WO2015145575A1

WO2015145575A1 - Automated workpiece conveyor

Info

Publication number: WO2015145575A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/058296
Authority: WO
Inventors: 大祐福岡
Original assignee: 富士機械製造株式会社
Priority date: 2014-03-25
Filing date: 2014-03-25
Publication date: 2015-10-01
Also published as: JP6517782B2; JPWO2015145575A1

Abstract

　Provided is an automated workpiece conveyer (3) for conveying a workpiece between a plurality of processing sections that perform prescribed processes. The system has: a travel device (31) for moving a traveling stage (45) in corresponding fashion to processing locations of a plurality of processing sections (20); a transfer device (33) installed on the traveling stage (45), for transferring the workpiece between the processing sections (20); and an operation device (32) installed on the traveling stage (45), for performing a prescribed operation on the traveling stage (45), making it possible to perform a prescribed operation as the workpiece is being conveyed.

Description

Automatic workpiece transfer machine

The present invention relates to an automatic workpiece transfer machine that transfers a workpiece to a plurality of machining locations.

When a workpiece is processed via a plurality of automatic processing machines, an automatic workpiece transfer machine is used to deliver the workpiece to and from each automatic processing machine. The automatic workpiece transfer machine grips the workpiece and moves between the automatic processing machines, and delivers the workpiece to and from the target automatic processing machine. When the workpiece is processed, for example, on both the front and back sides of the workpiece, the workpiece must be reversed when moving from one automatic processing machine to the next automatic processing machine. In this regard, Patent Document 1 below discloses an automatic workpiece transfer machine that reverses a workpiece during transfer. Specifically, a pair of robot hands, a loading hand and an unloading hand, are provided in a hand unit movable between machine tools, and a workpiece held by one loading hand during conveyance is transferred to the other unloading hand. It is something that you can grasp. By this gripping, the direction of the workpiece gripped by each robot hand is reversed.

JP-A-10-193237

Since the conventional automatic workpiece transfer machine described above is designed to reverse the workpiece during transfer, it is not necessary to go through the reversing device during transfer of the workpiece between the automatic processing machines. However, this automatic workpiece transfer machine must be configured with a pair of robot hands for gripping and changing the workpiece, which increases the size of the robot hand and complicates the structure and limits the combination with the robot arm. Will be done.

In addition, machining of a workpiece that is performed through a plurality of processes may require auxiliary work such as work reversal work as described above, in addition to work work on a work performed by an automatic machine. However, such auxiliary work varies depending on the machining content and may be work phasing work instead of reversing work. In such a case, in the conventional automatic workpiece transfer machine, it has been necessary to transfer the workpiece to the phasing device via the reversing device in the middle of transferring the workpiece to the automatic processing machine. For this reason, the work conveyance distance until the completion of machining becomes longer, and the cycle time becomes longer.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic workpiece transfer machine capable of performing a predetermined operation during transfer in order to solve such a problem.

The automatic workpiece transfer machine according to one aspect of the present invention is configured to transfer a workpiece to a plurality of processing units that perform predetermined processing, and moves a traveling platform corresponding to each processing position of the plurality of processing units. A traveling device that is mounted on the traveling platform and that delivers workpieces to and from the processing unit, and a working device that is mounted on the traveling platform and performs predetermined work on the traveling platform. Is.

According to the present invention, the delivery device and the work device are mounted on the traveling platform and move together. Therefore, a predetermined auxiliary work is performed on the traveling platform by the work device as well as the work conveyance performed by the delivery device. For example, if the working device is a reversing device or a phasing device, the workpiece can be reversed or phased during conveyance, and if the working device is a measurement device, the workpiece can be measured on the traveling platform. it can.

It is the perspective view which showed the processing machine line which consists of a some machine tool. The processing module is configured on a movable bed and is drawn out rearward. It is an autoloader provided in a processing machine line, and is a perspective view showing a state where an articulated robot arm is extended. It is an autoloader provided in a processing machine line, and is a perspective view showing a state in which an articulated robot arm is folded. It is the perspective view which showed the delivery apparatus from the front side of the machine tool which is the other side of FIG. It is the side view which showed the attachment structure of the inversion apparatus. It is the perspective view which showed the delivery apparatus and the phase determination apparatus. It is the perspective view which showed the delivery apparatus and the inspection apparatus.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, in FIG. 1, the processing machine line 1 has four machine tools 10 (10 A, 10 B, 10 C, 10 D) mounted on a base 2. The four machine tools 10 are all NC lathes of the same type, and have the same internal structure and overall shape and dimensions. An autoloader (workpiece automatic transfer machine) is provided for delivering the workpiece to each machine tool 10. Here, the “machining machine line” refers to a group of machine tools in which a plurality of machine tools having a certain relationship transfer workpieces by an autoloader.

