Processing device for cutting and punching flat material, such as sheet metal, and punching assembly therefor

Abstract

The present invention relates to a processing device (10) for cutting and punching flat material (FM), such as sheet metal, comprising: - a base (12) having a support table for the flat material (FM), wherein the base (12) defines a feed direction (V) in which the flat material (FM) can be fed to the processing device (10), - a first cutting device (40), which is designed to cut the flat material (FM) transverse to the feed direction (V), - a second cutting device (42), which is designed to cut the flat material (FM) in the feed direction (V), and - a separating process unit (34), which is designed to be displaceable in the processing device (10) relative to the base (12) transversely to the feed direction (V), wherein the separating process unit (34) is designed to subject the flat material (FM) to a section-by-section separating process.

Description

[0001] Processing device for cutting and punching flat material, such as sheet metal, and punching assembly therefor

[0002] The present invention relates to a processing device for cutting and punching flat material, such as sheet metal, comprising: a base with a support table for the flat material, wherein the base defines a feed direction in which the flat material can be fed to the processing device, a first cutting device which is designed to cut the flat material transversely to the feed direction, and a second cutting device which is designed to cut the flat material in the feed direction.

[0003] Such processing devices are known from the prior art of sheet metal processing. It is common practice to feed flat material, such as sheet metal, to such processing devices for cutting them longitudinally and transversely.

[0004] Furthermore, it is known from the prior art to subject the flat material to punching during sheet metal processing. This involves using a suitable punching tool to separate sections from the sheet material that has already been cut or is still to be cut, or to cut the sheet material in sections. Such punching can therefore be performed upstream or downstream of processing using a processing device for cutting the flat material, as specified in more detail above. The aim of punching can be to clamp specific recesses into the sheet material. However, it can also be to cut the sheet material, at least in sections, along any desired contour, which is achieved by repeated punching processes using a suitable punching tool along the desired contour.

[0005] Specially designed punching machines are used for this type of punching operation. These usually have a controllable punching unit. A corresponding punching machine with such a punching unit is described, for example, in European patent EP 1 748 853 B1. According to the teachings of this patent, a punching unit is provided which is designed with a double-spindle drive with counter-rotating drive spindles. Via the double-spindle drive, a punching tool is either rotated and thus aligned in its angular position, or is then subjected to a lifting movement in the desired orientation to carry out the punching process. This is achieved by each of the two drive spindles being controlled by a drive motor. The control is such that the lifting movement to carry out the punching process is achieved by driving the two drive spindles in opposite directions around a lifting axis.If the punching tool needs to be rotated, the two drive spindles are driven in the same direction around the stroke axis. This device also provides a tool storage unit for holding the punching tool, which is directly coupled to the double-spindle drive. As a result, this punching unit has limited use, namely to the extent permitted by the tool currently accommodated in the tool storage unit.

[0006] Furthermore, punching units are known from the prior art in which the lifting movement for punching is initiated hydraulically.

[0007] In addition, machining processes on flat material can also be carried out by laser processing or water jet cutting.

[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing device of the type mentioned above, with which the process of section-by-section separation, in particular punching, of the flat material is combined with cutting in the longitudinal and transverse directions. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a punching unit for such a processing device.

[0009] This object is achieved by a processing device of the type mentioned at the outset, which further comprises a separating processing unit which is designed to be displaceable in the processing device relative to the base transversely to the feed direction, wherein the separating processing unit is designed to subject the flat material to a separating or punching process in sections.

[0010] The invention therefore provides for combining the processing steps of cross-cutting and longitudinal cutting with local separating processing, for example in the form of punching, in a single processing device, i.e. in a single machine, by providing the separating processing unit. In addition to the two cutting devices, the punching unit is therefore provided in the machine, with which local punching and separating processing can be carried out on the flat material in one and the same machine. The invention therefore achieves a compact machine for carrying out all separating processing steps that generally have to be carried out when processing flat material, in particular sheet metal. When reference is made to a support table in connection with the present invention, this does not necessarily mean that it is a table with a planar table top.Rather, this means that the flat material can be introduced into the processing device via an extended support and fed to the other components. This support, or support table, can be formed, for example, by a plurality of rollers or roller conveyors.

