Presswork is a modern manufacturing process which involves the manipulation of material within a press tool, into required shapes in order to create consistent and accurate volume components.  Material in the form of, coil, strips or blanks is fed into the press tool either automatically or manually. The material is then either, cut, formed or coined, or even all three items, in order to produce a completed component or part of a components (depending upon the number of operations required to produce it fully).

Pressed components can be manufactures from a range of ferrous and non-ferrous materials. Non- ferrous materials include those such as Stainless Steel, Aluminium, Zinc, Copper and Brass. Whereas ferrous materials can be CS’s, CR’s and HR’s Mild steel, Zintec, Galvanised steels, to name but a few.  The material for the components is specified and determined by each individual customer and the end product application.

Westley Engineering can take your existing tooling, or Project Manage a new tooling project, and incorporate this into one of our many production lines. We have presses that range from 20 Tons up to and including 160 Ton progression presses (26 off in total). Components can be spot welded, tapped, plated or painted to suit your particular requirements.

Parts can be supplied in KANBAN, J.I.T., pull system or just “as and when” you want they (“Spot orders“).
We can supply parts all fully packaged up in your standard packing or one specially designed for your components.
We have our own in house ‘state of the art’ tool-room which houses wire cutting, EDM spark eroding, CNC Machine centres and grinding machines, together with expert tool-makers.

We have various assembly sections to give you a standard pressing, sub assembly or packaged component, all handled and managed within our facilities. Westley Engineering in their new bespoke factory, has the technical ability to take on your new or old projects, all certified to ISO9001, TS16949 and AS9100.

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Until the industrial revolution, engineering as we know it today was non-existent. In the engineering industry, anything deemed as engineering pre-dating the industrial revolution is dubbed “cottage engineering”. This is because it was mainly tradesmen working out of a residence to meet the demand of usually one customer at a time.

The industrial revolution changed everything. Whilst there indeed still some jobs that require the hand of a skilled craftsman, the manufacturing plant allows people with little training to do a limited number of tasks. This incrementally reduced the cost of labour, as well as increased production capability for these manufacturers.

However, at present modern manufacturing methods are once again requiring that the worker have a higher level of training. This is mainly due to the technology actually being too complicated to use without proper training.

The computer is now the most used tool across virtually every single industry imaginable. Modern manufacturing has become increasingly computerized, computer numerically controlled machines are now the main focus of manufacturing.

There has recently been much concerned voiced from the engineering industry about the fact that students are not being taught about  the various professional applications of computer, rather than just being able to operate windows programmes. They are excellent at chatting, playing games, and searching for information on the Internet, but many of today’s high school graduates do not have a firm grasp on using word processing and spreadsheet programs.

Manufacturing jobs today require a higher level of mathematical skill.

This higher level of skill requirement is largely caused by an increase in the use of CNC equipment in manufacturing.

The problem is going to worsen, unless students and even graduates are properly educated.

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Metal pressers manufacture tools for various professions, and there are various quality guidelines put in place to help medical device manufacturers evaluate the level of quality in their metal stamping suppliers.

One such guideline is that a metal pressing company is completely devoted to quality.

A good metal stamping company will be completely devoted to creating a quality product, and will provide comprehensive training programs for managers and employees at all levels to ensure properly structured leadership, consistent improvements upon quality in tandem with new technology, and greater reliability and safety of operations.

They will also distribute regular quality training for all staff, including tool design, engineering, production, and administration. This then helps to ensure that the company will continue to be compliant with the highest international standards in precision metal stamping, whilst reducing mistakes, minimizing scrap and meeting on-time deliveries.

A number of different aspects of training will be offered for specific positions in production set-up and operations, as well as for overall operations, covering all aspects of machine operations, use of support equipment, quality, safety and maintenance.

The quality training itself is so that employees can understand how they affect quality individually, from machine operators to packagers in the shipping warehouse. In order for this to fully take effect, employees should participate in official classroom training with incorporated tested in order for them to develop a complete comprehension.

Offering advanced training programs demonstrates a commitment to keeping current. You can learn a great deal about a company’s quality standards by inquiring about training schedules and quality content.

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Hardness of a metal pertains to how resistant it is; for metals, the property is a measure of their resistance to deformation.  However, to the engineer, hardness will pertain to the metal’s resistance to denting deformation, and to the design engineer it often means an easily measured and specified quantity which indicates something about the strength and heat treatment of the metal.

There are three general types of hardness measurements depending on the manner in which the test is conducted. These are:

scratch hardness

indentation hardness, and

rebound, or dynamic, hardness.

Only indentation hardness is of major engineering interest for metals.

Scratch hardness is of primary interest to mineralogists. With this measure of hardness, various minerals and other materials are rated on their ability to scratch one another.

The development of alloys at high temperatures has resulted in worldwide engineers testing the durability of metals at incredibly high temperatures, to see which efficient alloys could be produced. Hot hardness gives a good indication of the potential usefulness of an alloy for high-temperature strength applications.

Much research has been carried out pertaining to the hardness of different metals at different temperatures; research has since shown that the temperature dependence of hardness could be measured by how resistant it was at higher temperatures, which would then inform the decisions on using it as an alloy.

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Heat can change the properties of metals like steel, too, affecting qualities such as hardness and stiffness–where hardness relates to steel’s ability to resist wear and denting, and stiffness relates to its ability to resist a force that is trying to bend it.

If steel is heated to a temperature of over 1000, degrees, it’s structural integrity will become more of a liquid.  At lower temperatures the change will be less dramatic, but its atomic structure will be undergoing change nonetheless.  Varying temperatures cause atoms to become energized, causing them to move around within their atomic structure.  Slow cooling hot steel in air makes it softer, while rapid cooling, such as when you submerge hot steel quickly into cold oil, makes it harder.

