Claims
- 1. A die changing system in combination with a bending machine having front and rear bending stations, each station comprising a top die cooperable with a bottom die for gripping a workpiece and a bending beam movable to bend said workpiece against said top die, each bending beam having a bending surface for contacting and bending said workpiece, said bending surface extending horizontally along a longitudinal axis of the bending beam comprising:
- a front plurality and a rear plurality of elevating racks supported for vertical movement adjacent said bending machine, each of said elevating racks being formed with a plurality of stages which store top dies separately;
- means connected with said elevating racks for controlling the elevating racks individually to select any combination of top dies stored on the stages; and
- a die exchanging device supported on the bending machine for moving said top dies horizontally and furnishing the combination of the top dies in the proper position in the bending machine to both said front and rear bending stations by transferring said top dies from the stages.
- 2. The die changing system of claim 1, wherein said elevating racks are provided with a pair of sets of stages on which the top dies are arranged symmetrically with respect to the vertical direction.
- 3. A die changing system in combination with a bending machine having a frame, front and rear bottom dies supported in said frame, a ram mounted for vertical movement in said frame toward and away from the front and rear bottom dies, front and rear top dies replaceably mounted on said ram, and means for vertically moving said ram toward and away from said front and rear bottom dies to clamp workpieces between said front and rear top dies and said front and rear bottom dies, said front and rear dies forming separate bending stations with each station having a bending beam cooperating with the top and bottom dies to bend said workpiece against said top die, each bending beam having a bending surface for contacting and bending a workpiece, said bending surface extending horizontally along a longitudinal axis of the bending beam comprising:
- means mounted on said frame adjacent said bending machine for storing a plurality of front and rear top dies;
- means connected with said storing means for selecting any of said front and rear top dies; and
- means mounted on said ram for horizontally transferring said selected front and rear top dies between said storage means and the front and rear of said ram.
- 4. The die changing system of claim 3 in which the means for storing the front and rear top dies comprises a support frame fixed to a side of the bending machine frame, a plurality of vertically extending rails fixed to the front of the support frame, a pluralitY of vertically extending rails fixed to the rear of the support frame, and a plurality of stages slidingly mounted for vertical movement on the rails, wherein each of said stages supports a top die.
- 5. The die changing system of claim 4 wherein the means for selecting any of the front and rear top dies comprises an elevating screw frame vertically disposed in said support frame, a plurality of nuts threaded on said elevating screw frame, each of said nuts being connected with one of said stages, first and second pulleys mounted on either end of said suport frame, a rope trained over said pulley and interconnecting said stages, and a motor connected with said elevating screw frame whereby said stages may be selectively positioned in the vertical direction.
- 6. The die changing system of claim 3 wherein said means for storing the front and rear top dies comprises: a first set of elevating racks, said first set having one elevating rack disposed on the front side of the bending machine frame and one elevating rack disposed on the rear side of the bending machine frame; and a second set of elevating racks, said second set having one elevating rack disposed on the front side of the bending machine frame and one elevating rack disposed on the rear side of the bending machine frame.
- 7. The die changing system of claim 3 wherein the means for transferring the selected top dies between the storage means and the ram comprises a horizontally extending guide rail mounted on the ram, a movable block mounted on said guide rail for horizontal movement on the ram, said moveable block having a nose section extending laterally from the moveable block in the direction of the storage means, a first retractable cylinder mounted on the nose section for lateral extension toward and away from the storage means, a second retractable cylinder mounted on said first retractable cylinder for selective engagement with a selected top die, and means for driving the horizontal block on the rail.
Priority Claims (4)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
59-060886 |
Mar 1984 |
JPX |
|
59-060887 |
Mar 1984 |
JPX |
|
59-049140 |
Apr 1984 |
JPX |
|
59-049141 |
Apr 1984 |
JPX |
|
Parent Case Info
This is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 717,675, filed on Mar. 29, 1985.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
39034 |
Mar 1982 |
JPX |
1193068 |
May 1970 |
GBX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
717675 |
Mar 1985 |
|