Prince Industries Inc., a contract manufacturer of CNC machined components, branched out into CNC fabricated components several years ago when it purchased two turret punch presses, a plasma machine, and a laser with manual loading and unloading. These machines were quickly overburdened with the growing workload, so the company sought a more modern laser with automated material handling.

Depending on the severity of the application, some stamping dies require frequent reconditioning or recoating. However, some coating processes are done at such high temperatures that the dies become distorted and unuseable, requiring further regrinding. Omni Mfg. encountered this problem in stamping a heavy-duty hinge. It then discovered FortiPhy UltraEndurance™ from Phygen Inc., which increased the hit count on its dies from 20,000 to 200,000 between recoatings. The coating is applied at a relatively low temperature, so distortion is not a factor.

Usually no more than 30 to 60 minutes are needed to do all of the necessary checks and maintenance on band saws. This is a small investment of time in relation to the cost savings that can be attained by maximizing the life of the machine and blade.