wire 2006 preview 34 - Spring Manufacturers Institute
Transcription
wire 2006 preview 34 - Spring Manufacturers Institute
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID ROCHELLE, IL 61068 PERMIT NO. 40 High-Performance Stainless and Specialty Wire 7 Reducing final part variation starts with the wiremaking process What’s in a Specification? 13 wire 2006 preview 34 Grinding Tight-Tolerance Springs 36 How to improve your chances of success Quick and Easy Material Review 47 Coping with RoHS CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED 2001 MIDWEST ROAD SUITE 106 OAK BROOK, IL 60523-1335 302).' -!4%2)!,3 28 From Dave Weber It’s Show Time in the Spring Industry Lynne Carr, Advertising Sales [email protected] Sandie Green, Assistant Editor Ken Boyce CAE, Publisher Springs Magazine Committee I t is springtime in Germany, which means the start of “show season” for the spring industry. It starts with the wire show in Düsseldorf, which will feature one of the widest available showcases for wiremaking and forming machinery, including springmaking equipment, in the world. Later this year, we will see the Spring World show in Chicago, which is renowned as the best show of springmaking equipment in the world. To celebrate the start of this year, this issue of Springs magazine is featuring the technology of wire. The history of wire goes back over a thousand years and is inalterably linked to the spring industry. Not long after the first wire was made, the early wiremakers discovered that if you wound wire up, you could use it to store energy, and the spring industry was born. Wiremaking technology has changed a lot in the last few years, creating opportunities for springmakers to change the way we meet the needs of our customers. Some of the changes we have seen are: • Surface preparation of the wire surface to improve the life of springs. • The development of continuous-cast material to improve quality and reduce cost. • Development of high-strength steels to allow more efficient designs that reduce weight and cost. • The development of “ovate” shapes of wire that permit the equal distribution of stresses, which can reduce weight and create an opportunity to increase reliability. • The development of new high-alloy materials to increase strength and increase the material’s ability to resist corrosion and effects of heat on springs. • The introduction of new alloys of titanium to reduce weight and improve life of critical springs. The changes in wiremaking technology have been complemented by changes in wireforming machines like: • The use of servomotors and steeper motors to control the feed of wire. • The use of precision-controlled hydraulic valves. • The use of sensors to control position and feed. • The integration of computer controls. The makers of wire and wireforming machinery, when linked to the creativity of springmakers, have reduced cost and improved quality, ultimately helping our customers to be more competitive. In addition to equipment and wiremakers, springmakers from around the world will meet in Düsseldorf to determine ways to work together to strengthen our industry. I hope many of you will join me in Germany and Chicago to see in person the latest industry developments that are featured year-round in Springs magazine. For those of you who cannot attend, Springs will do its best to keep you informed. Dan Sebastian, MW Industries [email protected] 2 SPRINGS April 2006 Springs Magazine Staff Rita Schauer Kaufman CAE, Editor [email protected] Chair, Bob Herrmann, Newcomb Spring of Colorado Götz Arndt, Wafios Machinery Terry Bartel, Elgiloy Specialty Metals Carol Caldwell, Century Spring Randy DeFord, Mid-West Spring & Stamping Ritchy Froehlich, Ace Wire Spring LuAnn Lanke, Wisconsin Coil Spring John Schneider, O’Hare Spring Europe liaison, Richard Schuitema, Dutch Spring Association Technical Advisors Luke Zubek PE, SMI Technical Director Loren Godfrey, Colonial Spring Advertising sales - Japan Ken Myohdai Sakura International Inc. 22-11 Harimacho 1-Chome, Abeno-ku Osaka 545-0022 Japan. Phone: +81-6-6624-3601 Fax: +81-6-6624-3602 E-mail: [email protected] Advertising sales - Europe Jennie Franks Franks & Co. P.O. Box 33 Moulton Newmarket, Suffolk, England CB88SH Phone: +44-1638-751132 Fax: +44-1638-750933 E-mail: [email protected] Advertising sales - Taiwan Robert Yu Worldwide Services Co. Ltd. 11F-B, No 540, Sec. 1, Wen Hsin Rd. Taichung, Taiwan Phone: +886-4-2325-1784 Fax: +886-4-2325-2967 E-mail: [email protected] Springs (ISSN 0584-9667) is published quarterly by SMI Business Corp., a subsidiary of the Spring Manufacturers Institute:2001 Midwest Road, Suite 106, Oak Brook, IL 60523; Phone: (630) 495-8588; Fax: (630) 495-8595; Web site www.smihq.org. Address all correspondence and editorial materials to this address. The editors and publishers of Springs disclaim all warranties, express or implied, with respect to advertising and editorial content, and with respect to all manufacturing errors, defects or omissions made in connection with advertising or editorial material submitted for publication. The editors and publishers of Springs disclaim all liability for special or consequential damages resulting from errors, defects or omissions in the manufacturing of this publication, any submission of advertising, editorial or other material for publication in Springs shall constitute an agreement with and acceptance of such limited liability. The editors and publishers of Springs assume no responsibility for the opinions or facts in signed articles, except to the extent of expressing the view, by the fact of publication, that the subject treated is one which merits attention. Do not reproduce without written permission. FEATURES 7 High-Performance Stainless Steel and Specialty Wire How spring wire is made and process-controlled to reduce final part variation By R. Perlick and S. Lee, Central Wire Group 13 What’s in a Spec? What springmakers need to know about material specifications and how to modify them to meet customer requirements By Terry Bartel Ph.D., Elgiloy Specialty Metals 7 19 Glossary of Wire Terms Though not exhaustive, this listing includes many useful definitions of wire terminology that springmakers may encounter By David Merrills, Industrial Steel and Wire 28 2006: the Year of RoHS How this new environmental law is affecting manufacturers By Chris Watts of behalf of TUV Rheinland 29 Cutting Through the RoHS Confusion By Rita S. Kaufman, editor 34 Wire 2006 Preview of Exhibits April 24-28, 2006, Düsseldorf, Germany 13 36 Grinding Tight-Tolerance Springs How to improve your chances of success By Rick Schultz, Anchor Abrasives Co., and John Moyer, Moyer Manufacturing Co. COLUMNS 33 Be Aware: Safety Tips From Jim Wood What is Your Safety Program Costing You? 47 Spotlight on the Shop Floor Spring Essentials (for the rest of us) Part VII The Quick and Easy Material Review By Randy DeFord, Mid-West Spring & Stamping 51 IST Spring Technology Cautionary Tales Part XXX Spring Material Selection By Mark Hayes 19 DEPARTMENTS 2 President’s Message: “It’s Show Time in the Spring Industry” 25 Global Highlights 49 Inside SMI: Regional Meetings, New Member, Staff Doings 53 New Products: Diamond tooling facilitates small-diamter spring coiling 59 Advertisers’ Index 59 Sprung 60 Snapshot: Bob Herrmann, Newcomb Spring of Colorado 36 4 SPRINGS April 2006 They don’t have any idea who we are, but the aviation industry would be grounded without us. ISW Wire and Strip is Everywhere! Our superior quality products and extensive capabilities impact everyday life, everywhere. Take a look around! From control panels for the aviation industry, to safe tumblers, oven racks and thousands of other essential products, manufacturers rely on the quality of Industrial Steel & Wire. With five national locations, we have over 390,000 sq. ft. of warehousing for just-in-time delivery, anywhere in the world. Committed to Superior Products and Service ISW is your source for high-quality, competitively priced ferrous and non-ferrous wire and specialty strip. By providing exceptional service and solutions, we give our customers a competitive edge in the marketplace. Making an Impact Every Day, Everywhere! Look to ISW for round and shaped wire, custom plating, straighten & cut, and torsion straightening. Your preferred source of wire and strip ©2006 Industrial Steel & Wire Company Chicago Headquarters 800-767-0408 Bristol 800-767-4792 Cleveland 800-767-4434 Charlotte 800-767-0089 Los Angeles 800-827-9473 Wire and Strip Forming All Around Spring Machine Manufacturer Okuno Machine Co. Wave Springs and Wave Washers Flat and Round Wire Rings CNC Coiling High-Performance Stainless Steel and Specialty Wire How spring wire is made and process-controlled to reduce final part variation By R. Perlick and S. Lee Central Wire Group Melting Process The involved process of manufacturing precision stainless steel wire begins at the melt shop. The initial melt is composed of controlled scrap, processed ores and virgin pure metallic elements. When charged into a furnace, melting is accomplished by high-power electric arcs transferred from graphite electrodes. Once molten, the entire batch or heat is given a unique Figure 1: Stainless steel controlled scrap. alphanumeric identity and tapped into a waiting preheated ladle for transfer to a secondary refining operation. Various gases, such as oxygen, may be injected into the molten pool of mixed metallic ingredients for the purpose of refining and adjusting to the final grade Figure 2: Metallic element chemistry. In this process, additions. calculated chemical reactions within the molten bath, now approximately 3,000° F, help to further improve the steel’s cleanliness by reducing impurities. Final small additions may be required to balance the final melt composition. Figure 3: Electric arc furnace being tapped. Billet Production On its path to becoming a wire product, the refined molten metal must be cooled and allowed to set or crystallize, much like how water is chilled into an ice cube mold. In one technique, the entire batch of liquid metal is lifted onto a prepared tundish casting station where the liquid metal is carefully allowed to drain out of the ladle through a ceramic pouring tube into protective water-cooled molds. These continuous-casting molds vary in shape section from rectangular to square or round, and approximately measure 5″ to 6″ across. As the liquid metal slides along and passes slowly through the cooled mold, a thin solid skin forms as a precursor to forming a billet. As the chilled skin passes downward through the mold due to gravitational pull, more liquid in the core continues to solidify, and eventually the entire cross section is chilled solid. Plasma torches automatically cut the continuously moving billet into pre-calculated lengths. The lengths are governed by the density Figure 4: Continuousof each different grade in cast billet example. order to match customerspecified coil weights of wire rod. The billet now has a defined grain pattern, which must be hot-worked to refine the microstructure and improve quality. Once cooled into a Figure 5: Cooled billet with straight billet, each length end identity. of the billet is identified to maintain necessary traceability from melt all the way through to finished wire. Each billet is oftentimes visually inspected for surface consistency to ensure that no abnormal Figure 6: Rod rolling mill – roughing surface irregulari- stands. ties were formed during the continuous-casting process. Depending on the condition found, billets may be spot surface ground to blend or remove irregularities that could otherwise contribute to rolling defects. Each rolling mill is designed to produce certain coil weights and diameters ranging from 5.5mm SPRINGS April 2006 7 to 25mm (0.218″ to 1.00″) or more in increments of 0.5mm to 1mm ( 1/32″ to 1/16″). Prior to rolling, billets are checked for proper grade and heat lot identification, and are then re-heated to a prescribed rolling temperature, which is unique to each grade. Figure 7: As rolled hot coil. Billets are reheated using in-line induction or gas-fired pusher-type reheat furnaces to reach the specified rolling temperature, which is typically in the range of Figure 8: Wire rod – direct 1,800° to 2,300°F. Once quenched. the billets reach thermal equilibrium, they are extracted from the furnace and directed to the entry roll on the rolling mill. A remarkable transformation takes place where the billet undergoes pinching and squeezing the stiff, putty-like hot metal into sequentially smaller section sizes. These reductions may include various deformations into rounds, squares, rectangles and ovals to provide the most efficient way to reduce the cross section and elongate the wire rod. The entire hot-rolling sequence may require passing through 30 or more rolls to convert the original billet that has a cross section of 30 sq. in. or more, reduced down to a wire rod of only 0.04 sq. in. or more. This represents a 750× reduction in area. As the total volume from billet to rolled wire rod does not change, the now 0.218″ diameter rod, which is several miles long, is coiled into a hot bundle approximately 4′ in diameter and 3′-4′ high. Common coil weights are between one and two tons. Depending on end user Figure 9: Wire rod – cooled requirements of finished off rolling mill. wire product, the grain structure can be altered by cooling methods. Rapid quenching from the rolling stands will result in a finegrained product. If the rolled rod is allowed to equalize in temperature and Figure 10: Hot rolled, annealed and control-cooled, other- white pickled rod. wise known as “direct solution treating,” a medium/fine grain structure is produced. Finally, if the rod is allowed to cool by itself and then off-line solution heat treated, a medium grain structure is produced. Production of Spring Wire A majority of spring wire products begins with hot-rolled and solution-annealed wire rod that has been de-scaled and acid cleaned. The resultant consistent white pickled finish is now ready for conversion into high-quality drawn wire. The wiremaking process, designed by wire specialists, incorporates the latest technical advances in wire manufacturing. A number of important specified process controls are used in the production of specialty wire. They are necessary to ensure that the substantial process Since 1981 Quality - Integrity variables are kept in control and not allowed to vary ranPremium & Precision Grade Wire Straighteners domly. Producing stainless steel and specialty alloy spring wire requires many steps in process control. Spring wire manufacturing begins with the inspection of the wire rod to verify that the material is the correct grade, heat and diameter, and the rod surface is checked to ensure 0.006” to 0.312” Round & Shaped that it meets the stringent quality requirements. The full heat chemistry is verified against wirestraighteners.com TAK Enterprises Bristol, CT 860-583-0517 prescribed grade specifications; there are checks of mechanical The best is not expensive, but the cost of not using a TAK is! 8 SPRINGS April 2006 properties, grain size, micro-cleanliness and ferrite number; and stress rupture properties may be verified or tested. The process for making spring wire is outlined in a manufacturing instruction sheet that moves with the material. This document provides clear stepby-step instructions for the wire mill department operators to follow, with a complete reference to raw material traceability and identification, and any special instructions. Each coil is individually tagged to Operation Purpose of Operation ensure material identity and traceability throughout the manufacturing process. To meet the demanding requirements specified by the springmaker, not only is the correct rod chemistry important, but also factors such as surface smoothness, and any white pickle color variations may have to be taken into consideration. The typical manufacturing route from rod to finished wire might be as shown in the table below: Operation Purpose of Operation 4. Anneal 1. Pre-coat To soften the material so that the final draw will obtain the required mechanical properties. Provides a suitable carrier coating for wiredrawing lubricant, thereby reducing friction and surface damage. 5. Final draw to size 2. Cold draw to intermediate size Due to customer requirements, smaller sizes of wire, if drawn from rod, may exceed specifications for tensile. 3. Clean To remove all surface lubricants and ensure that no contamination occurs during annealing. Specifies lubricant, finishandpackaging required by the customer. 6. Final inspection and traceability verification. To confirm qualitative grade checking by wire production, complete with a written and signed certification that all customer requirements set out by the order have been satisfied. SPRINGS April 2006 9 Operation Pre-coat Cold draw to intermediate size Clean Anneal Final draw to size Final inspection and traceability verification 10 SPRINGS April 2006 The art and science of making spring wire in specialty steels is • Tank temperature and concentration. an involved process. Simply cold • Drying time and temperature to ensure proper predrawing into an intermediate size coat formation. and softening it by annealing and • Tight diameter tolerances. then cold drawing to final size • Block cooling. seems straightforward at first. • Drawing speeds. However, when done properly, • Pass reduction schedule. there are arrays of process con• Breakdown surface characteristics. trols that must be checked and verified to ensure the process • Inspection of cleanliness. remains in control from start to • Tank temperature and concentration. finish. • Temperature control to ensure consistent properties The multitude of process conthrough length of wire. trols that are incorporated from • Anneal line speed. rod to drawing of the final spring • Tight diameter and ovality tolerances. wire size all help to control the • Proper residual coating, wax, nickel coat, oil, copper hardness and tensile strength. and/or stearate soap coat. (See process controls table, left.) • Cast and Helix consistency. Spring manufacturing is also • Die pass schedule. a demanding process. It requires • Block cooling. a wire starting stock that is • Mechanical properties. manufactured with the utmost consistency in size, and mechani• Diameter and ovality. cal and physical properties, as • Mechanical properties. specified as part of an order or • Physical properties. specification. • Packaging. By keeping variations to a minimum, the springmaker can realize a much greater degree of consistency in the coil winding operation, where free length and coil OD are held in close control. Spring load variations can be mainly affected by the cross-sectional integrity of the spring wire. A good commercial-quality spring wire, in specialty alloys, maintains this high degree of integrity by reducing the slight surface irregularities to approximately 1% or less of the diameter. This low level assures that the designed load-carrying capability of each spring remains consistent. Another key factor is the consistent level of residual lubricant film on the wire that allows the springmaker to form and flow the wire evenly from spring to spring. The technologically advanced precoats and drawing lubricants of today, coupled with the many controls on the wiredrawing process help ensure that there is a steady level of residual lubricant on the wire for the springmaker to use during wire forming. Spring wire can be produced in a wide variety of specialty alloys. Applications for these special grades may include springs for high heat resistance, corrosion resistance and other high-performance attributes needed in the automotive, aerospace, chemical and process industries. In addition to common stainless steel types 302/ 304, 316 and 17-7PH, other exotic stainless grades Process controls can bring added benefits. Duplex stainless steel UNS S32205 or 2205 alloy is a grade that combines the properties of austenitic and ferritic stainless steels. The ferrite portion imparts superior strength compared to austenitic grades; conversely the austenite portion provides superior corrosion resistance to standard ferritic grades. Alloy A-286 can be formed into springs and age hardened by heat treatment, further increasing strength. This alloy can be used at high temperatures up to about 1200°F. Other stainless grades can be reviewed with the wire mill for availability. An alternative to stainless steels are high-performance springs made from super alloys. These include nickel-based alloys, such as 718, X-750 and 600, as well as nickel-copper alloys. Even more exotic materials for extreme corrosion resistance and strength are available. Alloys such as MP35N, MP-159 and Alloy 25 can provide a high level of resistance to a multitude of corrosive environments for applications ranging from petrochemicals to biomedical implants. products. Readers may contact him by phone at (815) 923-2131 or e-mail at [email protected]. Shui L. Lee is the quality and technical development manager for Central Wire Industries. Lee has a Ph.D. in metallurgy and engineering materials, with 13 years of experience in manufacturing and processing stainless steel, nickel alloy and carbon steel wire. Readers may contact him by phone at (613) 267-3752 or e-mail at [email protected]. v Conclusion By incorporating continuous improvement and stringent process controls during wire manufacturing, the specialty spring industry is provided with a reliable feedstock. In minimizing levels of variation in wire diameter, residual lubricant coating and tensile strength, along with consistent cast and helix of each loop of wire, springmakers can be confident of the dimensional consistency and repeatability of their formed parts. Richard Perlick is vice president of metallurgy, processing and quality for Techalloy Co.’s heavy wire plant located in Union, IL, a division of the Central Wire Group of Canada. Perlick is a degreed metallurgist from Michigan Technological University with nearly 37 years’ experience in all facets of the manufacture and metallurgy of stainless and high-alloy wire, rod and bar SPRINGS April 2006 11 What’s in a Spec? What springmakers need to know about material specifications and how to modify them to meet customer requirements By Terry Bartel Ph.D. Elgiloy Specialty Metals pecifications are an