This can be applied to clutch springs, which are made of steel, which is hard and resistant to bending.  However, when they are being used they can be heated up to hundreds of degrees. However, when they are inactive, they then slowly cool down, resulting in them becoming softer, and in time they will weaken.

Over time the springs become so weak they are unable to overcome the centrifugal force acting on the clutch shoes, causing the clutch to fail at its task of disengaging the cutter head from the engine, even at idle speed. Therefore, it is important to understand the metals you are using in any machinery that uses heat, as a lack of knowledge can result in an untimely malfunction.

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Many factors have significantly changed the flow of supplies in recent years, from the economic downturn to natural disasters. Therefore it is now more essential than ever before to maintain a steady supply of resources and tools, including metal stamping tools and dies.

However, there are many in the industry that have failed to keep up with the turbulent climate, leading many to change their suppliers.

Although transferring metal stamping tools from one supplier to another can take time and effort, there are many reasons as to why it would be beneficial:

Opportunity to obtain competitive bids

Increase efficiency of production

Address quality issues

It is important to have ready a contingency plan, as you can never be sure when a supplier will inform you that they are unable to meet the shipping order.

In order to change suppliers with minimum disruption to your operations, it is always worth it request a quote from several metal stamping firms in order to determine the best price for the die production of parts, thus allowing you to get the best deal possible, both in terms of supplies, shipping and price. In order to convince you properly, the manufacturer will need to supply as much information upfront as possible, including a sample of the part, the print, as well as information on the quality, allowing you to make a thoroughly well informed decision.

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Many people believe that creating a product at a lesser price automatically implies that a large bulk of the quality has also been compromised. This, however, is not true at all.

In fact, every time materials thicknesses are reduced, lower grade materials are substituted and tolerances are opened up to allow for lax manufacturing methods, which ultimately means that the product quality will suffer. This reduction in product quality can be much more expensive than most people realise.

High quality materials can actually save you money in various areas, in particular production problems, which are not uncommon. The high quality components will assemble with each other much more easily, with less adjustment, less forcing and less trouble in general. The way it reduces cost is due to the fact that less problems mean increased productivity which means less time spent at the machines. One of the most well known secrets is that increasing productivity is a much better way of reducing cost.

The final thing is to have a strong relationship with the suppliers of the material, and ensure they will provide you with quality. Without a commitment to quality, a supplier is going to provide you with the minimum they can get away with. This is the bedrock of combining cost saving with top quality, as a lack of quality materials will result in a terrible product that will be fraught with problems.

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Most manufacturers leave controlling the quality of their incoming materials to the Incoming Quality Control department entirely. This is a very dated attitude towards business, as these manufacturers see suppliers as tough customers that must be worn down, rather than a partner, who should be part of the team. Maintaining this attitude reduces quality and increases problems.

Several of the best manufacturing and quality theories in practice today deal with constant analysis of products, processes and quality. Constant and up to date tracking and measurement of products on an ongoing basis can provide all the information that is essential to pinpoint problems before they surface. If a particular measurement on a part is consistently getting closer to the edge of its structural tolerance, it is often cheaper to correct the problem before the product is finished at a poor standard.

The testing and measurement phase can be passed through to the suppliers’ operation allows you to cut inspection costs as well as reduce your supplier’s scrap costs. Providing them with necessary test equipment is an effective investment in reducing both costs. At the same time, that equipment can be tied into company computer systems, providing real-time analysis and data reporting on the parts that are currently being manufactured for your operation.

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There are a number of things that can be done to counteract the problem of workplace fatigue, whilst at the same time increasing worker alertness and productivity, as well. It cannot be denied that companies that invest in reducing workplace fatigue are ultimately much more efficient, receiving increased productivity.

As well as simple things like integrating short breaks and a positive open environment that allows the worker to move around, relax their bodies, and eliminate stiffness, the major factor in eliminating workplace fatigue is in providing an ergonomic work environment. The overall goal of ergonomics is to ultimately reduce any fatigue felt in the workplace and reduce lost time due to injury.

Workers are required to stand in order to do their job are in need of a rubber pad on the floor on which to stand on. This is due to the fact that concrete floors create an incredible strain on the legs as well as the lower back. Workbench height should be arranged so that their hands are slightly below the level of their elbows when resting. If the workbenches are too high, it increases fatigue to the arms. However if the work bench is too low, this will not only provide instability to the work, but also put strain on the lower back and possibly the neck.

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The Japanese conglomerate Misumi, a manufacturing industry leader in factory automation, tool and die, machine tools and electronics, recently announced the decision to buy out Dayton Progress and their subsidiary, PCS Company. This move supports their business model, as Dayton Progress’ line aligns itself well with their current product offerings.

In a recent press release by Misumi themselves, they emphasized how the takeover of Dayton Progress is in keeping with the current business model they have constructed. This is very similar to Dayton Progress’ present business intentions, which involve becoming much more efficient with customers and in transit, which include short delivery times, disregarding policies behind minimum orders, a variety of new products, and an improvement of the already high levels of technical support.

Both Misumi and Dayton are fully committed to expanding product lines and expanding their reputations. They are actively and publicly seeking to create new products, and are even allowing customer feedback to affect forthcoming projects. Anyone with ideas for the future expansion of their product line is asked to inform their Regional Sales Managers of these ideas. The newly combined company is making it clear that they are completely behind being innovators within the industry by providing new, quality products to their customers.

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