[0011] The support table can be provided with guide elements for aligning the longitudinal material. Furthermore, the support table can also have forming rollers for straightening the flat material, i.e., for smoothing it if it exhibits deformations such as unevenness, local bulges, curvatures, etc.

[0012] A further development of the invention provides for a guide gantry arranged transversely to the support table to be provided on the base. The guide gantry has a guide device with which the cutting unit can be displaced relative to the base. The cutting unit can thus be displaced on the guide gantry along the guide device and can thus process any desired location on the flat material as it is fed through the machine. Preferably, the guide device has a linear guide.

[0013] In one embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that the flat material on the support table can be displaced relative to the base in the feed direction by means of a feed device. This displacement can be achieved via a displacement device, for example, via driven feed rollers or the like. Furthermore, the flat material can be stopped and fixed in a specific desired position. In this case, it can be provided that the base has a fixing device for temporarily fixing the flat material on the support table.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the invention, the guide gantry can be designed to be displaceable relative to the base in the feed direction. In other words, the guide gantry itself can be displaceable relative to the base, for example such that it can be moved together with the flat material in the feed direction relative to the base within a certain displacement range. However, it can also be possible to temporarily stop the flat material and move the guide gantry relative to the flat material parallel to the intended feed direction in order to perform certain processing steps. This allows, for example, a cut with any desired contour to be achieved in the flat material. Furthermore, the guide gantry can be displaceable relative to the base transversely to the feed direction.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the invention, the first cutting device comprises a guillotine shearing device or a roller shearing device. Such cutting devices are typically used for cutting in the transverse direction of flat material, i.e., transverse to the feed direction. Furthermore, the second cutting device can comprise a circular knife device or a roller shearing device. Such cutting devices are generally used for cutting in the longitudinal direction of the flat material, i.e., parallel to the feed direction.

[0016] As already explained at the beginning, there are various ways of designing the cutting unit. It is important that the cutting unit is suitable for carrying out local cutting operations in the flat material, i.e. making locally specific recesses in the flat material or cutting the flat material along a predetermined profiled line. In this context, it can be provided that the cutting unit is designed with a laser processing unit and / or with a punching unit. Furthermore, the cutting unit can be designed as a water cutting processing head. If designed as a laser processing unit, the cutting unit can have laser optics that provide a laser beam that can be focused onto the flat material. If the cutting unit is designed in the form of a punching unit, it is provided with at least one punching tool.

[0017] In this case, the punching unit can be designed as a hydraulic and / or mechanical punching unit. With a hydraulic punching unit, the lifting movement is achieved by controlling a hydraulic control system. With a mechanical punching unit, the lifting movement is achieved mechanically, for example, via a spindle drive. Furthermore, a mechanical punching unit can also have a wedge drive, meaning the lifting movement can be achieved by shifting different wedge surfaces relative to each other.

[0018] To make punching operations as flexible and multifunctional as possible, a further development of the invention provides for the punching unit to have a plurality of punching tools that can be selectively selected for processing the flat material. This makes it possible to implement a tool holder with a plurality of punching tools, with the desired punching tool being controllable via a separate piston, which, by rotating relative to the tool holder, can selectively control one of the punching tools housed therein and use it for a punching operation. The other punching tools provided in the tool holder remain passive.

[0019] According to the invention, the mechanical punching unit can be designed with a motor-driven double-spindle arrangement with counter-rotating spindle drives and a drive control, wherein a force output element can be selectively displaced in a stroke direction running perpendicular to the feed direction, in particular perpendicular to a main extension direction of the flat material, and / or can be rotated relative to this stroke direction. With such a configuration, the force output element can be used to control a punching unit with a plurality of punching tools. By selecting the angular position of the force output element, the reciprocating piston of a tool assembly of the punching unit with the plurality of punching tools can be rotated and thus selectively control the desired punching tool.

