A low cost retrofitting technique
for mechanical presses
Luiz A. Mortaio
Centro Universitário FEI
Sao Bernardo do Campo, SP, Brazil
Lmortaio@fei.edu.br
Abstract—The mechanical press is a machine which applies
forming force on materials, mainly on metals. A die is placed into
the press to mold the material during the stamping process. The
eccentric mechanical presses with driving crank has a simple
operation, but the slide upstroke and down stroke speeds are
fixes and determined by the impact reduced speed on the
material (the blank). However, these machines can be retrofitted
attaching a servo-drive and PID controls to improve
productivity. The objective of this work is to present a hybrid
drive approach for controlling and improving the press speed
and the stroke rate for eccentric presses, but keeping a die
impact reduced speed on the metal sheet. The cost for
transforming into a hybrid servo-press is around 20% of a direct
drive servo-press.
Index Terms—hybrid drive, mechanical press, servo-drive,
servomotor
I. INTRODUCTION
The grate challenge for the stamping industry is to attend the
fabrication of a wide variety of products, but looking forward
to find improvements which increase quality and reduce
energy consumption [1, 2].
One of the world trends of press manufacturers is to apply
servo-drive [3]. These presses are defined as servo-presses,
and they have several advantages when compared to the
conventional mechanical presses [4, 5]. In a servo-press the
slide positioning, speed, and acceleration can be controlled
during the operating cycle [6]. An electronic system working
in conjunction with the servomotor allows utilizing the
exceeding energy from the process. During the slide down
stroke, the stored mechanical energy can be converted in
electrical energy which can be stored for future applications,
applied to supply others machines, or even returned to the grid
[1].
That type of press has been consolidated by the applications
with direct servo-drive. In a direct servo-drive, the servomotor
is directly connected to the press main shaft or to the main
gear, avoiding the intermediate mechanisms found in
conventional mechanical presses [7]. There are several
benefits when the servomotor is directly connected to the
press, since there are fewer parts in the mechanical chain for
transferring forces to the slide, increasing the movement
control, flexibility, and reducing maintenance [8].
For the existing mechanical presses in industry it will be not
possible to transform into direct servo-drive, once the
978-1-4673-7554-2/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE
Luis A.M. Riascos
Center of Engineering (CECS), UFABC
Santo Andre, SP, Brazil
Luis.riascos@ufabc.edu.br
conversion is financially unfeasible because it is necessary to
replace many parts in the press chain. In this case a remaining
solution is the indirect drive, or hybrid drive, where the slide
upstroke and down stroke will be performed by a servo-drive,
and the shape forming at reduced speed will be performed by
the existing drive mechanism, composed by the flywheel,
brake, clutch, and others components of the machine [9]. The
cost for transforming into a hybrid servo-press is around 20%
when compared to the cost of a direct drive servo-press [2].
In mechanical presses, the energy is supplied at almost
constant rate by an electric motor. The demand for energy,
however, varies from a maximum during compression to
