Machine safety engineering for hot press line

A customized production cell with various working equipment, starting with the material feed to the heat treatment to the forming process were coordinated with each other. SSP supplied the safety products, an individual aluminum safety fence as well as safety tumblers protect the plant against unwanted access. The flexible aluminum construction enables quick attachments and was supplied with a filling of spot-welded mesh as well as polycarbonate in places for better visibility. A so-called quick-release panel, which can be opened with a coded key, allows direct access to the control cabinet of the annealing furnace for infrequent maintenance purposes.

Safety concept for robot plant with hot press - aluminum protective fence

Partly automated process

A good view into the plant is particularly necessary because a retractable staging table is first manually loaded with the plantine. To prevent the staging table from slipping or being pushed outward by the forces acting on it from the robot, a solenoid interlock from SSP is used inside. With a locking force of over 1000 N, it can withstand even the strongest forces. From the staging table, the ABB IRB 7600 robot, which can move along a linear axis on the floor, picks up the component and places it in the annealing furnace. There, at between 750 and 1000°C degrees, the blank is brought to the material-specific austenitizing temperature and later removed again fully automatically by the robot and placed in the press. Using special tools, operators support the actual insertion process into the mold before the retreaded Müller press starts the actual pressing process with over 1000 tons of pressure.

amGard pro solenoid interlock

Configurable solenoid interlock

It is self-explanatory that the highest safety requirements are necessary for such an application, which is why SSP solenoid interlocks are used on the access doors. The solenoid interlocks from the Fortress Interlocks - tGard series can be individually adapted to the customer's wishes. tGard thus combines safety and operation. In addition to the safety functions, the customer can choose from a wide range of operating elements, whether signal lamps for status messages, pushbuttons for request and acknowledgement, emergency stop buttons or selector switches. tGard is quick and easy to install because the modules can be mounted directly on flat surfaces, doors or aluminum profiles without additional mounting plates or brackets. The compact and extremely robust metal housing provides the necessary stability and durability.

Inserting the blank into the press

tGard solenoid interlock with operating elements

tGard solenoid interlock with control elements and door interlock