Page 17 - MetalForming September 2016

The hydraulic presses have been customized to best fit four die sets used by Hatch Stamping to produce automotive roof-system components. Ten pick-and-place robots manipulate the components across the line, with a centralized lube system ensuring that the parts stay well-oiled. An underground scrap-conveyor system adds to the automation.
construction, including a three-month install and ramp-up. Specifically, Hatch Stamping has added a four-press hydraulic line featuring a lead 600-ton unit backed by three 1200-ton machines, all customized and supplied by Macrodyne, Concord, Ontario, Canada. The line is dedicated to four sets of parts for Mercedes—automotive roof-housing assemblies—and is fed blanks by a mechanical press in anoth- er area of the 160,000-sq-ft. manufac- turing operation. Kawasaki pick-and- place robots tend the line, where the lead press performs draw forming on a blank, followed by trimming in the second press and a qualifying restrike in the third. The last press performs hole piercing and, if needed, separation of the stamping into left- and right- hand parts. Staging stations between the presses hold parts awaiting com- pletion of operations on successive presses, and a Prab system conveys scrap from the press bed underground and back up into scrap bins adjacent to the line. A central lubrication system (from Pax Products) keeps the parts well-oiled throughout their line journey.
“The Cpks are phenomenal in that there is no variation across these parts as all of the piercing is done at the final press after a restrike operation to make sure a part is within tolerance,” explains Claugherty.
Macrodyne worked with Hatch counterparts to design the presses around the roof-system products. As
With many of the small parts that Hatch produced back in the day now bringing only commodity prices, the company has phased out that part of the business. It now uses its stable of smaller presses primarily to produce fasteners and similar parts to support its larger value-added assembly work. Where only less than 20 years ago Hatch Stamping worked nearly exclu- sively with mild and cold-rolled steels, today, 80 percent is higher-strength
steel, including dual-phase steels, driv- en by the company’s automotive and appliance customers.
Hydraulic Presses: Unchartered Waters
The combination of larger parts and tougher material led to another change at Hatch: the introduction of hydraulic presses. The company decided to make the investment three years ago, fol- lowed by a year of custom design and
A nearby rack holds the four die sets exclusively used to make roof-system components on the press line. Because the dies are relatively light, changeout is performed quickly via towmotors.
www.metalformingmagazine.com MetalForming/September 2016 15