Content tagged with "maintenance"
Results: 46
Spanish
November 12, 2009
Article
July 2, 2009
The pressure is on
The 400-ton pressure testing setup shows the die components and bumper blocks. The traditional method of measuring pressure distribution in stamping operations—the die spotting blue technique—indicates the pressure points but not how much pressure. This makes it difficult to... Read more...
Article
May 13, 2008
Driven to integrate
A Parkview Metal Products worker operates a stamping press at the company's facility in Lake Zurich, IL. Parkview produces components for the automotive industry, consumer electronics, and barbecue grills. Changes come often in the steel industry. An item manufactured in the U.S. today can... Read more...
Article
April 15, 2008
Buy it by the pound, sell it by the foot
With raw material and energy costs soaring and imported tube and pipe flooding the U.S., tube and pipe producers are facing increasing pressures to reduce costs to maintain profitability. While strategies for cutting costs or optimizing tube and pipe manufacturing processes abound, they... Read more...
Article
December 11, 2007
8 Things you should know about your hydraulic press
What should you do to keep your hydraulic press running? Know your press—when it is working properly or when it needs attention. You can extend press life and maximize your investment by keeping your eyes and ears tuned and by performing these eight preventive maintenance steps: 1.... Read more...
Spanish
November 6, 2007
Cómo mantener las prensas hidráulicas operando
¿Qué deben saber los operadores para el buen estado de sus prensas hidráulicas? Deben saber cuándo la prensa está funcionando bien o necesita atención, y luego, darle mantenimiento regular.
Conociendo su Prensa
Para averiguar si su prensa hidráulica está funcionando como debe,... Read more...
Article
November 6, 2007
Extend conveyor life with maintenance, modification
Forty years ago, conveyors were just expected to move items from point A to point B. They did that pretty well, but not much else. To the naked eye, conveyor design doesn't look like it has progressed much since then. Looks can be deceiving. The conveyors of today are engineered with unique... Read more...
Article
September 11, 2007
Creating a pressroom preventive maintenance program
Many fabricators rely on fire-house maintenance when a machine goes down, all available resources are marshaled to fix the problem. This approach works most of the time, but at a high cost. To minimize this cost, stampers need to design a press maintenance program that decreases downtime,... Read more...
Article
August 8, 2007
3 ways to get the most from your laser operation
The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. —Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp. To say Mr. Gates lived his conviction successfully would be a vast understatement. To say following his... Read more...
Article
June 12, 2007
Sawing? Cool it.
A quality, properly mixed and maintained sawing coolant helps increase cutting rates, improve the cut finish, and extend blade life.
Nearly every metal sawing operation can be made more efficient with a quality sawing coolant that is properly mixed and maintained. Coolants also improve... Read more...
Article
May 8, 2007
How to keep hydraulic presses running
An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but how should press operators keep their hydraulic presses healthy? By knowing when the press is running well or needs attention, and by performing regular maintenance.
Knowing Your Press
To find out if your hydraulic press is performing as it... Read more...
Article
November 7, 2006
Is your cold pilger mill maintenance on schedule?
Routine maintenance inspections are necessary for any cold pilger mill to perform optimally. The number, frequency, and quality of routine maintenance procedures have short-term and long-term effects on the machine's operations and capability. Investigating more than 30 machines revealed... Read more...
Article
November 7, 2006
Material separation anxiety
The structural materials that welding and fabrication shops must saw are more abusive to band saw blades than any other metal sawing application, but paying attention to band selection, band speed, feed rate, coolant, and maintenance can minimize the abuse. Band sawing square tubing, round... Read more...
Article
October 10, 2006
3 steps to better laser maintenance
Laser machine users know it, but often ignore it. Laser manufacturers swear by it, but often don't push it.
It's maintenance, and it should be the watchword of anyone who owns and operates a laser. With lead-times decreasing, margins thinning, and raw material prices always... Read more...
Article
August 8, 2006
Keep on truckin'
The use of fork trucks to handle and store materials and products efficiently is vital to the metal fabricating industry. Unfortunately, unsafe fork truck use often results in injuries, property damage, and costly Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) citations. Each year... Read more...