integral part of our lives. Whether or not we realize it, every one of us uses or is affected by specifications in many ways every day. Nearly everything we use, touch, eat, wear or look at was produced using directions that can be loosely construed as a specification. In the most general sense, a specification is merely a grouping of information that defines the basic parameters required to produce the desired end product. As springmakers or material suppliers, when we think of specifications we will most often think of a drawing with dimensions, spring loads or rates, and associated tolerances, material names, a list of properties, elemental contents, reference documents, testing methods and other such items. Many of us have dealt with these items so long that when we look at a specification, we can automatically visualize the spring and what it does, or the material type and its performance characteristics. But what really should be in a specification and how should it be constructed to make certain that the desired end product meets its intended use? If you think about this, you quickly realize that this simple thought is the basis for success, frustration or, at the worst, failure. A way of driving this point home is to think about the last time you purchased something that stated on the box “some assembly required” and the success that you had in following those instructions. A specification is like that set of instructions. If all of the information (both written and drawn) that you needed was included and clearly presented, you were successful in assembling the toy, barbecue grill or whatever. If, however, those instructions were not complete, clear and concisely presented, you were either frustrated or failed in the assembly process. What follows is aimed at giving you an idea of the information to be included in a material specification so that you receive a product that allows you to manufacture a spring to meet your customer’s needs and expectations. We will start with a brief discussion of the specification formats used by S international organizations, and then we’ll talk about specification content. Finally, we’ll proceed on to the reasoning behind the inclusion of specific information in a specification. Although we will be discussing material specifications, much of the same reasoning can be applied to specifications for almost any end product. National Specification Formats In the United States, the most commonly encountered specifications are SAE AMS (Society of Automotive Engineers Aerospace Materials Specifications) and ASTM (American Society of Testing and Materials). Elsewhere, DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung), EN (European Norm) and ISO (International Standards Organization) are more common. Each of these organizations is an independent standard/specification generator, and all are very powerful and highly recognized around the world. Although there has been much discussion regarding the desirability of harmonizing these independent specifications, there is little hope at this time of any of these organizations relinquishing any of their power. For our purposes here, all of these organizations do have one thing in common: They have very structured formats for their specifications and standards. With this uniformity of format, the user always knows where to find specific information. If these specifications provide you with the material you need, use them. If you discover that your needs are not met, then you should build on them (and their general format) to create a material specification that meets your needs. The basic formats are somewhat along the following lines and in the order presented: • Scope: The Scope is an overview. It tells the user what to expect and clarifies use. It can be very useful for defining limits of use. • Referenced (Applicable) Documents: This section lists all documents that are referenced throughout the body of the specification or standard. Generally, the following three pieces of information SPRINGS April 2006 13 are provided for each document as a minimum: document author (source), identifying number and title. Occasionally, the contact information for the source document is included. One rule to follow: Don’t include a document in this section if it is not referenced, as this adds confusion to interpretation of needs. • Introductory Material: Not all specifications contain this section. It generally includes such items as ordering information, general requirements and manufacturing information. In addition, material condition may be included here, or it may be under Technical Requirements if very specific needs are stated. • Technical Requirements: This is the real meat of any specification, as it defines the specific requirements for a material. These will include: condition if more specific in nature, material chemistry, melting practice, mechanical properties (tensile and yield strengths, elongation, reduction of area, hardness, creep, and stress-rupture – both before and after any aging heat treatments), required heat treatments and applicable atmospheres, any special metallurgical requirements (grain size, microstructural uniformity, phase percentage and so forth), and finish. Depending upon how the specification is structured, this section may also contain mate- 14 SPRINGS April 2006 rial sizes and tolerances. This is a very good place to include any specific word or process definitions that are important to the understanding of the specification. It is this section that truly defines the needs of the product. • Quality: This section has quite often been written with just a “general workmanship or quality” attitude. This is beginning to change, however, and a lot more requirements are being added to this section. It should include any specific testing and reporting needs that must be addressed. Among them would be responsibility for inspection, any additional testing (including sampling) or inspection that is desired, and what is to be reported on the raw material certification. Resampling, retesting or rejection are also usually addressed in this section. • Delivery: Such items as packaging, shipping preparation and labeling are included in this section. Many times this information is included on the Purchase Order and not in the body of the specification. Although you will find other headings, those listed above provide the basis for most of the specifications created by the internationally recognized organizations. Again, if these meet your needs, use them. Why create additional work and system maintenance problems for your organization? Time and resources are becoming more and more scarce as international competition increases. Your Own Specification If existing specifications do not meet your needs, then you must create at least some form of your own specification. Internationally recognized specifications may not contain all of the requirements that you need to produce your product. You may have additional technical requirements that are not included in these specifications, you may want to clarify specific points, or you may wish to stipulate sampling and testing methods. Second, an internationally recognized specification may not exist for your needs or the material in question. The latter is quite prevalent as related to spring wire. The general attitude of several of these organizations seems to be that the spring industry is just too small to warrant the time and effort required to prepare a specification, get it to the proper committee and follow it for the 18 to 24 months required to bring it to fruition. This is the reason there are so many private industry spring wire or strip specifications. They far outnumber those that have been prepared by the international organizations. When preparing your own specification, what should you do to make certain that you include those specific requirements to ensure that you receive the material you need to produce your product? This can be summed up in one word: knowledge. You must have knowledge of the function of the product that you are fabricating, its expected performance and its operating environment. You must also have knowledge of the material to be used, and what it can and cannot be expected to do. Many times the material type will be stipulated by your customer, so this decision is removed from your responsibility. However, when material type is not stipulated or your customer expects your help, knowledge of materials can become very important in your overall success in satisfying your customer. Stating the above is easy; applying it can be difficult at times. However, there are a few simple rules that I tell people to follow when they have to create their own material specification. Rule 1: Keep it simple (KISS principle). This rule can do more to keep you out of trouble than any other. The more complex you make a specification, the more difficult it will be to obtain what you really need. Complexity often leads to misunderstandings SPRINGS April 2006 15 and mistakes. However, in some cases a complex specification cannot be avoided. Just keep in mind that you should strive to minimize it. Be careful to not simplify too much; the result can be just as disastrous as over-complexity if you do not receive what you need. Rule 2: Build upon other specifications. If you have the luxury of needing only slight or moderate changes or additions to one of the international specifications, use it. Keeping Rule 1 in mind, make your specification as simple as possible by referencing the already established specification, and create 16 SPRINGS April 2006 your document in such a manner that it includes only those items requiring modification. Why recreate an entire document that already exists? Keep this rule in mind even if you require a high degree of complexity. If you are only adding to and not highly modifying the existing specification, use it and just do your additions. Rule 3: Work with others. This rule really goes hand-in-hand with the next and final rule. Don’t go it alone! Use your resources and contacts to help you prepare a good specification that will provide you with the material having the appropriate properties that will allow you to fabricate the end product with the desired performance characteristics. One of your best resources will be your material suppliers. Most have the expertise to help you formulate your needs into definable properties. If they don’t, most of them have developed their own resources over the years whom they can call upon to get the job done. Again, keep the KISS principle in mind, and do not try to create a specification “by committee.” Having others review for completeness and clarity is good; just don’t include too many people in the creation process. The first three rules are really quite simple. They mostly involve common sense, and all of us usually follow them every day to get our work completed. The real problem comes with the fourth rule – knowledge of what we really need in a material and how to define these needs in a manner that can be concisely stated in our specification. Rule 4: Technical requirements (knowledge): As previously stated, the technical requirements are the real meat of a specification. They are those items that we need to define so that our suppliers can provide us with a material having the desired properties to allow us to produce a product with the required performance characteristics. Sometimes, we have a very difficult time in defining the exact characteristics needed. Maybe we really do not have a good grasp of material properties and what they actually mean in terms of product performance. Possibly we do not know what is even available to meet specific needs. This is where Rule 3, working with others, comes into play. Draw upon the working knowledge of those who have it. Their best interests are also served if they help you create a specification to meet your needs. But what are these needs? In general terms, they fall into spring performance characteristics and the material properties required, yielding a product meeting these desired characteristics. The key point is that you need to define the performance requirements for the given spring (or have them defined for you by your customer). These will then define the properties needed in the material used to produce the spring. Normally, we work with only the basic mechanical strength of a material along with either the elastic or torsion moduli for this material. However, in many cases, we need more information, such as: anticipated fatigue or cycle life, operating temperature, operating environment (such as wet or dry, and any corrosive media) or possible stress-relaxation concerns, to mention only a few requirements. The more information you know and can provide to your suppliers, the better able they will be to meet your needs. Remember, you need to concisely define as many performance details as you can. Very rarely will you provide too much information. Following are some of the properties that may have to be considered for your application (don’t forget to determine if you need these properties before or after any aging or specialized heat treatments): • Chemical composition. • Corrosion resistance. • Tensile strength. • 0.2% yield strength. • Elongation. • Reduction of area. • Hardness. • Grain size. • Microstructural requirements. • Surface defect requirements. • Surface finish (typically for strip applications). The following properties should be considered for inclusion in a specification only when absolutely necessary (they play more of a role in the spring design requirements): • Fatigue performance. • Stress relaxation characteristics. • Stress-rupture. • Creep life. Notice that all of these items are mechanical properties, not physical properties. They do not include such physical properties as density, electrical conductivity (plated material for conductive springs aside), coefficient of thermal expansion or SPRINGS April 2006 17 percentage increases dramatically as the testing gage length decreases. If you do not indicate 14 testing parameters, you may find 12 yourself at odds with your supplier should you decide to perform any 10 verification testing (not always a bad idea). 8 Not all material properties 6 are affected as dramatically by testing conditions as elongation 4 is. However, virtually all material properties are affected in some 2 manner by testing techniques 0 or parameters. You should be 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 aware of these possibilities and Gage Length - inches act accordingly. Many times you can invoke Figure 1: Relationship between percent elongation and testing gage length. standard practices, such as 0.054" Elgiloy – as-drawn, spring temper condition. defined by the widely accepted magnetic permeability. Physical properties are inher- ASTM standards. However, even with the ASTM ent in the material and its condition, and cannot be standards, you may need to define specific testing controlled by the raw material manufacturer with parameters. Also, be aware if your end user has very few exceptions. Do not include physical proper- any specific testing requirements. If they exist and ties in your specification unless they are there for you must prepare your own specification, include reference only, and even then do not include them them. unless you have an unbelievably good reason for doing so; they will only add complexity and confu- Summary sion to the specification. Specifications govern our everyday lives whether Work with your team to determine which param- we like it or not. We need to be knowledgeable in eters you feel must be included in your specification, what they mean and what they can do for us. They then define them as concisely as possible and begin can hinder us or they can aid us in attaining sucputting your specification together. cess, as measured by customer satisfaction. This is when your knowledge sources, such as Whenever possible, we should utilize specificasuppliers, can help you not only include the appro- tions and standards that have been prepared by priate properties and values, but also make certain internationally recognized organizations. However, that they are compatible. By example, I mean that when these documents do not give us what we need high tensile or yields strengths do not go along with or they do not exist, we need to create our own high elongation or other ductility values. These specifications, incorporating those items required people can also help you determine any specialized to make a high-quality product to meet our customtesting techniques that may be required. Do not er’s expectations. We can do this by following the forget to reference these special techniques within basic four-rule concept as outlined in this article to your specification. You need to make certain that develop our specifications. everyone performs any testing in basically the same manner to ensure reproducibility in data values. You Terry Bartel earned his Ph.D. in metallurgical also need to be aware of any special testing param- engineering from Michigan Technological University. eter definitions or reporting specifics, and include Following graduate school, he spent four years as this information accordingly. a materials scientist for the materials laboratory in An example that I always like to use to demon- the United States Air Force and Wright Patterson Air strate this last point is the reported elongation values Force Base. He then joined National-Standard Co., that always appear on material certifications. So where he worked as the manager of new product many times you find a percentage number reported development for 20 years. In 1998, he joined Elgiloy for the elongation but without the testing gage length Specialty Metals in Elgin, IL, where he is general indicated anywhere on the document. See Figure manager of wire. 1, above, which is a plot of actual data for a spring Bartel has written numerous technical articles on material in the as-drawn condition. This figure phase transformations and materials applications, plainly demonstrates that the reported elongation and is active in several metallurgical societies. ReadElongation - % 16 18 SPRINGS April 2006 Glossary of Wire Terms Though not exhaustive, this listing includes many useful definitions of wire terminology that springmakers may encounter By David Merrills, Industrial Steel and Wire Air Patenting – The cooling of the rod or wire is accomplished in air as apposed to lead. (See Lead Patenting.) Alloy – A mixture or combination of metals forming an apparently homogeneous mass. Annealed – For the purposes of this glossary, I will restrict the comments to stainless steel wire. Annealed stainless has been heat treated at high temperatures (about 1950°F) and then cooled quickly in order to soften the wire. The typical tensile of annealed stainless steel wire is about 90,000 PSI (pounds per square inch). There would not be any surface coating on the wire, and it certainly would not be used for making springs. Bright Drawn – Broadly accepted to mean a wire with no metallic surface coating such as zinc (galvanized). Bull Block – Typically a large-diameter drawing block for producing large-diameter wires. See Figure 1. Cable – A term loosely applied to wire ropes and wire strands. Coils - Referred to as “mill coils” or in England as “catch weight coils.” This is an inexact weight of wire as opposed to exact weight coils. Typically, coils and carriers are mill coils, i.e. not exact. Cold Drawing – Pulling wire at normal (room) temperature through a die in order to reduce the cross-sectional area; that is to say, make the wire smaller in diameter. Shaped wire is usually produced by cold rolling. This process increases the tensile and yield strength of the wire while decreasing the ductility. (See Shaped Wire.) bull block Association for Iron and Steel Technology Block – A steel drum-shaped part of a wiredrawing machine. The finishing “block size” will determine the inside diameter (ID) and outside diameter (OD) of a coil. See Figure 1, below. Cast – The cast is the shape or configuration of one or two turns, or convolutions, of wire taken from a coil. “Bad cast” probably means that the wire is wild or has a bad helix (spiral), or the diameter of the cast is too small or, in some cases, too large. However, bad cast does not necessarily mean bad helix and visa versa. The terms are often confused (see Helix). Cold Heading (Wire) - This is a specialized type of wire that is used mainly for screws, rivets and nuts, broadly described as “fasteners.” Cold heading quality wire has a premium surface and is generally supplied in the annealed or slightly cold-drawn condition. Cotter Pin Wire – Usually halfround wire. Cadmium – Cadmium-coated wire Figure 1: Wiredrawing machine using is sold in much the same way as horizontal bull blocks for ½" - 1" wire. Diameter Tolerance – Most all tinned wire. Cadmium is a bluishwhite metal. It is important to note that cadmium wires have a permitted diameter tolerance variation is considered a hazardous material and is not RoHS on the nominal wire size. This is usually expressed as a plus or minus variance that is given in the stancompliant. dard wire specifications. The wire is also permitted Carrier - Sometimes called, a “rack,” “stem,” “spider” to have an ovality tolerance, as it is extremely difor “former.” This is a tubular metal form that stands ficult to produce a perfectly round wire throughout vertically. The wire is either gravity-fed onto it or a batch of wire. Some springmakers may request a individual coils are stacked onto it. It is an effective “tighter” tolerance than the specification allows, so way of producing large continuous coils or stacking this has to be discussed and agreed upon with the steel supplier. mill coils for storage and transportation. Photos in this Glossary reprinted, with permission, from “Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel,” 10th edition, Association for Iron and Steel Technology. SPRINGS April 2006 19 Inconel, Incoloy – These are nickel-chrome alloys with very good resistance to corrosion and for working in high temperatures, or both. These alloys have a very low magnetic permeability of about 1.0 (almost non-magnetic). casing Electro-Polishing – A process based on chemical/electrical surface treatment that produces a shiny surface. This process removes metal from the surface