Page 25 - MetalForming November 2015

Meier’s 35,000-sq.-ft. shop houses six Yamada Dobby presses—three 25-ton models and three 40-ton models, in addi- tion to seven conventional high-speed presses and a 2011-vintage Aida 110-ton gap-frame servo press. It processes metal strip from 1⁄4 to 3 in. wide; material thickness ranges from 0.01 to 0.080 in.
for adjustments and alterations.” Such adjustments seem to become more necessary as the influx of new, challenging workpiece materials increases. We’re talking exotic metal alloys such as platinum and tantalum, as well as the shape-memory alloy (SMA) nitinol—a nickel-titanium alloy finding increased use in medical implantables such as stents, orthodontic-bracket clips and vascular closures. Meier forms niti- nol in heated dies at process tempera-
tures exceeding 800 F.
Another relatively new material
gaining popularity is MP35N (tensile strength to 300 ksi), a Ni-Co-Cr-Mo stainless-steel grade from Carpenter. It, according to Carpenter, provides good
ductility and toughness and corrosion resistance, as well as resistance to high- temperature oxidation and hydrogen embrittlement.
“Working with challenging mate- rials like nitinol and MP35N keeps us focused on continuous improvement and developing new tooling concepts,”
says Preston. “And in addition to new- process and die development, we’re also keeping an eye out for ways to improve the productivity of existing dies. One of our key performance indi- cators is die life and hits between maintenance cycles. Our goal is to com- plete at least one die-enhancement
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