Lee Steel Corporation of Southfield, Mich., has installed a new precision multi-blanking line with stretcher leveler from Red Bud Industries of Red Bud, Ill., at its Wyoming, Mich., service center. The new line is capable of processing material up to .135" (3.4 mm) by 72" (1830 mm) at coil weights up to 70,000 lb (31,751 kg). In order to differentiate them from the competition, Lee Steel wanted a line that had the best, most state-of-the-art technology on the market. They evaluated a number of manufacturers, but ultimately selected Red Bud Industries. The result is a new line that includes a number of unique features and capabilities that makes it arguably the most capable multi-blanking Line of this capacity in the U.S.

Included in the line is Red Bud’s adjustable stretcher leveler. The stretcher leveler can produce the flattest, most stable material possible while operating virtually independent of incoming strip shape and severity. The operator simply stretches the material until it is flat. The result is an ultra flat product that will stay flat, and is particularly well suited for laser cutting applications where flatness is essential. The line also features Red Bud’s precision grip feed system and CNC programmable slitter. This combination of machines gives Lee Steel the capability of producing blanks with width and length tolerances of +.005" (.127 mm). The CNC slitter can be set up in less than two minutes per cut thus eliminating costly down time that can occur when using conventional packed arbor slitters. In order to optimize scrap handling, "dual helical" scrap choppers are also included. An additional advantage to the system is an automatic strip divider positioning system. While the operator is setting up the slitting head, the strip divider positioning system automatically sets up the dividers in the strip stacker. When the operator has finished setting up the slitting head, the strip stacker is ready to run blanks. Also, featured in the line is a unique fully automatic 5-hi cartridge leveler which relieves the operator from having to adjust the leveler. The system automatically seeks the proper flight position to achieve flat strip and maintains flat strip even if material shape changes during the course of the coil. A number of provisions were also included to allow strip surface inspection including a lighted "pop-up" flatness table.

Efficient material handling was also a major consideration. To address the issue, an automatic part diverter and part sorter are included in the line. The part diverter is used to prevent coil heads, tails, and ejected parts from entering the stacker. With the push of a button, unwanted material can be automatically discharged to the end of the line. The diverter can also be used to discharge parts for convenient quality control inspections. The part sorter is used in conjunction with the part diverter.

Parts are discharged from the part diverter onto the part sorter. The parts can then be diverted to an inspection table or scrap hopper via a belt system on the part sorter. The part sorter can be used with either side or end discharge conveyors. In conjunction with the part diverter/part sorter is a measuring table platform and pivot shelf. This system provides a crossover shelf between the part sorter and the measuring table. The hinged shelf drops out of the way when not in use for aisle access. The system can also be used to assist when transferring parts from the measuring table back to the finished stack. The measuring table allows Lee Steel to measure squareness as well as the length and width of individual blanks. Also, included in the line is Red Bud’s patented Slit Stack Separator.

The CNC system automatically separates side-by-side multi-blanked stacks and automatically calculates skid positions from the slitter knife set up program. The Separator presents each stack to the next conveyor in a single file. The maximum part length is 144" (3,657 mm).

The new line is composed of a coil stage & load system, traversing coil lift, uncoiler, peeler breaker, crop shear, dual cassette roller leveler with auto flat system, pop-up flatness table with lighted inspection area, thread system, adjustable stretcher leveler, heavy gage grip feed system, CNC slitter, automatic scrap choppers, primary shear, drop/strip stacker, automatic part diverter/part sorter, automatic lowering stack table with electronic scale and end discharge rollouts, pallet loader, slit stack separator, and measuring table.

Red Bud line installed at Lee Steel: