Tooling module for a stamping and forming machine

An articulated ram assembly in a tooling module for a stamping and forming machine is disclosed. The ram assembly has a first member that is caused to reciprocate within a passageway in a box structure by a lever eccentrically coupled to a drive shaft. The ram assembly includes a second member that is in sliding engagement with the first member and coupled thereto by means of four links. The links are pivotally attached to one of the members and are pivotally coupled through slide blocks to the other member. The links are also pivotally coupled by slide blocks to the box structure so that as the first member undergoes reciprocating motion within the box structure the second member undergoes reciprocating motion at a different rate than the first member. Therefore, the length of stroke of the second member is different than the length of stroke of the first member.

The present invention is related to tooling modules for stamping and 
forming machines of the type having a short stroke tooling ram and more 
particularly to a mechanism within the tooling ram that effectively 
lengthens the stroke. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,497,196 and 4,819,476, both off which are incorporated 
herein by reference, disclose a stamping and forming machine having two 
tooling modules, each of which has first and second ram assemblies which 
are reciprocable toward and away from each other along horizontal paths of 
reciprocation. Strip material is fed along a strip feed path which extends 
between the ram assemblies. The ram assemblies have tooling on their ends 
for performing stamping and forming operations on the strip. The ram 
assemblies are reciprocated by oscillating levers to which the are 
coupled. The levers, in turn, are coupled to a central power shaft by 
eccentric assemblies. One example of typical punch and die tooling for use 
in a stamping and forming machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,282, 
which is incorporated herein by reference. 
The rams of this type of machine usually have a relatively short stroke, in 
the order of about 0.500 inch. Certain stamping and forming machine 
products require the use of deep draw dies which, in turn, require a ram 
stroke that is longer than that available. Since it is not practical to 
increase the ram stroke of this type of machine, in these situations, it 
is desirable to provide an articulated ram having the capability within 
the ram itself to increase the effective length of stroke of the tooling 
on the end of the ram while the actual length of the stroke at the driven 
end of the ram remains unchanged. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A stamping and forming machine is disclosed for performing stamping and 
forming operations on strip stock. The machine including a drive shaft and 
first and second ram assemblies which are reciprocative within a box, 
having a box-like interior, toward and away from each other between 
forward and retracted positions along an axis of reciprocation. First and 
second actuator levers are provided for reciprocating the first and second 
ram assemblies, respectively, each lever being coupled to a first portion 
of a respective one of the ram assemblies and to the drive shaft for 
effecting the reciprocation of its ram assembly. Tooling is coupled to a 
second portion of the first ram assembly and mating tooling is coupled to 
a second portion of the second ram assembly, respectively, for 
reciprocation of the tooling and the mating tooling toward each other for 
performing the operations and away from each other. Apparatus 
interconnecting the first and second portions is provided so that during 
the reciprocation the second portion moves at a different rate than does 
the first portion.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
There is shown in FIG. 1 a stamping and forming machine 2 having a first 
stamping and forming module 4 and a second stamping and forming module 6. 
The first and second modules 4 and 6, are mounted to a machine base 8 and 
arranged in ways so that their relative spacing can be adjusted when the 
machine is set up for a particular job. This means of adjustment is 
provided to assure that the tooling in the first module will be in proper 
alignment with respect to the tooling in the second module so that a strip 
having operations performed on it in the first module will be in proper 
alignment in the second module for further operations there. The modules 4 
and 6 have first and second tooling assemblies 10 and 12, respectively, 
mounted to their top mounting plates, as shown in FIG. 1. Each module has 
a drive shaft 14 and an electric motor, not shown, for rotating the drive 
shaft during operation of the machine. The motor is coupled to the drive 
shaft 14 by means of a belt and pulley in the usual manner. The two drive 
shafts 14 are rotationally coupled together by a coupling assembly 16. 
Each tooling assembly 12 and 14 includes a pair of opposing articulated 
ram assemblies 18 and 20, as best seen in FIG. 2, which contain tooling on 
their ends which mate to perform the stamping and forming operation on 
strip stock that is fed through aligned slots 22. The opposing ram 
assemblies of each module are arranged to reciprocate toward and away from 
each other along horizontal paths. The rams are caused to reciprocate by 
means of first and second levers 24 and 26 which are coupled to their 
respective rams by couplings 28 as shown in FIG. 1. Each lever 24, 26 is 
pivoted intermediate its ends while its lower end is coupled to the drive 
shaft 14 by means of a pair of eccentrically coupled links, not shown. 
