The premium appliance manufacturer is once again expanding its production capabilities – and once again relying on AP&T to provide them with precise, repeatable stamping capabilities.
The Viking Range Corporation has one of the most impressive reputations for
style and quality in the appliance business. The Greenwood, MS company was
one of the first to bring commercial kitchen performance and design into
home kitchens – and in the process, they popularized the high-level
stainless steel finish that defines current kitchen style.
This is a company with some of the highest standards for metal forming
precision and aesthetics in any industry. So it’s no surprise that they
have equally high standards when it comes to specifying metal forming
equipment. According to Billy Peacock, Viking’s Plant Manager – Dishwasher,
Viking has always faced a wide range (no pun intended) of metal forming
challenges. While Viking production has greatly increased over the years,
it still produces a relatively small number of stamped parts compared to
other appliance manufacturers. The stampings they produce often require
complex draws and piercing, as well as sharp corners and creases and an
absolute requirement for final products with flawless exterior finishes.
Also, an unusually large proportion of Viking’s stamped parts are stainless
steel, including their signature exterior panels. On some Viking products,
half of the formed parts are a stainless alloy. Stainless is a notoriously
difficult material to form, and as a result, Viking had experienced an
unacceptably high scrap rate due to flaws or offal formation.
Since their first kitchen range in 1987, Viking’s product line has expanded
into virtually every kind of kitchen appliance from toasters to
refrigerators and ventilation systems. As a result, their approach to metal
forming has constantly evolved over the years. They’ve gone from
outsourcing their stamping, to using press brakes, to investing in
hydraulic presses of increasing capacity and sophistication – all in an
effort to gain greater control over the design, quality, and availability
of their stamped parts. Over the years, Viking has purchased hydraulic
presses from different manufacturers. However, the latest two hydraulic
presses have been purchased from
Monroe, NC-based AP&T. As Peacock explains, “We needed the best
combination of capabilities, precision and dependability.”
A plant tour leads to the first
purchase
As Viking’s reputation grew in the 90’s, the company occasionally relied on
subcontractors to turn out the products that couldn’t be handled in-house.
One of these was Viking’s dishwasher line, which was being produced by Asko
Cylinda, a Swedish company with a long history of producing premium
appliances and known for their state-of-the-art metal forming
capabilities.
Impressed with the quality of the dishwashers coming from Asko, Viking
management decided to take a trip to Vara, Sweden to tour the plant and
evaluate its production capabilities. They saw many things that impressed
them, but one of the most impressive were the AP&T hydraulic presses in
operation there. In 1997, Asko had updated its hydraulic press line to a
fully automated AP&T system. The resulting installation is highly
sophisticated and easily handles complex production matrixes that use a
total of 776 different press tools. (At Vara it’s not unusual to run
nineteen different tool sets over a three-day period.). After returning
from their Sweden trip, Viking’s management selected an AP&T ZM 5,000
kN hydraulic press for one of their Greenwood plants. Since the new press
would have to be used for both blanking and drawing a range of parts, the
machine had to be designed for flexibility. This meant including features
like a wide coil window, a secondary hydraulic system, and a twolevel press
control system. The ZM 5,000 kN press was installed by AP&T personnel
in September, 2001.
Many of the characteristics that make stainless so difficult to work with –
hardness, susceptibility to tearing and cracking, springback and easily
marred surfaces – are further amplified by the complex forming and high
aesthetic standards required of Viking stampings. Yet according to Peacock,
“The AP&T press has consistently produced the most challenging
stainless parts with low scrap rates.” In addition, the new press addressed
another chronic problem endemic to stainless steel stamping: short die
life. Before the ZM-5000, some dies were lasting as few as a hundred cycles
before they needed sharpening. By contrast, the same dies are now going for
years without sharpening; one die has been in use for three years and has
yet to require service.
Taking production to the next
level
As demand for the Viking dishwasher line grew, it became obvious the
product would need its own dedicated production facility. So in 2005,
construction planning for the new facility began, as did the search for a
new press to handle the stamping duties.
Although experience with the existing AP&T press had been very
encouraging, management wanted to be certain they had found the best press
for the application. As a result, the search initially included both
mechanical and hydraulic presses. There were three major selection
criteria: reliability/precision, cost, and machine height. One of the
competitors fell out early in the running, because its machine was simply
too tall to fit into the new facility. In the end, Peacock and the others
on the selection team decided to purchase a second AP&T hydraulic
press.
The new AP&T press actually has fewer features than the one Viking
purchased in 2001. Since this new unit will be producing a narrower range
of parts exclusively for the dishwasher line, it doesn’t require the
operational flexibility the current press needs. Accordingly, the machine
was specified with a narrower coil window, a single hydraulic unit, and a
single level of control. However, several features were considered
absolutely essential for the new machine. For instance, motorized damping
spindles to cushion impacts, minimize die wear, reduce operating noise, and
“keep the building from shaking,” in Peacock’s words. This second AP&T
press is also equipped with an automatic hydraulic tool clamping system, as
well as a tool monitoring interface system that links mounted dies directly
to the press control system.
The new AP&T ZM-5000 press is at the heart of Viking’s dishwasher
production facility in the new plant in Greenwood, MS. Thanks to the best
combination of capabilities, precision and dependability, Viking has
expanded its production capabilities and consolidated its position as one
of the leading manufacturers of high-quality household appliances.
