Page 38 - MetalForming August 2019

Servo Presses
full velocity before slowing down to a programmed speed through top dead center, allowing the trans- fer to achieve optimum strokes per minute. The result: optimal through- put because the slide continues moving through the stroke as the press and transfer work together as a coordinated system.
“With servo drives, the contact and draw velocity are infinitely variable, enabling dynamic motion profiles with multiple slow-down windows to allow the transfer sys- tem time to do its job,” says Ward. “We’re able to achieve this with the help of our equipment vendor, Aida-America, who has, over the years, provided many rounds of training for our programmers and operators to ensure optimization.”
“Wherever and whenever you have a servo press and servo transfer system, you add complexity,” says Shrini Patil, product manager at Aida-America. “You need a proper understanding of
the technology’s capabilities to benefit from its flexibility. Stampers must exer- cise caution when programming a servo transfer because of the varying velocities throughout the cycle. You may have 40, 10 and 80 strokes/min.
This 400-ton press features a fully integrated servo transfer system, liq- uid-cooled servo motor and low inertia drive train. Several of these systems will be installed in North American automotive supplier plants this year. See the Servo 2.0 sidebar for a discussion of new servo press technology.
at different points. To achieve transfer, you are tracking virtual angles using binary codes, not the real crank angle as you would on a traditional mechanical press. That’s our secret sauce.”
More Servo, Please
It’s safe to say, after listening to Ward discuss the benefits of servo- driven presses, that Midway’s future will include more such machines.
“Servo technology,” says Ward, “allows our R&D specialists, product designers and die designers to go fur- ther with advanced designs and high- er-strength steels while eliminating secondary operations.” MF
NEW LICENSES METALFORMING LICENSE
FULL LIBRARY LICENSE
SPANISH METALFORMING LICENSE
OCCUPATIONAL APTITUDE & KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT
Purchase now at pma.org/metalformedu
Questions? Contact Stacey Schroeder at sschroeder@pma.org
36 MetalForming/August 2019
www.metalformingmagazine.com