Article
August 8, 2006
A breath of fresh air
Ten years ago laser cutting offered a distinctive advantage to those who invested in the technology. For the most part, successful laser cutting required gas, optics, and patience. The decade has brought many changes to laser cutting, including higher power levels and faster drive... Read more...
Article
July 11, 2006
Control risk with lockout/tagout
In March 2002 a California welder was asked by his supervisor to remove a jammed piece of metal from the hydraulic door of a scrap metal shredder. As he'd done several times before, the man grabbed his ladder, torch, and padlock and went to the hopper. While lying across the top edge of... Read more...
Article
June 13, 2006
The regrind process for tube mill tooling - Part II
Editor's Note: This is the second article in a two-part series on regrinding tube mill tooling. Part I discussed the first two steps of the five-step process: (1) receiving and inspection and (2) analyzing and creating work instructions. Part II discusses (3) machining, (4) final inspection... Read more...
Article
June 13, 2006
The regrind process for tube mill tooling
Editor's Note: This is the second article in a two-part series on regrinding tube mill tooling. Part I discussed the first two steps of the five-step process: (1) receiving and inspection and (2) analyzing and creating work instructions. Part II discusses (3) machining, (4) final inspection... Read more...
Article
May 9, 2006
Choosing a gouging method
In recent years environmental and quality issues have taken center stage in the welding industry. This increased emphasis on safety and health often is accompanied by reconsideration of how certain tasks are performed, for example, cutting and gouging metal. Gouging—a requirement... Read more...
Article
September 13, 2005
Taking a look at automated spray control:
Figure 1 Wasted chemicals, scrap, and other related costs can increase the negative financial impact of poor spray performance. After years of working hard to improve efficiency, you've wrung every bit of available savings out of your production line. From automation to staffing to... Read more...
Article
September 13, 2005
Keys to success in laser welding
A technician explains the features of an Nd:YAG laser. Involving production personnel early in the process is an important way to ensure the success of a laser project.
Engineers and project managers sometimes reduce the success of a manufacturing process to a few... Read more...
Article
June 14, 2005
Fatigue Failures
Figure 1 Fatigue is the progressive formation and propagation of cracks in a metal subjected to repeated or alternating stresses (from cyclic loads or forces) not exceeding the material's static yield strength limit. The final failure occurs when the remaining section—the part... Read more...
Article
April 11, 2005
Optimizing spray nozzle performance for lubrication:
Figure 1
R&B Wagner uses an automatic lubrication application system that has two reservoirs to hold two different lubricants (at left). Its tube bending personnel can select one lubricant or the other, depending on the application at hand. A plastic tube carries the lubricant... Read more...
Article
April 11, 2005
Article
November 9, 2004
Successful stamping: It's a 'we' thing
As a consultant and educator, I travel to numerous die shops and stamping plants, and almost all of them have the same basic request: "Can you show these tooling guys how to make the dies run better?" I hear comments like "We sure have a lot of downtime and scrap, not to mention the usual... Read more...
Article
August 10, 2004
Boosting band saw blade life
Fabrication, welding, and machine shops frequently use band saw blades to make just a few cuts in a variety of materials. Cuts are made as the need arises rather than based on a predetermined high-volume cutting schedule. Because this type of intermittent cutting can be hard on blades,... Read more...
Article
January 29, 2004
Respirator selection as a business decision
Several factors can help employers select a respirator that meets the required level of protection while having a positive business impact. Using this approach, employers can make choosing a respirator a business decision that can increase productivity, decrease injuries, and decrease... Read more...
Article
May 15, 2003
Finding the best splice for your light-duty conveyor
In most light-duty conveyor systems, one of the key factors in obtaining conveyor uptime is achieving the optimal splice. Reviewing the available alternatives in light of the realities of your conveyor system will suggest which type might serve your needs best. Belting designed for... Read more...
