In response to a request to apply a cosmetic finish to components from a turret punch press, Wilson Tool International of Swindon has developed a special tool to produce a hexagonal surface pattern.

In response to a customer request to apply a cosmetic finish to certain components produced on a turret punch press and avoid the cost to purchase specially finished material and suffer any extended lead time for supply, Wilson Tool International of Swindon has developed a special tool to produce a hexagonal surface pattern.

The tool was originally developed for use on a Trumpf punch press.

However, tools can be produced by Wilson to create a wide range and combination of cosmetic shapes and finishes as part of the automatic CNC cycle for all types of punch presses in material up to 1.2 mm thickness.

A flexible manufacturing system for sheet metal components is able to offer integrated component production involving a turret punch press, laser profiling and right angle shearing.

The LVD Omega flexible manufacturing system (FMS) for sheet metal components is able to provide fully integrated component production involving a turret punch press, laser profiling and right angle shearing, combined with fully automatic loading and unloading, component sorting and stacking and sheet storage and retrieval. And, such is its modular development criteria that individual elements can be added, removed and updated as needs change. Central to the flexibility of the system is the large table configuration which provides the capability to handle sheet sizes up to 1575mm by 4025mm through the punch, laser or shear, without the material having to be repositioned, regauged or reclamped.

The first fully integrated system has been installed in Europe at electrical equipment maker Grenier Group in Kerzenhein, Germany to provide some 2,500 different blanks ready for forming.

Because the system incorporates warehousing, an intermediate buffer zone and the ability to remove scrap material, without interrupting the operational cycles, fully automated multiple shifts are now run at the plant.

The company is now capable of almost triple production by processing some 3,500 tonnes of material in a year with higher added value.

Previously, it was limited to 1,200 tonnes.

It now operates with shorter cycle times and the high number of individual components are more easily handled.

The Omega based FMS can be provided with a wide range of material handling options from simple auto-load to full warehousing.

A storage tower system can also be configured to suit customer requirements.

Central to the system is the high productivity Omega 1500 turret punch press with up to 10 Auto-Index stations of 88.9mm diameter and an indexable multi-tool with three or eight stations and 0.01 deg incremental orientation positions.

The Omega is a 300kN hydraulic powered machine able to process material up to 8mm thick at 325 hits/min, nibble at 750 hits/min and has a maximum rate of 1,000 hits/min.

The specification of the integrated laser adds options of 1,500, 2,000 or 3,000W fast flow, CO2 laser power with quick change lens and NC focus.

The right angle shear gives the option to shear nested blanks rather than punch or laser cut.

The large 1500mm by 1000mm blade has a progressive shear action which allows shearing across the entire length of the sheet.

Capacity can be specified at 4mm or 6mm with programmable clearance and scrap separation.

The single GE Fanuc 32-bit control is able to operate the entire FMS system including punch, laser, shear, storage and automation which simplifies the operators task, monitoring and programming.

Full digital technology, with a user terminal linked to the CNC via optical interface, incorporates a Windows environment.

A Finn-Power LP-6 combination laser cutting and punching machine from Press and Shear has brought major benefits for Cambridgeshire-based St Neots Sheet Metal.

A Finn-Power LP-6 combination laser cutting and punching machine from Press and Shear has brought major benefits for Cambridgeshire-based St Neots Sheet Metal. By purchasing the machine complete with automated loading and parts sorting systems, the company has been able to achieve very high levels of machine usage, much of it unmanned. Moreover, materials utilisation is higher - a benefit of more flexible nesting - while the clean edge available with laser cutting eliminates labour intensive de-burring prior to assembly.

Comments Wayne Matthews, a director of St Neots Sheet Metal, 'Before we installed the LP-6 we were putting a significant amount of complex profiling work out to third parties for laser cutting.

However, when we decided to buy our own machine we were very keen to install a system that provided both laser and punching facilities.

The benefit of the combination machine comes not so much from its ability to punch holes and other shapes very quickly as from its forming capability.

