International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research

IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 2015

Review on Pneumatic Punching Machine and Modification

in Punch Tool to Reduce Punching Force Requirement
P.Goyal, G.Srivastava, R.Singh, N.Singh
UG students [Mechanical], Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, JSS Academy of Technical Education, Noida,
Uttar Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT:-This project work deals with the design of pneumatically controlled small scale
punching machine to carry out piercing operation on thin sheets (1-2 mm) of different material
(aluminium and plastic). Reduction in punching force requirement being the main aim of this project
work is obtained by modification in punch tool design i.e. by provision of shear on punch face.
Subsequently it results in reduction in amount of punching force requirement. And further a CATIA
model of the machine is developed on the basis of calculations with respect to punching force
requirement.
KEYWORDS:-Punching Force, Stripping Force, Punch, Single and double shear, Percentage
Penetration, and Pneumatic cylinder.
I. INTRODUCTION:-A pneumatic punching machine is always a better choice than a hydraulic
punching machine for the production of similar products if it is suited for the method. It is
comparatively more economical for production of large quantities of products as it uses compressed
air rather than some hydraulic fluid which is rather expensive. A pneumatic punching machine uses
compressed air to generate high pressure to be applied on the piston. A solenoid valve controls the
directional flow of air into and out of the cylinder. Polyurethane tubes are used for pressure
transmission from the pneumatic cylinder to the punch assembly. The high pressure air fed to the
punch, forces it on the material and as the punch descends upon the sheet, the pressure exerted by the
punch first cause the plastic deformation of the sheet. Since the clearance between the punch and the
die is very small, the plastic deformation takes place in a localized area and the sheet material
adjacent to the cutting edges of the punch & die edges becomes highly stressed, which causes the
fracture to start on both sides of the sheet as the deformation progresses.
II. DESCRIPTION OF MACHINE:-The Pneumatic punching machine is developed using various
components. The components are pneumatic cylinder, pressure regulator, Solenoid/direction control
valve, flow control valve, compressor, mounting table. The cylinder is used for up and down motion
of the punch tool which performs the punching operation on the sheet of aluminium/plastic material.
The compressor provides compressed air to the cylinder, which causes movement of the piston rod.
Pneumatic automation components extensively use sealing material made out of rubber compounds.
For efficient and trouble free working of these seals, they need to be oiled or lubricated to reduce
friction and corrosion. To lubricate compressed air actuated equipment, the most efficient and
economical method is to inject the lubricant in to the compressed air that powers this equipment.
Solenoid/Direction control valve is used to control the direction of the air.

129 P.Goyal, G.Srivastava, R.Singh, N.Singh

 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 2015

III. WORKING PRINCIPLE:-The compressed air from the compressor at the pressure of 8 to 12
bar is passed through a pipe connected to the Solenoid valve with one input. The Solenoid Valve is
actuated with Control Timing Unit. The Solenoid valve has two outputs and one input. The air
entering into the input goes out through the two outputs when the timing control unit is actuated. Due
to the high air pressure at the bottom of the piston, the air pressure below the piston is more than the
pressure above the piston. This moves the piston rod upwards which further moves up the effort arm,
pivoted by control unit. This force acting is passed on to punch which also moves downwards. The
punch is guided by a punch guide which is fixed such that the punch is clearly guided to the die. The
materials are in between the punch and die. So as the punch descends down, the material is sheared
to the required profile of the punch and the blank is moved downwards through the die clearance.

IV. DESIGN PROCEDURE:-

1. Material Selection:-To prepare any machine part, the type of material should be properly
selected considering design and safety .The selection of material for engineering application is
given by the following factors:-

1) Availability of material
2) Suitability of the material for the application of the product.
3) Suitability of the material for the desired working conditions,
4) Cost of the materials.
The machine is basically made up of mild steel.
The reasons for the selection are:
1. Mild steel is readily available in market,
2. It is economical to use,
3. It is available in standard sizes,
4. It has good mechanical properties i.e. it has good machinability.
5. It has moderate factor of safety, because high factor of safety results in unnecessary wastage of
material and heavy selection. Low factor of safety results in unnecessary risk of failure,
6. It has high tensile strength,
7. Low coefficient of thermal expansion.
The materials of the sheets to be punched are taken as aluminium and plastic as they are replacing
many metals in the present scenario because of their distinguished properties and features.

2. Force Calculation for existing punch design:-

Terms and formulae used:

• Cutting force: - The force which has to act on the stock material in order to cut the blank or
slug.
• Stripping force: - The force developed due to the spring back (or resiliency) of the punched
material that grips the punch.
• Cutting force = L x t x Tmax
• Stripping force =10% -20% of cutting force
• L= Length of periphery to be cut in mm
• t= Sheet thickness in mm
• Tmax= Shear strength in N/mm2
130 P.Goyal, G.Srivastava, R.Singh, N.Singh
 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 2015

• The formula to calculate the press force is as follows-

• Press force = cutting force + stripping force
Sample Calculation for Aluminium Sheet
Here is a sample calculation to calculate the punching force required for different thickness of
aluminium sheet.
• Total length of cut, L =50 mm.
• If Sheet thickness, t = 1mm.
• Maximum tensile strength of aluminium, Tmax = 180 N/mm2
• Total cutting force = L x t x Tmax
• Total cutting force = 50 × 1 × 180
• Total cutting force = 9000 N
• Stripping force = 15% of the cutting force= 1350 N
• Press force = Cutting force + Stripping force= 9000 N + 1350 N= 10350 N

Table 1. Press Force Calculations for Aluminium Sheet of Different Thickness

Total length of cut (L) 50 50 50 50 50 50

in mm
Al sheet thickness (t) 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5
in mm
Tmax of Aluminium in 180 180 180 180 180 180
N/mm2
Total cutting force (in 9000 9900 10800 11700 12600 13500
N)
Stripping force (in N) 1350 1485 1620 1755 1890 2025
= 15% of cutting
force
Press force (in N) = 10350 11385 12420 13455 14490 15525

Sample Calculation for Plastic Sheet

Here is a sample calculation to calculate the punching force required for different thickness of plastic
sheet.
• Total length of cut L = 50 mm.
• If Sheet thickness, t = 1mm.
• Maximum tensile strength of plastic, Tmax = 90 N/mm2
• Total cutting force= 4500 N
• Stripping force = 675 N
• Press force = Cutting force + Stripping force= 4500 + 675 N= 5175 N

131 P.Goyal, G.Srivastava, R.Singh, N.Singh

 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 2015

Table 2. Press Force Calculations for Plastic Sheet of Different Thickness

Total length of cut (L) 50 50 50 50 50
in mm
Sheet thickness(t) in 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4
mm
Tmax for plastic in 90 90 90 90 90
N/mm2
Total cutting force (in 4500 4950 5400 5850 6300
N)
Stripping force (in N) = 675 742.5 810 877.5 945
15% of cutting force
Press force (in N) = 5175 5692.5 6210 6727.5 7245

3. Modification in Punch Design:

Shearing of Punch: If the face of the punch is normal to the axis of motion, the entire perimeter is
cut simultaneously. By tilting the punch face on angle, a feature known as shear, the cutting force
can be reduced substantially. The periphery is now cut in a progressive fashion, similar to the action
of a pair of scissors or the opening of a beverage can.

Single Shear Double Shear

Shear (I)

Figure 1. Single and Double shear on tool

Reduced force calculation:

Force required is reduced which can be seen by the formula,

Where,
F= Reduced Force after providing shear in Newton (N)

132 P.Goyal, G.Srivastava, R.Singh, N.Singh

 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 2015

Fmax= Maximum force required to punch the sheet of thickness t in Newton (N)
K= Percentage Penetration
t= Thickness of sheet in mm
I= Amount of shear given to the tool (in terms of t) in mm

i) Aluminium Sheet
1) For I=t/5 & K=0.6
F=0.75Fmax
2) For I=t/4 & K=0.6
F=0.705Fmax
3) For I=t/3 & K=0.6
F=0.643Fmax
4) For I=t/2 & K=0.6
F=0.545Fmax
5) For I=t/1 & K=0.6
F=0.375Fmax

Table 3. Percentage reduction Calculations after providing Shear on tool for Aluminium Sheet
Amount of Shear (I) t/5 t/4 t/3 t/2 t/1
in mm
Maximum Force 15525 15525 15525 15525 15525
required(Fmax) in N
Force (Fmax) after 11643.75 10945.125 9982.575 8461.125 5821.875
providing shear in N
Percentage reduction 25% 29.5% 35.7% 45.5% 62.5%
in Force required

ii) Plastic Sheet

1) For I=t/5 & K=0.8
F=0.8Fmax
2) For I=t/4 & K=0.8
F=0.762Fmax
3) For I=t/3 & K=0.8
F=0.707Fmax
4) For I=t/2 & K=0.8
F=0.615Fmax
5) For I=t/1 & K=0.8
F=0.44Fmax

