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Who are they & how they doin that: Sheet Metal?

So I made one last and one big move this past year. The sand in the hourglass is getting
pretty close to the bottom of the funnel so I’m beginning to accept the fact that it’s time
to start thinning things out. I have to find room for what I really want to keep here at the
new place and chuck the rest of it. I’ve got lots of land around me now, but not quite as
much space under roof as at the old place. Paper is one thing that eats up a lot of space
when you horde every issue of a half dozen Flying magazines from the late 60’s, a huge
collection of radio publications and schematics from 1920 thru the 60’s. Then there were
the car/truck magazines dating back to the late 40’s. Why I had to keep every issue is a
mystery to me but I’ve literally been taking pickup truck loads of this stuff to the recycler
on Saturday mornings since before the holidays.

Which finally brings me to the point. I was looking thru one of the last piles of Street
Rodder magazine, and started thinking about where all the new body parts are coming
from and how they were manufacturing them. Oh I know a lot of the after market sheet
metal is supplied by Dynacorn International Inc., especially the muscle car items like
Camaro, Mustang and now they’re supplying everything up to the complete AD’s. The
video on their site does give a little incite into the company and it does show a CNC with
a laser head punching holes in what looks like a door. They talk about using CMM’s and
CNC’s to trace and make the new dies. But they don’t show any of the actual
manufacturing process. Now that’s the part that I’d really like to see more of. I find it
amazing that they can make these parts by the hundred cheaper than the GM factory,
when the GM factory is turning parts out by the million. Must have something to do with
them not having to deal with the UAW.
I see where the boxes are stamped Taiwan so we know that the plants are somewhere in
the Republic of China not on main land China.
http://www.dynacorn.com/About-Us.aspx
To bad we can’t get Jam Handy to take us on a tour thru the stamping plants.

Denny G

what was the question? how the stamping is done? how they do limited production profitably? how they do it cheap? all to do with cheap labor & no enviro regs, kept that way by demand - everyones doin it
fer instance: http://www.cypressindustrial.com/metal_stamping.html

Bill

And no unions also. Not so much a question, just always been
interested in seeing the manufacturing process Bill. The thing
that struck me was that I've never seen a writeup in any of the
magazines of the manufacturing process. Documentaries like the
Jam Handy films that were made in the GM plants back in the mid
30's fasinate me. For some odd reason I could watch them over
and over again. Some people can sit and watch Norm make
furnature on a Saturday afternoon, well I could sit and watch
Joe blue collar punch out parts or machine engines for hours on
end.
It looks like Dynacorn is tracing the original tin here and
generating the program data then sending it over to Taiwan
where they make the dies in their CNC machining centers then
stamp the parts in their plants.
I'd like to see the process for stamping out some of the more
complex parts like an AD front fender. My guess would be that
they're using hydroforming for most of it because it would
greatly reduce the cost of tooling. They only have to make the
one die since rather than the matched male and female dies that
were used at Fisher Body on the original tin.
Denny G

might be entertaining to see those Chinese slaving away but just imagine it about the same as the Jam Handy show, or read about it, I'm sure with the advances is metal forming, especially CnC, Taiwan works about the same as Detroit today, they probably even make the machines that Detroit is using

for a lot of the later pieces, rather than copying original tin, Dynacorn got the engineering specs from GM, and for the 67-72 at least, they got some of the original dies to work from

Bill

The quality of a part plays is a major in how much it costs t make something.

GM might be trying to hold 0.005" on the profile of a door, and 0.002" on hole locations.

Dynacorn may be holding 0.015" on profile and 0.005" on hole locations.

That 0.010" may mean that you need to spend an extra 10 minutes fitting up a fender: but it saves Dynacorn money in upfront tooling costs, die maintenance, engineering, etc.

GM wants to send a car off the line every 45 seconds, and keep the process as automated as possible. They may spend more money up front but they will make it up when they reach their monthly production goals.

here ya go Denny, how the Chinese do it and another
lots of stuff on the net and uTube, just hafta search - quickie on repro Ford parts
GM plant in 1985, way more automation than the Jam Handy years
and a still pic tour of a 60's plant

Bill

Denny,
Not only having to deal with the UAW, but dealing with an over reaching government is a BIG part of the added cost. With EPA and OSHA regs and a taxing structure that can include untold levels, it's no wonder manufacturers look elsewhere. I read somewhere,( wish I would of saved it), that a manufacturer comparing costs to build a plant between here and there considered about 10% of the difference was higher wages in the US. The rest, about 90% was regulations, taxes, etc.

Bob

I have a customer who is in the plastic injection molding business and also tool and die development and manufacture. I have picked up a number of dies that have been made in China, shipped via air freight to the US. Then they are re-worked and tweaked here in the states. When the die is making good quality parts it goes back to the airport and gets on a plane bound for China to make production runs.

Did anyone else watch the Chinese video and thought at first that they going to stamp parts out of Chinese people? I need to take a break from the computer. I think I'm losing it!