Page 88 - MetalForming October 2011

Metalforming Electronics By George Keremedjiev
Sensor Excellence at Tower Automotive
Irarely witness stamping tooling as beautifully and thor- oughly sensored as what I recently spied at the Tower Automotive facility in Bardstown, KY. All too often I see transfer tooling with sensors only mounted on the transfer arms. But what about the monitoring of parts as they release from the gripper fingers? Often these parts tend to take on the characteristics of airplane wings, floating down to their respective die sections. Just how does one know if the parts seat (nest) properly within the lower tooling? And how do you know that the parts are properly placed on the lifter? Well, the folks at Tower Bardstown have answers to these questions, thanks to the use of sensors mounted deeply within its transfer and progressive tooling.
It all starts with an unwavering plant-management com- mitment, spearheaded by plant manager Shawn Callahan and his managerial and technical staffs. Callahan appointed two full-time people to serve as sensor-application specialists, tasked with developing an error-proofing laboratory. They meet weekly with an error-proofing technology committee and to implement, along with the assistance of the toolroom and tool-engineering departments, electronic sensors throughout the plant’s numerous existing and future pro- gressive and transfer tools.
The plant’s sensor-applications specialists: John Moore, a 21-yr. veteran of the tool-and-die-making profession with Journeyman Toolmaker credentials and an Associates Degree in Machine Tool Technology; and Matthew Reynolds, a grad- uate of the Tower Tool and Die Apprenticeship Program and who also boasts an Associates Degree in Machine Tool Tech- nology, along with an Associates Degree in Business Man- agement. Moore, Reynolds and their team began their die- sensoring efforts by focusing on a transfer tool with more than two dozen sensors located throughout the upper and lower sections. The sensors ensure that, among other monitored events, parts are placed properly on lifters before the press is allowed to close. Previously, the tooling would all-too- often mash parts and/or crash the sections where the parts—
George Keremedjiev has been writing this column for more than 20 years. He regularly consults with metal- forming companies worldwide and provides metal- formers with training on the application and imple- mentation of sensors for die protection. For more information on his seminars and consultancies, con- tact:
Tecknow Education Services, Inc. P.O.Box6448
Bozeman, MT 59771
tel: 406/587-4751 | fax: 406/587-9620 www.mfgadvice.com
gk@mfgadvice.com
Sensor-applications specialists John Moore and Matt Reynolds test sensors in the Tower Automotive error-proofing laboratory.
once released by the transfer mechanism—did not land on their assigned lifters and/or did not properly nest within the lower sections. Since adding the sensors, the transfer tooling runs faster and unattended, as the operator no longer needs to nervously patrol the process.
The craftsmanship exhibited by Moore and Reynolds is evident in the way they protect the wiring in the tooling. They meticulously route electrician’s conduit, with the appropri- ate fittings and
mounting hard- ware, to protect the sensor wiring. The sensors are bunk- ered within blocks of steel or within existing tooling components (such as the lifters) to
protect them from
accidental damage Electrician’s conduit, with the appropriate as the tooling fittings and mounting hardware, protects
the sensor wiring.
moves in and out of
the press. Cabling from the die-protection control is com- prehensive in that it contains the ability to connect scores of sensors, if needed, with a robust military connector. As a result, die-change times are minimally, if at all, affected by the addition of the sensors.
A key to the sensor-program’s success is the thorough bench testing of sensors in the error-proofing laboratory. The days of testing sensors only on the shop floor during pro- duction runs are over at this facility. And, Moore and Reynolds
86 MetalForming/October 2011
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