A Sheet Metal Shop and A Press Shop
It can be quite difficult to imagine how various technologies are used. However, this sheet metal processing technology, the very backbone of Keiswi, is the reason why they are able to make the products that surprise and delight their customers. Their Aero Concept line, which is gathering attention worldwide, would not even exist if it weren’t for this technology. The skills poured into each individual Aero Concept product flow from the hands of the craftsmen who make them, with a great deal of thought and knowledge about their craft.
Mr. Sugano Explains
Mr. Sugano Explains,
“There are three ways of processing metal into a shape based on a drafted plan. Press processing, where you can make the shape you want by making a metal press, machining, which involves vertically and horizontally shaving away at a piece, and then sheet metal processing. Sheet metal processing is the only one where you can make the metal sheet into any shape you like. That’s why your own experience and ideas make all the difference in what you create.”
The Aero Concept product line is packed with experience and ideas. There’s a reason why Aero Concept is being sold at a price that’s far from cheap. From perspective of the craftsman who makes them with his own hands, the asking price seems just right, or maybe even a little too low.
The reason why Aero Concept winds up being so high priced is because it is made using mainly precision sheet metal processing techniques. This produces a beauty that can only come from processed sheet metal. But in the mind of a layman, it’s difficult to get a clear image of what is involved, and the inevitable question is raised: “Why insist on sheet metal processing?” “Why can’t this be made in high volume by a press and sold at a cheaper price?” must be another thought on many people’s minds. There may even be a company somewhere overseas considering making copies of Aero Concept products using a press machine. Pose these questions to Mr. Sugano and he explains the issues in very simple terms.
“Both press shops and sheet metal shops process sheets of metal. That’s why here at Keiswi, we use one process or the other depending on the desired result. But we really do most of our work with sheet metal processing techniques, and we don’t do so much press processing work.
According to Mr. Sugano’s explanation, the difference between sheet metal processing techniques and press processing techniques is as follows.
For example, say you want to make a square box without a lid.
In order to make a perfectly square box, you need one sheet for the bottom and four for the sides for a total of five sheets of the same area.
From the perspective of sheet metal processing, this is a simple job.
First, take the measurements of the metal sheet, and make cuts into it so it’s like an origami “yakko-san” kite, a plus sign. The middle of the remaining metal plate becomes the center of the square, the other four sides are bent at 90 degree angles. Then, you can make a lidless box in just four folds.
On the other hand, if you want to make the same object with a press, it’s a little more difficult.
In the same way, you’ve got to start with a sheet of metal. First, you need a blade shaped like the yakko-san kite to cut out the shape you need. Imagine a giant cookie cutter. Press the blade down on the metal sheet, and the yakko-san shape is cut out. However, for the next step, with sheet metal processing four folds are necessary to bend the sheet into the desired shape, but with press processing, it can be done in one step. Now, how do we do this? We need two things to get it done. One is what we call the female die, and the other is the male died. The female die, looks like a table with a square hole cut out of it. The male die is a cube that is the same shape as the square hole in the table, only slightly smaller. A single sheet of metal is laid on the female die table, and the male die cube pushes down on it from above. As the bottom face is pushed in, the the four sides naturally are bent at 90 degree angles, and we have our finished shape. When we remove the male die and take the metal sheet out of the female die, we no longer have a flat sheet of metal, but our completed lidless box.
Both methods result in basically the same lidless box, that much is certain. However, the difference between these two processing methods is very, very large. That difference is cost.
“Okay, say for example, you order one metal box from a sheet metal shop, it’ll take 500 yen to make, but it’ll cost a press shop 200,150 yen to make the same thing. Why is that? In the case of the press shop, in order to make that one metal box, you’ve got to make that male and female die, that’s why. But now if you order 100 metal boxes, it will cost 500 yen x 100 = 50,000 yen. And at a press shop it’ll be 2,150 yen x 100 = 215,000, so the price per unit goes down a lot. But the press shop is still more expensive, right? But say that metal box gets really popular and it just keeps selling and someone gets excited and says “Let’s order 600 of them!” In that case, the sheet metal shop and the press shop have a sudden reversal of fortunes. 500 yen x 600 = 300,000 yen at the sheet metal shop, and 483 yen x 600 = 289,800 yen at the press shop. In short, the sheet metal shop style of manufacturing is good for small lots, and the press shop style is better for mass production.”
Sheet Metal Processing and Press Processing.
Sheet Metal Processing and Press Processing.
As you can see, there is a difference in cost between the two methods.
The press shop, with its high initial costs, can reduce the per unit cost through mass production.
However, there are many instances in the marketplace today where manufacturers have to be able to adjust their manufacturing systems or suffer the consequences.
For example,
Even if the box becomes a huge hit,
If the size shifts even slightly away from the ideal size for users needs,
There will be requests coming in for a new size of box.
But it’s not so simple to make an expensive new press every time this happens.
On the other hand, despite the best laid plans, some dies never manage to clear the break-even point. For dies where 600 units must be sold before a profit can be made, if 200 units are left unsold, it’s over.
And in hindsight: “We should have been less greedy and just ordered some from a sheet metal shop.”
“Keiswi does both press processing the sheet metal processing. While we emphasize our prescision sheet metal processing, it’s not al we do. When necessary, we implement press processing technology, and when sheet metal processing would work better, we use sheet metal processing techniques, either one goes. Originally, press and sheet weren’t two separate technogies, they were both techniques developed by craftsmen. When we just need to make one or two, we use sheet metal processing. When we need to make a lot, we use a press.”
If you’re not careful, this can suddenly develop into a huge cost, just like a form of gambling. It’s very strange. It’s strange and it’s rendering Japan’s factories meaningless. There are plenty of people out there who have no interest in craftsmanship, but lots of interest in money. Where there’s desire, investment follows, and that investment makes a sport of the factories, and to hell with craftsmanship, it becomes a mere factory. That’s why I don’t mind if a foreign company copies my products. They can copy all they want. The shape might be similar, but it’s going to be a completely different thing.
This is a bit of an addendum, but in February of 2009, Mr. Sugano held a press conference for the foreign media, and responded in the following way.
Foreign journalist: “How are you dealing with the design rights in international law? What will you do if someone copies you?”
Sugano: “I don’t know much about law. But if someone wants to copy me, they can go right ahead. Even if they copy me, they won’t be able to make the same things as I do.”