The tooling assembly 10 will now be described in more detail. It will be 
understood that the tooling assembly 14, although not identical, is 
arranged and functions in a similar manner as the tooling assembly 10 and 
therefore will not be described here. The tooling assembly 10, as seen in 
FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, is shown exclusive of the module 4 and the first and 
second levers 24 and 26. The tooling assembly 10 includes a base plate 30 
that is keyed and secured to the module 4 by screws in the usual manner. A 
left side plate 32 and a right side plate 34 are attached to opposite 
edges of the base 30 by means of the screws 36, as best seen in FIG. 3. A 
top plate 38 having a flat surface 40 is attached to top mounting surfaces 
42 and 44 of the first and second side plates by means of four screws 46. 
The top plate 38 only covers a portion of the top surfaces of the first 
and second side plates, as best seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. The remaining 
portion is covered by a cover plate 48 having a flat surface 50 which is 
coplanar with the surface 40. The cover plate 48 is removably attached to 
the top surfaces 42 and 44 of the left and right side plates by two sets 
of dovetail halves as shown in FIG. 3, the two halves of each set being 
mutually opposing. The outer top edges of both the left and right side 
plates 32 and 34 have mating dovetail halves, formed outwardly along their 
entire lengths. A gib 52 is disposed within the space between the opposing 
right dovetail halves as shown in FIG. 3 and extends for substantially the 
entire length of the cover plate 48. A knurled knob 54, shown in solid 
lines in FIG. 2 and in phantom lines in FIG. 3, is used for removing the 
gib 52. The gib 52 is held in place by means of a ball lock pin 54 having 
a shank that extends through a hole in the cover plate 48, a hole in the 
gib 52, and a blind hole in the surface 44 of the right side plate 34. As 
best seen in FIG. 3, the right and left side plates, 34 and 32 
respectively, and the base plate 30 along with the top plate 40 and cover 
plate 48 define a rigid box structure 55 having a rectangularly shaped 
interior that forms a passageway for the two ram assemblies. The 
passageway has a lower surface 56, left and right side walls having 
surfaces 58 and 60, respectively, and a top surface consisting of the two 
surfaces 40 and 50. As mentioned above and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a 
punch ram assembly 18 and a die ram assembly 20 are positioned within the 
passageway and are in sliding engagement with the surfaces 40, 50, 56, 58, 
and 60. The rams are coupled to the levers 26 and 24 by means of the 
couplers 28 for undergoing reciprocating motion. The two rams are coupled 
to tooling such as punches, dies, and various kinds of forming tools that 
operate on strip material that is passed through the opening 22. The ram 
assemblies 18 and 20 and their coupled tooling are a slip fit with the 
passageway and reciprocate there within along a horizontal axis 62. 
The punch and die ram assemblies 18 and 20, respectively, are substantially 
similar with respect to the present invention, therefore, only the punch 
ram assembly 18 will be described in detail. The ram assembly 18, as best 
seen in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7, includes a first member 70, which as set forth 
above, is coupled to the link 24 by means of the coupling 28, and a second 
member 72 having a mounting surface 74 to which punch tooling 76 is 
mounted. The second member 72 includes a pair of rabbets 78 arranged to 
locatingly receive an upper plate 80 and a lower plate 82. Two screws 84 
extend through centerboard holes 86 in each of the two plates 80 and 82 
and into threaded holes 88 in the second member 72 to form a rigid 
U-shaped member. The first member 70 has a block 88 that is sized to be a 
slip fit between the upper and lower plates 80 and 82. Additionally, the 
block 88 has a rectangular projection 90 on its top surface and a similar 
projection 92 on its bottom surface that slidingly engage respective 
mating openings 94 and 96 formed in the plates 80 and 82, respectively, 
therefore, the first and second members 70 and 72 are intermating members 
that matingly engage. Each of the projections 90 and 92 is sized to be a 
slip fit with its respective opening 94, 96. The block 88 has opposite 
right and left side surfaces 98 and 100, respectively that are mutually 
parallel. The upper plate 80 has opposite surfaces 102 and 104 that are 
substantially flush with the surfaces 98 and 100, respectively. Similarly, 
the bottom plate 82 has opposite surfaces 106 and 108 that are 
substantially flush with the surfaces 98 and 100, respectively. 
