Page 28 - MetalForming January 2016

Among special coil-line features specified by QMC and engineered by CHS: a leading- edge bending station for back-bending material prior to thread-up; material pass deflec- tors under the edge guides, to simplify threading; and 5-ton screw jacks (10 tons/roll) to help the straightening of heavy-gauge sheet and higher-strength steels. The 8-ft.- deep looping pit, originally believed to be unnecessary during project planning, has proven to be a blessing, in part to provide continuous feeding and eliminate marking on Class A parts.
lines—48-in.-wide by 20,000-lb. coil capacity on the 600-ton press, 72-in.- wide by 30,000-lb. coil capacity on the 2500-ton press, “with plans to upgrade to 50,000-lb. capacity,” adds Long.
Both lines are specifically designed and built by CHS to handle a range of material thickness, from 0.020 to 0.375 in., including wide backup rolls to sup- port feeding of dual-phase steel; chromed rolls to ease cleaning and facilitate quick changeover from alu- minum to steel; a dual-caliper brak- ing system to help control the materi- al and avoid clockspringing; and the ability to quickly adjust roll pressure using 5-ton screw jacks (beefed up from the typical 3-ton setup).
“Pinch- and feed-roll pressure can be fine-tuned,” continues Long, “thanks to a special counterbalance system on the cylinders so we can soft-
QMC has loaded its transfer press differently than most stampers would, Long says. It has 35 different jobs slat- ed for the press, whereas most shops might fill up a transfer line with 10 or 12 different jobs. In addition to those new transfer dies (each typically with five or six stations), the facility has 90 part numbers slated for its new progressive line.
QMC’s two new workhorse press lines work in a new 30,000-sq-ft. addi- tion to the plant constructed in 2014. Both presses are Eagle models—a 240 by 96-in. press with Wayne Trail front-to- back servo transfer system, and a 144 by 60-in. progressive-die press. The firm stamps an inor-
dinate variety of
part sizes, mate-
rial types and
thicknesses,
from 0.030-in.-
thick flat sheet-
metal parts to 4-
mm frame
components, as
well as Class A
sheetmetal.
Material mix is
two-thirds steel,
including some
dual-phase
advanced high-
strength steel,
and one-third
aluminum.
Feed Lines Fuel Flexibility
Both press lines consume coil stock delivered by CHS Automation feed
Automation
26 MetalForming/January 2016
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Automation spreads well beyond the press- room and into the plant’s 12 production cells housing a total of 84 robots. Shown here (above) is the newest robot cell, used to press-brake form 400 different part num- bers and a total of 15,000 units annually. Parts, for the heavy-truck industry, vary just slightly based on bend angle (1-deg. incre- ments from 81 to 99 deg.) and hole pattern. To manage the production complexity, the cell includes a camera system that reads a binary hole pattern laser-cut into each blank.
The production cell at the left features a robot that carries a fixtured assembly of six parts around the cell, where a variety of operations occur including welding, sealing, flanging and riveting.