Page 22 - MetalForming November 2012

New Controls
...mitigate the risk factors to optimizing press uptime at this Midwest metalformer, where investing in new controls is part of an improvement plan, not just a means of cost avoidance. Aging controls not only had become difficult to maintain, they simply could not support the company’s move to in-die sensing and quick-die-change technology.
tronics. And, the firm is a leading sup- plier of magazines for domestic law- enforcement and military service.
When Meyers sought to uncover any technology-based risks to maintaining reliable, dependable service to the firm’s growing customer base, his inves- tigation led him directly to the press- room’s older press controls. To the point: Many of the controls were no longer being supported by the original manufacturers.
“Our maintenance staff had been doing a great job keeping what we had running,” Meyers says, “but we were having a difficult time obtaining replacement electrical parts for our older machine controls—whether shipped by the press builders or pro- vided as aftermarket controls. The problem persisted on controls pur- chased as recently as the 1990s as retro- fits. And for some controls, there was absolutely no support or parts available at all. The risks of unplanned down- time, should one of these unsupported controls fail, were unacceptable. We must meet delivery commitments.”
Meyers assembled a team to attack the problem by identifying the presses running with obsolete controls, and developing a plan to upgrade the con-
New controls at
D & H Industries had to be configured to meet the needs of any manufacturer’s presses, including these two 200-ton gap presses. “Now, when operators walk up to a press they see a similar screen and function layout,” says D & H manu- facturing engineering manager Jim Mey- ers, “which makes it easier to train opera- tors to use multiple press lines.”
BY TODD WENZEL
While significant growth—on the order of 15 to 45 percent per year since 2009—at con- tract manufacturer D & H industries, Oconomowoc, WI, has certainly been welcomed news, such rapid expansion has created renewed focus on manag- ing capacity and maintaining a high rate of on-time shipments. That’s been a tall order, as the firm has taken on more than 300 new part numbers and added 60,000 sq. ft. of new manufac- turing space.
For manufacturing engineering man- ager Jim Meyers, handling the influx of
Todd Wenzel is president, TCR Integrat- ed Stamping Systems, Wisconsin Rapids, WI; 800/676-2240; www.tcr-inc.com.
new customers and parts has meant managing the introduction of 14 addi- tional press lines. At the same time, he also had to examine the plant’s existing pressroom equipment to identify and mitigate risk factors that could threaten to shut down key stamping assets.
Aging Press Controls and Unplanned Downtime
Metal stampings are produced on 33 presses—45 to 2000 tons—at D & H, from a variety of materials including cold-rolled and stainless steel, draw- quality steel, and nonferrous alloys such as brass and aluminum. Cus- tomers abound throughout several industries including agriculture, com- mercial seating, construction and elec-
20 MetalForming/November 2012
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