Automatic Production Line Of Stamping Punch

 

Automated stamping production line mainly includes: Progressive die stamping, multi-station stamping, tandem stamping, because of their respective characteristics, are applied to the production of different automotive sheet metal parts, and with their unique advantages, they play a huge role in automotive automation and efficient production system. The characteristics of each of the three automated stamping lines are compared and analyzed, and the selection of the lines is explained according to their characteristics. Therefore, it is convenient for enterprises to combine the characteristics of their own parts, in the choice of automatic production line for reference.

 

With the rapid development of the automobile industry, the four major process stamping industry also boomed. Various automated production lines have been created to cope with the increasing production volume, and are given different production methods as the characteristics of individual products are required. The article classifies the common automatic stamping production lines: step-in die stamping, multi-station stamping, tandem stamping, and briefly analyzes the characteristics and selection methods of each production line.

 

Selection factors for automated stamping lines

 

The following factors are generally considered in selecting the type of press line.

 

(1) Product material: including material type, forming performance, hardness, etc., to measure the choice of coil or sheet forming.

 

(2) Material thickness: material together with the material to select the stamping machine tonnage, as well as the supporting form of the feeding mechanism.

 

(3) Monthly supply and demand: assessing capacity, determining production schedules, and weighing the selection of automatic line types.

 

(4) Volume and difficulty of stamping products: through the standard of complexity of modeling and product quality requirements, comprehensive consideration of the mold design and the corresponding automated stamping production method.

 

Common types of automated stamping lines

 

Stamping line

 

(1) Overview: The automatic production line for stamping is a production line using stamping, which generally consists of unwind feeder, punching machine, stage-feeding die and automatic unloading line. Automated process of uncoiling, flattening of the tape, oiling of the tape, stamping of finished parts, and collection of finished parts from the bottom line.

 

An important part of it: the stage feed die, consisting of multiple stations, more than 20 stations, each station is related in order to complete different processing content, generally in order to punch, trim, flip, shaping, drop material process, etc. A series of different processes are performed in a single stroke of the press. After a stroke is completed, the feeder moves the material belt downward in the direction of the material according to a fixed step, so that multiple processes can be completed simultaneously in a press reciprocating stroke, as shown in Figure 1.

 

(2) Features: The production beat of the automatic production line of stamping of the stage feed die is high, generally up to 30 times/min or more.

 

(a) High production efficiency. A progressive die is a multi-tasking die that can include a variety of processes such as punching, bending, forming and drawing within a single die, and has a high productivity. The progressive modeling process is shown in Figure 2.

 

b. Easy to automate. From loading, feeding, processing, and offloading can be automated, thus reducing labor costs and improving production efficiency, while preventing abnormalities caused by inconsistencies in manual operation.

 

c. Can be produced using high speed presses. Depending on the state of the product, the use of high-speed presses may be considered to achieve higher productivity.

 

d. Operational safety. The progressive press equipment is equipped with safety gates that allow work to be done to improve material utilization. Separating the work area from the personnel operation area to form a relatively enclosed work area, providing safety and security for high-speed production. Traditional tandem production line for high productivity.

 

e. Savings in production plant space. A single machine is a part of a production line that can produce a product with a small footprint and simplifies the transport state inspection of the base and semi-finished products, which is safe.

 

f. Low material utilization. Due to the continuity of the belt and the requirements, in order to ensure the stability of the feed, it is generally necessary to ensure an even distribution of the contents of each process state, and in some cases a part of the material may be sacrificed, and thus a high material utilization rate cannot be achieved.

 

Multi-station press automation line

 

(1) Overview: The production line of a large-tonnage press with multiple (generally 4~5 dies) independent station molds placed on the table, using the destacker or unwind feeder to feed, using the automatic feeding rod for process parts transfer, using the automatic conveyor belt to collect the products of the next line, as shown in Figure 3.

 

(2) Characteristics

 

a. The base material can be either rolled or sheeted, which is flexible and conducive to higher material utilization.

 

b. The use of automatic rod feeding, the punching second is lower than the grade feeding line, higher than the traditional tandem production line, can achieve higher production efficiency.

 

c. It can add loading and unloading sensor, double material detection, gripper sensor, in-mold sensor, etc., to detect the position and status of the material sheet and production parts, with high safety.

 

d. There are high requirements on the feeding height and stamping direction of the moulds in each station, in order to ensure the stability of the feeding, it is generally necessary to ensure the consistency of each process.

 

Tandem Press Automation Line

 

(1) Overview: Multiple presses are sequentially arranged in series to form an automated production line. A set of moulds (i.e. one process of the production process) is placed on the table of each press, and the loading, transfer of process parts and loading and packing of materials are done by an automatic robot or robot, as shown in Figure 4.

(2) Characteristics.

 

a. Wide range of application, can be applied to the production of a variety of stamped parts, the size, shape and plate thickness of the stamped parts do not have high requirements, can be applied to the production of large covering parts, with great flexibility.

 

b. Low production efficiency, due to the use of robotic feeding, the beat stroke can not be higher, compared with the progressive production line, multi-station production line, the production efficiency is lower.

 

c. Facilitate mold maintenance and debugging, because each mold belongs to each press, clamping independent, independent working parameters, each mold process maintenance and debugging can be carried out independently, without affecting each other.

 

d. The production plant occupies a large area, a traditional tandem production line generally includes 4-5 presses and covers a large area.

 

Selection and application of automated stamping lines

 

Automated production line for advanced die presses: With the process characteristics of each process distributed on a single belt and the high number of strokes that can be achieved, it can be used for the production of small parts on the body and can meet a high supply volume.

 

Multi-station automatic stamping production line: It can be applied to the rapid production of medium-sized parts, beams that are not easily deformed, symmetrical parts with complex common mode shape, and products that can be clamped by the gripper on the automatic rod can be applied to the production of the automatic line.

 

Automated tandem stamping line: The line is the most flexible and suitable for large covered parts with complex production processes, due to the independent distribution of each process among the presses, which facilitates the commissioning of individual processes and independent production, facilitating the demanding quality control of the product.

The selection of individual press automation lines can be based on two trend directions: high throughput and high flexibility. Highly efficient, high-volume automated production lines are available for high volume parts. If the parts are more complex and the production process is more demanding, you can choose a highly flexible production line. A simple illustration is shown in figure 5

 

The choice of an automated press production method is generally based on a combination of the following factors.

 

Material (hardness of the material and whether the coil is needed)

Material thickness (punch specifications and matching considerations for leveling feeders)

Monthly production quantity (continuous die for larger quantities, multi-station or tandem mode for general or smaller quantities)

Difficulty of stamping the product shape (according to the product design mold selection for stamping automation method)

 

Progressive (continuous mode automation)

 

Continuous die, refers to the press that uses strip stamping raw material in one stamping stroke, and completes multiple stamping processes with several different stations on a set of dies at the same time for cold stamping dies.

 

 

Multi-station automation approach (Transfer)

 

Multi-station stamping is a stamping process in which the dies of multiple processes are arranged on a single punching machine, and multiple dies are installed on the machine, such as loading and unloading, punching, bending, stretching, cutting, etc., and the workpiece is transferred from the previous station to the next station by a robot in a round-trip cycle, thus obtaining a complete workpiece. It can be divided into quadratic and cubic robotic handling methods.

 

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Three-dimensional handling method

 

Tandem automation approach (Tandem)

 

This is a press automation method that consists of multiple presses in series to form a complete press line, with separate forming processes for the dies of each press, and robots for loading and unloading between presses. It is mainly suitable for product lines with small production requirements, few processing processes and relatively independent, with strong flexible production capacity.