Page 19 - MetalForming January 2020

20 years and older exhibit cracked crowns and bed issues. They just can’t handle the newer, stronger materials.”
The quoting uptick applies to Simpac America’s compact MX-series servome- chanical presses, in capacities from 3000 to 10,000 kN, and SX-series presses, ranging from 8000 to 30,000 kN. Machines from both series can be operated as single presses in progressive or transfer mode, as double-press systems for more flexibility, or in fully automated press lines, company officials report. In conjunction with automation partners, Simpac can provide turnkey forming systems.
Features on these presses include solid, low-stress annealed press bodies, FEM-calculated and optimized via individual, hot-spot analyses in areas subject to higher loads; and modified drive concepts to increase efficiency. Upgraded motors, holding brakes, lubrication and power electronics reportedly provide maximum dynamics and long service life.
“These presses have been designed for higher-end applications, such as trans- mission housings and parts for EVs that often must be made from higher-strength materials,” Robertson reports.
www.simpac.co.kr
Actionable Machine-Monitoring Data, Rapid Setup
As its most recent contribution to Industry 4.0, Schuler touts the Smart Press Shop. In the intelligent and fully networked press shop of the future, company officials postulate, stampers accurately can predict potential downtime with the aid of sophisticated sensors and actuators, along with the data they collect, to
avert this downtime well in advance. Today, with Smart Press Shop, users can ensure productivity and increase part quality while reducing energy requirements. The Machine Monitoring System, the heart of the Smart Press Shop, features six different function areas that collect, analyze, store and evaluate production con- ditions. Users operate and control the system, compatible with new and existing machinery, including Schuler’s servo presses, directly on their plant equipment, via their servers, over their networks, and in the future also from the cloud.
Machine components are monitored for changes, wear and damage in order to optimize the maintenance process. For this purpose, regular stamping-system test runs gather vibration data and measure torque progressions and energy con- sumption, with the data then stored and compared. In addition, to assess wear, the Schuler solution considers the load as well as the actual manufacturing process through process monitoring.
Since 2016, Schuler servo press lines have been equipped with sensors in the slide and bed as standard. The sensors measure the acceleration per stroke, enabling users to monitor the condition of the systems and the forming processes
in detail. Sensors also can measure the vibration in the engine bearings, which in turn indicates possible wear at par- ticularly critical points such as gear- wheels and axles. In addition, demand for electricity, water and compressed air can individually be identified, from the blank feed and individual presses to bed cushions and blank destacking.
And, the company’s Smart Assist software for servo-driven presses helps accelerate production startup. The soft- ware guides a user through the process step-by-step with the aid of videos and graphics, optimizes the movement curves of the slide and transfer fully automatically, and transfers the data to the overall system. Compared to set- ting up the system manually, which may take as long as 8 hours for an expert, Smart Assist reportedly reduces the process to just 30 minutes.
Servo press technology from Schuler includes TwinServo systems, with two separate and electronically synchro- nized torque motors located in the press bed. The result: lower machine heights and reduction in springback by 30 percent, as well as improved sound insulation and energy efficiency. Arrangement of the two decentralized drives enable sufficient space for draw- ing cushions and scrap shafts. www.schulergroup.com
Optimize for Servo-Driven Presses to Get the Most Bang for the Buck
While larger parts makers, primarily tied to automotive, were the early adopters of servo press technology, chiefly transfers and tandem lines in press capacities exceeding 1000 tons, smaller shops recently have expressed interest in smaller machines with capacities of 600 tons or less.
That’s according to Lee Ellard, national sales manager at Stamtec, Inc., who notes to MetalForming that cost no longer prevents a huge barrier to these smaller operations. The gap has closed, he says, with servo models now costing about 1.5 times the cost of their mechanical brethren, as compared to double the cost only five years ago.
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