Do Your Coils Need To Be Cradled?

What’s old is new again. Coil cradles are making a big comeback these days. But here at Feed Lease, they never went away. We’ve been building the kings of coil containment with rugged, heavy-duty steel construction and hardened nest rolls all along, although in recent years they’ve been upgraded and refined with enhanced features. 

Coil cradles don’t get promoted as much, but there are several benefits to choosing them over more conventional coil-reel-based lines. They are generally less expensive and, depending on the application, cradles can be a more effective and efficient way to handle thicker materials since they are ideal for thicknesses between .060 inches and .75 inches, including high strength materials. That also makes them particularly useful for fineblanking applications. 

Cradles may have you thinking of babies rocking, but there’s nothing delicate about Feed Lease coil cradles. They can handle coil weights ranging from 4,000 to 60,000 pounds, and widths from two inches to 84 inches. Surely, those material capacities can satisfy almost any application.

Coil cradles are a good choice because they will generally require less floor space than a conventional feeding system. They also offer excellent containment as materials stay within the confines of the entire system.

Coil cradles are simple to operate; so less-experienced people can work the machine. That’s important with employee turnover and rising labor costs.

Today, Feed Lease coil cradles feature AC variable frequency drives that provide automatic variable payout speeds and inside plates that are independently adjustable to handle a variety of widths. Our cradles are also available with inline pinch rolls or powered straighteners; curved material deflectors for loop confinement, flip-open chutes for loading and a peeler/debender to peel the leading edge and backbend for threading.

So, are you ready to take a step back in history to save money and floor space? Give us a call at 248-377-0000 and we’ll get your coils cradled asap.

Congratulations! It's an ERP!

We adopted an enterprise resource planning software package (ERP) at Feed Lease. Perhaps “given birth to” the software is a better description since we felt like we were going through contractions, hyperventilating and feeling an intense pressure to push during its early installation. 

But now that our baby is mostly up and running, we are experiencing some of the joys ERP’s bring to businesses. Still, this whole process of transforming our business to operate at a much higher level of efficiency has been our greatest undertaking. And while this transition will probably take 12-18 months to be fully realized, we all see it as very promising. (Twelve to 18 months...that’s when children start walking on their own, right?)

Just as the addition of a baby changes everything for parents, adjusting to our new ERP has been both challenging and eye-opening. How our business operated without an ERP was a lot like how the human body operates on junk food. It’ll run on junk food, but it won’t be as healthy, predictable and energized as it could be. You’ll never get peak performance from junk food. The ERP has allowed us to see that peak performance is well within our reach. And that’s very exciting for us.

The whole process isn’t without its trepidations. You have to expect some level of anxiety when you go from using a hammer and chisel to the space age overnight. We’re all electronic now. We’ve gone digital and now, nothing can happen unless it’s in the system. Deals we used to do over the phone have to be done within the ERP.  

But that inconvenience is way overshadowed by the information that is now instantly available at our fingertips. Data analysis, which we lagged in, is instantaneous.

If nothing else, and there is a ton of “else,” the ERP is letting us see down the road. Operating efficiencies, accuracy in reporting, data, cost breakdowns; this system will positively affect our entire processing system in terms of time and money. 

We understand there is little instant gratification in the early days of this 12-18 month implementation. We’re changing a lot of dirty diapers. But we have all the tools we need now for success and most of them were already a part of us: our strong, cohesive team. Our family. Who better to help us grow and nurture this ERP? 

You know, I just realized if you change the “E” in ERP to a “U,” you get something else newborns do. 

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Looking for more information from Feed Lease? We are the experts in coil handling equipment, coil cradles and more. Visit our website today to learn about all the products and services we provide!

Zig-Zag Is In. Are You?

Imagine a customer ordering and receiving a press mounted Zig-Zag Roll Feed and you're on your way to enjoying your own bliss. One Ohio customer recently learned that he could rake in the savings with the Roll Feed Model RFZZ-3-24 Zig-Zag.

Not only could he run multiple blanks out of a single strip, his metal stamper roll feeds guaranteed him optimization in part output, which in turn, minimized his web scrap.

