A key component of every blank-feed setup is a place to drop a double blank, should one be detected. " "
FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
Blank Feeding 2.0 Asked to comment on what’s new regarding destacking and blank-feed technology, Stirrett turns to the 2.0 version of destackers: the use of servo drives. With an eye to the retrofit market, Stirrett sees huge opportunities for metal formers to implement servo technology and upgrade existing equipment, for a fraction of the cost of all-new destacking and blank-feeding systems. Double Blanks Need a Home A key component of every blank-feed setup is a place to drop a double blank, should one be detected. “When using an inline blank-feed system, we typically design the pick-and-place device long enough so that it can retract backward if needed, as well as forward,” Stirrett explains, “so that it can deposit the rejected blank into a reject station. Or we can deposit the extra blank into a station located between the blank stacks and the idle nest. What About Tailor-Welded Blanks? Finally, how can stampers handle stacks of tailor-welded blanks that inevitably become tilted, sometimes by a great deal? “In these cases, we divide the pallet into four separately controlled quadrants,” Stirrett explains, “and use servo-driven height adjustments in each quadrant to level the stack. This ensures that the top of the stack remains flat for the feeder mechanism. And, we can program the servos at different locations in the stack, necessary because as the stack diminishes there’s less tilt, and the servos ensure that the overall stack height levels out.”
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