Page 19 - MetalForming-Sep-2018-issue

Such changes allowed the company to recover from “failed status” in a General Motors quality audit conducted last October, when it scored 15, well below the 76 needed to pass—not for lack of quality parts, but rather for “immature” processes and organization. Thankfully, says Duane Enderby, NSI tooling manager, “it was a sur-
Here is how these clamps work: The hollow-piston cylin- ders, when manually placed on the clamping edge of the die and in any position, are clamped by applying hydraulic pressure to the piston and mechanically unclamped by spring return. The T-bolt clamps the die on the clamping
veillance audit,” with GM willing to allow for subsequent audits after NSI put in play the above-mentioned changes. Two audits later, in June 2018, NSI scored a 96.
“Our tooling and maintenance departments just weren’t well organ- ized. We did not have processes in place to indicate the location of tool- ing, the status of dies, none of that. Now we do,” says Enderby, who joined NSI shortly before the first audit.
Enderby also is quick to credit Jeff Krajnak, director of operations; Eric King, plant manager; Todd Aberts, maintenance manager; Scott Sheffield, vice president; and NSI owner, Matthew Friedman for play- ing key roles in the overall NSI process-improvement efforts.
“It really is a team effort,” says Enderby.
Clamps Improve QDC
Another missing component of the past now in place to aid NSI’s trans- formation: quick-die-change equip- ment. NSI’s newer 1650-ton Aida servo press, now equipped with cus- tomized hydraulic clamping systems from Hilma USA, led to the inclusion of Hilma hollow-piston cylinders from Carr Lane Mfg., Fenton, MO, on nine NSI mechanical presses and one 330-ton Aida servo press.
“Steve Amell, Carr Lane’s regional sales manager, worked with us to put together the manifolds on the 1650-ton press,” says Nathan Gott- lieb, NSI process engineer and proj- ect coordinator. “This included the tubing, gauges—the whole hydraulic system. Then he pretty much pulled out of his back pocket the hollow- piston cylinder with no tubes, because the pressure is internal. We were amazed at the possibilities these presented.”
NSI’s newly organized warehouse, a.k.a. the Super- market, includes coded bins of certified, ready-to- ship finished production parts.
White boards show the status of tools used to make parts in the presses. Tools numbered in green represent those ready to run in the press and redshowstoolsthatneedrepairs.
surface of the press ram or bed with an Allen wrench. It’s that simple.
“With the old method for chang- ing dies,” says Enderby, “an employee had to use a fair amount of elbow grease and sweat to tighten the bolts. With the hollow-piston cylinders, you slip them on and give them a quick twist—just a couple of notches and then the valve pressure kicks in, achieving the pinched clamp.”
While ergonomics and safety cer- tainly are important elements, a cost- justification study by NSI shows the huge impact these simple, newly installed clamps will have on NSI’s bottom line.
“With a per-press-hr. operating cost of $125, whether or not the press is running, and an average conven- tional changeover taking 2 hr., that’s $250 per changeover,” Krajnak explains, adding that on average, NSI performs 60 die changeovers per week across the 10 presses equipped with the hollow-piston cylinders. “That’s $15,000 per week, and $780,000 per year.”
“With the hollow-piston cylin- ders, we shave 15 min. off of each changeover,” says Krajnak. “That 0.125/hr. reduction equals 15 hr./wk., which equals 780 hr./yr., and an annual cost savings of $97,500. This reduces our cost by 12.5 percent.”
With savings like that, and the additional work—Enderby says the company has doubled its stamped- parts production over the past year— you might expect to see a larger workforce, and you would be right. In fact, NSI has increased its work- force from 80 employees in 2015 to 230 in 2018.
NSI’s trajectory continues strong, with Enderby pointing to nearly 30 more jobs coming down the pike. With its processes and QDC equip- ment in place, it’s fair to say that the futurelooksverybrightatNSI. MF
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/September 2018 17