Tooling punches up productivity at DJN

The move by DJN Fabrications to a larger factory in Sunderland gave the 40-strong company the opportunity to set-up its own sheet metal punching section.

The move by DJN Fabrications to a larger factory in Sunderland gave the 40-strong company the opportunity to set-up its own sheet metal punching section based on a pre-owned CNC punch press combined with an all new tooling package supplied by Wilson Tool International of Swindon.

Since the installation, DJN has become self-sufficient in sheet metal production and is no longer reliant on subcontractors.

It also maintains it now has better control over quality and is finding it is far more competitive in the market.

The decision to buy the Wilson Tool punch press package, based on its 2.4.1 tooling, has not only reduced set-up and changeover times, but DJN's punching operations are now some 2.5 times more cost-effective.

With a complete range of fabricating, welding, engineering and CAD/CAM skills, DJN can now provide a 'one-stop' shop capability to customers in the construction, manufacturing and leisure sectors.

Projects range from simple brackets, electrical enclosures, special refrigeration compartments, security bollards, corner steadies for caravans and roof panels, right up to six figure contracts for major building programmes involving structural steelwork, feature staircases, fire escapes and architectural metalwork.

As an example of its capability, all the metal stairs, structural elements, dome steelwork, panels, columns, hand rails and fencing was produced for the Winter Gardens in Sunderland with many of the components produced in the new punch press section.

Other notable projects include decorative roof panels and special TV support brackets for Sunderland football club's Black Cats Bar in its Stadium of Light.

Batch sizes now range from single parts right up to jobs requiring 1,000 items a month.

However prior to the purchase of the punch press, all such work was put out to subcontractors.

But this had its limitations, as sheet metal manager Gary Eden explained: "As well as extended lead times, we also had concerns over quality and repeatability and this was beginning to lead to us having problems with a number of contracts".

Having decided to set-up up its own punching operation, the company bought a second-hand Trumpf Trumatic 180W CNC punch press.

While in good condition, the machine came without any tools and so it had to be completely re-tooled.

Gary Eden, who was responsible for setting-up the punching operation, previously had experience of Wilson Tools' products and was keen to equip the Trumpf with the company's latest 2.4.1 tooling system.

As he explains: "The all-round benefits of 2.4.1 in terms of speed and ease of setting, the elimination of presetting, its quick-change over and guaranteed alignment really stand out".

He relays how: "You don't need to purchase tool alignment fixtures with the 2.4.1 system and we can set tools straight on the machine in around one minute each.

This compares against up to 10 minutes for other tooling types.

What's more, the tools offer continuous high performance combined with good wear resistance and longer life.

Also because the tools have a greater re-grind allowance their useful life before replacement reduces the number of tools we have to purchase", he insists.

The 2.4.1 design allows direct insertion into the punch press because its built-in collar eliminates any need for pre-set fixturing of the tool away from the machine.

The system also eliminates setting error which can occur with 'old style' tooling as it utilises a simple pin-type arrangement that is quick to set and easy to fix the angle of punch.

Wilson's tools can also be supplied with Optima (trade mark) high performance coating which can greatly extend tool life between regrinds by up to 500% due to the higher level of wear resistance.

As Eden explains: "A further advantage of the Wilson 2.4.1 tool is that standard shapes are available on next day delivery from Swindon and this has proven to be invaluable to DJN as he endorses: "We do not need to stock tooling for the Trumpf as we know that for any new jobs we can get all the tools required the very next day from Wilson.

Initially, we bought around 60 tool sets for the 18-station Trumatic and we are now typically buying around four to five new tools a month, depending on the type of work which comes in".

DJN is currently using a range of round, square and rectangular 2.4.1 tools along with louvre tools for ventilation on electrical enclosures and refrigeration compartments and knock-out tools for the micro-tagging of smaller components.

In terms of size, the smallest punches tend to be 2 mm round while the largest slitting tools are 70 mm by 6 mm.

These are used on most jobs.

The Trumpf can handle sheet sizes up to 2.5 m by 1.25 m and all work is computer nested for maximum economy.

The latest sheet metal projects underway include the prototype production of food kiosks and curved-section decorative roof panels for shopping malls which are profiled from perforated sheet on the Trumpf.

Other projects include pod-type units for use in Internet Cafes.

Typically, such press work involves profiling and punching holes in mild steel, stainless steel and aluminium sheet ranging from 1 mm to 4 mm thick with tolerances down to 0.3 mm on some jobs.

As Eden explains: "Combined with our three press brakes including one which has a 4 m wide bed and our twin-head oxy fuel and plasma CNC profiling machine, we can now handle a wide range of sheet and plate type work.

However, it's the installation of the CNC punch press combined with Wilson tooling that has made us far more competitive, responsive and efficient when it comes to producing thin sheet forms.

As a result we are now winning far more subcontract orders", he says.

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