May 2023 Volume 5

AUTOMATION

Getting Started The best place to start is at the end! Where do you want the automation process to be in several years? Establishing a 3- to 5-year strategy can help stakeholders prioritize how to replace and update critical systems and subsystems and set up a game plan for efficient execution. Having a blueprint for a plant’s long-term automation strategy provides sufficient training and ramp-up time while still delivering ROI. These solutions require capital investment upfront, but the long-term return is hard to ignore. Considerations such as part volume, die changeovers, required maintenance, implementation personnel, and budgets must all be part of the calculation. An authorized system integrator (ASI) can help companies achieve their goals with comprehensive solutions. An ASI partner can offer tried-and-true ideas to mitigate risk and build efficiencies into new and existing processes. Troy Turnbull President

and accurately layers the target zone with lube and can even blow air separately to remove debris. The lubricant is sprayed onto the dies using spray heads mounted on a manifold. Typically, these manifolds are custom designed to cover your unique die space yet can be adjusted for precise spray location. Reciprocators traverse the manifold quickly into the die area at speeds up to 50 inches per second. Lube and/or air can be fired from the nozzles in a cone shape when stopped, or in a fan shape when swept (spray during motion). The extent of the traverse, spray location and time all are stored as a recipe in the electronic controls package. Horizontal reciprocators work well in typical style presses or hammers with extension of the spray manifold into the die area from 24” to 48” or more. However, vertical reciprocators are ideal when dies move laterally, such as an upsetter. These spray systems are mounted on the press platens above the die area and vertically traverse down to spray the die area. Automated lubricant reciprocating systems are regulated by a PLC-driven, HMI controlled command center that can store part recipes for fast retrieval and complete process management. The most comprehensive automated solutions are the use of robots or cobots. These machines can extract parts, air-blast debris, and spray the die area with lubricants. The robot can manipulate the nozzles or manifolds like a human, mimicking the same application process consistently. Robots can be rigged with a single nozzle and programmed to isolate the spray to the exact location with the specified lube volume and then progress to the next cavity. Or outfit the robot with a manifold loaded with spray heads that precisely lubricate a host of cavities simultaneously.

Industrial Innovations Phone: 616-249-1525 Email: TTurnbull@industrialinnovations.com

FIA Career Center FIA’s Go-To Destination for Career Growth!

Forging Career Center Account Benefits (employers)

Forging Career Center Resources (job seekers)

Contact Tricia Abruzzino for more information at tricia@forging.org

FIA MAGAZINE | MAY 2023 33