Tooling Flexibility = Flexibility in Forming Technology?!

Distinctive customer requests for individualized products, their quick availability and market accepted price policy influence increasingly production engineering, particularly forming technology. Relevant questions focus progressively on costefficient production of minimized batch sizes, quick changing product shapes and individual adjustment of mechanical properties. Rising demands on flexible tool solutions accompany the call for energy and resource efficient solution strategy to satisfy customer requirements. Within the IWP (Institute for Machine Tools and Production Processes) at Technische Universität Chemnitz different tool concepts were designed, developed and subsequently evaluated. The general request for innovative tool concepts and technologies to design adjusted mechanical properties is in focus. By questioning the fundamental construction of forming and cutting tools, innovative concepts are implemented, whereby shaft guidance and peripheral units will be neglected. Especially multi-axle driven tools with online position control are mainly considered. By implementation of innovative control and feedback control technology highly dynamic forming processes can be realized. Significant advantages arise from servo-electric actuator units whereby flexible velocity profiles are implemented. Potential tilting effects are avoided by separate adjustment control for each actuator.