November 2024 Volume 6

MAINTENANCE

PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR FORGING EQUIPMENT REBUILD By Michael Slavin

I n my 40-year career in the forging industry, I have had a chance to super vise or participate in at least 30 rebuild projects for closed-die forging machines of many different makes. Those projects ran in six different countries. No matter the loca tion, the main principles of project manage ment are the same: • Strong work ethic and integrity of the project manager. • Thorough knowledge of the equipment. Good knowledge of the forging process is very helpful. • Willingness to educate your employees and to continuously learn yourself. If you are looking at the U.S. forging market, every single company has equipment issues in addition to the common problems: increasing prices for metal, energy, service, labor shortage, etc. In these circumstances, the condition of the equipment becomes critical for business. In my opinion, the best approach to the problem would be an analysis of the forging company’s business, and based on results of this, choosing a strategy for the equipment rebuild. It is obvious that a company that has mass production orders should exercise a very different approach from a job shop that is mostly doing short runs. Large orders typically require at least partial automa tion, advanced QDC systems, automatic die lubrication, etc. These solutions conse quently mean the use of automatic shut height adjustment, programmable ejectors, and advanced controls. Besides that, a forging process improvement or even choosing a different process could be a key. For example, for years the traditional way of producing truck axles was upsetter forging. Then some companies switched to vertical presses, which required changing axle

design. Today, we are seeing fully automatic lines based on screw presses. Without going into too much technical detail, I can state that there are no obvious solutions for both small and large orders. All calculations and analysis must be done using a cost calculation for a single part based on the customer’s order size. Also, it is critical to choose an effective way of overhaul. There is a possibility not to use a traditional concept. Instead, the customer is supplied with a completely refurbished and modern ized press, replacing his outdated and worn equipment. From my experience, if you replace presses every 6-8 years, you will save in many ways: • Minimize downtime because of good equipment condition. • Increase productivity because of advanced features used (automatic shut height adjustment, automatic die lubri cation, latest controls system, etc.) • As a result, you can keep personnel in your maintenance and production departments to a minimum. • No need to keep a large inventory of spare parts in stock.

The logical way to run a project is to assemble a dedicated project team where the Project Manager and key craftsmen work full-time, and system specialists work on as needed basis. I have never had good results using sub contractors on overhaul projects. Typically, it creates a grey area where areas of responsi bility of the main overhaul company and the sub-contractors interact. Then we can hear a plethora of reasons why things went wrong. If you compare the amount of knowl edge and skills required from an equip ment rebuild project manager to the same in the product area, you will see an enor mous difference. The project manager has to know: • Detailed mechanical design of the equipment; the advantages and disad vantages of different designs; good basic hands-on knowledge of the mechanical design would be very helpful. • Design of press systems on a good basic level (controls, pneumatics, hydraulics, lubrication, etc.) with an emphasis on necessary interlocks assuring safety of the equipment. • Details of main craftsmanship opera tions – measuring, fitting, scraping, assembly, etc.

FIA MAGAZINE | NOVEMBER 2024 18