Case Study: WIKUS Saw Technology Corp.

In the metal manufacturing sector, a nearly 500% improvement in the sawing process will no doubt grab your attention — particularly when the investment winds up saving your shop both money and time.

Sypris Technologies, Inc. of Louisville, Ky., has experienced a dramatic decrease in the utilization of band saw blades regarding the manufacturing of manual double bolt yoke style closures — down from two days of cutting time to 4.5 hours — with the addition of band saw blades from WIKUS Saw Technology Corp. (Addison, IL). One blade from WIKUS accomplished in hours the output that took anywhere four to six blades from another company over the course of those two days to cut through the stainless steel yokes.

WIKUS is a world-leading band saw blade manufacturer. The company offers a wide range of band saw blades designed for specific customer applications.

Sypris Technologies, which manufactures products primarily for the oil and gas industry, provides high pressure closures for any type of pressure environment that needs an ASME or non-ASME type (door or access hatch). The company’s closures can be closed in a matter of seconds without specialized tools. Its clients include Shell, BP, Chevron, Jamison Products, Duke Energy, BEPeterson, Inc., among others.

Sypris Technologies was experiencing challenges regarding cut efficiency and cut quality when trying to saw the yokes in half for the manual double bolt yoke style closure, said Scott Davis, plant manager, Sypris Technologies. They needed a solution that would meet lead times for customers, ensuring shipping dates weren’t missed due to a lengthy cutting process.

“WIKUS worked with us to find a saw blade that turned out to be five times faster, with longer life and which gave us better cut quality,” Davis said. “It has improved our efficiency on that particular operation in our facility significantly.” Sypris Technologies was introduced by Welders Supply to WIKUS and Randy Goss, a service technician in WIKUS’ technical department.

Goss and his team assisted Sypris Technologies in understanding where there were lack of efficiencies within their processes relative to the cutting saw, Davis said. The WIKUS team demonstrated, onsite and not in a test lab, blade material that was better matched to the product Sypris Technologies was cutting. “We were able to see the results,” Davis said.

WIKUS recommended the MARATHON^® M42 bimetal all-rounder band saw blade, which is ideal for cutting small cross-sections up to large solid materials. The high-quality features of MARATHON® M42 are even more flexible in applications thanks to the expansion of the product line.

The superfinishing of the band saw blade and the sharp cutting edges increase the blade life and improve the quality of the cut. The fine band surface protects the machine’s guides and increases fatigue strength.

The qualities of the blades complemented the Sypris process, where the cut is the last part of the manufacturing process regarding these yoke fixtures. Because the machining is completed first, it is crucial that the band saw blades could deliver efficiency and quality regarding the cuts. By implementing the MARATHON^® M42 saw blades, Sypris Technologies was able to swiftly cut the yokes in half, delivering the precision and accuracy needed when it comes time to rejoin the halves.

Davis said Sypris Technologies has reduced its overall costs regarding the cutting process, even though the blades from WIKUS are slightly more expensive. “They last that much longer,” he said. What’s more, the time and cost reductions in the processing helped the company improve its margins. More importantly, the blades have improved the company’s cut quality.

By leveraging band saw blade application expertise, and the MARATHON^® M42 blades, Sypris implemented advantages it wasn’t aware of. For example, the blades provided more teeth per square inch compared to the previous blade the company was using. “It was a few minor tweaks to the blade design from what we were using that yielded some of the performance improvements,” said Ben Munson, director of special projects, Sypris Technologies. Davis added that WIKUS and Goss brought exponential resources to the table that Sypris didn’t have internally. “You don’t have to deal with making limited improvements internally because in reality you have resources available that you can tap into to make improvements within your plant,” Davis concluded.

www.wikussawtech.com