Punching holes in long aluminum extrusions require a press and tooling setup that can hold alignment from the first stroke to the last. Application success depends on more than tonnage alone. Extrusion geometry, hole location tolerance, material condition, die clearance, and part support all influence the quality of the punched pattern. Especially if you're looking to punch six-holes at once.
One manufacturer of custom aluminum composite panels (ACM) needed an improved punching process to increase efficiency and consistency. To support that requirement, AIM Joraco developed customized tooling and fixturing capable of punching six holes simultaneously in extrusions up to 218" long. The application called for 5.2 mm diameter holes through 1.5 mm thick aluminum, with each hole spaced 25.4 mm apart along the length of the extrusion. The system was built around our Toggle-Aire® Model 2530 with customized tooling setup for hole punching.
The Process
This project required more than just a strong press. Punching six holes at once puts more stress on the tooling. The setup also had to keep everything aligned while supporting long extrusions as they moved through the machine. To manage the higher force and tooling stress our engineers created a two-post die set that maintained punch-and-die alignment while distributing the load evenly across the operation.
The lower tooling was designed as a mandrel that supported the extrusion while holding the dies in position, allowing the part to slide smoothly through the punching area. A toggle stop was used to position the extrusion for punching the first hole pattern, and a ball detent was used maintained accurate spacing as the part was advanced for additional hole sets.
Results
The finished system was capable of punching six holes at once, maintaining 25.4 mm spacing between holes, and handled extrusions up to 218" long. The tooling design was made for the loading of parts and positioning for punching to be as quick and easy as possible for the operator. This provided the manufacturer a dependable process for producing clean, consistent holes across various extrusion lengths as efficiently as possible.
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Read more here: Aluminum Extrusion Hole Punching
About Joraco Press Company
Joraco Press Company has been an innovator in the pneumatic press industry since 1947. The trademarked TOGGLE-AIRE® Series has been the core product of Joraco Press for over 60 years having been installed in thousands of manufacturing facilities all over the world. The past 20 years have seen Joraco Press expand its benchtop pneumatic press products to cover more applications and more force ranges than ever before. Joraco Press Company is a division of Automated Industrial Machine, Inc located in Smithfield, RI. Our products are designed, fabricated, and assembled at the AIM headquarters and as always, the same people who build our presses are always available to help troubleshoot your press.