almost zero for the balance of the cycle. The flywheel stores
up the energy supplied by the motor during the entire cycle,
and deliver it for the die during shaping.
The use of a flywheel greatly reduces the required driving
motor power. In an average draw operation, for example, the
horse-power required with a flywheel would be at least four to
six times less than the required for a direct drive. In some
cases this reduction is up to ten times [10].
II. HYBRID DRIVE
The hybrid drive system increases the press productivity
allowing a faster cycle time but maintaining the pressing
speed. The servo-control of the press motion is synchronized
with the clutch engagement, so the clutch wear can be
drastically reduced. A press dynamic speed control can result
in higher quality parts by reducing the stamping speed when
part quality requires it, while increasing the production rate,
and also reducing the rejects.
When a servo-drive kit is added to the existing mechanical
set, the mechanical transmission chain can be kept with the
main motor, flywheel, brake, clutch, and others mechanical
components. The clutch will work smoothly and in perfect
synchronism with the servomotor, and the brake will only
work on emergency stop conditions, reducing wearing of the
system and consequently the maintenance costs.
Four segments of the forming stroke can be considered: die
stamping, die opening, transfer/feed, and die closing.
Conventional presses operate the four segments with a
constant speed. With the hybrid control, it is possible to
reduce the press cycle time by opening and closing faster
while keeping the required stamping speed [11].
621
A. Angular speed profile in a hybrid press  r 2 − (r − h )2 
 P − P'  (4)
In a hybrid press, one of the most important parameter for θ p = tg −1   = tg −1  
 P' − O   r−h 
designing the servo-drive is the angular velocity profile in  
which the transmission is driven off the forming times. Fig. 1
illustrates the velocity profile. where r is the radius of the flywheel.
The hammer velocity varies from ωmax to ωp; ωmax is the The θp angle defined by equation (4) is the area Ap of the
maximum angular speed permitted by the mechanical angular speed profile in Fig. 1, that is:
structure, and ωp is the angular speed during the part forming.
Then, to characterize the transmission angular speed in the θp (5)
hybrid press it is necessary to know the instants tak, tbk, tk+1, the θ p = Ap = ω p t p ⇒ tp =
ωp
values of ωp (determined by the characteristics of the forming
process) and ωmax.
The time instants may be found by analyzing the flywheel When the hammer reaches the BDC, the transmission must
rotation in Fig. 2, and the areas below the curve of the angular be accelerated from rotation ωp to the maximum angular speed
velocity profile reproduced in Fig. 1. ωmax, and the time available for this is ta. And, when the
Suppose that the forming of a part begins at tak with the hammer is at the TDC the angle described is π (radians) and it
hammer at a certain height h from the BDC (Bottom Dead corresponds to the sum of the areas A3 and A4 in Fig. 1. Thus:
Center - Fig. 2). This height defines a point P on the flywheel
rotation and the angle θ in radians from the TDC (Top Dead
π=
(
t a ω max − ω p )+ ta ω p (6)
Center), the angle θ described by the flywheel is: 2 44 123
1442 3 A4
A3
θ =π −θp (1) Solving equation (6) to obtain ta, we have:

