3 Fundamentals of press design

154 Sheet metal forming and blanking
The mechanism, seen in Fig. 4.1.23, lifts the top die parallel to the lower
die, and after a 180° turn places it next to the lower die. The mechanism
ensures that both parts of the die are lifted safely and with consistent
accuracy without any tilting.
4.1.6 Transfer simulators
Fig. 4.1.23
Parallel lift
mechanism
Transfer simulators are used for the adjustment and pre-setting of partdependent
tooling of the gripper rails and the vacuum suction crossbars
of large-panel transfer presses (cf. Fig. 4.4.29 and 4.4.34). The lower die
and the part-dependent tooling are installed in the simulator; prior to
production these will be coupled with the permanently installed transfer
components of the press (Fig. 4.1.24).
The movements of the transfer, part and die must be synchronized in
relation to one another so that there can be no overlapping at critical
points and consequently no collision between the transfer, the part
itself and the die. Thus, data on gripper and suction cup positions,
transport paths, transport height, part positioning and flow directions
is stored in a programme. This programme is transferred onto the production
line. The possibility of collisions of part and die, which was
already verified as part of the CAD design process, is checked out in the
simulator. The primary task for the simulator is, however, the matching
of the part-dependent fixturing to the sheet metal part. A test is per-
Metal Forming Handbook / Schuler (c) Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1998