IMPROVED LIGHTWEIGHT RAM FOR BODYMAKER

Abstract: A ram (10) that is utilized in high speed apparatus for forming elongated one piece metal can bodies from shallow cups is constructed by metallurgically bonding a nose piece (12) to a body (15), the body constructed from a single integral piece having an elongated thin walled tube section (11) with a front end (19) and a tail piece section (13) for connection to a drive means.

Description: IMPROVED LIGHTWEIGHT RAM FOR BODYMAKER Background of the Invention The invention relates to the construction of a ram that is utilized in high speed apparatus for forming elongated one piece metal can bodies from relatively shallow cups, and more specifically relates to an improved lightweight ram with increased integrity against stresses produced during the operation of the bodymaker. The main section or body of a so-called two piece metal container or can of the type very often used for beer/beverages includes an elongated cylindrical sidewall, an integral bottom and an open top. Such bodies are often formed in drawing and ironing machines of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,619 issued Dec. 5, 1972 to E. Paramonoff for Redraw Blankholder Positioning Mechanism for Cup-shaped Article Formers such as Metallic Can Body Formers and the Like, U.S. Pat. No. 3,735,629 issued May 29, 1973 to E. Paramonoff entitled Apparatus for Forming One Piece Metallic Can Bodies, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,228 issued Jul. 23, 1985 to W. Snyder and D. Dettmer for Apparatus for Producing Seamless Container Bodies. The apparatus described in the aforesaid patents produce can bodies from blanks in the form of relatively shallow cups, by having a reciprocated ram drive each cup through a die pack which is a series of ringlike die elements having openings that are graduated. Each blank passes through the largest opening first, and each subsequent opening that the blank is driven through is slightly smaller than the preceding opening through which the blank has been driven. A replaceable punch mounted to the ram at the front thereof engages each cup to drive it through the die pack. The rear end of the ram is connected to the drive means that reciprocates the ram along its horizontally positioned longitudinal axis through a forward working stroke followed by a rearward return stroke. Conventionally, rams are manufactured from a single piece of barstock. This imposes severe limitations on readily machining the interior of the hollow elongated main center section of the ram. This problem arises because the axial passages at both ends of the ram are limited in diameter, being considerably less than the center section diameter that will still enable the center section to provide the required mechanical strength (without having excessive wall thickness). Thus, in the prior art, wall thickness of the main center section was unusually considerably greater than necessary to meet strength requirements, so that the rams were unnecessarily heavy. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,208,435 a ram is provided constructed as a weldment in which there is an elongated tube, a tail piece metallurgically bonded to one end of the tube and a nose piece metallurgically bonded to the other end of the tube. While effective, this ram could experience excessive stress levels in the weld zone, particularly where the tail piece is bonded to the tube, with the effects of these stresses being magnified when the welds have imperfections. Summary of the Invention To produce a relatively lightweight ram the instant invention provides a unitary structure that is constructed by metallurgically bonding a nose piece to a body, the body constructed from a single integral piece having an elongated thin walled tube section with a front end and a tail piece section adapted for connection to a drive means that reciprocates the ram along its longitudinal axis. Preferably the front end of the body and the nose piece have overlapping portions and are assembled by shrink fitting together. Bonding is carried out by welding which achieves attachment strength that is for all practical purposes equal to the strength found in a ram manufactured from a single piece of barstock. Preferably, tube wall thickness is selected so that is does not exceed substantially that thickness required to provide sufficient strength for the job that the ram is required to perform thereby minimizing weight. The reduction in weight achieved by welding two pieces together to form the ram is significant and results in increased can production because an increase in the cyclic rate of the machine is permitted. Accordingly, the primary object of the instant invention is to provide a relatively lightweight ram for a can body maker. Another object is to provide a ram of this type that is constructed of two elements metallurgically bonded together to form a unitary structure. Another object is to provide a ram of this type in which the two elements are also shrink fit together. Another object is to reduce the level of bending stress at the weld joint, supported by the overlap shrink fit area. Still another object is to provide a ram of this type that is manufactured by welding techniques. A further object is to provide a ram of this type in which the main elongated center section thereof has a length to wall thickness ratio greater than one hundred. A