METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PRODUCING A SHEET METAL BLANK BY MEANS OF LASER CUTTING

• US 20190308275A1
• Filed: 09/01/2016
• Published: 10/10/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2015
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Schuler Pressen GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Schuler Automation GmbH & Co. KG (Andritz AG)
• Inventors: SEITZ, Alexander
• Application Number:
  US15/757,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20190308275A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B21D 1/02 by rollers B21D1/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B21D 1/05 Stretching combined with rolling
• CPC Class Codes: B21D 35/002 Processes combined with methods covered by groups B21D1/00 - B21D31/00
• CPC Class Codes: B21D 43/022 Loop-control
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/16 Bands or sheets of indefinite length
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/083 Devices involving movement of the workpiece in at least one axial direction
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/0838 by using an endless conveyor belt
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/38 by boring or cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/60 Preliminary treatment
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 31/003 relating to controlling of welding distortion

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for producing a sheet-metal blank by means of laser cutting, including a laser cutting device having a laser cutting head movable back and forth in a transport direction and in a y-direction extending vertically to the transport direction, and a stretching device for stretching a metal sheet accommodated in the laser cutting device. The device includes a first clamping device provided upstream of the laser cutting device for clampingly gripping a first portion of the metal sheet, a second clamping device provided downstream of the laser cutting device for clampingly gripping a second portion of the metal sheet, and a mechanism for changing a distance between the first and the second clamping device such that a tensile stress is exerted onto a metal sheet that is clampingly gripped therewith.

Claims

1. A method for producing a sheet-metal blank (9) by means of laser cutting, comprising the following steps:

feeding a metal sheet (1) in a transport direction (T) to a laser cutting device (7), which has a laser cutting head (12) movable back and forth in the transport direction (T) and in a y-direction extending vertically to the transport direction (T),

clampingly gripping a first portion of the metal sheet (1) upstream of the laser cutting device (7) by means of a first clamping device (16) and clampingly gripping a second portion of the metal sheet (1) downstream of the laser cutting device (7) by means of a second clamping device,

stretching the metal sheet (1) accommodated in the laser cutting device (7) by generating a tensile stress on the metal sheet (1) clampingly held between the first (16) and the second clamping device,

relaxing the metal sheet (1), and

cutting the sheet-metal blank (9) from the metal sheet (1) by moving the laser cutting head (12) along a predefined cutting path.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the metal sheet (1) is held at most by one of the clamping devices (16) during the cutting.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the metal sheet (1) is fed in a clocked manner to the laser cutting device (7).

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the metal sheet (1) is a sheet-metal strip, which is unwound continuously from a coil (2) and is guided through a loop pit (4) upstream of the first clamping device (16).

5. A device for producing a sheet-metal blank (9) by means of laser cutting, comprising:

a laser cutting device (7) having a laser cutting head (12) movable back and forth in a transport direction (T) and in a y-direction extending vertically to the transport direction (T), and

a stretching device (6) for stretching a metal sheet (1) accommodated in the laser cutting device, comprising a first clamping device (16) provided upstream of the laser cutting device (7) for clampingly gripping a first portion of the metal sheet (1), a second clamping device provided downstream of the laser cutting device (7) for clampingly gripping a second portion of the metal sheet (1), and a mechanism for changing a distance between the first (16) and the second clamping device such that a tensile stress is exerted onto a metal sheet (1) that is clampingly gripped therewith, in such a way that that the yield point of a metal forming the metal sheet (1) is exceeded, so that the metal sheet (1) is plastically deformed.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein the stretching device (6) comprises a frame formed of two longitudinal struts (13) extending in the transport direction (T), a first stretching crossmember (14) accommodating the first clamping device (16) and extending in the y-direction, and a second stretching crossmember (15) accommodating the second clamping device and extending in the y-direction.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein the laser cutting device (7) is arranged within the frame in plan view.

8. The device according to claim 5, further comprising a feeding device (5) for feeding the metal sheet (1) in the transport direction (T) to the laser cutting device (7).

9. The device with a metal sheet (1) according to claim 5, wherein the metal sheet (1) is a sheet-metal strip accommodated on a coil (2).

10. The device according to claim 5, wherein a loop pit (4) is provided upstream of the feeding device (5).

11. The device with a metal sheet (1) according to claim 5, wherein the metal sheet (1) can be fed in a clocked manner to the laser cutting device (7) by means of the feeding device (5).

12. The device according to claim 6, wherein the mechanism for changing the distance between the first (16) and the second clamping device is a hydraulic device (17), by means of which at least one of the two stretching crossmembers (14, 15) can be moved back and forth in the transport direction (T).