and consequently reduces the wire diameter very slightly. nib wire rod Association for Iron and Steel Technology Die – Wiredrawing die. A specially shaped hole through which the wire is pulled in order to reduce the diameter. Dies may be made from tungsten carbide, ceramics, diamonds or synthetic industrial diamonds. See Figure 2, below. Lead patenting – of rod or wire is a process whereby the material is heated in a patenting furnace and then quenched (cooled) almost immediately in a bath of molten lead. The temperature of the furnace is about 1600-2000°F. The lead temperature is in the range of 840-1000°F. Elongation – The extension of a tensile test piece when stressed. The elongation at fracture is usuMusic Wire – This is a fairly ally expressed as a percentage of high-grade, high-carbon steel the original gauge length. In broad Figure 2: Wiredrawing die. terms, it is how far the wire will wire. It is a “cleaner” steel than stretch before breaking. The amount of plastic or hard drawn and exhibits a better fatigue life. Today, permanent elongation is measured from a tensile test music wire is made by either direct drawing from rod specimen before fracture. Typically, as hardness or or lead patenting. As a guide, most stocked music strength increases, elongation decreases. wire thicker than 0.0625" is more likely to have been direct drawn; whereas wire smaller than 0.0625" will Galvanized Wire – Wire to which a coating of zinc has have been made from lead-patented rod or wire. Wire been applied to the surface as a protection against made by the patenting method has a higher cost. corrosion. Galvanized wire is often produced by hot dipping the wire into molten zinc. This is called “hot- Nickel Coated – Stainless steel tends to be sticky dipped galvanized.” Electro-galvanized is a method during cold drawing, and coating these grades of applying zinc electrolytically. with nickel can enhance the surface quality. Typically some stainless wire has a surface coating or Grease Drawn – Usually gives a fairly bright shiny lubricant, which is nickel (metallic). Nickel is a soft, finish. The electropolishing quality type is typical metallic material that is an excellent lubricant for of this. Grease drawn is usually only applicable to spring coiling. Special music wires may also be supstainless steel wire. plied with a nickel coating. Suzuki has the trade name of “Preco-N” for this product. Hard Drawn - Most of the time when springmakers specify “hard drawn,” they mean bright hard-drawn, Nickel Plating – This is usually carried out after the usually to ASTM A-227. Galvanized hard-drawn is spring or wireform has been made. The nickel plating usually to ASTM A-764. is usually for cosmetic purposes, as it is typically bright and shiny. Do not confuse nickel plating with Heat Number – A number given to a ladle (cast or heat) nickel-coated wire. of molten steel as part of the steel mill’s traceability. If a springmaker has a wire problem, he may often ask Passivation – According to ASTM A380, passivation is for a different heat number. There is a good chance “the removal of exogenous iron or iron compounds that a different heat number was made at a different from the surface of stainless steel by means of a chemical dissolution, most typically by a treatment time and the wire characteristics may differ. with an acid solution that will remove the surface Helix - Often checked by laying a couple of convo- contamination, but will not significantly affect the lutions on the ground and measured by the “lift.” stainless steel itself.” In addition, it also describes Helix is a measurement of how high the end of the passivation as “the chemical treatment of stainless wire lifts off the ground or flat surface. Another steel with a mild oxidant, such as nitric acid soluway to measure this is to suspend a couple of coil tion, for the purpose of enhancing the spontanous convolutions from your finger. If the wire spirals formation of the protective passive film.” or corkscrews from side to side, this is sometimes called “separation.” 20 SPRINGS April 2006 Reels, Spools, Bobbins – Typically, if the wire is not supplied in coils or on carriers, it can be wound onto a reel. Depending upon wire size, the large diameter wires are supplied on reels and the small sizes on spools. These can be made from steel, wood or plastic. The three critical dimensions of a reel are: flange diameter, arbor or center spindle hole, and traverse width. Reeless Core – Sometimes called a “core.” Basically, it is a coil that has been drawn onto a collapsible reel. The reel is collapsed and taken away, leaving a reeless core. Reverse Bend Test – Commonly referred to as a “bend test.” This is a test used to determine the ductility of the wire. The wire is typically bent backwards and forwards through 180° over a specified bend radius until it breaks. The number of times it could be bent before fracture is recorded on the test certificate. Rockwell Hardness – Rockwell hardness is determined by pressing either a steel ball or diamond indenter into the surface of the test piece then measuring the depth of the impression. It is not usual to test wire this way. Wire “hardness” is usually expressed by its tensile strength, with the result expressed as PSI (pounds per square inch). Hardness tests relate more to flat products, i.e. strip and sometimes shaped wire. Rod – Also called “wire rod” or “hot-rolled rod.” Wire rod is the raw material from which wire is drawn. Rod is produced from a heated billet of steel. This is passed through a series of rolls by which it is reduced in cross-sectional area. This process is called “hot rolling.” Rust – Corrosion results from the action of moisture and air at normal temperatures on iron and steel products. This is sometimes called “oxidation.” This can happen to bright carbon steel wires, such as hard-drawn, music or basic, and sometimes oil-tempered. “White rust” is specific to galvanized wires and is a film of zinc oxide caused by moisture. Seam – A seam or longitudinal crack in the wire that is usually the result of a seam being present on the rolled rod. This typically happens during the steelmaking process (see Figure 3, right). Seams can be superficial and not impair the fatigue performance of the Figure 3: Deep seam on surface material, or they can of semifinished rolled product, be more severe and ini- originating with an ingot crack. tiate fatigue cracks. Shaped Wire – This is the term generally used to describe wire with a cross-sectional shape other than round. Shaped wire is usually produced by cold rolling. There are potentially an infinite number of shapes possible, but generally they fall into the following broad categories: square, flat, oval, half round, rectangular or wedge shaped. Shell - This is a rare problem these days, but it refers to the presence of residual scale on the wire surface as a result of insufficient descaling of the wire rod prior to the drawing stage. System Solutions Straighteners ER PO Rolls Guides Drives Preformers Defined and reproducible roll adjustment for straighteners. Do you waste time and material on setting up your straighteners while producing bad quality? Simple methods to preset defined straightener roll positions result in large advantages in the routine of wire processing. WITELS-ALBERT USA Ltd. Phone: 410 228 8383, FAX: 410 228 1813 [email protected], www.witels-albert-usa.com SPRINGS April 2006 21 Association for Iron and Steel Technology Phosphate – Also called “phos-coated.” Unless we are discussing galvanized music wire, the surface coating on music wire is usually phos-coated. The wire, or rod, is coated with zinc phosphate prior to wiredrawing. Added to the phosphate coating may be lime or a borax coating, plus the die-box drawing soap. This coating achieves several things: It permits the high-speed drawing of the wire because of its lubrication properties, it is a good spring coiling lubricant, and it offers a limited protection against rusting. The appearance of the wire is almost black, with a light oil on the surface. Soap-Coated Wire – Stainless wire can be soap-coated non-metallic, or nickel-coated metallic. “Soap coated” broadly defines the surface coating or lubricant on the wire. The coating is indeed a soap derivative. Spheroidizing – A heat-treatment process carried out at a uniform temperature followed by a slow cooling in order to obtain a suitable microstructure for cold working (spring coiling). This results in the carbides being agglomerated into a spheroid form, which will eliminate hardness or brittleness of high-carbon wire while maintaining most of its strength. Spheroid annealing results in a very ductile structure often necessary to form parts on a fourslide or in a press. Parts are subsequently heat treated to the desired hardness. Splitting or Split Coils – Term used to describe coils that have been made smaller (lighter in weight) by separating one part of the coil from the other, cutting it apart and tying up separate “split” coils. Springs (Wire) – These fall mainly into three broad categories: compression springs, which in service are compressed; extension springs, which are pulled apart or extended; and torsion springs, which are twisted. Torsion springs are designed to operate by relative angular displacement of their ends, sometimes called “legs.” Stainless Steel – A high-chromium steel, often including nickel, which is resistant to corrosive and oxidizing attack. The most well-known type is 18/8, an austenitic steel containing about 18% nickel. The carbon is typically kept low. This is often referred to as “Type 302” or “Type 304.” The main difference between the two grades is that Type 302 has a maximum permitted carbon content of 0.12%, whereas Type 304 has a maximum permitted carbon content of 0.08%. As a rule, 304 will almost always meet the 302 analysis but not the other way around. The term “stainless steel” is, to some extent, incorrect; there are no steels that are wholly immune, in all circumstances, to corrosive attack by all the substances with which they can come into contact. Stress Relieving – Heat treating the formed spring to, and if necessary holding at, a specific temperature. This is usually followed by a slow cool for the sole purpose of relieving the internal stresses created as a result of spring coiling. It is performed on springs to reduce the high local tensile stresses that occur as a result of coiling or bending. The inner radius of compression springs and the bends in the arms of torsion springs are examples. These areas of high stress concentration can be deleterious to the spring’s fatigue performance. Tensile Test – This is used to measure tensile strength, often expressed as UTS (ultimate tensile strength). In the U.S. almost all tensiles are expressed as PSI (pounds per square inch). The wire is actually tested by pulling or loading the wire in a tensile machine until it breaks (actual breaking load). This load figure is then divided by the original cross-sectional area of the wire in order to calculate tensile strength, which is expressed in PSI. Tin – This is a soft white metal, very malleable and ductile, but of low tensile strength. Both bright harddrawn and music wire tin-coated material is supplied with no appreciable change in tensile strength. Both comply to their respective spring wire specifications. After plating, the wire looks like silver. Tolerance – Diameter tolerance is the amount by which the diameter of the wire is permitted to vary above and below the specified size. Torsion Test – Sometimes called a “twist test.” This is a test whereby the ends of a measured test length are secured and the wire is twisted in a torsion testing machine, usually until it breaks. The number of twists is recorded as part of the mechanical testing procedure. This test can also reveal seams in the surface of the wire. 22 SPRINGS April 2006 Valve Spring Wire – Often oil-tempered chrome silicon wire per ASTM A877. Usually this wire is subject to very special processing and inspection, in terms of surface, to prevent complete decarburization and severe surface defects. “Regular” chrome silicon (ASTM A401) is not valve quality. Wet Drawn Wire – Wet drawing is a process in which the wire is drawn while submerged in an oilor grease-type lubricant. This usually results in a bright shiny finish. This bright finish is not particularly good for spring coiling, as there is no real lubricant on the wire surface to facilitate automatic spring coiling. Wire Gauge – Wire gauge sizes vary in interpretation, not only from country to country but also by wire type. It is better to refer to wire size by actual wire diameter. Wrap Test – This is a test of the wire’s ductility. Typically, the wire is wound onto a mandrel of the same size as the wire diameter to be tested. An acceptable result would be that the wire is wound seven or eight turns in such a way without splitting or breaking. This test can also be used to test the adhesion of plating on the surface of the wire such as zinc (galvanized). Yield or Yield Point – This can be part of a tensile test. The yield point is where there is a sudden increase in elongation (stretch) without any corresponding increase in load as the wire is being pulled (see Tensile). The point at which this occurs is called the “yield point.” The yield point is always lower than the UTS (ultimate tensile strength). The yield point is also the point at which the material begins to plastically deform or yield. Beyond the yield point, a material will not return to its original shape; that is a spring that takes “set” has been loaded beyond the yield point of the material. Zinc – Zinc plated or galvanized wire. Zinc is a bluish white metal that melts at a relatively low temperature – about 780°F. The zinc is used to plate wire (galvanizing) in order to protect against rusting. Larger sizes are typically made by dipping the wire in molten zinc (final hot dip). Smaller sizes are galvanized and then drawn to the finished size (drawn after galvanizing – DAG.) Zinc can also be applied by electro-galvanizing; that is to say the zinc is applied electrolytically. David Merrills is vice president of Industrial Steel & Wire in Bristol, CT. Readers may contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or phone at (860) 589-7755. v SPRINGS April 2006 23 Whatever the conditions — extreme heat, stress, frigid cold — our spring wire keeps coming back for more. If you need spring wire that pushes the limits, call your Haldex Garphyttan Corporation representative today. Because when it comes down to the wire, Haldex quality performs at a higher level. © 2006 hALDEX/gARPHYTTAN wIRE company www.haldex.com Overseas Wafios AG in Reutlingen, Germany, has announced a management succession. Dr. Horst Birkmann has left the board of directors after 40 years of service; Hanns-Gerhard Rösch, CEO, is now chairman of the board; Thomas Hösle, CFO, is the new CEO; and Egon Reich is a new member of the board and responsible for sales worldwide. Wafios AG is the parent company of Wafios Machinery Corp. in Branford, CT. Wafios manufactures over 200 machine models used worldwide for producing wire and tube forms, wire springs, straighten and cut rods, nails and fasteners, fencing and welded chain. The Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI) has recently celebrated its 60th anniversary. In 1945, TAMI was originally named the Taiwan Association of Iron-Related Industries and was renamed in 1948. It was the first industrial association in Taiwan and gave rise to 29 other associations. With 2,300 members, TAMI offers many services. “In the past decade or so, the emphasis has been on manufacturing; whereas the future will see that R&D and international marketing will become more important,” says Fred Huang, chairman. “TAMI will work with professional training centers, schools and universities to cultivate the next generation of professionals.” The 60th anniversary was celebrated with a golf tournament consisting of 64 players. The board of directors of NV Bekaert SA, based in Brussels, Belgium, has appointed Bert De Graeve, chief financial and administration officer, to succeed Julien De Wilde as chief executive officer in May, and has recommended De Graeve for executive director. He has been associated with Bekaert since 2002 as corporate secretary, CFO and group executive vice president. He received his law degree from the University of Gent, studied financial management in Antwerp and became a master in tax management at Vlekho in Brussels. Siemens VDO Automotive AG of Regensburg, Germany, has recognized Buhrke Industries, a metal stamping company in Arlington Heights, IL, with its Performance Award for 2005. Buhrke was one of 10 vendors out of 1,500 total suppliers worldwide to receive the award. Tim Weber (right), president of Forming Systems Inc., in Schoolcraft, MI, recently met with the prime minister of Ireland, Bertie Ahern (left), during a visit to T. Butler Engineering, Ltd. (TBE) of Piltown, County of Kilkenny, Ireland. As the exclusive distributor for TBE, Weber was invited to represent the North American wireforming and spring industry during meetings to discuss the importance of continued and increased R&D support provided by the government of Ireland to growing manufacturing companies located there. TBE manufactures automated wireforming and springmaking machinery. “TBE continues to increase its R&D funding each year to improve designs, techniques and software,” says Weber. Overseas Events April 24-28, 2006: wire 2006, Düsseldorf, Germany, Messe Düsseldorf, +49 (0) 211 45 60 01, www.wire.de. June 15-18, 2006: 7th International Metal & Metallurgy Exhibition, Guangzhou, China, Julang Exhibition Co. Ltd., 86-20-38620782, www.julang.com.cn. Sept. 25-28, 2006: wire China, Shanghai, China, Messe Düsseldorf, (86 21) 6279 7338, www.wirechina.net. Sept. 25-28, 2006: Machine Components 2006, Shanghai, China, Business & Industrial Trade Fairs, (852) 2865 2633, www.macomponents.com. Oct. 5-8, 2006: ITC India, New Delhi, India, WAI, (203) 453-2777, www.wirenet.org. Oct. 24-28, 2006: EuroBLECH, Hanover, Germany, Mack Brooks, +44 (0) 1727 814400, www.euroblech.com. North America William J. (Willy) Geary of Renton, WA has been elected president of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) for 2006. He is chief engineer, aircraft interiors, 737 program, at the Boeing Co. in Seattle, WA. Geary has served on the SME board of directors since 2001 and most recently as SME’s president-elect. Joining him on the executive committee are: president-elect F. Brian Holmes, Colombia Plastics Ltd., Surrey BC, Canada; vice president Neil A. Duffie, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; and secretary/treasurer Richard W. Shoemaker, Kohler Engines, Sheboygan, WI, retired. SPRINGS April 2006 25 TAK Enterprises Inc., Bristol, CT has added Sherwood (Woody) Griffing to its sales and marketing staff. He fills the newly created position of new product manager. He has over 23 years of machine product and market experience that will allow TAK Enterprises to offer new equipment and contract production solutions to the wire and narrow strip processing industries. The Muskegon, MI, manufacturing facility of NV Bekaert, Brussels, Belgium, has been phased out. The Muskegon facility produced high-carbon specialty steel wires mainly used in various applications for the automotive industry. The softening of the domestic automotive market, increasing competition of low-cost offshore importers, along with the regulatory and environmental costs of operations at the Muskegon plant became burdensome. The production at the plant has been integrated in other Bekaert facilities, and other products with less-added value have been dropped from the portfolio. Perfection Spring & Stamping Corp. in Mt. Prospect, IL has achieved 16494: 2002 Quality Management Certification. FOR THE LATEST IN SPRING GRINDING TECHNOLOGY CONTACT ANCHOR ABRASIVES TO... Simco Spring Machinery Co. Ltd., Japan, has appointed Gibraltar Corp. as its exclusive U.S. agent. Mike Shapiro, president of Gibraltar Corp., Buffalo Grove, IL, has returned to selling the Simco line of spring and wire forming machinery. Wafios Machinery Corp., Branford, CT, has appointed Michael Rief sales manager for Canada. He apprenticed and worked as a toolmaker at Plansee AG, and was manager of North American sales and service for Burger. He is responsible for sales in Canada of Wafios wire and tube bending machines, spring machinery, and other wire-working equipment. Wafios Machinery Corp. is a subsidiary of Wafios AG, Reutlingen, Germany. ANCHOR A B R A S I V E S ® ™ 7651 West 185th Street, Tinley Park, IL 60477 U.S.A. Phone: 708/444-4300 Fax: 708/444-1300 Toll Free: 877/596-3100 E-Mail: [email protected] http://www.anchorabrasives.com ISO 9001 CERTIFIED Ad# AA-03-2 26 SPRINGS April 2006 Scott Robertson of American Metal Market (AIM) reported that the International Trade Commission (ITC) voted unanimously that the U.S. carbon and alloy steel wire rod industry is not being harmed by imports from China, Ger- many and Turkey. In a 6-0 vote, the ITC issued a negative preliminary determination in a case filed by Connecticut Steel Corp., Gerdau Ameristeel Corp., Keystone Consolidated Industries Inc., Mittal Steel USA-Georgetown and Rocky Mountain Steel Mills. The U.S. wire rod industry currently is operating at high levels, sources said. One market source said rod producers had planned to raise prices following the filing of the trade action. “The trade actions and posturing of the domestic mills have firmed the market up and there is absolutely no down pressure [on prices],” said Paul Rosenthal, lead trade counsel for the U.S. producers. In late 2004 and early 2005, wire rod customers, fearing price hikes, bought more rod than they could consume. Those inventories were worked off through much of 2005, leading to strengthening of demand from several market sectors in recent months, reports Robertson. Brian A. Bouvier, co-founder of Lloyd & Bouvier Inc., will serve as Wire Association International (WAI) president for 2006. He succeeds Anand Bhagwat, Seneca Wire & Manufacturing Co. Other officers for 2006 include first vice president Tom Moran, National Standard Co. and second vice president Ron Reed, Horizon Wire & Cable. Steven Fetteroll serves as executive director/secretary and David LaValley is the treasurer. North American Events May 20-24, 