Page 42 - MetalForming November 2016

Leer’s new Salvagnini FMS stars, left to right: a 12-shelf automated material-storage tower, combination shear/punch machine and CNC panel bender. Compared to the more conventional sheetmetal-
It’s All About
Sheetmetal Velocity
...through upstream operations at OEM ice-merchandiser manufacturer Leer, Inc. And, that velocity has increased considerably due to installation of an integrated, automated flexible manufacturing system combining a shear/punch machine and panel bender.
BY BRAD F. KUVIN, EDITOR
The evolution from batch produc- tion to kits has dramatically improved manufacturing effi- ciency at Leer, Inc., an OEM manufac- turer of ice merchandisers, as well as walk-in coolers. That lean conversion to kit production, occurring in 2015, hinged on the successful implemen- tation of a sheetmetal production line that integrates a shear/punch combi- nation machine with a CNC panel ben- der, all from Salvagnini. Installed at Leer’s 200,000-sq.-ft. plant in New Lis- bon, WI, early in 2015, the line replaced a more conventional, and relatively inefficient, production process.
“Previously, we ran coil stock through a cut-to-length line,” says manufacturing systems manager Dan Muth, “and then processed blanks through a shear, CNC turret press, press brakes, notchers and rollforming machines. That labor-intensive batch process required a lot of unproductive material handling. With the new Sal- vagnini flexible manufacturing system (FMS), the majority of our sheetmetal
production is centralized and auto- mated, delivering kits to downstream assembly operations much more effi- ciently.
“We no longer have people dedi- cated to just pushing carts and tables of parts around,” Muth continues. “Pro- ductivity is up while labor has decreased substantially, all leading to a 2.5-yr. payback on the new FMS.”
Muth calls the FMS a “monument running through the middle of the plant.” It measures 115 ft. long, and includes a Salvagnini S4 combination shear/punch and P4 panel bender, along with a 12-shelf material-storage tower that feeds raw material as blanks to the S4 on demand, one sheet at a time. After punching and shearing, a series of con- veyors and a pair of cartesian robots help position the blanks as they travel to the panel bender.
Productivity Gains Beget New Customers
‘Production thus far in 2016 is run- ning more than 55 percent ahead of
40 MetalForming/November 2016
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fabrication process it replaced, the FMS has enabled an evolution from batch production to kitted, and greatly improved output while slashing labor content.