Article
April 10, 2003
Slash maintenance inventory costs
Typically, managers hesitate to initiate a cost-cutting project in this area because they fear that critical parts may not be available when they are needed. And the number of parts that can be reduced—typically one or two—may seem too few to yield meaningful cost savings. In fact,... Read more...
Article
November 15, 2002
Equipping Your Press With the Right Tonnage Monitor
Tonnage monitoring equipment has been around for several decades. The early models were sometimes finicky, hard to use, and susceptible to outside electrical interference. Today's tonnage monitors are easier to install, simpler to use, and more reliable. Many types are available to meet the... Read more...
Article
November 29, 2001
Tooling, the key for mill production
One of the most important lessons any successful tube mill producer learns is that high-quality tooling is mandatory to achieving and sustaining top-grade production values. To put it simply, tooling is to a tube mill as an engine is to an automobile: You can't get where you need to go without... Read more...
Article
November 29, 2001
Preventative maintenance as a way of life
Object When I was invited to serve as a preventive maintenance (PM) coordinator at a Chrysler plant in 1992, a story was circulating that was relevant to not only what we learned at Chrysler, but to any stamping line. According to the story, a line supervisor-technician on a Toyota stamping... Read more...
Article
November 15, 2001
Article
November 15, 2001
Setting realistic goals for robotic welding projects
Companies interested in purchasing robotic welding equipment often expect robots to solve all their productivity and quality problems. After installation, the actual results often do not meet the end user's high expectations. The natural conclusion is that the robot company dropped the ball;... Read more...
Article
November 15, 2001
Assessing cutting and forming machine tool safety
During the past decade increasingly comprehensive machine tool safety standards have been adopted in many countries, including the U.S. The expanded breadth of recent standards typically includes the entire life expectancy of machines, the full scope of possible risks, the frequency and severity... Read more...
Article
October 11, 2001
Article
October 11, 2001
Article
October 11, 2001
Inspecting for and correcting coil reel damage
Object Q. What is the most common type of failure encountered with payoff or take-up reels? A. The most common failure is overload failure, which occurs when the reel is loaded with coils that exceed the OEM's weight rating. Often, this failure is not evident with a catastrophic event... Read more...
Article
October 11, 2001
Installing and maintaining coil cradles and reels
All stamping and forming operations outside of the powder or forging industries begin with coiled steel. In many fabricators' plants, the decoiler, payoff reel, recoiler, tensioner, or other coil handling equipment require constant maintenance. Installation The nature of the... Read more...
Article
July 26, 2001
Achieving faster, more efficient tube mill changeovers
A changeover on a tube mill does not mean just changing the tooling. It means changing from running good tube of one size to running good tube of another size. Many machine configurations can speed up a changeover, such as rafted sections, quick-change fasteners, etc. However, fast changeover... Read more...
Article
June 15, 2001
Gas-shielded cored wires find their niche
Object Gas-shielded flux-cored arc welding (FCAW) and metal-cored arc welding (MCAW) are growing in popularity for many applications. To determine if these wires should be used, shop managers should understand how formulations of cored wires do or do not fit their quality requirements for... Read more...
Article
May 15, 2001
Mill coolant system design
Coolants are used to wash away oils, oxides, slivers, and dirt generated during the forming, welding, and sizing of tubes and roll-formed profiles. These coolants are a mixture of water and refined chemicals that help cleanse the process, protect part finish, extend tool life, and inhibit rust... Read more...
Article
April 24, 2001
Exploring upgrades in stamping presses
Model Ts are an example of a once-modern mode of transportation that have become a collector's possession and museum lore. Industrialist Henry Ford gave the world access to mobility and freedom to travel; however, vehicles today have improvements that make the formerly innovative Model T an... Read more...
Article
April 10, 2001
8 ways to keep your shear in top shape
Shears are common pieces of fabricating equipment that can be found in many metal forming plants. From tube mills to small fabricators, the shear is one of the most critical and diverse tools used in metal fabricating. Varying in size from small hand-held metal shears and foot-operated trim... Read more...
Article
February 19, 2001
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