where θp is the forming angle, or the angle described by the 2π (7)

ta =
flywheel during the forming time, tp. Also, the angle θ is the ω max + ω p
sum of the areas A1 and A2 lying between the time axis and the
deceleration curve in Fig. 1, that is:
The instant tk+1 which is numerically equal to the duration
of an operating cycle of the hybrid press - TH, may be
π −θp =
(
t d ωmax − ω p )+t ω (2) calculated as the sum of the time intervals td, tp, and ta (Fig. 1):
d
2 44
1442 3 123p
A2
A1 (8)
t k +1 = TH = t d + t p + t a

Solving equation (2) to obtain td, we have:

The values of ta, tb and tk+1 depend on the tool working
height (h). Usually, this height is from 25% to 5% before BDC
td =
(
2 π −θp ) (3) [12].
ω max + ω p Assuming as first case, that forming begins at 25% before
BDC (Fig. 3); in this case, θp = θp max and h = hmax. From
The forming angle θp can be calculated from the triangle equation (4) it can be wrote that:
OP'P in Fig. 2, which is:  r 2 − (r − h )2 
θ p max = tg −1  max  (9)
 r − hmax 
 

Fig. 1. Angular speed profile in a hybrid press chain.

Fig. 2. Variables on the flywheel.

622
 And in case of considering the effects of viscous friction, an
integrating factor can be included:

t
τ = − K ∫ q~dT − K
I
0
P q~ − K D q~& + G (11)

The equation that defines the evolution of the angular

velocity (ω) along the time is:

ωt + ∆t = ωt + ∆tq&&t (12)

where, ωt is the angular velocity at time t, q&&t is the angular

Fig. 3. Forming starting at 25% from BDC.
But h max = 25 × 2 r = 0.5 r .
100
Substituting this value in equation (9), θp max results in:
 r 2 − (r − 0.5 r )2   1 − 0.25  π rd.
θ p max = tg −1   = tg −1  ≅
 r − 0.5 r   0.5  3
 
When the forming starts at 5% from BDC, h = hmin = 0.1r
and θp = θp min. By substituting these values into equation (4)
and performing the calculations, θp min results 13π (rd).
90
In a hybrid press, the conditions that demand more from the
servo-system occur when abrupt accelerations or decelerations
are done in short intervals. When the forming starts at 25% (θp
= θp max), the pressing time is longer, then the transmission
must be decelerated in a shorter time and consequently the
servo-system is more demanded.
III. THE CONTROLLER
The servo drive control for the hybrid press was
implemented applying a PID controller. In general PID
controllers provide stability and robustness of response.
Therefore this type of controller is implemented in more than
90% of practical applications, despite the great variety of
methods in control theory [13, 14].
In connected mechanisms in series, the PID control law can
be established by [15, 16]:
τ = − K P q~ − K D q~& + G
acceleration at time t, and ω(t +∆t) is the angular velocity at time
(t +∆t).
The angular acceleration can be determined by applying the
Lagrange equation in a hybrid press considered as a connected
mechanism in series. From the Lagrange equation, the
dynamic equation of the mechanism that relates the torque and
acceleration is, [15, 16]:
Hq&& + cq& + G = τ (13)
where:
- τ is the generalized vector of forces and torques, i.e., the
forces and torques applied by the actuators and the
environment;
- Hq&& are the inertia forces, and H is the matrix of inertia of
the press;
- G considers the gravitational effects, and
- c considers the centrifugal and the Coriolis forces. In a
mechanical press the trajectory of the slide is restricted by
the machine frame, thus the centrifugal and the Coriolis
forces can be neglected.
Solving the dynamic equation to obtain the angular
acceleration results in:
q&& = H −1 (τ − G ) (14)
Thus, the angular speed to be reached at time (t +∆t) can be
calculated by substituting the equation (14) into the equation
(12), i.e.:
ωt+∆t = ωt + ∆t H-1 ( - G ) τ (15)
And once known the angular velocity, it is possible to
(10) calculate the new angular position:

where τ represents the total torque required to generate the qt + ∆t = qt + ∆t

movement, KP and KD are symmetric positive and finite
matrices, G is the matrix of gravitational effects, q~ = q − qd is
the position error; q is the vector of actual element positions of
the mechanism, and qd is a vector of desired positions.
Similarly, the speed error is q~& = q& − q& d .
In practice, KP and KD are oversized enough to deal with
dynamics of high frequencies not considered in the model.
(ωt + ∆t + ωt ) (16)
2
where qt+∆t is the angular position at time (t+∆t).
Fig. 4 depicts the flow chart of the PID control algorithm,
and Fig. 5 depicts the resulting model of the eccentric press
considered as connected mechanisms in series.
For initializing the program, the controller’s constants (KP,
KI and KD), and the initial conditions (qt=0 and ωt=0) should be
defined.

623
 H12=H21= m2l1l2 cos(θ2)+ m2l22+I2,
G1= (m2 +mhammer)gl1 cos(θ1).
The final angle for each cycle is 2π, and the final angular
velocity is ωmax, defined in the angular speed-profile (the final
position is TDC).

IV. CASE STUDY

The previous procedure was applied for retrofitting a
doubly engaged mechanical press of 400 tons and 840 mm
stroke hammer. The model of the system gears is illustrated in
Fig. 6. Where, element (3) is the main shaft, element (4) and
(1) are reduction gears, mhammer represents the hammer mass,
and m2 represents the mass of the connecting rod. Gear (5) is
the servomotor gear that couples the servo-drive to the chain
press.