2006: Wire Expo, Boston, MA, WAI, (203) 453-2777, www.wirenet.org. May 24-25, 2006: CAD Data Exchange Conference, St.Charles, IL, SME, (800) 733-4763, www.sme.org/de. June 22-23, 2006: Basic Spring Design seminar, Naperville, IL, SMI, (630) 495-8588, www.smihq.org. Oct. 18-20, 2006: Spring World 2006, Rosemont, IL, CASMI, (847) 433-1335, www.springworld.org. It is with deep regret that Springs magazine announces the passing of Theodore Prociuk Sr. and Edward J. Hittleman. Theodore Prociuk Sr., founder of Micromatic Spring & Stamping in Franklin Park, IL, died on Nov. 28, 2005. He was an army veteran and the father of Walter, Theresa, Ted and Dennis (Susan) Prociuk, and Linda (Ron) Dopke; grandfather of 11; great grandfather of two; and brother of Marisa (Mitchell) Dzik. Edward J. Hittleman died on Jan. 20, 2006 in New Haven, CT. He was the husband of Deirdre “Dee” (Brown) Hittleman; father of Marcie and Mandie; and brother of Randie Hittleman, Bonnie Lewis and Sandy Myerson. He was president of Bristol Spring Manufacturing, Plainville, CT. v Tension Compression Special Applications Industrial Products Group 900 Liberty Street Grove City, PA 16127 Tel: +1 800 726 8378 Fax: +1 724 458 9614 go.instron.com/springtesters [email protected] SPRINGS April 2006 27 2006: the Year of RoHS How this new environmental law is affecting manufacturers By Chris Watts on behalf of TUV Rheinland I n 2005, the word was “WEEE” (Waste Electrical paperwork to document each individual component and Electronic Equipment). Companies struggled in their product, their product will not comply with to wade their way through the recycling mandate the RoHS directive,” says Bock. “This is why we are from the European Union and found themselves seeing component manufacturers scrambling to try thankful when many of the largest countries pushed and convert their products over to RoHS compatibilback their deadlines until 2006. This year, RoHS ity. Those that have are able to have a competitive (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) is the big advantage. But the EU knows there are problems target on the radar, requiring companies to restrict and this is why I think we’ll see some sort of change the amount of six types of contaminates in their in the deadline. However, I think that companies products. The big question is will this be a WEEE that have not taken significant steps toward meeting redux, with implementation extensions after the RoHS will still be in trouble, because I’d be willing July 1 deadline? to bet that the deadline change will be contingent “I would be willing to bet that there will indeed upon a company showing due diligence.” be some changes in the implementation deadline for So why is RoHS compatibility so hard to achieve? RoHS because, quite honestly, industry is having a Bock says the two biggest challenges are being posed very difficult time meeting the letter of the law and by the restriction of lead and cadmium. Because many companies are simply falling behind,” says non-lead solder has such different characteristics Geoffrey Bock, an engineer with TUV Rheinland compared to lead solder, companies have been of North America and having difficulty creating program manager for the electronic parts with solPrettysoonproductswithcadmium,lead, company’s full service line ders that can withstand chromium and other contaminants will of WEEE/RoHS services. extreme temperatures or “However, just because vibrations. Additionally, be restricted in more countries than not. there is the possibility of a there is a whiskering Recycling initiatives like WEEE will also deadline extension doesn’t problem with some of the becomecommonplaceinmanycountries. mean that companies can non-lead solders, which is relax. I am telling all of our causing some manufacturcustomers that they need ers to have to figure out to focus on that July 1 deadline and keep working new ways to carry out their soldering processes. to get their products RoHS compatible, otherwise “The cadmium problem is showing up in prodthey are taking a big risk.” ucts where it was used to increase the reliability or RoHS requires companies to restrict lead, speed of an electronic part. Now that RoHS bans mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, ploy- cadmium, companies are trying to figure out new brominated biphenyl (PBB), and polybrominated alternatives,” says Bock. “This all adds up to what diphenyl ether (PBDE) in their electronic products I think will be some reliability problems with elecby July 1, 2006. If a company has not filed paper- tronic parts and components over the next couple work with the European Union disclosing their years as we experience R&D teething problems in a compliance, their products will be locked out of the post-RoHS era. Many companies have not only had European market. Bock says while he does expect problems finding ways to duplicate prior practices to see an extension, he’s not quite sure what form with RoHS-compatible products, but so many waited that extension will take. too long to start the switch that they are playing a “If you look at the industry now, the big challenge massive game of catch up.” facing manufacturers is they are having a difficult In some of the companies that have started to time getting RoHS-compliant components from their create RoHS-compatible products, Bock says there suppliers. If a manufacturer cannot have the correct Continued on page 32. 28 SPRINGS April 2006 Cutting Through the RoHS Confusion By Rita Schauer Kaufman, editor T he RoHS directive and how to comply with it has been a concern for many OEMs and their suppliers. Exactly how much of the restricted substances are allowed under RoHS left many manufacturers scratching their heads until the European Commission issued an amendment (2005/618/EC) in August 2005 stating that, “a maximum concentration value of 0.1% by weight [1,000 ppm] in homogenous materials for lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and of 0.01% by weight [100 ppm] in homogenous materials for cadmium shall be tolerated.” Of the six restricted substances, cadmium, lead and hexavalent chromium are of primary interest to the spring industry. Cadmium plating is restricted by the directive, as is tin-lead plating. However, the biggest source of confusion for many people, says one metal finisher, is hexavalent chromium. Hexavalent chromium and the chromate conversion coating on top of zinc, zinc alloy and aluminum have been restricted under RoHS. To comply with the directive, manufacturers are using trivalent coating film, which is a chromate conversion coating that doesn’t contain hexavalent chromium. Zinc and hexavalent clear chromate meet the RoHS concentration limits. One of the major contributors to the confusion, explains the metal finisher, is that trivalent chromium is clear, not yellow like hexavalent chromium. He says some people still want yellow parts because that’s what they’re used to seeing, but the only way to do that is to add yellow dye to the trivalent chromium coating film. This does not add to the corrosion resistance, just to the cost. For those who insist on yellow-dyed coating, he offers a word of caution: The dye would likely create a problem for those responsible for the eventual disassembly and disposal of the parts, as there wouldn’t be any way to tell the difference between parts coated with hexavalent chromium and those coated with yellow-dyed trivalent chromium. Another more basic source of confusion for some people, says the metal finisher, is the difference between chromium and chromate. Chromium, such as what used to be used for car bumpers, is fine; it’s not covered in the RoHS directive. It is chromate coating that the standard refers to, he explains. From a manufacturing point of view, RoHS can pose another complication: part number. If manufacturers had parts that included hexavalent chromium and now make them with trivalent chromium, they would have to change those part numbers or put suffixes on them. As the metal finisher points out, many manufacturers aren’t set up to do that easily. On the other hand, if they simply used the same part number for parts containing trivalent chromium as they did for those containing hexavalent chromium, it would create confusion in the warehouse. When workers went to put the parts in assemblies, how would they be able to determine which parts were RoHS compliant and which parts were not if both types carried the same part number? So how can a springmaker avoid confusion and help customers comply with RoHS? Helene Hermann of Lee Spring, based in Brooklyn, NY, offers the following tips: 1. Do your homework. Lee Spring assigned the task of researching and verifying RoHS compliance to a staff technical and regulatory expert. The company offers a vast catalog of stock springs, so each part’s compliance with RoHS needed to be verified internally, and with the company’s material suppliers and metal finishers. 2. Seek help from related industries. “We in the spring industry don’t have to reinvent the wheel. There are other industries that use metal, and they’re also trying to comply with RoHS,” says Hermann. “They often have resources that springmakers can tap into.” 3. Educate customers. “Customer education was key. Many customers didn’t know much about the standard. All they knew was that they needed to comply, and would give us a list of products and want paperwork for each one,” remembers Herrman. “Some people were even resistant to the directive at first. They mistakenly thought that RoHS was simply a way to keep U.S. products from going into Europe. We researched the directive so that we could help customers understand it and comply with it.” “For custom spring customers who specify a material that isn’t RoHS-compliant,” continues Herrmann, “we try to steer them to a material that is. Again, it’s all about educating the customer and making it easier for them. We wouldn’t want a customer to come back to us and ask why we didn’t tell them that the part they specified was not compliant with the directive.” 4. Keep it simple. “Make a statement for customers that is as simple and all-encompassing as possible,” recommends Herrmann. “Once we determined that none of our stock springs contain any of the materials banned by RoHS, we prepared a statement to that effect, sent it to customers and published it on our Web site. It helped assure customers and helped us, as well. Frankly, if we had to answer customers’ RoHS inquiries individually, we’d need a whole department dedicated to doing that.” “Embracing the RoHS standard up front has not only taken the burden off of us but also our customers,” says Hermann. “Say a customer is making a product like a stapler that gets shipped all over the world, you have to make sure you’re covered and your customer is covered no matter where that product may end up.” Recommended reading: “A Rose is a Ross is a RoHS,” by David Kluk and Adrian de Krom of NSL Analytical Laboratories, Advanced Materials & Processes, January 2006. v SPRINGS April 2006 29 If You’re in the Spring Industry You Should Be at SPRING WORLD 2006 ® October 18-20, 2006 • Donald E. Stephens Convention Center • Rosemont, Illinois What SPRING WORLD Can Do For You We all recognize the fiercely competitive environment facing the spring manufacturing and wire forming industry. Attending SPRING WORLD 2006 offers an opportunity to see the newest technology available in machinery, materials, quality control, grinding, heating and other processes and services you depend on. CASMI makes it easy to attend with the most convenient location – the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois – just five-minutes from O’Hare International Airport. Not to be ignored is the FREE REGISTRATION (prior to September 25th), and the option of registering online, by mail or fax. This is the One Show Sponsored by Spring Manufacturers for Spring Manufacturers Launched by CASMI (Chicago Association of Spring Manufacturer, Inc.) in 1959, the show has become renowned for bringing more people together than any other industry event. It has been called the World’s Best Spring Show! We understand that it’s difficult to “get away” from your day-to-day responsibilities, but if you are forward looking, you will not want to miss any opportunity to learn how to make your business grow. Attend SPRING WORLD! Attending SPRING WORLD provides a unique opportunity to network with other spring manufacturers and wire formers in an informal situation. One on one with others who share your problems and concerns can be invaluable in gaining new insight to your business. That may be a bonus on top of seeing the newest technology available to improve your productivity, quality, and service. You have the further opportunity to speak directly with exhibitors who can answer questions. Sign-Up Today! Mail or fax the registration form provided, or register online at www.springworld.org. Note the convenient hotel list all within walking distance of the convention center. Get a FREE shuttle to any of the hotels and you won’t need a rental car while you are here. If you are driving, we have included a hotel with free parking and a shuttle to the convention center. Parking is available at all the hotels. Check with them for current rates. Convention center parking is available on a daily basis for $13 per day, no overnight privileges. All CASMI Members Look Forward to Seeing You in Rosemont at SPRING WORLD 2006 • October 18-20! WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18 Exhibits Open – 10:00a.m. until 6:00p.m. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19 Exhibits Open – 9:00a.m. until 6:00p.m. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20 Exhibits Open – 10:00a.m. until 4:00p.m. ® Registration Form for SPRING WORLD 2006 Attendance Limited to Jobshop Spring, Four-slide, Multi-slide, Stamping, and Wire Form Manufacturers. Children under 14 years of age will not be admitted. Those under 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult. __I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I__I___I___I ___I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I I I NAME (PLEASE PRINT) TITLE __I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I__I__I___I___I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I___I I COMPANY I __I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I___I___I___I___I I I __I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I___I___I___I___I I __I__I___I___I I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I_ __I___I___I___I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I___I___I___I I_ E-MAIL WEBSITE ADDRESS COUNTRY Please Check One Category: (A-1) ■ Spring Manufacturer (A-2) ■ Exhibitor (A-3) ___I___I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I___I___I___I___I CITY STATE ___I___I___I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I PHONE ■ CASMI Member (A-4) ___I__I I ZIP ___I__I__I__I___I I ___I___I___I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I__I___I I FAX ■ Other (explain) ____________________________ Answer the Following Questions: Is the company a “job shop” spring manufacturer? Yes ______ No ______ If the answer is “No” what does the company do? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Check all product categories your company makes: (B-1) (B-6) (B-11) (B-2) ■ Four Slide (B-3) ■ Power Springs (B-4) ■ Compression Springs (B-5) ■ Flat Springs ■ Extension Springs (B-7) ■ Torsion Springs (B-8) ■ Wire Forms (B-9) ■ Spring Washers (B-10) ■ Hot Wound Springs ■ Stampings ■ Other Products (describe) _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Indicate if you are a member of any of the following spring/metalforming organizations (Check all that apply) (C-1) ■ CASMI (C-2) ■ NESMA (C-3) ■ PMA (C-4) ■ SMI (C-5) ■ TMA (C-6) ■ WAI (C-7) ■ WCSMA (C-8) ■ WFA Advance registration (received prior to September 25, 2006) is FREE! Registration received at CASMI office after September 25, 2006 will be assessed the onsite registration fee, and must be picked up and paid for at the show registration desk. Onsite registration fees are: CASMI members & exhibitors $15, non-members $25. MAIL TO: CASMI, P.O. Box 1144, Highland Park, IL 60035, Phone (847)433-1335, Fax (847)433-3769 or Register Online: www.springworld.org Hotel Rooms for SPRING WORLD 2006 and Wire Forming CASMI has arranged for special show rates at the following hotels; single or double occupancy (unless otherwise noted). All provide FREE shuttle from O’Hare Airport. Subject to the current Rosemont room tax of 12.5%. Call for reservations. Ask for Spring World rates. DOUBLETREE HOTEL O’HARE-ROSEMONT RATE: $179 Phone: (800)222-TREE • (847)292-9100 • Fax: (847)292-9259 TO AIR PO RT CROWNE PLAZA CHICAGO O’HARE RATE: $149 Phone: (888)642-7344 • (847)671-6350 • Fax: (847)671-5406 HYATT REGENCY O’HARE RATE: $159 Phone: (800)233-1234 • (847)696-1234 • Fax: (847)698-0139 SKYBRIDGE H SOFOTEL ITE L SKYBRIDGE DONALD E. STEPHENS CONVENTION CENTER (NOT ON MAP) N Free Parking, Complimentary Shuttle to O’Hare & Convention Center and Buffet Breakfast are Included GENCY HYATT RERE O’HA TO TA A/R O CT ICAG CH SPRINGHILL SUITES BY MARRIOTT CHICAGO/O’HARE RATE: $129 • 8101 W. Higgins Rd. • Chicago, IL 60631 Phone: (773)867-0000 • Fax: (773)867-0001 ASSY EMBITES SU HOTEL SOFITEL RATE: $159 (Single) $169 (Double) Includes continental breakfast Phone: (800)233-5959 • (847)678-4488 • Fax: (847)678-7510 G PARKIN E GARAG REE BLET DOU NE CROWZA PLA EMBASSY SUITES HOTEL O’HARE RATE: $162 (Single), $172 (Double) Includes full breakfast and cocktails 5:30-7:30pm Phone: (847)678-4000 • Fax: (847)928-7659 UNITED AIRLINES IS THE OFFICIAL AIRLINE FOR SPRING WORLD 2006 United is offering a 10% discount off the unrestricted, fully refundable coach fare or 2% discount off the lowest applicable fares, to all attendees of SPRING WORLD 2006. An additional 5% discount will apply when tickets are purchased at least 30 days in advance of the attendees travel. This special offer applies to travel on domestic segments of all United Airlines and United Express flights (UAL/UAX/UA). Convenient schedule and discounted fares are available through United’s Meeting Desk or your travel agent. Call 1-800-521-4041 and reference Meeting ID Number 539TP. Dedicated reservationists are on duty Monday thru Friday 8:00am–10:00pm and Saturday & Sunday 8:00am – 8:00pm EST. is a curious trend: dual assembly lines. But he says this is a temporary situation because it isn’t economically feasible to have dual production lines for the long term. “The fiscal impact of RoHS is adding, on average, three to five percent onto the price of a final product, but this price should drop as companies figure out new ways to create RoHS-compatible products,” says Bock. “However, if a company chooses to have two lines and carry twice as much stock to have RoHScompliant and non-RoHS-compliant products, costs will stay inflated. I already know of a few clients that are using the same part number for RoHS-compliant and non-RoHS-compliant components because they anticipate being fully RoHS compliant in the near term and don’t want to double up on their materials lists. Plus, the demand for RoHS-compliant or environmentally responsible products will only increase in the near future.” That is the point that we must pay attention to, according to Bock. While RoHS may or may not be fully implemented in 2006, the writing is on the global wall, and companies that are not taking environmental initiatives like WEEE and RoHS seriously will soon find themselves out of business. röslau spring steel wire keeps you moving Stahl- und Drahtwerk Röslau GmbH Hofer Straße 16–17 D-95195 Röslau Fon +49 (0) 92 38 / 809-0 [email protected] www.roeslau-draht.com 32 SPRINGS April 2006 “The fact that Europe is the second largest economy in the world means that it has the power to change the global marketplace. It just doesn’t become economically viable for a company to create one product for Europe and another product for another market,” says Bock. “This is why we are seeing other, similar environmental legislation cropping up from China to Japan to California. Once the EU breaks down the walls, others will follow. Pretty soon products with cadmium, lead, chromium and other contaminants will be restricted in more countries than not. Recycling initiatives like WEEE will also become commonplace in many countries. The market for non-compliant products will become narrower and narrower, so companies will have to reform or risk running out of markets for their products.” Bock says that many years from now, 2005-2006 will be seen as a watershed for the way we treat the environmental impact of the products that we buy and sell. It will mark the turning point for how governments assign environmental responsibility. Starting now, the corporations themselves will be ultimately responsible. Bock says while it may currently present a challenge, the long-term effects are worth it. “Even though Europe may be the only one seen pushing this legislation, environmental product compliance is here to stay and is catching on globally,” Bock says. “Don’t blame the EU for the legislation. If not Europe, China or another major market would have been the starting point. The public is demanding products that are more environmentally friendly, and the markets are expanding for ‘green’ products. If your company has not started to think this way and adjust its product lines accordingly, best do it now; otherwise it will soon be too late.” Chris Watts is a freelance writer from Bloomfield, CT. He is a former editor for the Associated Press in Washington, DC, and bureau chief for MetroNetworks in Hartford, CT. TUV Rheinland of North America Inc., based in Newtown, CT, is a subsidiary of TÜV Rheinland Group, Germany, a worldwide company offering compliance testing and certification, management system auditing and certification, field evaluation services, and consumer product services. This includes a RoHS compliance and labeling service to help component manufacturers prove that their products meet the RoHS restrictions. TUV Rheinland of North America has offices in 11 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Readers may contact TUV Rheinland by phone at (888) 743-4652 or Web site at www.us.tuv.com. v Be Aware What is Your Safety Program Costing You? T hat a good workplace safety program is expensive is a big misconception. The fact is that, if planned properly with a good safety committee, employee training and commitment, your safety program can be a profit center. Lost workday accidents can be very costly. In addition, workers’ compensation insurance has become a major operating expense, and that is just the tip of the iceberg when analyzing the cost of an accident. Hidden costs, such as lost production, late deliveries, spoiled product, schedule adjustments and lower work force morale can cost far more than the obvious fixed costs. Studies have shown that the total cost of an accident can be more than double the obvious fixed costs. For example, did you know that a typical carpal tunnel illness costs an employer approximately $25,000? Safety programs can vary from company to company, but they all have the same goal: to eliminate accidents. The most successful programs are built around employee training. Why do you Train? The real goal of training is not training; the real goal is learning. Unfortunately, this is what frequently happens: Trainers tell stories of training that didn’t work, production workers make the same mistakes, workers refuse to wear the proper personal protective equipment, and supervisors over-appraise and under-counsel the workers. To prevent this, make sure you train to the need. Beyond OSHA-mandated topics, training is needed when there is a lack of appropriate knowledge, skills and/or attitudes. Once it’s determined a potential problem exists, training must be directed to the need. Jim Wood is an independent regulations compliance consultant to SMI. A certified instructor of the OSHA Out-Reach Program, Wood conducts seminars, plant Safety Audits and In-House Safety Training. These programs help companies create safer work environments, limit OSHA/Canadian Ministry of Labor violations and insurance costs, and prepare for VPP or SHARP certification. He also offers safety advice and information by phone at (630) 495-8597 or e-mail at [email protected]. Safety Tips from Jim Wood Motivation/Incentive Many companies tie an incentive program in with a good safety program. There can be bonuses or contest prizes. Award programs are a way for management to tell employees that they are pleased with their performance. It also shows management support and involvement with safe work behavior. Following are four simple rules for creating an incentive program: 1. Keep it simple. Reward employees based on injury-free days. Do not include minor first aid where a doctor’s services are not required. 