Page 22 - MetalForming December 2014

2014 Awards of Excellence
in Metalforming
The Precision Metalforming Association (PMA) used the FABTECH stage in Atlanta on November 11 to present its 2014 Awards of Excellence in Metalforming. Presented annually, the awards recognize the high standards of achievement set by the metalforming industry in the areas of design, safety, process control, quality, productivity, and training and education.
The award-winning project involved the reengineering of several door-closer components for door closers made by the LCN division of Allegion. The door closer originally comprised a cast cylinder body using several machined parts. The Trans-Matic team visited the LCN production facility and observed the current production-machining processes. The group ran stopwatches, looked at maintenance logs, quali-
ty levels, material usage and scrap losses, and saw the potential for significant savings if the machined parts could be made as deep-drawn
stampings.
The resulting concepts included
combining the spring tube and spring- tube cap into one deep-drawn spring- tube stamping (overall length, 4.75 in.; material thickness, 0.090-0.095 in.), and converting the machined, threaded and broached end plug into a deep- drawn and threaded stamping (0.110-in. wall thickness, low-
carbon high-strength steel).
The requirement of the spring tube to withstand high burst
pressure led to a design with three strengthening ribs. How- ever, simulation showed that the ribs could actually become stress risers. The other concern was the transition of the ribs to the flatted head. Another simulation was run with slightly thicker material and a straight deep-drawn shell. The alloy
Excellence in Design
Trans-Matic Manufacturing Company, Holland, MI, received the 2014 Higgins-Caditz Design Award for its Alle- gion/LCN door-closer project. Trans-Matic provides engi- neered deep-drawn metal stamped components, value-add mechanical assemblies and proprietary products.
Does Your Metalforming Company Deserve Recognition in 2015?
Share your success—and brag a little—by submitting an entry for PMA’s Awards of Excellence in Metalforming 2015. It’s your chance to recognize employees and earn industry recognition. To learn more, visit www.pma.org/awards, or contact PMA’s Christie Carmigiano at 216/901-8800, ccarmigiano@pma.org.
20 MetalForming/December 2014
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