Page 37 - MetalForming April 2020

Fabrication: Press Brake
Another feature of its new press brake appreciated by the SC Products team: a control screen displaying parts and bends. A push of a button brings up the images, assisting newer operators not as familiar with a particular part. And, it enables the addition of on-screen notes detailing bending instructions.
For SC Products, November to March is the busy season—the com- pany has plenty of work year-round, but customers typically place their biggest orders in the fall, with delivery expected before spring hits. So when a 1962-vintage press brake wore out heading into this past winter, SC Prod- ucts needed an immediate solution. Repair presented no option, with replacement parts nonexistent for the ancient model let alone spares to keep it running in the future. So the SC Prod- ucts team, including foreman Brian Banks, scanned the field for a replace- ment. It found what it was looking for only about 70 miles away in Mt. Carmel, the Illinois home of Pacific Press Technologies.
“The location was a big point for us because technicians could be here very quickly if needed,” Banks says. “Also, we really like the machine.”
Another selling point for Banks and SC Products: With the machine fully built in the United States, Banks and SC Products could expect a quicker delivery and quicker access to any needed parts or spares.
Accurate Parts From the Start
The machine: a new 175-ton Blaise 12-ft.-bed press brake built for beta test- ing. With tinker time an unaffordable luxury, SC Products needed the press brake up and running in short order.
“We trained at Pacific Press for 6-7 hr. prior to delivery of the press brake,
taking notes and performing a few bends,” Banks recalls.
Pacific Press installed the machine in 1 day, and a day later, technicians tweaked and calibrated it. Then, within 2 to 3 days, SC Products was bending production parts.
“Our punches and dies from the old machine—expensive tools—fit into the new press brake,” says Banks, noting that the smooth transfer eased efforts to bring the new unit online and into production. And, even when working with newfound levels of bend accuracy in the machine, the short learning curve stayed smooth.
SC Products bends, welds, details, assembles, sandblasts and powder coats completely inhouse, with mild steel as the typical stock, from thin material to plate. The Blaise’s diet con- sists of 11-gauge to 0.5-in.-thick mild steel, and, according to Banks, from the get-go it’s been keeping busy.
Setup represents a huge improve- ment over the old press brake, according to Banks. For example, before, operators set bending degrees manually, and had to reset as the angles wandered.
“Manual setting would take 5 to 10 min. of tinkering prior to starting to bend parts,” he says. “With the new Blaise, we were able to build a complete library in the system as we bent parts. Now we simply find the part number, the controller brings it up, and we are ready to start bending with all tooling and the backgauge set. We just load the material to the backgauge and step on the pedal. So far we have not had any discrepancies in bends...it's been right every time.”
Overall, that’s a huge time saver for SC Products.
“When bending 20 parts during a run, we may have spent 45 min. to an hour on setup,” says Banks. “Now it’s a matter of minutes.”
The efficiencies don’t end there.
Several of our products have two or three bends,” Banks explains. “One product has four, and we may have to produce as many as 200 of those in a run. Previously, we had to make, say, a 90-deg. bend in all 200, then perform
“When bending 20 parts during a run, we may have spent 45 min. to an hour on setup with our old press brake. “Now it’s a matter of minutes.”
—Brian Banks, foreman, SC Products
the next bend in all 200, and so on through all four bends. We handled each of those 200 pieces four times. With our new Blaise, we call up the program and make all four bends on each piece. When we set that part down, it's done, and then it’s on to the next.”
Another new-machine feature appreciated by Banks and the SC Prod- ucts team: a control screen displaying parts and bends.
“We push a button to bring up an image on the screen, which really helps out the newer operators who may not be as familiar with a part,” he says. “They can see what the part and its bends look like, and we can add notes to the screen with specific bending instructions.”
The above-mentioned features not only have reduced mistakes but, esti- mates Banks, cut press brake time in half for most jobs, which brought schedule flexibility and added capacity for new work.
“Also, it has allowed us to take key personnel off of brake work in order to use their expertise in other areas,” he says. “Then we can go over the controls and safety items with lesser-skilled per- sonnel and let them start bending parts. We train operators more easily because the machine is so user-friendly.” MF
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