2. Make the reward desirable. Get some input on this from your employees. Remember, it is better if many people get a modest prize than one getting a super prize. 3. Make the reward attainable. A large reward at the end of an accident-free year is nice, but without incremental rewards along the way, the reward seems so distant that day-to-day awareness is limited. 4. Tie the reward to something over which employees have control. If you neglect to do this, workers will become frustrated when they feel the incentive is not really a measure of their performance. An incentive program can actually save money. The plan does not have to be expensive. Most wellthought-out plans more than pay for themselves after just a few months. Even a minor lost workday accident can cost thousands of dollars. Remember, an incentive program alone does not make a good safety program; it is simply an aid. A good safety program needs all of the following elements: management commitment, employee involvement, work site analysis, hazard prevention and control, and safety and health training. Jim’s Regulatory Tip Take advantage of SMI’s In-House Employee Safety Training program. We will tailor a program around your schedule for minimum production downtime. A typical training session would take approximately three hours. Your work force could be split into two or three groups, completing all required training in a single day. v SPRINGS April 2006 33 wire 2006 International Wire and Cable Trade Fair Preview of Exhibits April 24-28, 2006, Düsseldorf, Germany Alloy Wire Staff of Alloy Wire will assist visitors with a range of cold-drawn round wire, flat wire and shaped wire. Alloy Wire International Ltd. is a UK wire manufacturer specializing in the production of high-performance alloys, mainly nickel alloys, but also including cobalt and titanium alloys. Hall 11, Stand E26 CNC Precision High-Speed Spring Coilers. These coilers are now available with up to six servo axes, including torsion and lateral coiling point with upper arbor slide. Hall 9, Stand F05 HSI The Institute of Spring Technology (IST) will exhibit load testers, torque testers, design software, the new Finite Element Analysis Software, and the recently developed Spring Material Selector CD-ROM. Hall 17, Stand A24 Bennett Mahler Bennett Mahler will exhibit a Downfeed Spring End Grinding Machine with new Color Touch Screen Control, as well as a Single End Grinding Machine for grinding medium and large wire diameters. A servo-controlled Bennett Maxicoil Spring Coiling Lathe will be demonstrated, complete with automatic feed-and-cut facility. A fully reconditioned Spring Coiling Machine will also be exhibited. Hall 17, Stand C22 IST Huei Shang Industrial Co. (HSI), represented by Forming Systems Inc. in North America, will exhibit the latest developments for stress relieving ovens, electro-static air filters, part collectors, wire payoff systems and spring gaging systems. Hall 17, Stand B22 Kiswire Kiswire Group Ltd. will assist springmakers with their spring wire needs, including piano wire, music wire, shaped wire, highcarbon spring wire and oil-tempered wire. In addition,thecompanyfocusesonhigh-quality product development through joint ventures with automobile, machinery and construction companies. Kiswire also manufactures bead wire, steel cord and hose wire, galvanized steel wire and strand, wire rope, and PC wire and strand. Hall 9, Stand C25 SAS Inc. Fenn Technologies Fenn Technologies has over 100 years’ experience in the design and manufacture of machinery for the metalforming industry. Information will be available on Torin Z-Series 34 SPRINGS April 2006 HTC Hsin Tong Chen Machinery (HTC), represented in North America by Forming Systems Inc., will exhibit the latest innovations for spring coiling and wireforming. HTC will introduce the new HTC 120CU 12 mm, nine-axis spring coiling machine and the new HTC 80CX 8 mm, seven-axis spring coiling machine. Also on display will be the HTC 20XR eight-axis spring former and a variety of four-axis coiling machines. Hall 17, Stand B22 Spring Analysis Systems Inc. (SAS), represented in North America by Forming Systems Inc., will exhibit spring testing equipment, including high-speed fatigue testing, programmable torsion testing, and vision systems for dimensional measurement of springs and wire forms. SAS will be showing the following products: • CT1000, a 1,000 kg /1,000 mm stroke compression spring tester controlled by servomotors and the latest version of the SAStesters PC software. • PC-controlled and servomotor-driven torsion spring tester with interchangeable load cells. • LST 1,200 spring cycle tester. This programmable tester records the spring’s loads independently, and can identify and document the onset of failure of each spring separately. • CTV-1600 dimensional measuring system (pictured) for measuring spring geometry using vision technology. It is designed to measure intricate wireform shapes and spring types at very small resolutions. It is ideally suited for pitch traces, spring eccentricity, parallelism and various measurements on complex wireforms. Hall 17, Stand B01 Stahl- und Drahtwerk Röslau Stahl- und Drahtwerk Röslau GmbH will assist visitors with its full line of materials, including: patented drawn spring wire; oiltempered spring steel wire; special products, such as high-quality spring steel wires, hightensile-strength spring steel wires, gold-plated steel wire and mechanically polished highstrength spring steel wires; and steel wire for musical instruments. Hall 10, Stand G55 Shinko Shinko Machinery Co. Ltd. will show its machinery for compression springs, extension springs, torsion springs, wireforming, retaining springs, oval springs and wire alignment control. These include the UF Series (pictured) with universal spindles, and the SE series of harmonic control coilers, in addition to the VF-800 series of extension spring coilers. Hall 17, Stand D02 TC-HP 2 TC - H P 2 w i l l e x h i b i t i t s l i n e o f springmaking equipment, including CNC and PC-controlled machines for compression and extension springs, casing/sheath coilers, wireformers, ring coilers, and machines for custom applications. The company will also demonstrate its new transfer system for extension springmakers, the CT 201 PC. Hall 17, Stand B18 Whitelegg Machines Witels-Albert Witels-Albert GmbH will present both new and field-proven solutions from its range of straightener, roll, guide, feed and pre-former products. Straighteners are designed to give users automatic straightening of process materials using defined settings. New products include NA S and NAD S series feeding units, NAR series multifunctional units, ABR Easy and ABR Easy POS series transport and straightening machines, ZR PG series guiding units, and CS Easy series semiautomatic straighteners. The machines and systems in the new Easy product range feature simple construction, low component count and a user-friendly human-machine interface. Hall 9, Stand E39 Also exhibiting at wire 2006 are the following SMI members: • Asahi-Seiki Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (17/B55) • Haldex Garphyttan AB (17/C27) • Itaya Engineering Co. (17/C42) • Sandvik Materials Technology (11/G27) • Wafios Aktiengesellschaft (10/F20, 16/B18). In addition, the European Spring Federation will be in Hall 17, Stand C28. Simplex-Rapid, Secem Simplex-Rapid, Italy, will exhibit its line of springmaking equipment. This includes multiaxis CNC coilers, mechanical coilers with rotating cutoff and cog-segment coilers for compression springs; the MT-X CNC multiaxis torsion spring machines; CNC coilers and automatic joiners for oil seal ring springs; payoffs; grinders; and wire straighteners. Hall 17, Stand D18 Whitelegg Machines Ltd., represented in North America by Forming Systems, will exhibit the new CFM series 2D wireforming machines with automatic integration for butt welding (pictured). CFM machines are available for wire ranging from 3 mm to 10 mm. Whitelegg will also display the CFR series ring forming machines with automatic butt welding for stainless steel with 2 mm to 5 mm diameters. Hall 11, Stand D21 Show organizer Messe Düsseldorf reported in January that exhibitor participation already exceeded that of 2004. The 2006 wire show will include 959 exhibitors from 48 countries, and the exhibit space registration exceeds the total space sold for wire 2004 by almost 27,000 square feet. For information and registration, visit the Messe Düsseldorf Web site, www.wire.de or phone +49 (0) 211/4560-01. In North America, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America by phone at (312) 781-5185 or Web site at www.mdna.com. v SPRINGS April 2006 35 Grinding Tight-Tolerance Springs How to improve your chances of success By Rick Schultz, Anchor Abrasives Co. and John Moyer, Moyer Manufacturing Co. hrough the years, we have all dealt with the continual pressure to produce springs of reduced end tolerances. In many cases, those springs also demand the use of more exotic materials. When trying to meet these requests, a better understanding of the direct and outside influences affecting the grinding process can greatly improve your chances of success. One common bit of advice you may hear more than once is, “The tighter the grind tolerance, the tighter the tolerances need to be held in every step of the manufacturing process.” An analogy I like to use with golfers is to ask if they would rather be shooting for a hole-in-one from six inches or from a tee box 300 yards away. The answer is obvious! If tight controls are not kept throughout the entire process, they are standing on that tee box 300 yards away rather than having a six-inch putt for a hole-in-one. T Raw Materials “What is wrong with purchasing?” I’ve often heard from the shop floor “I can’t make this wire work,” they say, “Junk in, junk out.” The wire vendor may say, “I don’t understand; XYZ Co. is not having a problem with this material.” This is usually a correct statement. However, XYZ Co. has a free-length tolerance of ±0.020" while you have a tolerance of ±0.003". I am not going to get into procedures for inspection of incoming materials, as this is a topic for another article. Nevertheless, there are a couple of things I need to mention. Cast and helix are obvious problems and should be checked by incoming inspection. Out-of-round wire and coatings are two of the main factors affecting coiling close-tolerance springs. Consequently, roundness of wire should be checked by incoming inspection. The big problem, however, is how to check for coating. As there is no easy way to check the coating, it is important to work with your wire vendor on obtaining coatings that will assist in running closetolerance jobs. How do you do this? Keep statistical data for diameter and lengths on close-tolerance jobs, and provide this information with samples to your vendor and let them work with you to obtain the necessary quality to meet your needs. 36 SPRINGS April 2006 One thing I have observed over the years is that a lot of coiling problems are caused by too much pressure on the feed rolls, which flattens the wire and increases variation. Establishing Grind-Length Tolerances Assuming the wire problem is fixed, how does the coiling department sell good parts to the grinding department? First, determine what tolerances need to be held at the coiler. As the O.D. of the spring affects the rate to the third power, you must hold the O.D. as close as possible. O.D. variation is usually linked to the machine condition, quality of wire and tooling. This is where some of the “black magic” comes into play in springmaking. I have seen dramatic changes in holding the O.D. with how the arbor is ground. Spring length is a dimension that springmakers can control using length gages. To use length gages, the correct sort tolerances must be established. The following is a guideline for determining the amount of equalization obtained by grinding: Crunch Grinding Equalization Rate Approximate % of F.L. lb./in. Variation Equalized By Grinding 2-15 lb. 0% - 20% 16-25 lb. 21% - 30% 26-40 lb. 31% - 40% 41 lb. & up 41% - 60% As the rate of the spring has such an effect on the ground-length tolerance, the coiled length of springs must be sorted so that the remaining variation can be equalized during grinding. For the following example, the spring rate variation is set at 2%. If you have a spring with a rate of 100 lb./in. and a load of 1 lb., the coiled-length tolerance is calculated as follows: • 100 lb. × 0.02 = 102 lb. rate to 98 lb. rate. Using a rate of 100 lb./in., you would have a theoretical ground length tolerance of ±0.010" (1 lb. ÷ 100 lb./in. = 0.010"). • If the spring travels down 0.200" from the free length to the load-check height, and if the 2% rate variation is factored into the equation, then the coiled length tolerance must be reduced from ±0.010" to ±0.006". • If a spring having a rate of 100 lb. is compressed 0.200" from its free length, the load will be 20 lb. • If the spring has a 102 lb. rate or a 98 lb. rate, the loads will be 20.4 lb. or 19.6 lb. instead of 20 lb. • Consequently, the tolerance is now ±0.6 lb. instead of ±1 lb., and the coiled length tolerance should be ±0.006" instead of ±0.010" (0.6 lb. ÷ 100 lb. rate = 0.006") • In addition, the load usually has to be within 75% of the tolerance to meet a CPK of 1.33. Consequently, the 0.006" must be reduced to 0.004". • If you get 50% equalization, the springs coming to the grinder must be held to ±0.008" If the equalization is less than 50%, the sort tolerance must be reduced. Gaging Coiled Length Now that the length tolerance is established, the gage can be set to sort the springs ±0.008" If you are running 17-7 PH wire at four dollars a pound, you don’t want to throw wire out and sell it for scrap. Consequently, you can segregate the parts into three good groups using five-way sorting. If the solid height allows, you can sell the grinding department three groups of parts sorted at ±0.008". This technique has saved a tremendous amount of material and time. Setting the Spring for Minimal Material Removal As grinding is the most expensive operation in the plant, you want to maximize the utilization of this operation. One important factor is to reduce the amount of material removed. If you have to grind more than half a wire size, grinding time is increased. To assist the coiler operator in laying down the ends for grinding, this sketch in Figure 1, below, using a pin through the I.D. of the spring, is a good tool. The pin position in comparison to the laydown gives the operator a good idea as to where, on the ends, the most material will have to be removed to obtain a 270° grind. The laydown is then adjusted as necessary. Figuring how Fast the Springs can be Ground Production speed calculations. A baseline production speed is established by averaging the speed of a number of runs of a particular job on a particular machine. A spring is ground at a rate of 3,200 parts per hour on an 18" grinder. The spring is made out of 0.080" music wire having a 0.470" O.D. and ground Figure 1: Laying down the ends for grinding. in a dial that has 120 holes. This data can be used as a standard when setting a production speed for other jobs as follows: Stock removal • Wire diameter2 × Mean Diameter: 0.080" × 0.080" × 0.390" = 0.002496". New job 0.060" music wire, 0.700" O.D. How fast can we grind? • 0.060" × 0.060" × 0.640" = 0.002304" • 0.002496 ÷ 0.002304 = 1.08" • 1.08 × 3,200 = 3,456 parts per hour, based upon stock removal only Number of holes in carrier • • • • • Bolt circle of the carrier is 25.8" 25.8" × 3.1416 = 81.05" O.D. of spring 0.700" + 0.012" = 0.712" Hole Clearance + 0.100" for Web = 0.812" 81.05" ÷ 0. 812" = 99 Holes Adjustment of production for number of holes • 99 ÷ 120 = 0.82 • 3,466 × 0.82 = 2,842 parts per hour These figures are based upon removing onehalf a wire from each end. If more stock is removed than one-half a wire, the production speed must be adjusted. For 302 SS, reduce production by 30%. For 17-7 PH SS, reduce production by 50%. Reducing Grinding Cost Through Automation This topic also requires another article. One factor that needs to be mentioned is O.D. tolerance. For automation to work properly, the O.D. of the springs must be held within ±0.002" from run to run and within a run. You should typically set the I.D. of the insertion nozzle at 0.005" larger than the O.D. of the spring. Consequently, the ends of the springs must also be held within 0.002" of the body of the spring. If the I.D. of the nozzle is opened to accommodate the ends, the springs dropping out of the nozzle will not be guided by the body of the springs into the holes in the spring-carrier plate. Grinder Condition As a reminder, and because I said you would hear it more than once, “The tighter the grind tolerance, the tighter the tolerances need to be held in every step of the manufacturing process.” Let’s suppose that, to this point, you have done everything possible to assure your success. The raw materials have passed your incoming inspections. Coiling personnel have done their job and held the necessary tolerances. The springs have been gaged and sorted so they can be ground in appropriate batches. What next? Look out – here comes the grinder! The grinder condition is very important to your finished product. Inherent problems in the grinder can destroy everything that has been accomplished to this point. SPRINGS April 2006 37 Carrier Dia. (in.) 24" 30" 36" 48" 60" Figure 2: Fixture hub run-out must be held to 0.015". Figure 3: Dresser alignment. Figure 4: Entrance and exit guides. Some key factors to consider in selecting the right grinder for your tight-tolerance springs are: bearing condition and quality, fixture-hub run-out, spindle speeds, dresser alignment and condition, infeed accuracy, proper entrance and exit guides, and tabletop condition. Low-quality bearings, or bearings that are worn, loose or have lost their pre-load will cause excessive run-out on the grinding wheel and create vibration. This leads to shorter wheel life, additional dressing and springs whose free-length and squareness tolerance will be difficult to hold. Fixture-hub run-out needs to be held to 0.0015" (Figure 2, top) to guarantee that springs are being presented squarely to the grinding wheels. Even if the spring fixtures or carrier have been made 38 SPRINGS April 2006 properly, excessive run-out of the fixture hub will create too much tilt, and springs will not be ground square. Spindles of both heads of a double-disc grinder should be running at the same speed to prevent the spring from bowing while being ground. If spindle motors, sheaves or pulleys have been changed, spindle speeds should be checked to ensure that both spindles are operating at the same speed. One area typically ignored when setting up or resetting a grinder is dresser alignment and condition (Figure 3, left). A dresser not set parallel with the bottom wheel plate on a vertical-spindle machine or the left wheel plate on a horizontal-spindle machine will dress an angle into the grinding wheel. A weak or worn dresser arm with too much end play will follow the contour of the disc face. Although it may clean up the disc face and get rid of a loading condition, it will not be able to dress the wheel flat. Every day it seems that free-length tolerances get tighter and tighter in order to control criticalload tolerances. This demands that the grinder is capable of highly accurate infeed capability and repeatability. Any grinder being considered for grinding these tight-tolerance springs should be checked to ensure that the infeed of the spindle is accurate and repeatable to guarantee a consistent freelength tolerance. Worn feed screws are the main culprits of inaccurate infeed of the grinder head. Entrance and exit guides may also be a contributing factor to your inability to finish tight-tolerance springs (Figure 4, above). When springs are not making a smooth transition from the tabletop to the grinding wheels or from the wheels back to the tabletop because of worn and uneven surfaces, the springs could be cocked enough to damage or mar the spring and put it out of tolerance. Est. Runout at O.D. 0.009" 0.011" 0.014" 0.018" 0.022" Fixturing It is important to make the carrier or fixturing block thickness as close to the finished ground spring as possible to ensure squareness. Some simple guidelines to use in designing the proper fixture thickness would be: • 2-15 lb. rate lb./in. ........1½ wire diameter above/below the carrier • 16- 25 lb. rate lb./in. .....1 wire diameter above/below the carrier • 26-40 lb. rate lb./in. ......