US-12617012-B2 - Redraw and ironing system

US12617012B2US 12617012 B2US12617012 B2US 12617012B2US-12617012-B2

Abstract

A can redraw and ironing system includes a ram, a punch, and a sensor system. The ram includes a ram body and a ram nose. The punch is supported on the ram nose and is configured to engage a metal blank during an ironing process. The sensor system includes a first sensor that detects a total force on the ram and a second sensor that detects a force on the ram nose.

Inventors

CARLOS G. W. NOBREGA
JAESUK PARK
MATHEUS GUEDES
Jay Michael Shores
Robert Lehman

Assignees

NOVELIS INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20191202

Claims (12)

1 . A redraw and ironing system comprising: a ram comprising a ram body and a ram nose elongated along an axis; a punch supported on the ram nose and configured to engage a metal blank during a redraw and ironing process, wherein the punch comprises a punch nose and a punch sleeve, wherein the punch nose is configured to engage the metal blank during processing, and wherein the punch sleeve is supported on the ram nose between the punch nose and the ram body, and wherein the punch sleeve is movable relative to the punch nose; a sensor system comprising a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is configured to detect a total force on the ram, and wherein the second sensor is configured to detect a force on a sidewall or on a bottom of a can formed from the metal blank; and a spacer comprising opposing ends along the axis, the spacer positioned between and abutting the punch nose and the ram nose, wherein a first opposing end of the opposing ends is between the punch nose and the ram nose and contacts the punch nose and a second opposing end of the opposing ends is between the punch nose and the ram nose and contacts the ram nose, wherein the spacer defines a gap between the punch nose and the punch sleeve such that a force on the punch nose is directed to the ram nose before the punch nose engages the punch sleeve.
2 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 1 , wherein the ram nose extends from a front end of the ram body and comprises a ram nose end, wherein the first sensor is on the ram body and wherein the second sensor is on at least one of the ram nose, between the front end of the ram body and the ram nose end, or on the ram nose end.
3 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 1 , wherein the ram body comprises a front end and a back end, wherein the ram nose extends from the front end, and wherein the punch sleeve abuts the ram body at the front end.
4 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 1 , further comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the controller is configured to: receive total force data from the first sensor; receive ram nose force data from the second sensor; and determine a friction force between the punch and a can body based on the total force data and the ram nose force data.
5 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 1 , wherein the ram comprises an outer surface and an inner surface defining an inner chamber, wherein the second sensor is on the outer surface of the ram on the ram nose, and wherein the first sensor is within the inner chamber in the ram body.
6 . A redraw and ironing system comprising: a ram comprising a ram body and a ram nose; a punch supported on the ram nose and configured to engage a metal blank during a redraw and ironing process, wherein the punch comprises a punch nose and a punch sleeve, wherein the punch nose is configured to engage the metal blank during processing, and wherein the punch sleeve is supported on the ram nose between the punch nose and the ram body; a sensor system comprising a first sensor and a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is configured to detect a total force on the ram, and wherein the second sensor is configured to detect a force on a sidewall or on a bottom of a can formed from the metal blank; and a spacer positioned between and abutting the punch nose and the ram nose and without extending into the ram nose or the punch nose, wherein the spacer defines a gap between the punch nose and the punch sleeve such that a force on the punch nose is directed to the ram nose before the punch nose engages the punch sleeve, wherein the spacer comprises a third sensor of the sensor system configured to detect the force directed from the punch nose to the ram nose.
7 . A redraw and ironing system comprising: a ram comprising a ram body and a ram nose, the ram body comprising a front end and a back end, wherein the ram nose extends from the front end, and wherein the ram defines an inner chamber extending from the ram body to a ram nose end of the ram nose; a punch comprising a punch sleeve supported on the ram nose and a punch nose, wherein the punch nose is configured to engage a metal blank during processing, and wherein the punch sleeve is supported on the ram nose between the punch nose and the ram body; and a sensor system comprising (i) a first sensor positioned within the inner chamber of the ram body and between the punch sleeve and the back end of the ram body and (ii) a second sensor positioned on the ram nose, wherein the first sensor is configured to detect a total force on the ram, wherein the second sensor is configured to detect a force on a sidewall or on a bottom of a can formed from a metal blank.
