Mercedes-benz Aktiengesellschaft

Stefan Kienzle

Klaus Siegert

Volker Thoms

Ulrich Harthun

A device and method for inserting sheet bars into drawing tools provides a program controllable sheet bar inserter with a gripper which contains a plurality of suction cups or electromagnets for picking up or setting down a sheet bar. The drawing tool contains a pair of bearing faces which together clamp in the sheet bar during drawing. In order, in particular for complicated bearing faces of the deep-drawing tool, to achieve a uniformly high drawn component quality and avoid rejects due to possible displacement of the sheet bars within the drawing tool as it closes, the gripper is constructed in the form of an at least three legged gripping spider with controllable legs with which the picked-up sheet bar can be deformed in a defined manner during transportation from the picking-up location to the drawing tool and can be matched to the shape of the bearing face of the lower bearing frame. Controllable adhesion elements in the form of suction cups or electromagnets for holding tight a preformed sheet bar which has been inserted and positioned by the gripping spider are provided at a plurality of points in a countersunk fashion into the lower bearing face.

Method and device for inserting sheet bars into drawing tools

An apparatus for the simulative optimalization of the supporting of a sheet metal blank on the support frame of a deep-drawing tool includes a plurality of stands that are freely translatable and rotatable about a vertical axis on a horizontally aligned base plate. The stands are capable of being fixed on the base plate in any desired position in respect of translation and rotation. Each stand carries a mouth-like clamp which by means of appropriate lockable mountings can be turned and fastened about two horizontal pivot axes at right angels to one another, and which by means of a fastenable vertical guide can be adjusted and fastened in this vertical position on the stand. Each clamp contains on its bottom face a support part-surface by means of which a partial region of a support surface for the sheet blank can be simulated, and on its top face contains a clamp jaw translatable transversely thereto. With a sheet holder simulation apparatus of this kind the support frame for the sheet blank in a deep-drawing tool can be rapidly and inexpensively optimized.

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Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany

Stefan Kienzle