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For shorter production runs and broader part mix, between-press automation is the key to fast changeover of tandem lines
Successful tandem press line automation projects require a systemsbased approach to specifying equipment. The project should examine blank loading, interpress part transfer, die change strategy, and finished part unloading. The first step, though, is to upgrade presses to ensure reliability and add PLC control if a press does not have it already. Then you are ready to automate.
Feeding the first press may be easier than feeding the second. Traditional first-press blank-loading equipment has three components:
* A destacker. This uses suction cups to separate a blank from a stack on a pallet and position it for pickup by the loading automation. It then maintains the blank flow to the press at anywhere from 200 to 1000 blanks per hr, according to Atlas Technologies (Fenton, MI).
* The loading mechanism. This can range from a feeder unit like ISI Automation's (Mount Clemens, MI) Pathfinder to a robot, depending on the rate at which the line must feed blanks. Robots may be limited to feeding at rates below 600 pph.
* A washer system. Sometimes optional, it may also be combined with a lubricating system.
Stamping lines processing a range of blank sizes may require a custom loading solution, such as a dualstack destacker unit engineered by ISI Automation that integrates with an Atlas Technologies blank washer, and an ISI Pathfinder. Designed for North America's largest tandem line of Schuler SMF (Dearborn, MI) hydraulic presses at Active Metalforming Technologies (Fenton, MI), the destacker has two programmable lifters that can work together to feed large panels or work independently to feed smaller blanks.
Active Metalforming and other stampers face an interesting dilemma when planning interpress automation: Should they use robots or feed equipment for interpress part transfer?
Robots offer unparalleled flexibility on parts requiring maneuvers, such as tilting. The automation also comes in a variety of configurations to work within the physical confines of almost any press line. For example, the sixaxis K506 robot from Motoman Inc. (West Carrollton, OH), designed specifically for press loading, offers high speed, long reach, and quick setup. The robot can transfer 50-kg parts up to 8m between stamping machines and can...