Innovative measurement system for saber curvature observation in straightening processes

Abstract

High-strength wire materials are usually available as strip material and are subjected to a forming process such as punch-bending to produce parts for the electronics industry, for example. During the manufacturing process of the semi-finished product, residual stresses and plastic deformations are introduced into the wire by rolling and drawing processes. Straightening machines are used in the production lines to compensate for these. To increase the sustainability of these production lines, the straightening process is an essential step. Before the continuous manufacturing process starts, the straightening process must be set up and the optimal roller positions must be found. Once the process is set up, the roller position settings are usually not changed. Due to missing measurement systems for the straightening quality, it is not possible to react to fluctuations in the material properties. This leads to deviations in the dimensional accuracy of the components to be produced and thus to an increase in the rejection rate in the manufacturing processes.This paper presents two innovative measuring systems that can detect changes in saber curvature in flat wire during the straightening process. With the help of this information, the quality of the straightening process can be recorded during the running process. This enables the chance to build a control structure for the straightening quality and thus to implement demand-oriented straightening of semi-finished products. On the one hand, this means that the flat wire no longer must be overbent, which means that the strength of the material is not reduced anymore. On the other hand, the sensor information collected can be passed on to downstream processes. This creates the possibility of networking for the individual processes in a production line. This makes an important contribution to the development of intelligent manufacturing processes in line with the guiding principle of Industry 4.0.