By having access to a single-pick-up profiling and punching / forming resource we have been able to produce highly accurate work, but the lead time on complicated flat patterns is very short.' St Neots Sheet Metal is a well established supplier of high quality sheet metal components and sub-assemblies to a variety of industry sectors.

These include electronics companies, air conditioning system suppliers and point-of-sale display manufacturers.

The family-owned company offers a full range of production, assembly and finishing services from prototype development through to series production.

Manufacture is in batch quantities from one-off to 10,000-off although 100 to 200 is more usual.

Around 85 per cent of material processed is between 1 mm and 2 mm thickness; most of this is mild steel though the company also produces components in aluminium, stainless steel and Zintec.

'We tend to concentrate on precision fabrication work,' said Mr Matthews.

'We regularly maintain feature position tolerances of ñ 0.1 mm, whilst our more general tolerance is ñ 0.4 mm.

Ours is an all-CNC fabrication shop using Finn-Power punching machines as the principal source of flat patterns.

We have operated a TP 2020 from the same Finnish manufacturer for nearly six years and this is partnered by a TP 2525 which is just under five years old.' When it elected to purchase a laser-punch, the company examined all of the options available to it.

There were a number of points in favour of the Finn-Power LP-6 which commended it over the alternatives, as Mr Matthews explains.

'We have had good service from Press and Shear with the other two machines so any alternative vendor would have needed to demonstrate a convincing technical advantage.

As it is, the Finn-Power machines are very advanced in their facilities and also offer the benefit of modular construction.' He continues, 'If at some time in the future we wanted a larger turret or needed to add a tapping attachment, we could have them retrofitted.

We bought the machine with automated loading and the Sub-8 parts sorter which is fed by the work chute, but we may well add an off-load system for skeleton and large parts removal.

An additional advantage for us has been the ability to use our existing tooling on the new machine.' St Neots' LP-6 cell combines 30 kN of punching power via a 20-station turret with a 2.5 kW Triagon laser capable of cutting up to 9 mm thick mild steel.

Maximum punching diameter is 89 mm.

The machine is fitted with Finn-Power's patented upforming station which recesses form tools when not in use and thereby prevents scratching of the material underside.

A brush-type table also preserves surface finish and minimises noise during punching.

Maximum sheet size is 3,000 mm by 1,500 mm and it is loaded automatically by a transfer device which incorporates sheet detection and measurement.

This ensures that each new sheet has separated successfully from the stack.

In addition, the cell incorporates a scheduling system which, given availability of the required tooling and material, allows multiple jobs to be set up for sequential production.

'Automated loading is a big advantage for the operators as it would otherwise be difficult to man-handle large sheets or thick material,' Mr Matthews adds.

'The system has worked very well.

Part of this is down to our having done our homework before we bought the machine to ascertain how it would impact on production.

For instance, we calculated that about 75 per cent of the components we make would fit down the 550 mm square work chute opening to be collected by the Sub-8, so we knew that the machine could operate minimally manned.

We had also identified the existing components that would be best suited to production on the laser-punch.' Production on the Finn-Power LP-6 relies largely on a standard kit of turret tooling with odd shapes or non-standard hole sizes produced by the laser.

Because most of the material is between 1 mm and 2 mm thick, it is possible to use a compromise die clearance to cover the majority of jobs without tool changing being necessary, other than for job-specific forms.

All long edges are laser cut, with the marginal time penalty compared with using slitting tools more than compensated for by the elimination of manual de-burring.

Laser cutting is speeded by the use of pre-punched start holes.

This reduces the energy needed for piercing and eliminates spatter onto the cutting head optics.

It is also invaluable when processing plastic coated materials.

'Nesting and material utilisation have both improved with the LP-6 because we can use common line cutting or position parts more closely together,' Mr Matthews concludes.

'On complicated profiling work the laser is at least twice as quick as nibbling on a turret punch but its greatest value is in the process flexibility and value that it provides.

Components coming off the machine are usually ready for bending with no intermediate work required and this has had a positive impact on our direct costs and competitiveness.'