Consider for a moment what he now sees happening within his own shop - multiple out blanks based on blank diameter for added scrap savings.

This Ohio customer has seen the light when it comes to the Zig-Zag Roll Feed Model RFZZ-3-24, and so can you!

Discover the mechanics of Zig-Zag roll feeds. They are mounted on linear rails and can be programmed to move up to 6" in either direction. Up to three 3.25" blank can then be stamped. The Zig-Zag is height adjustable and is entrance self-centering. Zig-Zag Roll Feed Model RFZZ-3-24, can accept a maximum stock width of 24" (61 cm), a maximum stock thickness of .125 (3.1 mm), and finally, a maximum side shuttle of 12" (30.5 cm). The Zig-Zag also provides hand crank adjustment and V-Grooved edge guides.

Take a look at the other model sizes to suit almost any application and you're on your way to additional bliss.

Try your own hand at a Zig-Zag; you don't even have to live in Ohio.

Call us! We will be more than happy to provide you with a proposal with full specifications.

Maximum Material Yield? Are you getting the most out of your material?

Get the Feed Lease Zig-Zag advantage to optimize part output and gain scrap savings of up to 13%!
Feed Lease Servo Driven Zig-Zag roll feeds can get you the boost you deserve. Simply enter the Blank Diameter, Web Width, Strip Width and 2 or 3 blanks out of the strip to achieve optimal material yield and maximum savings.

Feed Lease Zig-Zag roll feeds are available in a wide variety of width, thickness and blank diameter capacities and come with numerous standard features. Fully programmable and available press mounted or cabinet mounted, the roll feed rides on linear rails for smooth, accurate operation. A servo driven ball screw drives the X-axis while a second servo drive simultaneously advances the Y-axis for optimal positioning. Entrance and exit self-centering, hand crank adjustable, V-grooved, edge guides provide consistent, accurate guiding through the roll feed and into your die.

Call today with your requirements and get the Feed Lease Zig-Zag advantage! You can also contact us on the web! We look forward to working with you!

JOIN US AT FABTECH!

Don’t miss out on North America’s largest metal forming, fabricating, welding, and finishing event! FABTECH 2015 heads to McCormick Place in Chicago, November 9-12. More than 40,000 attendees will be visiting 1,500 exhibiting companies on the giant Expo floor.

While you’re at FABTECH, be sure to stop by the Feed Lease booth. As a valued customer, we want to update you on our high-performance pressroom feed equipment. Our machinery does more than meet the needs of your stamping operation. It exceeds the demands you put on it. From single pieces to complete coil-feeding lines, our rugged, innovative designs reduce downtime to keep your operation productive and profitable. You may have used some of our services, but do you know that we provide:

• Coil Cars & Cradles
• Coil Feed Line
• Coil Processing
• Coil Straightening Equipment
• Crop Shears
• Cut-to-Length
• Coil Upenders
• Push-Pull Servo Roll Feeds
• Scrap Choppers
• Servo Grip Feeds
• Straightening Equipment
• Shears
• Uncoilers
• Zig-Zag Servo Roll Feeds

Feed Lease is among the leading FABTECH exhibitors – equipment manufacturers and importers of key manufacturing technologies including metal forming & fabricating, tube & pipe, welding and finishing processes. Every year, FABTECH exhibitors introduce hundreds of new products on the exposition floor.

Chat with our experts about our latest innovation designed to improve operator safety and speed width adjustments with digital readouts now standard on all hand crank vertical edge guides.

Visit us: Booth: S4238, November 9-12 at McCormick Place, Chicago!

Visit the FABTECH website to locate our booth.

One Great Relationship Leads to Three Coil Handling Equipment Lines Built, Delivered and Installed in One Plant

In business, just like in life, great relationships are everything.

In more than 45 years building and installing the coiling feeding and coil handling equipment that moves the stamping industry we’ve established some great relationships with great companies and great people.

There’s a quote we found from a guy who calls himself the “pit bull of personal development”, named Larry Winget. It sums up how we do business:

“Do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it, the way you said you would do it.”

