Dassel , Minnesota: Can the addition of a punch press tool system facilitate a major Lean Initiative where fabricating throughput is increased 85 percent and costs reduced 20 percent? According to Chad Fredricks, plant supervisor for Firelake Manufacturing, LLC it certainly can.
Use of Mate Precision Tooling’s SnapLock™ tooling brought about major changes in the way Firelake fabricated and assembled electrical boxes used in the company’s product line of waste oil heaters and boilers. The changes resulted in major fabricating improvements while significantly reducing component costs. (Photos One and Two)
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| PHOTOS ONE AND TWO CAPTION: Chad Fredricks, Firelake Manufacturing holds Mate Snaplock™ Tool which boosted electrical box fabricating throughput 85 percent and reduced costs 20 percent. Electrical box assembly was done without welding or fasteners. |
“We identified our electrical box fabricating and spot welding operations as a choke point in our just-in-time operations,” Fredricks reported. “We have seasonal requirements for these electrical boxes in small quantities of around 100-150 a week in two sizes. In addition to requiring multiple fabricating operations, the boxes are shipped out for painting after fabricating and welding, then returned to our plant where they await assembly into our waste oil heater and boiler product line. It was a real challenge scheduling the fabricating operations, spot welding, painting and assembly until we developed an entirely new process around the SnapLock tool.”
Firelake Manufacturing’s Product Line Is Ideal Candidate For Fabricating Process Upgrades Using Mate’s Latest Application Specific Punch Press Tooling
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| PHOTO THREE CAPTION: Firelake Manufacturing's patented Horizon multi-oil heater employs fabricated electrical boxrs in burning module. |
All of Firelake’s products have multiple sheet metal components which are fabricated in the company’s Dassel, Minnesota manufacturing operations. Firelake has been a successful family owned custom fabricating business dating to the 1950’s. It acquired the Firelake product line in 2002. Designed for the times, these innovative products turn waste oil into profits through a line of patented heaters, furnaces and boilers which are fueled by the waste oil. ( Photo Three)
To manufacture these products, the company utilizes in house punching, forming, spot welding, and assembly operations employing cellular and just-in-time processes. Three years ago, the company embarked on an aggressive lean manufacturing program which includes examining new equipment and processes for increasing productivity while reducing costs.
“Lean manufacturing is very important to us,” stated Fredricks. “We’re constantly looking for new ideas and critically analyze every component in our products to see if there’s a better way to make them. Sheet metal is a major component in our product line. Material costs have skyrocketed so we are constantly examining ways to economize on material and process it better without compromising quality.
SnapLock Tool Becomes Key Driver
For A Major Firelake Lean Manufacturing Initiative
“It started after reading about the SnapLock tool in a trade magazine,” reported Fredricks. “Our design and manufacturing team talked about the possibilities with the tool if it allowed us to fabricate our electrical boxes out of a single pre-coated or pre-painted sheet metal component. We made these electrical boxes out of three punched components which were formed and spot welded into a finished assembly. Reducing the number of components from three to one was really significant. Just as important, was consolidating production operations so that the single sheet metal component could be punched, folded and snapped together without painting and without spot welding. We called in our Mate sales engineer Paul Yungner for his recommendations.”
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| PHOTO FOUR CAPTION: Mate's Snaplock lance and form tool produces self-locking, spring loaded tabs that snap together in pre-punched holes. |
SnapLock is a lance and form tool which produces self-locking, spring loaded tabs that snap securely into pre-punched holes. The tool does this by forming a small button in the top of the metal form which is semi-sheared to provide a positive mechanical lock when engaged with a second punched hole in the receiving tab. This tab and hole design locks the two components securely together without the need for welding or additional assembly operations. (Photo Four)
The SnapLock tool is ideally suited to the capabilities of Firelake’s Amada 345 turret press which handles 0.25 inch thick material in up to 40” x 100” sheet sizes. The press has
± 0.004 punching accuracy with ± .0.001 repeatability at a maximum 2783 IPM positioning speed. It’s a fast 33 ton press with large 58 station turret capacity capable of handling the SnapLock and all of Mate’s full line of application specific tools.
