punch press maintenance 2

[corvairbob]

i just got transferred to a stamping facility in my company and i have to maintain punch press. can anyone tell me if the clutch and brake pins are suppose to be greased and if so what type of grease would be proper? i had on of the 400 tom presses a blow press not want to engage when the buttons were pressed. it turned out to be the clutch plates did not slide on the support pins. after i sprayed white grease on the pins they worked. but it happened a few times so I'm wondering if i did the wrong thing and created more of a problem thanks what started? thanks

 

[MikeHalloran]

You need to find the press manufacturer's manual to tell you exactly what to apply and when, but yes, punch presses typically like a little grease in the bearings and in the single revolution clutches.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[berkshire]

If it is a single revolution clutch with a dog clutch there is a very fine line between the brake tension and the release point.
Too little tension and the press will stop too late and double clutch ( two stroke) ,too much, and the dog will not kick out all the way, with a typical clucking hen click noise.
Air clutches are another matter entirely.
B.E.

 

[ornerynorsk]

You should NOT be messing with a punch press if you don't know what you're doing. This is serious stuff (amputations and trashed tooling !!!) You need to either get the maint ops from the manufacturer or have an experienced person show you.

You can inadvertantly make a press double-stroke or stick in continuous operation if you do the wrong thing.

 

[mcgyvr]

All equipment manufacturers will have a PM (preventative maintenance) document or manual. Your company should really have this documented already. Not to mention proper lock out/tag out procedures,etc...

 

[corvairbob]

OK now that i have some feedback let me further elaborate. i have worked on presses before. what i wrote was from another mechanic. he maintains the pins that hold the clutch on the press need to be lubricated. i have not heard of this before and had to see what others thought. today i encountered this problem on the same press. while in the inch mode the clutch fails to engage. i determined the clutch monitor to be the issue. what it did was exhaust out the exhaust port when it is trying to engage the clutch. in my experience this occurred when the monitor went into out of balance. now i believe the clutch monitor is sticking in one of the valves and causing the valve to shift out of balance and not allowing the press to fire. i told the other mechanic that the pressure plate has enough force to move the clutch on the 2 pins and not cause a miss fire. does that sound reasonable? thanks bp.

 

[berkshire]

Ok so you have an air operated clutch system.
Two questions: is the press protected by an eagle eye type infra red barrier? Are these valves exhausting when the eagle eye is obstructed, or in learn mode?
B.E.