JPH10263988A - Tool life predicting device and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To find the life time of a tool by providing a life time calculating means predictively calculating the life time of the tool for machining a work and a display means displaying the calculated result of the life time calculating means. SOLUTION: The elapsed time from the previous sampling time to the present time is calculated when the previous sampling time is subtracted from the present time by a sampling means 21. The tool life time is calculated on drills by a tool time calculating means 21. The drills are rearranged in the order of the earlier life predicted time. A next life prediction is made on the upper three drills by a next life calculating means 21. The counter value at the next sampling time is predictively calculated. The calculated results of the tool life time and next life prediction are displayed on the screen of a display 22.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tool life estimating apparatus for estimating the life of a tool such as a drill used in a machining center.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A drill used in a machining center is replaced by an operator. That is, in the related art, when the number of use of the drill is counted up to a preset number, it is notified that the drill needs to be replaced by an alarm display device such as a lamp or a buzzer provided near the machining center. You. Then
The operator stops the machining center, goes to get the same drill as the drill to be replaced, and replaces it with a new drill. As a result, the work processing of the work is interrupted for a long time when the drill is replaced, and the work efficiency is significantly reduced.

If a single operator manages a plurality of machining centers, the operator recognizes the next machining center that requires a drill exchange until the alarm display device of each machining center performs a display operation. Can not. Therefore, the operator has to rush to the machining center to exchange the drill after the alarm is displayed.

Therefore, a method has been adopted in which the warning display of the replacement time is divided into three stages to notify the worker. Specifically, for example, when a drill does not need to be replaced, a green lamp is displayed, when a drill is about to be replaced, a yellow lamp blinks, and when a drill is replaced, a red lamp blinks. This is a method for displaying an alarm.

[0005]

However, in this method, when a plurality of displays indicating the imminent or replacement time of the drill are displayed at the same time, which machining center should be used to start the drill replacement will be the most efficient. Could not judge. In addition, even if the machining center can be specified, detailed information up to the type of drill is not displayed, so the work processing of the work will be interrupted for a long time due to the exchange of the drill, and the work efficiency is also increased. Had declined.

[0006] For this reason, in order to avoid duplication of the replacement time, the drill which has not reached the replacement time has been replaced even with a usable drill, and the drill may be wasted. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and has as its object to operate a tool life predicting apparatus capable of predicting a tool life time and to operate the tool life predicting apparatus. And a recording medium on which a program for recording is recorded.

[0008]

According to the present invention, a life time calculating means for predicting and calculating a life time of a tool for machining a workpiece, and a display for displaying a calculation result of the life time calculating means. Means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the tool life predicting apparatus according to the first aspect, further comprising sampling means for sampling a counter value of the tool every predetermined time, wherein the life time calculating means comprises a sampling means. Based on the time difference between the previous sampling time and the current time according to the sampling result of, and the counter difference between the counter value of the previous sampling time and the counter value of the current time,
Predict and calculate the tool life time.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the tool life predicting apparatus according to the second aspect, a time difference between a previous sampling time and a current time based on a sampling result of the sampling means, and a counter value of the previous sampling time. And a next life calculating means for predicting and calculating the counter value at the next sampling time based on the counter difference between the counter value and the current time counter value. Display the result.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the tool life estimating apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the display means includes a plurality of display means based on the calculation result of the life time calculating means. Are sorted and displayed in ascending order of tool life time among the tools used.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the tool life estimating apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the display means displays the top several items in the order of earliest tool life time. Claim 6
According to the invention described in (1), in the tool life predicting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, an input means for inputting tool information is provided.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the tool life estimating apparatus according to any one of the third to sixth aspects, the display means displays the calculation result of the next prediction calculation means in a plurality of times close to the present time. Is displayed in at least one of a table and a graph together with the sampling of.

In the invention according to claim 8, in the tool life predicting apparatus according to claim 7, the display means displays the calculation result of the life time calculating means in at least one of the table or the graph.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the tool life predicting apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, a program for causing a computer to execute the operation of each means is recorded.

