Fundamentals of Forming at PVS Metals

by Owen | Jul 17, 2017 | MVS Metals

Ten Press Brake Operators from both first and second shifts at PVS Metals participated in the “Fundamentals of Forming” class led by Chris Cook, Technical Training Manager at Cincinnati Corporation. The class ran for two days and covered topics such as; safety, programming of new parts, corrections, machine adjustment and general operation of the press brake machines and operating software.

Cook stated the class was very attentive and had many great questions, he anticipates the students will move forward with great success.

Dan Koger, PVS Metals Plant Manager, noted the goal of the class was to provide better training with a focus on “first part, good part” to reduce rework and create a productive workflow.

At PVS, we are committed to giving you the finest service available anywhere. From our qualified sales staff to our experienced warehouse personnel, our goal is to have steel ready to deliver whenever you need it. We are committed to putting your needs first. With more than 30 semi-tractor trailers and straight-trucks in our delivery fleet, our expert-trained staff will not only provide you with products that meet your specifications, but also your deadlines.

Please contact us to find out how we can help you!

MVS Metals Builds 1000th Slagger Table

by Owen | May 1, 2017 | MVS Metals

On March 29^th, MVS Metals celebrated making their 1,000^th cutting table with a lunch for their employees.

Recognizing the pain and expense of cleaning cutting tables our employees in the shop worked to improve the process. Our shop went through several versions of tables including both dry cutting and water tables, each with improved cleaning capabilities. They finely came up with what would be known as “The Slagger”, an automated cutting table system. The table was improved to include an evacuation system that when connected to dust collector that would collect the smoke and fumes from the cutting process.

MVS Metals began marketing cutting tables in 1999 with the partnership with Messer Cutting Systems who sells our tables as complete turnkey systems including the cutting machine and dust collector. With Messer’s help, we have sold tables primarily in North America and around the world.

Also at the lunch two long time employees that are retiring were honored, Larry Minter and Shari Blackburn.

Retirement Interview with MVS Metals Shari B.

by Owen | Apr 11, 2017 | MVS Metals

Shari Blackburn started with Missouri Valley Steel sale team in December 1994. She transitioned to the purchasing department and will be retiring in June 2017 after almost 23 year of service. We interviewed Shari on her experience with MVS.

Owen Industries: What did you value most about you experience working at MVS during your many years of tenure?

Shari Blackburn: The close friendships that I’ve made with my co-workers. I’m always happy working here and have enjoyed my job and the people.

OII: What do you consider to be the most significant change that helped the company grow?

SB: The invention and creation of the Slagger Table, MVS just sold their 1000^th table!

OII: Do you recall a past project that challenged the team? One of those “They said it can’t be done” projects?

SB: The implementation of the SAP Computer Software. This made my job 100% easier to trace and track orders.

OII: What do you think the future has in store for MVS and for Owen Industries?

SB: I think it’s a very bright future, hopefully the Slagger will go international and help the company grow.

OII: What’s different from the way things were done your first day on the job from the way they are done now?

SB: When I started, inventory was done by hand and recorded in books. Now everything is computerized. There was no cycle counting, adding this has eliminated yearly inventory. This saves a great deal of time.

Shari and her husband have a 1969 Firebird, they plan to spend time going to classic car shows after her retirement.

Owen Industries and MVS Metals – Overcoming Obstacles with Ingenuity and Commitment to Quality

by Owen | Apr 3, 2017 | MVS Metals

Rotational Molding is an age old manufacturing process in which a hollow mold is filled with softened material and rotated in order to disperse the material evenly within the mold to produce a hollow part. Humans come into contact with, and often use a variety of Rotationally Molded products many times over the course of a single day. Materials can range from Plastics, Waxes, Metals and even Chocolate. Depending on the end products, Rotational Molding Machines can be very small, or very large, and often require large sprockets to rotate the molds. Sometimes these sprockets are repurposed for other uses, which requires extensive manufacturing, and this is where Owen Industries comes in.

