A Midwestern manufacturer sought to improve productivity on its nearly 10-year-old Verson transfer press. Although the press was in good condition, the original ETF transfer, which had endured 28 million press hits, was causing considerable maintenance costs and lost production. The stamper retrofitted the Verson transfer stamping press with a Schuler Automation AT series tri-axis transfer. This resulted in a 10- to 40-percent improvement in cycle times.

If high-speed fiber lasers replace the traditional mechanical blanking press, they would open up new possibilities of blank designs optimized for the forming processes downstream.

Metal Products Engineering, Los Angeles,began business as a Lockheed subcontractor in 1940. Since then, the company has designed and built an impressive inventory of customized progressive dies in their facility for aerospace applications.