The outer surfaces of the ram assembly 18 are sized to be a slip fit with 
the surfaces 50, 56, 58, and 60 of the box structure 55, shown in FIG. 3. 
The upper and lower plates 80 and 82 have side surfaces 110 and 112 that 
are flush with an end surface 114 of the second member 72 and an end 
surface 116 of the first member 70, all of which are in sliding engagement 
with the surface 60 of the box structure 55. Similarly, the upper and 
lower plates 80 and 82 have opposite side surfaces 110' and 112' that are 
flush with an opposite end surface 114' of the second member 72 and an 
opposite end surface 116' of the first member 70, all of which are in 
sliding engagement with the surface 50 of the box structure 55. The upper 
plate 80 has a top surface 118 that is flush with a top surface 120 of the 
second member 72 and a top surface 122 of the first member 70, all of 
which are in sliding engagement with the surface 50 of the box structure 
55. Similarly, the lower plate 82 has a bottom surface 118' that is flush 
with a bottom surface 120' of the second member 72 and a bottom surface 
122' of the first member 70, all of which are in sliding engagement with 
the surface 56 of the box structure 55. 
First and second links 124 and 126, respectively, are arranged on each side 
of the block 80 and are pivotally attached thereto by means of pins 128. 
Each pin 128 is arranged in a hole 130 in the block and held in place by a 
set screw 132. The pins 128 extend outwardly from the block 88 by an 
amount equal to slightly less than the thickness of the links 124, 126. A 
needle bearing 134 is arranged in a hole in each link and pivotally 
engages a respective pin 128. Each link 124 has a hole 136 through a first 
end and a hole 138 through a second end. Similarly, each second link 126 
has a hole 140 through a first end and a hole 142 through a second end. 
Four pins 144, two on each side, are arranged so that one pin is in each 
hole 136 and 140 extending beyond the surface 98 on the right side of the 
block 88, and beyond the surface 100 on the left side. The pins 144 are 
held in their respective holes 136 and 140 by means of set screws 146 and 
extend into slip fit holes 148 in slide blocks 150. There are two slots, a 
right slot 152 and a left slot 154 formed in the surfaces 102 and 104, 
respectively, of the top plate 80. These slots are positioned to receive 
the slide blocks 150 that pivotally engage the two first links 124. 
Similarly, there are two slots, a right slot 156 and a left slot 158 
formed in the surfaces 106 and 108, respectively, of the bottom plate 82. 
These slots are positioned to receive the slide blocks 150 that pivotally 
engage the two second links 126. The slide blocks 150 slidingly engage 
their respective slots 152, 154, 156, and 158. The thickness of the first 
and second links 124 and 126 is chosen so that when the ram assembly 18 is 
in position within the passageway of the box structure 55 the links have a 
slight amount of clearance between the block 88 and the walls of the box. 
The right and left side plates 34 and 32 each have a pair of rectangular 
holes 160 and 162 that extend completely therethrough, as shown in FIGS. 2 
and 3. Four slide blocks 164 are arranged so that one slide block is in 
each rectangular hole. Each of the slide blocks is sized to be a slip fit 
with the vertical walls of its respective rectangular hole, however, there 
is sufficient clearance between the slide block and the top and bottom 
surfaces of the holes to permit vertical motion of the slide block. As 
shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, each slide block has a hole 166 therethrough in 
alignment with one of the holes 138 and 142 in the second ends of the 
first and second links 124 and 126, respectively. Four locking pins 168 
having enlarged knurled heads 170 and are arranged so that one pin 168 
extends through each of the holes 166 and into a respective holes 138 or 
142 of a respective link. Each of the pins 168 includes a groove 170 near 
its free end that engages a spring loaded ball plunger 172 that is 
threaded into each of the second ends of the links 124 and 126. The ball 
plungers act as detents to hold the pins 168 within their respective holes 
138 and 142 during operation of the machine 2. The pins 168 can be easily 
pulled out of the holes 166 when it is desired to remove the ram assembly 
18 from the box structure 55 for maintenance. 
