Anchor Manufacturing Group, Inc. Wins Process Control Award

CLEVELAND, OH ¾March 26, 2003 ¾Anchor Mfg. Group, Inc., Cleveland, OH, has received the 2003 Signature Technologies Process Control Award, along with a PC-based, signature-based process control system worth an estimated $12,000. The company is a Tier I and Tier II metal stamping and assembly supplier to the automotive and heavy truck industries.

The process control award is one of nine Awards of Excellence in Metalforming, presented annually by Precision Metalforming Association (PMA). Sponsored by Signature Technologies, Dallas, TX, the award recognizes a manufacturing company for the innovative application of process control technologies and products that result in significant quality and/or productivity improvements. Anchor will receive a PC-based, signature-based process control system that also includes conventional die protection and tonnage monitoring capability.

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The award-winning process is an automated assembly machine that manufactures a steering column reinforcement assembly for an automotive OEM. The assembled product consists of two sheet metal stampings and four blind rivets. Mounted at the base of the steering column, the assembly has a critical safety function in the finished vehicle. In the event of a head-on collision, the assembly serves to absorb a portion of the energy of the impact. If one or more of the rivets were to fail, the column would break loose and the assembly would not protect the occupants as designed. For this reason, Anchor decided at the beginning of production that a process must be implemented to verify that each rivet is installed correctly.

The first step was to design a system to measure the amount of force to install the rivets. The amount of force acting on the rivet as it collapses would indicate the strength of the assembly. This was accomplished by adding variable transducers to the hydraulic cylinders.

The second step was to verify the dimensions of the collapsed rivet. The situation could arise in which the correct force curve was achieved but the rivet did not collapse to a sufficient diameter as to adequately secure the rivet through the holes in the stampings. To achieve this, a digital vision system was installed in the unload station.

This system has been extremely successful in guaranteeing quality product to the customer. Since its inception, more than 1.3 million parts have been shipped without a reject due to improperly installed rivets. The system was implemented for a small capital expenditure and no increase in the piece price.

PMA is the full-service trade association representing the $41-billion metalforming industry of North America—the industry that creates precision metal products using stamping, fabricating and other value-added processes. Its nearly 1,300 member companies include metal stampers, fabricators, spinners, slide formers and roll formers as well as suppliers of equipment, materials and services to the industry. Members are located in 30 countries, with the majority found in North America―in 41 states of the United States as well as Canada and Mexico.

EDITOR’S NOTE: More information on PMA’s Awards of Excellence in Metalforming is available on the internet through PMA’s home page, www.metalforming.com.