EoW May 2011

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EuroWire – May 2011 48
Drawing dies & cones
INVESTMENT
OPPORTUNITY
By a big wire
ropes industry,
at the center
of Europe
A partner for
installing wire
drawing project
is sought
PO BOX 0302
Wire & Cable ASIA magazine
and EuroWire magazine,
46 Holly Walk, Leamington Spa,
Warwickshire CV32 4HY
The benefits of
in-house die shops
The economic pressure on wire mills has resulted in reviewing all non-production
overhead costs, including in-house die shops. There are many issues to consider when
looking at outsourcing the re-working of dies.
Reduction of overhead is often the motivating reason to close an internal die shop.
It is not possible to get rid of all the personnel, since someone will need to keep track of
inventory to prevent running out of dies.
An inspection programme must be implemented to ensure the quality being supplied
to prevent premature failures, inconsistent results and to be able to qualify different
suppliers. This will require at least one operator in the die shop or added to the
quality department.
Since few wire mills inspect incoming dies, there can be inconsistencies with the dies’
internal geometry, complete non-conformance to specified die angles and bearing
lengths and poor surface finishes.
With outsourced or throw away dies usage is increased since operators rarely inspect
dies that have limited wire drawn through them for wear; they are just discarded with
worn dies. Shipping costs increase since every die must be shipped to the mill, and
when there is an emergency, next day air charges add up quickly.
An internal shop can quickly produce dies to meet a customer’s demand for a new size,
reduce lead-time by not waiting for a supplier, and provide the ability to adjust die
geometry to solve drawing problems. These abilities will reduce scrap and make the
mill more efficient.
The key to operating a successful internal die shop is equipment that makes it easy
and accurate to set the geometry of the die the same every time without operator
influence, proper training to understand the correct procedures for reworking worn
dies into high quality dies and die designs to match the reductions, material and
equipment.
Die Quip can supply machines, training programmes and design knowledge to make
in-house die shops a production tool, rather than an overhead expense.
Die Quip Corporation – USA
Fax: +1 412 835 6474
Email:
Website:
▲ ▲ Equipment from Die Quip