Page 40 - MetalForming July 2019

Longer Die Life, Longer Part Runs Via
New
Press
Controls
As part of its data-collection initiatives, Marshalltown Co. upgraded controls on three presses. The resulting positives keep this construction-tools manufacturer on top in its field.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
In their small, turn-of-the-20th-cen- tury Marshalltown, IA, machine shop, brothers Jesse and Lester Williams repaired bikes and cars, and occasionally fulfilled tool orders for local contractors. In the span of a few short years, sales grew, the shop moved and expanded, and the brothers and their business became known as expert constructors of trowels. Mail orders soared and the trowels became known nationwide. No wonder that in 1905, they, along with a local salesman, Albert Higgin, officially incorporated Mar- shalltown Trowel Co. World War I stretched the company’s market world- wide, as 18,000 trowels sent overseas for the U.S. Army found their way into the hands of European tradesmen, who in many cases preferred the more expensive American-made Marshall- town products to their homegrown brands. By 1930, according to company officials, Marshalltown became the
largest exclusive manufacturer of masonry tools in the world.
Years passed and product offerings and sales grew, leading to the 1982 for- mation of the Marshalltown Tools sub- sidiary in Fayetteville, AR. This is where today’s story begins, as the Fayetteville location of Marshalltown Co. (a name change in 2003 reflects the expanded offerings—more than 5000 products for pros and do-it-yourselfers) employs metal stamping and other processes to construct and assemble products. The plant fulfills orders for online sales and deliveries to construction and DIY wholesale and retail locations.
Data Need Drives Controls Upgrade
The location’s thin stamping mate- rials vary widely, ranging from 10-gauge aluminum to stainless steel to tem- pered blue steel, according to Daniel Rhodes, Marshalltown controls engi-
neer. A journeyman tool and die maker and electrical engineer, Rhodes has brought his 20 years of experience to bear as Marshalltown upgrades its press-control capabilities and dives deeper into data collection and analysis across all of its processes. The material feeds presses ranging from 4 to slightly more than 100 tons.
Now, due to a controls upgrade per- formed in 2018, three Marshalltown mechanical C-frame presses, two 60- ton Minsters and a 110-ton Bliss, fea- ture SmartPac Pro units from Wintriss Controls Group. Leading to the upgrade: the desire for less labor- intensive operation, the need for more data collection and a focus on press modernization.
“The Bliss had no die protection, and required an operator continually stationed at the press,” explains Rhodes. “The two Minster presses used Wintriss DiPro 1500 controls, placed
38 MetalForming/July 2019
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A new controller on this 60-ton press at Marshalltown Co. provides a wealth of data used to ease job setup, manage runs and plan die maintenance.