January/February 2010Volume 38, No. 1

Special Report:Presses and Press Technology

Preventive Maintenance for Scrap Handling Conveyors

Getting Ready to Compete in the New Decade

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American Tool, Die & Stamping NewsJanuary/February 2010 - Volume 38, No 1

2 January/February 2010 www.ameritooldie.com

Website: www.ameritooldie.com

January/February - 2010Volume 38, No. 1

Published by EAGLE PUBLICATIONS, INC.

In Association withINTERNATIONAL

MEDIA GROUP, INC.6000 Fairview Road, Suite 1200

Charlotte, NC 28210 USA

Carol and Arthur Brown, FoundersKlaas De Waal, Publisher and CEO

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Publication DataPrinted by: Allegra Print & Imaging, Wixom, MI 48393. American Tool, Die & StampingNews (ISSN:0192-5709) is published bi-monthlyby Eagle Publications, Inc. (USPS 098-250).Printed in U.S.A., Copyright 2010. This publication has a controlled circulation - controlled by the staff of American Tool, Die &Stamping News; mailed bi-monthly by Bulk Mail.American Tool, Die & Stamping News is notresponsible for statements published in thismagazine. Advertisers, agencies, and Con-tributing Writers assume liability for all con-tent of all submitted material printed andassume responsibility for any claims arisingthere-from made against publisher.Address all correspondence to American Tool,Die & Stamping News, 42400 Grand River /Suite 103, Novi, Michigan 48375-2572, U.S.A.Phone: (248) 347 - 3489 Fax: (248) 239 - 0670

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Cover Story | Accurate Die DesignEstimating and Die Design Technology

Getting Ready to Compete in This New Decade 4

Presses:Large Press Column Bolting Alternative 7Controlling Parameters of the Stamping Process 8SEYI Delivers Productivity at STEMCO 11Controlling Draw in Metal Forming 14Eagle Link Motion Design:

Advanced Engineering, Advanced Approach 16

Scrap Handling:Preventive Maintenance for Scrap Handling Conveyors 18

Ad IndexCOMPANY PAGE WEBSITE/EMAIL

Accurate Die Design 3 www.accuraatediedesign.comCieco, Inc. 19 www.ciecocontrols.comDayton Progress IFC www.daytonprogress.comKomatsu America 1 www.komatsupress.comLawrence Industries, Inc. 15 lawrenceindustries@juno.comLucifer Furnaces 13 www.luciferfurnaces.comMatis, Inc. 10 www.matis.comMayfran International 11 www.mayfran.comNorwalk Innovation, Inc. 17 www.norwalkinnovation.comPeninsular Cylinders 9 www.peninsularcylinders.comRapid-Air BC www.rapidair.comSEYI Presses, Inc IBC www.seyiamerica.comSuperbolt 15 www.superbolt.com

January/February 2010Volume 38, No. 1

Special Report:Presses and Press Technology

Preventive Maintenance for Scrap Handling Conveyors

Getting Ready to Compete in the New Decade Cover courtesy of Accurate Die Design

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ne of the things that the pastdecade will be rememberedfor nearly as much as any-

thing else is the technology that camewith it, particularly in the area of com-munications. One of the direct resultsof this was that a true global economyreached every shore. The borders thatwere in place due to the lack of efficientcommunication are gone. So how docompanies in the United States competewith other countries that have consid-erably lower labor costs, and how candomestic businesses survive and thrive?

OUR TOOLS VS. OUR COMPETITOR’SIt is very important to recognize the

fact that it is possible for all of the othercompanies around the world to purchaseand use virtually all of the same technol-ogy that domestic companies have accessto here in the U.S. This is true of com-puter hardware and software, as well asmachinery. Nobody would argue the factthat it is quite impossible for Americansto compete here in the U.S. with devel-

oping nations in terms of wages. Butwhat is available here in the U.S. that de-veloping nations do not have is muchmore experience working in this indus-try. The question becomes how to capi-talize on that. It is absolutely vital thatAmerican companies not fall behindother countries in taking advantage oftechnology and automation in order toincrease productivity.

