The manufacturer currently has no laser, and the reason becomes obvious when you see parts emerging from the punch presses. The company uses form tools extensively, which helps eliminate the need for downstream operations. Along with standard punches, the shop has a plethora of custom shapes as well as custom forming tools.
“For instance, we used to bolt our ovens together with [projection welding] nuts,” Pastorius said. “It was just too time-consuming, with an operator standing all day by the spot welder. Now we create a form on the punch press that allows us to put all the ovens together with screws.”
This isn’t a tapping tool, but instead a thread forming tool from Wilson Tool that forms a kind of an embossment surrounding a special hole shape. Plainly visible on a cross-sectional view, the hole edge makes a spiral that forms a thread.
This article was originally published in The Fabricator.
September 08, 2016