Customer Problem | Pain Point:
In recent years, a customer had come to Proto-1 with no knowledge of tube end forming. They sought a method to end form tubes for use within Automotive industry. These tubes were double beaded and were installed behind bumpers of vehicles in the instance of a sudden force or accident. When enough force was applied to the bumper, these tubes would collapse, dampening the force applied to the bumper.
Engineering A Solution:
Using our past experience with projects for the Automotive industry, Proto-1 devised that the RFM-6 rotary tube end forming machine would be the right platform. A double head version of the RFM-6 would double the forming capacity while providing a fast cycle time for each forming side of the tube forming machine. The customer was required to yield a very high amount of product and because of this our engineering team decided that automation would play a integral role in delivering the required high quantity. The automation came in the form of magazines that were added to each forming side of the end forming machine. These magazines would automatically feed tubes to the machine, eliminating the process of an operator having to individually load each tube by hand. Servos were added on each side to move each tube into the forming location. Once formed, the servos would retract and the tubes would drop out from the bottom through a chute where they would go into a bin. The magazines would then drop a new tube in place and the cycle would restart.
Final Tube Forming Solution Delivered to Customer:
In the end, the customer received an automated double head RFM-6 tube end forming machine. Lexan polycarbonate guarding surrounded the working area of the machine providing additional safety. The operator was only required to load the magazines, replace the part bins, and monitor the machine. Each side of the machine could produce a part every 16 seconds for a total of 7.5 parts a minute. During a single 8 hour shift, this machine could produce 3600 parts for a total of 936,000 parts per year (based on a single 8 hour shift for 260 working days, not including weekends, overtime, or additional shifts). The combination of the automation with the quick cycle time from machine met the customer’s high quantity requirements and led the way to additional projects.