Following extensive world-wide market research involving the future demands of both OEMs and sheet metal subcontractors, LVD/Strippit has developed the Global 20 CNC turret punch press.


Following extensive world-wide market research involving the future demands of both OEMs and sheet metal subcontractors, the new LVD/Strippit Global 20 turret punch press provides a combination of high productivity, large sheet capacity and an increased turret size with additional auto-index stations. The Global 20 design brief also incorporates a new or retrofit interface for modular automation packages such as automatic sheet loading and unloading, part sorting and picking. Based on a bridge frame construction to maintain high orders of stiffness, the Global 20 delivers axis positioning speeds of 110 m/min.

Included is the flexibility of a 30-station turret with less than one second station to station index time.

There is a choice of three or four auto-index positions.

The machine uses GE Fanuc 180i PC-based control and drives package.

The Global 20 is the first completely new machine from the joint LVD and Strippit design and development team combining leading punch press expertise from Europe and America.

The machine will be built in both the LVD Belgium factory and the Strippit plant in Akron, New York State for marketing around the world.

The Global 20's modern design creates an ideal punching machine platform to process work pieces up to 2500 mm by 1250 mm and 6 mm thickness without repositioning to an accuracy of +/- 0.10 mm and repeatability of +/- 0.05 mm.

A servo-driven hydraulic ram is fully programmable, has a 200kN punching force, is capable of producing 800 strokes/min and provides high flexibility for punching and forming applications.

The incorporation of Strippit's patented Smart Stroke, maximises productivity without operator or programmer intervention.

With Smart Stroke, the punching cycle is optimised through automatic determination of the hover height of the ram based on material thickness and distance between holes.

Turret configurations for thin or thick style are available, each with replaceable hardened steel bush guides to reduce wear.

Three 88.9 mm Auto-Index stations are included as standard with the option of a fourth for higher tool capacity.

Tooling flexibility can be further enhanced with inclusion of three, eight or 30 station Multi-Tools.

In addition, indexable Multi-Tools can be used to expand the number of auto-indexable tools.

Choice of brush, ball transfer or 50:50 ball/brush tables are available giving improved sheet support and quiet operation.

The three programmable work clamps, included as standard, can be individually programmed to a position on the X-carriage and relocated to a new position within the part program.

This feature virtually eliminates 'no punch' zones.

A programmable work chute of 450 mm by 500 mm is included.

The PC-based GE-Fanuc 180i control considerably reduces set up times and being Windows-based provides powerful features such as diagnostics, increased program storage and networking.

A new, fully automatic load / unload and component sorting system is available for FINN-POWER's all-electric 'Work Centre E' turret punching and forming press.

A new, fully automatic load / unload and component sorting system is available for FINN-POWER's all-electric 'Work Centre E' turret punching and forming press, which incidentally now has the additional options of laser profiling equipment and a 6-station tapping unit. Designated LUR, the gantry-style load and unload robot is positioned to one side of the punch press in a relatively compact arrangement to enable minimally manned or lights-out production of components from 180 mm by 150 mm upward. Work Centre E already has a measure of automation through incorporation of a parts conveyor to off-load components up to 500 mm square.

Addition of the LUR greatly extends this range, offering the opportunity to automatically load sheet from a stack, off-load finished components onto designated stacking positions, and manage removal of the sheet skeleton.

Manufacturers are therefore able to take full advantage of automated production as there is no need to de-tag and sort components following a period of unattended working.

LUR comprises four main elements, being the gantry robot with vacuum-type gripper, the loading wagon for blank sheet, an unload gripper and wagon for sheet skeletons, and a stacking wagon for profiled components.

The sorting capability of the robot is virtually unlimited, allowing set-down of up to 3,500 kg of finished components anywhere in the stacking area.

Design of the off-load gripper has been tuned to allow handling of formed as well as flat components.

In addition, the electronic interfacing with the machine control allows the unload gripper to move in and hold the component during the final nibbling strokes, ready for immediate off-load with minimal interruption to profiling activity.