Every minute spent on a changeover is a minute of lost production. Inspired by the SMED method, DIMECO’s approach to pressroom equipment transforms this constraint into a competitive advantage.
In the sheet metal coil industry, competitiveness is not only determined during production: it is also decided between two production runs. A poorly managed die or coil changeover brings the line to a standstill, ties up operators, and directly impacts your Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE). This is precisely the observation behind the SMED method, which DIMECO has been applying to the design of its press environment equipment since 1985.
SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) is an industrial organization method aimed at drastically reducing changeover times. Its founding principle consists of distinguishing operations that can be performed while the line is still running (external time) from those requiring a machine stoppage (internal time), and then converting as many internal operations into external operations as possible. Applied to press operations, this logic translates very concretely into equipment designed to prepare, transport, and position dies and coils even before the line comes to a halt.
A changeover that takes too long has repercussions that go beyond mere machine downtime. It pushes companies to produce larger batches to amortize the lost time, which increases your MOQs (Minimum Order Quantities), your inventory, and your tied-up capital. It also exposes your operators to heavy, repetitive handling operations, with an increased risk of incidents.
Material cost: larger batches than necessary to amortize each changeover.
Storage cost: more inventory and Work in Progress (WIP) tied up on the shop floor.
Human cost: manual handling operations that cause fatigue and risks.
Opportunity cost: every minute of changeover is a minute of unavailable production capacity.
Our range of die and coil changeover systems has been designed to transform these constraints into measurable gains. Our transfer and preparation equipment allows you to anticipate the next changeover while the line is running. Our die handling solutions (scaled up to 20 tons) and coil handling solutions (up to 35 tons) make it possible to move, position, and clamp in just a few minutes, safely and without physical effort for the operators. Finally, our storage solutions organize the workshop so that every die and coil is immediately available exactly when needed.
Beyond the reduction of downtime itself, a properly executed SMED approach impacts your entire cost chain: smaller and therefore more flexible batches, reduced inventory and WIP, better amortization of your tooling, and a more agile production line capable of quickly adapting to demand.
It is this comprehensive approach—from press feeding to die and coil changeover systems—that our experts analyze with you to identify the most relevant gains for your line.
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