Page 52 - MetalForming October 2009

Automation
upgrade from his previous 2500-W laser-cutting capacity. “We can cut steel plate to 1 in. thick, which proves par- ticularly useful when bidding on prod- ucts for the military-vehicle market.”
“The new machine also can handle blanks to 6 by 12 ft.,” John adds, “allow- ing us to run longer parts compared to our previous 5 by 10-ft. capacity on our older laser-cutting machines.”
“We’ve also discovered that while nitrogen is required as the assist gas when cutting thicker sheet and plate,” adds Jason, “heavier than 12 gauge, for thinner work we can cut with shop air. Shop air also does a great job when etching with the laser.”
Our plant tour also led us past a lineup of CNC press brakes and robot- ic arc-welding cells, with operators mov- ing from one area of the shop to anoth- er to tackle work wherever it needed doing. “I’m a big believer in cross train- ing our people,” says Jason.
Training has been a big success fac- tor for the firm, in areas such as 5S,
American Metal Fab produces these large blanks for refrigerator wrap- pers on its CNC turret presses, then ships them flat for assembly in Mexico. Note the special engineered perforation pattern that allows the blanks to be folded dur- ing assembly—the series of slots and small holes optimizes materi- al flow to improve fitup accuracy and repeata- bility in the corners.
material flow and kanban. “We’ve changed the way we purchase materials and performed our setups,” Jason explains.“Wevideotapedoursetuppro- cedures and made spaghetti charts to trace our footsteps, and then found ways to improve our efficiency.”
Much of the training investment made by the Crowells was subsidized by grants acquired from the State of Michi- gan, thanks to diligence by the firm’s
human-resources department. “We’ve received as much as $14,000/yr.,” says John, “which we apply to training pro- grams primarily administered by the Michigan Works! Association.”
Michigan Works! is a public-private partnership for workforce development that offers training, on-site technical assistance and other services. Ameri- can Metal Fab provided more than 1000 hr. of training to 30 of its employees during a 10-week period in 2008, “quite a competitive advantage,” adds John Crowell. MF
50 METALFORMING / OCTOBER 2009
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