February 2012

The magazine for todays metal fabricating & forming technologies

www.ffjournal.net

THE
GREAT
DIVIDE
Manufacturers need workers
and Americans need jobs,
but a skills gap is keeping
them apart

Inside: Stamping
Stamper saves costs and
raises production
efficiencies with an
updated fluid delivery
system from Unist Inc.

A TREND Publication

Stamping

BY LYNN STANLEY, SENIOR EDITOR

Consistent application
of lubricant creates a
cleaner shop, less
waste, longer tool life,
and better part quality.

Well-oiled

workpieces
Stamper saves costs and raises production efficiencies
with an updated fluid delivery system

hen you stamp and ship

parts on a just-in-time
basis, maintaining an
outdated lubrication system for metal strip stock is a slippery slope
that can lead to part defects, idle presses
and stalled throughput. ARJ Mfg. LLC,
Jackson, Tenn., replaced its lube-to-lube
application with Unist Inc.s Uni-Roller
system and found the Grand Rapids,
Mich.-based companys product cleaned
up its press room floor and saves the company $20,000 a month.
ARJ is a manufacturer of stamped and
welded components for the automotive industry. The fabricator runs eight press
production lines supported by nearly 600
FFJournal February 2012

tools to provide just-in-time parts for major

automotive companies. Weve been running seven days a week for the last year,
says Brian Lamb, assistant manager for
ARJs stamping department. We ship parts
to 40 different customers every day, so we
cant afford to have press downtime.
The plant had inherited much of its
equipment, including its lubrication system. The stamping department houses six
mechanical presses and two servo presses
ranging in size from 300 tons to 1,200 tons.
Each press is fed a metal strip from a coil
feeder. ARJs petroleum-based lube-to-lube
application, installed on the feeder of each
production line, was set to coat the top and
bottom of the metal strip as it left the

feeder before it entered the press and die.

We had a drip method but I liked to call
it a pour method, says Lamb. We would
fill the oil pumps and the units motor
would filter the oil and send it through lines
connected to a round pipe positioned over
the steel strip. Settings controlling lubrication frequency and duration depended on
the type of tool we were running. Once initiated, rollers were supposed to evenly
distribute the oil over the steel strip, but
when the pipe came on, oil would pour
onto the steel and everywhere else.
Taking control
Proper lubrication is an essential ingredient to keeping press production lines

running at optimal performance. Without

it, part quality can deteriorate and press
and tooling performance suffer. If you
dont lube your metal strip, you can gall
your forms and punches and make parts
that have burrs or splits, says Lamb. If a
part has burrs or galling, it can be reworked but you arent making any money
that way. If a part splits, its scrap.
ARJ primarily uses high-strength steel to
form components for every aspect of a car
seat. Some parts receive secondary operations like welding for frame assemblies. Parts
can range from the track a car seat slides
backward and forward on to side members,
back and head supports and components
for seat belts.
High-strength steel is difficult to form,
says Lamb. We do a lot of transfer and extrusion work as well as some progressive die
work, so from both a tooling and material
standpoint, we have to have the right lubrication system in place.
If a punch is impacted by inefficient lubrication, it cant always be replaced.
Instead, the die has to be pulled and sent
to the shop for maintenance. If a die is
pulled, press production stops, says
Lamb. As a just-in-time stamper, if tooling has to come out of the press, it has to

A DIFFERENT
ROLLER DESIGN

Unists programmable fluid controller stores job recipes and monitors

critical parameters like fluid level, pressure and flow.

be turned around quickly to go back in.

