Page 30 - MetalForming September 2015

Drive Automotive
Shuttle Action
From its first press line and convey- or added in 1994 to the most recent blanking line, the growth of the facili- ty has been consistent over the years. In 1996 the facility welcomed its first transfer press; a second tandem line moved in in 1997, followed in 1999, 2003 and 2012 by the third, fourth and fifth tandem lines. And they’re all major scrap makers.
While all of the plant’s scrap-moving conveyors are fixed to frames bolted to the basement floor, several shuttle- style units can move within their frames to index to a range of positions. This allows the scrap, which funnels down from the presses above, to route to the appropriate collection area as directed by the press PLCs.
“The conveyor under each press acts as a buffer system,” says Dressler, “and accumulates scrap. Once the belt fills, the system PLC communicates with the press and indexes the shuttle conveyor to direct
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the scrap to the appropriate con- tainer. Once a scrap trailer fills to capacity, the system PLC sends an e-mail to our scrap-collection provider, alerting them to exchange the full container for an empty one.”
Minimal Maintenance Required
Dressler, who managed the plant’s maintenance department until 2013, knows first-hand the relative mainte- nance-free operation of its slew of con-
Here’s the newest Goessling conveyor installed at the Drive Automotive plant, added this past July to serve a new blank- ing line—the plant’s third.
veyors. The U.S. office sends techni- cians into the plant once or twice per year to inspect the conveyors and per- form basic preventive maintenance such as lubricating the bearings and checking and adjusting belt tension as needed.
“The service technicians provide a complete report on all of the convey- ors,” says Dressler, “and include pho- tographs that illustrate any findings that might require attention, now or in the near future.” MF
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Chicago, IL November 9-12, 2015
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