High-speed hose-crimping machine accelerates motorsports component manufacturing process

Manny Lagrosa, engineering manager (left), and Nigel MacAndrew, sales manager of business development and export, inspect parts crimped on a Finn-Power CC22.

Situation

It’s not often that a company is formed to do one thing and later transforms itself into something else, but indeed this is the story of Goodridge. Founded in 1969, the company has evolved from a single-seat race team in Canada to a globally recognized manufacturer of fluid transfer systems. The company’s first product lines were aircraft braided steel hose and fittings for the U.K. Formula 1 market.

Success in motorsports is based on a building a car that can stand up to the stresses of racing—accelerations, decelerations, hard turns, and severe vibration. Theses nonstop stresses take a tremendous toll on every component on the car, so every component has to be made accurately and precisely so the driver can safely push the limits on the track. At Goodridge, push the limits has become not only the company’s mantra but its secret to success.

Today, Goodridge products such as hose, fittings, brake lines, clutch lines, fuel lines, and oil lines have made their mark in such racing venues as Formula 1, World Rally, ILR, and NASCAR. Through the years, the firm has expanded its range of racing products, OEM parts, and aftermarket items.

The key to building a strong reputation is building good parts. Goodridge uses CNC machining equipment and state-of-the-art tube manipulation machinery installed in 2010. An ongoing investment in lean efficiencies to improve manufacturing is part of the company’s DNA. These activities support its continuous product improvement and new product development activities.

To meet increasing demand in the all-terrain vehicle market, the company began to look for a high-performance crimping machine with low maintenance requirements and a fast cycle time.

Resolution

After a great deal of searching,

Goodridge selected the Finn-Power CC22, designed for high-speed crimping. The changeover time makes it suitable for both serial and single-piece production. It can crimp hose up to 11⁄4 in., delivering 68 tons of force and achieving 1,700 crimps per hour. The optimal force-to-speed ratio helps maximize productivity. The company has purchased more than a dozen of the machines over the years.

According to Manny Lagrosa, engineering manager at the company’s facility in Torrance, Calif., speed is king at Goodridge.

“The primary reason we have purchased the Finn Power CC22 over the years is its speed,” he said (see Figure 1). “The machine is very fast. And when you consider that we produce over 1.4-million assemblies [annually] in our Mexico plant alone ... the speed is very good. Our operators really like the speed. We have operators who have used other brands of crimpers and didn’t like them because the speed didn’t compare. Speed isn’t the only consideration, of course. Given the nature of the product’s application, Goodridge has no tolerance for poorly crimped brake lines. Ease of operation and reliability are two other factors Lagrosa mentioned.

“The CC22 is easy to operate,” Lagrosa said. “You touch the foot pedal, it closes, it crimps, and you’re done. Everything that we produce has a crimp. In the 1.4-million assemblies we produce in Mexico each year, there are at least two crimps in each assembly. Throughout our North American operations, there are millions of assemblies produced with multiple crimps. For high-volume crimping we like it as simple as possible, and the CC22 does the job.” The company uses four of the machines at its facility in Torrance, Calf., two in Mooresville, N.C., and 12 in Tijuana, Mexico

To inquire about Finn-Power machines, contact Lillbacka USA, 1629 Prime Court, Ste. 400, Orlando, FL 32809, 847-301-1300, www.lillbackausa.com

Figure 1
Although the CC22 has a small footprint, it has a high output. The manufacturer rates it at nearly 30 crimps per minute.