Transfer press with non-uniform station spacing

A transfer press (1) particularly for the manufacture of vehicle body parts comprising:

• at least one press (2) with at least one press stage (23);
• at least one multi-station press (3), which includes at least two press stages (24, 25) arranged at a predetermined distance (a) from one another;
• the press stages (23) of the press (2) being arranged at a distance (b) from the subsequent press stage (24) of the multi-station press (3) which is a non-integral multiple of the press stage distance (a) between the press stages of the multi-station press (3);
• a transport arrangement (28) extending through all the press stages (23-27) of the press (2) and of the multi-station press (3) in a transfer direction (T) and which includes workpiece gripper means (30-36) for gripping workpieces and moving them concurrently by steps (S) of the same length, and a deposit stage (37) arranged between the press (2) and the multi-station press (3) which is controllably movable in the transfer direction (T) in order to compensate for deviations between the distance (b) between the adjacent press stages (23, 24) of the press (2) and the multi-station press (3) and the transfer steps (S) of the transfer arrangement (28);
• the deposit stage (37) comprises a support (38) on which the workpiece can be deposited and a drive arrangement (39) for moving the support (38);
• and, the drive arrangement (39) is adapted to move the support (38) linearly in the transport direction.