INVERTERS AUTOMATE STACK-FLIPPING
Machine minimizes damage to blanks and enables same die to be used for stamping left-hand and right-hand mirror-image components.
Posted: December 24, 2019
Automatic Feed Co.’s (AFCO) (Napoleon, OH) bundle turnovers flip an entire stack 180 degrees bottom over top. The material inverters eliminate the difficult task of flipping metal blanks by hand or by crane, reducing the potential for damage and enabling the same die to be used for stamping left-hand and right-hand mirror-image components.
The inverters handle materials including cold-rolled and advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) as well as aluminum. They’re available in two configurations:
- Standard front-loading. Bridge surfaces made of 0.75-in steel plate are designed for use with pallets on the stack’s top and bottom. A fork truck loads the stack into the inverter, where it’s flipped and then unloaded by the truck. Lands-style bridge surfaces with urethane pads are available to load and unload via towmotor with or without pallets or dunnage.
- Through-style. Stack is loaded onto a conveyor by fork truck or overhead crane and moved into the inverter via operator pushbutton. Once flipped, material is automatically conveyed out of the machine via pushbutton, unloaded by fork truck, and moved to storage location. Machine has a 36,000-lb weight capacity and handles stacks 84 in (2134 mm) wide, 184 in (4674 mm) long, and 57.25 in (1454 mm) tall.
Both designs automatically clamp, rotate, and unclamp to safely turn over heavy materials. Hydraulic clamping operation features screw jacks. Rotation is powered by an AC motor with a typical turnover cycle of a few minutes.
Automatic Feed Co., 476 E. Riverview, Napoleon, OH 43545, 419-592-0050, www.automaticfeed.com.
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