What is a servo press?

A servo press uses servo motors for precise force and position control during forming operations.

How do I calculate servo press tonnage?

Use our free tonnage calculator at servopress.club/tonnage-calculator.html

Understanding Servo Press Load Monitoring Systems

admin

Load monitoring systems are becoming standard on modern servo presses, but there is a wide range of approaches from basic tonnage monitors to full force-displacement curve analysis. The choice depends on your quality requirements and budget.

Basic tonnage monitors ($3-5K) give you peak force per stroke. Good for detecting broken punches and gross overloads. Force curve systems ($15-25K) capture the full force-displacement signature and can detect subtle process changes like die wear, material variation, and lubrication issues.

For shops running automotive or medical parts where traceability matters, the full curve system pays for itself in reduced scrap and audit compliance. For general industrial stamping, a basic tonnage monitor covers 80% of the value at 20% of the cost.

What monitoring approach are you using? Is the investment in full curve analysis worth it for your application?

mike_chen_eng

Solid troubleshooting approach. One thing to add to the checklist: verify the safety relay module itself isn't in a fault state. Even if all the individual safety switches test OK, a degraded safety relay can prevent startup. Check the relay's diagnostic LED — if it's flashing or off, that's your culprit.

jim_applications

Load monitoring on servo presses has a hidden benefit that most shops overlook: predictive die maintenance. By trending the peak force over thousands of strokes, you can see the gradual increase that indicates punch edge wear. On our line, we set a threshold at 8% above the baseline force. When the trend hits that threshold, we schedule die sharpening. This approach eliminated 90% of our unplanned die changes.

tom_pressops

For load monitoring without a dedicated system, the servo drive current data works as a rough proxy. We set up a simple PLC program that reads peak motor current each stroke and compares it to a reference window. If the current exceeds 110% of reference, the press stops and alerts the operator. Not as precise as strain gauge monitoring but it catches broken punches and double-thick material feeds reliably.