A. Characterization of the angular speed profile

For the characterization of the transmission angular speed
profile it is necessary to know the values of the angular speeds
ωp and ωmax.
The maximum speed allowed by the press’ mechanical
design is up to 1.5 times greater than the maximum press
speed specified by its manufacturer [12], which for the present
press is spm = 18. Thus:
2π 2π
ωp = ( spm) = × 18 = 1.88 (rd / s ) ,
60 60
Fig. 4. Flow chart of the control.
and
ω max = 1.5 ω p = 15 × 2.52 = 2.83 (rd / s ) .
It is also necessary to calculate the values of td, tp, ta, tbk and
tk+1 for the worst case scenario of the working tool height,
when the stamping process starts at 25% from BDC. For this
situation:

Fig. 5. The eccentric press model based on connected mechanisms.

The calculation of the matrices H and G is performed

according to the dynamic equation (14), namely:

τ1 = H11θ&&1 + H12θ&&2 + G1 (17)

where [14]:
H11=m1l12/2+I1+(m2+mhammer)[l12+l22+2l1l2 cos(θ2)]+I2, Fig. 6. System gears of a doubly engaged mechanical press.

624
 - from equation (3), td results in: Angular velocity

 π
2 π − 
td = tak =  3
≅ 0.889 s ;
25

2.83 + 1.88
- from equation (5), tp results in: 20
π
θp
tp = = 3 = 0.557 s .

w (spm)
15
ω p 1.88

10
Thus, tbk = td + t p = 0.889 + 0.557 = 1.446 s ;
- from equation (7), ta results in:
2π 5 Real speed
ta = ≅ 1.334 s . control curve
2.83 + 1.88
Finally, from equation (8), tk+1 results in: 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
tk +1 = TH = 0.889 + 0.557 + 1.334 = 2.780 s . t (s)

Thus, the transmission speed profile for the 400 tons Fig. 9. Angular speed of the eccentric gear.
eccentric press working at 18 SPM results as shown in Fig. 7. 500
Torque

400

300

200

100
Torque

-100

-200

-300
Fig. 7. Speed profile for the 400 tons and 18 spm eccentric press.
-400

V. RESULTS -500
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
t (s)
The dynamics and control of the hybrid press applying the
PID controller for a predefined pressing height of 210 mm Fig. 10. Developed torque.
(25%) are show in Fig. 8, 9 and 10.
Angular position Also, it was performed a comparative study of the
productivity on a conventional mechanical eccentric press, and
360 after retrofitted to a hybrid press. It was considered different
parts from a VW auto part industry in São Paulo, Brazil.
It was considered six parts that vary in size and shape with
270
different pressing heights (h). It was measured the production
times in the conventional mechanical eccentric press and
compared against the press with hybrid drive. The results are
q (deg.)

presented in Table 1.
180
The eccentric conventional mechanical press operates at 18
spm for shaping all parts. As can be seen in Table 1, the
pressing cycle time in the conventional eccentric press is
90
constant and equal to 3.33 seconds, regardless of the pressing
Real position height.
desired pos.
With the hybrid drive, the unproductive times during
0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
deceleration and acceleration of the hammer (td and ta in Table
t (s) 1) always exceeded 16%.
Fig. 8. Angular position of the eccentric gear.

625
 TABLE 1 stops, the clutch engagement is synchronized, and the press
TIMES IN CONVENTIONAL AND HYBRID PRESSES. starts and stops smoothly; this will reduce wear), reduced peak
power, and reduced energy consumption.
Eccentric mechanical press Hybrid press Time
h
Part gain
(mm)
td (s) tp (s) ta (s) T (s) td (s) tp (s) ta (s) TH (s) (%) ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
KOMBI front
210 1.111 0.553 1.666 3.330 0.889 0.555 1.333 2.778 16.61
The authors thank FAPESP and CNPq for financial support
wheel box for the present project.
KOMBI rear
129 1.236 0.428 1.666 3.330 0.991 0.427 1.333 2.752 17.39
wheel box
FOX floor
105 1.281 0.383 1.666 3.330 1.027 0.383 1.333 2.743 17.63
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