8 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 7 , further comprising a spacer between the punch nose and the ram nose, wherein the spacer defines a gap between the punch nose and the punch sleeve such that a force on the punch nose is directed to the ram nose before the punch nose engages the punch sleeve.
9 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 8 , wherein the spacer comprises a third sensor of the sensor system configured to detect the force directed from the punch nose to the ram nose.
10 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 7 , further comprising a controller communicatively coupled to the first sensor and the second sensor, wherein the controller is configured to: receive total force data from the first sensor; receive ram nose force data from the second sensor; and determine a friction force between the punch and a can body based on the total force data and the ram nose force data.
11 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 7 , wherein the second sensor is on an outer surface of the ram on the ram nose.
12 . The redraw and ironing system of claim 11 , further comprising a pressure system configured to apply a constant pressure within the inner chamber.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a U.S. national phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/US2019/063936, filed Dec. 2, 2019 and entitled REDRAW AND IRONING SYSTEM, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/774,951, filed on Dec. 4, 2018 and entitled REDRAW AND IRONING SYSTEMS AND METHODS, the content of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This application generally relates to metalworking techniques, and, more particularly, to improved systems and methods for redraw and ironing. BACKGROUND Many cans or cylindrical articles such as food and drink cans, fire extinguishers, gas cans, oil filter casings, damper casings, and many other types of articles, are made from metal materials such as aluminum, aluminum alloys, stainless steels, brass, low-carbon steel, and various other suitable materials. The process of forming the can or cylindrical article from the metal material generally includes making a blank out of the metal material and then drawing the blank to form a shallow cup. After the shallow cup is initially drawn, it may be redrawn to reduce its diameter and deepen the cup. The cup is then ironed to reduce the wall thickness to ultimately provide the body for the can or cylindrical article. Ironing generally includes axially driving the metal material through one or more ironing dies to reduce the wall thickness with an ironing system having a ram and a punch. Various process conditions may be present and various forces can be applied to the punch, ironing die, and/or metal material during redraw and ironing, and these forces may correlate to various factors that can be controlled during redraw and ironing. However, existing redraw and ironing systems are unable to measure these forces or process conditions, and as such are unable to effectively control the various aspects of the process of redraw and ironing. SUMMARY The terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention” and “the present invention” used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below. Embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various embodiments of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings, and each claim. According to certain examples of the present disclosure, an ironing system includes a ram, a punch, and a sensor system. The ram includes a ram body and a ram nose. The punch is supported on the ram nose and is configured to engage a metal blank during an ironing process. The sensor system includes a first sensor and a second sensor. The first sensor is configured to detect a total force on the ram, and the second sensor is configured to detect a force on a sidewall or on a bottom of a can formed from the metal blank. According to various examples of the present disclosure, an ironing system includes a ram and a sensor system. The ram includes a ram body and a ram nose. The sensor system includes a first sensor on the ram body and a second sensor on the ram nose. The first sensor is configured to detect a total force on the ram, and the second sensor is configured to detect a force on a sidewall or on a bottom of a can formed from the metal blank. According to some examples of the present disclosure, a method of controlling redraw and ironing forces on a can during an ironing process includes engaging a punch of an ironing system with a metal blank, where the punch is supported on a ram nose of a ram of the ironing system. The method also includes directing the metal blank through an ironing die by driving the ram to form a can body. The method further includes measuring a force on the ram nose with a first sensor of a sensor system as nose force data and measuring a total force on the ram with a second sensor as total force data while directing the metal blank through the ironing die. According to certain embodiments of the present disclosure, a redraw and ironing system includes a ram, a punch, and a sensory system. The ram includes a ram body and a ram nose. The punch is supported on the ram nose and is configured to engage a metal blank during a redraw and ironing process. The sensor system includes a first sensor and a second sensor, where the first sensor and the