PROBLEM
Exedy America Corp. is a Tier One automotive supplier. Its facility in Mascot, Tennessee, uses transfer presses to produce transmission parts for automotive OEMS and aftermarket sellers. Exedy uses thermal-diffusion (TD) coatings, but the hot TD process can distort tooling. If tool dimensions change after coating, the tool cannot be machined back to tolerance.
Solution
Tool and die director Randy Collinsworth wanted to see if FortiPhy™ XVD coating could help. Exedy tested FortiPhy in several applications, including one focused on a new draw ring. Only one-third of the draw ring is used at a time, so it can be rotated twice and last longer. The FortiPhy coating extends service life even further.
It really is possible
tool life
In one application, Exedy got 78,000 uses from a part with a TiCN coating; the same part lasted 245,000 uses with FortiPhy XVD coating. At this writing, the new ring has yet to be rotated—but Exedy America officials expect it to run 250,000 parts for each rotation before recoating. That’s triple the tool life: 750,000 parts.
“FortiPhy XVD helps us maintain tolerances and part quality, increasing productivity and tool life by three times—with no recoating and no downtime.”