The magazine for today’s metal fabricating & forming technologieswww.ffjournal.net

A TREND Publication

February 2012 ®

THEGREATDIVIDEManufacturers need workers

and Americans need jobs,but a skills gap is keeping

them apart

Inside:StampingStamper saves costs and

raises productionefficiencies with an

updated fluid deliverysystem from Unist Inc.

Stamping BY LYNN STANLEY, SENIOR EDITOR

FFJournal® February 2012

When you stamp and shipparts on a just-in-timebasis, maintaining anoutdated lubrication sys-

tem formetal strip stock is a slippery slopethat can lead to part defects, idle pressesand stalled throughput. ARJ Mfg. LLC,Jackson, Tenn., replaced its lube-to-lubeapplication with Unist Inc.’s Uni-Rollersystem and found the Grand Rapids,Mich.-based company’s product cleanedup its press room floor and saves the com-pany $20,000 a month.ARJ is a manufacturer of stamped and

welded components for the automotive in-dustry. The fabricator runs eight pressproduction lines supported by nearly 600

tools to provide just-in-time parts formajorautomotive companies. “We’ve been run-ning seven days a week for the last year,”says Brian Lamb, assistant manager forARJ’s stamping department. “We ship partsto 40 different customers every day, so wecan’t afford to have press downtime.”The plant had inherited much of its

equipment, including its lubrication sys-tem. The stamping department houses sixmechanical presses and two servo pressesranging in size from300 tons to 1,200 tons.Each press is fed a metal strip from a coilfeeder. ARJ’s petroleum-based lube-to-lubeapplication, installed on the feeder of eachproduction line, was set to coat the top andbottom of the metal strip as it left the

feeder before it entered the press and die.“Wehad a dripmethod but I liked to call

it a pour method,” says Lamb. “We wouldfill the oil pumps and the unit’s motorwould filter the oil and send it through linesconnected to a round pipe positioned overthe steel strip. Settings controlling lubrica-tion frequency and duration depended onthe type of tool wewere running.Once ini-tiated, rollers were supposed to evenlydistribute the oil over the steel strip, butwhen the pipe came on, oil would pouronto the steel and everywhere else.”

Taking controlProper lubrication is an essential ingredi-ent to keeping press production lines

Stamper saves costs and raises production efficiencieswith an updated fluid delivery system

Well-oiledworkpieces

Consistent applicationof lubricant creates acleaner shop, lesswaste, longer tool life,and better part quality.

running at optimal performance.Withoutit, part quality can deteriorate and pressand tooling performance suffer. “If youdon’t lube your metal strip, you can gallyour forms and punches and make partsthat have burrs or splits,” says Lamb. “If apart has burrs or galling, it can be re-worked but you aren’t making anymoneythat way. If a part splits, it’s scrap.”ARJ primarily uses high-strength steel to

form components for every aspect of a carseat. Some parts receive secondary opera-tions likewelding for frameassemblies. Partscan range from the track a car seat slidesbackward and forward on to sidemembers,back and head supports and componentsfor seat belts.“High-strength steel is difficult to form,”

says Lamb. “We do a lot of transfer and ex-trusionwork aswell as someprogressive diework, so from both a tooling and materialstandpoint, we have to have the right lubri-cation system in place.”If a punch is impacted by inefficient lu-

brication, it can’t always be replaced.Instead, the die has to be pulled and sentto the shop for maintenance. “If a die ispulled, press production stops,” saysLamb. “As a just-in-time stamper, if tool-ing has to come out of the press, it has to

be turned around quickly to go back in.”When the fabricator began researching

lubrication systems, the choice camedownto two companies. “Unist offered a uniqueroller lubrication system with a program-mable fluid controller,” says Lamb. “Theother company offered a spray method.”ARJ took on both companies in a 30-day

trial. The spraymethod required ARJ to set

up sprayers on each press for each diechange. “We perform about 40 diechanges in a shift,” says Lamb. “We userolling bolsters to keep die changes to fiveminutes or less. Having to set up sprayerstwice for every die changeover quicklyadded up to a lot of time that impacted diechanges and productivity. Sprayers werealsomounted on feedersmuch like our old

February 2012 FFJournal®

Internal fluiddispensing tubes

Uniform top andbottom coating

Porous foam orfelt roller covers

Perforated stainlesssteel roller cores

Fluid fromSPR-2000 orSPR-200 JRprogrammablefluid controller

Unist’s programmable fluid controller stores job recipes and monitorscritical parameters like fluid level, pressure and flow.

