AIDA Featured Customer : Metalstamp Inc.

METALSTAMP FINDS PRODUCTION SOLUTIONS WITH AIDA’S SERVOPRO®

By Tom Skibinski

When a customer approached Metalstamp, Inc., with production requirements for a proprietary in-die assembly, the Channahon, Illinois-based stamper designed and built a unique tool to run the job.  Metalstamp developed the concept and soon found requests for its specialized tool stacking up.  “Initial set up of the tool was intense requiring the operator to stop and start the press multiple times,” said Terry Brown.  A toolmaker and Metalstamp’s Maintenance Supervisor, Brown is also responsible for the purchase and implementation of equipment for the manufacturer.  “We had been very successful running a couple of these dies,” he explained, “but the question facing our engineers was, ‘How do we run at higher volumes and gain the necessary production efficiencies?’  We knew a conventional straightside press was not the answer.”

Having attended a recent MetalForm trade show, Brown had seen a production solution that gave him ideas.  Asking Metalstamp engineers for full scale drawings of the tooling, he placed them in a protective tube and rode his Honda ST 1100 to AIDA-America Corp in Dayton, Ohio to talk to the press supplier about its ServoPro® Servoforming technology.

“With ServoPro we realized if we ran the press in a forward/reverse motion using only part of the stroke, we could achieve the necessary production rates,” Brown said, “yet when needed, top stop would give us immediate access to the tooling as the technology’s full stroke is quite long.”  In 2005, Metalstamp installed an AIDA NC1-1500 (150 ton capacity) gap frame press equipped with ServoPro.  A year later, the manufacturer purchased a second ServoPro-driven AIDA NC1-1500 (150 ton capacity) gap frame press to meet its growing requirement for in-die assembly work.    In 2007 an AIDA NS2-2000 (200 ton capacity) straightside press equipped with ServoPro was installed to perform progressive die applications.

Metalstamp, in its 25th year of business, primarily serves the automotive industry as a second and third tier supplier producing a range of components and assemblies for items used in engine control management and the new six-speed transmissions.   Able to build quality tooling in short lead times, Metalstamp’s total solution includes design work, prototype tooling to verify overall design, engineering, manufacturing and custom packaging.  The contract stamper is also able to produce components from a wide variety of materials including engineered aluminum inlays, plated precious metals, copper based alloys, beryllium coppers, stainless and cold rolled steels and has presses ranging from 30 to 220 tons.

Metalstamp meets stringent customer requirements with continuous progress and improvement initiatives that allow the company’s technicians, engineers and craftsmen to approach metalforming in new ways.  Reliable, innovative equipment is a critical factor. 

“With our conventional straightside press, each time we had to stop the machine to work on the tool, it took minutes,” Brown said.  “With ServoPro, we were able to perform the necessary tasks in seconds.” 

Metalstamp found that tool setting activities became simple and quick with ServoPro’s hand crank motion that allows the operator to manually progress through the slide motion under full tonnage capacity of the press.  The pulse generator dial can be turned as slow or fast as the operator needs for isolated timing evaluation, rapid movement or synchronization of processing parameters.  With the ServoPro handcrank an operator can set timing to just a few microns by stroke position.  “We were able to move the ram in very small increments to set the timing for pilot release as well as the feed, sensors and automation,” Brown said.  “Our operators also noticed another advantage.”

Prior to purchasing the ServoPro gap presses, Metalstamp was performing high-speed stamping jobs in a conventional straightside 60-ton press.  “We found that with ServoPro’s dwell feature we could run the gap presses slower during a portion of the stroke which allowed us to perform value added processes for our customer,” said Brown.  “We were able to include operations during the stamping cycle that previously could only be accomplished in post press production operations.  Producing more complete parts adds value for our customers and is a key factor to allowing our company to compete in a global economy.” 

Metalstamp runs the ServoPro gap presses and NS2 straightside as individual work stations.  Parts include leadframe terminals for insert molding.  Production volumes are high for components made from high performance copper, brass alloys and inlay and stripe plated materials.  Because of ServoPro’s fully programmable slide motion and adjustable stroke length, Metalstamp found that the number of ways stroke, velocity and dwell profiles could be programmed in and combined was nearly limitless.  “In operating the gap presses we realized that with ServoPro we could slow the stroke, stop it, reverse it or create any combination we wanted,” Brown said.  “As a result of this flexibility we’ve begun to quote jobs we could not have considered in the past such as pausing at a given point in the stroke to perform laser welding or component insertion.”

While Metalstamp engineers continue to look at new ways to use the technology, Brown says the team also began to consider how the technology might help them solve challenges with more conventional stamping operations.  “One of the problems we were able to minimize was the reverse tonnage that was generated by the high linear inches of cutting,” Brown said. 

For manufacturers like Metalstamp, reverse tonnage can be a press killer.  Conventional designs dictate that the press delivers force in a forward motion.  With cutting or blanking, the velocity of the punch hitting the material causes it to break like glass.  The strike is followed by an instantaneous release of that massive force in the opposite direction – something conventional presses aren’t built to handle.  Because ServoPro’s silent blanking motion reduces punch velocity, Metalstamp was able to run jobs generating small reverse tonnage loads on a smaller press while significantly reducing the shock and vibration at the point of material fracture.  In addition to reducing the negative impact on the press, minimizing reverse tonnage can also lead to improved die life and the ability to operate the press much closer to its rated capacity.  Changing the crank profile and slowing the ram velocity at point of blank through, can decrease overall tonnage requirements by up to 20 percent and reverse tonnage by as much as 30 percent or more. 

Metalstamp’s experience with its ServoPro gap presses prompted the manufacturer to set up its ServoPro equipped NS2-2000 D with a bank of solenoid valves (12 each) tied to cam switches in anticipation of the automation of future jobs that might require features such as air blow offs, slug removal or an oiler trigger.  “We found the design of both the AIDA gap presses and the NS2 straightside to be beneficial due to the easy access these presses provide to the die area,” Brown said.

While ServoPro has helped Metalstamp solve production challenges and secure new business opportunities, the reliability and flexibility of the AIDA gap press gives operators a solid foundation for press work.  Able to produce a variety of products, including parts normally reserved for a straightside press, AIDA’s gap presses are built with rigid construction, very low angular deflection and the tightest clearance available.  These features contribute to extended tool life and more accurate parts while minimizing part burr, noise and vibration.  AIDA’s NS2 is built with a structure that offers very low deflection and overall clearance, creating a stable environment for the die.  “These factors are important to us because of the investment we make in the design and building of tooling for our customers,” Brown said. 

For more information about AIDA:
AIDA-America Corp.
7660 Center Point 70 Blvd.
Dayton, Ohio  45424-6380
Phone:  937-237-2382
FAX:    937-237-1995
Email:  comments@aida-america.com

For more information about Metalstamp:

Metalstamp, Inc.
24219 Northern Illinois Drive
Channahon, IL  60410
Tel:  815-467-7800
Fax:  815-467-7838
Email:  tbrown@metalstampinc.com