Page 38 - MetalForming November 2013

INNOVATION IN IDENTIFICATION
I I m m p p p r r o o v v e e V V i i s s i i b b i i l l i i t t y y y y y, , , Q Q u u a a l l i i t t y y y, , , and Conformance
Critical business decisions require accurate and reliable data. With over
25 years of RFID experience, Balluff has left nothing to chance in identification. Allowing up to 4 HF and LF read/write heads combined with local I/O, Balluff sets the new standard for traceability in industrial identification with the introduction of the BIS V processor.
EtherNet TCP/IP
Traceability
Visibility
Atlas cart then can move the previous die from the press to the staging rack, pull the next die from the rack, and move it to the press.
Numerous Die Changes
Presses are scheduled to run rela- tively small batches of parts—a week’s worth of parts inventory for the appli- ance assembly lines. Part volume per die setup ranges from 100 to 500 stampings, or a run in the press of as lit- tle as a couple of hours to a couple of shifts. Cosmetic parts (stainless-steel panels, for example) run at slower stroke rates, and therefore stay in the press longer.
Die changes take 45 to 60 min., says Long. That time includes completing a die inspection, looking for any wear that would require a trip to the tool- room for preventive maintenance (PM).
“Our operators follow a one-page PM inspection checklist at the end of every run,” Long says. “When that’s completed, a technician from the tool- room comes to the press and also per- forms a 5-min. die inspection, before we finally release the die back to the stor- age rack. Or, if maintenance is needed, the operator generates a work order and the die moves to the toolroom. The goal is to ensure that the dies are ready to go when we need them.”
Along with developing a die-PM checklist to “engineer” the die-change process, Long adds that “we also per- formed a Kaizen-like event to ‘engi- neer’ our die-change routine. We devel- oped a complete list of tasks to be completed with each die change, assigned a time period to complete each task, and then divvied up the tasks among the press operators to balance the load.” MF
Asset Tracking
Electronic Kanban
Production Control (WIP)
Intra-logistics and Material Handling
Visit us at FABTECH 2013 Nov. 18-21 in Chicago, IL at booth S4343
Phone 1-800-543-8390
www.balluff.us/traceability
36 MetalForming/November 2013
www.metalformingmagazine.com
Tooling Technology
QDC-system components: hydraulically operated rollblocks; spring-return ledge clamps on the front side of the press; and hollow-cylinder-type T-slot clamps on the backside. The hollow-piston cylinder clamps are designed to clamp dies on subplates with U-slots. With single-acting spring return, the cylinder’s spherical washer adjusts to irregular clamping surfaces.