Draw die set with rolling elements on punch and draw die cavity

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9527125-B2
Application number	US-201213526066-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 18, 2012
Priority date	Jun 18, 2012
Publication date	Dec 27, 2016
Grant date	Dec 27, 2016

Abstract

A draw die set defines a die cavity. A die entry area is provided at the location where a blank is drawn into the die cavity. A plurality of rolling elements such as cylindrical rollers or spherical balls are retained in pockets formed at the die entry area. A punch may be provided with rolling elements that engage a blank on the opposite side from the rollers in the die entry area. The rollers in the die entry area and on the punch may be arranged in rows that form a tangent surface that engages the sheet metal blank as it is drawn into the die cavity.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A draw die set comprising:
a draw die defining a die cavity within a die entry area that defines a plurality of pockets;
a binder ring clamping a blank to the draw die;
a punch drawing the blank into the die cavity; and
a plurality of ball bearings and a plurality of roller bearings are disposed in a row around the die entry area within the pockets, with the ball bearings being located in areas of substantial curvature and the roller bearings being located in areas with limited curvature, and wherein the ball bearings are received by spherical concave surfaces on two ends of the roller bearings, wherein the ball bearings and roller bearing form a tangent surface engaged by the blank and that reduces friction as the blank is drawn into the die entry area.

2. The draw die set of claim 1 , wherein the pockets are arranged in several rows that extend about the die cavity.

3. The draw die set of claim 2 , wherein the ball bearings and roller bearings disposed in the pockets arranged in several rows form a tangent surface that the blank is drawn over as the blank enters the die cavity.

4. The draw die set of claim 1 , wherein the punch defines at least one punch pocket on a surface that engages the blank and further comprising ball bearings and roller bearings disposed in the punch pocket.

5. The draw die set of claim 4 , wherein the at least one punch pocket is defined at a lower edge of the punch and the ball bearings and roller bearings initially engage the blank on a side of the blank that is opposite the die entry area of the draw die.

6. A draw die set comprising:
a draw die defining a die cavity within a die entry area that defines a plurality of draw die pockets;
a binder ring clamping a blank to the draw die;
a punch drawing the blank into the die cavity, wherein the punch defines a plurality of punch pockets; and
a plurality of ball bearings and a plurality of roller bearings are disposed in a row around the die entry area within the punch pockets, with the ball bearings being located in areas of substantial curvature and the roller bearings being located in areas with limited curvature, and wherein the ball bearings are received by spherical concave surfaces on two ends of the roller bearings to form a tangent surface and reduce friction between the blank and the punch when the blank is drawn into the die cavity.

7. The draw die set of claim 6 , wherein the punch pockets are defined at a lower edge of the punch and the ball bearings and roller bearings initially engage the blank on a side of the blank that is opposite the die entry area of the draw die.

8. A method of drawing a blank in a draw die set to form a shaped part, the draw die set including a draw die that defines a die cavity within a die entry area, a binder ring, and a punch, wherein the die entry area defines a plurality of pockets and the method comprising:
a plurality of ball bearings and a plurality of roller bearings are disposed within the pockets, with the ball bearings being located in areas of substantial curvature and the roller bearings being located in areas with limited curvature, and wherein the ball bearings are received by spherical concave surfaces on two ends of the roller bearings;
loading a blank into the draw die set;
moving the punch toward the die cavity;
drawing the blank over a tangent surface formed by the ball bearings and roller bearings in the die entry area and into the die cavity to form the shaped part; and
removing the shaped part from the die cavity.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the punch defines a plurality of punch pockets on a surface that enters the die cavity, wherein the punch pockets receive ball bearings and roller bearings that engage the blank.

10. A method of drawing a blank in a draw die set comprising:
loading the blank into the draw die set;
drawing the blank into a die cavity across a plurality of ball bearings and roller bearings retained in a die entry area to form the blank into a shaped part, wherein the ball bearings are disposed in areas around the die cavity that have greater curvature than the areas where the roller bearings are disposed around the die cavity;
engaging the blank with a punch that includes a second plurality of ball bearings and roller bearings retained by the punch, wherein the second plurality of ball bearings and roller bearings engage opposite sides of the blank from a side of the blank engaged by the ball bearings and roller bearings supported by the die entry area; and
unloading the shaped part from the die cavity.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of ball bearings and roller bearings are disposed in a series of rows that form a first tangent surface that the blank is drawn over as the blank enters the die cavity.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising a plurality of second ball bearings and roller bearings retained in a plurality of pockets on the punch.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of second ball bearings and roller bearings are disposed in a series of rows that form a second tangent surface that engage the opposite side of the blank.

Assignees

• Golovashchenko Sergey Fedorovich
• Ford Global Tech Llc

Inventors

• Golovashchenko Sergey Fedorovich

Classifications

• B21D37/10 Primary

  Die sets; Pillar guides · CPC title