When one thinks of a straight side press machine such as the Rouselle 8SS40 Double Crank unit that Marlin Steel uses, the typical application that comes to mind is the machine’s use in shaping steel wire.
Using up to 80 tons of force, Marlin’s Rouselle Straight Side Press is easily able to flatten or swage round steel wire to meet specific needs. While this machine is most commonly used for the benefit of steel wire baskets, could it have benefits for sheet metal baskets as well?
Actually, yes.
“How so,” you ask?
Here are a few of the reasons that a side press machine such as the Rouselle can be of benefit to the manufacture of sheet metal baskets.
#1: Integration of Steel Wire into Sheet Metal Basket Designs
Many of the custom baskets that Marlin Steel designs for clients use both sheet metal and steel wires in their design.
With a straight side press, the wires can be flattened at key points for easier welding to the sheet metal of the basket. Alternatively, swaging processes can narrow the end of a round piece of steel wire, making it easier to feed into holes in the sheet metal.
These capabilities simplify certain production tasks.
#2: Improved Production Speed for Hybrid Sheet Metal/Steel Wire Baskets
Because the Rouselle machine simplifies the integration of steel wire with sheet metal baskets, production speed for these baskets is improved. The actual amount of improvement will vary from one basket to the next, as the sheer number of steel wires to be integrated with the sheet metal affects just how much time would be saved on total welding and insertion operations.
For example, if a flattening or swaging operation saves just one second on the integration of a steel wire with the sheet metal basket, then a basket that uses 10 pieces of wire would save ten seconds of production time. If a basket used 60 pieces of steel wire, then that would be a whole minute saved on production per basket.
#3: Fast Piercing of Holes into Sheet Metal
One of the key functions of a straight side press is piercing, or the act of punching holes or depressions into solid metal. Using 80 tons of force, the Rouselle can puncture thin sheet metal forms with ease, creating holes that steel wires or other fixtures can be fitted into later.
While the CNC press brake or laser cutter can cut larger holes quickly, the Rouselle press is ideal for repeated small piercing operations.
#4: Coining/Stamping for Sheet Metal
If you need a custom engraving put into a sheet metal basket quickly and consistently, a straight side press machine is ideal for the job. These high-tonnage presses possess the brute force needed to make solid steel conform to a die, creating a consistent mark that you can use to ID a sheet metal basket for future reference.
If you use multiple types of sheet metal baskets for different production lines, this can make identifying the right basket for the right production line easier. This, in turn, helps you save on accidental damage or delays that may be caused by putting the wrong basket through the wrong process, such as an ill-fitting basket getting caught on production machinery.
#5: Reduced Production Waste
When a weld goes awry or a piece of steel wire gets bent out of shape because it cannot fit properly into the opening it’s being fed through, that creates waste: wasted time, wasted labor, and wasted material.
The Rouselle machine’s ability to make it easier to weld wire to sheet metal through flattening and to feed wire into openings through swaging reduces the occurrence of production mishaps.
For the production of hybrid steel wire and sheet metal baskets, this can be a huge help in eliminating production waste and increasing efficiency for time, labor, and material.
Many of these benefits are the result of indirect operations for sheet metal baskets, where the sheet metal itself isn’t what is being processed, but the steel wires that so often accompany a sheet metal form. However, some of Marlin’s biggest productivity increases have come from thinking outside of the box.
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