Stamping press monitoring that counts every stroke

A SenseAi or SenseAi Embedded on each press, magnet-mounted on the frame near the ram, on 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi or the IoTFlows 4G/LTE router. From it: each press’s live running and stopped state; every stroke counted with Discrete w/o Merge at 10 to 120 strokes a minute, times the parts the die makes per stroke; a Downtime Threshold that keeps the gaps between strokes out of the downtime record; Die Change, Setup / Adjustment and Material Loading reasons, with rules that classify routine stops, ranked on a Pareto chart; uptime against a goal for each press; Maintain meters that open die maintenance on a hit count and recurring work orders for weekly inspections; and the same numbers on a TV, a tablet and a phone. On Enterprise, the IoTFlows edge device adds data from the press control.

Each stroke is a sharp impact the sensor sees on its own, so the operation runs the Discrete w/o Merge algorithm: it counts every burst and merges nothing, and two strokes a second apart stay two parts. No second sensor is needed. If a heavy press rings twice per stroke and the count runs at exactly double, switch the operation to Discrete Analysis, which merges the second ring back into the stroke. To validate, run the press for an hour or two and compare: a press at 60 strokes a minute for 60 minutes made 3,600 strokes, and within 2 to 3% is right.

Both. Set QTY/OP on each die’s operation to the parts one stroke makes. A progressive die carries a part through several stations and still finishes one part per stroke, so it is 1; a two-out die is 2. To count only parts that cleared the die, put a BeamTracker at the exit chute instead, which counts each part that breaks its beam.

Yes. SenseAi attaches magnetically in seconds and calibrates in under five minutes on the press frame and reads the stroke from the outside, so a 1980s mechanical press and a new one report strokes, uptime and stops the same way, across every brand. Nothing is wired into the press control, and no network cable runs to the press.

With the Downtime Threshold on the press’s Calibration tab, with Treat short downtimes as uptime switched on: any stop shorter than the threshold becomes runtime. Set it by stroke rate: 10 to 15 minutes at 60 to 120 strokes a minute, 5 to 10 minutes at 30 to 60, 3 to 5 minutes at 10 to 30, and 2 to 5 minutes on a hand-fed press. Start at the low end and raise it only if the record still fills with pauses nobody can act on.

As separate reasons. Create Die Change, Setup / Adjustment for the fine-tuning after the die is in, and Material Loading for coils. A die change typically runs 15 to 60 minutes and a coil load 5 to 10, so keep the Downtime Threshold at 5 minutes or less if you want coil loads on the record. Operators classify each stop at the press or on a phone, routine stops classify themselves with a rule, and after two to four weeks the Pareto chart shows what each one costs.

Yes. Create one operation per die, then check every die’s operation on the press’s Auto-Detect tab, which is multi-select. A die change then needs nothing on the dashboard, and each die’s output is reported on its own.

It depends on how the material reaches the die: 50 to 65% on a hand-fed press where the operator places every blank, 65 to 80% fed from a coil, and 80 to 90% with lights-out automation. Set each press’s goal from its own baseline plus 5 to 10%. Watch the stroke rate over time as well: a rate that drifts down points at tooling wear.

Yes, with Maintain. A meter counts the press’s parts toward a trigger point, for example a die sharpened every 150,000 hits. It can email at 85%, email at the trigger and open a work order at 100%, and a reset after the service starts the next cycle. Calendar work, such as the weekly clutch and brake inspection US rules call for on mechanical power presses, runs as a recurring work order, and each one keeps its history. Maintain starts at $500 per month.

Yes, on Enterprise. The IoTFlows edge device reads PLCs and controls over OPC UA, Modbus TCP, EtherNet/IP, Profinet, MQTT and other protocols, and IoTFlows writes the driver when one is missing. It reads only the controls you choose to connect. Values such as the press mode, the die, a stroke counter or the reason for the last stop sit beside the sensor’s data and feed the same event rules, so a control fault can alert people and open a work order. A project typically takes one week to a month and is priced by scope.

SenseAi is $149 and SenseAi Embedded $199 per press, bought once. The Pro plan is $119 per device per month billed monthly, less on annual and three-year contracts and from 10 devices, and 50 or more devices are quoted. Maintain starts at $500 per month. A pilot puts IoTFlows on 10 to 25 machines for four weeks with no commitment to buy.