Working hard to create new Japanese-brand products

Working hard to create new Japanese-brand products

Hasegawa Kakouzyo Ltd.
(Yamato-shi, Kanagawa, Japan)

Digitized die making meets customer needs in terms of Q (Quality), C (Cost) and D (Delivery period)

"Total digitization is indispensable for the die-making process in the future!"
said President Hasegawa, President of Hasegawa Kakouzyo Ltd, who has supported Japanese-brand die making for 37 years since the foundation of the company.
Now this company is promoting the re-engineering of product manufacturing processes by pursuing die making that can meet customer needs.
For survival in today's market, it is necessary that employees be aware of Q (Quality), C (Cost) and D (Delivery period) requested by customers, and we must promote management innovation by actively introducing new technologies in order to meet these requirements" President Hasegawa said.
In this report, we will present the introduction and effects of the new production system that combines the skills and expertise accumulated since the foundation of the company with the new 3D tool "VI-9i".

Breaking away from conventional manual methods and strongly supporting QCD through the introduction of VI-9i

This company mainly produces press dies and various metalwork products for major truck and bus wheel manufacturers.
A typical flow of operations between this company and customers is described below.

1. Based on 3D CAD data prepared by the customer, the die maker prepares NC data and makes dies by CAM. (Hasegawa Kakouzyo)
2. The customer adds detailed modifications to the original dies and molds products with the modified dies. (Customer)
3. When the dies are worn out from long-term use, the die maker is asked to re-model the dies. (Customer Hasegawa Kakouzyo)
4. The original 3D CAD/CAM data cannot be used because the customer added modifications to them (as described in 2. above). Thus, the die maker re-models the dies based on the original dies that have been modified by the customer. (Hasegawa Kakouzyo)

Conventionally, the die maker re-models dies by using profiling machines as described above. However, this method causes the following problems:
Problem 1:
When the profiling machine had a problem, this company considered purchasing a new machine. However, the machine manufacturer said that the machine production had been discontinued. (The same situation occurred with the NC profiling machine.) This company wanted a secondhand machine but they were informed that maintenance of secondhand machines is impossible.
Problem 2:
As customer requirements for faster delivery and lower costs intensify, the current remodeling method cannot meet the customer needs. (For details, refer to the following description.)

Under such circumstances, this company decided to introduce the VI-9i system as a tool for solving these problems.

1. Improved machining time efficiency

In the case of remodeling several dies, the ratio of machining time to total production time is increased.
A profiling machine must make products one at a time. However, after introduction of the VI-9i system, continuous machining is enabled by preparing a program for machining several products with the same profile with CAM software (Space-E: NTT Data Engineering Systems) based on measurement data. (Refer to the operation flow described above.)
→Introduction of VI-9i enables machining operation without an operator attending the machine. This can improve machining time efficiency, because the machine can be operated during the night.

2. Flexible action to cope with a partial change in product shape

When a customer orders remodeling of dies, the shape of the dies is not always the same as that of the originals. If a customer requests a partial change in die shape based on the original one, the die maker can modify the die shape with the software (RapidForm2006: INUS Technology) based on measurement data. Thus, the die maker can flexibly meet customer requests down to the smallest details.

3. Flexible action to accept a customer's order with short-term lending of original dies

The die maker may not accept a customer's order depending on the lending period requested by the customer if the original die lending period is very short. This results in a loss of business opportunity.
After introduction of the VI system, the die maker can return all original dies at the time when the VI-9i system completes profile measurement.
Thus, the die maker can make dies according to the customer's request, even if their production schedule is tight. This results in CS (customer satisfaction) improvement.

[Points for VI-9i selection]

"VI-9i provides the best cost-performance among systems with similar precision."
"Anyone can use it like a camera to easily measure the data without special skills. Thus, the benefits of VI-9i can be directly reflected in operations immediately after introduction of the system." "Quick and comprehensive support"

[Impressions after introduction of VI-9i]

Investment in equipment adds such great value to products, and the new system serves as an effective business tool. This company did not expect that VI-9i can provide such high accuracy, despite being so easy to use, like a camera.
"Now, the VI system is operating at full capacity, since it can be used for applications other than those expected at the time of introduction."
"The VI system provides higher profiling accuracy than conventional profiling machines. It can considerably reduce modifications of dies after delivery." The VI system has attained an excellent reputation among customers.
"Since re-modeling from originals occupies 80% of total operations at our site, the VI system is now indispensable for us."
As a request for the VI system in the future, President Hasegawa said:
"Although the VI system is compact and portable, we expect further miniaturization of this system. Through miniaturization, the system can be more easily handled and operated, and calibration during lens replacement can be simplified. "

[Conclusion]

"To convey the skills and expertise accumulated over many years, digitalization of the product-making processes is extremely useful." President Hasegawa said. This company is promoting "management innovation" by making plans and proposals and offering various original services that meet customer requests. We feel that Japanese-brand dies provide a higher additional value through the combination of " long-term accumulated expertise" and "digital technologies".