Modular die set

Abstract

The present invention relates to a modular die set (100) for casting the components. The modular die set includes a lower die assembly (110) and as upper die assembly (310). The die assemblies (110, 310) have replaceable magazines (110B, 310B) that eliminates the need of scraping the whole die set (100) after using for casting of components having same design.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONGenerally, blanking Dies are used for manufacturing of one or morecomponents by shearing and / or trimming of sheet metal. Typically, the die sets areconfigured with a configuration that is complementary to the desired shape of thecomponent. As a result, the development of the die set cast takes a lot of time,material, money and effort considering the desired 2D shape of the blank and theblank is used in following operation to form the intended product. Once the requirednumber of components is manufactured, the die set is discarded.However, discarding of the whole die set results in increase of the industrialwaste. Further, making a die set cast specifically for a particular componentconfiguration increases the footprint required. The footprint is configured on themagazines that are part of the die shoes. Therefore, for every new requirement of theblank design, the whole die set has to be scrapped as the magazines cannot beseparated from the die shoe. Furthermore, the time, material, cost, and effortsinvested in manufacturing the die set that can be utilized only for one design arewasted. Thus, there is a need for a die set that eliminates the aforementioneddrawbacks.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention provides a modular die set having an upper dieassembly and a lower die assembly. The upper die assembly includes an uppermagazine removably placed on the upper die shoe. The upper magazine includes atleast one punch plate configured thereon. The lower die assembly includes a lowermagazine removably placed on the lower die shoe. The lower magazine includes atleast one die block configured thereon. The upper and lower magazine includes aplurality of conical locator receivers configured at bottom surfaces thereof. Theconical locators have a concave conical shape. The upper and lower die shoe includesa plurality of conical locators configured at upper surface thereof. These conicallocators have a convex conical shape. The conical locator receivers of the upper andlower die shoe fit in the conical locators of the upper and lower magazine. A polarityguide bush are configured in upper die shoe and upper die magazine and similarly inlower die shoe and lower die magazine. A locating pillar is fixed in the pair of guidebush by coinciding the guide bushes of the upper die magazine and the upper die shoeand similarly lower die magazine and lower die shoe. Each die shoe of the die set isprovided with at least one rib structure.In one aspect of the present invention, a modular die set is provided. Themodular die set includes an upper die assembly. The upper die assembly includes anupper magazine removably coupled to an upper die shoe. The upper die assemblyalso includes at least one punch plate removably coupled to the upper magazine. Themodular die set also includes a lower die assembly. The lower die assembly includesa lower magazine removably coupled to a lower die shoe. The lower die assemblyalso includes at least one die block removably coupled to the lower magazine.According to the present invention, the upper die assembly further includingan upper die bush configured on the upper die and an upper magazine bushconfigured on the upper magazine. Each pair of bush having a locating pillarremovably fixed therein.According to the present invention, the lower die assembly further including alower die bush configured on the lower die and a lower magazine bush configured onthe lower magazine. Each pair of bush having a locating pillar removably fixedtherein.According to the present invention, the lower and upper magazines includinga plurality of conical locator receivers configured at bottom surfaces thereof.According to the present invention, the lower and upper die shoes including aplurality of conical locators configured at upper surfaces thereof.According to the present invention, the conical locator receivers configuredon the lower and upper magazines having a concave conical shape.According to the present invention, the conical locators configured on thelower and upper die shoes having a convex conical shape.According to the present invention, the conical locators of the lower andupper die shoes fit in the conical locator receivers of the lower and upper magazine,respectively.According to the present invention, the punch plate including a plurality offirst inserts positioned thereon. The die plate including a plurality of second insertspositioned thereon.According to the present invention, each die magazine including at least onerib structure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGA modular blanking die set of the present disclosure will now be describedwith the help of the accompanying drawing, in which:FIG. 1A and 1B illustrates an isometric view of the die set, in accordance toan embodiment of the present disclosure;FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of lower die assembly of the die set ofFIG. 1;FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of upper die assembly of the die set ofFIG. 1;FIG. 4 illustrates a isometric view of rib structures of the die set of FIG. 1;FIG. 5A-5B illustrates a isometric view of a locating pillars of the die set ofFIG. 1;FIG. 6 illustrates a isometric view of conical locators of the die set of FIG.1;FIG. 7 illustartes a front view of guide bushes and pillar positions on themagazines of the modular die set of the present invention; andFIG. 