Avoid a Pressing Problem: Aluminum Extruder Uses Smart Cameras to Prevent Machine Damage

摘要

AS ANY FACTORY-FLOOR engineer can tell you, finding solid solutions to the simplest manufacturing problems often can yield the greatest benefits. This was the case recently at Silver City Aluminum (www.scaruminum.com), Taunton, Mass., a third-generation, family-owned and -operated manufacturer of custom aluminum extrusions and finished parts. Silver City's 50,000 ft~2 facility houses a range of extrusion, fabrication and finishing operations. These include transforming raw aluminum into thousands of tooled profiles; performing numerous secondary CNC milling, punching and various other multi-station operations; and painting. "Unlike other more-costly and time-consuming metal-forming methods, extrusion can be tooled within two to four weeks at costs typically ranging from $1,000 to $3,000," explains Larry Johnson, Silver City Aluminum's maintenance manager. "In addition to being cost-effective and time-efficient, the extrusion process is also pretty straightforward. Large rolls of aluminum - called billets - are fed into the extrusion machine, pressed into a die using hydraulic power, and heated. It emerges as a slat, blind or other shaped-aluminum product (Figure 1)."