Tube Makers reduce costs while improving quality.

Increasingly, competitive markets are pushing tube makers to reduce costs while improving quality.

The surface and edge condition of incoming coils has a significant impact on processing cost and quality. Scratch-free surfaces are important when processing polished, plated, or painted tube. However, scratches also can lead to weaknesses in the tube wall. This can be important for pressure tubing as well as mechanical tubing. Stresses can concentrate along scratches in mechanical tubing that is bulged or formed. Scratches can also concentrate stress in pressure tubing and create a weakness in the wall. This consideration is more critical for nonferrous materials.

Incoming material with a poor edge condition can lead to increased cost because of additional reprocessing, reduced yield, inspection cost, and the general inconvenience of returning the material and seeking credit for defective material from suppliers.

Producing, rolling, and processing coils influence its surface and edge condition. Surfaces and edges can also be compromised when they are handled during basic processes such as slitting, painting, annealing, and rolling.

Coil handling and protection also influence surface quality. This article examines typical problems in coil handling and how to maintain quality stock on the warehouse and mill floor.

Coil Handling Challenges and Answers
Beginning with the final stage of production, the finished metal surface is vulnerable to damage. Worn bridle, passline, pinch, tension, or other rollers that contact the metal as it is rolled can scratch surfaces. Slippage through or across rollers also contributes to scratching. To prevent slippage, these rollers can be covered with materials that provide traction and are softer than the metal, including rubber, polyurethane, and plastic.

Winding. Another potential source of damage is the expanding mandrel used to hold the coil while it is unwound and rewound during processing. These mandrels open and close when loading and unloading coil. To make this movement possible, the mandrel has segmented leafs that have gaps between them when expanded. The edges of these leafs can mark the inside of the coil.

When the metal is wound, it may bend at the edge to wind in a straight line to the next leaf edge. This is a condition called reel break. These breaks can print through many wraps before they soften enough to stop deforming the metal. In some severe cases, breaks can cause damage extending as much as 1/2 inch into the coil, potentially resulting in the loss of a 1-inch thick portion of metal out of the coil eye.

Excessive mandrel wear causes the leafs to get out of level and exacerbates reel breaks. Rubber or polyurethane sleeved (also call boots) can be used to minimize or eliminate this damage. A mandrel sleeve cushions the edge of the leaf and distributes the bending force over a wider area, helping to eliminate plastic deformation of the metal.

Storage and Transportation. Once the coil is wound, it must be removed from the mandrel, moved to storage, stored, and transported. Large, basic coil producers and processors generally have automated handling systems, coil cars, and conveyors. These units remove the coil from the mandrel and transfer it to a station, where more traditional equipment, such as C-hooks, ram trucks, and coil tongs, are used to move the coil.

Various flat pads or cushions may be attached to the coil contact areas. These are usually made of rubber, polyurethane, plastic, or some other material that is softer than metal.

When the coil is removed from the conveyor, forklift/ram trucks, C-hooks, or tongs are usually used to transport the metal. These devices can damage the coil’s edges. One mishap, such as a bump, can severely damage the entire edge of the coil. The only way to correct this damage is to slit the coil to a narrower width. However, this requires additional processing and wastes material. This waste can be substantial, depending on the amount of trim required to reach the next usable coil width.

The best method of protecting the metal during these operations is to cushion the areas contacting the coil, such as the sides and the back sides of the transport devices.

When coils are stored, stacking is not recommended. However, when space limitations make stacking a must, coils should be stored not more than three high because the weight on the bottom coil can deform it and make it square. This usually renders the deformed coil scrap.

Prepainted, coated, polished, or soft metals may need further protection when stored.

Coils can be stored in pads or racks when floors are wet, dirty, debris-covered, uneven. These devices isolate the coils from the floor and help prevent damage caused by hard set-down or placing coils on debris (which can dent the material).

Cost of Quality
Whenever and wherever coils are handled, damage can occur. Incurring or repairing damage, either at a vendor’s facility or at a tube mill, adds cost and compromises quality.

When reviewing processes or auditing suppliers, tube manufacturers should consider these problems and their simple resolutions. Excess cost anywhere in the supply chain adversely affects everyone’s bottom line.

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Al DiZanni is a Field Sales Engineer specializing in steel handling and steel processing from Kastalon, Inc., 4100 W. 124th Place, Alsip, Illinois 60803, phone 708-389-2210, fax 709-389-0432, Website: www.kastalon.com

Kastalon is a manufacturer of polyurethane coil storage, handling, and protection products. This article originally appeared in an issue of TPJ, a FMA Communications, Inc publication.

Expanding Mandrel Sleeves – Titan Steel

Challenge/Problem/Issue -

Titan Steel was not satisfied with the scrap rate they were experiencing on the coil processing lines and wanted to find a way to maximize their output.

As one of the worlds largest distributors of tinmill and an important distributor of steel plate including pressure vessel plate, hot and cold rolled steel, coated steel products including galvanized steel and prepainted steel, efficiencies are extremely important.

Solution

Kastalon engineered expanding mandrel sleeves made from specifically formulated Kastalon Polyurethane® with exceptional wear properties and expansion capabilities. The mandrel sleeve not only increased the diameter of the mandrel but significantly reduced the damage and reduced the manpower required for change-outs.

Customer Value

According to the Plant Manager, "Kastalon's Expanding Mandrel Sleeves virtually paid for themselves the moment we unwound our first coil. With coil prices at a premium, every effort to maximize our output must be made and we look to Kastalon to help design products such as Mandrel Sleeves. An initial investment on our part has optimized our production, giving our customers an excellent finished product while maximizing our operating profits."

