ABSTRACT
Press-load monitors have been used for over 30 years to protect stamping presses and dies from damage due to overloads. To a limited extent, these tonnage monitors have also been used for process control by monitoring the quality of a stamped part. The monitors have been limited in this capacity only because they measure the overall tonnage on the press and not specifically the forces developed in the die. When the force sensors are located in the die and forming-force measurements relating to individual tool stations are made, the full process monitoring and control capabilities of a tonnage monitoring system can be realized.
