Press for cold working of metal workpieces

• US 5,823,104 A
• Filed: 10/30/1996
• Issued: 10/20/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 04/09/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gräbener Pressensysteme GmbH & Co. KG
• Original Assignee: Gräbener Pressensysteme GmbH & Co. KG
• Inventors: Budenbender, Dieter, Kutscher, Hans-Werner, Beisel, Winfried, Groos, Heinz, Schulze, Eckehart
• Primary Examiner(s): GERRITY, STEPHEN FRANCIS
• Application Number:
  US08/718,517
• Time in Patent Office: 720 Days
• Field of Search: 100/43, 100/48, 100/50, 100/214, 100/218, 100/269.05-269.09, 100/269.14, 100/269.17, 72/19.9, 72/21.5, 72/453.06, 72/453.07, 72/427
• US Class Current: 100/48
• CPC Class Codes: B30B 1/32 by plungers under fluid pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B30B 15/04 Frames; Guides
• CPC Class Codes: B30B 15/161 controlling the ram speed and ram pressure, e.g. fast approach speed at low pressure, low pressing speed at high pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B44B 5/0057 using more than one die assembly simultaneously

Abstract

The invention is a press for cold working of metal workpieces. The invention includes a double-acting linear hydraulic power drive cylinder, a continuous press frame for accepting reactive forces that develop during the operation of the press, and a control valve system operable by output signals, and being one of program-controlled or manually triggerable, from an electronic control unit, for controlling motion of a piston of the drive cylinder.

Claims

1. A press for cold working of metal workpieces comprising:

a) a double-acting linear hydraulic power drive cylinder, said cylinder having a maximum operating pressure and developing forces, usable for shaping the workpieces, between 10⁶ N and 10⁸ N;

b) a continuous press frame for accepting reactive forces that develop during the operation of the press, said frame having a drive-side yoke with a side supporting the drive cylinder, and a counterbearing-side yoke with a side axially supporting the workpiece for machining inside the frame, said frame having non-stretchable cheeks connecting the yokes, said cheeks being located diametrically opposite each another with respect to a central longitudinal axis of the press; and

c) a control valve system operable by output signals, and being one of program-controlled or manually triggerable, from an electronic control unit, for controlling motion of a piston of the drive cylinder;

wherein

d) a housing of the drive cylinder forms a drive-side yoke of the press frame and with partial areas of a housing jacket portions of said cheeks of the press frame, with a lateral distance D of the cheeks from one another being greater than a diameter of a piston rod of the drive cylinder;

e) a piston of the drive cylinder having a piston surface with an area A₂, said surface movably defining a driving pressure chamber, said area, during operation of press, being permanently exposed to output pressure of a pressure supply system, with a force F_R =p·

A₂ urging the piston away from the workpieces, as well as a piston surface A₁ that is larger in value than A₂, by exposure to depressurization, and load-shifting movements and return movements of the piston directed toward workpiece are controlled, and another, larger-area driving surface A₃ having additional exposure to pressure load-advancing movements of the piston of drive cylinder are controlled;

f) a travel-regulating valve for controlling feed and return stroke movements, said valve operating electrically, by pulse control of a stepping motor having controllable incremental position set values of the drive cylinder piston and a mechanical feedback of an actual position value of the drive cylinder piston with an application and relief of pressure on the piston surfaces A₂ and A₃ usable for feed operation controlled by the travel-regulating valve;

g) one of an electromechanical or an electronic pressure sensor delivering an output signal characteristic of pressure prevailing at a control output of the travel-regulating value, said output signal being supplied as an actual pressure signal to the electronic control unit controlling a setting of position set value.

2. A press according to claim 1, wherein the press frame surrounding the housing of the drive cylinder has a yoke, lateral cheeks, and counterbearing-side yoke made in one piece.

