Page 16 - MetalForming July 2014

Advances in
Die Protection
and In-Die Sensing
What your competitors’ press shops are implementing, and why you’d better get on the ball.
BY DAVE BIRD AND WILL HEALY III
Nihil Novi Sub Sole: “There’s nothing new under the sun.” Maybe, but suddenly it seems that everything old is new again. In recent years, industry in general has lost numerous solid and experienced people on all lev- els of manufacturing. With this loss of personnel has gone a lot of knowledge. We have new people, and fewer people, in our factories all while production demands and up-time requirements continue to climb.
These challenges are being met by manufacturers and sup- pliers working more closely together, sharing tips and tech- niques for the common goal of increasing productivity, enhancing machine function and increasing profitability. Many manufacturers seek silver bullets to fix problems on the factory floor, and answers often prove elusive. While many companies see the value in ideals such as manufacturing intelligence, cloud manufacturing and traceability, they often are unsure about how to actually implement these ideals in their day-to-day operations.
Meanwhile, other forces are at play, including expanded interest in aluminum among vehicle manufacturers, and a focus on producing high-quality timely deliveries. These forces drive the need for press shops to integrate new press controls and use better sensing technology.
Let’s look at some new developments, and revisit some old ideas, for addressing the issues of increased productivity and protecting tooling in metalforming and fabrication.
The Role of Education in Die Protection.
There is a premium on manufacturing experience. Trying to hire someone with the skills needed to design, build or maintain automated manufacturing equipment is a difficult task for every HR department across the country. We must work to make manufacturing interesting.
In addition, investing in the education of existing employ-
Dave Bird is stamping and welding industry manager, and Will Healy III is stamping and welding marketing manager, Balluff Inc., Florence, KY: 859/727-2200; www.balluff.com.
Some stampers have out- fitted their aging presses with noncontact magnet- ic encoders to replace manual shut-height- adjustment mechanisms. A rotary magnetic encoder can be added to the press-ram adjust- ment mechanism, which then connects to a digi- tal display.
ees represents an invest-
ment in productivity. To remain com-
petitive, U.S. manufacturers have embraced automated manufacturing, and sensors sit on the front line of any auto- mated system. Sensors provide intelligence to the system, and they take a beating when improperly installed. Even worse than a destroyed sensor is a sensor installed improperly in a stamping die, which undoubtedly will cause a misfeed or die crash at some point in the life of the tool.
A recent incident at a manufacturer in the Southeast United States illustrates the importance of well-implemented in-die sensing, and what can happen without it. Due to a
14 MetalForming/July 2014
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