¾ wire diameter above/below the carrier • 41 lb. & up rate lb./in. ...½ wire diameter above/below the carrier Exceptions, such as seal springs, need to be considered as well. These low-active-coil springs demand that fixturing be as close to the finished dimension of the ground spring as possible. This helps hold critical squareness tolerances and ensures that the springs will not ride up on the fixture body, and get caught between the fixture and the grinding wheel. Solid carriers that utilize holes rather than fixture pockets should have relief areas cut out to aid in heat dissipation. This will allow the carrier to run truer with less distortion (Figure 5, right). When using carriers with windows or pockets cut out for fixture blocks, the carrier should be cut into segments. This will allow the carrier to stay flat, and not twist or flex like an empty cookie sheet in an oven when it heats up. This practice also allows for shimming of each segment to ensure proper alignment. The fixture-hole diameter must be held as close to the body diameter of the spring as possible, but allowing for compression while in the grinding zone Figure 5: Relief areas aid heat dissipation. to cut at sufficient rates. As a guideline, clearance between the springs and holes should be: • 0.003" clearance on springs to ½° square • 0.006" clearance on springs ½° to 1° square • 0.009" clearance on springs 1° to 1½° square • 0.012" clearance on springs 1½° to 2° square The above table is a guide only. There is an adjustment that can be made to determine hole size. Using CAD, determine how much the spring will lean in the suggested hole size. Based upon the Whatever the environment you operate in — Call Elgiloy. Alloy 20Cb -3 (1); A-286, AL6XN (2); Elgiloy (3); Haynes (4) 25, 188, 214, 230, 242; Hastelloy (4) B3, C22, C276, C2000; Inconel (5) 600, 625, 718, X-750; Monel Alloys (5); MP-35N (6); Nimonic 90 (5); Nitronic Alloys (7); Ni Span C (5); Nickel 200, 201(5); Rene 41; Waspaloy (8); Titanium Alloys Registered Trademarks: (1) Carpenter Technology (2) Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp. (3) Elgiloy Specialty Metals (4) Haynes International, Inc. (5) Special Metals Corp. (6) SPS Technologies (7) Armco Inc. (8) United Technologies, Inc. We have your answers, we have your alloys. Elgiloy Specialty Metals A division of Combined Metals of Chicago LLC 1565 Fleetwood Drive, Elgin, IL 60028 www.elgiloy.com No matter the environment, Elgiloy Specialty Metals stands ready to serve you. We stock over 70 different alloys available in strip, foil, wire and centerless ground bar. From ten pounds to ten tons we'll get it to you fast and finished to your specifications. Call today for a “no obligation” quote 847.695.1900 or email [email protected] or [email protected] SPRINGS April 2006 39 Figure 6: Proper grinder head alignment. Figure 8: Surface footage of the grinding disc is at its highest speed at the OD of the wheel. Grinder Setup Head Alignment. In grinding springs, the abra- Figure 7: Grinding springs with a progressive grind. calculated amount of lean, adjust the hole size to obtain the necessary squareness. For every 0.250 increment below and above the ratio of 2:1, the following adjustments are made: • Instead of grinding a 1" spring, a spring having a length of 0.700" is ground. • Length reduction 1" spring, a spring having a length of 0.700" is ground. • Length reduction 1" minus 0.300" = 0.700 ÷ 0.500 = 1.4:1 ratio. • 2.0 minus 1.4 = 0.600 ÷ 0.250 = (2.4) or 2.4 (0.250 increments). For each 0.250 increment below the 2:1 ratio, the hole should be reduced by 0.0005" or, as in the example, the hole size listed in the table will be reduced by 0.0012" (2.4 × 0.005"). The maximum reduction is 50%. For each 0.250 increment above the 2:1 ratio, the hole can be increased by 0.001". The maximum increase is 150%. 40 SPRINGS April 2006 sive discs are asked to snag grind the sharp tang, rough grind to approximate size, and finish grind to proper size, angularity and degree of grind. All of these operations are performed on the same disc, unless a tandem machine is being used. Proper head alignment is imperative in grinding tight-tolerance springs. For most springs being ground on a singlepass conventional grinder, the heads should be set as follows: 1. The bottom head on a vertical machine or left head on a horizontal machine should be set square with the rotary carrier hub. 2. The top head on a vertical machine or right head on a horizontal machine should be open at entrance ½ the wire diameter of the spring wire being ground (Figure 6, top left). By setting the grinder up in this fashion, it allows the springs to be ground with a progressive grind. As the springs get shorter, the grinding wheels get closer together and distribute the pressure against the spring equally across the entire disc face. This allows for maximum stock removal and maximum production rates (Figure 7, bottom left). By tilting the heads in this fashion, the grinder quickly shears the springs tang to half of the finished size. Although much of the overall spring length has been removed, there has only been a small portion of the total metal removed and a minimum degree of grind achieved. As the springs travel through the grinding zone, they are progressively ground to finished size with less heat being generated. Remember, abrasive wear is directly proportional to the amount of metal it removes. If all of the metal is removed by the periphery of the disc, all the wear will be on the periphery of the disc. After relatively few springs have been ground, the effective diameter of the abrasive will be smaller. Proper head settings promote more uniform abrasive wear with a minimum of dressing. Keep in mind that the surface footage of the grinding disc is at its highest speed at the O.D. of the wheel, and practically 0 sfpm at the very center of a no-hole disc (Figure 8, page 40). If the heads are too open or too closed at entrance, the outer portion of the Figure 9: If heads are too open or too closed, the outer portion of the grinding grinding wheel is not being utilized wheel is under-utilized. enough and could lead to multiple passes (Figure 9, above). Too much pressure is also semi-rigid body to precise tolerances. The grindapplied where the spring enters or exits the grinding ability of the body as well as the ease with which zone. This can create excessive heat and, possibly, tolerances can be achieved are closely related to the rigidity of the body – in this case, it is the spring smearing or pulling the spring ends. The above guidelines should be used for most rate. The higher the rate, the more the spring acts compression springs, but some exceptions must be like a solid body and, consequently, the easier it noted. The compression rate of a spring is a definite is to grind to proper tolerances. As the rate of the factor that needs to be considered in determining spring decreases, the more it has to be compressed proper head settings. It is very difficult to grind a to provide enough grinding pressure on the abrasive Recent upgrades in our rolling mills, our new multi-head oscillate winder and improved strip edging capabilities give Ulbrich Stainless Steels a leg up in meeting spring makers most stringent strip specifications. We offer stainless steel and precipitation hardening alloys with gauge tolerances and precision tempers that compare with the best in the industry. • Excellent fatigue characteristics • Wide to very narrow precision widths • Uniform, high quality edges • Pancake & oscillate wound coils • Several locations • Help with metallurgy No job too tough, no order too small. Uniform spring properties, coil to coil, order to order, on a consistent basis, is a standard we’re committed to. In addition, we offer: • Three grades of T301; T302; 15-7, 17-4 & 17-7 PH alloys; 718, X750 and others. 57 Dodge Avenue, North Haven CT, 06473 (800) 243-1676 • Fax: (203) 239-7479 www.ulbrich.com • e-mail: [email protected] We Deliver Precision SPRINGS April 2006 41 Figure 10: Setting the entry and exit guides for various types of springs. for efficient grinding to occur. A perfect example of this is seal springs. Grinding heads must be set much closer to parallel than with normal compression springs because of the low rate of the springs and the inherent fixture problems of low-active-coil springs. Because of their low rate, a much longer time is required to remove a given weight of metal than would be required on normal compression springs. A pound of metal removed from seal springs could cost 10 times more than a pound of metal removed from automotive valve springs. Another exception is when grinding solid-coil springs or springs with exceptionally high rates. These springs would require that the head setting be open at entrance equal to, or slightly less than, the amount of stock being removed. The last exception discussed will be that of downfeed grinders. When downfeed grinding, the grinder heads are gradually traveling from coiled free length to finished free length with multiple passes of the springs between the grinding wheels. With this type of machine, grinding heads should be commonly set parallel to 0.006 open at entrance. Entry and Exit Guides. Most compression springs should have the entrance and exit guides, and tabletop set even with the leading edge and face of the grinding wheels to ensure a proper transition onto 42 SPRINGS April 2006 and off of the abrasive (Figure10, above). This setup will not adversely affect squareness tolerance. There are exceptions to this, just as there are exceptions to head settings. Springs with low rates should be set up with the tabletop set even with the disc face on the bottom wheel, and the upper entrance guide set to compress the spring upon entrance to the grinding zone, to help maximize grinding pressure, as previously discussed. Exit guides and tabletop should, once again, be set even with the grinding disc face to ensure the proper transition from the abrasives. Solid coil or extremely high-rate springs should be set with the upper entrance guide slightly above the top wheel face and the tabletop slightly below the face of the bottom wheel to shear the tang of the spring and increase the amount of stock removed. Once again, the exit guide and top exit guide should be set even with the disc face. It is also very important that there is minimal space between the tabletop and upper guides from the O.D. of the grinding wheel. More than half the wire diameter can lead to bowing of the springs and adversely affect squareness. Grinder Styles and Their Limitations There are two types of grinding typically used in a spring plant – crush or crash, and downfeed. Crush/Crash – Opposing grinding wheels, set a average surface footage of 2,500 surface feet per distance apart, close to the desired grind length. minute (sfpm). Depending upon the size of the center Springs are loaded into a carrier and moved between hole, the average surface footage can be as high the opposing grinding wheels at a slow speed. The as 3,200 sfpm. As surface feet per minute is the springs exit the grinder at the proper ground length, determining factor in removing stock, production having been crushed between the stones. increases of up to 30% can be achieved for springs Downfeed – Opposing grinding wheels, set a dis- having a rate above 20 lb. per in. Higher average tance apart, close to the unground free length. After wheel speed not only increases production rates but loading the springs into the carrier, a cycle is started also provides better squareness. If the springs enter that infeeds the top stone down into the springs at the slower wheel speed before most of the material some increment as set by the operator. The carrier is removed from the tangs, the end coils 180° from rotates between the stones at a high rate of speed until the tangs are tilted up, and excessive material is the springs are ground very close to the proper length. After reaching this stage in the downfeed cycle, a spark-out cycle is started whereby the top head quits infeeding but the carrier continues to take the springs between the stones until the final ground length is achieved. • AISI-SAE 4130 Heat-Treatable At PSW, it’s all the strip spring The spark-out cycle cleans up the Strip steels you need – all the time. We spring ends. At PSW It’s Springtime 365 Days A Year. Advantages of Each Type of Grinding Crush Grinding Advantages: • Faster than downfeed. • Certain types of springs can be ground with better squareness if the tooling and setup is correct, and if the grinder is sized large enough to remove the material as fast as it is going through the grinding path. • Easier to automate. stock only premium spring steels made to our exacting standards. We have the edge, the width, the quality and the experience that make your products even better. • 50, 75 & 95 Carbon • Blue Tempered & Polished Strip • Tempered (Scaleless) Strip • Bainite Hardened • MartINsite® Low Carbon C.R. Sheet • Special Temper High Carbon Strip Slit, edge rolled, blanked, skived leveled, edge filed and oscillated coils • Wide range of wire sizes. • Improved parallelism. Squareness is still affected by hole size in carrier and setup. • Better equalization if rate of spring is above 15 lb./in. • Better finish if spark-out time is sufficient. Both types of grinding have their place in the spring plant. The selection criteria are dependent upon the type of spring, quality requirements and volume. Wheel, Speed, Front-of-Center and Behind-Center Grinding Advantagesofringgrindingwheels (center hole in grinding stone): 1. Higher wheel speed – When springs go through the center of the grinding stones, they see an © Precision Steel Warehouse, Inc. Downfeed Grinding Advantages: PRECISION STEEL WAREHOUSE Franklin Park, IL 1-800-323-0740 Fax 847-455-1341 Charlotte, NC 1-800-438-5646 Fax 704-393-3312 ® www.precisionsteel.com SPRINGS April 2006 43 removed from this area of the end coils. This makes squareness worse. 2. Lower cost due to less amount of wheel. Advantages of Solid Wheels 1. Low-rate springs – Low-rate springs need more wheel time, as the longer springs just compress more. This means it takes longer to equalize these springs. However, squareness can be worse. 2. Carrier Design – The position of the holes is not as critical, since the springs do not have to go over the edge of the center hole to keep the grinding wheel from building up. Advantages of Front-of-Center Grinding 1. Lower cost carriers – The size of the carrier is smaller. Smaller carriers are less costly to hold flatness. 2. Grinding wheels can be dressed faster, as the carrier is not in the way of dressing. Advantages of Behind-Center Grinding Production is increased on an 18" grinding wheel by 19%, as there is more wheel time. As the size of the grinding stone increases, this advantage decreases. This production increase can be offset by the increase in time required for dressing. Abrasive Selection World-class Spring Wire… The Mount Joy Wire Corporation is a manufacturer of high quality spring wire used in a variety of applications. Our proven track record coupled with expert technical support and manufacturing versatility continues to make us invaluable to our customers. Mount Joy Wire’s capabilities are unmatched in the industry, so contact us and see how we can help with your next spring wire application. Two triple lead patenting lines. Products: • • • • • • • • Chrome Silicon Tempered Wire Music Wire Shaped Wire Hard Drawn Wire Plated Wire Rocket Wire Low Carbon Wire Capabilities: • • • • • • • 100% Chemical Cleaning Lead Patenting Spheroidize Annealing Oil Tempering Electro Galvanizing Tinning Sizes down to .002 Mount Joy, PA 17552 • Tel. 717-653-1461 • Toll Free 800-321-2305 • Fax 717-653-6144 www.mjwire.com 44 SPRINGS April 2006 ISO 9000 registered company The objective of proper abrasive selection is to select wheels that grind as fast and cool as possible, and yet achieve the end tolerances needed with as little down time for dressing. There are many factors that enter into wheel selection, and an abrasive specialist should assist in choosing the proper wheel. Wire type, wire size, spring dimensions, spring rate, finished tolerances and machine type all need to be analyzed before the proper abrasive specification can be chosen. A grinding wheel that cuts with the least pressure, breaks down with consistency while maintaining its shape, and does not sacrifice good life will grind springs with the closest end tolerances possible. Once again I would like to state, “The tighter the grind tolerance, the tighter the tolerances need to be held in every step of the manufacturing process.” Just as a coiler is designed for a specific range of wire sizes, and a grinder is designed to handle a specific range of springs, so is the grinding wheel. Although very few springmakers have the luxury of being able to set up for one job and run it all the time with dedicated machinery, tooling and abrasives, it is imperative to limit the range of work a grinding wheel is expected to run. Tight-tolerance springs require an abrasive designed for that purpose in order to maximize production, minimize scrap and produce consistent repeatable results. A general-purpose grinding wheel used on tight-tolerance work will result in lost efficiency. An example would be a general-purpose wheel designed to handle both 300-series stainless steel and carbon-wire springs. Although this may be fine for a large percentage of work going through your shop, it is not the answer for critical work with tight tolerances. A tough aluminum oxide is generally used for carbon-wire springs, while 300-series stainless needs a very friable aluminum-oxide-grain grinding wheel. A general-purpose wheel can handle this range of work, but sacrifices would need to be made on both springs. The stainless spring would need to be run at a slower production rate and would need to be dressed more frequently because of wheel loading and the heat generated because of it. The carbon-wire spring would wear the wheel at a faster rate and have to be dressed more frequently because of lost tolerances due to wheel shape. To maximize your chances of success, minimize the tight-tolerance work you expect any one wheel to grind. Rick Schultz has been involved in the abrasive and spring industries for over 22 years and started his career as a sales engineer for Anchor Abrasives Co. Through years of training and experience, he has become an application engineer. Schultz is truly one of the few specialists in all aspects of double-disc grinding, including grinder design, abrasive selection and production refinements. Currently, he is sales manager, working with Anchor’s network of salesman and sales engineers around the world. Readers may contact Rick Schultz by phone at (708) 444-4300, e-mail at [email protected] or Web site at www.anchorabrasives.com, John Moyer and Lee Shank opened a startup spring company, Shank Spring & Design, in 1969. Ten years later, John Moyer opened Moyer Manufacturing Co. Inc., designing and building spring grinders, automation, set machines and powered payoffs. In the same year, Moyer Spring was started. Due to tightening tolerances and SPC requirements, John Moyer participated with Jeff Duguid in developing the first digital free-length gage for spring coilers. In 1982, Moyer Process and Control Co. opened for the purpose of expanding electronics in the spring industry. Moyer Process and Control designs and manufactures free-length gages, load testers and software for use in the spring industry. Readers may contact John Moyer by phone at (260) 665-2363, e-mail at [email protected] or Web site at www.moyercompanies.com This article was originally presented at an SMI Close the Loop Technical Symposium. SPRINGS April 2006 45 Spring Essentials (for the rest of us) Part VII The Quick and Easy Material Review Spotlight on the Shop Floor By Randy DeFord, Mid-West Spring & Stamping W hen I was a coiling operator, I had no clue what the difference was in the materials I wound … and nobody told me much unless I asked. Whenever I needed to replace material, I had to consult engineering. I wish I’d had even a rudimentary understanding of spring steel in those days. Assuming some operators are in the same boat, let me break down some of the common materials. Carbon Steels These material types are by far the most common. They include hard drawn, oil tempered and music wire. They have some common traits: 1. They are the most common and available in many stock sizes; therefore, economical. 2. They will rust quickly if not protected by a secondary finish. 