still further object is to provide a ram of this type which permits increased machine speed. These objects as well as other objects of this invention shall become readily apparent after reading the following description of the accompanying drawings in which: Brief Description of the Drawings FIG. 1 is a partially sectioned side elevation of a lightweight ram constructed in accordance with teachings of the instant invention. FIG. 2 is a partially sectioned side elevation of the body of the lightweight ram. FIG. 3 is an end view of the body of the lightweight ram looking in the direction of arrows 3-3 of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a partially sectioned side elevation of the nose piece of the lightweight ram. FIG. 5 is an end view of the nose piece of the lightweight ram looking in the direction of arrows 5-5 of FIG. 4. Now referring to the Figures. Detailed Description of the Invention Ram 10 is constructed by utilizing weld 14 to metallurgically bond nose piece 12 to the front end 19 of thin walled tubular center section 11 of body 15. Body 15 is constructed of a single integral piece (i.e. single piece construction) having an elongated thin-walled tube section 11 with a front end 19 and a tail piece section 13. The body is preferably constructed by drilling out material from a solid bar or tube to form the thin walled tube section 11 and integral tail piece section 13. Advantageously by construction of body 15 having an integral tube section 11 and tail piece section 13, a weld or joint between these two sections is eliminated at a point on the ram 10 where increased stresses are exhibited during the bodymaker operation, thus increasing the structural integrity of the ram as there is no joint to break. Typically, main section 11 has a length L that is approximately 42 inches or less and is at least one hundred times greater than the wall thickness T of tube section 11. In a practical construction, tube section 11 has an outer diameter of approximately 2.5 inches and an inner diameter of approximately 2 inches. This results in a wall thickness of 1/4 inch which is a reduction of as much as 64% of the 5/8 inch to 11/16 inch wall thickness of the central section in prior art rams that are machined from a single piece of bar stock. When the wall thickness of tube section 11 is 1/8 inch, this an 82% reduction from the 11/16 inch wall thickness found in the prior art. Preferably the tube section 11 has an axial passage that is of a diameter which is greater than 75 % of the outer diameter of the tube section 11. Suitable axial lengths for nose piece 12 and tail piece section 13 of the body are approximately 6.6 inches and 1.7 inches, respectively. The diameters of the axial passages 16, 17 for the respective nose and tail pieces are approximately 3/4 of an inch. The diameter of the axial passage of the tube section 11 is preferably at least two times the diameter of the axial passages for both the nose piece 12 and the tail piece section 13. Nose piece 12 is adapted to mount and operatively position a punch nose and sleeve (not shown) with the latter surrounding and being closely fitted to cylindrical outer surface portion 18 of nose piece 12. Punch elements can be secured in place by retainer screw having external threads that mate with internal threads at the front of passage 16. A punch nose can be secured to the nose piece 12 depicted in Figure 1 by a punch nose retainer screw. Tail piece section 13 is adapted to be connected to a drive means (not shown) for reciprocating ram 10 along its longitudinal axis 25. Suitable drive means for ram 10 as well as other details of can body forming apparatus are described in the aforesaid U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,704,619, 3,735,629 and/or 4,530,228. The teachings of these three patents are incorporated herein by reference. Welding that forms weld 14 and metallurgical bonds elements 12 and 15 achieves attachment strength that is, for practical purposes, equal to having a unit of single piece construction. Preferably, in order to reduce the level of stress at weld 14, the front end 19 of the tube section 11 and the nose piece 12 are constructed so that a portion of one will overlap and closely fit over a portion of the other in order that they may be shrink fit together, i.e. they are assembled by heating the overlapping portion of front end 19 to expand it and snugly fit it onto the underlying portion 20. The overlapping portions are at least 3/4 inches preferably 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches to achieve a good shrink fit. Suitable shrink fitting is carried out by heating the body 15 to 400-450° F followed by inserting the underlying portion 20 of the nose piece 12 into the overlapping portion of the front end 19 of the body 15. Shrink fitting the nose piece 12 and body 15 together helps keep the stresses away from the weld during the bodymaker operation, i.e. by distributing all annular stress levels caused by bending to the weld joint area, thus increasing the integrity of the ram 10. The weld 14 can be formed by a conventional gas-shielded tig-arc weld. Test specimens were pull tested at 100,000 lbs. tension without failure at the weld joint. Because the wall of tubular main section 11 is essentially no thicker than required, ram 10 is relatively lightweight so that inertia forces are reduced. Comparing ram 10 with conventionally drilled rams of one piece construction, reductions in weight of up to about 45% are obtainable. Because of this foundation vibration is lessened and machine wear slows down considerably, thereby permitting machine speed to be increased without harmful effects. Ram 10 is also interchangeable with rams of conventional one piece construction. Elements 12 and 15 are constructed of alloy steel, with 9310 VAR being suitable for this purpose. After elements 12 and 15 are axially aligned, shrink fit and then bonded together by weld 14, the assembly is subjected to stress relieving, carburizing and finish machining operations. As an alternative, elements 12 and 15 before they are assembled, and after applying weld 14, are stress relieved only at localized areas adjacent the weld 14. Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

Claims: What is claimed is: 1. A lightweight ram for high speed apparatus that produces relatively elongated can bodies by driving relatively shallow cups through a ring type die means, said ram including: a nose piece constructed to mount and operatively position a punch on said ram; a body constructed from a single integral piece having an elongated thin-walled tube section with a front end and tail piece section adapted for connection to a drive means that reciprocates the ram along its longitudinal axis; said nose piece, said tube section and said tail piece section being in axial alignment, with said tube section interposed between said nose piece and said tail piece section; a metallurgical bond fixedly securing said nose piece to said tube section at said front end and extending forward thereof. 2. Ram of Claim 1 wherein the body is constructed by drilling out material to form the thin- walled tube section and tail piece section. 3. Ram of Claim 2 wherein the front end of the tube section of the body and the nose piece are constructed so that a portion of one will overlap a portion of the other when fixedly securing the nose piece to the front end of said tube section. 4. Ram of Claim 3 wherein the portion of overlap is at least 3/4 inch wide. 5. Ram of Claim 4 wherein the front end and the nose piece are first assembled by heating the overlapping portion to expand it and shrink fit the front end and nose piece together. 6. Ram of Claim 5 wherein the portion of the front end overlaps the portion of the nose piece. 7. Ram as defined by Claim 1 in which a weld metallurgically bonds the tube section to the nose piece. 8. Ram as defined by Claim 1 in which the body and the nose piece are constructed of alloy steel. 9. Ram as defined by Claim 1 in which the tube has a length that is greater than one hundred times its wall thickness. 10. Ram as defined by Claim 9 wherein there are aligned axial passages through the nose piece, the tube section and the tail piece section, with the axial passage of the tube section having a diameter of at least two times the diameter of the axial passages for both the nose piece and the tail piece section. 11. Ram as defined by Claim 9 wherein the tube section has an axial passage that is of a diameter which is greater than 75 % of the outer diameter of the tube section. 12. A method for constructing a lightweight steel ram for high speed apparatus that produces relatively elongated can bodies by driving relatively shallow cups through a ring type die means, said method including the steps of: constructing a nose piece adapted to mount and operatively position a punch of the ram and constructing a body from a single integral piece having an elongated thin walled tube section and a tail piece section adapted for connection to a drive means for reciprocating the ram along its longitudinal axis; metallurgically bonding the nose piece to the front end of the elongated thin walled tube section to form a ram in which the nose piece, the tube section and the tail piece section are axially aligned. 13. A method for constructing a ram as set forth in Claim 12 in which the metallurgical bonding is the result of welding. 14. A method for constructing a ram as set forth in Claim 12 in which, following the metallurgical bonding steps, the ram is subjected to stress relieving and carburizing. 15. A method for constructing a ram as set forth in Claim 12 also including the steps of: heat treating the nose piece and the body prior to bonding them together; and stress relieving the assembled nose piece and body only at localized areas adjacent the interface between the body and the nose piece. 16. Method of Claim 12 wherein the body is constructed by drilling out material to form the thin- walled tube section and tail piece section. 17. Method of Claim 16 wherein the front end of the tube section of the body and the nose piece are constructed so that a portion of one will overlap a portion of the other when securing the nose piece to the front end of said tube section. 18. Method of Claim 17 wherein the portion of overlap is at least 3/4 inch wide. 19. Method of Claim 18 wherein the front end and the nose piece are first assembled by heating the overlapping portion to expand it and shrink fit the front end and nose piece together. 20. Method of Claim 18 wherein the portion of the front end overlaps the portion of the nose piece.

Inventors: MAIN RALPH, MAIN, RALPH
Applicants: SEQUA CORP, SEQUA CORPORATION
Application year: 1995
Main classification: B21D22
IPC codes: B21D22, B21D24, B21D51