Patent GB-901066-A (GB)
Title: Hydraulic forming press
IPC: B30B15/22
Filed: 1961-05-08
Abstract: 901,066. Cupping. CINCINNATI MILLING MACHINE CO. May 8, 1961 [Aug. 26, 1960], No. 16578/61. Class 83 (4). [Also in Group XXIX] A method of forming a workpiece 12 in an hydraulic press comprises programming a flexible cam 41 movable during the forming operation to present different portion 41a, 41b of the cam to a follower 52 at different portions of the forming cycle, the follower establishing pressure in a pressure chamber 13 according to its position. The workpiece is clamped between a bed 10 and a movable member 11 having a diaphragm 14 and a chamber 13 supplied with fluid pressure from a line 31, 20 connected to a pump 9 so as to form the workpiece to the shape of a plunger 15 as the latter is raised. The pressure is regulated by a valve 21 having a piston 25 controlling the discharge from the pump through an exhaust line 26, the position of the piston being determined by the pressure drop across a throttle 30 interconnecting line 20 and a line 28. The pressure in line 28, and hence the pressure drop across the throttle and the pressure in chamber 13, is controlled by a relief valve 73 having a member 77 urged by a spring 29 to close a passage 78 between the line 28 and exhaust ports 75, 76, the force exerted by the spring being varied to control the amount of fluid exhausted by the relief valve and the pressure in line 28. The force of the spring is controlled by a plunger 69 engaging a roller 73 on a lever 53 pivotally mounted on a pin 55 and having a second roller 57 spring urged into engagement with a surface 58 in the follower 52 which carries a roller 50 engaging the flexible cam 41. The follower moves against the rod 60 of a piston 62 having a diaphragm 65 forming a chamber 67 connected by a line 81, valve 90 and regulating valve 85 to a source 82 of pneumatic pressure. The plunger 15 is moved by a rack-pinion mechanism 34, 35 connected by a shaft 33 to a member 38 having bolts 42 provided with grooves for receiving the flexible cam 41, the bolts being adjustable so that the cam moves the follower to adjust the spring 79 according to the position of the cam and plunger. The cam is programmed by initially adjusting the bolts so that the cam is withdrawn from the follower and a valve 19 moved to a position by-passing the supply from the pump 9. The plunger, and consequently the cam, is positioned according to a particular phase in the forming operation and the valve 85 adjusted until a gauge 91 indicates a pressure supplied to the chamber 67 corresponding to a desired pressure in the chamber 13 for that particular position of the plunger, the follower moving to a position of equilibrium wherein the pressure acting in chamber 67 is balanced by the force of the spring 79. The bolts 42 are then adjusted so that a portion of the cam just touches the roller 50 of the follower. The latter process is repeated for other operating positions of the plunger so that during the forming of a workpiece, the cam is programmed to move the follower and vary the pressure in the chamber 13 according to the position of the plunger. In an alternative operation of the cam, the cam is withdrawn from engagement with the follower, the valve 86 adjusted until the gauge 91 indicates a pressure corresponding to the desired working pressure in the chamber 13, and the valve 19 opened until a gauge 32 indicates a desired initial forming pressure in the chamber 13, whereupon the valve 19 is closed, the movement of the plunger into the chamber to form the workpiece causing the pressure in the chamber 13 to rise to a value determined by the opening of the relief valve 73.