Page 25 - MetalForming August 2017

blanks, although aluminum projects for the F150 now account for half of its output.
“When Thai Summit moved into this facility,” says executive manager of purchasing C. Michael Hylton, “we felt we needed to develop a more effi- cient stamping operation. The systems in place were good but we needed to get to the cutting edge. Servo presses were a big part of that plan to become more competitive, especially for stamp- ing aluminum.”
Speed and Force Control
Two servo presses (800 and 1200 tons) were first on the scene, joining in 2013 the firm’s existing transfer presses, tandem lines and tryout press- es, along with assembly bays. Then, in 2014 Thai Summit brought in the first of its two Simpac transfer presses, the first equipped with a Feed Lease servo- feed line “engineered to handle alu- minum coil stock and to prevent mark- ing or buildup on the rolls,” says Hylton. Also included were Wayne Trail servo-transfer systems that feature a half-pitch cycle option.
“That half-pitch feature,” adds Hyl- ton, “enables the process designer to specify a different transfer-pitch dis- tance at the beginning of the cycle, during blanking, than for the rest of the process.”
The second transfer press, added in 2015, features a coil line and transfer system completely integrated by Sim- pac. “From a purchasing standpoint,” says Hylton, “the presses perform as expected. Our team appreciates the ability to control the ram speed any- where in the cycle to help with forming, and we can run progressive dies in the pendulum mode and maximize the stroke rate. We can run prog. dies at 40-plus strokes/min., and transfer dies at speeds to 32 strokes/min. Where we need precise control of ram speed in difficult forming applications, we can slow the stroke rate to, for example, 12 strokes/min. at the bottom of the stroke, then then run the rest of the press cycle at 30 or more strokes/min., to maintain a good, fast average pace.
“The servo presses also tend to run on less electricity to generate the ton- nage required,” Hylton adds. ”This, com- bined with the fact that aluminum requires less tonnage than does steel to form into the desired shapes, introduces
Michael Hylton displays recent stamped parts coming off of Thai Summit’s new 1200-ton Simpac servo-transfer press: rear-wheel-opening reinforcements stamped from 0.9-mm-thick 6000-series aluminum sheet. The press, identical to another Simpac servo press installed in 2014, features an 800-mm max and 200-mm adjustable slide length. Its transfer system offers 1524-mm max. feed stroke, 400-mm clamp stroke and 200-mm lift stroke.
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