133 P.Goyal, G.Srivastava, R.Singh, N.Singh

 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 2015

Table 3. Percentage reduction Calculations after providing Shear on tool for Plastic Sheet
Amount of Shear (I) t/5 t/4 t/3 t/2 t/1
in mm
Maximum Force 7245 7245 7245 7245 7245
required(Fmax) in N
Force (Fmax) after 5796 5520.69 5122.215 4455.67 3187.8
providing shear in N
Percentage reduction 20% 23.8% 29.3% 38.5% 56%
in Force required

4. Force comparison for Aluminium and Plastic Sheet:-

• For Aluminium, Punching Force (F) = 11643.75 N

• For Plastic, Punching Force(F) = 5796 N
• As the cylinder will be designed for maximum punching force (in this case aluminium), so the
thickness of the plastic sheet can be varied further.
• Therefore, the maximum thickness of sheet of plastic that can be punched is calculated as
Faluminium = 1.15 x (L x Tmax x t) plastic
11643.75 = 1.15 x 50 x 90 x t
t = 2.25 mm
Maximum thickness of Plastic sheet that can be punched = 2.25 mm

5. Designing of cylinder:-

• Force required = 12000 N (rounding off 11643.75 to 12000 N)

• Working pressure = 10 bar
• To find the Bore diameter of the cylinder we use the following formula:-
• x D2 x P
• 12000 = x D 2 x (10/10)
• D 2 = (12000 x 40)/ (3.14 x 10)
• D 2 = 15278.87
• D = 123.6 mm
• According to the formula bore diameter of the cylinder is = 123.6 mm
• As per the standards bore diameter = 125 mm
According to the bore diameter,
• Piston rod diameter is = 32 mm
• Stroke length = 200 mm

V. DESIGNED PNEUMATIC PUNCHING MACHINE IN CATIA:-

A CATIA model of pneumatic punching machine is developed on the basis of calculations done as
per the punching force requirement.

134 P.Goyal, G.Srivastava, R.Singh, N.Singh

 International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research
IJETSR
www.ijetsr.com
ISSN 2394 – 3386
Volume 2 Issue 2
February 2015

Figure 2. Pneumatic Punching Machine Model in CATIA software

VI. CONCLUSION:-Pneumatically operated punching machine is suitable for small scale and
medium size industries. Based on the shear provided on the punch face the punching force reduction
of 25% to 60% thereby increasing tool life and reducing tool machining cost. Therefore with this
force reduction we are able to easily punch sheets of thickness upto 2.25 mm for plastic sheet having
tensile strength 90 N/mm2 and upto 1.5 mm of aluminium sheet having tensile strength 180 N/mm2.
VII. FUTURE SCOPE:-In this machine, compressed air is used to move the punch tool for carrying
out punching operation. After the completion of the cycle the air moves out through the out port of
Solenoid valve. This air is released to the atmosphere. In future the mechanism can be developed to
use this air again for the working of cylinder.
VIII. REFERENCES:-

[1] P.M.Pradhan, “Experimental Investigation and Fabrication of Pneumatic Punch”, International Journal of
Innovative Research in Science, Engineering and Technology, Vol. 2, Issue 6, June 2013.

[2] A.S. Aditya Polapragada & K. Sri Varsha, “Pneumatic Auto Feed Punching and Riveting Machine “,
International Journal of Engineering Research & Technology (IJERT) Vol. 1 Issue 7, September - 2012 ISSN:
2278-0181.

[3] U.P. Singh, “Design Study of the Geometry of a Punching tool”, Journal of Materials Processing
Technology, 33 (1992) 331-345 Elsevier.

[4] P.C.Sharma, “Methods of reducing Cutting Forces”, Pages 63-66, Production Engineering, Ninth edition,
2004, S. Chand & Company Ltd.

[5] E. Paul. Degarmo, “Shearing in Metal Cutting”, Pages 518-528, Materials and Processes in Manufacturing,
Eighth edition, 2003, Prentice Hall of India Pvt Ltd.

[6] K. Mahadevan, Design Data Handbook, Third edition, Reprint 2002, CBS Publishers & distributors.

135 P.Goyal, G.Srivastava, R.Singh, N.Singh