From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
Visit to P.S.C. to investigate presswork problems, high tooling costs, and prototype body construction.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 26\1\ Scan188 | |
| Date | 8th February 1957 | |
| To : AFM.{Anthony F. Martindale} c : GB. c : VS.{J. Vickers} c : AFM{Anthony F. Martindale}/Kt. c : VS{J. Vickers}/HPJ. AFM{Anthony F. Martindale}/Kt/FM. G/SW. 8.2.57. 1600 Visit to P.S.C. Object To learn as much as possible about presswork and its associated problems Reasons (1) Due to lack of experience some of our proposals are not always practical or economic pressing propositions. (2) We wanted to learn why our tool costs are so high and what can be done in the design stage to reduce them. (3) As we are to build prototype Tibet bodies here, and some of the components will have to be pressed, we wanted ideas on how to set about this. General Chief cause of expense is our styling; razor edge lines and difficult shapes complicate manufacture and tooling and add to scrap. They also result in a lot of lead loading, but as this has been stressed frequently elsewhere we have not included it in our report. Second major cause is difficult spot welding conditions, again largely for appearance reasons. Tool Costs Our more complicated shapes obviously add to the cost of making tools, and because of complexity the proving and correcting of tools is a more lengthy process. Allowance has to be made for this in the cost estimate. Our impression of the process generally is that at present the metal is being worked very close to the limit. For instance if the operator failed to apply sufficient grease or oil to the blanks, the resulting pressing was usually scrap, because the blanks burst instead of flowing around the die. We saw several Austin boot lid{A. J. Lidsey} panels scrapped for this reason. continued.... | ||