This video shows an example of a combination control scheme. The machine has a servo-driven shear with an open-loop punch. The shear is accelerated with a belt and the punch is boosted with an air cylinder.
The advantage of the open-loop punch control is the very high cycle rate possible. In this example, the distance between punch locations varies, but the tightest spacing is 24 inches. To acheive higher speeds or closer hole spacing, it is possible to add a second punch press. The XL200 controller would automatically alternate between the two presses. A servo rotary punch is also a good approach to achieve high-speed punching on this type of machine.