How to improve the yield rate of kitchen cookware during the production process?

Improving the yield rate of cookware production requires starting with equipment selection and process integration, focusing on key aspects such as heating uniformity, forming accuracy, and process control. The following solution combines automation and intelligent technologies to provide a systematic optimization path for the stainless steel cookware manufacturing process.

Optimizing heating and annealing equipment to improve material properties: Traditional flame annealing easily leads to uneven temperature at the pot edge, causing coarse grains or crack defects. High-frequency induction annealing equipment replaces the traditional process, achieving rapid heating (reaching 750-800℃ within 3-5 seconds) through a ring induction coil. Real-time feedback from an infrared thermometer ensures a circumferential temperature deviation of ≤±5℃, a significant improvement over the ±15℃ deviation of flame annealing. After annealing, the stainless steel grain size can be controlled at 20-30μm (standard ≤40μm), the hardness decreases from HV200-250 to HV140-160, and the elongation increases to over 40%, effectively reducing the risk of cracking during subsequent tensile testing. The equipment investment is approximately US$30,000-50,000, with a payback period of approximately 14 months, making it suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises upgrading their businesses.

Integrated automated forming equipment ensures forming accuracy: After annealing, the pot blank needs to be stretched and formed. Traditional manual operation is prone to uneven thickness or edge defects due to uneven force. An automated fixture positioning system and a servo motor-driven stretching machine are adopted. The pneumatic fixture positioning accuracy is ±0.05mm, and a lifting mechanism vertically lifts the pot blank, exposing the area to be processed. The distance between the annealing and stretching stations is ≤1 meter, seamlessly connected by a conveyor belt, shortening the process cycle by 40%, with a total cycle time of 30 seconds per piece. The equipment supports rapid changeover of pot blanks with diameters of 180-300mm (changeover time ≤10 minutes), compatible with the needs of multi-variety, small-batch production.

Introducing an intelligent monitoring and quality traceability system: Process control is the core of improving yield, requiring equipment to integrate industrial vision inspection and data acquisition modules. An industrial camera is installed after the annealing station to judge temperature uniformity in real time by the color of the pot edge. Defective products are automatically rejected by sorting cylinders, achieving an automation rate of over 95%. The equipment is connected to the MES system to record data such as annealing time, temperature, and fixture number for each batch of blanks, enabling full quality traceability. Servo electric fixtures can improve positioning accuracy to ±0.02mm, further reducing human error.

Optimize equipment layout and maintenance management: A reasonable layout can reduce material handling losses. It is recommended to arrange the equipment linearly according to the process of "loading → annealing → stretching → inspection," with a conveyor belt speed of 0.5-1 m/min and limit baffles to ensure positioning deviation ≤ ±1 mm. Regular maintenance includes cleaning the induction coil, calibrating the infrared thermometer, and lubricating the servo motor. Establish equipment files to record maintenance cycles and avoid unplanned downtime. Train operators to use the equipment correctly to reduce scrap rates caused by misoperation.

Overall Benefits and Implementation Path: Through the aforementioned equipment upgrades, the yield rate is expected to increase by 20%-30%, labor costs decrease by 60%, and approximately 2 tons of material waste will be saved annually. During implementation, priority will be given to assessing bottlenecks in the existing production line, introducing high-frequency annealing and automated fixtures in stages, and gradually integrating an intelligent monitoring system to achieve breakthroughs in both efficiency and quality at low cost.‌