Page 22 - MetalForming-Oct-2018-issue
P. 22
Tooling Tryout
Trimmed
Via Sim. Software
BTD Manufacturing cuts tryout time by more than a third while streamlining tool projects.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
From its North Dakota origins dating from 1979, BTD Manufacturing now boasts more than 1.1-million sq. ft. of manufacturing space across four locations—two in Minnesota, including its headquarters in Detroit Lakes, as well as Wash- ington, IL, and Dawsonville, GA. More than 1200 employees deliver parts and components for recre- ational vehicles such as ATVs and snowmobiles, agricultural equipment, and high-end turf-care prod- ucts. To do that, BTD (www.btdmfg.com) employs numerous processes under roof, including tool con- struction, stamping, fabrication, assembly, finishing and painting.
The company employs complete tool-and-die design and build (via more than 100 employees in its toolrooms) for inhouse metal-stamping work, where 20-plus mechanical presses, and one servo-mechanical model, churn out more than 1000 distinct part types in annual volumes to 200,000. Mild, high-strength and stainless steel, as well as various aluminum grades in thicknesses to 12 mm, provide the diet for these hungry presses, which range in capacities from 45 to 800 tons.
Tryout Time Targeted
Seven tryout presses ensure that tooling enters
By leveraging the power and capabilities of simulation software, BTD Manufacturing, Detroit Lakes, MN, reduces tryout time by more than 30 percent, and achieves production-ready tooling quickly, leading to more job-bid wins and more satisfied customers.
production ready to run, smoothly and trouble-free, and delivers quality parts on time. Tool tasks fall to BTD employees such as tool designer Brian Newberg. A 17-year company veteran, Newberg is well-versed in the back-and-forth needed to transform concepts and designs into replicable, functioning parts, in timely and eco- nomical ways.
Challenges have been eased dramatically within the past four years, Newberg says, through the use of advanced simulation soft- ware from AutoForm Engineering. Until then, the company made use of so-called one-step solvers.
20 MetalForming/October 2018
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