Disclosed is a vertical strip accumulator. The vertical strip accumulator includes an inner drum unit having an inner drum; an outer drum unit installed at an outer side of the inner drum unit; a central drum unit installed at an inner side of the inner drum unit; and an input unit configured to carry a skelp supplied from an uncoiler to the outer drum unit. The outer drum unit includes an outer drum configured to selectively rotate forward and reverse; a first power source configured to provide a power to the outer drum; an outer roller installed to the outer drum; and a first control unit connected to the first power source to control the operation of the first power source. The input unit includes a carrying roller provided in contact with the skelp; a second power source configured to supply a power to the carrying roller; and a second control unit connected to the second power source to control the operation of the second power source.

A fine blanking press comprises a blanking ram and a counter unit positioned opposite the blanking ram. A press drive is configured to drive at least the blanking ram along a driving direction during a fine blanking process step. A feeding device is configured to feed a process material to a process zone defined between the blanking ram and the counter unit and at least one handling device is configured to handle the process material outside of the process zone. At least one levelling drive is configured to drive the at least one handling device in a same direction as the blanking ram during a fine blanking process step.

A workpiece accumulator system for a stamping machine includes linear actuators, nesting blocks, exit rails, and a first controller. The nesting blocks are disposed on moveable members of the linear actuators and arranged to vertically stack workpieces being fabricated by the stamping machine. The first controller communicates with a second controller that controls the stamping machine. The first controller controls the linear positions of the linear actuators to retract the nesting blocks from an initial position to accommodate placement of the one of the plurality of workpieces in a stack on the nesting blocks. The linear actuators are controlled to retract the nesting blocks to fully retracted positions to place the plurality of workpieces in the stack onto the exit rails when a quantity of the plurality of workpieces in the stack is equal to a desired quantity.

A stamping strip manufacturing system comprises a stamping machine forming terminals in a strip by stamping. A supply reel around which a strip to be stamped is wound supplies the strip to be stamped to the stamping machine, and a recovery reel around which the stamped strip is wound recovers the stamped strip. A strip cutting and welding device of the system cuts off an unqualified strip segment of the strip having an unqualified terminal and welds two cut ends of the cut strip to each other.

Provided is a plate material supplying apparatus that can supply a plate material to a plate material feeding device that intermittently conveys a plate material. The plate material supplying apparatus includes: an upper part that conveys a plate material substantially in a direction of a plate material feeding device; a central part that receives the plate material conveyed from the upper part and conveys the plate material in an obliquely vertical downward direction; and a lower part that receives the plate material conveyed from the central part and conveys the plate material substantially in the direction of the plate material feeding device.

A workpiece accumulator system for a stamping machine includes linear actuators, nesting blocks, exit rails, and a first controller. The nesting blocks are disposed on moveable members of the linear actuators and arranged to vertically stack workpieces being fabricated by the stamping machine. The first controller communicates with a second controller that controls the stamping machine. The first controller controls the linear positions of the linear actuators to retract the nesting blocks from an initial position to accommodate placement of the one of the plurality of workpieces in a stack on the nesting blocks. The linear actuators are controlled to retract the nesting blocks to fully retracted positions to place the plurality of workpieces in the stack onto the exit rails when a quantity of the plurality of workpieces in the stack is equal to a desired quantity.

Disclosed is a vertical strip accumulator. The vertical strip accumulator includes an inner drum unit having an inner drum; an outer drum unit installed at an outer side of the inner drum unit; a central drum unit installed at an inner side of the inner drum unit; and an input unit configured to carry a skelp supplied from an uncoiler to the outer drum unit. The outer drum unit includes an outer drum configured to selectively rotate forward and reverse; a first power source configured to provide a power to the outer drum; an outer roller installed to the outer drum; and a first control unit connected to the first power source to control the operation of the first power source. The input unit includes a carrying roller provided in contact with the skelp; a second power source configured to supply a power to the carrying roller; and a second control unit connected to the second power source to control the operation of the second power source.

A fine blanking press comprises a blanking ram and a counter unit positioned opposite the blanking ram. A press drive is configured to drive at least the blanking ram along a driving direction during a fine blanking process step. A feeding device is configured to feed a process material to a process zone defined between the blanking ram and the counter unit and at least one handling device is configured to handle the process material outside of the process zone. At least one levelling drive is configured to drive the at least one handling device in a same direction as the blanking ram during a fine blanking process step.

The invention relates to a device for producing a sheet-metal blank by means of laser cutting, including a laser cutting device having a laser cutting head movable back and forth in a transport direction and in a y-direction extending vertically to the transport direction, and a stretching device for stretching a metal sheet accommodated in the laser cutting device. The device includes a first clamping device provided upstream of the laser cutting device for clampingly gripping a first portion of the metal sheet, a second clamping device provided downstream of the laser cutting device for clampingly gripping a second portion of the metal sheet, and a mechanism for changing a distance between the first and the second clamping device such that a tensile stress is exerted onto a metal sheet that is clampingly gripped therewith.

A system and method of controlling the input and output speed of a continuous sheet of stock material is provided. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system and method used to perform an operation on a continuous sheet of stock material in a high speed manufacturing system. The continuous sheet of stock material may subsequently be received by a second system that performs a different operation on the stock material. In one embodiment, the second system forms the stock material into tabs for container end closures. The system includes an infeed accumulation device and an outfeed accumulation device. The infeed and outfeed accumulation devices enable the system to operate at a variable rate and out of phase with a high speed, coil fed manufacturing system to which the system may be removably integrated.