Tool grinding can be taxing and labor-intensive. The surface grinding system requires an operator to monitor the operation continually. But what happens if some parts show signs of burrs or tooling wear. Some operators bring them to a machine shop where a technician sharpens them, but usually it takes time before the handed over tools for sharpening are finished.
Tool grinding can be made more efficient with its tool life extended as well. Tool life isn’t measured by the number of hours a tool spends in a turret press; it’s about the number of hits it makes, and in what material. For instance, stainless steel is hard and abrasive, so it takes the tool edge off a little faster than the pre-painted and galvanized material.
Also, different parts require different holes. Some parts need 1/4-inch or 3/8-inch round punches for screw holes. Others may need obround punches, and still others may use pierce-flare tools to create forms that aid part assembly. Some tools may perform a thousand hits a week, others only 50 or so. But not all tools need sharpening at the same time.
To make the most of operating efficiency, operators must maximize hits per tool; minimize tool change-outs; and maximize the effectiveness of tool sharpening. Balancing all three, allows a company’s turret presses to process more quality parts in less time.
Extending tool lifeA company must promote practices to extend tool life since manufacturing plants work with a tremendous variety of products, and hole sizes change frequently. There are relatively common industry practices that follow the lean mantra or minimizing set-ups. If a large number of holes require one punch diameter, the operator may load two identical tools into the turret. This way, if one tool shows signs of wear, the operator can alter the program to punch with the new tool to finish out the run. Other turret tools may punch certain holes in one hit and nibble out other holes larger than the punch diameter, for example, a 1-inch round punch nibbling out a 1 1/2-inch diameter hole.
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