Compressed air leaks in a stamping operation

Background

A Tier 2 automotive stamping factory uses compressed air during production. When the presses stop, air continues to flow into the idle facility and the compressor keeps cycling. Our starting point is the overnight period, when the equipment’s air demand can be viewed alongside the absence of production.

The problem

Escaping compressed air has no smell, and the sound of a leak is difficult to pick out over a stamping press. The compressor compensates by running longer. Without a view of pressure and load over time, that extra operation can become part of the routine without anyone seeing where the air is going.

How we found it

We use a header pressure transducer and compressor current monitoring to follow pressure, runtime and load. Off-shift flow trending shows demand after production has stopped. Reading those signals together makes the continuing air use visible and shows how the compressor is working to maintain pressure through the night.

What changed

The team has a leak-repair list ranked by measured loss. That gives maintenance a basis for deciding where to work first, with the overnight trace showing the demand they are trying to address. The change is in how repairs are prioritized; the monitoring record directs attention to losses that were difficult to distinguish during production.

The lesson

We keep the off-shift period in view as the team works through the repair list. It gives them a consistent place to look for a change in demand, runtime and pressure. Following those readings after maintenance helps the team judge the effect of the work and spot air use that still needs investigation before it becomes another night of compressor cycling.