Page 19 - MetalForming March 2020

Advantages of
Electric Shaker Conveyors and Top Tips
When metal stamping opera- tions run full, everything moves fast. Part throughputs can reach 100 parts/min. or more. After each punch, metal trim falls away through the die, collected as scrap for recycling or sale. But all of that pro- duction quickly halts should scrap not clear away.
Efficient, reliable clearing of scrap from metal stamping presses is critical to overall plant productivity and profitability. Shaker conveyors provide such capability, but they must be prop- erly designed, engineered, installed and operated to deliver trouble-free performance.
Four Causes of Shaker Failure
Based on the experience of design-
ing, engineering, installing and serv- icing scrap shaker systems, we have found most failures of shaker conveyors have root causes in four key areas:
1. Uneven pan loads. Basic physics suggests that uneven pan loads can stress shaker systems designed for more balanced loads. Operators should ensure installation of an equal number of pans with even spacing on each side of a shaker system’s crossbar. If not, the uneven weight load of scrap metal can cause the top plate of the shaker system to twist with each movement. This twisting action places extra stress on the system’s motor and bearings, causing either or both to fail. Some setups may require uneven pan loads. Here, solutions exist. For example, Magnetic Products, Inc. (MPI) has
developed a rack-and-pinion (RP) sys- tem. This utilizes an RP gear setup at the end of the extrusion to prevent the twisting movement from uneven loads.
2. Jams. Scrap or parts falling through a die can bounce and end up in various locations around the press, jamming between the shaker-system pans or drive components. When these jams occur, clear them out to prevent excessive wear on the motor and its linear bearings.
3. Insufficient support and leveling of pans. When installing pans, make sure that they are level with the press bed. Inclining or declining pans can add unwanted torque to the motor, creating excess wear. To better support pans and reduce friction from metal- on-metal contact, use ultra-high-mol-
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Pressroom scrap needs to go somewhere,
and when it doesn’t, costly production downtime results. Electric shaker conveyors, operating at peak performance, keep scrap on the move.