Sheet metal experts: From design to execution

Last week for this month of expertise, don’t be too disappointed, we’re finishing in style. Today, François and Hakim, sheet metal experts, take you through their typical day, but first, a little overview on our sheet metal workshop…

Our sheet metal workshop

We decided to incoporate a sheet metal workshop into our production unit 6 years ago, in 2015. This workshop is the result of an ongoing ambition at SLYCMA : independently manage the quality of its products and the flow of orders in such a way as to be able to be ever more reactive and attentive to your needs.

Today, we manufacture components for many of our lift doors there. The RHEA, GAIA and car doors are produced entirely in-house.

Our expertsacquired expertise in the use of the shearing machine, the punching machine, the press brake, spot welding and soon the latest generation fiber laser, which will be used in our future workshop in Brignais. We also use the gluing process for finishing, which is more efficient than welding while preserving the aesthetics of our doors.

Today we meet François, CAD/CAM & industrialisation technician, and Hakim, sheet metal punching expert. They tell us about their typical work day and share with us their working methods.

François, sheet metal expert and Radan software

Could you explain your role in the production of sheet metal components ?

I am in charge of preparing the work for the sheet metal workshop. Using Radan, our configurator, I create drawings, size the parts in 3D and then flat. I also optimise the consumption of our raw materials by interleaving several items on the same sheet. Once the drawings are ready, I send them to the sheet metal workshop where the team will take care of the production.

How does it work ?

Well, when we receive an order, I open the drawings database regarding the product ordered in the configurator. I work with the customer service department to obtain all the specific parts for the order. Once the item is designed by Radan, I import all the documents created. A double check is performed. Once the position of the order is confirmed on the production planning, I start the manufacturing in the workshop. Hakim receives the manufacturing order and the job can start.

How do you proceed with special projects ?

When I receive specific requests, they have been processed previously by our design office. I then have to collect the designed 3D files and export them to the configurator. The configurator will redesign the part in order to draw up the plan for production. Then the product follows the same path as the standard requests.

How do you react to emergencies ?

It’s very simple, I can receive urgent requests at any time of the day from our two workshops as well as the design office. I simply insert the emergency into my daily tasks and process them within 24 hours. Flexibility and agility are the key words !

What are the specifics of the workshop ?

Firstly, the expertise of the production staff. They are all multi-skilled and are equally familiar with punching, bending and assembly. They take the same care in processing all types of materials, regardless of their thickness. The processing of mirror-polished stainless steel, coloured stainless steel and even glass, which require more careful handling, is no problem for them !

Hakim, expert in sheet metal punching

Which lift doors are produced in the workshop ?

We produce the RHEA and GAIA doors as well as a number of parts which are then sent to the manufacturing workshop.

What is your role in this workshop ?

When I arrived six years ago, I was a bender, but I’ve become an expert in punching for a few years now. I manage the cutting of the sheet metal parts before transferring them to my colleagues who will take care of the bending and assembly.

What is your typical day like ?

I consult the production planning and load the files sent by François into the punching machine.

There are different thicknesses of sheet metal, but also many different tools and ways of punching. I then have to equip the machine according to the characteristics of the parts to be produced and the thickness of the sheet metal used. Once this is done, I run the program.

And in the case of special projects, how does it work ?

Thanks to the manufacturing orders and the files transmitted by François, I only have to program the punching machine and adapt the tools and the sheet metal to the customer’s needs. There is no problem, it is just a matter of setting the machine up correctly.

What path does a component follow in the SLYCMA workshop ?

Once the punching is done, I remove the items and tag them with a label. They then pass through the expert hands of Sylvère, our folder, and then those of Vincent and Eric who are in the “finishing” section. They gather the parts according to the instructions provided by the manufacturing order, either by spot welding or by gluing in order to preserve the aesthetics of the doors.

Laurent, the storekeeper, collects these parts and dispatches them to the production workshop units where the doors are assembled.