Test of Time

Posted by stephens on Sep 3, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Events, Tips & Techniques | 0 comments

While thumbing through the GM Die Standards last night, two things were lost upon me until that moment. One is that I am the last surviving industry active person to have written a die standards book for an OEM. From scratch. I guess that is kind of like being the oldest person alive in a morbid way. The second is the organization of the book is still relevant...

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Free George Keremedjiev

Posted by stephens on Sep 2, 2010 in Events, Tips & Techniques | 0 comments

“Hey Tim. Do you know George Kere …”, my boss begins to ask me. “Keremedjiev? Hell yes I know him! He is a rock star! Why do you ask?”, I respond. “He is here in the conference room.” I go find George and got a warm greeting. Not because he is doing business with my employer. He gave me a warm greeting because we have a...

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WaterBored

Posted by stephens on Sep 1, 2010 in Demos, Events, Rants, Tips & Techniques | 0 comments

Given a choice between sitting through an unorganized technical presentation with awful PowerPoint slides and torture by waterboarding, I will take waterboarding. Why? Because I know waterboarding lasts 40 seconds not 40 minutes. Plus, the psychological damage with waterboarding is only temporary. Shitty slide presentations are burned into my brain forever. I...

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Little Things Matter

Posted by stephens on Aug 24, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Tips & Techniques | 0 comments

“Are you serious?” was my response to Bob Martin at Bud Martin’s Hardware store last night at 8:33 PM. The store closed just minutes before I arrived, and I needed a bolt. After a day in the cutthroat trenches of the die world, I found that the little things matter. Funny how things turn out. See, we just moved to a new community in a small...

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Friends

Posted by stephens on Aug 19, 2010 in Rants, Tips & Techniques | 5 comments

I am getting old. The world is changing around me and I can’t stop it. Back in my day, being friends with someone meant you could go to lunch together. Share a good meal. Share a few laughs. Escape from the hell of your day for an hour. These days, I dine alone. Why? Because the people who I thought were my friends go greeting card shopping for lunch. What...

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Have You Tried …

Posted by stephens on Aug 6, 2010 in Events, Rants, Tips & Techniques | 7 comments

“Have you tried a different process?” “Yes”, I say. “How about different form steels?” “Yes.” “How about different materials?” “Yes.” “Well, try different materials until you find one that works,” the engineer says to me. Now, nevermind that the forming condition is impossible to...

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Motor City Squares

Posted by stephens on Aug 2, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Rants, Tips & Techniques | 4 comments

My view of dies is their architecture should be driven by both the production volume and material strength of the stampings. Unfortunately, this is fuzzy in practice. Many die standards and quoting systems do not take both into account. The illustration below captures how I believe dies should be built based on the combination of production life and material...

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Help Wanted: Sr. AutoForm Simulation Engineer

Posted by stephens on Jul 30, 2010 in Events, Rants, Tips & Techniques | 1 comment

The job scene for die guys is picking up here in the Motor City. Personally, I think it because there is more high strength and super steel automotive stampings than die knowledge. This always leads to more processing and more simulations than normal. Elongation limits be damned! At any rate, I have been getting a call or email at least once a week for several...

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Quoting Method Madness

Posted by stephens on Jul 26, 2010 in Engineering Decisions, Rants, Tips & Techniques | 3 comments

The quoting methods in the stamping industry are a blend of black magic and bullshit. You have your good old fashioned Sight Method. That is where someone looks at the part and says, “That is a $250,000 die right there.” How the fuck do they know that? “Experience.” Then, there is the Length-of-Line Method. You know that one. Measure some...

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Have A Drink On Me

Posted by stephens on May 4, 2010 in Events, Tips & Techniques | 2 comments

Today is Cinco de Mayo Eve – like New Year’s Eve. The weather in the midwest is fabulous. I have visions of double vision. Laying back in a lounge chair with a drink in my hand; soaking up the sun. If you are working way too hard or are having a difficult time focusing on work because you have been working too hard, then have a drink on me. Tell your...

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