Noise reduction of punch press mechanical clutch engagement

Among the noises of the punch press, blanking noise and engaging noise of the clutch should be paid most attention to. The latter is generated by the engagement impacts of the rotating key on the spline bush. In order to absorb the pressing energy and reduce the noise radiated, polyurethane cushions were added to the spline bush keyways and the clutch running noise reduction has reached 10.7 (dB(A)). Considering such factors as the running characteristics of the punch press clutch, the demand for cushioning performance and the demand of the clutch temperature field for damping materials, the temperature field of the rigid clutch spline bush was simulated to find out whether the temperature of polyurethane go beyond its critical application temperature, using the finite element method. According to the characteristic that the deforming memory alloy can restore the remembered shape with the temperature rising, the actual temperature of the spline bush was measured. Consequently, the theoretical temperature turned out to be close to the measured temperature.