FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
5.3: Scrap Handling Pneumatic Conveyors Serving Two High-Production Presses... A t the Morrison Products plant in Canton, GA, perform what’s commonly viewed as a non-value-added function, yet efficient and effective scrap removal represents a vital, constant and costly task faced by plant managers everywhere.
Vibro Industries) serving the two above-de- scribed presses. “The Transporter units, in service here for 30 yr., first of all, are very compact compared to other conveying solutions we’ve looked at,” John Dobson, maintenance supervisor, explains, “a key consideration with the limited aisle space in the areas where those presses operate, as well as making it easier for our teams to access the press to change or ser- vice a die. The pneumatic units also are easy to set up, and easy to rebuild when the time comes.”
“We run nine straightside mechanical presses here,” says plant manager Stephen Renz, “seven 100-ton presses and two 400- ton presses. We initially targeted the two highest-volume producers for automating the scrap-removal process. However, we recently completed a ‘scrap challenge’ companywide to survey scrap removal from most of the other presses, to eliminate ergonomic concerns with manual scrap handling and also to keep forklifts away from congested areas near the presses.” Music to the ears of any maintenance su- pervisor is any equipment that serves for years upon years, with little to no maintenance concerns beyond what’s recommended by the supplier. That’s exactly how the Morrisson Products team describes the pneumatic shak- er-style conveyors (Transporter models from
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The Canton, GA, facility of Morrisson Products employs Transporter conveyors for scrap removal on two high- producing stamping presses, including this 100-ton general- purpose press. It runs at speeds to 60 strokes/min. and can generate as much as 3000 lb. of scrap/day over two shifts.
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