[0020] As an alternative to a dual-spindle arrangement with counter-rotating spindle drives, it is also possible, within the scope of a variant of the invention, to design the punching unit with only one spindle, which can be designed to rotate either clockwise or counterclockwise and can be coupled to a shaft guide that can optionally be designed to be anti-rotation. Such components are also known as lifting-rotating modules.

[0021] The invention further relates to a punching unit for punching a flat material, in particular a processing head for a processing device of the type described above, wherein the processing head comprises: a housing defining a lifting axis; a mechanical or hydraulic lifting device with a force output element; a tool holder rotatably mounted in the housing about a rotation axis for receiving at least one cutting or punching tool; at least one cutting or punching tool receivable in the tool holder and displaceable in the direction of the lifting axis along a tool longitudinal axis, wherein the cutting or punching tool is displaceable along its tool longitudinal axis via the force output element; a rotary positioning device for rotary positioning of the at least one cutting or punching tool;and a die unit configured to interact with the at least one cutting or punching tool and alignable in accordance with its rotational positioning;

[0022] Such a punching unit allows for flexible punching of flat material. The movement is carried out via the mechanical or hydraulic lifting device. The tool holder can be rotated separately relative to the lifting device via the rotary positioning device. This allows the tool selected for cutting or punching to be aligned at any angular position. If multiple cutting or punching tools are provided, they can also be controlled separately. As is well known, to achieve a high-quality machining result, a die unit is provided to hold and guide the cutting or punching tool during the punching process.

[0023] According to a further development of the punching unit according to the invention, it can be provided that the rotary positioning device is designed to rotary position the cutting or punching tool about its longitudinal tool axis and / or about the stroke axis.

[0024] Furthermore, in the punching unit according to the invention, it can be provided that the lifting device is designed with a hydraulic piston which displaces the force output element in the lifting device by at least a predetermined stroke distance.

[0025] An advantageous embodiment of the punching unit according to the invention provides that the lifting device is designed with a spindle arrangement, in particular with a double-spindle arrangement, wherein the double-spindle arrangement is provided with a first spindle drive and a second spindle drive. The first and second spindle drives can have drive spindles designed to rotate in opposite directions. When the first and second spindle drives are driven in the same direction, the force output element is rotatably positionable about the lifting axis. When the first and second spindle drives are driven in opposite directions, the force output element is displaceable along the lifting axis in the lifting direction.

[0026] In this embodiment of the punching unit according to the invention, it can further be provided that the tool holder has a turret with a plurality of cutting or punching tools accommodated therein, wherein each of the cutting or punching tools can be selectively activated for processing the flat material. Furthermore, a further development of this variant of the invention provides that the force output element has a coupling element arranged eccentrically relative to the stroke axis and selectively rotatably positionable about the stroke axis. Depending on the rotational position of the coupling element about the stroke axis, the respective cutting or punching tool can be activated for processing the flat material, with non-activated cutting or punching tools remaining passive.

[0027] Furthermore, this variant of the invention can provide that the tool holder is assigned a lifting piston that can be coupled to the force output element and with which the respectively activated cutting or punching tool can be displaced along its longitudinal tool axis in the stroke direction.

[0028] In order to position the respective punching tool in a predetermined angular position, a further development of the processing head according to the invention provides that a rotary drive is assigned to the tool holder, by means of which the tool holder can be rotated about the lifting axis relative to the housing, wherein the orientation of the at least one cutting or punching tool of the lifting axis can be changed in accordance with the rotational position of the tool holder.

[0029] Furthermore, a further development of the punching unit according to the invention provides that a rotary drive is assigned to the die unit, by means of which a die which receives the respectively activated cutting or punching tool and is complementary to the activated cutting or punching tool can be rotated about the stroke axis relative to the housing, wherein the die can be positioned according to the alignment and positioning of the activated cutting or punching tool of the stroke axis.

