“It gives us an opportunity to save these jobs and this plant,’’ said Maurice “Mo” Davison, director of UAW Region 3 in Indianapolis.

UAW Local 23 in Indianapolis had refused to itself open wage concessions with potential bidder JD Norman Industries of Addison, Ill.

Today, Local 23 officials urged the union’s head office in Detroit to conduct the negotiations and present a proposed offer for a vote by stamping plant employees.

Davison, who represents the union’s Detroit office in Indiana and Kentucky, said union staff in Detroit, Norman Industries and GM will conduct negotiations in Detroit “as soon as possible.”

Davison said the proposal would be presented to stamping plant employees for a vote this year, but he wasn’t sure when.

Norman Industries of Addison, Ill., has discussed buying the 850-employee plant from GM, but wanted a commitment from Local 23 to renegotiate the master labor contract.

UAW Local 23 officials had been reluctant to open talks but today agreed to start those negotiations during a meeting with Justin Norman, an Illinois entrepreneur, and UAW Region 3 director in Indianapolis. The meeting was organized by U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, D-7th District, and took place in his Indianapolis office, an aide said

GM has scheduled the closure of the Near Westside plant by October 2011.

Norman, owner of metal stamping businesses in the Chicago and Cleveland areas and Mexico, had expressed a willingness to buy the facility and produce auto parts for GM and other carmakers.

Read the rest of thie article        here.       

The following report and data are courtesy of Ohio State University Graduate Student, Eren Billur, from the Center for Precision Forming (CPF) as it appeared in FMA Publication, The Stamping Journal.

Die materials and wear in stamping AHSS, Part III

Research results and recommended die materials and lubrications

Many cast-iron and steel grades are used for manufacturing dies in the stamping industry. The cost of these materials varies considerably, but with appropriate surface treatments, coatings, and lubricants, a cost-effective die material can outperform the expensive ones.

Die material selection requires a systematic evaluation of tool materials, coatings, and heat treatments, with cost considered as a parameter. Having a proper knowledge of surface treatments and coatings can save money in stamping die manufacturing.

Comparative Studies

Several studies rank tool materials and coatings using a widely accepted standard test.^{1, 2} However, they do not give quantitative information regarding tool life under practical stamping conditions. There are a number of publications on comparative die wear studies, yet not many of them use advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) as sheet material. Figure 1 provides a summary of ranking results.³

Benchmark Studies

Benchmark studies give a numeric comparison of tool life (number of good parts stamped) for a given tool material and coating. Forming tests were conducted until galling and scratches were visible on the sheet metal.

The first study was a channel forming test using uncoated DP600. Figure 2 shows the results of this study.

A similar study was performed with uncoated DP980 material using the part seen in Figure 3. The forming tests were conducted up to52,000 stampings, and results are shown in the figure.4  As a benchmark, forming of a B-pillar inner also showed that conventional tool materials fail from heavy galling after making a few hundred stampings in AHSS. Figure 4 shows how the tool life of D2 changes with three different coatings.5

Guidelines and Recommendations

For the forming of AHSS with 500-to 800-MPa tensile strength, several tool steel companies, industrial experts, and research facilities recommend the following tool materials, treatments, and coatings.^6,7

• Hardened Carmo
• D2 + TD
• D2 + PVD CrN
• D2 + CVD TiC
• Vanadis 4E + PVD CrN
• Vanadis 4E + CVD TiC
• Vanadis 6 + PVD CrN
• Vanadis 6 + CVD TiC
• Hardened Vancron 40

FEA Prediction of Die Wear

The wear coefficient can be used to simulate wear progression using the pressure distribution and sliding distances are not constant throughout a stamping die, inserts may be used to reduce wear at critical locations in the dies. At this point, simulations can be useful for the proper design of die inserts. Figure 5 shows how simulations can be used to determine the locations of mild and severe die wear.

When the wear coefficient and surface hardness of tools and sheet used to estimate how many successful parts can be stamped before galling and scratches become visible. With these parameters, we can estimate tool life, and insert design can be improved.

The original version of this article from the May 2010 version of The Stamping Journal is available at http://nsmwww.eng.ohio-state.edu/May10R_DUpdate_628-9.pdf 

Lenawee Stamping, a producer of metal stamping and welded fabrications is expanding a plant in Tecumseh to accommodate more production of GM's clean electric vehicles and produce almost 140 jobs.

Resembling a smaller version of the Buick Enclave, it's going to be sold as a new model under the Aveo nameplate. It's supposed to gain over 38 miles per gallon and will compete with the Honda Fit and other foreign automakers fuel-efficient vehicles.

Look for an announcement from General Motors as early as tomorrow.

(Image is of the new "Baby Buick")