3. They are not suitable for any extreme low- or high-temperature application. Also, they have some unique properties: Hard drawn. This material is made for noncritical applications. It is a drawn wire, which means it gets its tensile strength from being drawn through dies and reduced in size. The smaller the wire, the higher the tensile. Drawn wires have what is called “cast” (see “Glossary of Wire Terms,” page 19.) and may require straightening before coiling or forming. The material color tends to be dull and grayish. Being a low-grade steel, it may have surface marks and defects, which is the best reason for not using it for high-fatigue designs. Hard drawn does, however, plate very well and is often zinc plated to fend off rusting. Oil Tempered (TMB or OT). Tempered wires are cold drawn to size and then heated. This heating Randy DeFord is the engineering manager at Mid-West Spring & Stamping in Mentone, IN. He has 30-plus years in the spring industry, and believes that educating both customers and associates is the key to great customer service. Readers may contact him by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (574) 353-7611. gives the material better properties than hard drawn, although it may still have some surface imperfections. Tempered wires are easily distinguished from drawn wires, as they are usually dark brown in color and do not have cast. Tempered wires, therefore, must be approached carefully when breaking the bands of a coil of material because the material wants to straighten out to its natural state and can be very dangerous if not contained. The advantage of tempered steel is that it does not need straightening, which is a time-saver for a springmaker, especially where torsion spring legs are involved. Music. Music wire is considered a superior carbon steel. Although it will rust very quickly, as will all other carbon steels, it has a very good surface finish, making it the best choice for springs that require high life. Since it is a drawn wire, it has cast, the same as hard drawn, and a grayish-silver color. Unlike most other types of spring steels, music wire is not manufactured in large wire sizes. Stainless Steels Stainless steels come in many chemical compositions, but the most common types to springmakers are 302, 304, 316 and 17-7PH. The common traits are as listed below: 1. Corrosive resistant, with 316 offering better corrosion resistance than 302, 304 or 17-7PH. 2. Handle much higher temperatures than carbon steels. 3. Lower magnetism properties than carbon steels. 4. More costly than carbon steels. 6. Can be “electro-polished,” which produces an extremely shiny surface and passivates the surface. Unique properties include the following: 302,304,316. These types are not high-tensile materials. This makes them less robust, as far as stress handling is concerned, than carbon steels. However, if the application demands corrosive resistance at an economical price, 300 series stainless may be a good choice, with 316 offering the most corrosion resistance and consequently the highest price of the three grades. SPRINGS April 2006 47 Stainless 17-7 PH. This stainless steel is a bit different in chemistry than the 300 series. The composition of this material makes it necessary to heat treat it after coiling to obtain its tensile strength. However, after heat treatment, the tensile strength of 17-7 PH comes very close to that of music wire, making it the best choice for high-life designs. Chrome Alloys Two very popular alloys are chrome vanadium and chrome silicon. Chrome silicon has slightly better tensile strength than chrome vanadium, making it the best alloy for high life. Both of these materials can be purchased in “valve quality,” which has a higher quality surface than non-valve-quality material. Automobile valve and transmission springs are commonly made of these two alloys to gain the high life and high temperature handling required. Although not as good as stainless steels for handling high temperatures, chrome silicon can handle 475°F without an alteration of its mechani- 48 SPRINGS April 2006 cal properties. This is very close to stainless 302/304/316, which can handle 500°F. Where rust and corrosion is considered, alloys do not fare any better than carbon steels; they will rust without protection. Chrome vanadium is a popular steel for die springs because it can be rolled to a rectangular shape without breakage. Chrome silicon is often too hard for this process without special equipment. Both alloys are tempered and have no cast. One critical difference between chrome silicon and the other materials discussed in this article is its stress relieving. Because of chrome silicon’s high hardness, it needs to be stress relieved within four hours of coiling. The stresses induced from coiling can produce stress cracks in the material if it isn’t stress relieved, preferably with an in-line oven straight from the coiler. One critical difference between chrome silicon and the other materials discussed in this article is its stress relieving. Because of chrome silicon’s high hardness, it needs to be stress relieved within four hours of coiling. Material Selection Another little-known fact to the operator is that wire is a market. That means that it is not possible to define material cost by type or size. For instance, although 0.130″ hard-drawn wire is inferior to music wire, it may not be as abundant. Therefore, the lower quality wire may actually cost more for a given amount. In addition, some wire types are not as prevalent as they once were. Valve-quality carbon steel (a highquality version of oil tempered) was a very popular steel in past decades. However, alloys have since replaced a lot of valve wire due to their superior surface finish and high temperature handling. A lot of blueprints call for valve material, but the cost would be extreme and alloys are a good, logical replacement. A blueprint produced in 1956, for instance, might still call out carbon valve. Rather than simply following the blueprint, a springmaker should realize that it is in everyone’s best interest, especially the customer’s, to find a more cost-effective material solution that can meet the need and, possibly, improve part performance at the same time. One last note: Stainless steels do not have the same rate-producing elastic properties of carbon or chrome alloys. Therefore, stainless steels cannot be used in place of high-tensile steels, such as music or chrome silicon. They are entirely different materials and cannot be interchanged. However, chrome-alloy steels will produce the same spring rates as carbon steels and, therefore, the same loads at given heights. Therefore, chrome-alloy steels can serve as an allowable susbtitute for carbon steels. v By Ken Boyce SMI to Sponsor Regional Education, Networking Meetings Is the sum greater than all its parts? As the regions Sebastian promised strengthening regional of the SMI membership get stronger, so does the spring activities as a significant segment of his presidential industry. To help restore strength and vitality at the platform. SMI expects to step into the void and will local level, SMI will undertake an evening dinner and help organize and administer these evening programs speaker program designed to strengthen the relation- thereby eliminating the need for local springmakers to ship between SMI and the regions. assume organizational tasks. Since SMI has the means Starting this year, SMI anticipates annually spon- to create programs and to handle their administration, soring an event in four different regions. By going on these events will require only a slight assist from the the road, SMI expects to minimize travel and cost to local board member, who will be asked to suggest a springmakers while bringing educational and net- mutually convenient location. The SMI staff will plan, organize, publicize and administer the programs. working opportunities to regional activities. SMI, in fact, is comprised SMI will handle all costs of nine regions (right). Each related to the program, The Nine Regions of SMI region, in relation to its including postage, staff, Canada: Canada springmaker population, is speaker travel and speaker Chicago: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin entitled to representation costs. The only cost to parMichigan: Michigan on the SMI board of directicipating springmakers will Mid-Atlantic: Maryland, New Jersey, New York, tors. As a result, regional be the cost of dinner at a local East Pennsylvania concerns and insights play meeting facility. Northeast: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode an important role in the govInitially, program conIsland, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont ernance of SMI as a whole. tent will focus on specifically Pittsburgh-Ohio: Ohio, West Pennsylvania The well being of the regions spring industry issues, such Southeast: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee is critically important to SMI as technology and safety. We Southwest: Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and its leadership. will avoid delivering general Oklahoma, Texas business topics, which are Over a two-year period, it West: Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington widely discussed through is hoped that SMI can sponcivic and local organizations. sor one event in each region. If response to the program is One element leading to a very strong, SMI will attempt to make the programs successful program will be avoiding high-intensity more frequent in different locations in each region. business times as well as holiday schedules. SMI Dan Sebastian, formerly an active member of believes these programs will be scheduled in late the Michigan region and current SMI president spring and early fall when weather and vacation says, “Without dedicated staff, regions find it almost schedules are less of an issue. impossible to handle the administrative tasks of mainThere is always the issue of travel, however. taining an active regional program. In Michigan, we Large regions mean that someone is close to the site depended on volunteers who are busy running their and others are not. To make the initial programs businesses. But our regional meetings allowed us to accessible, the early programs will be set in areas meet, network and discuss common issues without with the greatest concentration of springmakers. v the time and financial restraints that come from attending a national meeting, sometimes many miles Annual Market Summary Offers Vital Data and time zones away.” SMI members and non-member springmakers in North America are invited to participate in the Annual Market Summary, an all-encompassing survey of Ken Boyce is the executive vice president of industry results. Participants also receive an indithe Spring Manufacturers Institute. He brings more than 20 years of associa- vidualized report comparing their company against tion management experience to the institute industry standards. There is no cost for participating and has achieved the Certified Association or for the reports supplied to participants. Executive (CAE) designation of the American Non-participating springmakers may obtain the Society of Association Executives. Readers may contact him by phone at (630) basic industry report for $100 by contacting the SMI office at (630) 495-8588. 495-8588 or fax at (630) 495-8595. SPRINGS April 2006 49 Survey questionnaires will be distributed by March 31, 2006 both electronically and by mail. Participants should have their completed returns submitted to the compiling company no later than May 1, 2006. The company responses are collected and compiled by the MacKay Research Group, an independent statistical company. All responses are kept confidential with neither staff nor any SMI member seeing the results or completed surveys. Each participant will receive a basic report of industry results, plus a customized Financial Performance Report and a Financial Toolkit computer software package. The Individualized Financial Performance Report contains comparisons of the company’s financial performance to the industry. Typically, the survey compares the average springmaking company against the top 10 percent, or high-profit company. Statistical ratios are developed to offer management the ability to evaluate, plan and better control their business. The report is based on each participating company’s income statement, balance sheet and operating data. It includes an executive summary, plus detailed results regarding return on investment, productivity ratios, income and financial statements. v SMI Welcomes New Associate Member Wheelabrator Plus Location: LaGrange, GA Primary Contact: Greg Bowers Phone: (800) 544-4144 Web site: www.wheelabratorgroup.com “Wheelabrator has developed the latest technology available to all surface preparation equipment, whether Wheelabrator blast unit or other OEM equipment. Wheelabrator professionals will inspect your current blasting or spring peening, and conduct an assessment that includes reviewing modernization options to determine if any productivity, cost savings, safety or environmental improvements could be realized.” Wheelabrator Group Burlington, Ontario, Canada Primary Contact: Dan Diverty Phone: (800) 845-8508 Web site www.wheelabratorgroup.com “Wheelabrator Group is a global provider of surface preparation and finishing solutions, committed to offering the broadest array of technologies, products and services. Wheelabrator works closely with customers and has developed solutions that range from cleaning the raw wire to peening coil and leaf springs.” v 50 SPRINGS April 2006 Staff Doings SMI has lost two important people in Kim Burd, member services coordinator, and Pashun McNulty, financial administration coordinator. Kim Burd (right), SMI meeting planner since 2001, has taken a similar position at the American Library Association, a significantly larger organization based in Chicago. Her position will not be filled immediately. Pashun McNulty (left), a seven-year veteran who managed all accounting and benchmarking activities for SMI, will begin work as chief financial officer of a hospice service company. Jim Wood, SMI regulations compliance consultant, thoroughly thrashed Ken Boyce in their annual 108-hole golf tournament held on Hilton Head Island in November 2005. Boyce, the three-time defending champion of the prestigious event, relinquished his crown reluctantly. The prize won by Wood, also a three-time winner of the event, was lunch three consecutive days and a paper certificate suitable for framing. v 2006 Board of Directors Officers President, Dan Sebastian, MW Industries Vice President, Maurie Johnson, Precision Products Group Secretary Treasurer, Reb Banas, Stanley Spring & Stamping Immediate Past President, David Weber, A.V. Weber Executive Vice President, Ken Boyce, SMI Directors Tom Armstrong, Duer/ Carolina Coil Dennis Backhaus, Spiros Industries Gerald Baker, Michigan Spring & Stamping Ron Banas, Stanley Spring & Stamping S.J. Banas, Stanley Spring & Stamping Terry Bartel, Elgiloy Specialty Metals Mike Betts, Betts Spring Tim Bianco, Iowa Spring Russ Bryer, Spring Team Ron Curry, Gifford Spring Jay Dunwell, Wolverine Coil Spring Linda Froehlich, Ace Wire Spring & Form Bud Funk Jr., Fourslide Spring & Stamping Bert Goering, Precision Coil Spring Kevin Grace, SEI MetalTek Greg Heitz, Exacto Spring Bob Herrmann, Newcomb Spring Greg Milzcik, Associated Spring Steve Moreland, Automatic Spring John Petry, Sandvik Steel Scott Rankin, Vulcan Spring & Manufacturing Rick Richter, R-R Spring Chris Wharin, Bohne Spring Industries Ted White, Hardware Products Cautionary Tales XXX Spring Material Selection By Mark Hayes Spring Technology I t is IST’s experience that selection of the material made from 302 stainless steel. Both companies are from which a spring is to be designed is usually happy that their springs are reliable, and have the accomplished by the end user of the spring. The philosophy that if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. Their selection is usually based springmaker will take a upon the designer’s similar view: Each grade knowledge of springs that of spring steel is readily have worked satisfactoavailable and works well rily in the past. Hence for their respective comone end user will have panies, so why should a experience of CrV steel cheaper alternative be working well and will offered to either? tend to design all future Then company B springs in this material. asks for a year-on-year Another very simiprice reduction lar end user will with no loss have experience of quality or of 302 stainless reliability. The steel working satspringmaker will isfactorily, and so have confidence will base all their in offering the designs on this cheaper CrV as material grade. a substitute for This then leads the stainless to company A, a steel, and the manufacturer of spring should pneumatic valves, work OK. say, having all their However, springs made from company A also CrV, perhaps with Typical pages from the new Spring Material Selection CD-ROM. asks for a price reduction. Dacromet coating Will drawn carbon steel or when corrosion protection is required; and their music wire function well enough, and will company A main competitor, company B, having all their springs accept this new material as a viable means to achieve its ends? The customer probably won’t pay for the testing to prove whether or not the new material Mark Hayes is the Senior Metallurgist is satisfactory. To provide all the data to persuade at the Institute of Spring Technology (IST) company A that the new material will do the job, the in Sheffield, England. Hayes manages IST’s spring manufacturer might produce CAD printouts spring failure analysis service, and all metallurgical aspects of advice given by the for all of Company A’s springs in the new material. Institute. He also gives the majority of the Still, company A will be uncertain about the relative spring training courses that IST offers globmerits of the reliable material they are used to and ally. Readers are encouraged to contact the new material that they are being offered. him with comments about this Cautionary To provide a comparison of materials, the EuroTale, and with suggested subjects for future installments, by phone at (011) 44 114 252 7984 (direct dial), fax at pean Spring Federation commissioned IST to develop (011) 44 114 2527997 or e-mail at [email protected]. SPRINGS April 2006 51 a Spring Material Selector CD ROM, and this has very recently been completed. The Spring Material Selector CD ROM contains information about all the international specifications for spring wire and strip materials from Europe, the U.S. and Japan, including many obsolete specifications as well as some proprietary grades. It enables the opportunity to directly compare the chemical analysis and tensile strength of a particular wire size. It also has indicative data about the fatigue, relaxation and corrosion performance of each spring material. Finally, the CD contains information about many of the major international suppliers of each grade of spring material. The moral of this Cautionary Tale is that spring materials may not be selected by the most informed person in the supply chain, and this may lead to the use of non-optimum materials. Now, for the first time, there exists an authoritative and independent tool that spring manufacturers may use to help their customers to select the best material for their springs. The Spring Material Selector CD ROM will be featured on IST’s stand 17A24 at wire 2006 in Düsseldorf, and can be viewed on IST’s Web site, www.ist.org.uk v We deliver daily to your loading dock. In New England Call Maynard at 800-822-1278 Or [email protected] In The Ohio Area Call Diane at 800-862-9002 Or [email protected] Northeast Steel is more than… a mill and service center … It’s People … who take pride in their company. Service Center Products x x x x x x Bright Basic x x Tin and CAD/Zinc Coated Basic/HDMB/Music x HDMB CL– I, II Phos Music Annealed in Process Low/Hi Carbon Stainless Steel OTMB/OTCS/OTCV Galvanized Basic/HDMB In-House Products N.E.S. Drawn Pat. HDMB & Low Tensile HDMB ISO– 9001: 2000 Check our inventory stock list on our website. Updated everyday at 4:00 PM www.northeaststeelco.com 52 SPRINGS April 2006 Transfer System for Extension Springmakers Nimsco is distributing the CT 301 PC, a wide expansion of the transfer systems used on all extension springmakers’ TDO (bending/forming mechanism for making the second loop/hook of an extension spring). It was launched by TC-HP2 with the idea to replace all existing transfers, mostly mechanical, by multi-servo driven models. The concept is intended to make the transfer operation faster and smoother. In addition, the operator has the ability to modify the acceleration and deceleration curves of the motion. This new generation makes it possible to increase the production rate of extension springmakers 50% to 100%, from case to case. The tooling concept to raise loops and hooks has been simplified to make it easier to set, less costly (tooling charge), and more accurate. This generation of TDO now equips all newly made TC-HP2 extension springmakers on all machine sizes. This technology can also be applied to Herckelbout and TC-HP overhauled coilers. For information, contact Nimsco by phone at (563) 386-9590 or e-mail at [email protected]. Automated Suspension Spring Oven Pyromaître Inc. has developed a totally automated car suspension spring Pyro oven. Major features of the system are: 1,000 springs per hour, covering all sizes and shapes; wire size up to 16 mm; cycle time of seven minutes; and integrated upstream and downstream loading/unloading automation. Pyro is used for heating before shot peening individual lots of springs. It features fast ramp-up and cool-down to switch between cold and warm peening lots. The short cycle time is the main advantage of the system. For information, contact Pyromaître Inc. phone at (800) 231-7976 or Web site at www.pyromaitre.com. Custom Spring Steel Custom strip steel processed by Blue Blade Steel Co. provides springmakers and their customers with product consistency, reliability, performance and production economy. Blue Blade steel features precision hardness consistency from coil to coil, resulting in steel that contains no soft spots. Adjustments aren’t needed between coils, and secondary setups aren’t necessary to sort out-of-tolerance parts, since steel is made to a consistent, uniform specification. No soft spots in the coil eliminates a primary cause of spring failure. Furthermore, production downtime for trimming away substandard material and replacing the coil-to-coil setup is eliminated. With no soft spots to cut away from the continuous coil, material utilization is maximized, and waste is reduced. There is a choice of engineered tempering solutions, finishing options, and value-added services that permit the spring manufacturer to order custom-enhanced material structures and delivery setups to meet production needs. Blue Blade spring steel is packaged in either traditional flat ribbon coils up to 60 in. OD or in oscillating coil spools up to 2,000 lbs. that offer longer uninterrupted production runs. For information, contact Blue Blade Steel Co. by phone at (908) 272-2620 or Web site at www.bluebladesteel.com . Spiral Conveyor Electric Vibration Ovens Straus-Artys Corp. has introduced a line of spiral conveyor electric vibration ovens that offer spring manufacturers