3. A press according to claim 1, wherein the press frame is made in two pieces, with two housing parts that are pot-shaped, said two housing parts being held together by a plurality of tie rods passing through bores in cheek sections, a total pretensioning of the plurality of tie rods totalling between 1.6 times and 2.5 times, a maximum force F_max that can be delivered by means of drive cylinder of press.

4. A press according to claim 3, wherein a separating plane of the two housing parts runs between a circular edge of a jacket area of an upper housing part of the press, forming the housing of drive cylinder and the ends of cheek sections thereof projecting from a lower frame part.

5. A press according to claim 1, wherein the drive piston of the drive cylinder has two piston flanges of correspondingly different diameters, said flanges being connected releasably with one another by a piston rod and displaceably guided in a pressure-tight manner in coaxial bore stages of different diameters, with a piston being sealed off from a housing bore connecting the two bore stages with one another, with an upper drive pressure chamber within which a smaller piston flange is exposed to pressure essentially over an entire end surface with A₁ being defined further inside a bore stage with a diameter D₁, sealed off by a piston flange from the stage, from a driving pressure chamber in a form of an annular cylinder and traversed axially by the piston rod, within which a cylinder piston flange selectively is pressurized on annular surface A₂ and with an additional driving pressure chamber being defined in an axially movable fashion by piston flange of the drive piston with a diameter D₂ larger than D₁, said chamber being annularly cylindrical and traversed axially by the piston rod, within which chamber the drive piston is selectively pressurized over driving surface A₃.

6. A press according to claim 5, wherein a ratio of A₁ :

A₂ of the larger surface to the smaller surface of the smaller piston flange of the drive cylinder piston has a value between 4 and 1.4.

7. A press according to claim 5, wherein a hydraulic oil overtravel chamber kept at zero pressure, is located above driving pressure chamber defined by the larger piston flange of the drive cylinder, said driving pressure chamber containing a volume of hydraulic oil corresponding at least to a sum of stroke volumes of the larger and the smaller piston flanges of the drive cylinder piston and being connectable by a controllable delayed-flow valve that has a blocking basic position and, at switch position I, a through-flow position, with the driving pressure chamber of the driving cylinder being defined by the larger piston flange, and the hydraulic oil overtravel chamber being connected by an overflow line with supply container of the pressure supply system.

8. A press according to claim 7, wherein the delayed-flow valve is a switching valve, electrically precontrollable, pressure-controlled, and having a valve with a spring-centered blocking basic position and the open switching position I, said valve being controllable into its open position I by coupling to a low output pressure p_N from a first control chamber by means of an electrically controllable precontrol valve.

9. A press according to claim 8, wherein the delayed-flow valve has a second control chamber having an exposure to pressure resulting in a force that urges delayed-flow valve into a basic position and in that the pressure that prevails in the drive pressure chamber of drive hydraulic cylinder defined by the large area is permanently coupled into this second control chamber.

10. A press according to claim 9, wherein a control area F₁ defines a first control chamber of the delayed-flow valve in an axially movable fashion having an exposure to low pressure under valve control resulting in the controlling force that urges delayed-flow valve into a through-flow position I, is smaller than a control area F₂ that define a second control chamber in an axially movable fashion, whose exposure to the pressure prevailing in the large drive pressure chamber of drive cylinder produces a counterforce pushing delayed-flow valve into a blocking basic position, with the ratio F₁ :

F₂ of control surface and having a value between 1;

3 and 1;

9.

11. A press according to claim 1, wherein a ratio A₁ :

A₂ has a value between 1;

6 and 1;

12.

12. A press according to claim 1, further comprising a pressure supply system operable at two different output pressure levels P_N and P_H.

13. A press according to claim 12, wherein a ratio P_H :

P_N of higher output pressure level (P_H) to lower output pressure level (P_N) corresponds approximately to the value ##EQU2##

14. A press according to claim 13, wherein the ratio P_H :

P_N has a value of approximately 4.

