Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Why an Ordinary Coil Processing System Can’t Handle Aluminum & How Feed Lease Corp Built N. America’s 1st Servo Feed System That Can


Coil Handling Equipment and Servo Feeds

Our Client:


After the world’s #1 truck manufacturer went all in on an all aluminum-bodied truck the challenges for its entire supply chain began.  Our customer is a Tier One Automotive supplier in need of a custom Aluminum Coil Processing System to handle the unique challenges aluminum presented.


Our Challenge:


Create a servo feed and coil handling system that accommodates military-grade Aluminum alloy with a .015” (0.4mm) minimum stock thickness and a maximum stock width of 72” (1828 mm) in a capacity and application never done before.

For 45 years we’ve built custom coil handling equipment for feeding, straightening, and shearing and we’ve pretty much handled every variable there is -- with steel.

But aluminum is not steel.

We had no choice but address every challenge head on. As a result the new coil handling system overcomes the many challenges unique to aluminum including:

Aluminum is much softer than steel
Aluminum is not magnetic
Aluminum is not as pliable as steel
Aluminum has to stay cleaner than steel
Aluminum can’t withstand bends or scratches like steel


Our Story:


Manufacturing with aluminum is not even in the same ballpark as steel.

Tolerances on everything from the forming and bending to the cleanliness of the blanks is much more formidable compared to steel. Not to mention the body is joined by rivets and glue instead of spot welding.

After months of expert engineering and building we’ve delivered four Feed Lease Corp custom aluminum coil processing machines that are now in full time operation for the client.


Our Results:


North America’s first and only Servo Feed and Coil Handling Equipment built to handle an aluminum application. Some of the many unique features are:

•    Servo-Driven Tail Out Feeder
with Vacuum Belt for transfer application
•    Outboard Support Rails with powered adjustment
•    Powered Telescoping into die area
•    Hard-Chromed Straightening Rolls ground to a specific micro finish to prevent marking and build up
•    1” of Depth Engagement on straightening rolls for enhanced straightening capabilities
•    Four Pad Mandrel Design with wedge expansion to help prevent coil triangulation at end of run
•    Automatic Coil Centering via coil car and laser sensors
•    Recipe Driven Automatic job setup of multiple functions

No other Servo Feed or Coil Handling Equipment company has a system to handle aluminum at this scale. Our machines and systems overcome the many nuances of working with aluminum coils that typical steel coils never encounter.

Who We Are:


We’re Feed Lease Corporation. For over 45 years, we’ve been committed to designing and building premium quality, high performance Press Automation and Coil Handling Equipment.

From space-saving coil processing lines to custom servo feeds, CTL shearing and conventional lines that work with Class A and other surface-critical materials, count on us to provide a smart and proven solution.

For more information, call 248.377.0000 or visit us on the web at: www.FeedLease.com.

Friday, November 7, 2014

Which Company Built America’s 1st Aluminum Coil Processing Machine? We Did. We’ll Show You What We Did at FabTech on November 11th.

Feed Lease Coil Handling Equipment
Staying on the cutting edge of Servo Feed, Coil Handling Equipment, and Shearing requires proven engineering know-how and the guts to custom build coil processing and handling solutions that never existed before.

One way we get better at that is attending industry events like FABTECH.

We’ll be there at booth B-1533 Atlanta from November 11-13.

You can learn about some of our latest builds including the first aluminum coil processing system in North America. Now in use by a Tier 1 Supplier stamping body panels as thin as .4 mm for the first full aluminum automotive body.

Engineering this system was definitely tough, but now that we’ve built the 4th of its kind - delivered and operating - the tough part is over. We’ve got a smart and proven servo feed and coil handling solution ready to go for any aluminum application you have.


What is FABTECH 2014?

 

Servo FeedFabTech is North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing industry event. This year’s show is slated to bring in 30,000 attendees and over 1400 exhibitors.

The show will cover over half a million square feet of the Georgia World Congress Center. You can experience live demonstrations, find new cost-saving solutions and network with people in your industry. There’ll be over 100 educational sessions and expert-led presentations on the latest trends and technology in metal forming, fabricating, welding and finishing.


We’ll Bring Our 45-Years of Coil Processing Experience to Booth #B-1533


As a family-owned company with over four decades in the business we’ve created solutions for just about every coil processing, coil handling, straightening, feeding and cutting application possible.

It’s events like FABTECH 2014 where we get to do business the way we like—the old-fashioned way—belly-to-belly with our current customers, and face-to-face meetings with our future customers.

Come by the booth, see what we’re up to, get questions answered and challenge us with your servo feed application needs. We’ll be at Booth #B-1533 all week long.


About Us


We’re Feed Lease Corporation. We’re committed to designing and building premium quality, high-performance Coil Processing and press automation equipment.

From space-saving coil processing lines to servo feeds, CTL shearing and conventional lines that work with Class A and other surface-critical materials, count on us to provide a smart and proven solution.

For more information, call 248.377.0000 or visit us on the web at: www.feedlease.com.