On a back side of a table, moving bodies are provided being movable in a left-right direction. A bending system includes moving actuators to cause the moving bodies to move in the left-right direction relative to the table and position detectors to detect positions of the moving bodies in the left-right direction. The moving bodies are provided with hole detectors to detect the engagement holes tools fitted to a tool holder. The bending system includes a hole position acquisition unit to acquire positions of the engagement holes of the tools in the left-right direction, based on positions of the moving bodies in the left-right direction at the time of the engagement holes of the tools being detected.

A positioning device for hot stamping includes a pilot pin and a driving mechanism for driving the pilot pin. Before a plate material is placed into a press die, when the driving mechanism positions the pilot pin at a predetermined projecting position, a tip portion of the pilot pin projects from a pin guide hole and a body portion of the pilot pin formed further toward a base end side than the tip portion projects from the pin guide hole. Before a process in which the press die removes heat from the plate material after having been press-formed by the press die, when the driving mechanism positions the pilot pin at a predetermined immersed position, the body portion of the pilot pin is immersed in the pin guide hole while only the tip portion of the pilot pin projects from the pin guide hole.

A centering system comprising a conveyor for receiving a plurality of blanks outputted from a furnace and displacing the blanks along a first horizontal axis and shifting units for each individual blank including two or more adjustable lifting bars, the shifting units configured to move along a second horizontal axis, and the adjustable lifting bars being configured to lift the blanks along a vertical axis, wherein each of the shifting units is independently movable along the second axis, and a plurality of centering pins for centering the blanks, such that the blanks can be centered by moving the individual blanks along the second axis against the centering pins. Also disclosed are conveyor systems and methods for centering and conveying blanks.

The present invention is a die positioning system for use in positioning mobile or fixed dies. The system includes a pair of key bars, a pair of key disc inserts, a set of key discs, and a set of disc backers. The key bars and key discs serve to offset manufacturing dies or die holders. Using key bars and/or key discs from different pairs of key bars and/or sets of key discs also allows for precise angulation of the dies or die holders. The key discs are held in place between the die and die holder, or between the die holder and key base, by the key disc inserts and angled (if feasible) by the disc backers. The key bars, located between the key disc inserts and the die or die holder allow additional offset of the die or die holder. The solid, stacked configuration of the key bars and key discs prevents the die or die holder from gradually or suddenly losing its positioning.

A positioning guide device for positioning a blank in a forming die. The positioning guide device includes a positioning guide having a sloped positioning face designed to allow a peripheral edge of the blank to be positioned in a transverse direction by contact with the positioning face. The positioning guide device further comprises a housing module, the positioning guide being mounted in the housing module so as to be linearly displaceable in the transverse direction. The housing module having a spring system for preloading the positioning guide in the transverse direction.

A method of adjusting a position of a blank entering a furnace includes measuring a position of a heated blank exiting the furnace, recording one or more offset values from a nominal value of the heated blank exiting the furnace, calculating a revised position of a subsequent blank entering the furnace as a function of the one or more offset values, and adjusting a position of the subsequent blank entering the furnace as a function of the one or more offset values. The position of the heated blank exiting the furnace can be measured with an electronic vision system, a robot can adjust the position of the subsequent blank, and offset value(s) can be an elapsed furnace operation time, a number of heated blanks that have exited the furnace, and a physical dimension between an actual position of the heated blank and the nominal value of the heated blank.

A precision compensation mechanism of a full-automatic bidirectional flanging machine comprises an upper die X-direction fine adjustment assembly, an upper die Y-direction fine adjustment assembly, a lower die X-direction fine adjustment assembly and a lower die Y-direction fine adjustment assembly, wherein the fine adjustment assemblies each comprise N adjusting threaded sleeves, N adjusting screws and a threaded sleeve rotation driving device; wherein the N adjusting threaded sleeves are threaded into an upper opening or a lower opening of a C-shaped flanging beam along the length direction of an upper die or a lower die; the outer wall surfaces of the N adjusting threaded sleeves are threaded into the upper opening or the lower opening of the C-shaped flanging beam to form N screw thread pairs I with the thread pitch of P1.

A sensing arrangement for use in a can bodymaker includes a plurality of sensors positioned around, and spaced a radial distance from, a sensing axis. Each sensor of the plurality of sensors is structured to determine a number of characteristics of a can body positioned on a punch of the can bodymaker as the punch passes along the sensing axis during normal operation of the bodymaker producing can bodies.

An apparatus for handling sheets and the operating method thereof is disclosed, the apparatus including: a handling unit for gripping and transferring sheets to and from a sheet change support with a substantially horizontal attitude; and a receiving-transmitting electromagnetic beam unit which generate electromagnetic beams arranged on a plane which is intercepted by the sheets when they take up an attitude at least partially different from the horizontal one. The receiving-transmitting electromagnetic beam unit is fixedly arranged on at least a couple of linear bars arranged at the same height for generating a horizontal-mesh barrier, consisting of intersecting, stationary electromagnetic beams, generated by the receiving-transmitting unit, the barrier being defined above an area occupied by the sheet change support.

The invention relates to a method for controlling a cyclically operating joining device, in particular a welding station, for joining a plurality of workpieces to a circuit board, wherein the joining device comprises at least one first transport device for a first workpiece in a first transport segment, and a second transport device for a second workpiece in a second transport segment, and the transport devices are controlled, independently of each other, by at least one control variable to configure an offset between head ends and/or rear ends of the workpieces prior to joining, wherein the control variable is associated with at least one transport segment of one of the transport devices.