When the fabricator began researching
lubrication systems, the choice came down
to two companies. Unist offered a unique
roller lubrication system with a programmable fluid controller, says Lamb. The
other company offered a spray method.
ARJ took on both companies in a 30-day
trial. The spray method required ARJ to set

Perforated stainless
steel roller cores

up sprayers on each press for each die

change. We perform about 40 die
changes in a shift, says Lamb. We use
rolling bolsters to keep die changes to five
minutes or less. Having to set up sprayers
twice for every die changeover quickly
added up to a lot of time that impacted die
changes and productivity. Sprayers were
also mounted on feeders much like our old

Porous foam or
felt roller covers

A patented internally fed

roller design is the key to
precise fluid delivery.
Internal fluid
dispensing tubes

Fluid from
SPR-2000 or
SPR-200 JR
programmable
fluid controller

Uniform top and

bottom coating

February 2012 FFJournal

Stamping
system for a couple of the lines and made
a worse mess than what we had with our
old system. When we completed the trial,
the caliber and performance of the Unist
equipment was clearly superior.
Parts saved from the trial also were inspected and revealed no rust. In June
2011, ARJ purchased eight Unist UniRoller lubrication systems in widths of
23 in. to 46 in. equipped with the companys SPR-2000 programmable fluid
controllers. The systems initially were installed on three presses with the additional
systems being added to a press line every
two to three months.
The Uni-Roller, installed near the feeder,
has a pressurized tank for lubrication. The
SPR-2000 controller allows operators to program and save job recipes. The system
evenly distributed a soap-based synthetic lubrication across the top and bottom of the
steel, says Lamb. There were no puddles
or dripping, and for the first time in eight
years, we were able to coat the bottom of the
strip just like the top.
In 1957, Unist designed and patented a
low-volume, low-pressure lubrication spray
system. Since then, the company has continued to develop lubrication system
technology to support stamping, machining and cutting operations. The company
also understands todays metal formers are
required to meet more stringent environmental regulations while looking for ways
to reduce costs such as waste disposal.
Raising efficiencies
Unlike conventional lubrication systems,
we created a patented internally fed roller
design to support precision fluid delivery,
says Nate Pegman, marketing and communications manager for Unist. The systems
primary advantage is its ability to provide a
consistent application of the exact amount
of lubricant. As a result, our systems are able
to eliminate the mess and waste of traditional spray systems and less-sophisticated
externally lubricated roller designs.
The dependability of the stationary system allows operators to focus their attention
on parts production and shipment deadlines. With the old system, the lines would
clog up about every two to three hours,
says Lamb. When this happened, we
would have to stop the press and blow out
FFJournal February 2012

BEFORE
A low-volume spray nozzle
supports supplemental
lubrication needs.

the lines. That was time the press should

have been running, making parts. With the
Unist system, we dont have to worry about
that. Once the system is turned on, you can
forget about it because its not causing problems downstream in your production line.
The fluid controller for the Uni-Roller
allows an operator to create individual setups for specific jobs but also has been
designed to monitor critical parameters
such as fluid levels, pressure and flow.
Weve taken the extra step to develop
low-volume nozzles, which feature an integrated valve at the nozzle tip for instant
on/off control to eliminate drips. Precision needle valves allow the operator to
fine-tune the lubricant spray, Pegman
says. These nozzles are especially useful
for supplemental lubrication for progressive die or extrusion work where extra
lubricant is required.
For ARJ, the ability to control lubrication overspray and ensure lubricant is
dispensed only where needed has delivered several key advantages. We are
saving $20,000 a month on lube costs
with the Unist system, says Lamb. Our
tooling guys like the coating the material
is getting because proper lubrication adds
to longer die and tooling life and less
maintenance. Our operators glove usage
also has been reduced because the parts
they are stacking coming off the presses
are cleaner. But the biggest visual difference is our floors. They are no longer like
walking on ice. Its really the difference of
night and day in terms of how much

AFTER

ARJ eliminates waste and achieves

evenly distributed lubrication with
a Unist Uni-Roller system.

cleaner the floors and the work environment is for our employees.
In addition to equipment support, Unist
has provided ARJ with key training on
how to properly program its 1,000-ton and
1,200-ton servo presses. Anytime I need
something, their response is instant, says
Lamb. That means a lot.
ARJ is evaluated regularly on production efficiency using a system that factors
in statistics like number of employees,
labor and parts produced. Since weve
had the Unist system, our PEFF numbers
have gone up, says Lamb. Were able to
be 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.

Reprinted from FFJournal February 2012 Copyright Trend Publishing Inc.