In the embodiments of the invention described below, "life time calculating means", "sampling means", "next state prediction calculating means" and "life time calculating means" described in claims or means for solving the problems are described. "Computer"
Corresponds to the personal computer main body 21, similarly, “display means” corresponds to the display 22, similarly, “input means” corresponds to the keyboard 23, and “tool” is a drill (T code) 43.
Similarly, the “graph” corresponds to the line graph 47.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a tool life prediction device. The tool life predicting device is constituted by a personal computer 20 attached to the machining center 10. The machining center 10 includes a plurality of drills. The machining center 10 processes a work under the control of the personal computer 20. The personal computer 20
PC body 21, display 22, keyboard 2
3, the mouse 24. PC body 21
Comprises a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and includes a hard disk device, a floppy disk device, and the like. The display 22 displays the result of the processing performed by the personal computer 21 based on the program. The keyboard 23
It is composed of 106 Japanese keyboards and is used when inputting various data. The mouse 24 is constituted by a PS / 2 compatible mouse, and controls a mouse pointer displayed on the display 22.

Next, a screen displayed on the display 22 of the personal computer 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a display screen showing a list of items relating to the machining center 10.

First, when the tool life prediction device is started,
An item list 30 relating to the machining center 10 is displayed on the screen of the display 22. Then, when the operator selects and executes the tool life prediction button 31 on the screen with the keyboard 23 or the mouse 24, the count UP prediction screen 40 shown in FIG.

The predictions 1 to 3 shown in FIG. 1 show the life predictions of the drills in order of earliest life time. In prediction 1 to prediction 3, the ID 41 indicates an index number. The group 42 indicates a group number for managing the tool life. The T code 43 indicates a tool code of the drill. The setting value 44 indicates the available time of the drill in “minute” units. In other words, it is a value indicating the set life of the drill in minutes. The current value 45 indicates the remaining usable time of the drill when the count UP prediction screen 40 is called, in minutes.

Table 46 shows No. 4 indicating the number of samplings.
6a, date 46b indicating date, hour and minute indicating time 4
6c, a counter value 46d indicating the remaining usable time of the drill at the time of sampling in minutes. In the following description, extraction of data for calculating the counter value 46d every time a predetermined time elapses is referred to as sampling. Here, a plurality of sampling data closest to the present and a predicted value at the next sampling are displayed.

The line graph 47 indicates the counter value 46d (vertical direction) of the drill with respect to time (horizontal direction), and indicates the counter value 46d corresponding to the table 46.

At the count-up predicted time 48, the life time of the drill predicted by the personal computer 20 based on the use condition of the drill is displayed in the form of year, month, day, hour, minute, second, and numerical value. In the current time 49, the current time is displayed. The refresh button 50 is for redrawing the count UP prediction screen 40. The return button 51 is for returning to the screen display of the item list 30.

Next, the operation of the tool life estimating apparatus thus configured will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the processing of this flowchart is performed based on a program stored in the personal computer 20.

In S1, when the tool life predicting apparatus is started, an item list 30 relating to the machining center 10 is displayed on the screen of the display 22, as shown in FIG.

In S2, each drill (T code) 4
For every three, the accumulation of the time used for the work processing is started. In S3, it is determined whether or not the “Tool life prediction” button has been selected and executed in the tool list 30. If the "tool life prediction" button is selected and executed, the process proceeds to S4. In S4, the process proceeds to a tool life prediction process. If the "tool life prediction" button has not been selected, the process proceeds to S5.

In S5, it is determined whether or not the sampling time at every predetermined time (for example, three minutes) has elapsed. If the sampling time has elapsed, the process proceeds to S6. If the sampling time has not elapsed, the process returns to S3.

In S 6, the counter value 46 d of each T code 43 is calculated by subtracting the counter value 46 d from a preset set value 44, and the calculation result is stored in the personal computer 20. Here, the calculation result is only stored in the personal computer 20, and is not displayed on the screen of the display 22.

