PROBLEM
Pentaflex stamps and assembles components at its facility in Springfield, Ohio, primarily for the tractor-trailer industry. The plant makes exhaust units to help manufacturers meet federal air quality regulations. The stainless steel parts are very large, with draws from 8 to 10 inches. The stamping dies Pentaflex was using had to be recoated or replaced after only 900 hits.
Solution
Michael Stull, tooling manager for Pentaflex, says the company had been using thermal diffusion coatings that combine with carbide particles in the tooling to form a hard layer. But each recoating is less effective than the one before. The company decided to try FortiPhy™ XVD technology, which doesn’t deplete carbides in the surface of the stamping tools.
productivity increase
It really is possible
Once it began using FortiPhy XVD on its tooling, the Springfield plant has had runtimes more than 40x longer than before. Instead of shutting down production after 900 hits, Stull says, Pentaflex keeps the line running for 40,000 hits or more, and the company saves even more because the same tool can be treated again without replacement.
“We’ve been running this job for at least three-and-a-half years, and we have yet to replace the FortiPhy-coated details.”