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Increased machine uptime and tool life are frequently at the top of an opportunities for improvement list. When a leading manufacturer of commercial HVAC equipment accessories had questions, they asked Mate for assistance.

Keeping the tools sharp and using proper die clearance to minimize punching force, are two basic way to increase tool life and produce a clean hole. In this case, the company was doing an excellent job of both in all eight of their punch presses. Our sales engineer looked for other solutions. Upon evaluating the products that were being made and the steel used, and recommended Mate’s proprietary SuperMax™ coating for punch press tooling. SuperMax acts as a barrier between the punch and the sheet metal, so it greatly improves stripping performance. With a lower friction coefficient of 20%, SuperMax is extremely lubricious, critical to increasing wear resistance. Tests and customer use show that SuperMax not only increases punch life between two to eight times, it also helps reduce die wear because of the increased lubricity.

The company began testing SuperMax and began seeing improved tool life. Since they didn’t have to stop the machines for tooling maintenance, the machine uptime also increased. All punch orders from this company now include SuperMax.

Mate presented its estimates of the additional savings by using SuperMax to the company, which covered three areas: increased machine uptime; increased punch tool life; and increased die tool life. In total, the estimated annual combined savings in machine uptime, increased punch and die tool life was over $51,000. Download the complete case study.