Page 20 - MetalForming-May-2018-issue

Top Five Ways to
Automate Your
Press Line
Die-change systems and collaborative robots are two press-line automation technologies that can provide big benefits.
The possible payoff: a safer, more productive pressroom and surprising ROI.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
Consider a metal-stamping operation responsible for relatively low production volumes across a variety of parts, using dies that weigh 15,000-plus lb. Such a scenario most likely results in multiple die changes in a given timeframe. Now imagine that die changes at this oper- ation run an average of 2 hr. each, meaning that only two changeouts can leave the press line idle for half of a shift. That’s unacceptable, and certainly no recipe for metalforming success. What if an automated quick-die-change (QDC) sys- tem could deliver changeout in 10 min.? Instead of taking 4 hr. per day, die change would only total 20 min., resulting in 3 hr. and 40 min. of added production time. But there’s more. Die change now could occur without human touch- es—a huge safety gain.
That’s the payoff for a metalformer working with Beckwood Press Co. and Siemens on an automated QDC system serving two new Beckwood 1400-ton custom hydraulic presses and a Triform 42-10-12 deep-draw sheet hydroforming press. A quick ROI, a more productive press line and a safer work environment are the plusses of this case history and, in gen- eral, of well-thought out press-line-automation projects.
Press-line automation demands another look from met-
alformers that have not researched the topic in the past couple of years, as automation capabilities have increased while costs have, in many cases, decreased. So says Josh Dixon, director of sales and marketing for Beckwood (www.beckwood.com). Following are his top-five press-line- automation suggestions for metalformers.
“I try to put myself in the shoes of an end-user walking through the facility,” he explains in arriving at his top five, “and keep an eye out for how existing equipment might be automated to gain efficiency.”
1) Quick Die Change
“This is more than just die clamping,” Dixon says. “A
high-efficiency QDC setup should include an automated storage and retrieval system for automatic transfer of tools into the press, as well as automatic clamping. With manu- facturers more reliant on lean and JIT manufacturing, pro- duction runs become shorter and shorter, resulting in more changeovers.”
Perhaps 10 years ago, metalformers may have been more willing to accept 2-hr. changeovers due to the infrequency of such occurrences. Not anymore.
18 MetalForming/May 2018
www.metalformingmagazine.com