advantages including energy efficiency, small footprint, high-temperature efficiency, and optimized cycle and production time. The design factor of the RFO series, for example, is up to 13.8 in reducing the length as compared to a continuous linear oven. In addition, the RFO series is mobile in design to allow quick and easy relocation with the facility. For information, contact StrausArtys Corp. by phone at (516) 576-1090 or e-mail at [email protected]. SPRINGS April 2006 53 Inconel X750 ● Inconel 600 ● Inconel 601 ● Inconel 625 ● Inconel 718 ● Incoloy 800 ● Incoloy 800HT ● Incoloy 825 ● Incoloy A286 ● Monel 400 ● Monel K500 ● Nimonic 90 ● Nimonic 80A ● Nimonic 75 ● Nickel 200 ● Nickel 201 ● Nickel 205 ● Nickel 212 ● Nickel 270 Nispan / C902 ● Nilo 36 ● Nilo 42 ● Nilo 48 ● Nilo 52 ● Nilo ‘K’ ● Hastelloy B-2 ▲ Hastelloy B-3 ▲ media. The grinding oil can be reused. The machines can integrate into a production line and occupy a square meter of surface space. There is no need for centrifuge or microfiltration units with CF-oil processing. For information, contact Otec Precision Finish Inc. by phone at (401) 398-0045 or e-mail at [email protected]. Online Spring Catalog Lee Spring has expanded its print and online catalog with an additional product line consisting of more than 2,500 Type 316 stainless steel stock compression springs in wire sizes 0.006 in. through 0.072 in. (0.15 mm through 0.33 mm), augmenting its existing range of music wire and Type 302 stainless steel spring designs. Springs manufactured from this enhanced alloy offer improved corrosion resistance, cleanliness, product purity and visual integrity. In addition to passivation, all Type 316 stainless steel stock compression springs are ultrasonically cleaned. Standard Series stainless steel stock compression springs feature squared and ground ends. The small Instrument Series compression springs (wire sizes 0.006 in. through 0.013 in.) feature squared ends. For information, contact Lee Spring by phone at (888) 777-4647 or Web site at www.leespring.com. Hastelloy C-4 ▲ Hastelloy C-22 ▲ Hastelloy C-276 ▲ Hastelloy C-2000 ▲ Hastelloy G-30 ▲ Hastelloy ‘X’ ▲ Haynes 25 ▲ Haynes 214 ▲ Phynox ■ MP35N ✝ RENE 41✝✝ Alloy 20 Cb3 Beryllium Copper size range .800” - .001” quantities from 2 lb Unit 317C, 205 Hallene Rd, Warwick, R.I. 02886 Call Toll Free: 1-866-48-ALLOY 1-866-482-5569 Fax: 401-384-6757 email: [email protected] ● Special Metals Group of Companies ▲ Haynes International ■Imphy Ugine Precision ✝SPS Technologies ✝✝ General Electric inc Finishing Machine Otec Precision Finish Inc. has introduced a centrifugal-disc finishing machine. It includes a secondary deburring process that preserves the precise measurement tolerances achieved by final grinding and honing and offers increased protection to delicate work parts. The CF-oil system replaces the traditional water/compound mix technology. Using commercially available grinding and honing oils in combination with oil-resistant, low abrasive media, the Otec CF-Oil machine removes micro-burrs on work pieces without compromising the dimensional integrity achieved through final grinding. The PLC automated process takes just minutes to generate small edge radii and smooth surfaces while eliminating the possibility of corrosion. As work pieces are protected from rusting, they no longer require three steps: degreasing before processing, drying after processing and subsequent regreasing, thereby saving production costs. Using oil means almost no wear and tear on the processing INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Authority 54 SPRINGS April 2006 ISO 9001:2000 Springs for Horse-Drawn Vehicles Book “Springs for Horse-Drawn Vehicles,” edited by Susan Green and Don Peloubet, published by the Carriage Museum of America is the first comprehensive book on the subject of springs for the gears of horse-drawn vehicles. In addition to the common elliptic spring, there are C-springs, coil springs, torsion springs, sidebar springs and patented springs. Green and Peloubet researched old trade journals for carriage builders and cross-referenced the material with some 2,009spring patents issued by the U.S. patent office. The book covers other important works published by an engineer, a builder and a blacksmith, in addition to some of the historical technology of making the steel, history of the various designs, some of the machinery used, and information on spring manufacturers. The book has a glossary, index, many notes, footnotes, bibliographies and cross-references throughout, and includes a reference chart for the major types of springs. There are only 250 copies available of this 254-page book featuring 1,000 illustrations. For information, visit the Carriage Museum of America Web site, www.carriagemuseumlibrary.org. —— From Design —— New version 7 Spring Design and Validation to RoHS Compliance Label TUV Rheinland of North America Inc. has introduced a compliance label for companies that wish to certify that their products meet the RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directive that goes into effect in Europe in July. The labeling system is part of TUV Rheinland’s Total WEEE/RoHS Management Solutions (TWRS), a service for companies looking to ensure compatibility with the WEEE and RoHS directives. TUV Rheinland’s labeling for RoHS compliance lets manufacturers prove to the EU that they are RoHS compliant and using RoHS-compliant components in the manufacture of the product. For information, contact TUV Rheinland of North America by phone at (888) 743-4652. Cleanup/Safety Catalog New Pig Corp. has published its 2006 Pigalog Catalog Buying Guide. It contains over 4,500 solutions for a clean and safe workplace. Included in this catalog are the new Pig Spillblocker Vacuum Dike for capture and containment of spills and liquids, the Pig Leak Diverter Bucket Kit, and the portable Pig Spill Kits in a Tote Bag. For information, contact New Pig by Web site at www.newpig.com. —— Final Inspection —— • Full graphical interface. • International tolerances. • Fatigue data. • Relaxation data. • Spring drawing. • Full design or validation. • Demonstration disk available. **New** LTM2 Manual **New** compression / extension spring tester. 110lbf max New Non Standard Spring Validation LT3 Computer controlled compression / extension spring tester. 1100lbf max • Design multiple pitch, barrel, conical springs • Variable coil diameter. • Variable wire diameter • Variable pitch TT1-1 computer controlled Torsion tester. 8.8lbf.in max Institute of Spring Technology Nichols International Machinery Systems Co. Henry Street, Sheffield, S3 7EQ, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 (0)114 276 0771 Fax: +44 (0)114 252 7997 E-mail: mailto:[email protected] Internet: www.ist.org.uk P.O. Box 2709, Davenport, IA 52809-2709, USA. Tel +1 563/386 9590 FAX +1 563/386 9593 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.nimsco.com SPRINGS April 2006 55 Simulation Software ESI Group has introduced Pam-Stamp 2G Advanced Cam software that reduces time spent on the design cycle while increasing component quality and accurately predicting wrinkles, splits and springback in metal stampings. A part after experiencing springback poses a major problem for stamping manufacturers as the part shape may be out of tolerance and unsuitable for the intended application. To ensure accurate, successful design, this stamping simulation tool covers the entire tooling process, from quotation and die design to formability and try-out validation. Its modules include Pam-Diemaker for rapid die creation, Pam-Quikstamp for rapid stamping evaluation, and Pam-Autostamp for forming process validation, quality and tolerance control. For information, contact ESI by phone at +33 (0) 1 41 73 58 35 or Web site at www.esi-group.com. Control System Software IntelliTrack Inc. a developer of software for barcode, RFID, batch and wireless data collection, has released IntelliTrack for QuickBooks. IntelliTrack The Moyer Companies have been in business since 1979. We have grown by working to improve spring making technology. These improvements may have included just using our equipment or maybe just working on a manufacturing process. Our continued success requires that we continually work on new ideas. We are using this ad to ask the question... Moyer provides solutions in addition to our equipment— grinders, automation, load testers, setters and coiler gages. How can Moyer help you? Send us an e-mail at moyercompanies.com Tel (260) 495-2405 • Fax (260) 495-1290 P.O. Box 422 • Fremont, IN 46737 56 SPRINGS April 2006 for QuickBooks offers large-business inventory management features to small and medium-size businesses at a low cost. This family of products provides complete inventory control systems that perform essential warehousing functions, such as paperless picking, paperless receiving, mobile inventory, physical counts, cycle counts, barcode and RFID support, and mobile computing. IntelliTrack products for QuickBooks are offered in a batch, wireless and professional versions to suit a variety of budgets and inventory management needs. For information, contact IntelliTrack by phone at(888) 583-3008 or Web site at www.intellitrack.net. Online Collaborative Sourcing Service MfgQuote.com has added a collaborative sourcing service created exclusively for OEMs who source custom-manufactured components through Mfg.Quote.com. This service allows engineers and buyers to collaborate with suppliers during the design phase in the product lifecycle. Other features include: complete audit trail and leveraged corporate intelligence; shared information, reporting and data export; include favored suppliers; and digitally signed non-disclosure agreements. More than 43,000 industrial buyers source, collaborate, and receive quotes online using MfgQuote.com. v New Coil Materials, New Tooling Challenges By Howard A. Greis, Kinefac Corp. – Sleeper Division The demand for long, small-diameter coils of difficult materials from the medical device industry has changed the coiling process paradigm and brought with it unique tooling challenges. Development of the Kinefac-Sleeper Micro-Coiler, shown below with one of the smallest coils it can produce, has made it possible to produce the required coils from wire as small as 25 microns (0.001 in.) in coils with diameters as small as 150 microns (0.006 in.) in lengths up to 2,500 mm (100 in.) using conventional carbide coiling tooling for coils made from typical steel spring wire. However, the requirement to make these coils from platinum tungsten or 304 V stainless steel at high speed with diametral tolerances as tight as ±5 microns (0.0002 in.), and to simultaneously control the back tension (droop) or pitch has forced us to rethink how our Micro-Coiler tooling functions. Since a typical medical industry Micro-Coiler user might wish to produce 1,000 coils per week (single shift 85% efficiency) that are 0.375 mm (0.015 in.) diameter and 1,250 mm (50 in.) long of 75-micron (0.003 in.) diameter wire, production rate is critical and tool life is an important cost factor. To accomplish this production, the user might set the Micro-Coiler, which has feed rolls ½ inches in diameter at a feed roll speed of 200 rpm. This would produce a comfortable coil rotational speed in the output trough of about 8300 rpm, and a lineal wire feed rate at the tooling of about 26.5 fpm. Each long coil would require approximately two minutes to produce, and in one week the coil manufacturer would use about 10 miles of wire. Platinum tungsten wire coils well but is highly abrasive. The 304 V stainless steel wire requires a high coiling force and tends to create interstitial bonds (i.e. pickup) with the tools’ surfaces. Unfortunately, conventional carbide tooling with typical levels of finish, and entry and departure reliefs, does not deal well with either of these material characteristics because the successful operation of the coiling tooling depends on its ability to provide highly localized forces on the wire during coil formation and tight control of the wire as it enters into the coiling tooling. To effectively deal with this situation, it is necessary to analyze the typical Kinefac-Sleeper Micro-Coiler single-point coiling machine geometry and tool configuration. As can be seen from the machine picture and tooling diagram on page 58, the wire is dereeled from a spool and supplied to the feed rolls under controlled tension. The two servo-driven feed rolls, the lower one grooved and the upper one smooth, provide the axial force on the wire to create the coiling action. They feed the wire into a set of final wire guides, again the lower one grooved and the upper one smooth, which guide the wire to the initial deflection contact point under the arbor. From there it is deflected around the arbor by the coiling point to establish the arc of the coil. As a result, the coil diameter that is produced is precisely determined by the relative position of the wire contact points on the output end of the lower final guide, the bottom of the arbor and the groove in the coiling point. Therefore, any change in position of the wirecontact surfaces of the tooling elements can change the diameter of the coil produced. Since the arc created is only about one- third of the coil diameter, any such position change of one of the tool-element wear surfaces produces a diametral change of the coil which is about three times as large. This means that a 3-micron (0.00012-in.) buildup on or wearing away of any of these three surfaces would move a nominal-diameter coiling setup of the typical coiling setup described above out of the tolerance range. The next critical point of contact between the wire and the forming tools is the pitch tool. This tool provides the force necessary to affect the axial location of each coil with respect to the adjacent coil. The axial position of this pitch-tool contact point has a major effect on the back tension or pitch in a continuous coil. Here, too, tool wear or pickup on that surface produces disproportionate changes in those characteristics of the coil. The resistive friction forces created by the contact between the wire being coiled and each of the above four contact surfaces must be overcome by the column of wire in the final guides, which is being SPRINGS April 2006 57 pushed by the feed rolls. Because of its length, the column deflects in a serpentine manner against the walls of the passage in the lower final wire guides. This creates further frictional resistance on the wire as it exits the feed rolls into the transition area between the final wire guides and the feed rolls. The sum of all the process-resistive friction forces on the wire must be exceeded by the force imparted on the wire by the feed-roll closing pressure and the feed-roll surface coefficient of friction with respect to the wire. Unfortunately, there is a linear gap between the root of the feed-roll groove and the wire entry point at the root of the lower final wireguide groove. This gap is disproportionately long when coiling very small wire. The high wire-feed force tends to buckle the wire as it leaves the feed rolls and enters the lower final wire guide, causing it to rub on that entry point. The wire-feed contact point at the entry of the lower final guide, the coiling-action contact points on the output end of the lower final guide, the arbor, the coiling point and the pitch tool are the areas on the tools where rapid abrasion and pickup are most likely to take place. Furthermore, it is at these areas where erosion of the tool contact surface due to wear or buildup is caused by the bonding of wire particles, which can have a major negative effect on the repeatability of the process and thus the life of the tools. From the above description, it is clear that the best way to remedy the situation is to reduce the load on the tools. This can best be accomplished by reducing the coefficient of friction between the tools and the wire. This can only be done by placing a low coefficient of friction material or coating at the highload contact points between the tools and the wire. This material or coating must also be of sufficient hardness so that it greatly minimizes the surface wear created by the high-force rubbing contact of the tools by the wire. In addition, that material or coating must have the ability to be worked or applied in such a way to produce a wear surface with a minimum of surface interstices. Finally, it should not have any chemical or metallurgical tendency to bond with the wire materials being coiled. Clearly, one material is available that appears to have such characteristics: natural diamond. However, it presents several major problems that must be overcome by the tool designer and manufacturer. The first is its difficulty to be machined or ground by conventional tooling. The second is its brittleness that makes thin sections fragile during manufacturing or in tool setup. Finally, the individual raw 58 SPRINGS April 2006 material pieces are limited in size. Despite these limitations, the benefits of using natural diamond wherever possible at critical load-contact points are so significant that Kinefac has implemented a program to do just that for our Micro-Coiler tooling. Having defined the best material to meet the needs of this coiling régime, the next step was to determine how to best integrate it into the tooling design. The small size of the pieces made it impractical to consider making complete tool elements of diamond. Therefore, diamond was used as small inserts into the basic tool structure. This, in turn, led to its initial application on coiling points, where a small precision insert could be readily attached to the basic tool shank, and then be shaped and finished. The result of this diamond use in a limited number of tests has been outstandingly successful. It has increased Micro-Coiler coiling-point life to more than 1,000,000 feet (190 miles) when coiling 75 microns (0.003 inches) 304 V stainless steels and has eliminated any pickup on the tool surface. However, our manufacturing process for such tools is still labor-intensive, and new methods for cutting, mounting and lapping this type of diamond insert into our high-precision certified coiling tooling are now being developed. Our next step is the application of natural diamond to the front tip of the lower final guide. In this application, we are examining two options: The first is a brazed assembly on a carbide base that would carry the balance of the lower final guide groove as well as the mounting surfaces. The second is mechanically clamping the insert to the basic tool. This has worked well when we have used large PCD inserts when coiling relatively large flat wire. Parallel to this, we are looking at PCD pitch tools as the next application for diamond material. The payback on diamond is outstanding. Based on Kinefac’s belief that diamonds are a coiler’s best friend, we are moving ahead as rapidly as possible to expand its use on Micro-Coiler tooling. Howard A. Greis is the president of Kinefac Corp. – Sleeper Division in Worcester, MA. Readers may contact him by phone at (508) 754-3249 or Web site at www.microcoiler.com. v A Admiral Steel (800) 323-7055 / 27 Alloy Wire International (866) 482-5569 / 54 Anchor Abrasives (708) 444-4300 / 26 C Chicago Association of Spring Manufacturers Inc. (847) 433-1335 / 30, 31 E Elgiloy Specialty Metals (847) 695-1900 / 39 F Fenn Technologies (860) 594-4331 / 11 Forming Systems Inc. (877) 727-3676 / inside front cover G Gibbs Wire & Steel Co. Inc. (800) 800-4422 / inside back cover H Haldex Garphyttan (888) 947-3778 / 24 I Industrial Steel & Wire Co. (800) 767-0408 /5 InterWire Products Inc. (914) 273-6633 /1 Instron (800) 726-8378 / 27 J JN Machinery Corporation (630) 860-2646 / 22 K Kiswire Trading Inc. (201) 461-8895 / 46 L Larson Systems (877) 780-2131 P Precision Steel Warehouse (800) 323-0740 / 43 Proto Manufacturing Ltd. (800) 965-8378 / 10 Pyromaître Inc. (418) 831-2576 / 23 R Radcliff Wire (860) 583-1305 / 14 S Machine Components 2006 ++852-2865 2633 / 16 Maguire Machinery (609) 266-0200 /6 The Mapes Piano String Co. (423) 543-3195 / outside back cover Mount Joy Wire Corp. (800) 321-1278 / 44 Moyer Companies (260) 665-2363 / 56 T M N NIMSCO (563) 386-9590 / 15, 55 North American Spring Tool Co. (800) 759-6728 / 45 Northeast Steel Corp. (800) 822-1278 / 52 Norwalk Innovation (800) 688-2645 / 17 / 56 Shinko Machinery Co., Ltd. ++ 81 6 6794 6610 /3 Simplex Rapid (563) 386-9590 / 12 Stahl- und Drahtwerk Röslau ++49 (0) 92 38 / 809-0 / 32 Tak Enterprises (860) 583-0517 Tool King (800) 338-1318 /8 / 48 U Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc. (800) 243-1676 / 41 V Varland Metal Service (513) 861-0555 / 52 W Witels-Albert USA Ltd. (410) 228-8383 / 21 Sprung SPRINGS April 2006 59 Bob Herrmann Newcomb Spring of Colorado Occupation: Information Manager and Forklift Driver at Newcomb Spring of Colorado in Denver. Birthplace: Ithaca, NY. Current home: Boulder, CO. Industry affiliations: Spring Manufacturers Institute board of directors member and Magazine Committee chairman. Family: Wife, Leslie; children Emily, Alex and Carly; plus numerous critters. What I like most about being a springmaker: The wide variety of applications we get involved in. Favorite food: Anything fresh. Favorite authors: Tom Wolfe, Stephen Ambrose, Elmore Leonard, Michael Connelly, etc. Favorite musicians: Bob Dylan, Miles Davis and Roy Rogers. Hobbies: Reading. Favorite places: Outdoors. Bob’s skill behind the wheel is matched only by his enthusiasm for constantly upgrading technology. Best times of my life: College and watching my kids grow up. A great evening to me is: At home with family and friends. The one thing I can’t stand is: Standing in line. My most outstanding qualities are: Tact, diplomacy and wishful thinking. People who knew me in school thought I was: Not all there. I knew I was an “adult” when: I got my AARP membership card. If I weren’t working at Newcomb Spring, I would like to: Go sailing around the world. The most difficult business decision I ever had to make was: To fire someone. I wonder what would have happened if: I had joined the Air Force. Role models: Answering that question would only get me in trouble. I would like to be remembered in the spring industry for: My excellent golf skills. But people will probably remember me as: #&!%-ing them off. 60 SPRINGS April 2006