I recent got to play with a mechanical press for the first time. Before all my experiences were with hydraulic presses.
I learned that this press has a "Continuous Mode" setting, where the press will continue stamping, until an outside signal tells it to stop. Talking with some of the more experienced people in my shop, I learned that these modes are used for applications where you'd have an automatic, continuous feed of material, and the press would stamp parts non-stop. I believe he called it a Progressive Die.
I got to thinking, are these progressive dies and continuous running mechanical presses still used in modern manufacturing? Wouldn't an automated line with proper handshakes between a feeder and a press be more accurate, ensuring parts are in proper locations before allowing the press to move.
Just curious.
I learned that this press has a "Continuous Mode" setting, where the press will continue stamping, until an outside signal tells it to stop. Talking with some of the more experienced people in my shop, I learned that these modes are used for applications where you'd have an automatic, continuous feed of material, and the press would stamp parts non-stop. I believe he called it a Progressive Die.
I got to thinking, are these progressive dies and continuous running mechanical presses still used in modern manufacturing? Wouldn't an automated line with proper handshakes between a feeder and a press be more accurate, ensuring parts are in proper locations before allowing the press to move.
Just curious.