In operation, the lever 24 and coupling 28 cause the ram assembly 18 to 
undergo reciprocating movement within the passageway of the box structure 
55, as set forth above. As best seen in FIG. 6, the ram assembly 18 begins 
its stroke from its left most position with respect to the box structure 
55. In this position the first and second members 70 and 72, respectively, 
are in their closed relative position, that is, the two parts are 
telescoped together. Similarly, the die ram assembly 20, not shown in FIG. 
6, has first and second members that are in their closed position so that 
the opposing punch and die tooling are away from each other to their 
furthest extent. As the lever 24 begins to push the ram assembly 18 toward 
the right, as viewed in FIG. 6, the first member 70 and the attached pins 
128 begin to move toward the right. Note that the locking pins 168, 
extending through the holes in the second ends of the links 124 and 126, 
also extend through holes in the four slide blocks 164 which are confined 
within the rectangular holes 160 and 162 on each side of the box 
structure. This prevents the second ends of the links 124 and 126 from 
moving toward the right along with the ram assembly 18, therefore, the two 
links, on each side, are forced to pivot about the pins 128, the first 
link 124 pivoting in a clockwise direction and the second link 126 
pivoting in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 6. As the two 
links 124 and 126 pivot, their first ends containing the pins 144 move 
toward the right at a faster rate than do the pins 128. This faster rate 
of movement of the pins 144 is transferred through the slide blocks 150 in 
the slots 152 through 158, to the top and bottom plates 80 and 82, 
respectively, and the second member 72 and attached tooling 76. As the 
lever 24 continues to move the first member 70 toward the right, the 
second member 72 also moves toward the right at a faster rate until the 
lever has reached the end of its movement. At this point the ram assembly 
18 is at the end of its stroke, as shown in FIG. 7, where the second 
member 72 is fully extended so that the tooling 76 is in operational 
engagement with mating tooling, not shown, that is on the ram assembly 20. 
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the second member 
72 has undergone a longer stroke than has the first member 70. At this 
point the lever 24 reverses direction and, through the coupling 28, begins 
to move the first member 70 toward the left, as viewed in FIG. 7. This 
causes the pins 128 to also move toward the left and, since the pins 168 
are pivotally coupled to the box structure 55, the links 124 and 126 begin 
to pivot about the pins 128, the fist link 124 pivoting counterclockwise 
and the second link pivoting clockwise. This causes the pins 144 in the 
first ends of the links 124 and 126 to move toward the left, at a faster 
rate than the pins 128, thereby moving the second member 72 and attached 
top and bottom plates 80 and 82 toward the left at the faster rate. This 
movement continues until the lever 24 has reached the end of its movement 
and the first and second members 70 and 72 of the ram assembly 18 have 
fully telescoped together to their closed position and are in their left 
most position as shown in FIG. 6. Note that as the links 124 and 126 pivot 
about their pins 128, the slide blocks 150 slide vertically a small amount 
within the slots 152 and 156 on the right side, and the slots 154 and 158 
on the left side. Similarly, the slide blocks 164 also slide a small 
amount vertically within their respective rectangular holes 160 and 162. 
The degree of difference of the rate of movement between the first and 
second members 70 and 72 is controlled by the distances between the pins 
144 and 128 and between the pins 128 and 168. By varying the ratio of 
these distances the relative rate of movement of the first and second 
members can by adjusted to a desired value so that a stroke of a 
particular length can by achieved. Additionally, by slightly restructuring 
the ram assembly 18 and repositioning the pivot points of the links 124 
and 126 the relative rate of movement of the two members can be reversed. 
That is, the second member 72 will move at a rate that is less than that 
of the first member 70 so that the length of the stroke for the second 
member 72 is less than that of the first member 70. 
An important advantage of the present invention is that operations 
requiring a relatively long ram stroke can be performed on a machine 
having a ram that is limited to a shorter stroke. Additionally, the stroke 
of the tooling can be made shorter than the stroke of the ram thereby 
providing a mechanical advantage when relatively more force is required in 
operations such as coining.