8 illustrates an isometric view of inserts positions on magazines of themodular die set of the present invention;DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONEmbodiments, of the present disclosure, will now be described with referenceto the accompanying drawing.Embodiments are provided so as to thoroughly and fully convey the scope ofthe present disclosure to the person skilled in the art. Numerous details are set forthrelating to specific components to provide a complete understanding of embodimentsof the present disclosure. It will be apparent to the person skilled in the art that thedetails provided in the embodiments should not be construed to limit the scope of thepresent disclosure. In some embodiments, well-known processes, well-knownapparatus structures, and well-known techniques are not described in detail.The terminology used, in the present disclosure, is only for the purpose ofexplaining a particular embodiment and such terminology shall not be considered tolimit the scope of the present disclosure. As used in the present disclosure, the forms"a," "an," and "the" may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly suggests otherwise. The terms "comprises," "comprising,""including," and "having," are open ended transitional phrases and therefore specifythe presence of stated elements, modules, units and / or components, but do not forbidthe presence or addition of one or more other elements, components, and / or groupsthereof.The terms first, second, third, etc., should not be construed to limit the scopeof the present disclosure as the aforementioned terms may be only used to distinguishone element, component, region, layer or section from another component, or section.Terms such as first, second, third etc., when used herein do not imply a specificsequence or order unless clearly suggested by the present disclosure.In general aspect, the present invention relates to a modular blanking die thatcan be used for casting components of different shapes and configurations. Themodular die set has replaceable lower and upper magazines that eliminates the needof scrapping the whole die set after used for one project. The modular die set that isdeveloped in a relatively shorter period of time and that needs not to be scrappedeven after resultant product is replaced. The modular die set that occupies relativelylesser footprint.A preferred embodiment of a modular die set (100) of the present disclosurewill now be described in detail with reference from FIG. 1A-8. The preferredembodiment does not limit the scope of the present disclosure.Referring to FIGS. 1A-3, a modular die set (100) with respect to the preferredembodiment of the present invention is shown. The die set (100) includes a lower dieassembly (110) and an upper die assembly (310). The lowe die assembly (110)includes a lower die shoe (110A) having a lower magazine (110B) removably placedthereon. The upper die assembly (310) includes an upper die shoe (310A) having anupper magazin (310B) removably placed thereon.Referring to FIG. 5A-5B, in accordance with an embodiment, a plurality ofapertures is configured on the die shoes (110A, 310A) at predefeind locations. In anembodiment, the apertures are configured on the corners of the die shoes (110A,310A). The apertures receive a plurality of guide bushes (118, 318) therein. Theguide bush (118, 318) include a pair of upper die bush (318A) and upper magazinebush (318B) and a pair of a lower die bush (118A) and a lower magazine bush(118B). Each pair of bush (318A, 318B and 118A, 118B) have a locating pillar (120,320) fixed therein. In an embodiment, the guide bush (318A, 318B and 118A, 118B)and the locating pillars (120, 320) are configured to absorb any side thrust that maybe exerted on the die set (100) during forming operations & maintain repeatability ofa magazine every time the operation.Referring to FIG. 6, in an embodiment, the upper and lower die shoe (310A,110A,) and the upper and the lower magazine (310B, 110B,) have a plurality ofconical locator (114), and a plurality of conical locator receivers (112) for the fixingthe upper and lower magazine (310B, 110B) on the upper and lower die shoe (310A,110A) respectively. The upper and lower die magazine (310B, 110B) includes aplurality of conical locator receiver (112) configured on bottom surface thereof. Theconical locator receiver (112) of the upper and lower magazine (310B,110B) have aconcave conical configuration. The upper and lower die shoe (310A, 110A) includesa plurality of conical locators (114) configured on upper surface of the upper andlower die shoe (110A). The conical locators (114) of the upper and lower die shoe(310A, 110A) have convex conical shape such that the cone protrudes out from theupper surface of the upper and lower die shoe (310A, 110A). The conical locator(114) of the upper and lower die shoe (310A, 110A) fits in the conical locatorreceiver (112) of the upper and lower magazine (310B, 110B).The upper die magazin (310B) is spaced apart from the lower die magazin(110B) with the help of the guide pins and the guide bushes. The die magazin (110B,310B) are configured with a standard set of predefined dimensions. In anembodiment, the ratio of length to breadth of each die shoe (110A, 310A) rangesfrom 1.5 to 2. The ratio of length to height of the die set (100) in an inoperativeconfiguration ranges from 10 to 15. In an embodiment, the die shoes (110A, 310A)have a rectangular configuration. However, it is understood here that the shape of dieshoe may vary in alternative embodiments of the present invention.In an embodiment, at least one punch plate ( 322) is attached to the uppermagazine (310B). The punch plate (322) includes at least one punch (323) attachedthereto. The configuration of the punch (323) is complementary to the configurationof the component to be manufactured. In an embodiment, at least one die block (122)is configured on the lower magazin (110B). Each die block (122) includes at least oneblank (123) configured thereon. The blank ( 123) has a configuration complementaryto the configuration of the component to be manufactured. It