Page 17 - MetalForming February 2020

Better Process Monitoring via
In-Press Detection
Technology that limits or prevents bad parts and damaged tooling through precise sensing and on-the-fly adjustment provides a powerful tool for metal formers.
With the age of Industry 4.0 upon us, information is king, and those who not only gath- er but correctly and quickly assimilate and act on that data hold a royal flush. A walk around FABTECH last Novem- ber in Chicago provided a glimpse into the impact of data on manufacturing, and on metal forming and fabricating in particular.
The technology explosion offers tremendous potential to monitor and control actions within the press bed, where press, tooling and part material all meet. More and more operations occur in the tooling, and in the press, as die and part designs advance along with press and press-control capabili- ties. Throw in ever-stronger and diffi- cult-to-form workpiece materials, and the press bed becomes an extraordi-
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
narily busy and sophisticated location. Tracking and acting on all of these in- press items and actions demand effec- tive, precise and robust monitoring and control capabilities.
As an example, at FABTECH Mar- poss (www.marposs.com/eng) demon- strated for MetalForming the Brankamp X series of real-time process monitor- ing technologies for metal forming and stamping operations. The units imme- diately identify manufacturing faults as well as part or tool variations, with stated benefits including optimized machine efficiency, improved part qual- ity, and the potential to limit unplanned downtime and tooling costs.
The trend toward lightweight con- struction and increased part complex- ity can result in higher deformation levels. Process-integrated monitoring
provides a method to detect a range of quality defects such as cracks in components, strip marks, broken tool elements, or turned or mis-introduced parts, thus bringing the possibility of 100-percent workpiece quality control.
Recognizing the trend, and the ben- efits of such monitoring technology, high-speed-press builder Bruderer Machinery Inc. (www.brudererameri- cas.com) began working with Marposs in 2013 to incorporate Brankamp in-press systems for its stamping customers.
Quick Problem Recognition Minimizes Bad Parts
“What’s critical to monitor and con- trol: coining, tonnage, vibration?” asks Sean Tucker, chief engineer with Brud- erer. “Stout parts require a fair amount of change in the process for them to
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