[0030] The invention is explained below by way of example with reference to the figures. They depict:

[0031] Fig. 1 is a spatial representation of a processing device according to the invention;

[0032] Fig. 2 is a three-dimensional sectional view along a vertical sectional plane running in the feed direction of the processing device according to the invention;

[0033] Fig. 3 is a three-dimensional view of an upper part of a punching unit according to the invention;

[0034] Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the upper part of the punching unit according to the invention, with a portion of the housing removed to reveal the double spindle arrangement; Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the stroke axis of the upper part of the punching unit according to the invention;

[0035] Fig. 6 shows a section of the processing device according to the invention, which shows an infeed arranged upstream of the punching unit with respect to the feed direction and a die device of the punching unit in an axis-containing section;

[0036] Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a section of Figure 6 to explain the interaction between the individual components of the punching unit;

[0037] Fig. 8 is a spatial partial sectional view to explain the tool holder;

[0038] Fig. 10 is a spatial sectional view of the die device; and

[0039] Fig. 11 is a further spatial axis-containing sectional view of the die device.

[0040] Figure 1 shows a three-dimensional representation of a processing device according to the invention, generally designated 10. This device comprises a base 12 fixedly mounted on a substrate and having a support table 14 on which flat material FM can be placed and moved in a feed direction V. Drive rollers 16, 18, which can be driven and between which the flat material FM can be guided, serve for displacement. The flat material FM can be sheet metal, for example. The base 12 further has two lateral cheeks 20, 22 on which the support table 14 and the various drive rollers 16, 18 are mounted.

[0041] Furthermore, a guide gantry 24 is attached to the two lateral cheeks 20, 22, which extends transversely to the support table 14 above and below the plane along which the flat material FM is guided. This guide gantry 24 is mounted so as to be linearly displaceable relative to the base 12 via lateral gantry holders 26, 28 along a linear guide 30. The guide gantry 24 can therefore be displaced relative to the base 12 to a certain extent in the feed direction V via the two gantry holders 26, 28. A first linear guide 32 is attached to the guide gantry 24 in the transverse direction Q. This linear guide 32 serves to displace a punching unit 34, which will be explained in more detail below, relative to the guide gantry 24 in the transverse direction Q and thus transversely to the base 12.

[0042] Furthermore, two cutting devices can be seen in Figure 1. A first

[0043] Cutting device 40 is designed in the form of a shearing device and serves to cut the flat material in the transverse direction Q. A second cutting device 42 is designed in the form of a roller shearing device and serves to cut the flat material FM in the longitudinal direction, i.e., in the feed direction V. The cutting device 40 is fixedly mounted, with a knife 44 being displaceable in the vertical direction Z via a linear guide. An eccentric drive 46 is provided for this purpose. The cutting device 42 has a roller knife 48 that is linearly displaceable on a guide cylinder 50.

[0044] Details of this machine can also be seen in the illustration according to Figure 2, in which the front lateral cheek 20 in Figure 1 has been cut away to provide a better view of the machine. It can be seen that a series of guide rollers 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64 for guiding, positioning, clamping and displacing the flat material FM are mounted in the base 12 or on the lateral cheeks 20, 22. Furthermore, it can be seen that the gantry 24 has a further linear guide 66 which is displaceable along the linear guide 30. The gantry carries the punching unit 34, which has a processing head 68 and a die unit 72. The latter's mode of operation will also be discussed in more detail below. A further linear guide 74 is provided to guide the die unit 72. This allows the machining head 68 and the die unit 72 to be moved synchronously in the transverse direction along the portal 24 and the further guide unit 70.

[0045] It should also be noted that the portal 24 is constructed in two parts. It has an upper section 76 and a lower section 78, which are separated from each other by a guide gap 79. The flat material FM is guided through the guide gap 79.

