Grabbing, releasing, sliding backwards, and grabbing again consume 50% of a reciprocating feed cycle time. Servo Feed also has a higher "long-part" production rate as it can generate a 240" feed cycle in one continuous cycle. By comparison, a reciprocating mechanical feed's productivity is diminished by having to make multiple feed cycles for parts longer than 120".
Electronic Servo Feed
Hi-Speed Hydraulic Shear: Lafayette Steel's Cut-to-Length Line is equipped with a heavy-duty Hydraulic Shear capable of 60 strokes/minute. Because the Shear ram is powered by a pair of hydraulic cylinders rather than an AC motor driven clutch-brake crank shaft, the Shear has a virtually silent cylcle.
Hi-Speed Hydraulic Shear
Inspection-Reject Station: Sheets and blanks are inspected for flatness and surface defects on a two-section powered belt conveyor that carries cut sheets from the Shear to the Stacker. Sheets that pass a visual inspection are conveyed into the Sheet Stacker, while defective sheets can be diverted into a Scrap Collection Cart below the belt conveyor. Another benefit of the Inspection-Reject Station is that precision blanks can be quickly and easily removed from the line for dimensional tolerance verification by simply lifting them off the belt.
Sheet Stacker: Sheets and blanks are automatically stacked into straight-sided packages by the Sheet Stacker. The Inspection Station belts feed the parts into the Stacker where the parts are supported on non-marking wheels. As the part approaches the back-stop, the support wheels pivot open and drop the part onto the stack that is supported on a powered elevator table. The elevator table limits the drop distance to a few inches, and automatically descends to maintain the drop distance as the stack height grows. When a package is completed, the table lowers to the elevation of the Runout Conveyor onto which the finished package is conveyed, weighted, and wrapped.
