Feed Lines Fuel Cosmetic-Parts Production

Hungering for a reliable and efficient metalforming process to produce, among other barbecue-grill parts, cosmetic stainless-steel panels free from marks and other aesthetic issues, the metal-fabrication team at Weber-Stephen Products LLC, Palatine, IL, recently turned its attention to new coil-feed technology. Equipped with 15 stamping presses (28- to 800-ton capacity), the Weber press shop processes a wide range of material types and thicknesses—stainless and mild steels, aluminum alloys, galvanized and other precoated sheetmetal from very thin sheet 0.018- to 0.134-in. thick. 

The Weber product line bears little resemblance to the original “American backyard barbecue.” Since 2007, Weber has introduced dozens of new models—groundbreaking aesthetic designs with stunning curves and sleek lines, and in flawless stainless-steel and brightly-colored enameled finishes.

Stamping, fabrication and assembly occurs in a 400,000-sq.-ft. building on Weber’s sprawling campus. The company, previously named Weber Brothers Metal Works, was renamed Weber-Stephen Products Co. after an employee, George Stephen (developer of the firm’s iconic kettle grill), acquired Weber Brothers Metal Works in 1959.

Fast forward to the period between 2007 and 2013, when the Weber product line grew tremendously. Today it bears little resemblance to the “American backyard barbecue” envisioned by Stephen in 1952. Likewise, the plant’s metalforming operations also have evolved considerably.

Since 2007, Weber has introduced dozens of new models—groundbreaking aesthetic designs with stunning curves and sleek lines, and in flawless stainless-steel and brightly colored enameled finishes. With a renewed emphasis on design, the ball was passed onto the pressroom and fabrication shop to make it happen. So say Kevin Murphy, vice president of engineering, and Dan Galuszka, manufacturing engineer.

“When we started to launch all of the new products back in 2006-2007,” says Murphy, “we made a concerted effort to implement progressive stamping tooling in the pressroom. Prior to that, our manufacturing processes comprised sets of discrete operations with a lot of extra material handling. Meeting production requirements for the new products pushed us to automate our stamping processes and add larger-bed presses to handle progressive dies.”

Bigger Presses, and State-of-the-Art Coil Lines

Along with the addition of several new presses and dozens of new progressive dies, Weber has added six coil-feed lines to its pressroom since 2007. The newest line in the plant, shown here, is a 15,000-lb.-capacity CHS servo-feed line, with coil capacity of 36-in. wide by 0.050-in. thick material. The line accompanied a refurbished 300-ton Komatsu straightside press (vintage 1986) tasked primarily with stamping stainless-steel and other aesthetically sensitive sheetmetal panels.

Along with the addition of several new presses and dozens of new progressive dies, Weber also has invested in six coil-feed lines since 2007—some new and some refurbished. The newest line in the plant: a 15,000-lb.-capacity servo-feed line (uncoiler, straightener and feeder, from CHS Automation, along with a Rexroth/Indramat RFS series controller) installed late in 2013, with coil capacity of 36-in. wide by 0.050-in. thick material. The line accompanied a refurbished 300-ton Komatsu straightside press (vintage 1986) tasked primarily with stamping stainless-steel and other aesthetically sensitive sheetmetal panels, at the lower end of the pressroom’s thickness range—0.018 to 0.040 in.

“Laser-based coil centering also proves beneficial,” continues Galuszka. “This eliminates any guesswork from our setups, a huge help to our operators. There’s no concern that they might run the stock up to the press and find that the alignment is off. It really eliminates the guesswork and unpredictability from our setups and helps to minimize overall changeover times.”