15. A press according to claim 12, wherein the pressure supply system comprises a lower-pressure reservoir and a higher-pressure reservoir, said reservoirs being chargeable by pumps having a common electric motor drive to output a P_N which is a lower pressure level and p_H which is a higher pressure level settable as defined by pressure-limiting valves, and are connectable alternately by two pressure supply control valves controllable by output signals from the electronic control unit, to at least one pressure supply outlet.

16. A press according to claim 15, wherein an output of the pressure limiting valve which determines an output pressure level of the higher-pressure reservoir is connected with a pressure outlet of a low-pressure pump and with the input side of a reservoir-charging valve of the low-pressure reservoir.

17. A press according to one of claim 15, wherein a check valve connected between a pressure supply connection at which both the pressure p_H and the pressure p_N of pressure supply system is provided by a pressure supply control valve and is connected with a pressure supply connection at which only the pressure p_N of the pressure supply system is provided by a supply control valve connected to the lower-pressure reservoir, said check valve being controlled by a higher pressure at high-pressure outlet than at low-pressure outlet of pressure supply system to move to a blocking position and is controlled by a relatively higher pressure at lower pressure supply connection than at high pressure supply connection to move into an open position thereof.

18. A press according to one of claim 15, wherein a flow-volume regulator is connected in parallel with a pressure supply control valve through which lower-pressure reservoir is connectable to two pressure outlets of the pressure supply system.

19. A press according to claim 12, wherein the pressure supply system has a pressure supply connection at which only the P_N of the pressure supply system can be provided.

20. A press according to claim 11, further comprising an electrically controllable surface connecting valve, said surface connecting valve having a blocking basic position and being switchable under control of an output signal of an electronic control unit into a through-flow position I, in which a control connection of a travel-regulating valve is additionally connected with a supply connection of the driving pressure chamber, defined by a large area of the driving hydraulic cylinder.

21. A press according to claim 20, wherein a T-return connection of the travel regulating valve is connected to a return line that leads to an overtravel chamber and that a check valve is connected hydraulically in parallel as a return valve with said surface-connecting valve, said check valve being controlled by a control unit to enter its open position with a relatively higher pressure in driving pressure chamber, defined by larger areas, of drive hydraulic cylinder than at control connection of the travel-regulating valve, the travel regulating valve otherwise being in a blocking position.

22. A press according to claim 1, wherein an annular chamber is located below the driving pressure chamber of the driving hydraulic cylinder, said annular chamber being traversed axially by the piston rod of the driving cylinder piston that supports the upper tool, said driving pressure chamber being kept at zero pressure, filled with hydraulic oil, and in a constant communicating connection with the overtravel chamber located above the driving pressure chamber.

23. A press according to claim 22, wherein the annular pressure chamber at zero pressure is formed axially integrally with the housing by the upper end of a sliding sleeve inserted from below into a bore stage with diameter D₂.

24. A press according to claim 22, wherein an ejector comprises a drive a double-acting differential hydraulic cylinder, said double-acting differential hydraulic cylinder being controlled by an additional travel-regulating valve.

25. A press according to claim 24, wherein the ejector cylinder has an upper annular driving pressure chamber into which a lower output pressure p_N or a higher outlet pressure p_H of an pressure supply system is permanently coupled during operation, said cylinder having a lower driving pressure chamber defined by a larger area, in which the pressure is controllable by a travel-regulating valve having a supply connection connected to a pressure outlet of said pressure supply system to which annular driving pressure chamber of the ejector cylinder is connected.

26. A press according to claim 25, wherein driving surfaces formed by a larger piston stage of the ejector cylinder defining two driving pressure chambers in an axially movable fashion have identical dimensions as driving surfaces formed by the piston flange of the drive cylinder piston.

27. A press according to claim 24, wherein the ejector cylinder has an ejection force of up to 30% of the press force deliverable by the drive cylinder.

28. A press according to claim 24, wherein one of an electromechanical or electronic pressure sensor is provided for monitoring pressure prevailing in the larger driving pressure chamber of the ejector cylinder, the electrical output signal from the sensor being fed to the electronic control unit as an actual pressure value information signal.