Page 19 - MetalForming December 2015

2015 Award Winners
Your winners of the PMA 2015 Awards of Excellence in Metalforming—winners received a plaque, commemorative flag and cash prize.
Higgins-Caditz Design Award
Quality Industries, LaVergne, TN
Ulbrich Product Development Award
Trans-Matic Manufacturing Co., Holland, MI
Pitcher Insurance Agency Safety Award
Trans-Matic Manufacturing Co., Holland, MI
Link Systems Process Control Award
Zierick Manufacturing Corp., Mount Kisco, NY
Clips & Clamps Industries Educational Institution Award
Schoolcraft College, Livonia, MI
Zierick Manufacturing Corporation Productivity Award
Highlands Diversified Services, London, KY
Pridgeon & Clay Excellence in Quality Award
Kryton Engineered Metals, Cedar Falls, IA
PMA also presents The Training and Education Award, for which there was no winner in 2015. The award, sponsored by HPL Stampings, Inc., Lake Zurich, IL, in memory of A.R. (Ray) Hedberg, a leader in employee training, recognizes outstanding achievement by a PMA member company in employee technical education through a comprehensive training program.
mization of sheetmetal thickness; and
• Integrating an air tank into the system to provide air to
the atomizers during shutdown, eliminating approximately $80/fan.
As a result of the design changes, year-to-year sales have increased dramatically—purchase orders have increased by 10 times compared to the previous year, and sales are pro- jected to increase 20-fold by year-end. In addition to increased production, cost-saving design improvements have yielded an 18-percent decrease in total unit cost.
The Design Award was created by the Worcester Pressed Steel Co., Worcester, MA, and is sponsored by The Quarterly Club.
Excellence in Product Development—
Trans-Matic Manufacturing Co.
Trans-Matic Manufacturing Co., Holland, MI, received the 2015 Ulbrich Award for Excellence in Product Development, for developing and deep-drawing two new canister parts for an engine-powered electrical generator. Trans-Matic provides engineered deep-drawn metal stamped components, value-add mechanical assemblies and proprietary products to many markets. In addition to the Michigan site, Trans-Matic operates facilities in Mesa, AZ, and Suzhou, China.
Trans-Matic was approached in March 2013 by its cus- tomer, Qnergy, to stamp small canisters from Haynes 230
superalloy (nickel, chromium, tungsten and other metals), not normally deep-drawn. Trans- Matic engineers ran several computer forming simulations, and then, working together with experienced toolmakers, developed a feasible and optimal forming methodology for the parts.
The original canister design comprised three parts—a tube and two end caps. The end caps were machined from solid Haynes bar stock and then welded to the tube. The three-piece, two-weld design proved expensive, considering each Stirling engine includes 80 of the canister assemblies. Working with Qnergy, Trans-Matic altered the design to fea- ture two deep-drawn stampings (one with a draw-to-diam- eter ratio exceeding 4:1), completed in the press and then joined with one weld at the customer.
Initially, Trans-Matic used high-strength carbide tooling to form the longer filter canister, but the carbide tended to damage the part surface and open the grain structure. The Haynes material also proved very abrasive for the tools. When die designs were revised to include new specialized ceramic die components, scoring and grain elongation were minimized while tool life improved. For the prototype phase, the Haynes material was purchased in 4- by 8-ft. panels, sheared to strip width and welded together to form a coil. The panels exhibit better dimensional and physical properties than material supplied as coils.
With the shorter cold-transition canister, punch wear did not present a problem for the low-volume prototype runs. However, once production runs began, punch tooling wore significantly after only a few thousand parts. Trans- Matic investigated special lubricants and coatings, and ulti- mately decided to treat the M4 punches with a coating specifically designed for abrasive materials.
Production of the filter canister occurred in a 16-station tool (13 stations for form and trim, plus an idle station and stations for leak testing and exit) running on a 551 Baird 75- ton transfer press. To manufacture the cold-transition can- ister, a 12-station tool ran on a 12-12 Waterbury 30-ton transfer press. The new canisters provided Qnergy with a 44- percent cost savings by moving from three parts with two welds to two deep-drawn parts and one weld. The new
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