In S7, if the T code 43 obtained this time is different from the T code 43 up to the previous time, the sampling data up to the previous time is cleared and sampling is performed again from the beginning. And the existing T code 43
The processes of S6 and S7 are repeated for each minute.

In S8, the "return" button 5 in FIG.
After 1 is selected and executed, subsequently, it is determined whether or not the “end” button 32 is selected and executed. When the “end” button 32 is selected and executed, the flowchart ends. If the “end” button 32 has not been selected, the process returns to S3.

Next, the processing of tool life prediction will be described with reference to FIG.
And a flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the processing of this flowchart is performed based on a program stored in the personal computer 20.

When the tool life prediction is selected and executed in S3 of the flowchart of FIG. 4, the process proceeds to tool life prediction processing in S4. Then, in S11 of FIG. 5, the counter value 46d of each T code 43 at the current time is calculated by subtracting the usage time of each T code 43 from the set value 44.

In S12, it is determined whether or not the sampling time at every predetermined time interval has elapsed. If the sampling time has passed, S13
Move to If the sampling time has not elapsed, the process proceeds to S15.

In S13, the counter value 46d of the drill 43 is calculated by subtracting it from the preset set value 44, and the calculation result is stored in the personal computer 20. In S14, if the T code 43 acquired this time is different from the T code 43 up to the previous time, the sampling data up to the previous time is cleared and sampling is performed again from the beginning.

In S15, the elapsed time from the previous sampling time to the current time is calculated by subtracting the previous sampling time from the current time. S
At 16, the tool life time of the drill 43 is calculated. The method of calculating the tool life time will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S17, the drills 43 are rearranged in ascending order of the life expectancy time based on the calculation result of the life expectancy time in S16. In S18, the next life expectancy is performed for the top three drills 43. That is, the counter value 46d at the next sampling time
Is estimated and calculated. The next life expectancy will be described later with reference to FIG.

In S19, the tool life time and the calculation result of the next life prediction are displayed on the screen of the display 22. Regarding the next life expectancy prediction, specifically, FIG.
Table 4 shows the data of the four most recent sampling data among the sampling data stored in S6 and the predicted counter value 46d at the next sampling time calculated in S18 in the time series. Displayed with The counter value 46d is also displayed on the line graph 47 corresponding to the table 46, so that the change of the counter value, that is, the tendency of the life can be known.

In S20, it is determined whether or not the drill has been replaced. If the drill has been replaced, the process proceeds to S21. If the drill has not been replaced, the process proceeds to S23.

In S21, the accumulation of the time of using the drill 43 is cleared. In this clearing, in the machining center 10, the used drill 43 is released from the spindle (not shown), and the tool changing arm (not shown) grasps the new drill 43 placed on the temporary placing station (not shown). This is performed by detecting a series of operations of a tool changing arm mounted on a spindle.

In S22, a screen (not shown) for prompting the input of the set value 44 is displayed on the screen of the display 22. And the set value 44 is the drill 43 used last time.
If the return key of the keyboard 23 is input, the previous set value 44 is input and the display 22
Is displayed on the screen. In the case of a drill 43 different from the drill 43 used last time, if a new set value 44 is input from the keyboard 23, the value is stored in the personal computer main body 21 and displayed on the screen of the display 22.

In S23, it is determined whether the "return" button 51 has been selected and executed. When the “return” button 51 is selected and executed, the tool life prediction process is terminated, and the process shifts to S4 in FIG. "return"
If the button 51 has not been selected, the process returns to S11.

Next, a method of predicting and calculating the tool life time in S16 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7A is an enlarged view of the line graph 47 shown in FIG. FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a two-dot chain line and a predicted extended line portion of the line graph 47 shown in FIG. 7A. In FIG. 7,
● indicates the counter value at the past sampling time, □ indicates the counter value at the current time, and ○ indicates the counter value at the next sampling time, that is, the predicted counter value.

First, the time difference Vx from the previous sampling time LST to the current time PT is calculated by subtracting the previous sampling time LST from the current time PT.

