Page 15 - MetalForming December 2014

Along with the addition of several new presses and dozens of new progressive dies, Weber has added six coil-feed lines to its pressroom since 2007. The newest line in the plant, shown here, is a 15,000-lb.-capacity CHS servo-feed line, with coil capacity of 36-in. wide by 0.050-in. thick material. The line accompanied a refurbished 300-ton Komatsu straightside press (vintage 1986) tasked primarily with stamping stainless- steel and other aesthetically sensitive sheetmetal panels.
straightener head.”
The braking system is self-monitor-
ing and auto-adjusting based on laser gauging of coil OD, “significantly more operator-friendly than our older feed lines that require operators to con- stantly make adjustments,” says Galusz- ka. “CHS also added an air clutch to the reel’s hydraulic threading system so that, when in the pull-off mode, we avoid any material stretch or distor- tion, important since we’re feeding such thin and delicate material.
“Laser-based coil centering also proves beneficial,” continues Galuszka. “This eliminates any guesswork from our setups, a huge help to our opera- tors. There’s no concern that they might run the stock up to the press and find that the alignment is off. It really elim- inates the guesswork and unpre- dictability from our setups and helps to minimize overall changeover times.”
Easy Cleaning
Also a challenge to the project was the need to handle a range of material types, including galvanized and alu- minum along with stainless steel. The Weber manufacturing team seeks to use its newest stamping line to run several of its progressive dies, regardless of material type.
“Any debris on the rolls can cause quality issues,” says Dave Lohbauer, senior vice president of quality. “That means we need to often clean the straightener rollers between setups. This is where the high-lift straightener head really proves useful. The ability to quickly and easily open up the head for cleaning minimizes changeover time and optimizes our run time—our oper- ators and maintenance staff really appreciate this feature.”
“Also helping to straighten the wide variety of material types,” adds Galusz- ka, “is the straightener’s independent roll adjustment, rather than a bank- type setup.”
On the feed side, the Weber pro- duction team and CHS specified large roll diameters (3 in.) and bearing sur- faces, to minimize deflection and ensure consistent slip-free feed, “which
ican backyard barbecue” envisioned by Stephen in 1952. Likewise, the plant’s metalforming operations also have evolved considerably.
Since 2007, Weber has introduced dozens of new models—groundbreak- ing aesthetic designs with stunning curves and sleek lines, and in flawless stainless-steel and brightly colored enameled finishes. With a renewed emphasis on design, the ball was passed onto the pressroom and fabri- cation shop to make it happen. So say Kevin Murphy, vice president of engi- neering, and Dan Galuszka, manufac- turing engineer.
“When we started to launch all of the new products back in 2006-2007,” says Murphy, “we made a concerted effort to implement progressive stamp- ing tooling in the pressroom. Prior to that, our manufacturing processes comprised sets of discrete operations with a lot of extra material handling. Meeting production requirements for the new products pushed us to auto- mate our stamping processes and add larger-bed presses to handle progres- sive dies.”
Bigger Presses, and State-of-the-Art Coil Lines
Along with the addition of several new presses and dozens of new pro- gressive dies, Weber also has invested in six coil-feed lines since 2007—some new and some refurbished. The newest line in the plant: a 15,000-lb.-capacity servo-feed line (uncoiler, straightener and feeder, from CHS Automation, along with a Rexroth/Indramat RFS series controller) installed late in 2013, with coil capacity of 36-in. wide by 0.050-in. thick material. The line accompanied a refurbished 300-ton Komatsu straightside press (vintage 1986) tasked primarily with stamping stainless-steel and other aesthetically sensitive sheetmetal panels, at the lower end of the pressroom’s thickness range—0.018 to 0.040 in.
“For these types of stampings,” says Galuszka, “we worked closely with CHS to provide several feed-line features to meet our specific application-based requirements. Among them are a dual- caliper failsafe braking system on the coil reel, #5 Crodon-coated feed rolls and a high-lift clamshell-style powered
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