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1. Product History |
5. Equipment Specification |
It was determined that a one-piece cylinder design with a heavier wall thickness would solve the defined problems and meet the higher pressure rating required by U.L. The cost of the cylinder could not increase, despite added material cost due to heavier wall thickness. This meant that direct labor costs would have to be reduced significantly. The manufacturing processes employed for this product line had to be innovative and cost goals ambitious, to make the cylinder economically viable.
The staff at Larson developed a set of design parameters to meet the customer’s requirements, as well as the specifications of U.L. Drawings for the assembled cylinder, the component parts, and a bill of materials were submitted to the customer and approved.
One unresolved detail that remained, however, was that the amount of draw reduction from blank to finished shell diameter exceeded the industry-accepted limits of drawability for cold rolled steel. A key strength of Larson Tool is the innovations we have made in deep draw technology. Our current processes “break the rules,” but this draw was more than had been attempted. Some tangible evidence was needed before a large capital investment could be made.
Help was enlisted from an associate short-run metal stamper who had hydraulic draw press equipment suitable for the r & d work required. A scaled-down version of the shell was developed that would prove the viability of the process. The success of this work gave Larson the confidence needed to proceed with the project.
Temporary tooling was built and further development of the deep draw process was done. A set of prototype cylinders was produced and burst tested. Results indicated that the cylinder design exceeded U.L. burst ratings by a good margin. Prototypes were delivered to the customer in the spring of 1998.
Specifications for a press line to produce the new shell were developed by the staff at Larson in the spring of 1998. Budgetary numbers and a time line were presented to Larson management who, in turn, informed the customer that the project was ready to proceed. In June of 1998 the customer committed to the design of the new cylinder.