Sprocket Lightening is a term used when material is removed from an original sprocket in order to reduce its overall weight. This adds processing benefits down the line, such as customization and reduced costs to operate. MVS Metals was recently presented with the task of removing via Water Jet the Central Hub and (4) Lightening Slots from a 4” thick x 7-1/2’ Outside Diameter 7,000# Sprocket used on a large Rotational Molding Machine. An operation of this magnitude certainly does not come without its own unique set of challenges.

The biggest hurdle was a contact issue between the Hub Shoulder and the Boot Housing on the Water Jet Cutting Torch. This challenge was overcome with an Air Arcing procedure used to remove material from the Hub Shoulder to allow the Boot Housing to pass freely around the Hub. Because the central Hub was being replaced with a new Rotational Fitting, MVS Metals was given the green light to modify the existing Hub. Once completed, the rest of the cutting process went off without a hitch.

Overall processing time was slightly over 40 hours with a cutting speed of a little over 3/16” per minute. Our speed and abrasion combination achieved a quality cut and a very aesthetically pleasing finished part. MVS Metals reduced the original Sprocket weight by about 44%, and helped give new life to a renowned piece of manufacturing history. If you have a similar project, or any project that you would like some professional manufacturing input, please feel free to contact us at Owen Industries!

MVS Slagger Table

by Owen | Mar 20, 2017 | MVS Metals

Larry Minter started with Missouri Valley Steel in September of 1970. He began his career as a welder, left the company to service his country, and again returned to MVS. Upon his return, he advanced from welder, to fabrication/fitting, to the template shop (before CAD programs took over), on to Quality Control then to Foreman and will be ending his career as plant manager the end of this month.

Larry says that cleaning the slag out of the cutting machines was a big job! The tables would be shut down on a Friday, disassembled and cleaned out on a Saturday so the machine would be ready for production Monday morning. In the late 90’s, the machine was moved so that the cement floor could be re-poured. Larry started thinking about how he could clean the table more easily. Owning a 4 wheeler with a snow blade at the time, he thought using the blade to push the slag out of the way would make the job much easier. He worked with the plant manager to build a cart that would fit under the table to help this job become quicker and more efficient. Once the slag was out from under the table, they could shovel the slag into containers. A salesman from Messer was visiting the plant, and when they showed him the design, a partnership grew! Some intense designing and input from other staff has made the Slagger the success it is today!

MVS just sold their 1000^th Slagger table!

Below is a link for an article in Modern Metals Magazine, showing the use of a Slagger table.

http://www.modernmetals.com/item/13783-fixing-or-replacing-deficient-and-obsolete-bridges-requires-the-right-strategy-and-equipment.html

Water Jet Versatility Creates Manufacturing Options and Reduced Costs

by Owen | Jan 13, 2017 | MVS Metals

Water Jet Cutting - Cut Bonded Materials

Are you bonding or vulcanizing multiple materials together? Are the small parts becoming too much of a hassle? Are your production costs starting to become a burden? This is where Water Jet Cutting shines.

This challenge comes up more than you would believe. Often times, cutting parts individually and then bonding or vulcanizing them together can become tedious and time consuming. Not to mention the issues with parts not matching up to specification. This frequently leads to lost parts, lost hours and lost profits.

There are times where materials can be bonded or vulcanized and then cut. Unfortunately, the tool needed to cut one material may not work for the other. When this situation occurs, Water Jet Cutting Technology can be a viable solution. There is no HAZ (Heat Affected Zone), thermal distortion or change in material properties which allows multiple materials types to be cut at the same time. Additionally, Water Jet Cutting can support tolerances as close as +/-.005″ with high positional accuracies of +/-.003″.

MVS Recently used Water Jet Cutting a Vulcanized Stainless Steel/Duro-Composite Rubber Compound into bumper stops for the Transportation and Agricultural Industry. Rather than cutting each piece separately and then Vulcanizing, MVS received Pre-Vulcanized Full Size Sheets and cut multiple parts, ensuring proper dimensions, fit up, aesthetics and function.

Do you have issues with bonding or vulcanizing materials to create the specified part? Contact Aaron Mousel at amousel@mvsteel.com or call 712-255-9632 or our sales team for information and pricing about Water Jet Cutting.