EXPAND BEYOND MANUFACTURING?One of the buzzwords of the past

decade has been “lean.” Most often,this word has been associated with“lean manufacturing.” But shouldn’tcompanies be taking advantage of“lean estimating” and “lean design”prior to lean manufacturing? One ofthe definitions for “lean” in MerriamWebster’s dictionary is “containing lit-tle or no fat.” If a company is doingthings the same way they were 5 yearsago in their estimating and/or designdepartments, chances are they containtoo much fat.

SPECIALIZED SOFTWARE – LOGOPRESS3Companies can save considerable

time on their estimating and tool de-sign by using software that is specifi-cally developed for our industry, ratherthan using software that is made for themasses. The company Logopress wasfounded more than 20 years ago for thesingle purpose of developing and mar-keting a die design software packagethat had been started 3 years prior andwas now ready for market. This pack-age would later become known as Logopress2 (because it was 2D) andtoday is known by the name of Logopress3 (because it is 3D). Logopress has been developing die de-sign software longer than any of their3D competitors and is the only com-pany who develops 3D die design soft-ware exclusively.

LOGOPRESS3 + SOLIDWORKSSolidWorks has sold more than one

million (1,000,000) seats of their 3DCAD solid modeling software. Most

O

Cover Story | Accurate Die Design

Estimating and Die Design TechnologyGetting Ready to Compete in This New Decade

By Raymond Proeber, President, Accurate Die Design, Inc.

Without requiring any formal training, Logopress3 BLANKprovides thinning results for complex stamped parts as well asshowing stress, strain and also generating the flat blank.

Complex parts and parts that are poorly modeled or too“dirty” for other means of unbending are accurately unbentin a matter of seconds, with the k-factor of each individualbend radius being automatically calculated.

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people in the industry now view Solid-Works as the de facto standard for 3DCAD. In 2000, Logopress decided touse SolidWorks as the 3D CAD soft-ware that they would integrate into be-cause of the popularity of it andbecause of the great tools they madeavailable to developers. Logopress3 re-quires SolidWorks and all three of theirproducts are SolidWorks Gold Certi-fied. It is available in versions specifi-cally for estimators as well as for peoplewho only need to flatten complex 3Dforms. The full Logopress3 tool designpackage includes all of the softwaretools available from Logopress.

LOGOPRESS3 FOR ESTIMATINGThe vast majority of models that

most companies receive to quote or todesign dies from are what is known as“dumb” imported models. That is, theycame from another CAD system andhave no history or features along withthem. While SolidWorks will recognizesome of these parts as sheet metalparts, Logopress3 brings many tools tothe estimator, including the ability towork with many imported models(solids and surfaces) that are otherwisetoo “dirty” to be recognized by Solid-Works as sheet metal parts. Addition-ally, each individual bend and bendradius is treated individually and k-fac-tors and bend allowances are automat-ically and accurately calculated.Complex shaped 3D parts (automotivetype parts) are accurately flattenedusing Logopress3 BLANK, while alsocalculating stress, strain and thinningon the part. Overbends and springback

are automatically managed and theuser has the ability to perform auto-matic blank nesting optimization todetermine best material usage.

In addition to the flattening toolsand other items mentioned above, thestrip layout module includes a robustround draw module as well. Strip lay-outs for round drawn parts can be ac-curately created in a matter of minutes.

LOGOPRESS3 FOR DIE DESIGNThe Logopress3 strip module en-

hances SolidWorks performance byadding something called Station Marks,which eliminate the need for parts withlarge history trees in the strip. It also in-cludes a command that allows the userto overlay a graphical preview of the pre-vious station on the current station. Thetonnage of the die is alsocalculated automatically.

The Logopress3 ToolStructure module includesan intelligent componentlibrary called 123GO Ad-vanced that cuts all holesat the same time as insert-ing the component. Thisadvanced intelligent com-ponent library containsvirtually all the standardcomponents that wouldget used in a die, and alsoallows for custom components that theuser may create. Also included is amate management interface, tool & diespecific hole charts, Logopress3 bill ofmaterials (BOM) and Animation withDynamic Interference Detection. Imag-ine that after modeling the die, within

seconds you can press an icon andenter the press stroke, stripper traveland stock lift and watch the die oper-ating as if it were in the press. This in-cludes the strip advancing anddetecting any collisions that wouldoccur, for example, with a down-formnot lifting high enough over a die in-sert that is located downstream in thedie doing an up-form.

