Page 24 - MetalForming March 2020

FABRICATION
Servo-lution
Serves CNC Punching Well
Like stamping presses, servo-controlled CNC punching machines deliver benefits of both mechanical and hydraulic units, and much more.
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
This illustration of hydraulic valves employed in hydraulic CNC punching machines details the complexity of hydraulically controlled systems. Elimination of hydraulics means no oil replacement and monitoring of hydraulic components that tend to wear due to heat buildup and constant operation. In addition, with hydraulics typically not standardized, maintenance and component replacement brings an extra level of complexity.
From the venerable mechanically driven workhorses that still dot fabrication shops to hydraulic units enabling position control of the rams, punching machines have proven their worth over decades. In the early ’90s, the entrance of servo drives fostered another revolution in CNC punching machines. Since then, servo-controlled rams have provided the heart of these
machines, benefitting from ever-increas- ing performance and reliability of servo motors and the capabilities of the machines’ control and software brains.
Improved capabilities of today’s servo-controlled CNC punching machines make them the best bet for fabricators tasked with providing parts of varying complexity across all man- ner of applications and materials,
according to Donald Angel, lead appli- cations engineer for fabrication prod- ucts at Murata Machinery USA, Inc. (www.muratec-usa.com). They offer the dependability and force of the older mechanical models, he says, while offering the ram controllability of hydraulic offerings plus the advantages of precision and accuracy, energy sav- ings, and maintainability.
22 MetalForming/March 2020
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