Page 36 - MetalForming September 2014

There are many factors that affect how well your stampings run.
Choosing the best lubricant is a very important one.
Make sure you’re getting the best advice.
The bulk of Wagner’s plasma-cut
parts include frame, chassis and sus- pension brackets and tabs for hot-rod assemblies including four-link rear suspen- sions, front-end mounts and motor-
mount kits. The plasma-arc-cut
parts shown here are from 3⁄16-
in.-thick sheetmetal.
are similar to parts already on the mar- ket and easy to obtain. To be profitable, he considered orders for parts that he could cut and deliver to his customers without a waiting period.
“For high-volume industrial appli-
cations, there might be a 100-part min- imum, and then it will be a four- to six- week wait,” says Wagner. “They can call me, send me a file and I usually can cut it same day or next day. They get the same cut quality without having to wait.”
With AutoCAD and a thumb drive, Wagner often designs parts for cus- tomers.
“First thing in the morning, I throw a 4- by 4-ft. sheet of whatever I need to cut on the table and hit go,” he says. “While the machine cuts, I can do other things. So, I’m actually earning twice as much because the system does all of the hard work for me.”
To his own surprise, Wagner has realized demand for his PAC expertise outside of automotive parts. He’s received calls from blacksmiths, for example, who need ornamental pieces such as decorative tree and plant leaves, in orders as high 500 pieces. “I just cut them, put them in a box and they couldn’t be happier,” says Wagner.
Wagner also has been cutting blanks for manufacturers of metal trophies, and for car shows for people who want something different.
“I just cut parts for 150 trophies for a local Mustang club,” he says. “They wanted a Mustang pony cut into the blank to celebrate the car’s 50th anniversary, and they were thrilled. They’re the only ones around with that kind of trophy.
“The automated plasma-cutting sys- tem is quickly paying for itself,” Wagn- er concludes. “It has to be profitable to be a good business decision, and this system clearly is.” MF
Precision and Repeatability
While Cornfield Customs’ Mike Wagner sought to reduce costs per part, a single large project also can be the tipping point for investing in an automated air-plasma cutting system. Such was the case for Sic Fabrications, Maumelle, AR. It immediately realized that a hand- held PAC setup would prove ineffi- cient for large projects, such as cut- ting a 22-ft.-long concrete form that required 11 identical gussets. And, the order was for hundreds of forms.
“We needed precision and repeatability,” says Sic Fabrication co-owner Stan Darnell. “Instead of having to lay out and cut each line by hand, I let the CNC table (with 60-A power supply) do the work. Each gusset comes out the same. I get three gussets out of a 5- by 10- ft. sheet of 1⁄4-in.-thick steel. With the automated plasma cutter, it takes me 9 min. to burn the whole sheet. When you consider our labor rate for carbon-steel work, auto- mated plasma cutting saves us hundreds of thousands of dollars each year. Now we’re looking at buying a larger automated PAC machine to achieve the same repeatability on thicker materials.”
Whether it’s die wear, part accuracy, lubricant consumption, disposal, workplace environment or other concerns, each lubricant is different.
Consult the experts at Lamson to help you make the right choice!
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MetalForming/September 2014
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