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In Indiana, Subaru has two 3850-ton all-electric presses from Ube. Inset (top to bottom): Ichiro Motoki, president, Ube Machinery Inc.; David Bernardi, sr. sales and marketing manager; Ube sales manager Daniel Cerimele; and Troy Castor, SIA specialist in manufacturing engineering and stamping. The molding plant is equipped with four injection presses, all from Ube Machinery Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich. (ubemachinery.com). Two of these machines are older hydraulic models. Two recent additions, however, are 3850-ton all-electrics, said to be the largest machines of their kind running in the U.S. In fact, Ube has sold 14 all-electric machines of this size to various automotive molding plants in the U.S., notes David Bernardi, the machine builder's sr. sales and marketing manager. SIA's two all-electrics are part of Ube's UF series. With a maximum shot capacity of 400 oz, the UF3850 units at SIA are built with Ube's "Box Sleeve" platen design that is said to result in 60% less deflection. Improved ballscrew seals reportedly reduce grease volume by 90% compared with conventional designs. Grease distri- bution control reduces both grease consumption and ballscrew wear for longer life, according to Ube. The machines' newly developed "Flex Servo" control is said to provide a more accurate and consistent process. The presses are also equipped with an easy-to- use e-Humma control system and a fully automated quick-mold-change package. Conventional wisdom holds that higher-tonnage all-electric presses have issues maintaining long hold-pressure cycles efficiently. But SIA, which started running its first all-electric in 2015 and had its second installed this past Christmas, has experienced across-the-board increases in efficiency since it installed the all-electrics. Since it also still runs the two hydraulic machines of similar size, it can make apples- to-apples comparisons between the machine configurations. Notably, the electric presses run cycles of about 43 sec, compared with roughly 61 sec for the hydraulics. Castor adds, "In terms of efficiencies, we're seeing less scrap generation with the newer machines. They are cleaner, have required less in the way of maintenance, By year's end, Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc. (SIA) expects somewhere around 400,000 cars to roll off its manufacturing and assembly line in Lafayette, Ind. They will require 800,000 bum- pers, front and rear. And the number comes to nearly 1 million when you count the bumpers the automaker molds for aftermarket service. While the automotive industry relies heavily on tiered suppliers to furnish parts, components, and sub-assemblies, Japanese-based OEMs tend to prefer making their own bumpers— "the face of the car," notes Troy W. Castor, an SIA specialist in manufacturing engineering and stamping. The Lafayette facility spreads out to 3.4 million ft 2 —the equivalent of 58 football fields— with some 33,000 ft2 dedicated to molding TPO bumpers. By Jim Callari, Editorial Director Giant Electric Presses Are Key To Productivity Gains at Subaru Car builder reaps cycle-time improvements and other benefits with large electric presses. 20 JUNE 2017 Plastics Technology PTonline.com A U T O M O T I V E Close -Up On Technolog y