Peter Campbell gave a presentation on forging press maintenance concentrating on developing the next generation of maintenance technicians. The conference was at the Inn at St. Johns in Plymouth, MI and was well attended with over 150 registrants coming in from all areas of the US, Mexico and Canada.
FIA Technical Conference Round Table September 2012
Peter Campbell co-chaired a roundtable discussion group on the repair of forging equipment frames. The technical discussions touched on failures that forgers have experienced with both fabricated and cast forging press frames. We discussed the forces involved in failures of mechanical closed die presses and hydraulic open die presses. Open and closed die hammer anvil and column repair was also discussed as well as upsetter frame failure and repair techniques. Many participants inquired about the ability to repair large frames in place and machine them on site.
Forging Industry Press Maintenance Conference
George Pirics- of Campbell, Inc. will be speaking at the FIA Forging Industry Association Mechanical Press Maintenance Workshop March 16-17, 2011 in Middlebury Heights, OH. This conference will provide education on the different presses that are used in metal forging. Included in the conference will be explanations of drive train components and assemblies including warning signs of problems for gearing, clutch and brake systems as well as other critical components. The conference will cover the press control systems including electrical, lubrication, pneumatic and hydraulics and discuss some of the OSHA regulations that are factor in. Predictive and Preventative Maintenance methods will be discussed including using the latest in vibration and thermal imaging tools. George is a veteran of the forging industry and well versed in the design and operation of forging presses.
Peter Campbell to speak at FIA Technical Conference April 2011 Chicago
The Forging Industry Association will be hosting a technical conference in Chicago, Ill the first week of April, 2011. The conference will be covering current topics of interest in the forging industry as it relates to the equipment and technologies used in the manufacture of forgings. Peter Campbell’s presentation address methods to evaluate your forging equipment’s health and productivity coming out of a period of market slowing and preparing for a competitive future.
Peter Campbell gave a presentation at FTCON 09 Forging Conference in Pune, India September 2009
My presentation covered the repair of damaged parts from forging equipment such as crankshafts, pitmans, rams, columns, frames and other major component parts. I provided photos and examples of parts that we have repaired in the past and showed how these parts can be restored for reuse in forging hammers, presses, and upsetters.
I also discussed the manufacture of replacement parts. Most large forging equipment parts are not available as an off the shelf item and many equipment builders are no longer in business consequently making replacement parts is important. Parts can be reverse engineered and made new, sometimes redesigned and improved for better performance.
The frames of forging equipment tend to be large and well built but they are not immune from cracks, wear or major failures. I will show how these parts can be repaired and restored. Many times this work can be performed in the field to save time and the expense of rigging.
Forging equipment is generally well built and durable consequently it is worth the cost to rebuild this equipment to keep it in service. Rebuilding is often necessary due to the tighter tolerances and standards required for finished parts. I discussed rebuilding and also upgrading or modernizing equipment to take advantage of new technologies that are available for better operation, productivity and quality also for some equipment modernizing will save energy cost as well.
I concluded with a brief discussion of preventative maintenance inspections for overall better tracking of the health of the forging equipment and minimizing down time and unscheduled repairs.