Page 23 - MetalForming April 2015

It quickly became apparent that hot stamping requires specialized equip- ment—even with modifications, noth- ing on Experi-Metal’s roster filled the bill. With a new purchase in order, King and his team tackled the second requirement, that a hot-stamping press anchor a showcase manufacturing cell, letting customers know that Experi- Metal represented the state-of-the-art in hot-stamping prototyping while safely
producing the best parts possible. Through recommendations by a customer, company officials visited Macrodyne in Toronto, Canada, and soon thereafter, in late-2013, complet- ed a deal for a customized press to fit
Experi-Metal’s criteria.
The new press cell came online in
the summer of 2014, complete with a blank-loading table, part-handling robot and oven. Macrodyne installed
This 600-mton press, anchoring the new manufacturing cell at Experi-Metal, has quite the range of capabilities, including hot stamping of steel, aluminum warm forming, deep drawing and general stamping.
white builds from vehicles of the past to next-generation concepts. Also, the company has manufactured a range of components for low-volume com- mercial vehicles.
Hot Stamping Gets Lion’s Share of Work in New Cell
Hence the need for a press, as the signature piece of a workcell, with so many possible uses. That said, hot stamping was the main driver for this purchase, given its growing interest among automotive OEMs continually striving for high-strength/ low-weight ratios in the materials and parts they specify.
“We have wanted to get into the business of hot stamping, or press- hardened stamping (PHS),” says Gerry King, Experi-Metal vice president of engineering, who spearheaded the project to add this new capability. “Our first order of business: understand PHS cycle requirements. We found that the process allowed 9 to 12 sec. from mate- rial exiting the oven to the press ending its downstroke and beginning to dwell. With those criteria, we surveyed our equipment to see if anything inhouse would work.”
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