The EP4 press for high speed lamination blanking is the natural evolution of the EP3 press. A few significant innovations improve production quality and productivity. In particular, dynamic penetration control and overhead shaft assembly have been introduced.
Dynamic Penetration Control
During blanking, the penetration of the slide can vary due to the elongation of the connecting rods (resulting from heating of the machine). This is particularly critical when stacking laminations. The EP4 press allows you to adjust the penetration during blanking in total safety for both product and die. This provides a significant increase in productivity, eliminating all machine down time for stroke adjustment. Finished product quality benefits from this function as it remains constant.
Overhead Shaft Assembly
Overhead assembly of the shaft dramatically reduces maintenance times. It is no longer necessary to disassemble the machine. When the press stroke must be changed, only the shaft needs to be replaced. This is a limited investment in terms of resources and time; other presses require that additional machine components be changed.
Accessibility is made easier for maintenance of the bushings.
Other Features:
Full Blanking Force Under Any Condition
The flywheel is fastened to the side upright by means of a bushing in order to avoid stressing the crankshaft. The oversized flywheel guarantees blanking operations to be performed within the rated press capacity, at very low speeds, lower than those allowed by other presses of equal force. The stiffness of the press bed also guarantees increased die life, a feature particularly advantageous when using hard metal dies.
Die Inspection
The quick lift feature (standard on all EP4 presses) allows the upper half of the die to be opened, very useful for inspecting dies and for unsticking the press without heating the tie rods. The bottom plate of the slide can be removed, leaving the slide in position.
Hydrostatic Lubrication of Bearings
In EP4 presses, bearing lubrication is guaranteed by introducing pressurized oil inside the shaft and allowing it to exit at the bearings. This system allows the hydrostatic support of the shaft with consequent reduction in backlash.
Dynamic Balancing
The crown of the press houses a machine balancing device that allows the press be operated without being anchored to the ground. In the EP4 press, the lower plate of the slide can be removed, without requiring the slide to be removed entirely. This allows the bolster plate surface to be reconditioned.
The hydraulic clutch/brake-unit is equipped with its own power pack and dual clutch valve to control and maintain the operating pressure.
The flywheel is supported on the press frame by a bearing assembly and not by the crankshaft thereby reducing the stress on the crankshaft
The crankshaft is nitrided to extend its lifetime.
Control and Supervision System
User friendliness is basic feature of high production efficiency.
The EP4 press features a highly reliable, user-friendly, fully comprehensive supervision system. The applied diagnostics guides the user through troubleshooting down to the smallest details, also via remote assistance, standard on all Galbiati machines.