Page 35 - MetalForming July 2014

As soon as the
original job for its
new press—stamping ware-
house shelves and side rails—ran
its course, Waukesha Metal’s customer
came forward with a new design for the
stamped side rails (shown), of heavier-gauge steel
(0.105 in.). The new rails require a unique in-die riveting
operation as well as a challenging flanging operation to form a channel in the 35-in.-wide strip, followed by a hemming operation.
line and very specific equipment requirements, and everything came together very efficiently.”
The Job Transitions, and Becomes More Challenging
By the end of September 2013, the job had run its course—300,000 shelves, and four side rails per shelf (stamped from 0.075-in. hot-rolled steel). Lo and behold, the customer redesigned the shelves to a non-metal product, and redesigned the side rails into a much more challenging product, which Waukesha Metal Products began stamping in April 2014.
“The new rails are of heavier-gauge steel (0.105 in.),” explains engineer- ing manager Rob Bauer. “They also require a unique in-die riveting oper- ation as well as a challenging flanging operation to form a channel in the 35- in.-wide strip, followed by a hemming operation.”
While the plant has developed and performed plenty of in-die insertion operations over the years, the rivets
schedule, we immediately went in search of a new press line. And while the material isn’t particularly thick (0.036 in. for the shelves), the blank for the shelves is large by our stan- dards (39 by 39 in.) and heavy (15 lb.), so we needed a big-bed press.”
A Lot of Steel
While plenty of metalformers can process the volume of steel Waukesha Metal Products suddenly faced, “this represented the biggest volume of steel we’ve ever had to process through this facility for a single part,” says Milbrath. To handle the load, in March 2013 the firm ordered a 660-ton mechanical press from Seyi, “the only company we were working with that had a press this large in stock,” adds Clark. The press boasts a 145.6 by 61-in. bolster, 14.17- in. stroke, and 24.75-in. shut height.
When discussing with Milbrath and Clark the process that followed the press order, I became overwhelmed with what sounded like a whirlwind of activity. I find this a testament to the notion of customer responsiveness by the metalforming industry in general, and to Waukesha Metal Products specifically. By April the firm had a new foundation in place to accept the press, and had a hole cut in the building roof to adapt to the height of the press. Press erection began in May, and pro- duction launched later that same month.
Along with the press came a space- saving dual-function-payout Dallas feed line. It features two selectable automatic loop-control modes (for- ward-loop mode for light-gauge feed, and back-loop mode for heavy-gauge feed) and rated for strip to 54 in. wide
by 0.105 in. thick (12 in. wide by 0.310 in. thick. The line also features syn- chronized drive controls and Dallas’ Profile Select feed programming, to run without a loop pit in the floor and handle relatively long and fast feed progressions. A Wintriss SmartPac 2 press-automation controller runs the show.
Says Clark, summarizing how what could have been a hectic and trying project really went quite smoothly and on-time:
“The project required good com- munications by all parties involved, including our equipment distributor (BDC Machinery, Nekoosa, WI), Seyi and Dallas. We had a tight project time-
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MetalForming/July 2014 33
Waukesha engi-
neered and built
custom this cus-
tom rivet-insertion
and stake system.
Two bowl feeders
are used, with four tubes—two in front and
two in back—simultane- ously delivering four rivets to the die.