FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
3.2:Transfer Systems Transfer-System Considerations C onsider transfer dies as basically line dies, with some minor but important differences. Die stations are timed together and spaced evenly apart, usually in a single press. Rails with fingers or grippers transport and position stampings. The rails can mount inside of the die, to the outside of the die or to the outside of the press. Trans- fer dies also can mount in individual presses. During a press cycle, each rail travels inward, picks up the stampings with special fingers or grippers, and transports them to the next die station or press.
Stampers can install transfer systems in a variety of ways: mounted through the press window, mounted to the front and rear of the press, mounted to a transfer plate, or mounted externally between presses. Transferring the Workpiece The two basic types of transfer systems, two- axis and three-axis (or tri-axis), can perform nu- merous motions. Two-axis systems, usually sim- pler and more economical than their three-axis counterparts, are limited in their application.
Lifting and Transferring the Workpiece Lifting the workpiece in a die requires motion in the X-Y-Z planes. This three-axis movement allows the lifting of stampings sufficiently high off of the die, and placed within the perime- ter-gauge boundaries in the next station.
designed to allow sufficient clearance for the fingers’ return path to the original start posi - tion while avoiding interference with lower-die steels, cams and die-guiding components. Designers also must consider the timing of die closure relative to the incoming fingers.
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Three-axis systems are commonly plate- or press-mounted, with tooling components
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