Case Study 9

Part name: APL stator blade

Material: 5052-H32 aluminum

Thickness: .0163

Challenge: To produce very large numbers of this delicate stamping with virtually no burr, clean and dry, at the minimum possible price

Solution: We produced a precision die that blanked two pieces on each stroke, and ran this job on a 5-ton Diebel high-speed automatic press with variable speed at its maximum rate of 475 strokes per minute.

At this speed, coolant needed to be run on the material not just as a lubricant, but literally as a coolant, to prevent excessive tool wear. Detail sharpness was continuously inspected and maintained, to minimize the burr, which was then tumbled off in walnut shell chips. This media also absorbed any remaining coolant, leaving the parts clean and dry.

In quantities in the millions, a large factor in cost is material expense; scrap was minimized by an efficient layout on the coil and by keeping the feed at the bare minimum. This required a very precisely controlled feed rate to avoid overlapping hits and partial parts. In-process inspection was rigorous, minimizing scrap from non-conforming product.