Press Line Carrier Rail Layout for Flexible Workpiece Transport
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing workpiece transport devices in forming machines and press lines occupy significant space, restricting access to the press window and lateral gate areas, and lack flexibility in transporting workpieces with different movement profiles.
Innovation Solution
A transport device with vertically mounted carrier rails, each equipped with a lifting carriage and a rocker, allowing independent movement of transport carriages along the rail, which can pivot out of the processing area, eliminating the need for a longitudinal drive and enabling flexible, space-efficient workpiece transport with individual movement profiles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If transport devices are arranged in the input or output window or lateral gate area of a press, then workpiece transport is enabled, but access to the press is impeded and the press window is spatially restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier rail is mounted vertically on press uprights instead of horizontally in the press window area. This vertical mounting moves the transport system to a different spatial dimension, freeing up the lateral gate area and press window for operator access while maintaining workpiece transport capability through vertical movement of the carrier rail and carriages.
Solution Approach 2:
The carrier rail is made movable through vertical lifting carriages that can displace the rail along the press uprights. This dynamic positioning allows the transport system to be raised or lowered as needed, providing flexibility in space utilization and enabling easy access to the press when the carrier rail is positioned away from the working area.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a common drive unit with spindle drive is used to drive multiple carriages, then device complexity is reduced, but flexibility in transporting workpieces with different movement profiles is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The common drive unit is divided into individual drive mechanisms, with each transport carriage having its own independent drive. This segmentation allows each carriage to be controlled separately, enabling flexible transport of multiple workpieces with different movement profiles, speeds, and timing requirements without the limitations of a synchronized common drive.
Solution Approach 2:
Each transport carriage is self-propelled with its own drive mechanism, allowing it to independently control its movement along the carrier rail. This self-service capability enables each carriage to autonomously execute its specific transport task without being constrained by the motion of other carriages, achieving high adaptability while keeping the overall system relatively simple.
3Area of stationary object
If carrier rails are supported via a frame standing on press base or floor, then structural stability is achieved, but significant space is occupied and press window access is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The carrier rail support system is transitioned from a horizontal frame structure on the press base to a vertical mounting system on press uprights. This dimensional change eliminates the need for a large horizontal support frame, significantly reducing the space occupied on the press base and floor while maintaining mechanical stability through the rigid vertical uprights and lifting carriage mechanism.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a compact, flexible, and space-efficient workpiece transport system that allows for simultaneous transportation of multiple workpieces with different movement profiles without obstructing the press window or lateral gate areas, enhancing operational flexibility and precision in forming machines and press lines.
Implementation Method 1
a lifting carriage (3) displaceably driven in the vertical direction by a lift drive (31)
Implementation Method 2
The lifting carriage has a rocker (36), which the lifting device (34) mounts rotatably. The rocker (36) is connected at its end to the carrier rail (21, 22).
Implementation Method 3
each transport carriage (24) has its own drive mechanism (241), in order to move this transport carriage (24) in a driven manner along the carrier rail (21, 22) independently of other transport carriages
Data Source
AI summary
A transport device for the transport of workpieces in a workpiece transport direction in a press, which has a carrier rail, which is mounted, via a lifting carriage and a rocker rotatably mounted on the lifting carriage, on a vertically running upright of the press. In order to enable a flexible workpiece transport, it is provided that, on the carrier rail, workpiece grippers are mounted on at least two transport carriages, which each have their own drive mechanism in order to move the transport carriages with the workpiece grippers along the carrier rail independently of each other.