Operating Instructions

Behlen Strip Joiners HISTORY: Production of the strip joiner began in 1964 as a direct result of a request by the president of Pre-Finish Metals, Inc., of Elk Grove Village, Illinois. At that time, we were buying precoated steel coils from them for use in our building panels. He came to us with the need for a joining system in their coil coating line. We then designed and made the first joiner and shipped it to their plant for testing. The results were so satisfactory that production of the joiner continued on from that date. DESIGN: The first 35 machines were made with a “fold-over” tab type stitch which was suitable for most mild steel and soft aluminum applications. We then started getting requests for joining materials such as “full hard” temper aluminum, copper, brass, and hard steels. Since the folded tabs would break off in these materials, the “Slip-lock” type of stitching die was developed and is the type that is still used today. Although many other improvements have been made in the joiner, the basic “slip-lock” type of stitch is still the present design. PRODUCTION: To date, we have manufactured 790 joiners. Of these, more than 50 percent of them are in 48 foreign countries. SERVICE: All the service requirements are conducted from here at our office. Because of the basic simplicity of the joiner and the very small amount of service work required, this has been a successful method. Most of the maintenance and repairs can be made by the user of the joiner. Any other needs can usually be corrected by advice of the “dealer” or user by correspondence, telephone, fax, E-mail, or mail. METHOD OF SALES: About 15% of the joiner sales are directly to the user. Most of the direct user sales are for replacement of existing joining methods such as welders, staplers, riveters, etc. Many of the direct sales are to repeat customers. The remaining 85% of sales are through “dealers” here in the U.S. and several foreign countries. These “dealers” are usually manufacturers of other processing line equipment; they will buy our joiner to install in lines with their machinery to provide their customer with a complete processing line. There are no exclusive territories for these “dealers” since their sales are also made anywhere in the world. CONCLUSIONS: our success with the strip joiner can be attributed to several reasons. First, we built a machine for a specific need and at a time when coil processing was just starting. Second, we have a machine that is simple, requires minimum maintenance and will do a method of joining as efficient as more expensive equipment. Third, because all phases of sales, service and customer contact are accomplished from our office on a personal basis, we have had extremely good customer contact especially in repeat sales and emergency parts service.

Strip Joiner Options The Behlen strip joiner is a completely self contained system and requires only to be fastened securely in place and attached to a proper electrical supply. These stitching machines are available in sizes from 12 inch through 114 inch. Joining is accomplished by 1 of 3 different punch designs. The first of these available punches is the standard WRSJ shown here. STANDARD WRSJ

This standard WRSJ punch produces a stitch which after slip locking looks like this.

The second available punch is the standard APSJ shown here. STANDARD APSJ

This standard APSJ punch produces a stitch which after slip locking looks like this.

The standard APSJ has twice as many locking tabs as the standard WRSJ and produces a much stronger joint. The third available punch is the standard SS (straight side) shown here. STANDARD SS

This standard SS punch is used when the customer wants to insert a locking needle as shown here.

The standard SS is best for the heavier materials and in a production line where adequate time is available for insertion of the needle.

Die removal on our standard units can be accomplished from any side of the machine. This allows the end user flexibility in placement of adjacent equipment. The following instructions tell how to remove a typical die for service. DIE REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lock out machine. 2. Place a wooden block (2 places) into the die opening approximately as shown.

The blocks shown are 1 ½” x 3 ½” x 12” each. 3. Loosen bottom bolts and remove from die as shown.

4. Using 2 bottle jacks and 2 brackets similar to those shown, jack both ends of the

lower die until the wooden blocks contact the upper die. 5. Place three 5/8” diameter x 18” long steel rounds similar to those shown under

lower die.

6. Loosen and remove top bolts from upper die shoe. 7. Lower die shoe onto steel rounds and remove the bottle jacks. 8. Push die out onto a die cart or other support.

9. Reverse procedure to install the die.

The Behlen strip joining press is equipped with a stitch depth switch as shown here. STITCH DEPTH SWITCH

The depth gauge unit is preset at the factory but may be adjusted a little to accommodate variations in materials being joined. To make these adjustments, cycle the joiner and stitch actual material. Final adjustment of your stitch depth can be made by turning the wheel either clockwise (decrease opening) or counter-clockwise (increase opening) until a vertical stitch opening of approximately 0.080" (2mm) is reached. Each revolution of the wheel changes the stitch opening by 0.025" (0.64mm). If you intend to insert a needle (steel strap) into the stitch opening you will need to adjust your stitch depth to suit your needle size.

Once the depth switch is set, it should not normally need to be changed for different material thickness being joined.

SPLICE DETECTION HOLE PUNCH OPTION The Behlen stitching die is available with an optional hole punch to allow photo-electric sensing of the joint. A typical splice detection punch is shown here.

OPERATING INTRUCTIONS

The following instructions are for a standard Behlen strip joiner press. If your machine is wired for remote operation, please refer to the instructions from the line builder. 1. Place two coil ends or 2 pieces of test material in die (one on top the other)

leaving adequate overlap to accommodate the required rows of stitches. 2. Press and hold the two buttons marked “Close”. A joining cycle will occur. The

ram and lower die set will rise up and produce the joining stitch and then return to the rest position.

3. If it is necessary to apply more rows of stitch, jog the joint that was just produced slowly under very low tension until these stitches are beyond the surface of the stripper plate being careful to not shift the top sheet relative to the lower sheet.

4. Repeat step 2 and 3 as required and then place enough tension on the finished joint to slightly shift toward the locked position. 1/16 to 1/8 inch is adequate.

5. Allow the joint to proceed through the line.