I'm standing in front of a CMC turret punch press today
and in front of me is the job we're
actually getting set up to run.
You can see the part here is cut out with a series
of different punches as they move around the job
Here's an example of one of the punches
it's a rectangular cut out and that's used right here
to cut this hole here as well as this one over here.
You can see you place it here
this is a little bit longer punch and it's used to
do this periphery around the outside of the part
You can see that fits right into this hole.
The side of the part to cut this thing around
What this machine really is, is an over priced hole punch
It has a turret, it has 34 different tools in here
and it can go around and index to any one of
the tools as it cycles throughout the part
punching the different holes throughout the job.
We have auto index which allows this punch here
to rotate to any degree or angle
we want as we progress through the part.
In this job here it's only using zero and 90 degrees
but we could set this at any angle we want.
We also have a few other tools here
this is an example of a cluster punch
It's not used in this job here
but it has a series of eight punches
and it has a corresponding die at the bottom that
those punches actually fit through.
So when it's in the machine the two fit together
this comes together and punches the part out.
Here's a really simple example of a two hole punch
one small hole punch here with a bottom die
these two come together like this
and it cuts through the material
This material here is fairly thin
and this machine can do up to about to
about a quarter inch thick in material.
- [Narrator] Loading tools for the turret
can take a little while.
First off each tool needs to have a carrier
that gets loaded into the machine.
A tool gets loaded into the carrier first
then tightened down into the carrier
followed by adding a stripper plate to the top
that allows the material to be released from the punch
when it cuts through into the lower die
The stripper plates are based upon the size of the tool
and you can see the stripper plate here in orange
will be placed on top of the punch in just a second
Grab the stripper place it on top
and give it a little smack to hold it down
We then grab that tool and move it over to the machine
The tools can be very heavy and slippery
so you have to be careful.
First things first let's flip the tool over
get a good grip on it with a rag so we
can place it into the auto index station on the machine
The auto index station allows the tool to rotate
to any angle we want when we're cutting this part.
Pick up the tool carry it over to the machine
drop it in it's holder and make sure that it seats
in flush with the lower tools.
Give it a little twist and allow the tool to drop
Now you need to tighten that tool down
and add the lower die and we should be good to go
to start cutting our part.
Before material can be cut on the turret
it needs to be cut to size.
The blank sides need to be loaded in the machine
and set to a stop on the side of the machine
Once you're ready, close the clamps, grab the material
and we're ready to start cutting the part