COE Press offers a complete line of coil processing equipment and auxiliary machines that supports the metal stamping industry, including stand-alone coil reels, roll feeds, straighteners, shears, and stackers, as well as complete integrated lines. Such as our conventional coil feed lines and press coil systems which are designed to process a wide range of materials, including high-strength and high-yield metals. We also offer numerous optional features for customizing your coil feed line for applications like progressive die feeding and blanking. Additionally, our advanced PLC controls package is user-friendly and reduces launch times. Furthermore, our SpaceMaster® compact coil lines, ideal for progressive die applications, eliminate the need for a looping pit. The SpaceMaster® Series 4 and Series 5 systems handle high-strength materials efficiently.

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Our cut-to-length (CTL) coil lines automate uncoiling, straightening, shearing, and stacking, providing precise and efficient sheet metal blank processing. Consequently, COE's CTL lines help eliminate blank processing fees, giving you control over your production schedules. In addition, we offer solutions for light gauge materials with our HD straightener and coil reel combination, and versatile multi-mode press feed lines for both coil and blank feeding. Finally, experience the COE Assurance with 24/7/365 service support.

The Basics of Coil Processing, Part 1: Unwinding the Coil

This is the first article in a series that MetalForming and Coe Press Equipment will present in on the basics of coil processing.

Modern coil-handling and feeding equipment has dramatically increased the efficiency and throughput of pressrooms around the world, as well as helped to eliminate the dangers and repetitiveness of hand feeding. Metalformers can select from among a variety of coil-feeding methods and types of equipment to accommodate their unique needs. When doing so, they must consider several parameters to ensure selecting a system that best meets the requirements of the application, including price, operating cost, coil weight, material type and thickness, feed length and speed requirements, material finish, floor-space availability and controls compatibility.

Fig. 1'A combination cradle/straightener unwinds the coil off of the top to a powered straightener and into a horizontal loop. Of the three coil-cradle configurations, this style requires the greatest amount of floor space due to the horizontal loop.In this series of articles, we will discuss such basic operations as unwinding and straightening the coil, and feeding the press. Along the we will discuss the various types of equipment used for each process, helping to provide basic guidelines for investing in new coil-processing lines.

The focus of this article: The various approaches to coil unwinding' coil cradles (or coil boxes), centering reels and pallet decoilers. Look for part two later this year, where we will explore straightening options for coil lines.

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Coil Cradles

Coil cradles hold a coil by the outside diameter, cradling it on powered rollers called nest rolls. This approach primarily finds use in medium- to heavy-gauge applications when material marking is not an issue. The cradle contains the coil within a box or framework that provides protection for the operator, by preventing the coil from telescoping. The outer wrap is contained between the weight of the coil and the nest roll as it unwinds, helping to prevent clockspring as well as controlling the coil for threading, particularly useful when feeding heavy-gauge or high-strength materials. However, this same feature also can cause problems with thin or cosmetically sensitive material, as it tends to mark or distort the sheetmetal.

A rule of thumb: Avoid use of coil cradles for processing material less than 0.06 in. thick.

Fig. 2'The third type of cradle'a cradle-feeder straightener'unwinds, straightens and feeds directly into the press without the need for a slack loop, making it a very compact and self-contained coil-feeding system.Another disadvantage of the cradle-style unwinder is that it can operate inefficiently when rewinding and rebanding partially run coils. After running in a cradle for a period of time, the coil tends to clockspring internally and the wraps become loose, making it impossible to re-band into a nice, tight coil. Additionally, coil cannot be rebanded until it is lifted off and out of the nest rolls.

Manufacturers offer coil cradles in three basic configurations. A combination cradle/straightener (Fig. 1) unwinds the coil off of the top to a powered straightener and into a horizontal loop. Of the three configurations, this style requires the greatest amount of floor space due to the horizontal loop, but lends itself well to quick coil changes with the addition of a spare coil load ramp and an unobstructed rear loading area.

The inline style of coil cradle unwinds the coil from the bottom into a vertical or overhead loop. This space-saving design creates a loop area that does not consume as much floor space as the combination configuration, although it can require substantial vertical height. Inline coil cradles are available with only a pair of pinch rolls to assist in peeling the material off of the coil, or they can incorporate a powered straightener. Basic models for small coils pay off directly from the nest rollers without the aid of pinch rolls or a straightener.

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