[0046] Figure 3 shows a three-dimensional representation of the upper part of the machining head 68. This comprises a housing 80 in which a double spindle drive 82 with counter-rotating drive spindles is housed. Figure 4 again shows the upper part of the machining head 68, but shown from a different perspective, with part of the housing 80 omitted. In addition to the double spindle drive 82, the machining head 68 has two drive motors 84, 86. These two drive motors are each provided with an output gear 88, 90, each of which can drive corresponding drive gears 92, 94 of the double spindle drive 82 via a toothed belt (not shown). Furthermore, Figures 3 and 4 show a force output element 96 which has an eccentrically projecting nose 98. For further explanation, it should also be noted that the double spindle drive 82 has a rotation axis A.Figure 5 shows an axis-containing section of the machining head 68 along axis A. This shows the force output element 96 with the protruding nose 98. A first spindle 100 is received in a first spindle sleeve 102. The spindle sleeve 102 is rotationally driven via the output gear 88 and the drive gear 92. It is mounted in the housing 80 via a bearing arrangement 104 for rotation about axis A. A second spindle 106 is received in a second spindle sleeve 108. The spindle sleeve 108 is rotationally driven via the output gear 90 (not shown here) and the drive gear 94. The spindles are coupled to one another via a coupling part 110. The mode of operation is known per se from the prior art, for example from document EP 1 748 853 B1. The two drive motors 84, 86 can be controlled in such a way that they orient the two drive gears 92, 94 in opposite or in the same direction, iein opposite or the same direction of rotation. If both spindle sleeves 102 and 108 rotate in the same direction, only a rotational movement of the force output element 96 occurs and thus a twisting of the nose 98 about the axis A, so that the eccentrically projecting nose 98 changes in its angular position about the axis of rotation A. If both spindle sleeves 102 and 108 rotate in opposite directions, a lifting movement of the spindle 106 occurs and thus a lifting movement of the force output element 96 along the axis A in the lifting direction.

[0047] Figure 6 now shows the machining head 68 coupled to the gantry 24 together with the die unit 72, which is attached to the linear guide 74 of the lower part of the gantry 24. It can be seen that the gantry 24 defines, in its upper and lower regions, a conically tapered inlet region 110 in the form of a gap for the flat material FM. This ensures that the flat material FM is guided in a predetermined orientation into the region in which the machining head 68 and the die unit 72 interact. It can also be seen that the force output element 96 of the machining head 68 is coupled to a punching tool assembly 112. The punching tool assembly 112 is firmly held in a subrack 114, but can be removed therefrom for maintenance or replacement. The subrack 114 can be rotated relative to a housing 120 via a rotary drive 116.This means that the punching tool assembly 112 can be rotated as desired relative to the housing 120 about the axis A.

[0048] Furthermore, Figure 6 above shows that the punching tool assembly 112 is coupled to the projecting nose 98 of the force output element 96. The nose 98 engages in a corresponding recess on a lifting piston (not shown in detail) of the punching tool assembly 112. By rotating the nose 98 of the force output element 96, the lifting piston of the punching tool assembly 112 can be rotated therein. However, if the force output element 96 of the machining head 34 is displaced in the direction of axis A in order to execute a lifting movement, the lifting piston of the punching tool assembly 112 can also be displaced in the axial direction to achieve a lifting movement of an individual punching tool. This will be explained in more detail below.

[0049] Furthermore, Figure 6 shows the die unit 72. This comprises a die plate 130, which is accommodated in a rotatable die carrier 132. The die carrier 132 is mounted in a housing 134 and can be rotated via a separate rotary drive, which is controlled synchronously with the rotary drive 116.

[0050] Figure 7 shows in detail the arrangement regarding the coupling of the force output element 96 to the punching tool 112. It can be seen how the nose 98 engages with the reciprocating piston (not shown in detail) of the punching tool assembly 112. Furthermore, Figure 7 shows that the carrier 114 for the punching tool assembly 112 is provided with external teeth 115, via which it can be driven in rotation. Furthermore, Figure 7 shows that the carrier 132 is also provided with external teeth 136, via which the die plate 130 with the carrier 132 can be displaced about the axis A.

[0051] Figures 8 and 9 show further details regarding the punching tool assembly 112. In particular, the bottom view according to Figure 9 shows that the punching tool assembly 112 has four different punching tools, namely a substantially square punching tool 140, a triangular punching tool 142, a circular punching tool 144, and an elongated punching tool 146. In the perspective partial sectional view according to Figure 8, only the two punching tools 144 and 146 can be seen. Each of these four punching tools can be specifically controlled by rotating the reciprocating piston of the punching tool assembly 112 via the nose 98 of the force output element 96 in each case aligned with the punching tool to be selected.A lifting movement of the force output element 96 then leads specifically to the lifting movement of the selected punching tool, for example the elongated punching tool 146, whereby in this example case all other punching tools 140, 142, 144 remain passive.

