Production Coil-Feed
Equipment Helps Die
Builder Prior to Production

Majestic Industries, one of the suburban Detroit's leading progressive die producers, isn't your typical die development shop. For starters, the company operates in a virtually paperless environment. "We perform every step of tool creation electronically, from initial database build to final part finishing," says Majestic president and co-owner Al Janiszewski. "At the end of the cycle, we hand the customer a CD with the die details for reference."

Another element that separates Majestic from their competitors is their total turnkey approach to building progressive stamping dies. Not only do they perform a series of checks and reviews as the tooling components are being produced, but also test out the dies once they have been finished. As Mr. Janiszewski explains, "we have the ability to reproduce actual stamping operations right here in our facility." This ability allows Majestic to run their dies through a variety of testing, using state-of-the-art equipment.

Maintaining a Real World Testing Environment

With approximately 95% of their customer base in the automotive industry, ensuring that their testing matches the conditions found in vehicle stamping operations is not something Majestic takes lightly. "Having a person manually pushing stock through a stamping operation simply won't do when you're trying to simulate the most demanding conditions out there," says Mr. Janiszewski. "We needed to be able to supply our presses with material on a basis that was more consistent, both in terms of providing a real-world scenario, as well as in terms of maintaining efficiency here in house."

For the past 5 years, Majestic has turned to Coe Press Equipment of Sterling Heights, MI, to help them meet their particular press feeding needs. Coe has installed three fully integrated coil steel processing lines for Majestic thus far. The first was a 42" wide x 20,000# capacity feed line, capable of processing light gauge metal (up to .100" thick). The line included a coil reel, power straightener, threading table and servo roll feeder. When the time came for Majestic to add a second line, Coe implemented another light gauge oil feed system, this time a 54" wide x 20,000# capacity line with similar features to the first. Recently, Majestic has tapped Coe again for another new feed system.

"We've recently installed a 1200 ton Eagle press with a 216" bed," states Mr. Janiszewski. "The machine is capable of 40 strokes per minutes. To my knowledge, no other progressive die manufacturer has this capability, and it gives us the most up-to-date stamping environment anywhere." To maintain the type of feed delivery that a press of that magnitude demands, Coe designed a Push-Pull system that would allow Majestic to step through the testing phase in a much more efficient and accurate manner.

' The line, a 72" wide x 30,000# capacity system, features a CPR-PO-30072 heavy-duty single end reel, designed to hold one (1) 30,000 lb. Steel coil. Coil staging and positioning on the mandrel is accomplished through the use of a traveling vee-deck coil car with 18" of vertical lift. A CPPS-PO-305-72 power straightener, designed to process light gauge materials while "pulling off" heavy and wide coils, moves the metal onto the CPDTT-7211 threading table. This table provides 11' of area between the straightener and the CPRF-672 Push-Pull servo roll feed. Input and processing is handled via an Indramat CLM-LZ Controller.

At the exit side of the press, Coe integrated a 72" wide shear into the feed base for cutting the scrap web. "Using light gauge material across a die that might take up the 216" of (press) bed length can be a challenge," explains Al. "Material that's that lightweight won't work well in a 'push-only' environment of this type. The farther it travels from the feeder, the more fatigue sets in. As a result, the metal will start to flex and bend, making it nearly impossible to maintain straightness. With the Push-Pull system, we've got one feeder at the entrance to the press, pushing the metal through. At the press exit, we've got another feeder, this time working to pull the metal along. The two are synchronized so they both work hand-in-hand. With this system, the steel maintains its straightness, eliminating a major obstacle in our testing phase."

No Hiccups

"We run a very efficient organization," explains Mr. Janiszewski. "With our paperless system, we move through all the customer reviews and checks up front, while we're still in the design phase. With our integrated conference room, the customer can get a true sense of how the component is progressing without having to assemble models or having him look over our shoulder during the build phase." This efficiency allows Majestic to produce both sides of the die simultaneously. It also allows for greater flexibility with scheduling and meeting customer demands. "We're building on average about 50 tools annually and we're doing it comfortably. That's the nice part about that. That way, if a customer comes along and says, 'We have a 20 week delivery; can you meet it?' we can say 'No problem.'"

In order to maintain this type of flexibility, all areas of the Majestic operation must work efficiently, especially when it comes time for testing. This means that the feed lines that deliver material to the press operations take on an exceptionally high priority. Mr. Janiszewski sums it up this way, "Our tryouts are high-visibility, and we can't have any hiccups. We do, on average, a 300 to 1,000-piece test run, which has to be flawless. When the customer is there watching everything go, we don't want to have any mistakes. The feed equipment must perform, and I think that's the biggest benefit of using Coe equipment; it's a good, hefty piece of machinery that I know I can rely on."

Another aspect that was crucial to Majestic was the ability of the feed lines to take on different demands than would be found in a normal stamping environment. "We don't beat them to death on a manufacturing basis," says Mr. Janiszewski. "We're not running production here, so they aren't getting the normal wear-and-tear of a 2 or 3 shift operation cycle. They get their workout in a different manner. We test the capability limitations of the machines, how well they push and pull metal, continuously starting and stopping them. We'll turn them on, run them to their highest output, then shut them down. And we do this over and over again. We pull and push and do everything to them, and they hold up well."

Majestic had tried other forms of feed systems in the past, but needed to allow for a greater assortment of metal stock sizes to accurately test out their dies. As Al states, "we need to be able to have a good deal of latitude when testing our dies. We tried using a cradle system, but when it came to running thinner gauge material in wide stock, the cradle systems didn't do well at all. With Coe's reel feed lines we're able to run a wide variety of stock with no problem. The reel feed lines stand up very well."

Meeting the Capacity, Meeting the Need

With a 65,000 sq. ft. facility running two shifts, Majestic Industries is in a very comfortable place. "We're at the capacity we want to be at," explains Mr. Janiszewski. "We don't want to be any bigger. I learned where to turn the headache off and where to turn it back on and that's it. Our intent at Majestic is not to be the biggest die company but to just be the best." Their relationship with Coe Press Equipment is in the same place. "The price was right, it was the machine we were looking for, and they had the best support. Anything you buy, even software, may be the best in the world, and if you don't have the support to answer questions, its useless. It's the same on a machine basis. With Coe, I can say the equipment speaks for itself. The durability and how it's built and everything else is a big plus. And, they're here whenever I need them. Even though they're local, I know that doesn't matter, because they support their equipment 100 percent."

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