Page 30 - MetalForming January 2015

Speedy Feed Setups Maximize Profitability
That’s one reason why Cleveland, OH-area metalformer Automation Tool & Die (ATD) opted for complete automation when it invested in a new coil line. Replete with all the bells and whistles, the line is a perfect mate for ATD’s new 330-ton servo press.
Nine weeks from order to PPAP for seven new automotive- stamping dies—that’s the reali- ty of the market faced by metal stam- per/tool and die house Automation Tool & Die (ATD), Brunswick (Cleve- land), OH. So says ATD co-owner and president Bill Bennett, setting the stage for a metalforming-technology evolu- tion underway at the company.
“Constricted lead times coupled with the trend toward tighter toler- ances means we have to perform more monitoring in the pressroom, pay clos-
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
er attention to how we build our tools, and—ultimately—invest in new man- ufacturing technology to continuously improve our capabilities,” says Ben- nett. “We need the best, most flexible and automated equipment.”
Lately, the drive to leverage tech- nology has seen the firm invest in value-added activities, including its first foray (early in 2014)) into auto- mated projection welding. Also it plans to, early in 2015, bring robots online to automate a two-press stamping cell that also includes a tapping station.
The Perfect Feed Line for a New Servo Press
Making the most direct impact right now, however, on productivity and quality at AT&D is a new progressive- die press line acquired early in 2014. It features an Aida 330-ton servo press outfitted with a Wintriss Servo Pac 2 Servo control, and a fully automated and robust Dallas Industries feed line engineered to handle nearly every job AT&D can throw at it. Traditionally known for stamping automotive brack- etry and mounts, as well as parts for
ATD outfitted its new coil line, which delivers material to a new servo press, with two complete and independent line-control stations, one at each end of the line. This saves operator steps and makes the setup process as efficient as possible.
28 MetalForming/January 2015 www.metalformingmagazine.com