Coil Handling / Press Feeding —
Part Production
Enters the Comfort Zone

New coil processing/stamping equipment - a coil handling and servo pass press feeding system, an in-press transfer system, and a 400-ton press increases productivity, maintains accuracy, and keeps part scrap to a minimum at Armstrong Air Conditioning.

Since the 1940's, Armstrong Air Conditioning (Bellevue, OH) has been keeping people comfortable. Its air-conditioning units keep consumers cool in the summer and its furnaces spread warmth in the winter.

But Armstrong found itself in an enviable, yet uncomfortable, situation - an increase in product demand, meaning increased production of stamped parts with high productivity levels and precision. At the time, the company didn't have existing stamping and coil feeding equipment capable of meeting the demands.

In the last several years, to increase productivity, Armstrong began to upgrade stamping equipment by integrating new coil feeding technology. The OEM had several older coil air feed systems on stamping presses (used for certain jobs) that did not provide the accuracy the company demanded.

A particular furnace part, which experienced significant growth, presented the first challenge. A 19.5-in x 20-in (49.5-cm x 50.8-cm) part is stamped in a mirror-image configuration out of 0.034-in (0.086-cm) stainless steel from a coil width of 22.5 in (57.15 cm).

Armstrong needed to increase the number of parts produced, maintain high productivity and precision, and keep part scrap to a minimum. Initially, the OEM didn't have the inside capacity to run it in house. The part was originally produced by an outside vendor using operators to feed parts between three dies in multiple presses.

Armstrong elected to produce the part in-house, by purchasing a press and automating the process using Coe Press Equipment's coil handling and servo press feeding systems, an HMS in-press transfer system, and a 400-ton press from Clearing Niagara.

Bill Hughes, manufacturing engineer for Armstrong, was assigned
to the part's production. "I looked at different press feed companies and involved the operators," explains Mr. Hughes "If the operators aren't satisfied and don't like the equipment because it's not "operator friendly", they're not going to take advantage of its capabilities."

Mr. Hughes said that input from the operators revealed a
preference for Coe equipment because it is American made and reportedly easy to use. "Our operators had never seen a computer controlled panel and never operated a press of this type. At first they were some-what intimidated by the equipment, but eventually felt very confident that they could learn to operate it," he says. Mr. Hughes believes that the Coe equipment is of high quality and will serve his company for many years. "It's not something that we're going to replace in 5 years," he says. "I appreciate the fact that it is user-friendly."

Armstrong is using a 400-ton (89,600-lb) press with a 60-in x 120-in (152.4-cm x 304.8-cm) bolster area. The line has a Coe model CTR-PO-20048 pull-off coil reel, model CTPF-PO-350-48 powered straightener, and model CPRF-448 servo roll feed. Up to a 48-in (121.92-cm) wide coil can be handled with a thickness of 0.090 in (0.229 cm) at 48 in (121.92 cm) wide on this system.

"To run various batch sizes we must get dies in and out quickly,"
says Mr. Hughes. "To do this efficiently, we selected the peeler/threader/hold-down option on the Coe equipment, as well use other optional equipment available for the Coe line that would help reduce set up times." He continues, "This line is capable of handling up to a 20,000-lb, 48-in (121.92-cm) wide coil, but we're not currently running anything that wide. On the other end, we're
running a job that's about 1 1/2-in (3.81-cm) wide. It's a narrow part, but it's very long, so we're using a press this size. We were not sure how well the 48-in (121.92-cm) Coe line would handle a narrow coil like that, but the part runs perfectly."

Other part materials that run on this press and feed line include
aluminized steel, cold-rolled steel, and galvanized steel with
thickness ranging from 0.028 in to 0.061 in (0.071 cm to 0.155 cm).

"We wanted to find people that we could partner with for the long
haul," he says. "We bought two Coe feed lines, and we know several years from now, we're going to buy more."

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