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News Release from: AP and T AB, Automation, Press and Tooling | Subject: SpeedFeeder Transfer system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 August 2007
Servo transfer system raises press
productivity
Latest transfer system could increase output by nearly 50% - working up to 22 strokes/min compared with 15/strokes/min in an older transfer press - so it was time to buy a new system.
Some subcontractors are notorious for maintaining old power presses, and then wonder why they are loosing jobs to eastern Europe or the Far East On the other hand, companies like Venest Industries, an auto parts supplier based in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada, see the selecting of the right technology as a 'life-or-death decision'
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 5 Sep 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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And that applies to the selection of press transfer systems.
"It's simply a matter of survival," said Shaun Reycraft, program manager at Venest.
"We have to scrutinise every operation to see how we can maximize efficiency and stay at the technological forefront.
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If we don't, we risk losing a substantial amount of profitable business".
When Reycraft and his team saught an automated transfer system for a new 7,000kN (700 tonf) press, they looked long and hard at a six detailed proposals.
"We knew the more we could get out of a transfer system, the more we'd be able to get out of our new press - in terms of productivity and return on investment (ROI)," Reycraft explained.
"That's why we were determined to find a system that offered the most potential with the fewest compromises." They chose the AP and T SpeedFeeder Transfer system for the 7,000kN press.
* Logistical challenges - meeting the specification for Venest's new press transfer system was not as straightforward as it might first appear.
The press - a four-year-old 7,000kN unit acquired from another subsidiary of Magna International, Venest's parent company - was intended to replace a 3,500kN (350 tonf) transfer press equipped with a cam-driven transfer system.
As delivered, however, the PTC press was designed in a pure progressive die configuration, and set up to produce a single part.
"It was the exact opposite of what was needed, which was a configuration that could accommodate a broad range of both progressive and transfer jobs," Reycraft said.
This operational flexibility significantly complicated the transfer system specification.
The new transfer system had to be parked away from the machine bed during progressive operations and during die changes, so that new dies could be delivered to the press via an overhead crane.
"That was our basic challenge," says Reycraft.
"Getting a system that would reach in when it was needed, and get out of the way when it wasn't." Space constraints provided other potential headaches.
The new 7,000kN press was installed in the area previously occupied by the 3,500kN unit.
Available room for the transfer system was tight, especially when the transfer units were parked away from the bed during progressive operations or die changes.
Of the half-dozen proposals presented to meet these requirements, the one submitted by AP and T addressed all the challenges.
"The system is space-efficient and it showed AP and T clearly understood what we needed," Reycraft stated.
AP and T's proposal was based on an adaptation of their modular SpeedFeeder Transfer system.
Introduced in the mid-1980s as one of the first servo-driven systems, AP and T's transfer automation technology is now in its sixth generation.
According to Anders Vesterholm, sales account manager for AP and T: "With each generation of our servo technology, we take a good thing and make it better.
For the sixth generation, we concentrated on further simplifying and standardising our designs, which has allowed us to reduce each module down to about sixty total components".
The modular nature of the AP and T system was a feature that Reycraft liked.
The SpeedFeeder system is built around four standardized SpeedFeeder 'press robot' transfer units, with two units mounted on either side of the press.
These SpeedFeeder units, in various sizes and combinations, are used for every AP and T press automation system, whether it's press-to-press, in-press transfer, in-bed transfer or a destacker.
"Thanks to the modular approach, we don't have to 'reinvent the wheel' with each application," Vesterholm pointed out.
"This means we can design, build and install systems faster, while paying more attention to the unique characteristics and challenges of each individual application".
* Main challenge - the primary challenge involved engineering a mounting for the system's Y-beams that would allow unrestricted transfer operations in the tight quarters provided.
There had to be room for the complete retraction of the transfer units during die changes and progressive operations.
Unable to mount the beams in the ideal location between the press columns, AP and T's application engineers mounted them on the press's external frame.
In their final design, the AP and T transfer units took up considerably less space than the systems submitted in the other proposals.
"I think this is what really proved to Venest that we were truly paying attention to their needs," Vesterholm remarked.
Venest was also impressed with the comprehensive way AP and T approached the project.
"We had never worked with Venest before, so we wanted to make them familiar with how AP and T designs, builds and operates in the field," said Vesterholm.
"We showed them similar applications, both old and new, introduced them to other customers, and took them to our headquarters and plants in Sweden".
* Installation - "We gave them a very small window," Reycraft said.
All work, up to system commissioning, had to be accomplished during the plant's two-week shutdown in July, 2005.
Thanks to the modular nature of the system, AP and T's crew was able to get the system up and running within the deadline.
"Once the mountings were installed, everything went 'like clockwork'," Reycraft said.
"Some debugging was needed once production started, but everything was up and running on time".
* High transfer feed rates - the new transfer system increased prss cycling speeds by nearly 50% in some cases, according to Venest.
Where the old press maxed out at 15 strokes/minute, the new press/transfer system combo often runs at speeds up to 22 strokes/minute, and Reycraft estimated the average productivity for all transfer jobs is about 20 strokes/minute.
"When you're talking about hundreds of thousands of parts per year, a difference like that really adds up," he said.
And while Reycraft is careful to point out that the productivity improvements are not only due to the transfer system, he clearly believed that the AP and T SpeedFeeder Transfer system is enabling the press to operate at its full potential.
* Maximising press operational flexibility - the new transfer system provides infinitely variable placement all along the X, Y, and Z axes.
The Siemens-based control system offers an unlimited range of programmability within those parameters.
With a user-friendly graphic interface the transfer system can be easily programmed to accommodate virtually any part that can fit in the press.
Currently, the transfer system is handling parts that range in widths from about 100 to 1200mm; everything from a bracket that weighs barely 0.5kg to an 8kg cross-member.
While the old 3,500kN press was constantly in demand, it could only handle three jobs.
By contrast, the new 7,000kN unit is currently running twice as many different transfer jobs, with more to be added this fall.
All this is in addition to the work the press does with progressive dies, which accounts for nearly 20% of the work done on the press.
"If you can do every job faster, you can do more jobs on the same machine," Reycraft said.
However, there are other factors that also contribute to the new system's enhanced productivity.
For instance, the transfer systems' ability to park away from the press bed permits fast and easy changeovers to different or progressive operations - further increasing the press's uptime.
Also, the transfer system is virtually maintenance-free; the only preventative maintenance requirement is bearing lubrication.
When the occasional operational glitch has arisen, AP and T engineers in Sweden have been able to troubleshoot the system in Canada via modem and quickly resolve the issue.
* Summing up - Reycraft summed up the project by saying, "With the 'cut throat' competition out there, you've got to be the first through the door with the best technology.
Any of the proposed transfer systems would have helped us improve productivity over the previous press.
But 'improvements' alone are no longer enough.
These days, you've got to maximise your productivity and your ROI to stay competitive.
And we're confident the transfer system we chose is allowing us to do that.".
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