Neff Press Custom Applications: Heated Platen

Heated Platen Presses

Project: 150-ton 4-post heated platen press 450° F.
Final Product: Process Control Product

Our Mission: Our customer, located in New England came to Neff for 2 column presses, each being 150 tons and having bed dimension of 30” (L-R) x 30” (F-B) in between the pins. This customer required the heated platens have a heat up and cool down time of ten minutes, with maximum temperature being 450° F.

Our Solution: Neff designed and manufactured this press to meet the customer’s demanding requirements. Because of the critical process involved in our customer’s application, Neff proposed and built the press with a bed deflection of +/- .001” per foot of deflection. Heated platens were installed on both the bottom platen and the moving platen, which generated the required 450° F and met the heat up and cool down requirements. Each heated platen was 24” x 24” and made of 1.5” thick hot rolled steel. Ceramic insulation was positioned between the press bolsters and the heated platens for machine integrity. The press was programmed to dwell from .1 to 999 hours.

The press contained two single-zone electrically heated, water-cooled platens. Each platen contained serpentine cooling passages through which water was circulated to remove heat at the end of each cycle. This was done so the work piece could be manipulated by hand. At the start of each heating cycle, compressed air was circulated through the cooling passages to remove any excess water left over from the previous cycle. This reduced the chance of mineral deposits as the excess water boiled off. The platens then were heated via electrical resistance heaters to the specified process temperature. Once at set temperature, time dwell could be programmed to let the work piece cure under high temperature. At the end of the dwell cycle, a water control valve was turned on to allow cooling water flow through each platen. Approximately 30 gallons per minute of 70°F water were used to cool the platens from 450°F to room temperature in 5-7 minutes.

75-TON BONDING PRESS
Heavy-Duty Index Unit
Over-sized Dial Plate
Heated tool platens at each dial station
Guided tool mounting plate with heated sub-plate

Final Product: Automotive Transmission Filter

Our Mission: Neff's customer required a press that would apply 400 degrees of heat and uniform pressure over a part with a large surface. Complicated by the requirement that the heated surfaces needed to move in order to preheat and to achieve required productivity, this was accomplished by integrating an index unit and robotic pick and place units with a Neff press. Providing the motion to the heated platens was difficult. A further complication was an extremely short cycle time requirement.

The Solution: A specially designed press with a frame that was significantly modified to house the large index unit and dial. The dial material is aluminum versus steel in order to minimize the amount of weight that the index unit will be required to drive. A slip-ring assembly is mounted in the middle of the index dial to distribute the power to the heaters within the platen assembly at each index station. Each of these platen's temperature is controlled, monitored, and displayed with electronics within the main electrical enclosure. The hydraulic power unit is also upgraded to accomplish the required press cycle time.

The sequence of the application begins with robotic units placing components at each of the first three stations. The index unit then positions an assembly under the moving platen and the ram devices and dwells under pressure for the pre-programmed time and then retracts. The finished (and hot) assembly then indexes to the next station for automatic unload. The press is capable of producing a finished part every 3.7 seconds.

Project: 550-ton 4-post heated platen press 800° F
Final Product: Aerospace Industry

Our Mission: An aerospace company was searching for a 550 ton 4-post press with 7’ 8” of daylight which would fit into their 15’ bay. In addition, the customer wanted the ability to dwell for an extended length of time at full tonnage and with 800°F heated platens. Specific needs regarding controls, hydraulic leaks, and ergonomics were special requirements.

Our Solution : Using FEA (finite element analysis) our engineering department designed a 550 ton 4-post press 40” x 30” between the pins that had 7’ 8” of daylight, 12” stroke, a 28” work height, less than .002”/ft of deflection (tighter tolerances available) and could fit in their 15’ bay. Neff supplied a special insulating material, a shuttle to transfer the mold, and met the design criteria of withstanding 800° F heated platens while dwelling for up to 1 day at full tonnage. The control package was to include multiple independent temperature control circuits to distribute a total of 170 kW worth of electric power to the customer supplied mold. The controls were also equipped with multiple means to protect critical components in the case of phase loss or line voltage fluctuation. The controls needed to meet NFPA 79, NEC, and UL508a standards and were to be reviewed by a local inspector acting as a Nationally Recognized Test Lab (NRTL) to ensure compliance with these codes. The press control platform was designed with data acquisition capabilities to allow transfer of critical operating information (temperature, tonnage, etc.) to a laboratory computer. The hydraulic power unit was shrouded to protect against a catastrophic hydraulic leak and the press operated on fire resistant bio-degradable oil. Neff installed a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) to reduce ambient noise levels during long periods of dwelling and to improve oil temperature. Finally, Neff coordinated shipment, rigging, re-assembly on site, and provided complete start-up and training.

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.