That about says it all when it comes to our approach to designing and building coil handling equipment. Whether it’s a single space saver machine for a regional stamping shop, or building and installing three complete lines to feed and straighten coil for global companies like Tower International, we approach every job that same way.

In the case of Tower, just last month we finished delivery of a conventional complete line system with a max capacity of 36” and 20,000 pounds.  The system was the 2nd of three we’re building and installing at a Johnson Controls stamping plant in Ramos, Mexico.  The third line, going in this month, is a 72”, 50,000 pounds capacity Reel/Feeder/Straightener Combination.

We put in a Space Saver line at Johnson Controls plant in Athens, Tennessee about six years ago, but it was our work for Tower that set us up for this joint venture. After working with them on their Elkton, Michigan and Bluffton, Ohio plants they stipulated using only Feed Lease machines at the Ramos plant. There’s not a better compliment than your customers demanding their colleagues and partners do business with you.

We used Allen Bradley controls in all the lines and built and delivered all three coil handling systems within the 18-20 week timeframes they needed. 

The 72” Reel/Feeder/Straightener Combination line included a magnetic tail out servo feed. Adding the magnetic tail out may seem like a small thing, but when it saves you losing 8’ of scrap per roll, we think it’s kind of a big deal.

Turning that 8’ of scrap into usable metal means more parts from every coil, higher productivity and more efficiency on every stamping run they do. When it’s feasible to do in the facility, we think it’s worth doing.

Like all of our turnkey installations we provided on-site operator training with the new machines and systems.  Making sure everything is running smooth and all the people actually working with the machines can use them is just part of the package.

It’s Not Just About Handling High-Volume Aluminum Stamping, It’s About Building New Solutions That Create American Manufacturing Jobs

Creating long-term partnerships and solving complex production problems are goals every company strives for.  One of our most outstanding accomplishments in 2014 was a collaboration with Thai Summit America Corp and we think we hit both of these dead on.

Our partnership involved high-volume stamping of metal much softer than steel, Aluminum, and the inherent problems this creates.

Specifically, we were tasked with designing and building coil handling equipment and straightening equipment that would handle .015 inch, military-grade, Class A finished Aluminum without damaging it.

You can get the full story of our collaboration designing and building their new servo-driven system with vacuum tailout servo feed, hard chromed straightener and many other customizations in December’s issue of Modern Metals.

Truthfully, we think the most important accomplishment of this new partnership is the increased production and work this will mean for Thai Summit America.  The new feed and coil handling equipment will create increased opportunities for their three shifts of dedicated American workers well beyond this first job.

Thai Summit America’s Executive Manager Rob Walus had this to say about the impact the new Aluminum Feeding and Straightening System will have,

“Prior to the installation of these Feed Lease coil handling systems we were not able to run aluminum in this capacity.”

“The new feedlines will open doors to other work the company might not have taken on before. We have expanded our capabilities.”

Add to that the on time delivery, installation and full operator training on a 2^nd and 3^rd system at Thai Summit America and we’d say this one was a winner. You can check out the full piece in Modern Metals here.

And of course, we can’t forget the specs.

Complete Line Servo Feed and Coil Handling System for

High-strength, Military-grade, Aluminum Alloy

System Configuration

Model RF7-72 Servo Roll Feed w/Vacuum Tailout feed system

• Model FL-SC-16 Scissor Lift Threading Table
• Model FLPS-4.25-9-72, 9 Roll, EZZE-Clean Straightener w/Crop Shear
• Model R-40M-72 w/Coil load car

·         Note: No surfaces that will come in contact with the material can have any paint or residue.

Application Specifications

Maximum coil weight...................................................................................... 40,000 lbs.

Maximum coil O.D...................................................................................................... 72”

Maximum stock width................................................................................................ 72”

Maximum stock thickness (High Yield Steel and Aluminum)........................   .140” @ 72”

Minimum stock thickness (HSLA, Aluminum)................................................ .020” @ 72”

System Specifications

System Configuration.................................................................. Conventional Feed Line

Accuracy at feed rollers to within…………………………………………………………….. ± .003”

Progression range..................................................................................... 0 to 999.999”

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

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.