Progressive stamping dies with custom substations eliminate secondary machining on deep-drawn containers

Situation

This deep-drawn container (A), which holds the components of a solenoid valve for the hydraulics system in big machinery, was being outsourced to a manufacturer overseas.

The owner of the part, an Illinois-based provider of customized hydraulic controls, serves the agriculture, construction, forestry, mining, municipal, and paving industries. The company needed 600,000 to 700,000 pieces per year in five different but uniform shapes—with slight variations in each design, such as a different type of bottom lip. The overseas manufacturer was deep drawing the parts, then using a secondary machining operation to finish them, but this method was expensive and extended the production time.

In addition, the outsourcing was taking a lot of time, not only for the deep drawing and machining required for the part, but the shipping to and from the overseas shop.

Resolution

An outside representative for Ultra Tool & Manufacturing that also worked with the Illinois company saw the situation and the high numbers of parts required per year. The rep recommended that the company contact Ultra to see if it could complete the part in a progressive die to eliminate the need for secondary machining.

Although the Illinois company doubted Ultra’s capability, Ultra produced prototypes to prove out the manufacturing process and built the secondary operations so crucial to this metal shell into the stamping die. The progressive stamping dies with custom substations allowed the company to produce the various parts without any secondary machining operations.

Once the Illinois company saw that Ultra could do the job, it sent the manufacturer another two parts that had a similar general form, but with a different end form (B). Ultra made substations in the die to switch out to make the two new parts, reducing the number of tools required for the process from five to two.

The key to these dies was the last station. It was designed and built for easy changeover to finish the stamping process.