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Neff Press Custom Applications: Gib-Guided Servo Index Error Detection
Press
Final Product: Automotive Interior Trim
 Our
Mission: Neff Press, Inc., recently shipped two 75 ton gib-guided
gap C-Frame presses to a Midwest Tier 1 automotive supplier. Each
of the presses had 8-point gib guidance. The presses had a slide
dimension of 60" (L-R) x 34" (F-B), with 18" of throat
and 36" daylight. Neff designed these presses with two main
rams to accommodate off-center load conditions, and to give the
press more overall rigidity.
These presses had a standard 30HP power unit that achieved 630
IPM (inches per minute) on the rapid advance, 70 IPM pressing speed,
and 504 IPM for rapid return. Neff integrated one of its many Ram
Control packages which offered the following features to the customer.
The operator controls were an Allen Bradley platform that integrated
proportional pressure, proportional flow, and electronic position
control (+/-.002" repeatability on position). This customer
required recipe storage of up to 100 different jobs with various
stroke and tonnage parameters.
Neff Press Custom Applications: 25-Ton Axle Stud Press
Servo Rotary Index Unit
Gib-Guided Slide
Ultrasonic Length Sensor
Parts Quality Assurance Package
Final Product: Rear Truck Axle Shaft
Our Mission: A leading manufacturer of truck axles approached
Neff Press looking for a turnkey production solution. The customer
was looking for a better and more consistent way to press wheel
studs into rear axle shafts. The shafts in question consisted of
four different lengths, had two different bolt circle diameters
and required either six or eight studs.
Previously, the customer employed "single-hit" tooling
that pressed all of the studs in one stroke of the ram. While it
was simple, this method proved problematic because of tolerance
variations on the head of the stud. These variations prevented all
of the studs from being pressed flush into the axle. The resulting
gaps between the stud head and the axle created durability problems.
 The
Solution: Neff designed a special press utilizing gib-guidance,
a servo rotary index unit, and a Parts Quality Assurance package.
The back plate gib-guidance minimized front-to-back deflection.
The servo index unit could be programmed for the various six or
eight stud patterns. The PQA system gave "good part/bad part"
feedback to the operator and verified both stud presence and that
the proper force was used in the pressing operation. Each different
job recipe was pre-programmed and could called up with one button.
Also, an ultrasonic length sensor was used to verify that the operator
had the correct shaft in the machine for the programmed job.
The main difference between the customer's old process and Neff's
new machine is the pressing cycle. Instead of pressing all of the
studs in one hit, the Neff machine presses one stud at a time and
then rotates the next stud under the ram. This process would continue
automatically until the operation is complete. This method has a
few distinct advantages. First, each stud head is pressed in fully
regardless of tolerance variations on head height. Second, press
size does not increase with an increased number of studs. The size
is optimized for the individual stud pressing operation. This saves
on the overall investment.
Neff has over 40 years of experience manufacturing, engineering
and integrating industry standard components to solve customers
manufacturing needs. Contact Neff Press at 800-325-8612 for further
details on this application or on many others.
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