February 2021 Volume 3

AUTOMATION

Recent Innovation in Forging Automation I asked the contributors about recent innovations in automation in the forging industry. Mike Gill of LASCO provides an important one. “The application of automation to hammer presses has always been problematic due to excessive vibration. LASCO has patented technology to handle the vibration and maintain the precision movements required.” Given my discussion with the other contributors, this represents a significant breakthrough. Mr. Gill also described the application of probing capability. “Re-machining dies can change physical features of the die. This can make die changeover more complicated. Probes can be used to more easily and accurately determine the necessary offsets.” Mistake proofing is another Lean ‘technique’, that should be applied wherever possible. The probing capability that Mr. Gill described is a terrific example of this. Innovation in gripper design has also provided important benefits. Mr. Gill shared with me several examples where grippers could be designed in such a way to handle multiple but similar parts. In one application, three different grippers could handle 116 different part numbers! Mr. Trizzino explained that sometimes properly located tabs can be added to different parts to provide a consistent pick-up point for grippers. “Consistency in the presentation of the part to the automation is required.” Such innovation can really help in the application of automation to shorter run production environments, which brings us to our next subject. What about Short-run ‘Job Shops’? It is inarguable that the application of automation is easier to justify in higher volume production environments. Does that mean that short-run ‘job shops’ are left out? Not necessarily. I learned to apply Lean concepts to job shops in various industries in the 1980s and 1990s. First in aerospace where product volumes ranged from 1 to 100 finished units in a year. Throughout the 1990s, I worked with numerous high mix manufacturing companies where up to 50 different products were produced on a single line in a single shift. I also worked with design-to-order and configure-to-order companies that had up to 1 million (yes 1 million) different combinations of features and options that could be produced, based on customer needs. What I learned from that experience is that we must always be flexible with the concepts. They must be adapted to meet the need. I posed the question of the application of automation to shorter run forgers to our contributors. Mr. Chilson brought up the concept of identifying product ‘families’, groupings of products with similar characteristics. I, too, have found it helpful to focus on the similarities rather than the differences when working with job shops. Focusing on the differences can be overwhelming. By identifying similarities, perhaps some of the ideas previously mentioned about gripper design and the use of ‘tabs’ can be applied. Mr. Chilson also reminds us that the improvements in changeover time that are possible with well-engineered automation can provide significant benefits to job shops where the frequency of changeover is much greater.

more autonomous allows operators to handle several machines thereby providing productivity improvements. Automating the loading and unloading of equipment is an example of this. However, there is a humanistic aspect to this as well. Simply watching a machine (or loading and unloading machines) is NOT a good use of a person’s abilities or their time. Adding real value, and better managing and improving processes is preferred. The operator’s role changes from ‘running a machine’ to managing the machine (or group of machines) to continuously improve its performance. Automation can be a means to achieve this objective. Mr. Gill of LASCO provides an example of this, “automation today provides quicker communication of equipment faults. This helps operators with troubleshooting and allows for faster response to minor stoppages. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and flow will improve as a result and it provides important data for further improvement.” Mr. Trizzino provides another example. “Operators can be more involved in maintaining equipment reliability.” A comprehensive Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) program includes an element of ‘operator assisted maintenance.’ Automation can free up an operator to better perform the requisite duties to achieve and maintain higher levels of OEE. Of course, there is a keen focus on ‘flow’ in Lean. Flow will be assured if the automation is functioning as designed. The key is to identify and address impediments to flow. We discussed the importance of maintenance to reduce unplanned downtime several times thus far. We also just covered the ability to quickly respond to minor stoppages and idling. These are two components of OEE. Mr. Chilson, the forging industry consultant, identifies a third component, changeover. As part of the Lean ‘toolbox’, there are a series of concepts and techniques that can be applied to reduce equipment changeover time. Mr. Chilson says, “a good integrator can really help to identify opportunities to apply quick changeover concepts. Techniques such as clamping instead of mechanical fasteners, providing the ability to more easily slide dies in and out, and the use of die inserts versus ‘monolithic’ dies are just a few examples that can reduce changeover time.” He went on to describe to me that he has seen 1 to 2-hour changeovers reduced to as low as 20minutes. “It will depend on the number of stations, but the fact is significant opportunity to reduce changeover time exists.” Mr. Gill provides another perspective. “The consistency that comes with automation provides various benefits. Consistency in die placement can reduce the time required for adjustment during a changeover. That consistency can also better maintain die condition and extend die life.” He has seen increases in die life from 10% to 100%. Longer die life results in fewer changeovers required. “Such improvement in die life is extremely beneficial in high volume environments, as well as those with shorter runs.” Mr. Gill shared an example of a blade used to split a forging. Previously it had to be replaced and sharpened every 30-60 minutes. With the consistency provided by automation, that extended to once every 8 hours. You can see how this had a significant positive impact on OEE.

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2021 40