TABLE OF CONTENTS A responsible and knowledgeable control of the die production process and subsequent die safety are of vital importance to the metal stamping production. With inadequate measures taken for the die safety, such may affect the functionality of the die and that of the press equipment in the most negative way. Metal stamping dies are very expensive devices, their design and manufacture being complex and demanding. Such tools must be protected from breakage or malfunction by all means, especially since their failure may bring about the deterioration and perhaps even destruction of the presses in which they are running.
For years now, safety of dies was controlled by limit switches, which are small devices, positioned in such a way as to detect any misfeed situations, buckling of material, or other failures of the die production process. Limit switches may be used as safety stops, feed-control devices, or as a means of any additional control of the die function.
However, the continuous demand for quality production at zero percentage of rejects and with a minimum amount of human intervention gave rise to widespread use of electronic sensors. Only electronic sensors wired to a programmable logic controller (PLC) are capable of stopping the press short of double punching, or where a foreign object appears on the surface of the strip or that of the die. Sensors can detect misalignment, wrong positioning, wrong distance, a lack of an assembly component, or faulty ejection of the...
