With the increased emphasis on
small batch or single piece production, to meet order fulfillment on the fly, some
manufacturing processes, particularly roll forming, have struggled to respond
to this new, dynamic environment. Due to
the long setup times that can be required when switching between roll formed
profiles, it is common for manufactures to run a customer order in conjunction
with an amount of inventory, to cover projected needs of the product for the
coming weeks or months. This is a common
way to rationalize the setup cost of the machine, which can take a couple hours
or up to a few days, depending on the complexity of forming the product. Doing this with each changeover of the
machine, manufacturers can quickly end up with a significant amount of finished
goods inventory, and although based on historical sales and product usage,
short term changes in the mix of business or other environmental factors, ie.
new industry codes or certifications deeming a product obsolete, can stretch
the turnover of the inventory, and likewise the liquidation of the product into
revenue, to much longer than intended.
Formtek has tackled this roll
forming challenge by removing the obstacles that result in long changeover
times. The Supermill® roll forming
machine offers a patented gauge adjustment technology, for uniform compensation
of tooling gaps in the horizontal and vertical planes, insuring profile dimension
consistency across a range of material thicknesses, and without the need for an
operator to perform manual adjustments. The
machine can be designed with multiple forming zones, to enable discrete
adjustment of unique features, such as profile height, width, leg length, etc.,
even switching from an inside bend (C-Channel) to an outside bend (Hat
Channel). Finally, a programmable entry
guide, coupled with short horizontal centers, precision bearings and roll
tooling work together to form traditionally coilfed products in a precut
arrangement. This last feature removes
the rethreading of different coil sizes when changing products, and enables the
use of common fabrication tools, ie. turret press, laser or cut-to-length
equipment, to create the notched, tailored blanks to be formed. The end result is that the supermill® system
can produce a one piece roll formed order, without production of extra,
finished inventory, and the changeover times are as little as fifteen seconds.
The system is equipped with motorized,
programmable adjustment, so the operator can select the profile to be run, by
choosing from the included part master database, scanning a barcode from the
incoming material, queuing production from a network or input the profile
dimensions on the operator’s touchscreen.
All feature dimensions, as well as over-bending, flare compensation, and
material thickness can be stored and adjusted by the main touchscreen
control. The system can be supplied with
an entry feed conveyor, for coupling with an upstream coil processing system or
as a stand alone machine, to feed it discretely from existing fabricating
equipment.
Supermill® systems such as this have
been supplied for a variety of applications in the construction, fenestration, furniture,
lighting, and mechanical component markets.
For more information contact dahlstrom@formtekgroup.com
or call (216) 292-6300, or visit www.dahlstromusa.com.
