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New Products

Servo Turret Punch Presses Feature Drive Innovations

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Amada America, Buena Park, CA, introduces the AC-NT series of turret punch presses, featuring an AC servo-ram drive designed to provide high hit rates and optimum reliability. A standard servo motor drives a ballscrew and bell-crank linkage, which provides the reciprocating ram motion. Hit rates to 390/min. on 1-in. centers (5-mm stroke) are achieved by using a specially engineered air-cooled ballscrew to minimize heat buildup. When using Amada contouring and marking tools, the presses can achieve hit rates to 600/min. when nibbling and 900/min. when marking parts.

The drive also significantly reduces energy costs, consuming virtually no energy during idling times. And, even at top speeds it reportedly requires 10 to 20 percent less power than mechanical machines, and half the power of hydraulic machines running at similar hit rates.

Amada has equipped the presses with three measures to suppress slug pulling. First, a power vacuum system, for ½-in. and 1¼-in. turret stations, injects high-pressure air through a series of ports into specially designed power-vacuum dies. A venturi effect generates a powerful vacuum that helps to ensure that slugs are pulled down without sticking to the punch tip. Power-vacuum dies prove particularly useful when punching aluminum or vinyl-coated materials.

For 2-in. and larger tool stations, the presses employ air-blow tooling, which injects a controlled mixture of air and oil through the top of the tool to lubricate the punch and die.

And, a self-powered unit maintains a powerful suction in the slug chute below the turret to help ensure effective removal of large-station slugs. A timer opens a trap door to periodically empty all slugs into a bin or onto a conveyor.

Amada America: 714/739-2111; www.amada.com