A DIFFERENTROLLER DESIGNA patented internally fedroller design is the key toprecise fluid delivery.

Stamping

FFJournal® February 2012

system for a couple of the lines and madea worse mess than what we had with ourold system. When we completed the trial,the caliber and performance of the Unistequipment was clearly superior.”Parts saved from the trial also were in-

spected and revealed no rust. In June2011, ARJ purchased eight Unist Uni-Roller lubrication systems in widths of23 in. to 46 in. equipped with the com-pany’s SPR-2000 programmable fluidcontrollers. The systems initially were in-stalled on three presses with the additionalsystems being added to a press line everytwo to three months.TheUni-Roller, installednear the feeder,

has a pressurized tank for lubrication. TheSPR-2000 controller allows operators to pro-gram and save job recipes. “The systemevenly distributed a soap-based synthetic lu-brication across the top and bottom of thesteel,” says Lamb. “There were no puddlesor dripping, and for the first time in eightyears,wewere able to coat thebottomof thestrip just like the top.”In 1957, Unist designed and patented a

low-volume, low-pressure lubrication spraysystem. Since then, the company has con-tinued to develop lubrication systemtechnology to support stamping, machin-ing and cutting operations. The companyalso understands today’s metal formers arerequired to meet more stringent environ-mental regulations while looking for waysto reduce costs such as waste disposal.

Raising efficiencies“Unlike conventional lubrication systems,we created a patented internally fed rollerdesign to support precision fluid delivery,”saysNate Pegman,marketing and commu-nications manager for Unist. “The system’sprimary advantage is its ability to provide aconsistent application of the exact amountof lubricant. As a result, our systems are ableto eliminate the mess and waste of tradi-tional spray systems and less-sophisticatedexternally lubricated roller designs.”The dependability of the stationary sys-

temallows operators to focus their attentionon parts production and shipment dead-lines. “With the old system, the lineswouldclog up about every two to three hours,”says Lamb. “When this happened, wewould have to stop the press and blow out

the lines. That was time the press shouldhave been running,making parts.With theUnist system, we don’t have to worry aboutthat.Once the system is turned on, you canforget about it because it’s not causing prob-lems downstream in your production line.”The fluid controller for the Uni-Roller

allows an operator to create individual se-tups for specific jobs but also has beendesigned to monitor critical parameterssuch as fluid levels, pressure and flow.“We’ve taken the extra step to developlow-volume nozzles, which feature an in-tegrated valve at the nozzle tip for instanton/off control to eliminate drips. Preci-sion needle valves allow the operator tofine-tune the lubricant spray,” Pegmansays. “These nozzles are especially usefulfor supplemental lubrication for progres-sive die or extrusion work where extralubricant is required.”For ARJ, the ability to control lubrica-

tion overspray and ensure lubricant isdispensed only where needed has deliv-ered several key advantages. “We aresaving $20,000 a month on lube costswith the Unist system,” says Lamb. “Ourtooling guys like the coating the materialis getting because proper lubrication addsto longer die and tooling life and lessmaintenance. Our operators’ glove usagealso has been reduced because the partsthey are stacking coming off the pressesare cleaner. But the biggest visual differ-ence is our floors. They are no longer likewalking on ice. It’s really the difference ofnight and day in terms of how much

cleaner the floors and the work environ-ment is for our employees.”In addition to equipment support, Unist

has provided ARJ with key training onhow to properly program its 1,000-ton and1,200-ton servo presses. “Anytime I needsomething, their response is instant,” saysLamb. “That means a lot.”ARJ is evaluated regularly on produc-

tion efficiency using a system that factorsin statistics like number of employees,labor and parts produced. “Since we’vehad the Unist system, our PEFF numbershave gone up,” says Lamb. “We’re able tobe more efficient.” FFJ

ARJ Mfg. LLC, Jackson, Tenn.,731/927-8000, fax: 731/927-8080.

Unist Inc., Grand Rapids, Mich.,616/949-0853, fax: 616/949-9503,www.unist.com.

A low-volume spray nozzlesupports supplementallubrication needs.

BEFORE

AFTER

ARJ eliminates waste and achievesevenly distributed lubrication witha Unist Uni-Roller system.

Reprinted from FFJournal® February 2012 • Copyright Trend Publishing Inc.