[0052] Furthermore, Figure 8 shows a drive motor 150 with an output gear 152 that interacts with the drive gear 115 on the carrier 114 for the punching tool assembly 112. Accordingly, a separate drive is provided for rotating the punching tool assembly 112, so that the punching tool 146 selected in the example can be brought into any angular position relative to the axis A. Finally, Figures 10 and 11 show the die unit 72 with the die plate 130. The die plate 130 has die recesses that complement the respective profile of the punching tools 140, 142, 144 and 146, of which only two are shown in Figure 10, namely the two die recesses 160, 162. Furthermore, Figures 10 and 11 show a drive motor 164 with an output gear 166, which is designed to drive the drive gear 136 and thus the die carrier 132 in rotation via a toothed belt (not shown).As a result, the individual die recesses in the die plate 130 can also be rotated to any desired angular position about the axis A. It is understood that the rotation of the die plate 130 occurs synchronously and aligned with the rotation of the punching tool assembly 130 in order to keep the selected punching tool 140, 142, 144 or 146 correctly aligned with the respective recess in the die plate 130.

[0053] With the invention, flat material FM can be cut both in the transverse direction Q and in the feed direction V by means of the two cutting devices 40 and 42. Furthermore, the flat material FM can be punched and cut in sections as desired via the processing head 68 and the die unit 72 assigned to it, for example by using the elongated punching tool 146. The punching process can be supported by the fact that the entire gantry 24 with the processing head 68 and the die unit 72 assigned to it can also be displaced along the linear guide 30. This allows, for example, the flat material FM to be fixed in the base relative to the feed direction V for a specific machining process and yet a punching process can be carried out in a specific surface area of ​​the flat material FM.The design of the machining head 68 in the illustrated embodiment with a double-spindle drive with counter-rotating drive spindles allows the machining head 68 to be designed relatively independently. It only needs to be supplied with power and connected to the control system. For example, no supply lines for hydraulics or the like are required. Furthermore, the machining head 68 is robustly constructed. The use of a punching tool assembly 112 with multiple punching tools offers greater flexibility and, in particular, significant advantages over the document EP 1 748 843 B1 discussed above.

[0054] Overall, the device according to the invention offers a compact machine that combines both the cutting of flat material FM and the execution of punching processes.

Claims

Patent claims 1. A processing device (10) for cutting and punching flat material (FM), such as sheet metal, comprising: a base (12) with a support table for the flat material (FM), wherein the base (12) defines a feed direction (V) in which the flat material (FM) can be fed to the processing device (10), a first cutting device (40) configured to cut the flat material (FM) transversely to the feed direction (V), and a second cutting device (42) configured to cut the flat material (FM) in the feed direction (V), characterized in that the processing device (10) further comprises a separation processing unit (34) configured to be displaceable in the processing device (10) relative to the base (12) transversely to the feed direction (V), wherein the separation processing unit (34) is configured to subject the flat material (FM) to a separation processing operation section by section.

2. Machining device (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that a guide portal is provided on the base (12) which is arranged transversely to the support table (14), wherein the guide portal (24) has a guide device with which the cutting machining unit (34) can be guided and displaced relative to the base (12), wherein in particular the guide device has a linear guide.

3. Machining device (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the guide portal (24) is designed to be displaceable relative to the base (12) in the feed direction (V).

4. Machining device (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the flat material (FM) on the support table (14) can be displaced relative to the base (12) in the feed direction (V) by means of a feed device.

5. Machining device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base (12) has a fixing device for temporarily fixing the flat material (FM) on the support table (14).

6. Machining device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first cutting device (40) is a guillotine shear device or a roller shear device.