Fredricks wanted to produce as many of the electrical box components in a single sheet to save material and maximize press speed. “Using our Striker CAD software, we redesigned the electrical boxes from three sheet metal components into one,” said Fredricks. The new part was designed with a SnapLock form in each of the four corners. In order to minimize scrap and maximize press speed, Fredricks programmed the Amada press to produce 3 electrical box blanks out of each 20 gauge galvanized steel 12 inch x 48 inch sheet panel. ( Photos Five and Six)
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| PHOTOS FIVE AND SIX CAPTION: Completed electrical box using the Mate Snaplock tool products neat, interlocking tabs on pre-painted steel. The SnapLock tool eliminated need for messy spot welding. |
Firelake’s designers made up test prototypes which proved workable and from there Fredericks and his team designed the fabricating and assembly process. The work procedure was re-organized to take advantage of the cellular layout of the fabricating department.
“The new process is really quite simple and handled easily by one operator,” reports Fredericks. “The turret press operator loads each sheet for punching and forming and when completed, loads a second sheet. While the second sheet is being punched, the operator shakes loose the completed parts from the first sheet and moves them to the adjacent press brake (Cincinnati Auto Form 175). As the operator forms the sides of each electrical box on the press brake, the tabs are engaged which form a secure fabricated joint that does not require welding. When all four tabs have been engaged, the electrical box assembly is complete. The sequence is repeated for the next electrical box and so on. No additional finishing or painting is required because the sheet material is either pre-coated or pre-painted according to the product’s design criteria.” ( Photos Seven and Eight)
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| PHOTOS SEVEN AND EIGHT CAPTIONS: Punched and formed electical box blanks are producted quickly in "side-by-side" machine punching and forming operations. no spot welding or outside finished painting is needed since the blanks are punched and formed from either pre-painted or pre-coated steel sheet material. |
Quality Improvements Made With SnapLock Tool
In addition to greatly improved productivity, labor and material cost savings, quality and clean air improvements were also made, according to Fredricks. “Spot welding the coated material, either galvanized or painted, caused finish problems which required refinishing and re-painting. Sending the parts out for painting was a headache as was spot welding the coated material which posed clean air issues. All of this went away with the use of the SnapLock tool. Plus the electrical boxes looked nicer.”
“Overall, we estimated electrical box throughput was improved 85 percent while costs were reduced 20 percent. The SnapLock tool paid for itself in less than six months. Our operators really like what it does and we’ve have had no problems with it. The tool requires only normal cleaning and lubrication,” Fredricks concluded.
For more information on Firelake Manufacturing’s complete line of waste oil heaters and boilers, call 1320-275-3391. Email: cfredricks@firelakemfg.com See at www.firelakemfg.com Or write to Firelake Manufacturing Company, 961 North First Street, Dassel, Minnesota 55325. Fax: 320-275-2779.
For more information on Amada turret presses, call 877-262-3287. Or write to Amada America, Inc. 7025 Firestone Boulevard, Buena Park, California 90621. Website: www.amada.com Email: info@amada.com
For more information on Cincinnati forming centers, call 513-367-7100. Or write to Cincinnati Incorporated, Box 1111, Cincinnati, Ohio 45211-0111. Website: www.e-ci.com Email: info@e-ci.com
For more information on Mate’s SnapLock tooling, call for FREE brochure in USA and Canada, 1-800-328-4492. Outside USA and Canada, call 1-763-421-0230. Website: www.mate.com/snaplock.html
Or write to MATE PRECISION TOOLING, 1295 Lund Boulevard, Anoka, Minnesota 55303. USA and Canada, Fax 1-800-541-0285. Outside USA and Canada,
Fax 1-763-421-0285.
Website: www.mate.com Email: marketing@mate.com
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