Importance

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Abstract

A die lubricant applicator for spraying lubricant from a pressurized source of lubricant through a plurality of injector nozzles onto a die press. Associated with each injector nozzle is a solenoid-operated valve for selectively gating the flow of the lubricant to the injector nozzle, and also an electronic control, such as a portion of a programmable logic controller, responsive to the movement of the die of the die press, for opening the solenoid valve for a predetermined and programmable dwell time, thereby passing a predetermined volume of lubricant from the pressurized source to the injector nozzle. The electronic control associated with each injector nozzle includes a programmable timer that causes the solenoid valve to open for the programmed dwell time, and the electronic control may also include a programmable counter that can inhibit the firing of the programmable dwell timer for a number of die press cycles. The lubricant spray from each injector nozzle may be adjusted to occur at a selected point during the die press cycle, and, if desired, different injectors may spray at different points during the die press cycle. A plurality of solenoid valves are assembled onto a manifold for metering the flow of lubricant to a plurality of injector nozzles.

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First Claim