Skyline Manufacturing, a family-owned tool-and-die design/build shop based in Nashville, TN, has earned a reputation for meeting close-tolerance, high-precision stamping needs of wide-ranging market segments including appliance, automotive and lighting manufacturers. "We get all the tough jobs," says Tony Wirth, who, along with his brother Tim, is co-vice president and third-generation co-owner of Skyline Manufacturing. "That's the niche we created and we've continued to build on it over the years." Too Much Time and Money Until recently, one area has hindered Skyline's design and manufacturing process: bottlenecks with the creation of customized ball-lock retainers and the modification of existing retainers. Creating a special ball-lock retainer is a complicated process, requiring special jigs, inspection fixtures and knowledge to make the angled ball hole that holds the punch in place. Rather than building retainers inhouse, most tool and die shops, including Skyline, find it more effective to have experienced subcontractors supply special retainers. But doing so adds significant cost and lead time to a project.
展开▼
