Champion of the pressroom

Modern Machine Shop, Nov, 1992 by R.J. Rizzo

Every person, from die designer to diemaker, who is involved in the preparatory phases of a metal stamping process, plays an important role. But after this work is done and the final package is placed in the pressroom for production, the setup man sometimes becomes the one who determines whether the operation succeeds.

Even after the familiar qualifying session of a new die has been performed and the die has been accepted into the system, the setup man, because of his broad association with dies, will in time know more about the tool and its idiosyncrasies than the toolmaker who built it or the designer who conceived it. And many a controversy about why a new die does not perform as planned or does not produce stampings as expected has often been resolved by the experience and opinions of the setup man.

It is logical to assume that the die designer, who racks his brain hour after hour planning every aspect of a complex die, should know the tool better than anyone else. But the designer's work is usually too crowded with in-depth details for him to be able to judge its function clearly every time. And because of the complicated nature of modern tools, the designer often finds his vision somewhat clouded later when he views the product of his labors embodied in cold steel.

Since the setup man lives with a particular die throughout its life, his knowledge and feelings about it become imprinted in his mind. Therefore, if he is given the importance that he deserves, he will prove to be a cooperative and dependable colleague, a pleasure to work with and an asset to his firm.

An example of this occurred to me several years ago. A client, owner of a medium-size stamping plant for whom I had designed many dies, called the office one day asking for assistance. His business was booming, and he wished to keep his presses running through the two-week summer period when the shop was usually shut down. Since I was familiar with his entire operation, I replied that I could help him by coming and keeping the dies in working order during that time, but to handle the production I would need his setup man, whom I knew to be just the man for the job. So that night I telephoned this fellow, and fortunately he agreed to come in and work with me.

The equipment was ready when I arrived, so we went right to work. During the two weeks which followed, the dies kept going steadily in and out of the presses. In the end, the client was satisfied and happy. Now when I think about it, I feel sure that had it not been for the experience and dexterity of that setup man, success would not have been possible. That is why I always recommend adding the setup man to the group which plans the production process of every new stamping.