Using Logopress3 Filters you canquickly switch between various displaystates of the die such as strip only, stripand die side, punch side with strippers,etc. There are tools for automaticallycutting the clearances through allplates throughout the die for cuttingpunches, as well as tools for heels,shoulders, locking punch tabs, andcreation of form punches.

2D DRAWINGS & LOGOPRESS3Some people think that they cannot

design with 3D because they require 2Ddrawings on the shop floor, but theywill be very happy to know that 2Ddrawings are very much a part of 3Ddesign. In fact, Logopress3 has multi-

www.ameritooldie.com January/February 2010 5

The Logopress3 strip modulemanages complex automotive-type parts as well as linearbent parts. It also has a veryrobust round draw modulewithin it. Strip layouts forround drawn parts can be cre-ated in a matter of minutes.

A complete intelligent component library is built intoLogopress3. All holes are cut at the same time as thecomponent is inserted into the assembly. The user canquickly change from one component to another or fromone size to another. Hole types and sizes are managedautomatically by Logopress3.

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Cover Story | Accurate Die Design

ple tools for automatically creating the2D drawings for the 3D model. Thesetools enhance the tools already in Solid-Works and include automatic popula-tion of the information in the bill ofmaterials (BOM) including sizes ofparts, sorting of balloons and populat-ing the title blocks of the drawings.SolidWorks along with Logopress3make the creation of detail drawingsvery easy and fast, with considerableflexibility allowed for user preferences.

2D DESIGN VS. 3D DESIGNNot everyone has switched yet from

the 2D software that they have beenusing for the past two decades. How-ever, just as it was inevitable that theswitch would need to be made frompencils and a drawing board to 2D diedesign and/or estimating software, thesame is true of the switch from 2D to3D. A half-dozen years ago if someonewanted to argue that they could dotheir die design and estimating using2D software faster than they couldusing 3D die design and estimatingsoftware, it was more difficult to arguethe point. But today, when all benefitsand results are measured, it is impossi-ble to argue that 2D is as efficient as 3D

if talking about 3Dsoftware that isspecifically de-signed for the tool& die and metal

stamping industries.

SUPPOSED COMPLEXITY ROADBLOCKThere are a few possible roadblocks

that people put in their way of movingto 3D estimating and tool design soft-ware. One of these is the concern aboutthe learning curve. There is no doubtthat riding a bicycle is easier than driv-ing a car, but while a car is more com-plex, it is also far more efficient atgetting you from here to there than abicycle is. Many Logopress3 users re-port that after a couple of months theyalready consider themselves more effi-cient than they were with 2D tool de-sign software and would neverconsider going back to 2D design. Asfar as for using it for estimating, this isdramatically faster and easier to usethan 2D software for estimating, andthe other significant benefit comes inthe form of accuracy.

IS THERE AN EXPENSE ROADBLOCK?It is true that 3D tool design soft-

ware is more expensive than 2D soft-ware, but isn’t a wire EDM machineconsiderably more expensive than thetools and machines necessary to sec-tion die blocks as done in the old

days? How many companies are still inbusiness that section die blocks whenthey could wire EDM them? Is a carmore expensive than a bicycle? Howmany ride a bicycle to work? Be care-ful when considering the hardware ex-pense as well. Some people are turnedoff by having to spend $5,000 on com-puter hardware, yet they are likely tobe spending approximately that mucheach and every month to have a diedesigner on staff. Note that the com-puter hardware will last for years anddoesn’t require payment each andevery month!

CONCLUSIONComputers are here to stay! So why

not take advantage of the power andautomation that they bring with them,particularly when software is availablethat is very specifically designed forthis particular business rather thangenerically designed for the masses? Anumber of decades ago a saying went“Complacency is the beginning of theend.” Today, more than ever, businessesneed to make sure they are ready tocompete on a global level.

In addition to providing die designservices, Accurate Die Design provides3-D software, training and support tothe tool & die and metal stamping in-dustries and is the U.S. Technical Cen-ter for Logopress3.

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This complex 2-out die was designed without any mistakes. No development or debugging time was required.

Hole charts take only 20 seconds to add to a 2D drawing and include both tolerance as well as component information.

For more information contact:

Accurate Die Design, Inc., 12835 W Verona Dr, New Berlin, WI 53151Tel: 1-262- 938-9316

Website: www.accuratediedesign.com

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