Concept Development for Reconfigurable Bending Press Tools' (RBPTs) Modules Using a Novel Methodology

This paper outlines the development of reconfiguration concepts for new optimized reconfigurable bending press tools (RBPTs) using a novel methodology. The researchers propose the reconfiguration concepts with the main objective of optimizing press brake utilization as determined by the set up bed length, multiple parts bent per set up, bending force, stroke height, bending technology, set up and r ramp up time, and number of strokes. The procedure for RBPT concept development include the construction of a first house of quality (HOQ1) based on the quality function deployment (QFD) technique. Research done by the authors identified two main objectives of RBPT design which are geometric transformation and productivity adjustment. The first can be further split into two reconfiguration categories, horizontal reconfigurability and vertical reconfigurability. These are used to derive reconfiguration needs for the RBPTs. Identification of the RBPT modules is done using the function driven object oriented (FUDOO) methodology. This involves identification of the primary function of a typical RBPT and cascading it down to sub functions and terminal functions subsequently. Reconfiguration concepts are then developed for each identified RBPT module. Length reconfiguration is proposed to extend or shorten the bed and ram span. This will be accomplished by introducing standard modules for the bed and ram beams optimally designed to withstand deflection during bending.