FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
M anufacturing in an industry segment— the building industry—with a Press Feed Strong
Simpson Strong-Tie’s 60 staff engineers continually research and develop innovative structural-connector designs, resulting in new and complex stamped and formed metal parts, such as these hurricane ties, hip-beam-to-ridge beam connectors, truss hinges and rafter hinges.
peeler station, thread- ing tables, uncoiler and coil car. With this control, an operator can thread a coil in 5 min. and set up the entire feed line in less than 1 min. “The new features have helped Simpson Strong-Tie eliminate safety issues that were previously experienced. Also, having all of the jobs programmed into the system has helped quicken setup times. Although the installation has increased production, speeding through- put was not the main goal. “We were not looking into accelerating production as much as we were looking to eliminate security risks and ease setups,” a company spokesperson comments.
H2W 200-H (high-speed) servo presses. Each feed line com- prises a 20,000-lb.-capacity un- coiler with accompanying coil car, a powered straightener with
Simpson Strong-Tie upgraded its press-feed lines with three Formtek-Maine 36-in.-wide coil-feed systems and one 72-in-wide coil-feed system. The lines pair with new Komatsu two-point H2W 200-H (high-speed) servo presses. Each feed line comprises a 20,000-lb.-capacity uncoiler with accompanying coil car, a powered straightener with a holddown peeler station on the entry end to facilitate hands-free threadup, and a Unist stock-lubrication system.
heightened awareness of safety and security, Simpson Strong-Tie upgraded its outdated press feed equipment with safer, more secure machinery. Simpson Strong-Tie runs multiple press- feed lines in its Stockton, CA, plant. Though operational, the lines had aged to the point that obsolescence became an issue. Manu- facturing in an industry segment—the build- ing industry—with a heightened awareness of safety and security, Simpson Strong-Tie
a hold-down peeler station on the entry end to facilitate hands-free threading
needed to upgrade its outdated press feed equipment with safer, more secure machinery, as well as its software. The operations team scrutinized the feed lines to glean opportuni- ties for improvement. The team sought to install equipment equal in quality to its existing lines but with as much automation as possible. The company decided to install three nearly identical, CWP 36-in.-wide servo-driven press- feed lines, paired with Komatsu two-point
and a Unist stock-lubrication system. The two-roll servo feed lines were engi- neered for maximum automation with Al- len-Bradley Kinetix controls and Compact Logix PLC—a “total system control,” according to Formtek-Maine officials. The system posi - tions a color touchscreen HMI at the feeder control console and a second touchscreen at the straightener control panel to control the back of the line: the straightener, holddown
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