Five Questions

Forming Systems, Inc.

Five Questions provides an opportunity for SMI associate members to tell the spring industry about the products and services they offer. In this edition, we talk with Dan Bagwell, Vice President, Forming Systems Inc.

1|Can you tell us about the history of Forming Systems? Forming Systems started in April of 2002 with a partnership between Tim Weber and myself. Our vision was to be a one-stop location for all things springmaking and wireforming. Over past 18 years, we have created cooperative agreements with world class suppliers to bring the best products to the North American marketplace. We now offer springmaking machines with wire ranges from .002 inches up to .630 inches (0.06mm–16mm), ovens of all shapes, sizes and configurations, payoff reels of all sizes, spring length gauges, parts washers, spring grinders, 2D and 3D wire formers, and a full range of spring testing equipment including compression and extension testing, LVA, torsion testers, vision systems, fatigue testers, and many custom applications.

2|What are the latest trends in springmaking and wireforming equipment? Production speeds and accuracy are important, but also the speed and accuracy that the parts can be set up on the machine. Customers want a machine with easy setup, easy predictable adjustments with software that helps bridge the gap between the mechanical and the CNC portions of the machine. This is also true with testing equipment; the customer wants a tester that has the ability to take functions that normally would be done by hand and have the tester software do the calculations for them.

3|Forming Systems represents several different machinery and accessory manufacturers. What advantage does that provide to springmakers? Forming Systems provides unique project solutions because we can offer different machine types based on the products required. In some cases, a spring machine may be a great solution for a wireforming project because of the increased flexibility to use other bending techniques, like servo winders, coiling tools for large radius, support tools when bending, etc. In other cases, we can offer a turnkey solution when a customer wants a complete work cell with payoff, machine, gauge to measure length and OD, stress relieving oven, and final inspections gauges for dimensional, force output, or cycle life. 4|How have you utilized video to help promote and sell equipment? We have a YouTube channel where you can see the variety of machines we offer. We can send brochures with videos embedded to demonstrate how the machine functions, speeds, etc. This is a useful tool for customers with special requirements. With digital video, we can get the video from the manufacturer by email and forward it on to the customer. We rarely send videos as an attachment because the files can be exceptionally large. With an email link, the video transfer to the customer is quick and simple. We also use online video demos of the spring tester functions and software; we can easily show the customer how to program these machines for their exact applications, the reports available, the raw data (in real time) and they have the ability to ask questions and see those answers right on their screen.

5|Can you tell us about a recent challenge that you were able to solve for a customer? With our unique ability to offer many solutions, in many cases we can offer a possible solution to a problem that the customer did not expect. For example, we had a customer who was building a work cell. The customer was simply out of room for this cell and needed to find ways to cut the space required. After a few meetings by phone and email with our suppliers, we came up with a special oven with a built-in cooling system for their parts. The original design called for a separate cooling system, but with this manufacturer’s design and building capabilities, we could offer a solution they did not expect. In another case, a customer needed a torsion tester for long springs. Once again we contacted our supplier and came up with a simple solution for a machine to test these springs. n

Forming Systems Inc PO Box 694 Schoolcraft, MI 49087 Phone 269-679-3557 dbagwell@formingsystemsinc.com www.formingsystemsinc.com

Dan Bagwell

PTC - Pretension Control INTERNATIONAL PATENT

HIGH SPEED CNC COILERS

FX 5 Ø 0.10 - 0.80 FX 10 Ø 0.15 - 1.10 FX 15 Ø 0.25 - 1.50 FX 30 Ø 0.40 - 3.00

MILANO - ITALY NIMSCO LLC North American distributor 5115 B Tremont Ave. Davenport, IA 52807 Ph: 563-391-0400 Fax: 563-391-0403 info@nimsco.com info@nimsco.com