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Who are we
Eddy current sensors are set into the tool to measure the gap between stripper plate and die in the closed position (in operation, the punch comes through the stripper plate towards the die below). The detector achieves its objective by monitoring the current signals between the sensors within pre-set parameters. The measured section incorporates an eddy current sensor, oscillator and an amplifier with an array of eight sensors. The analog output signal from 0 to 10V DC is proportional to the measuring distance. The device detects pierced slugs which might be sucked back onto the strip by the vacuum created when a precise punch cuts through the strip and pushes through into the die. This can be a major problem, for example when stamping out tightly toleranced round holes, especially where a more usual overload sensor has proved inadequate when making thin, intricate parts. Fouling the process in such a way will naturally damage subsequent components and possibly the tool also. Clamason Industries initially invested in the Unidor unit for its diecasting customer Dynacast France. Here a door lock link pressing (car door lock actuator) requires a round hole to be punched out at its centre. Subsequently assembled and supplied for use on the Ford Focus and Mazda 3, the part is particularly susceptible since it is supplied on reels, making it very difficult to detect slug retention problems in-house. The eddy current sensor also guarantees that any foreign bodies are spotted at the precise moment that the problem arises, stopping the press before damage can occur to subsequent parts or to tooling, this despite the fact that the press may be running at 500 parts per minute. Once identified, the offending slug is easily and quickly removed, avoiding tool damage as well as costly part replacement, where faulty components might typically have been due for delivery with zero defects just-in-time onto the end of a customer’s assembly line. Accordingly, when the sensors detect a variation of current outside the norm owing to interference between stripper plate and die face, the eddy current detector immediately halts the process safely and securely. Neither the sturdy and compact detector nor its connector cabling is affected by any oil mist or spray inherent in the process. Clamason Industries presently uses this Unidor eddy current detector on a 40t Kaiser / Bruderer press at its Kingswinford, West Midlands, factory but has two more on order for another Bruderer (25t) from Switzerland and a new, 110t Taiwanese Chin Fong press – which will be used at the same location exclusively for Clamason’s medical industry customers. Installation will again be fulfilled by Unidor GmbH’s sole UK agent – Bruderer UK Ltd of Luton, Beds. With a proud 30-year history, the OEM Unidor, based in Pforzheim, south-west Germany, has over 3,000 successful installations worldwide of its control and monitoring systems for metalforming (refer to www.unidor.de). The company’s continuing objective is to realize increased performance, better quality and lower costs from its customers’ production plant, and it is now achieving this at Clamason Industries. To obtain further technical information, please contact:
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| T 01384 400000 | F 01384 279222 | E sales@clamason.co.uk |