Running 180,000lbs per day, Titan Steel calculated a yield of 50-75 more sheet-per-coil on their blanking line using Kastalon’s Expanded Mandrel Sleeves. At a estimated cost of $2.00 per sheet, that represents a savings of $800-1000 per day, which does not include the huge cost savings in the manpower required to scrap the previously damaged sheets.

Fork-Kushions® - Masonite

Challenge/Problem/Issue
Exemplifying manufacturing excellence, one of the a world’s leading manufacturer of interior doors, entry doors, french doors and glass doors felt it important to address the scratches and dents being caused by the forklifts transporting their product throughout the production facility and shipping area. The challenge was to find a process improvement that could realistically and economically prove effective, and increase the volume of quality going out the door.

Solution
Having heard of the new innovative bumper system developed by Kastalon, the plant management enlisted our assistance in matching the right bumper for the application. Kastalon recommended a soft grade Fork-Kushion® to absorb the doors impact while providing a non-scratching, non-marring surface for the doors to rest as the load is shifted back on the forks.

Customer Value
Customer immediately saw a reduction in their damage. The improvement not only saved significant dollars in the time and material used to touch-up and repair the damage, but it also improved the shipment times. Within 30 days, the reduction in damage was so significant that management issued a mandate that all forklift trucks be outfitted with a set of Fork-Kushions.

Fork-Kushions® - Siding Manufacturer

Challenge/Problem/Issue
A quality control supervisor of a globally recognized manufacturer of engineered wood siding was continually experiencing significant damage caused by their forklifts picking up bundles of siding. Unique to the industry, their siding boards are denser and more rigid than traditional strand board siding, however, this rigidness also makes the sharp edge more susceptible to damage when coming in contact with the back of a lift truck. As a result, the supervisor searched for possible solutions.

Solution
Upon investigation, the supervisor learned of a revolutionary forklift bumper system called Fork-Kushions® that had proven to provide impressive damage control. Due to the sharp edge of the siding, it was determined that the “cut-resistant” style with its durable outer surface and it’s shock absorbent center would be the best fit to test against their application.

Customer Value
After 2 weeks of putting the Bumper into service they saw a 30% reduction in Broken Board. There was also a reduction in Siding interlocking with itself when the forklift picked up the tiers of newly milled siding. Although this was not a defect, it did cause safety and ergonomic issues and was greatly reduced by using the bumpers. The only concern they had was that they were going to have to purchase a longer fork for the forklifts to make up for the 1 1/2" they lost for the bumper and it's bracket.

After a full 3 months in service, the Fork-Kushions combined with the hydraulic carriage dampers for the fork lifts resulted in about an impressive 60% reduction of in process damaged board.

Koat-A-Roll - Doncaster Gear Products

Challenge/Problem/Issue
Doncaster Gear Products specialize in forging and machining their own gears. As part of the forging process, they blast many different parts. For this process they make steel fixtures to set the parts on as they are fed into the automatic blaster. These fixtures represent a significant investment as hundreds are made annually, however, the blaster wears them away over time.

Solution
Attempting to find a way to give these fixtures a longer life, Doncaster Gear purchased Koat-A-Roll® polyurethane sleeves to put over the fixtures. Although not a standard application for Koat-A-Roll conveyer roller sleeves, the exception wear properties of the material and the cylindrical shape made it a perfect fit.

Customer Value
Within the first year, Doncaster realized a $2,000-$3,000 savings in material and machining cost. According to Dave Quarnstrom, “Although this is an unconventional use of the product, it was a great investment.”

Filler Plates - Cargill Steel

Challenge/Problem/Issue
As the global demand continues to grow for light gauge metals in the automotive, appliance and building material markets, the metal coil processors must adapt to the unique challenges of producing surface-sensitive materials.

Because the pre-finished metal surface is more susceptible to scratches or damage, they must pay extra attention to the equipment and the handling of the coils.

Solution
Cargill Steel, East Chicago addressed their desire to successfully process light gauge materials by purchasing a new re-coiler reel for this application. Unfortunately, they continued to experience creasing, “head-in” damage, and marks on their finished product. They made several process changes as well as modifications to the reel but could not obtain an end product that they believed would be acceptable to the market that they were trying to attract. As a result, they moved away from those customers.

Cargill Steel started investigating ways to eliminate the damage they were experiencing and sought the assistance of Kastalon Polyurethane Products, who are well known for their coil protection solutions. After many months of design and engineering reviews, Kastalon made the recommendation to outfit the reel with a multi-segment bolt-on set of engineered polyurethane filler plates.

Once the filler plates were installed and put into service, several different gauges were run. The first was a .070/.071 thickness. This coil ran twice through the line and re-coiled twice on the filler plates. No markings could be felt. The second coil run was considered light gauge at .017 thickness. This coil also ran through the line and re-coiled twice on the filler plates. Again, the Quality Control Supervisor reported no marks.

Customer Value
The success of these coils has since allowed Cargill Steel to go after the light gauge market. In addition to the added business opportunity, the Kastalon Polyurethane Filler Plates are far lighter than steel, thereby allowing for faster change-outs and reduced maintenance costs have further improved operating efficiencies.

Kastalon Awarded the Safety Award of Honor

Kastalon, Inc. has won a Safety Award of Honor in the FMA/CNA 2009 Safety Award Contest sponsored by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Int'l, and CNA Insurance. FMA/CNA Safety Awards are based on your company's 2008 safety results compared to the most recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) incidence rate for your NAICS code. The Safety Award of Honor is awarded to companies having no recordable injuries or illnesses. The award recognizes your company for its commitment to providing a safe work environment for its most valuable asset - the employees.

Congratulations to Kastalon and all their employees for a job well done.