Page 22 - MetalForming February 2019

Quick-Die- Change System
For Stanley Engineered Fastening’s Indiana plant, small parts for automotive is big business, requiring fast, efficient production, making quick die change an important part of its success.
BY JOE JANCSURAK, ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Little parts are a big business for Stanley Engineered Fastening, a Stanley Black & Decker company, with global operations in Asia, Europe, South America and North America serv- ing a range of industries. High-volume clips for a long list of major automotive companies, made at its 133,000-sq.-ft. Montepelier, IN, facility, represent an important part of Stanley Engineered Fastening’s product portfolio.
...Enables Tier One to Stay Ahead of Parts Demand
The hydraulic clamping system, a key part of Stanley Engineered Fastening’s QDC setup, employs hydraulically actuated die lifters and also uses air pressure to maintain force on the clamp.
At the Montpelier facility, achieving
fast production ranks high among Stan-
ley’s objectives. Challenges are many as multiple mini clips with multiple bends, used for air bags, grab rails, body panels and other applications, require complex progressive dies, according to Mark Gray, a 14-yr. stamping veteran and 3-yr. plant manager at Stanley Engineered Fastening.
itates faster changeover between part runs. The QDC system, with its hydraulic in-bolster die lifters, bolster extension and hydraulic die clamps, has enabled Stanley to reduce setup times from 52 min. to just 31.
The hydraulically actuated die lifters lift and assist move- ment of the dies on the press bed. Dies are rolled from the press bed onto the removable, swing-down bolster extension for easy retrieval by die-transport vehicles. And, hydraulic die clamps mount in T-slots on the clamping surface.
Achieving faster die changes also meant standardizing plates, bolts, clamps, etc. “There can be 20 different ways to clamp a die,” says Gray, “so we must keep everything standard so that we don’t lose time looking for bolts and clamps. All of our QDC efforts are important because we’re producing many different parts of varying quantities—from as few as 5000 to as many as 300,000.
Gray credits a Seyi SM2 straightside press equipped with a complete quick-die-change (QDC) system by Pacesetter Systems, Valencia, CA, for enabling his plant to produce a range of mini parts with orders stretching from 5000 to hun- dreds of thousands.
Achieving Faster Setup and Production
“Our stamped metal fasteners require long dies with many stations,” says Gray, explaining that the Seyi press and its 84-in. bed makes possible the progressive dies required for the complex bends, while the QDC system facil-
20 MetalForming/February 2019
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