Vx = PT−LST (Equation 1) Also, the counter value LS at the previous sampling time
The counter difference Vy between T and the counter value PTC at the current time is the counter value L at the previous sampling time.
It is calculated by subtracting the counter value PTC at the current time from ST.

Vy = LST-PTC (Equation 2) Subsequently, it is calculated how many times (K) the counter value PTC at the current time corresponds to the counter difference Vy.

K = PTC / Vy (Equation 3) Accordingly, the time obtained by multiplying the time difference Vx by K becomes the remaining tool life time TLST. TLST = K * Vx (Equation 4) Here, * indicates a product.

Therefore, the tool life time TL is added to the current time PT.
When T is added, it becomes the tool life time TLET. TLET = PT + TLT (Equation 5) Next, a method of predicting and calculating the counter value 46d at the next sampling time in S18 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8A shows the line graph 47 shown in FIG. FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a two-dot chain line of the line graph 47 shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, as in FIG. 7, ● represents the counter value at the past sampling time,
□ indicates the counter value at the current time, and ○ indicates the counter value at the next sampling time, that is, the predicted counter value.

First, as in the processing of S16, (Equation 1)
And Vx and Vy are calculated from (Equation 2). Subsequently, the unit of the preset sampling set time STM “minute” is 6
By multiplying by 0, it is converted to “seconds” Wx.

Wx = STM * 60 (Equation 6) Accordingly, the change amount Wy of the counter value 46d that changes until the next sampling time NST is Vx: Vy = Wx:
It can be shown by the ratio of Wy.

Wy = Wx * Vy / Vx (Equation 7) Therefore, the counter value NSTC at the next sampling time to be obtained is calculated by subtracting the variation Wy from the counter value LSTC at the previous sampling time.

NSTC = LSTC−Wy (Equation 8) As described above, according to the present embodiment, the following operations and effects can be obtained.

The state of each drill 43 with respect to the top three tools whose tool life time is earlier is displayed on the screen of the display 22. Therefore, the operator can prepare a drill having a short life time based on the information of the drill 43 in advance. Therefore, the work processing of the work is not interrupted for a long time when the drill is replaced, and the working efficiency does not decrease. Further, since the drill is not replaced before the replacement time is reached, the drill is not wasted.

The tool life time TLET and the counter value NSTC at the next sampling time NST are estimated based on the previous sampling time LST, the current time PT, the counter value LSTC at the previous sampling time, and the counter value PTC at the current time. Is calculated. For this reason, when machining the work 21, each drill 43 is used.
The tool life prediction process is executed even if the usage frequency of the tool suddenly changes, so that the display 22 always displays the accurate tool life time TLET and the prediction counter value NSTC at the next sampling time NST as the next life prediction. . Therefore, the operator can always obtain the latest information on the top three drills 43 from the earliest life time based on the latest data.

The above embodiment may be modified as follows, and in such a case, the same operation and effect as the above embodiment can be obtained. -Not only the drill 43 but also other tools (for example, a cutter,
Circular saw).

The personal computer body 21 may be provided with a printer. With this configuration, the count-up prediction screen can be printed. As shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7B, the tool life time (TLET) is plotted on a line graph 4 shown in FIGS. 3 and 7A.
7 should also be displayed. By doing so, the tool life tendency and the life time can be easily known on a graph.

In place of the line graph 47, another graph display method (for example, a bar graph) may be used. The counter values 46d of the past five or more times may be displayed on the display 22 using the table 46 and the line graph 47.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the personal computer 20 is started, the message blackboard 60 of the predecessor is first started, and the message 61 is forcibly confirmed by the next worker. The user selects the "delete" button 62 to delete the message and shift to the item list 30. With this configuration, the message can be reliably transmitted to the next worker.

As shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the personal computer 20 may be incorporated in the machining center 10. -Put the keyboard 23 on the display 22
A digitizer system (tablet system, touch panel system) that allows input operation with a pen and a mouse 24 or the like may be used.

Further, technical ideas other than the claims grasped from the above embodiment will be described below together with their effects. The tool life estimating device according to claim 6, wherein the input means is a keyboard of a personal computer.

