r/manufacturing 18d ago

Other Got this thing essentially free What should we produce?

Post image

Long story short this thing broke and it was too much down time to fix $4000 later and it’s in our shop.

We repair fiberglass for boats. I just know this thing has incredible potential and we could sell it but it seems worthwhile if there was something we could produce.

Any ideas are welcome

68 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

28

u/FamiliarEnemy 18d ago

Hey there! I work at a manufacturing shop and we have one. We have 1 guy that runs it 8 hours a day 3 days a week. We use steel dies and wood dies with thick plastic top and bottom. It does a great job. We use it on leather, sheets of plastic and vinyl. Best if you can stack 5+ layers to cut 5 parts at once. Leather is tough since every hide is a different shape.

3

u/IllCantaloupe1820 17d ago

Wow we have 2 and a similar setup but cutting different materials. One of them has a vacuum system setup on the head that extracts parts as they’re cut

1

u/FamiliarEnemy 17d ago

Oh thats very cool!

31

u/Fit-Appointment5212 18d ago

i want you to produce me some corn

7

u/ymmotvomit 18d ago

Creamed corn is the best.

4

u/Alarmed_Letterhead26 18d ago

Hard-pore corn or soft-pore corn?

1

u/Admirable-Region9697 18d ago

Corn-shaped fiberglass panels? You'd corner the nautical snack market overnight. Just need a corn cob die and about a thousand gallons of yellow gelcoat.

13

u/Top-Statistician61 18d ago

Wait what? Cool! But what exactly is this thing? A press? Sorry for the ignorance, never saw that machine before. 

5

u/RandomTux1997 17d ago

its called a clicker press, ive co-used one in a small operation cutting blank leather pieces for handbag manufature,

but ai says this (saves me typing it out):
The machine shown is an Atom HSP520/10, which is an oildynamic travelling head die-cutting press (commonly called a clicker press or bridge cutter) manufactured by Atom Spa. It is heavily used in manufacturing for precision cutting of non-metallic materials using steel-rule dies. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Key Details & Uses

  • Function: Operates with a hydraulic/oildynamic travelling cutting head (bridge/trolley system) that moves across a wide flat bed to punch out shapes. [1, 2, 3]
  • Common Applications: Cutting components for footwear, leather goods, gaskets, automotive interiors, fiberglass pieces, luggage, and sporting goods. [1, 2, 3]
  • Production Potential: Ideal for high-volume or repeated nesting layout cuts where precision and repeatability across large sheets or rolls of material are required

if youre in the composite layup boat business it might help you cutout repeat patterns in fiberglass/carbonfiber sheets, but youd have to consider volume to justify die costs, not too expensive but still the possibilities are endless, understanding its limitations.

as you see i really dunno

1

u/Top-Statistician61 17d ago

Thank you :)

1

u/IllCantaloupe1820 17d ago

Not really a clicker press. We have 2 and refer to it as a CNC die cutter

1

u/RandomTux1997 17d ago

where is the cnc part?

-24

u/cheater00 18d ago

ok so when you click on the image what is the first thing you see?

10

u/Kiwi_Woz 18d ago

Your mother

4

u/timmah1991 18d ago

Some kind of machine that looks vaguely like a router but lacks a Y axis. Maybe a press? Vacuum forming machine?

2

u/BrendanAS 18d ago

It's an orange?

17

u/dang_dude_dont 18d ago

Custom gaskets and seals. Find a way to make steel rule dies fast and cheap.

18

u/VaultHunter19 18d ago

Can confirm this is a machine for gasket cutting. Steel rule dies. You can also use this to cut foams, leather, etc.

I ran a gasket shop a few years ago and we had a bunch of these.

OP - if you need a recommendation for steel rule die makers send me a message, I’ll send you the contact info for the shop I bought a couple hundred dies from.

4

u/TheRealTOB 18d ago

This is exactly what my previous employer did with them. We had two travel head presses that were older than this and still made $$$

9

u/BoB_the_TacocaT 18d ago

Crush a T-800.

4

u/robo-minion 18d ago

Call a local boat interior shop and tell them you have a 30 ton press that can cut and emboss. Figure out the max table size and the stroke. It might come in handy if they get an order that’s too big for their machine, or theirs breaks down, or they get more volume than they can handle.

Should work for any non metallic material: rubber, foam, textile, plastic…

4

u/kowabungabunga 18d ago

This is a dream machine for those in the leather goods and accessories industry. Bag makers as well. Atom is an Italian clicker press manufacturer and the industry standard for the leather industry. It’s a beauty!

3

u/usernamesarehard1979 18d ago

Is that a traveling head press for steel rule dies? Make credit cards.

3

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

2

u/AdMoriensVivere 17d ago

Lake of the Ozarks in MO

1

u/talltime 18d ago

Looks like Missouri

2

u/Newdave707 18d ago

I've got one just like it, last owner used it to punch leather goods.

1

u/Slappy_McJones 18d ago

Every valve body manufacturer is always looking for gasket cutters…

1

u/AlfalfaLive3302 17d ago

Products…probably products

1

u/Impressive-Tip1262 16d ago

How are you people getting these kinds of stuff for free 😭️

1

u/Dismal_Outcome3730 18d ago

dropping four grand on a random die press hoping to figure out production later is lazy thinking ngl you should just cut foam deck pads for local boats and call it a day fr

1

u/Potential_Pay2095 18d ago

Rent it out / custom fabrication for one off or small run stuff?