7. Machining device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the second cutting device (42) comprises a rotary knife device or a roller shear device.

8. Processing device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the separation processing unit (34) is designed with a laser processing unit and / or with a punching unit (34).

9. Machining device (10) according to claim 8, characterized in that the punching unit is designed as a hydraulic and / or mechanical punching unit (34).

10. Machining device (10) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the punching unit (34) has a plurality of punching tools (140, 142, 144, 176) which can be selected for machining the flat material (FM).

11. Machining device (10) according to claim 10, characterized in that the mechanical punching unit (34) is designed with a motor-driven double-spindle arrangement (82) with counter-rotating spindle drives and a drive control, wherein the force output element (96) is optionally displaceable in a stroke direction perpendicular to the feed direction (V), in particular perpendicular to a main extension direction of the flat material (FM), and / or rotatable relative to it.

12. Punching unit (34) for punching a flat material (FM), in particular a processing head for a processing device (10) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the processing head comprises: a housing defining a stroke axis (A); a mechanical or hydraulic lifting device with a force output element (96); a tool holder (112) rotatably mounted in the housing about a rotation axis (A) for receiving at least one cutting or punching tool; at least one cutting or punching tool (140, 142, 144, 146) that can be received in the tool holder (112) and displaceable in the direction of the stroke axis along a longitudinal tool axis, wherein the cutting or punching tool is displaceable along its longitudinal tool axis via the force output element (96); a rotary positioning device for rotary positioning of the at least one cutting or punching tool (150, 152, 115); and a die unit (72) designed to interact with the at least one cutting or punching tool and alignable according to its rotational positioning.

13. Punching unit (34) according to claim 12, characterized in that the rotary positioning device is designed to rotate the cutting or punching tool (140, 142, 144, 146) about its longitudinal tool axis and / or about the stroke axis.

14. Punching unit (34) according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the lifting device is designed with a hydraulic piston which displaces the force output element in the lifting device by at least a predetermined stroke distance.

15. Punching unit (34) according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the lifting device is designed with a spindle arrangement, in particular with a double spindle arrangement (82), wherein the double spindle arrangement is provided with a first spindle drive and a second spindle drive, wherein the first and the second spindle drive have drive spindles designed to rotate in opposite directions, wherein, when the first and the second spindle drive are driven in the same direction, the force output element can be rotated about the lifting axis, and, when the first and the second spindle drive are driven in opposite directions, the force output element can be displaced along the lifting axis in the lifting direction.

16. Punching unit (34) according to claim 15, characterized in that the tool holder has a turret with a plurality of cutting or punching tools (140, 142, 144, 146) held therein, wherein each of the cutting or punching tools can be selectively activated for processing the flat material (FM).

17. Punching unit (34) according to claim 16, characterized in that the force output element (96) has a coupling element arranged eccentrically relative to the stroke axis and which can be selectively rotated about the stroke axis, wherein, depending on the rotational position of the coupling element about the stroke axis, the respective cutting or punching tool for processing the flat material (FM) can be activated, wherein non-activated cutting or punching tools remain passive.

18. Punching unit (34) according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that a reciprocating piston which can be coupled to the force output element is associated with the tool holder (112), with which the respective activated cutting or punching tool (140, 142, 144, 146) can be displaced along its longitudinal tool axis in the direction of lifting.

19. Punching unit (34) according to claims 12 to 18, characterized in that a rotary drive (150) is assigned to the tool holder (140, 142, 144, 146) by means of which the tool holder can be rotatably positioned about the stroke axis relative to the housing, wherein the orientation of the at least one cutting or punching tool (140, 142, 144, 146) of the stroke axis can be changed according to the rotational position of the tool holder.

20. Punching unit (34) according to one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that a rotary drive is assigned to the die unit (72) by means of which a die (130) complementary to the activated cutting or punching tool (140, 142, 144, 146) receiving the respective activated cutting or punching tool can be rotatably positioned about the stroke axis relative to the housing, wherein the die can be positioned according to the alignment and positioning of the activated cutting or punching tool (140, 142, 144, 146) of the stroke axis.

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