With this configuration, data on the tool can be easily input from the keyboard of the personal computer. -The tool life prediction device according to claim 7, wherein the display means is a display of a personal computer.

With this configuration, it is possible to display tool information on the display screen of the personal computer.

[0063]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the life time of the tool can be predicted and the life time of the tool can be displayed, so that the life time of the tool can be known. Therefore, the next tool to be exchanged can be easily prepared with good setup, and the machining operation can be performed efficiently.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1
In addition to the effects of the invention described in the above, since the tool life time is calculated based on the amount of change in data from the previous sampling time to the current time, it is possible to always accurately predict the tool life time. .

According to the invention described in claim 3, according to claim 2
In addition to the effects of the invention described in above, since the tool state prediction is calculated based on the amount of change in data from the previous sampling time to the current time, it is necessary to predict an accurate counter value at the next sampling time. Can be.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
In addition to the effects of the invention described in any one of the third to third aspects, a tool having a short life time can be easily known. According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 4, the top several tools can be easily known in ascending order of the life time. Thereby, preparation of the exchange tool can be performed well.

According to the invention described in claim 6, according to claim 1,
In addition to the effects of the invention according to any one of claims 5 to 5, it is simple because tool information can be input by the input means.

According to the invention described in claim 7, according to claim 3,
In addition to the effects of the invention according to any one of claims 6 to 6, since at least one of a table or a graph is displayed,
The operator can confirm the state of the tool, that is, the tendency of the tool life at a glance.

According to the invention of claim 8, according to claim 7,
In addition to the effects of the invention described in (1), the tool life tendency and the life time can be easily known from at least one of a table and a graph.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
It is possible to provide a recording medium in which a program for operating each means according to any one of claims to 8 is recorded.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a tool life predicting apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an item list.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a count UP prediction screen.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the tool life prediction device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the tool life prediction device.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the tool life prediction device.

FIG. 7 is a graph for explaining a tool life time prediction method.

FIG. 8 is a graph for explaining a method of predicting the next life span.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a tool management screen.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Machining center, 21 ... Life time calculation means, sampling means, next life calculation means and the personal computer main body as a computer, 22 ... Display as a display means, 23 ... Keyboard as an input means, 43 ... Drill as a tool (T code ), 46 ... Table, 46d ... Counter value, 47 ... A line graph as a graph, NST ... Next sampling time, LST ... Last sampling time, LSTC ... Counter value of previous sampling time,
PT: Current time, PTC: Counter value of current time.

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A tool life prediction device comprising: a life time calculation means for predicting and calculating a life time of a tool for machining a workpiece; and a display means for displaying a calculation result of the life time calculation means. 2. The tool life predicting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising sampling means for sampling a counter value of the tool every time a predetermined time elapses, wherein the life time calculating means includes a previous sampling time based on a sampling result of the sampling means. Tool life prediction device that predicts and calculates the life time of a tool based on the time difference between the current time and the current time, and the counter difference between the counter value at the previous sampling time and the counter value at the current time. 3. The tool life predicting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a time difference between a previous sampling time and a current time based on a sampling result of the sampling means, and a counter value of the previous sampling time and a counter value of the current time are calculated. A tool life prediction device for predicting and calculating a counter value at the next sampling time based on the counter difference, and a display means for displaying a calculation result of the next prediction calculation means together with the tool life time. . 4. The tool life estimating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display means includes:
A tool life prediction device that sorts and displays a tool's life time in order of earliest among a plurality of tools used. 5. The tool life predicting device according to claim 4, wherein the display means displays the top several tools in the order of the tool life time in the shortest order. 6. The tool life predicting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an input unit for inputting tool information. 7. The tool life estimating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the display means displays the calculation result of the next prediction calculation means together with a plurality of samplings close to the present together with a table or graph. Tool life prediction device displayed on at least one. 8. The tool life prediction device according to claim 7, wherein the display means displays the calculation result of the life time calculation means in at least one of the table and the graph. 9. The recording medium according to claim 1, wherein a program for causing a computer to execute an operation of each means is recorded.