is to be noted here that,at least one blank (123) is configured on the lower magazin (110B) such that theblank (123) of the die block (122) configured on the lower magazine (110AB) opensinto the blank (123) of the lower die shoe (110A).In an embodiment, each die shoe (110A, 310A) is provided with at least onerib structure (126, 326). The rib structure (126, 326) are placed along the periphery ofthe lower die shoe (110A) and the upper die shoe (310A) respectively. The ribstructure (126), (326) ensure that load exerted on the die, more specifically the dieblock (122) is transferred to the rib nearest to the location of the load exertion. In anembodiment, the rib structure (126, 326) has a rectangular configurationcomplementary to the configuration of the die shoes (110A, 310A). The ribstructures (126, 326) bear the load exerted on the die shoes (110A, 310A).In an embodiment, apertures ( 128, 328) are provided at predefined points onthe lower die shoes and upper die shoe (110A, 310A) to allow fastening of the punch(323) and the die block (122) to the die shoes (310A, 110A), thus facilitatingattachment of the punches (323) and the die block (122) of any configuration to thedie shoes (310A, 110A) respectively without the need for changing any othercomponent. Consecutively, only the die block (122) and the punch (323)corresponding to the first component configuration needs to be replaced by the dieblock (122) and the punch (323) corresponding to the second componentconfiguration if the production of the first component configuration is discontinued,and all the other components of the die set (100) can be reused.Referring FIGS. 7-8, the upper die magazine (310B) includes first trimminginserts (325) positioned thereon in a predefined configuration. Similarly, the lowerdie magazine (110B) has second trimming insert (125) sonfigured thereon in apredefined configuration. The configuration of the trimming inserts (125, 325) isdefiend as per the requirement of the shape to be punched or blanked. The first inserts(325) are placed as per the shape and configuration of the punch (323). The secondinserts are placed as per the shape and configuration of the die block (122). Further,the trimmed material is collected in a plurality of scrap chutes (126) placed in thelower portions of the lower die magazine (110B).The modular die set (100) of the present invention facilitates removablepositioning of the lower magazine (110B) on the lower die shoe (110A) and uppermagazine (310B) on the upper die shoe (310A). The magazines (110B, 310B) havethe shapes and configurations of the blanks to be cut on the material. The presentinvention facilitates replacement of the magazines (110B, 310B) without dismantlingor scrapping the whole die set (100). Thus, the modular die set (100) of the presentinvention eliminates the need for scrapping the entire die set (100), thereby negatingthe time, material, money and the effort required to develop the other components ofthe die set (100). Additionally, the footprint of the die set (100) is reduced.The modular die set of the present invention can be used for castingcomponents of different configurations. The die set (100) can be developed andmanufactured easily and in a relatively shorter period of time. The die set (100) needsnot to be scrapped even after resultant product is replaced; and it also occupiesrelatively lesser footprint. It is to be noted here that the upper magazine (310B) isremoved from the upper die shoe (310A) and replaced with the new magazine.Similarly, lower magazine (110B) is removed from the lower die shoe (310A) andreplaced with the new magazine. Thus, the present invention eliminates need of thescrapping and replacing whole die for every different project. It is to be noted herethat the magazines are replaced by removing and fixing the elements like locatingpillar (120, 320) from the respective guide bushes (118B, 318B) and fitting theconical locator (114) in the conical locator receiver (112). The locating Pillars / (120,320) and the guide bushes (118B, 318B) fitted by using nitrogen & press fitting. Theconical locators (114) are fixed with bolts & once position is finalized, doweled.The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous detailsthereof are explained with reference to the non-limiting embodiments in thefollowing description. Descriptions of well-known components and processingtechniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein.The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of waysin which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skillin the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should notbe construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.The use of the expression "at least" or "at least one" suggests the use of one ormore elements or ingredients or quantities, as the use may be in the embodiment ofthe disclosure to achieve one or more of the desired objects or results.Any discussion of devices, articles or the like that has been included in thisspecification is solely for the purpose of providing a context for the disclosure. It isnot to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form a part of the priorart base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the disclosure asit existed anywhere before the priority date of this application.While considerable emphasis has been placed herein on the components andcomponent parts of the preferred embodiments, it will be appreciated that manyembodiments can be made and that many changes can be made in the preferredembodiments without departing from the principles of the disclosure. These and otherchanges in the preferred embodiment as well as other embodiments of the disclosurewill be apparent to those skilled in the art from the disclosure herein, whereby it is tobe distinctly understood that the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpretedmerely as illustrative of the disclosure and not as a limitation.

