Page 41 - MetalForming September 2019

The Science of Forming By Daniel J. Schaeffler, Ph.D.
Growing Your Business:
Know How Your Customer Uses Your Product
We exercise customer choice daily, from the car we drive to the cell phone we use. Pretty much every vehicle can get you from Point A to Point B, and every phone can at least initiate a call. Price, features and quality primarily influence our decision to choose one product over another. Similar considerations are at play when a metal stamping company selects a sheet metal supplier.
Selection as a supplier requires availability of the right metal grade at the desired thickness and width. The lowest price helps, but is not required. One example: Apple products provide sufficient value to their customer base, allowing Apple to compete in the mar- ketplace on facets other than price.
Value-Adding Opportunities for Sheet Metal Suppliers
Manufacturing companies order sheet metal to ASTM or SAE specifica- tions, or even to their own specs. Many specs feature wide tolerances and allowable ranges that enable the great- est number of potential suppliers. Pur-
Danny Schaeffler, with 30 years of materials and applications experi- ence, is co-founder of 4M Partners, LLC and founder and president of Engineering Quality Solu- tions (EQS). EQS provides product-applications assistance to materials and manufacturing com-
panies; 4M teaches fundamentals and practical details of material properties, forming technolo- gies, processes and troubleshooting needed to form high-quality components. Schaeffler, who also spent 10 years at LTV Steel Co., received his Bach- elor of Science degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, and Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Materials Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.
Danny Schaeffler
248/66-STEEL • www.EQSgroup.com
E-mail ds@eqsgroup.com or Danny@learning4m.com
chasing preference may be given to those suppliers having invested in equipment and processes that result in better control of thickness, flatness and tensile property distributions. These tighter ranges enable greater throughput and reduced downtime in the part-manufacturing operation. Improved manufacturing efficiency can lead to greater press availability to tackle additional jobs. More consistent properties also may reduce the fre- quency of tooling and press mainte- nance. Opportunities like these have value to any manufacturing company,
“Another way for suppliers to show value: teach their customers how to make more efficient use
of their products.”
possibly to the extent that justifies pay- ing more for incoming metal.
Another way for suppliers to show value: teach their customers how to make more efficient use of their prod- ucts. To maximize the potential for a mutually beneficial outcome, the sup- plier must understand how and why the customer uses the selected product.
An example: The maximum-width coil that can be produced at a sheet mill is a function of the available equip- ment and the targeted grade and thick- ness. Commonly available maximum widths typically measure 36, 48, 60 or 72 in. For a given grade and thickness, an order of less than the maximum width capable of being produced results in lower mill productivity as measured in tons/hr.
In certain conditions, this can be exploited to everyone’s advantage. Take the example of a stamped product
specified as needing a 31-in.-wide coil. A mill with a 36-in. maximum width capability can produce this coil with a minor productivity penalty. Mills with maximum width capabilities of 48 in. or more probably will decide not to even quote on supplying this product.
However, what if the part can be nested differently to save 1 in. on the width? Potentially, this new layout will create more engineered scrap in the 30-in.-wide coil. Although more scrap is never desired, this change could allow for an even greater amount of cost savings. The sheet mill now can roll this product as a 60-in.-wide coil, followed by center slitting. This signif- icantly reduces the cost of production, and some of this savings can be split between the customer and supplier.
Even without split savings, the part manufacturer benefits from an increase in potential suppliers, and the sheet mill benefits from the ability to quote competitively on new business.
Ideally, at the beginning of the part- development process, the stamping company surveys all suppliers to know their pricing at every combination of thickness and coil width for each grade of interest, with these constraints fac- tored into their sheet metal require- ments. Reality usually differs, where dozens or hundreds of parts must be processed, sourced and assembled by an understaffed team in a reduced time frame compared with the prior model. RFQs go out with constraints often dic- tated by what was used in that prior model, and not necessarily optimized to fit current supply options.
Bring Suppliers Into Design Process for Best Results
Mutually beneficial opportunities await those suppliers willing to learn how their customers process sheet metal and understand the rationale
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