Page 21 - MetalForming November 2019

list of features we needed, including safe- ty features, and Helm incorporated all of them.”
The 1500-ton coil-fed press, with its new control package, produces alu- minum engine lid covers—large parts that don’t require the tonnage as much as the roomy, 136-in.-wide bed, according to Prater—as well as suspension compo- nents for the automotive industry.
The 300-ton press, with transfer capa-
bility along with the new control, stamps
a variety of steel parts. In an interesting
display of Omni Manufacturing’s sensor-
ing and automation capabilities, this
press also performs transfer and trim-
ming of automotive-suspension parts, a
process that employs nearly 50 sensors (see this article online at www.metalformingmagazine.com for video).
After installation of the controls, production on each press took less than a week, according to Prater and Rupert, who noted that the compact setup time was a huge improve- ment over past installations of other controls. In practice at Omni Manufacturing, a few diesetting employees as well as Rupert are tasked with die and control setup.
“Once we set a die,” Rupert explains, “we plug in a stan-
Omni Manufacturing boasts significant inhouse engineering expertise. A tour revealed Omni-designed-and-built weld cells, assembly machines and part-transfer systems such as this one.
dard die cable, which communicates the die number to the control. We find that number on the recipe screen of the control, then load the recipe and it’s ready to run. We also can make minor adjustments on the screen at the press and save the recipe, even while it is running.”
Once the controls are installed and running, “they are simple to operate,” adds Prater. “A little training for the setup people and operators, and we are good to go. They are very user-friendly.” MF
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