Claims

1. A modular die set (100) comprising: an upper die assembly (310) including: an upper magazine (310B) removably coupled to an upper die shoe (310A); and at least one punch plate (322) removably coupled to the upper magazine (310B); and a lower die assembly (110) including: a lower magazine (110B) removably coupled to a lower die shoe (110A); and at least one die block (122) removably coupled to the lower magazine (110B).

2. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the upper die assembly (310) includes an upper die bush (318A) configured on the upper die (310A) and an upper magazine bush (318B) configured on the upper magazine (310B), each pair of bush (318A, 318B) having a locating pillar (320) removably fixed therein.

3. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower die assembly (110) includes a lower die bush (118A) configured on the lower die (110A) and a lower magazine bush (118B) configured on the lower magazine (110B), each pair of bush (118A, 118B) having a locating pillar (120) removably fixed therein.

4. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower and upper magazines (110B, 310B) includes a plurality of conical locator receiver (112) configured at bottom surfaces thereof.

5. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the lower and upper die shoes (110A, 310A) includes a plurality of conical locators (114) configured at upper surfaces thereof.

6. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the conical locator receivers (112) configured on the lower and upper magazines (110B, 310B) having a concave conical shape.

7. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the conical locators (114) configured on the lower and upper die shoes (110A, 310A) having a convex conical shape.

8. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claims 4 and 5, wherein the conical locators (114) of the lower and upper die shoes (110A, 310A) fit in the conical locator receivers (112) of the lower and upper magazine (110B, 310B), respectively.

9. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the punch plate (322) has a plurality of first inserts (325) positioned thereon; and the die plate (122) has a plurality of second inserts (125) positioned thereon.

10. The modular die set (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein each die magazine (110B, 310B) includes at least one rib structure (126, 326).