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TRUMPF machine brings major benefits to Formatic 2000 |
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 by Jerry Cook
Initially, adding more production capacity might have been the primary impetus behind Mississauga, ON-based Formatic 2000 Inc.'s decision to install a new TRUMPF combination laser cutting and punch press machine, but the custom sheetmetal fabricator has realized a variety of other benefits as well.
"I needed more capacity," says John Armstrong with Formatic, Mississauga, ON. "We were running 20 hours day and it was becoming difficult to service our customers."
However, when Armstrong began looking for a new laser cutting and punch press machine, he wasn't considering TRUMPF. Instead, Armstrong was planning on installing a competitor's machine. "My intention was to buy another make of machine entirely."
However, Armstrong quickly changed his mind when he began looking at the technology that was featured in TRUMPF's equipment.
"The spread in technology between the TRUMPF machine and the competitor's machine that we were using was incredible. The TRUMPF machine had so much new technology I really didn't have a choice (as far as selecting which machine)," he notes.
As a result, Formatic installed a TRUMATIC 6000L combination laser cutting and punch press machine late last year.
The TRUMATIC 6000L combination laser cutting and punch press machine was supplied by Advanced Fabricating Machinery Inc., Mississauga, ON (www.afmcanada.com).
Formatic, which began operations in 1972, has 25 employees at its 18,000 sq. ft. facility.
Formatic does custom sheet metal fabrication for a variety of customers in various markets.
"We are very diversified," says Armstrong. "We do everything from electronics to architectural to medical. We don't do any automotive work because that market is too volatile. Also, it's too high volume for us."
Formatic has done work for various industries including machinery enclosures and covers; appliance manufacture; retail store fixtures; photocopier/printing equipment; office furniture systems; and many more.
Typically, Formatic's part runs range from prototypes and one-offs up to 1,000 pieces.
Formatic works to standard tolerances in laser cutting and punching of plus or minus 0.005 in.; plus or minus 0.010 in. to 0.015 in. for brake press forming; and plus or minus 0.015 in. to 0.030 in. for weldments.
Formatic is typically dealing with material thicknesses up to 1/4 in. The company works with a variety of materials including stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, mild steel, and more.
Approximately 70% of Formatic's sales are into the domestic market with the remaining 30% into export markets, primarily the United States.
Not surprisingly, as a custom fabricator, Formatic is heavily involved in prototype work, points out Armstrong. "We do research and development and development of a product from the ground up."
The firm's engineering department uses AutoCAD 2000 to design parts and complex assemblies.
The company can also reverse engineer existing parts for production using a Virtek laser scanner. Flat part outlines can be scanned and a CAD model generated for CNC programming.
This technology can also be used to inspect and compare reverse engineered parts to a sample part.
There were a number of advanced technology features incorporated in the TRUMATIC 6000L machine that proved to be major selling points for Armstrong.
For one thing, Armstrong singles out the machine's hydraulic punching capability. The machine provides quick forming due to the closed hydraulic loop of the TRUMATIC 6000L.
Another feature that Armstrong is impressed with is the machine's positive stripping capability. Using the TRUMATIC 6000L's advanced stripper control allows materials with sensitive surfaces to be machined.
The advanced stripper control varies the press-down force from stroke to stroke-adjusting itself continuously to the demands of the machining operation.
The TRUMATIC's open control, he continues, guarantees ease of operation and was also an important selling feature.
Another feature that impressed Armstrong was the machine's part ejection system. It is a system of fixed and movable chutes which ensures that parts are ejected quickly and safely. Sensors monitor the ejection process at both punching and laser stations.
The TRUMATIC machine can handle a variety of sophisticated jobs including punching of standard contours, such as round or rectangular holes, with one stroke; laser cutting of filigree inner and outer contours with a smooth, burr-free cut edge; and tapping (forming of all kinds including beading, penetrations).
The TRUMATIC 6000L features a table size of 50 in. x 101 in. and has a punching capacity of 25 tons and a 2,000 watt CO2 laser.
The TRUMPF laser cutting and punch press combination machine has provided a variety of benefits to Formatic.
For example, the TRUMATIC machine features an optimized punching head that enables the unit to attain punching stroke rates of up to 900 strokes per minute and 2,800 strokes per minute during marking.
"The TRUMPF machine's punching rate of 900 hits per minute is double the speed of the punching machines we were previously using," he says.
In addition, the machine's marking capability has also proven to be a valuable feature, adds Armstrong.
"This has been a wonderful feature especially for the medical market. The medical sector is so controlled, they want information marked on every part.
"We didn't have marking capability previously and that work had to be outsourced. The new TRUMPF machine has allowed us to bring the marking work back inhouse," he notes.
According to Armstrong, the TRUMPF machine has also had a major impact in reducing secondary operations.
"Typically, in sheet metal, you can't punch a hole smaller than the thickness of the material. However, the other day we punched a 1/8 in. hole in 5/16 in. material. As a result, there is no more drilling and tapping of small holes.
"The new machine has reduced secondary operations significantly," he points out.
Armstrong also singled out the level of service and support that TRUMPF and Advanced Fabricating provide as being critical, particularly since this was the first TRUMPF machine that Formatic has installed.
"TRUMPF has a great support network and they provide very good support in Canada and out of their headquarters in Farmington, CT," he notes.
As a result, training on the new machine was a simple and straightforward process. "TRUMPF handled training on the TRUMATIC 6000L at our facility.
"They sent a trainer in here for a week to do training on the machine. I was also lucky because we hired an individual around the same time who had previous TRUMPF experience and who has helped train our operators," he explains.
Continues Armstrong, "Probably the biggest problem was that the technology on the TRUMPF machine was so radically different from the machine we previously used. It took time for our operators to look at things a different way."
The TRUMPF laser cutting and punch press combination machine has had a dramatic impact on Formatic's operation, says Armstrong. "The machine has made every job that we do more cost effective because of the high speed. We've run jobs on the TRUMPF machine in record time compared to our previous machine."
afmcanada.com |
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