For many years Overlanders Manufacturing L.P., Abbotsford, B.C., has served the metal fabrication needs of manufacturers on the West Coast. Its ability to compete and grow in the market hinges on investments in processes and equipment, which have allowed the company to take on large-run production jobs for a few key accounts while also serving the needs of 20 to 30 smaller clients. It serves a variety of industries including oil and gas, home renovation, transportation, and medical.
In terms of process improvements and management, for instance, in 1996 the company was ISO 9002-certified, and in 2004 it attained certification for ISO 9001.
Automation investments have included turret punch presses that can run lights- out over the weekend, laser cutting machines equipped with towers for loading and unloading material, and a robotic bending cell that runs over two shifts.
The company currently has a team of more than 80 employees working in its three buildings, totalling 70,000 sq. ft. of shop floor space.
The company’s recent investment in an electric press brake, while not equipped for automated bending, adds capacity and speed in the shop’s bending operations.
Overlanders processes many high-volume parts in thin-gauge material.
“Our part runs tend to be 100 to 1,000 at a time,” said Paulo DeGianni, general manager. “The majority of our assemblies are on the light-gauge side, although we bend anything from 20 gauge to ¼ in. in the shop.”
With thin-gauge small parts, the advantage of an electric press brake is the rapid acceleration and deceleration of the ram combined with the elimination of the hydraulic shift time between changes.
The press brake that Overlanders purchased was the SafanDarley E-Brake, a 10-ft., 100-ton model.
“We needed to expand our press brake capabilities in the shop,” said DeGianni. “Two of the main advantages of this particular machine were how the safety curtain works and the fact that you don’t need to use a foot pedal to do the bends. When you put a part in and your hands are in the way, the light curtain recognizes that and it won’t do anything. As soon as you take your hands away, however, it will bend the part. As long as the part can sit on the die itself, it will be bent. As fast as you can get parts into that machine, it’s bending them for you. It’s very fast.”
Where it shines for DeGianni, however, is in multi-stage bends.
“Sometimes we’ll have tools across the whole bed,” he said. “Because we don’t have to use a pedal to actuate the bend, it saves the bother of moving the pedal down the length of the bed with you as you do a multi-stage bend. That saves time.”
DeGianni added that the speed of the machine, depending on the job, makes it between 20 and 40 per cent faster than the company’s other machines.
“It’s a huge pickup in productivity,” he said. “And in terms of maintenance, it is much less expensive – there are no issues with filters, expensive oil changes aren’t required annually, there are no overheating issues. All those issues go away with an electric brake. You turn it on, it doesn’t need to be warmed up, you just go.”
DiGianni noted also that switching to the Safan machine was very easy.
“The controller is very user-friendly and we were up and running full production within between three and four weeks. And the accuracy does seem to be a little bit more consistent compared to our older machines.”
Overlanders is always innovating on its shop floor. DeGianni is currently in the process of expanding a production line, adding robotic welding so that it can keep more processes in house.
Although another press brake isn’t currently in their plans, DeGianni said that, given their experience with the new E-Brake, he wouldn’t hesitate to invest in a second.
“Our experience with the product and with [Safan dealer] Westway has been a very positive one,” he said.
Editor Robert Colman can be reached at rcolman@canadianfabweld.com.
Overlanders Manufacturing L.P., overlanders.com
Westway Machinery, www.westwaymachinery.com
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