling blanks to 31.5 by 39 in. (or 11.8 by 70.9 in.).
Compared to manual press-brake tending, productivity and quality can rise significantly. To explain, Pierce describes for us one particular project where costs were minimized enough to convince a U.S.-based OEM cus- tomer—ZeeVee, a manufacturer of high-definition video-distribution equipment—to bring the sheetmetal- fabrication work back from China.
Based in Littleton, MA, ZeeVee launched manufacturing operations in 2007 in China, believing that “U.S. manufacturers couldn’t adequately support their business model,” accord- ing to a recent article in Circuits Assem- bly magazine. When its market shifted
noticeably from consumer to com- mercial, China’s aptitude for large batch-oriented production “limited ZeeVee’s agility, making it difficult to implement a continuous quality improvement process or introduce product variations,” the article notes.
As issues over shipping logistics and inventory control grew worrisome, reshoring production with U.S. partners began to look more attractive to ZeeVee management. Finally, early in 2011 the firm contracted Methuen, MA-based Suntron to manufacture its products. Suntron’s supplier of fabricated sheet- metal enclosures: Metal Works, Inc.
Metal Works launched production for Suntron in October 2011, and Pierce expects to support ZeeVee’s growing business with production runs in batches of 1000 to 2000 every few weeks. The enclosures measure rough- ly 18 by 24 in., fabricated from 18-gauge mild-steel sheet that arrives at Metal Works in 4- by 8-ft. blanks. Turret press- es prefab the blanks, adding lances, slots, holes and extruded and tapped holes, which then move to the Astro II 100NTs.
“Thanks to the cost savings from running the work on the robotic press brakes,” says Pierce, “we were able to meet requests from ZeeVee and Suntron to come within 25 percent of the price being charged by the Chinese supplier. That effort, combined with avoiding ‘gray costs’ related to cash cycles, ship- ping and flexibility, led to us winning the project and bringing production back to the United States.” MF