Ultima® M4: The Right Steel for the Toughest ... - Wilson Tool

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time, which is down from a special-order lead-time of 10 days. Ultima M4 tool steel is just one of the quality tool steels available from Impax Tooling Solutions. For more information about Ultima M4 premium tool steel, or to find the best tool steel for your stamping application, contact your local sales engineer or the Impax Tooling Solutions sales desk at 800-944-4671. CUSTOMER PROFILE Higher quality punches save time and reduce production costs. MANUFACTURING DAY 2013 October 4th is National Manufacturing Day Die Makers Manufacturing Corporation in Hazel Green, Wis. Is a full-service tool and die shop, specializing in long- and short-run production for industries such as automotive, agricultural and appliance, among others. Recently, the company was faced with a particularly challenging stamping application producing a precision chain product for one of its customers in the food processing industry. The application required the use of a .3225 inch round punch and compound die running at 75 strokes per minute to stamp holes in .095 inch 316L stainless steel with less than .001 clearance. Die Makers had been using a standard punch manufactured with M2 tool steel but was experiencing significant galling that required frequent downtime to sharpen and replace the punches. “We were getting severe galling on the punches. It was peeling the coating off almost like you’d peel a banana,” said Jacob Walsh, production manager for Die Makers. “If we sharpened the punches down and really tried to cut the head back to get as much of the life National Manufacturing Day, sponsored by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International, encourages manufacturers to open their doors to the community to share a positive and realistic view of today’s hightech manufacturing world. Manufacturing as an industry is viewed by 70% of Americans as essential to a strong economy and national defense. However, only 30% of parents encourage their children to choose a career in manufacturing, and
out of the punch as we could, we would get somewhere between 2,000 and 10,000 pieces.” Walsh explained the application and showed the worn punches to Scott Riley, the company’s sales engineer at Wilson Tool, who suggested trying punches manufactured using CPM3V tool steel and coated with Wilson Tool’s exclusive Optima® coating. With a micro hardness of 3,500, Optima coating far exceeds the hardness levels that can be achieved with conventional tool steels and typically outlasts untreated tools by as much as seven times. The combination of CPM3V and Optima coating increased the number of hits to between 25,000 and 40,000. Using this same tool steel and Wilson Tool’s premium OptimaX coating, the number of hits was further increased to between 40,000 and 60,000 pieces. OptimaX is Wilson Tool’s premium coating. It’s a twopart coating process that provides all the hardness of the Optima coating, plus added lubricity to reduce galling even more. However, it was the final combination of tool steel and coatings that Die Makers tested that proved to be the unquestionable winner. The punches were manufactured with Wilson Tool’s exclusive Ultima® M4 premium tool steel and coated with OptimaX. Punches and dies made from Ultima M4 tool steel have significantly greater wear resistance, minimizing common downtime problems like breaking, chipping, cracking and tool fatigue. This greatly reduces the amount of time spent sharpening or replacing tooling. Not only did these new punches produce 110,000 hits, they did it without ever needing to be sharpened. The only reason Die Makers took them out of the machine was because they reached the end of the order. only 17% of people view manufacturing as a top career choice.* This is a shame, not only for the manufacturing industry, but also for the youth and job seekers who may miss out on an opportunity for a fulfilling manufacturing career. Todd Youngblood of Manufacturing Revival Radio says that the high-tech world of modern manufacturing is a clear fit for youth who have an interest in technology.* For this reason, Manufacturing Day aims to connect companies with future generations, educators and more to clarify and improve the image of manufacturing as a viable and promising career path. Companies participating in Manufacturing Day are encouraged to offer shop tours, hands-on demonstrations, and/or presentations that “tell their story” so that participants can experience the true look, feel and personality of today’s manufacturing world. For more information or to host your own event, visit the National Manufacturing Day website. On October 4, Wilson Tool invites you to participate in our National Manufacturing Day Open House at our global headquarters in White Bear Lake, Minn. For more information, see our event listing. *Information compliments of the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, International “When I pulled these punches out at 110,000 hits, you could definitely see where the coating was beginning to wear off,” said Walsh. “But they’re still making good parts, holding their edge and not throwing a burr. There’s no reason somebody couldn’t sharpen them, throw them back in and possibly run another 90,000 parts on them.” According to Walsh, even if you count out the cost of the punches, it takes a lot of time to load, unload and sharpen the punches. The cost of their labor is more than the cost of the higher quality punches.
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Ultima® M4: The Right Steel for the Toughest ... - Wilson Tool

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