Design and Development of Pneumatic Sheet Metal Cutting Machine

It is important to note that in today's industrial era, sheet metal is cut and bent into a variety of shapes to obtain better surface finish and flexibility in manufacturing processes. The use of modern techniques, such as pneumatic sheet cutting machines, has greatly improved the efficiency of sheet metal cutting and bending processes. This review focuses on the reliability, performance, and design simplification of pneumatic sheet cutting machines. Additionally, it examines the energy lost in the pneumatic cylinder while it imparts force on the cutting blade. The energy efficiency of pneumatic and compressed air systems is a critical aspect in the development of sustainable production. The objective of this cross-discipline review is to provide production and life cycle engineering researchers with an update on the state of the art in energy efficiency for pneumatic production and associated compressed air infrastructure


I. INTRODUCTION
The pneumatic sheet metal cutting machine is a key player in the world of modern manufacturing, characterized by the pursuit of precision, efficiency, and technological innovation.This machine has revolutionized the way sheet metal is shaped and transformed, offering a fast and accurate solution to a once-labour-intensive process [1-5].The machine operates on the principles of pneumatics, utilizing compressed air as the driving force for mechanical motion.The components of the machine include a compressor, pneumatic cylinders, control valves, and cutting tools, all carefully engineered to execute precise and controlled actions on sheet metals [6][7][8][9][10].
One of the defining features of the pneumatic sheet metal cutting machine is its versatility, capable of handling an array of sheet metal types and applications across various industries [11][12][13][14][15][16]

III. LITERATURE SURVEY
The developed a pneumatic and punching machine.

IV. Theoretical Analysis
The theoretical analysis performed asserts on the pressure necessary to cut the sheet and the best blade position for the same.

Pressure Calculations
The design calculations, to obtain the optimum pressure for cutting is performed considering the parameters from literature reviews and practical application of the project-• The maximum width (L) of the sheet, which the machine can cut in one cycle is taken as 120 mm, based on practicality and length of the blade used.
• The strength of sheet metal (Tmax) is found to be 180 N/mm2.
• The maximum thickness of the sheet, which the machine can cut is taken as 2.5 mm, based on scope defined.
• The factor of safety for the calculations is assumed to be 1.2.
• The mass of the cutting machine is taken to be 3 Kg, based on individual weights of the components used.
• The area of the bore was calculated to be 1963.4954mm2, based on the blade designed on Inventor.

VIII. CONCLUSION
This paper presents an efficient and cost-effective method for shearing sheet metal using a pneumatic actuation system that can be applied in small and medium-scale industries.The machine is accurate in its operation and is considered safer than manual cutting.Pneumatic systems are less expensive than hydraulic systems as they use air, which is abundant, inexpensive, and easy to contain and regulate.
Additionally, pneumatic systems have a longer operating life and require less maintenance since gases are compressible, making them less susceptible to damage from shock.On the other hand, hydraulic systems require regular maintenance as their fluids need to be replaced over time, which increases the cost.Therefore, a pneumatic system is a more reliable option than a hydraulic system with lower maintenance costs.This project provides a safe and effective way to cut sheet metal with minimal maintenance costs.The cutting thickness range can be increased by arranging a high-pressure compressor and installing more hardened blades.This machine is ideal for small sheet metal cutting industries that cannot afford expensive hydraulic shearing machines.
Fig 1.1: General Layout The project helped reduce manufacturing cost for small scale industries and manually controlled press into an automatic machine using which they saved maximum operating time.Using this maximum output increase and human intervention decreased.The converted a manually operated conventional sheet bending machine to an automatic machine and eliminated the problem of signal overlapping by using stepper module.The employed a stepper module, a component of advanced pneumatics for automation of conventional sheet metal bending machine operations thus converting a manually operated bending machine to an automatic machine.The developed a pneumatic sheet metal cutting machine which runs by means of recompressed air.It is an efficient way of increasing production for small scale industries.The developed a pneumatic accelerator for high-speed punching which can be easily employed in conventional presses thus eliminating the use of high energy rate forming (HERF) machines to store energy.The accelerator when employed on mechanical presses converts low speed operation of hammer to high-speed operation.The experimented on the high-speed perforation of mild steel plates for impact velocities up to 300 m/s analyzed the bulge height at perforation.The studied various types of pneumatic machines and components along with their advantages and disadvantages.He concluded that pneumatic machines can provide power at a cheaper, safer and more reliable way than electric motors and actuators.The designed and fabricated mechanically operated paper shearing machine with the capacity to cut 25mm thick and 300mm wide paper.The machine could produce a variable force using screw press which made it useful to perform other operations like bending, punching and embossing.The developed methods to measure the formation of edge cracks on shearing blades.It has been found that the forming strength of high strength steels is curtailed due to edge fractures and can be improved by varying process parameters like die clearance, geometry and cutting line.The designed and fabricated an automatic pneumatic hole punching machine powered by solar energy.The machine has been designed on Solid Works software.Since the machine uses solar energy as a source of energy it will eliminate/reduce the usage of electricity in running the machines in small scale industries.The developed a pneumatic machine that would perform cutting as well as bending operation to reduce the cost of operations performed on sheet metal.Further modifications in their design can also increase the cutting force.Also studied the influence of punch-die clearance in blanking process.Their investigation showed that by decreasing clearance the required blanking force increased.They found that 10% is the optimum clearance is required for minimizing blanking force.The fabricated a pneumatic punching machine to reduce punching cost on metallic sheet.The investigated the reasons behind the failure of mould dies in a punching machine.They found out that die failure happened because of improper heat treatment thus reducing the toughness and fatigue resistance of die material.The developed a pneumatic sheet metal cutting machine which is better in comparison to manual driven sheet cutters.The efficiency of the cutter can be increased by further enhancement in cutting blade.The designed a PLC controlled pneumatic punching machine.The machine reduced the production time and increased productivity from 60 units per hour to 420 units per hour.The studied the influence of parameters like blanking force, clearance, blanking layout on sheet deformation.They found that the tolerance in the dimension of the punch hole can be minimized by increasing the compressor pressure.They found that variation in the dimension was more in case of a galvanized iron sheet as compared to the aluminum sheet.The found out that by changing the pressure of compressed air variable cutting forces could be obtained and by adding more accessories this equipment can cut a higher range of sheet thickness.