May 2024 Volume 6

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

Tongs and Grippers Up to now, we have only covered the basic style of the machine. But what makes nearly each machine unique are the tongs, the interface between the work piece, and the transport machine. To describe all possibilities would go beyond the scope, because the tongs are always adapted to the shape and dimensions of the work pieces (Figure 5).

Which Solution is the Right One? For most tasks, there is more than one solution. You have to evaluate the possibilities together with an experienced project engineer. It is very important not to be misled by the cheapest solution with the least effort. You have to think of the long term. As simple as possible, but as complex as necessary. Boris Marcukaitis Senior Sales Engineer DANGO & DIENENTHAL Maschinenbau GmbH Phone: +49 271 401-4120 Email: boris.marcukaitis@dango dienenthal.de

Figure 5: Various Tongs What is common for most of the tongs in the closed-die and ring rolling sector is a rotation around the horizontal axis for reversing the work piece. The tongs can also be equipped with an additional flipping axis in the jaws for erecting horizontally orientated billets. Sometimes the intense analysis of special handling tasks bears unique solutions. One of these examples is a dedicated machine for unloading ring rolling machines. Rings with diameters up to 4,000 mm can be handled very carefully and without unnecessary defor mation. This is achieved by special gripping arms that fit into the cutouts of the support table of the ring rolling machine (Figure 6). The rings are gripped form-closed from underneath and not clamped and squeezed by force. Gripping from inside and outside increases the range of dimensions of work pieces that can be handled.

Figure 6: Ring Handling Manipulator

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