Press

Standardized and tailored TOX-building blocks, joining/insertion technologies, tools, basic machines, drive techniques and controls lead to rational and flexible solutions for production

Availability of technologies and tools for development, design, construction, production and service for the required production equipments – this multitude of performances is nowadays demanded from a supplier of equipments for sheet metal working industries. Only a company offering an integrated and compatible package of technologies, hardware and software products, quality assurance systems and engineering services has the chance to be now and in future be acknowledged as supply partner. TOX PRESSOTECHNIK GmbH & Co. KG, located in Weingarten, South Germany, can meet all these requirements with its comprehensive technology-, delivery-, and performance programme for sheet metal working industries and production and assembly shops. The composition of individual solutions for the production of metal parts and subassemblies is possible, as TOX offers building blocks for processing and production as it is the TOX-Round Joint metal joining system, the corresponding tool sets, pressforce drive units of high performance, C-bows, basic equipments, machine and robot tongs, presses as well as piercing and marking systems. This allows the customer to order the technology for joining the sheets, the corresponding tools and the production plant including the quality assurance system from one single and responsible source. The customer may decide himself for subsystems to be installed in a larger plant, or complete solutions to be operated in production processes as stand-alone equipment. A most interesting example from the field „Individual neon advertising“ illustrates what TOX PRESSOTECHNIK, the distinguished solution provider for joining and production techniques, understands by system competence.

Integrated system competence for standard and special solutions

Company IMAGON OY of Kajaani, Finland, is engaged in the development, production and installation of innovative neon advertising signs. But here the expression “innovative” means not only the design and configuration but also the solutions for production engineering. Because in the course of years IMAGON has learned that it would be better to hold all strings for planning, production and the installation of neon advertising signs at customers’, in its hand. In this way, IMAGON has become more flexible and economic, does no longer depend on the goodwill of suppliers and can quicker comply with customers’ wishes. When IMAGON intended to rationalize its production techniques and searched for all kind of alternatives in production engineering, its responsible persons soon got into contact with the Finnish representative of TOX PRESSOTECHNIK. The task was the most flexible and economic production and joining of the frame bands made of steel or aluminium sheets, as generally not one neon advertising sign or letter is similar to the other. After analysing the joining task, a concept was worked out which included not only the supply of the new joining technique, in this case the sheet metal joining system TOX-Round Joint, but also the supply of a most flexible joining device of high performance. The process solution was convincing as it also met the above mentioned company strategy.

The complete solution regarding joining and production techniques for IMAGON comprises first of all the TOX-Round Joint technology and the specific clinching tools documented in a test report (punches and dies for clinching steel sheet and aluminium frames) which also contains all relevant performance data of this particular application, such as e.g. clinch point strength volume. TOX PRESSOTECHNIK designed also the complete press using, as far as possible, standardized machine components as e.g. a C-bow system, a machine base, a pneumohydraulic drive cylinder and a press control. With a 2-hand operated panel the tool area and/or the clinching tool is closed up to an opening of 6 mm. Thereafter, initiased by a foot operated switch, the individual TOX-Round joints can be set with the remaining stroke.

Individual and flexible clinching device built from machine components

The C-bow frame equipped with the compact pneumohydraulic drive cylinder from the TOX-Powerpackage range is mounted to the machine base. The design of the machine base is equipped with a universal elevating platform. Due to the C-bow system having a throat of 1 000 mm and a distance between upper edge of the platform and C-bow holding flange of 260 mm for the tool, pieceparts of all sizes can be easily moved under the tool. Besides the platform is arranged at an ergonomically comfortable height and suitable for loads up to 100 kg max. In this way, an efficient operation in a shop environment is possible. The C-bow and the TOX-Powerpackage drive cylinder developing a pressforce of 70 kN max. at 6 bar air pressure, are applicable for clinching different sheet steel and aluminium frames by TOX-Round Joints of 8 mm diameter. The max. stroke of the pneumohydraulic drive cylinder is 265 mm, the real powerstroke is 10 mm. This has the advantage, that the stroke is effected as fast approach stroke till almost reaching the joining position and only the power-/clinching stroke is using the required higher energy. Also the return stroke is fast again so that the cycle times for clinching are short and (non-productive) times are minimized. Generally the clinching unit for the sheet steel and aluminium frames is to be alternately equipped with the TOX-Round Joint tools documented in the test report. The change of the tools, though, is easy and quickly done. Unless the mentioned pressforce of 70 kN is not exceeded, it will also be possible to use other TOX-tools or other sheet metal working tools.

Summary

As a result, IMAGON is in possession of an efficient and flexible joining device for clinching of sheet steel and aluminium frames. At the same time it has a flexible sheet metal working device at hand which offers additional possibilities and above all more efficiency in daily use. Last not least it has to be mentioned that this machine design has mainly been composed from standardized building blocks, with the exception of the holding fixtures for work pieces/subassemblies and the specially made TOX-Clinching tools. Consequently it was not only possible to keep the costs within limits, but to offer and meet a relatively short delivery time so that the customer was able to use the rationalization advantages quicker than planned.