In the time frame just a bit short of a year, Felling Trailers, Inc. has moved buildings, built buildings, acquired new technologies, and moved existing equipment to streamline the production process and increase manufacturing efficiencies. All of this has transpired with the result of a state-of-the-art Fabrication Center.
Felling Trailers New Fabrication Center
In the fall of 2016 Felling Trailers worked with Thein Moving Co. Structural Movers to relocate existing Building 51 to make way for an expansion of the Main Warehouse to incorporate space for a new Fabrication Center. Over the 40 plus years of Felling’s existence, equipment and manufacturing space have been added as the company grew to meet demands of the market. The addition of Fabrication is step-one of many in Felling’s goal to streamline the production flow from parts to production to finishing. Construction of the new Fabrication center started in early 2017, providing 15,000 sq. ft. (29,000 sq. Ft. with Main Warehouse,) of space for new and existing technologies. With the two buildings connected it allows for an efficient flow of production parts from the fabrication area, to the warehouse, to the production floor.
New Technologies
The first new technology to call Felling’s Fabrication Center home was the Mitsubishi 6000 Watt Fiber Laser with a tower automation set-up to run the cell. The Mitsubishi Fiber Laser operates on shop air (taking surrounding air, filtering and compressing it) to cut material up to ¼”thick, for thicker materials the laser operates on oxygen. Equipped with tower automation, Felling can have up to 8 shelves loaded with up to 6,000 lbs. of material that can be pulled by the job. Knowing exactly what the tower can hold also allows for added efficiencies when ordering materials. The sheet steel for the laser is ordered in pre-bundled stacks to match the capacity of the tower, eliminating room for error in the loading process.
“The capabilities of the Mitsubishi Fiber laser are more than impressive in comparison to Felling’s previous CO2 laser. Our CO2 laser could cut 12 ga. steel at approximately 150″ per minute vs. 600″ per minute with the new fiber laser. On 7 ga. the material the comparison is 125″ per minute vs. 300″ per minute with the new fiber laser,” said Mark Johnson, Felling’s Manufacturing Coordinator. Along with speed and precision come other efficiencies such as reduced power usage, approximately $10,000 less in annual cost.
“The capabilities of the Mitsubishi Fiber laser are more than impressive in comparison to Felling’s previous CO2 laser. Our CO2 laser could cut 12 ga. steel at approximately 150″ per minute vs. 600″ per minute with the new fiber laser…”
– Mark Johnson, Felling’s Manufacturing Coordinator
The second new technology to be placed in the Fabrication Center was the Safan 110-ton Electric Press Brake with an 8’ bed. The bulk of the parts that are fabricated will utilize the Safan’s 8’ bed. The Safan E-Brake ‘s ability to work 4-5 times faster than Felling’s other press brakes will, in turn, increasing throughput of parts for the production floor. Another feature of the Safan E-brake is that it only draws power when in use, saving on annual power usage.
The Fabrication Center now houses all three (3) of Felling’s press brakes, the Accupress Edge 250 ton press brake and Cincinnati CB-II 350 ton press brake were moved from the front production bays in mid-June with the help of Quick-Way Rigging of Minneapolis, MN. With a Fall 2017 targeted completion, equipment yet to be relocated to the Fabrication Center is Felling’s Marvel 2150 Vertical Band Saw and Hyd-Mech S23A horizontal band saw.
For more information about Felling Trailers, call us at 1.800.245.2809 or fill out this simple form. We look forward to hearing from you!
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