Optimum balancing designs of the drag-link drive of mechanical presses for precision cutting

Abstract

Proposing optimum designs by adding disk counterweights to reduce the shaking force and shaking moment of the drag-link drive of mechanical presses is the main subject of this study. The two-phase optimization technique is proposed for the multi-objective optimization. The effects of implementing the designs on the flywheel and brake of the machine are also evaluated. Regarding the two-phase optimization technique proposed, it starts with an initial estimate but generates a few feasible designs. It is found that the results obtained with the technique are usually better than those starting with the criterion value as the objective function. The optimum designs with or without the tangent constraints, which insure the contours of the added counterweights on the links with fixed pivots that are tangent to the pivot centers, are investigated. It is found that the results with the tangent constraints are more cost-effective. Subject to the very strict space constraints, the shaking effects can be reduced by almost a half, using the proposed design.