At the McCalla, AL, plant of Gestamp Automoción控制工程网版权所有, a tier one automotive supplier based in Spain, everything is oversized. The floor is a vast concrete slab, bare but for two giant 2,000 metric ton transfer presses stretching into the air. To accommodate these beasts, the manufacturing plant ceilings are built so high that the lights above appear dim. In the cavernous space, nothing can be heard above the overwhelming roar of the ram as it slams into sheets of metal, molding the shape of what w

ill soon be structural automotive parts.
　　Hiss, ka-JUNK, hiss, ka-JUNK, hiss, ka-JUNK….
　　Suddenly,…silence.
　　Mike Mullins, press maintenance team leader, breaks the news to his crew: “Alright everyone, call your wives and tell them you’re going to be late tonight. By the time we get these presses up and running againwww.cechina.cn, we’re all going to have to work late just to meet production requirements. This is going to cost us.” And this wasn’t the first time.
　　In 56 production centers located in 17 countries, Gestamp Automoción produces metal components for most of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world, including high-end Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Bentley and BMW, as well as high-volume Ford, GM, Nissan and Suzuki. (Much of the production at the McCalla plant goes to a Mercedes-Benz facility in Tuscaloosa, AL.) The company owns and operates more than 70 transfer presses and 100 progressive presses, but the two transfer presses at McCalla had been become a problem. At least once a quarterCONTROL ENGINEERING China版权所有, the hardwired network supporting the machines suffered breakage or damage. This frustrated the team on the plant floor控制工程网版权所有, and cost a lot of money.

　　The sharp angle of the bolster cable (shown in close-up left) inevitably caused wear that resulted in outages. Radio communication proved a solution控制工程网版权所有, despite the extensive solution控制工程网版权所有, despite the extensive presence of 10-inch-thick steel plate. Source: ProSoft
　　Quantifying the loss
　　The two presses produce up to 1,800 parts per hour, and each occu