Page 23 - MetalForming December 2013

bility. By applying The Diemasters Productivity System (TDPS) principals to the project, it started to identify major constraints hindering the process. Eliminating the most detrimental constraints in the process allowed Diemasters to stabilize the process and provide ST Imaging with a reliable, high-quality productivity system that would ensure on-time shipments of high-quality products.
In 2012, Diemasters updated the original design of the ViewScan to create a more sleek and versatile ViewScan II. The new product was enhanced in several ways:
• Reduced manufacturing costs by 30 percent;
• Improved look and feel;
• Reduced bill of materials by 20 percent;
• Reduced assembly time by 20 percent and the base
welding process by 60 percent; and
• Can accommodate and scan 16- and 35-mm microfilm
and all variations of microfiche—the original model could only scan 35-mm film.
Results included:
• A unique product that has distinguished itself from the competition, and its former self, with a sleek redesign and enhanced features;
• Increased sales forecast by 25 percent.
Created by the Worcester Pressed Steel Co., Worcester, MA, and sponsored by The Quarterly Club, The Design Award rec- ognizes a manufacturing company for outstanding achieve- ment in developing an innovative product design. The Diemas- ters received a $1500 cash prize.
Excellence in Process Control
Ramcel Engineering Company, Northbrook, IL, received the 2013 Link Systems Process Control Award for its advance- ments in automated inspection. The company employs more than 50 associates and a variety of processes to serve customers in the automotive, electronics and other industries.
Ramcel recently developed a PLC-controlled two-up lam- ination die used to produce two separate part numbers—an 81-piece stack and a 90-piece stack—used in an automotive electronic power-steering application. The customer requires 100-percent inspection of critical dimensions—ID and over- all height.
The PLC allows Ramcel to control stack height with an in- run adjustment. The die also contains two barrels at the blank-out station. To turn the barrels, servo motors connect to the PLC; each barrel rotates 60 deg. after every stroke to negate high or low spots in the strip.
The two-up operation also presented traceability issues. Ramcel distinguishes which side of the die on which each part is completed with a PLC-controlled event that triggers a marking punch on the last lamination of each stack.
Proximity sensors detect the height of the part inside of a precision-milled fixture; the sensors relay a pass/fail signal to the PLC. A Motoman robotic arm programmed with point- to-point logic and equipped with a double-headed air-pow-
Ramcel’s two-up lamination die runs at 270 strokes/min.
ered gripper picks up parts from the station and places them into an ID check station. An eddy-current probe attached to a Robo-Cylinder arm scans the part over two channels. The probe checks part ID to a tolerance of ±0.06 mm. If the part fails, it is placed inside of a locked bin for further inspection. Parts that pass route to one of two rotating packing sta- tions, keeping right- and left-barrel parts separate. At the packing station, Ramcel maintains a monitor that keeps real-time X-Bar and R Charts for immediate interpretation of current run status.
In time studies of an operator performing manual checks and entering data into a spreadsheet, cycle time per part aver- aged 67 sec. With automation, cycle time is a mere 9 sec.
Sponsored by Link Systems, Nashville, TN, the Process Control Award promotes the application of electronic-analog closed-loop process controls in the metalforming process by rec- ognizing innovative electronic solutions implemented by a North American manufacturing company, which have result- ed in significant quality, cost reduction and/or productivity improvements. Ramcel Engineering Company received a $1500 cash prize.
Excellence in Safety
American Roll Formed Products (ARFP), Painesville, OH, received the 2013 Pitcher Insurance Agency Safety Award for its outstanding safety and health program. Employing 120 people at three locations in Ohio and Nevada, the company provides rollforming as well as CNC punching, brake-press forming and robotic-welding services.
Safety is the first of ARFP’s 13 principles for doing business; it holds every employee accountable. Along with this culture, the firm has invested countless hours and more than $1 million during the last 5 yr. to improve its safety performance.
With the hiring of a dedicated environmental health, safety and training manager responsible for company-wide compliance at all facilities, the firm has placed appropriate focus on areas that will make a difference. Among the items addressed in the last 12 months:
• Evaluation of production processes, including the devel- opment of safe operating procedures;
• A lockout/tagout program;
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