Punching machine
The punching machine (also piercing or cutting) is a machine for punching sheet metal , plates and similar objects. It can be found both on a large scale in the manufacture of large boilers, in machine factories and in bridge building, and in smaller versions by craftsmen (e.g. locksmiths , blacksmiths , plumbers , shoemakers ).
The tools of the punch machine are:
- the punch (also punch, monk or pusher), a solid cylindrical or prism-shaped steel body , the cross-section of which corresponds to that of the hole to be made in size and shape,
- the perforated ring (the punch or die), a steel plate that serves as a support for the workpiece during the punching and the cavity of which forms the counter-shape of the punch cross-section.
The punch is pressed against the workpiece resting on the punch with the help of a mechanical or hydraulic device and penetrates the workpiece as the pressure increases. The material is first compacted and then pushed into the cavity of the perforated ring as a so-called "cleaning".
Punching machines, which make a large number of regularly arranged holes over the surface of a plate or a piece of paper (cardboard), are called perforating machines .