Stamp of Approval for Feed System Integrated With Progressive Die

The tool and die industry in the USA may be struggling to recapture its pre-2001 momentum, but companies in this business sector could benefit by the value added services of Action Feed Systems (AFS). This was successfully proven by a recent installation at a Chicago area tool and die company which augmented its design and machining capabilities by feeding, inserting and staking two styles of rivets into progressive stamping dies producing components for a garage door manufacturer. With plenty of quality input from the tool and die shop, AFS took the project from four designated 'cutouts' on a CAD drawing to the final design and on-site debug stages during installation at its facility.

Precision tool steel components were integrated with air cylinders, stainless-steel gravity tracks (air vibration assisted), mobile tube-frame support tables, feeder bowls, storage hoppers and controls with fibre optics. The two rivet styles are used on separate progressive stamping dies, thus the need for changeover and mobility. Tube frame supports with 1 inch thick top plates were designed to roll on 4 inch diameter casters once the levelling pads are retracted, providing the mobility to move between presses and dies as production is required. Tooling features integrated into the feeder bowls automatically remove one style of rivet from the feed line when it is set up for the other style, thus preventing QC issues down the manufacturing line. Technicians employed by the die maker will finalize the initial installation and demonstration performed by AFS. This will include the plumbing and wiring necessary to integrate the system into the operation of a 300 ton press. Offering a completely assembled component for the end-user eliminated the need for a secondary operation, labor involved in placing and staking the rivets by hand, and the repetitive motion liability squeezing so many manufacturers.