Machine frame cover
This is an introduction to a case study of the machine frame cover made by Mitsuya Co., Ltd. through sheet metal processing.
This case involves a machine cover made solely from steel plates used in sheet metal processing. Initially, it was a product of can manufacturing sheet metal processing that incorporated square pipes and angles as reinforcement materials. However, when welding the corners of the square pipes to the surface of the steel plates, the welding marks on the surface of the steel plates were strongly pulled and distorted due to the welding heat, resulting in significant unevenness. This required a considerable amount of time for finishing work to conceal the welding marks. Therefore, Mitsuya Co., Ltd. proposed changing the components to bent sheet materials that have effects nearly equivalent to square pipes and angles through a value analysis (VA) approach, which reduced distortion and consequently decreased the finishing labor hours. Additionally, while there were initially five different plate thicknesses, the VA proposal narrowed it down to 2.3t and 4.5t, significantly reducing the setup labor hours for mold changes in laser processing and bending operations.
