Analysis and Design of a Mechanical Cam-Screw Press with an Optimized Lower-Drive Configuration for the Production of High-Quality Steel Products

This study presents the design and numerical evaluation of a mechanical cam-screw press with an optimized lower-drive configuration for high-quality steel product manufacturing. The proposed design relocates the drive mechanism from the upper part to the lower part of the press frame in order to reduce the structural height, lower the center of gravity, improve load transfer, and reduce deformation of the working zone. Analytical calculations were performed for a nominal pressing force of 630 kN, corresponding approximately to a 63 ton-force mechanical press. The static torque transmitted to the main shaft was 283.5 kNm, while the dynamic torque, calculated using a dynamic coefficient of 1.10, reached 311.85 kNm. Three-dimensional upper- and lower-drive configurations were developed in SOLIDWORKS Simulation 2024 (Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp., Waltham, MA, USA), and finite element analysis was used to evaluate von Mises stress, total displacement, safety factor, and modal behavior. No-penetration contact was applied in the cam-screw and shaft-support regions, with a friction coefficient of 0.15 for lubricated steel-to-steel contact. The lower-drive configuration reduced the maximum static von Mises stress from 688.4 MPa to 642.7 MPa and the dynamic stress from 748.6 MPa to 701.5 MPa. The maximum static and dynamic displacements were reduced by 12.50% and 10.29%, respectively. Modal analysis showed that relocating the drive changes the dynamic characteristics of the structure; therefore, operating frequencies must be selected with sufficient separation from the natural frequencies. The results confirm that the optimized lower-drive configuration improves stiffness, reduces stress concentration, and provides a promising basis for compact and stable medium-capacity forming equipment. The limitations related to simplified contact modeling, belt-drive representation, thermo-mechanical effects, lubrication, and prototype validation are also discussed.