Page 32 - MetalForming May 2010

George Keremedjiev has been writing this column for more than 20 years. He regularly consults with metalforming companies worldwide and provides metal- formers with training on the appli- cation and implementation of sen- sors for die protection. For more information on his seminars and consultancies, contact:
Tecknow Education Services, Inc. P.O. Box 6448
Bozeman, MT 59771
phone: 406/587-4751
fax: 406/587-9620
www.mfgadvice.com E-mail: gk@mfgadvice.com
For the foreseeable future, I have decided to help maintain the expo- sure to electronic sensors and die protection by waving the fee for my introductory in-house seminars. This offer is valid for Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. I may expand the training zone to include other states pending demand. The only charge per company is $500 to help offset my travel expenses. There are no limits to how many can attend these in-plant sessions.
Why? I have been heartbroken by the diminishing attendance of technical seminars. At one time we would see hundreds of attendees at the sensor seminars, and now typically they are at a dozen or less. The tragedy of it is that technology is not standing still and nei- ther are our competitors.
We are in the midst of an infectious national economic contagion—one that promotes cost cutting at all costs. Lean and productive methods are mandato- ry strategies in these challenging times, but not supplementing them with error- proofing sensors is a recipe for failure. We need to train our technical metal- forming workforce on the latest proven die-protection technologies. At the heart of this training is the exposure to best sensor practices. It is essential that all of your plant’s key tooling, production, engineering, maintenance and mana- gerial personnel have exposure to tried and true die protection methods.
Takeover tooling now is the norm for many metalforming companies. These dies arrive with minimal if any prior technical inspection and are expected to run within days of their arrival. Yes, your company got the work from a competitor who could not deliver, but you also inherited all of its inherent tooling problems with little if any doc- umentation. I have seen takeover tool-
ing with the die protection totally ripped out of the dies, cables dangling and sensors smashed beyond recogni- tion. Without up-to-date exposure to electronic sensors for die protection, companies simply slap a whisker (wire probe) on the die with a magnetic base and chug along until the die fails to cooperate and self-destructs. Panic ensues as the customer now expects you to solve the die’s inherent problems.
It is ironic that a complex progressive die will not disclose its problems until there is a die crash. The knowledge that the previous stamper had regarding this particular die is locked up in the minds of the toolmakers and pressroom per- sonnel where the die originated, and they are not sharing. Even the finest tooling experts have a hard time antic- ipating die failures just by looking at a die. It takes the running of a die to fully flush out any surprises. An educated workforce and the best die-protection practices is a must in this scenario.
The electronic sensor die-protection experts from the baby boom generation are retiring and at many companies these individuals simply do not have the appropriate time to pass on their knowhow to the next generations. Iron- ically, in many metalforming compa- nies, lean to the max has drastically curtailed employee technical training as there is no one to spare to teach or attend the classes.
As many of you know, I do not sell nor represent any products. I only teach and consult on die protection and all other aspects of error-proof metal- forming including assembly and fin- ishing. During these difficult times I wish to impart this knowledge to as many companies as possible. I urge you to check out www.mfgadvice.com and take advantage of this offer. MF
METALFORMING ELECTRONICS GEORGE KEREMEDJIEV
Free Die-Protection Seminars
This CD-ROM presents dozens of George’s columns as well as papers and exclusive new presentations covering all aspects of die protection and part-quality inspection, starting and maintaining sensor programs, the role of controls in in-die sensing, and the benefits of a sound sensor program. Order it online at www.metalformingmagazine.com.
30 METALFORMING / MAY 2010
www.metalformingmagazine.com