Versatile microforming press

Microforming presses are barely found on the machine tool market. The Bremer Institut fur angewandte Strahltechnik (BIAS) has developed and built a high precision and high dynamic press with a free stroke and force control, featured with a double axis design. The technical possibilities available on the market have been exhausted in order to fulfil these diametric requirements. The result of this development is a new microforming press with a stroke height of 200 mm at each axis. The contactless electrical linear drives in combination with an optical position measurement system and air bearings allow a movement of the ram free of friction and clearance and thus high precision force measurement and control. An operational-test measurement with laser interferometry showed that 1250 strokes per minute at 1 mm stroke travel can be made, whereby the uncertainty of position is at. 3 mu m and the repeatability at 1 mu m.