Page 61 - MetalForming October 2009

Tom Morrison, Dearborn Tool & Die machining-department supervisor, demon- strates how a machine operator accesses the Smirt DieBuild operations on the shop floor, and then uses Smirt DieNC to create the required NC programs.
A Bottleneck in Die Build? NoWay
Machinists use Smirt DieNC, an add-on module to DieShop, to create their own programs, and derive tool paths for machined faces and drilled holes. “We get better awareness of avail- able machine time, fewer rush jobs and we can more accurately plan for the work, and be proactive,” adds Zobay.
As an example, he showed me a recent die designed to handle an advanced high-strength steel stamping. The die required a special coating and was so large that it would not fit inside the firm’s coating tank, so engineers had to design it as a segmented die. “Joints in the die could not be straight, or we’d get exces- sive burrs,” Zobay says. “So we designed it with angles, but this created fit issues after heattreat. Using the DieBuild soft- ware, we were able to develop a history for the project and a set of instructions that ultimately takes us step-by-step to successfully develop this die, and we can use those instructions for similar projects that come along later.”
Machining instructions make their way to the shop floor where operators have access to 20 computer workstations running DieNC. They can view in color every surface that needs to be machined. And, the fact that Smirt works with multiple CAD systems provides a com- mon tool within the building to handle all of the die information required to build a die. Another six terminals in the die-tryout department provide access to Smirt to view project details.
“Smirt is the information container, it keeps the workers informed,” says Jerry McLaughlin, area manager of die tryout, quality and NC programming. “Due to the performance improvements in die construction and machining, die tryout has become an even greater con- straint than it was in the past. And now that die build no longer is a bottleneck, we’re tasked with making the tryout process as efficient as possible.”
One tool being used in the die tryout department is white-light scanning of first panels to gauge. “The panels are data to us—we store the white-light scan data,
from Smirtware, Inc., Wixom, MI, a division of Vero Software. The software first made its way into the facility in 2002, and Version 8 was installed earli- er this year.
“Our CPA (construction, planning and analysis) team of diemakers devel- ops a procedure for every die we build, then the Smirt DieBuild software pro- vides the instructions for exactly how we want to build each die, step by step,” says Henning. “Those instructions route to every subcontracted die shop we use around the world, which also use Smirt (Smirt DieShop) as a die-design infor- mation-management tool and 3D view- er. That way we can control how every supplier machines our tools.”
The ease of use of the software and its ability to provide a roadmap to the tradespeople on the shop floor to opti- mize the die-build process has led to eagerness by all to adopt the technology and ensure that the company can con- tinue to perform to the level of excel- lence expected by Ford, stresses Laver.
“Our shop-floor skilled workers are highly educated, and really embrace new technology,” Laver says, “such as white-light scanning and the Smirt soft- ware. They’re committed to ensuring that our processes and procedures result in the most efficient and highest-qual- ity die builds as possible, to keep this plant competitive in the global mar- ket. We’ve had great buy-in from every- one as we upgrade to new versions of
the software, and continue to improve our efficiencies.”
To see how the 71-yr.-old Ford die shop has moved into the 21st century with leading-edge die-management software, we visited the die-engineering center within the hailed halls of the 420,000-sq.-ft. landmark building that is Dearborn Tool & Die, built in 1938 by Henry Ford. There, dozens of trained tool and die makers have participated in a huge culture shift and embraced change, allowing the plant to rely on Smirt to develop its die-manufacturing plans. The plant’s employees work from die designs in a completely paperless environment provided by the DieShop software. There was not a drawing or drawing table to be found.
With dies being more complex and larger than ever, this team’s focus is on reducing build time and tryout, explains Keith Zobay, superintendent of the die- construction department.
“In the past, prints would hit the production floor and the diemakers would study them and work every- thing out,” says Zobay. “We were rely- ing on their skills and expertise, and individual judgment. Now, by working everything out in engineering, we save huge amounts of time and money— time in design is much less expensive then time on the floor. We can check for interference, redesign blocks on the computer, and be proactive rather than reactive.”
www.metalformingmagazine.com
METALFORMING / OCTOBER 2009 59