A good example of the system solutions offered by Schmalz is a press feeder for use in the bodywork press shop of an automobile manufacturer. This feeder was designed and built specifically for a project, in cooperation with Messrs. Zollern-Automation in Herbertingen, the supplier of the complete press-automation system.

The press feeder is designed for single and double loading of a large press.

The gripper is designed as a double vacuum spider, each spider having 50 suction pads. When handling small parts, the two spiders operate separately. For large parts, the two spiders are synchronised and act as a single unit.

The suction pads can be controlled separately or synchronously with the aid of a valve. The individual suction pads, each of which can be moved separately with a pneumatic cylinder, are activated as required, depending on the format of the metal sheet to be handled.

The suction pads are supplied with vacuum by a pump.

The double vacuum spider is capable of handling uncut metal sheets with dimensions of up to 4000 x 2000 mm and can also handle shaped sheets.

When handling aluminium sheets, the suction pads close to the edges of the sheet are lifted by their pneumatic cylinders to peel off the sheets from the stack.

In order to check for lifting of two sheets at once, one special suction pad on each spider is equipped with a double-sheet sensor. This suction pad can be adjusted to the appropriate position to permit sensing of sheets of various sizes and formats.

The feeder system transports the sheets over a distance of four metres and passes them to a washing station or a centring table at the beginning of the press line.

Rapid release of the sheets is achieved by actively blowing them off from the suction pads.