About the Customer
MISUMI partnered with an automotive Tier 1 manufacturer in North America that is home to the world’s finest producer of small, stamped auto parts. Based in Japan, their North American facility is headquartered in the state of Ohio, with manufacturing facilities in Texas and Canada.
Problem: Current Supplier’s Slow Lead Times on Critical Components
The company has grappled with a persistent manufacturing challenge related to its metal stamping production lines. Specifically, they have had ongoing issues with material long feed for the stamping press to operate correctly and efficiently.
The problem stemmed from the company’s use of a micro switch that could not effectively detect the “long” material feedstock condition. If the press is not stopped from stamping under such conditions, dangerous die crashes can result, which can cause substantial damage to the die and lead to significant repair costs.
During these repairs, manufacturing operations are stopped, which is a significant cost to the company in terms of lost part production.
Solution: A Redesigned OKJB Sensor
MISUMI was fresh off redesigning an existing product, the OKJS Feed Sensor, a popular sensor used by many MISUMI customers. MISUMI modified key sensor design features, such as adding proximity sensors to the units, which can be connected to a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC). MISUMI also updated the body to 4140 steel to make the product more robust. MISUMI designed the sensor to be fully configurable to adapt to many die and press applications.
MISUMI had the privilege to showcase the OKJB Long/Short Feed Sensor to the customer and highlight how the part could detect both “long” and “short” feedstock conditions, as well as detail how it has been proven in high volume stamping operations to halt the press and prevent dangerous die operating conditions reliably.
The fundamental difference between the new and existing sensors is that the original OKJS feed sensor was designed to detect that the strip is fed to the switch. This sensor switch work concept is similar to what the customer was using before MISUMI suggested the OKJB sensor.
The redesigned OKJB will pick up an overfeed issue. This was the critical point that MISUMI highlighted to drive home the benefits of the sensor and win the customer over.
For more detailed product specifications and comparisons, download the OKJB Sensor technical sheet.
Customer Feedback
Initially, the customer’s maintenance manager decided he could fabricate a similar sensor to the MISUMI OKJB using the in-house resources within his maintenance department. However, he soon realized that he could not produce at a competitive cost to the business.
They were also initially skeptical about how the product would fit within their product line. After more careful consideration, the maintenance manager decided to replace one of their microswitches with a prototype OKJB feed sensor provided by MISUMI.
The short story is that the customer hasn’t looked back since they realized the benefit almost immediately. They did a month of rigorous testing on a single production line. The OKJB was installed on this line in August 2022, and there have been no die crashes of the stamping machine as of December 2022.
They plan to purchase more to install on other stamping machines in their facility. Their maintenance manager stated, “the sensor will pay for itself within a few weeks.”
To learn more about the OKJB Sensor unit, click here.
