Sheet Metal Punching Line With Reorientation for Irregular Blanks
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing metal sheet punching plants face inefficiencies in processing irregularly shaped pieces from continuous strips, leading to material waste and complexity, especially when pieces do not have regular shapes or orientations, requiring offline cutting and repositioning, which complicates the system and reduces production speed.
Innovation Solution
A metal sheet punching plant with a multi-station processing line and additional manipulator that reorients and positions irregularly shaped pieces for efficient processing, allowing in-line processing of metal sheets regardless of piece shape or orientation, using a press with synchronized mold stations and a manipulator system to minimize material waste and maintain high production rates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of substance
If the strip of metal sheet is cut offline and pieces are manually positioned on a loader, then material waste is minimized, but the system complexity increases and production speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary positioning and orientation of metal pieces using a robotic manipulator with vision guidance before they enter the punching line. The manipulator pre-arranges pieces in the correct orientation and position, eliminating the need for offline cutting and manual positioning, thus reducing both material waste and system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical positioning with an automated robotic manipulator system equipped with vision sensors. This substitution eliminates the need for complex manual intervention and offline processing, allowing direct in-line processing while minimizing material waste through precise automated handling
2Productivity
If pieces are cut from a continuous strip in-line, then production speed increases, but material waste increases when pieces have irregular shapes or orientations
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates vision sensors that detect the shape, size, and orientation of each metal piece in real-time. This feedback information is used by the control system to adjust the robotic manipulator's positioning and the punching line's operation, enabling in-line processing of irregularly shaped pieces with minimal material waste by optimizing cut patterns based on actual piece geometry
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the punching line operation based on the detected characteristics of each piece. The robotic manipulator can adapt its positioning strategy in real-time, and the punching process can be modified on-the-fly to accommodate irregular shapes and orientations, maintaining high production speed while minimizing waste
3Loss of substance
If a robotic manipulator is added to reposition pieces in-line, then material waste decreases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic manipulator is designed as a multi-functional device that performs multiple tasks: picking up pieces from the feeder, positioning them in the punching line, and repositioning them if needed. This universal device replaces what would otherwise require multiple separate systems, reducing overall complexity while minimizing material waste through flexible in-line handling
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Plant for punching, preferably cold, pieces of metal sheet, comprising at least one punching line with a press (2) provided with at least two punching stations (8i step) and a transfer system comprising a main manipulator (22) operated in synchronism with the working rate of said press (2) for picking up each piece of metal sheet (10) from a punching station (8i) and transferring it to the subsequent punching station (8i + 1) characterized in that it comprises: - a punching station (6) positioned within the same press (2) and operated in synchronism with it, - an additional manipulator (24) associated with said punching station (6) and provided with means (34) for moving said piece of metal sheet outside said punching station (6) and means for repositioning it (31, 35) thereof into said punching station (6) in a position suitable for being picked up or by said main manipulator (22) for transfer to the first punching station (81), and - a cyclic deactivation mechanism (36) of said punching station (6) when, at said punching station (6), there is a piece of sheet (10') that has already been partly sheared.