The machine tool 10 is entirely covered with an exterior cover 5, and a processing module is provided inside. The processing spaces of the machine tools 10 are partitioned from each other, but the work is loaded by the autoloader on the front surface portion 501 of the outer cover 5 so that the work can be conveyed to the

machine tools

10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D. A common transport space is provided so that people can come and go.

The machine tool 10 is provided with a processing module 20 shown in FIG. In particular, the processing module 20 is configured integrally with the movable bed 16 and is mounted so as to be movable in the front-rear direction along the rail 161 on the base 2. FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which the processing module 20 is pulled out rearward. When the processing module 20 is pulled out rearward, the carriage 170 is disposed behind the base 2, and the processing module 20 is transferred to the carriage 170. The machine tools 10A to 10D of the processing machine line 1 are all assembled on the base 2 to form one, but each processing module 20 that can be pulled out is independent.

The machine tool 10 is a turret lathe provided with a turret holding a rotary tool such as an end mill or a drill or a cutting tool such as a cutting tool. Therefore, the machining module 20 includes a headstock 12 having a spindle chuck 11 for gripping a workpiece (workpiece), a turret device 13 to which a tool is attached, and a Z axis for moving the turret device 13 along the Z axis or the X axis. A driving device, an X-axis driving device, a machining control device 15 for controlling the driving unit, and the like are provided. Here, the Z-axis is a horizontal axis parallel to the rotation axis (main axis) of the headstock 12 that rotates the gripped workpiece. The X axis is orthogonal to the Z axis, and is a moving axis that moves the tool of the turret device 13 forward and backward with respect to the Z axis, and is a vertical direction in the present embodiment. The X-axis direction is the vertical direction for both the machine tool 10 and the processing machine line 1 shown in FIG.

The processing module 20 is configured such that the headstock 12 is fixed on the movable bed 16, the main spindle chuck 11 and the main spindle pulley are integrated with the main spindle rotatably supported, and the main spindle servo motor is rotated. ing. On the other hand, the turret device 13 is mounted on a Z-axis slide 22, and the Z-axis slide 22 is further mounted on an X-axis slide 26. The Z-axis slide 22 is configured to be movable in the horizontal direction parallel to the Z-axis by sliding in the base 21 fixed to the X-axis slide 26.

The Z-axis drive device employs a ball screw drive system that converts the rotational output of the Z-axis servomotor 23 into a straight-ahead motion in order to move the Z-axis slide 22 in the Z-axis direction. That is, the ball screw is rotated by driving the Z-axis servomotor 23, the rotational motion is converted into the linear motion of the ball nut, and the Z-axis slide 22 is moved in a direction parallel to the Z-axis.

A column 25 having two guides is fixed upright on the movable bed 16, and an X-axis slide 26 is slidably attached to the guides. The X-axis slide 26 can be moved up and down along the column, and this X-axis drive device also employs a ball screw drive system to convert the rotational output of the motor into the up-and-down movement of the X-axis slide 26. The X-axis servomotor 28 is driven to rotate the ball screw, and the rotational motion is converted into the linear motion of the ball nut, so that the X-axis slide 26 can be raised and lowered.

Next, the autoloader provided in the processing machine line 1 will be described. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing the autoloader, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the articulated robot arm is extended, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the articulated robot arm is folded. The autoloader 3 is configured as a moving range between four machine tools 10A to 10D. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the range of the two machines. The autoloader 3 includes a reversing device 32 for reversing the workpiece, a delivery device 33 for delivering the workpiece between the reversing device 32 and a machine tool, and the reversing device 32 and the delivery device 33. A traveling device 31 that moves between the machine tools 10 is provided.

The travel device 31 has a support plate 41 fixed to the front surface portion of the base 2 on which the machine tool 10 is mounted, and a rack 42 extending on the support plate 41 in the Y-axis direction, which is the direction from the machine tool 10A to 10D. Two rails 43 are fixed. The traveling platform 45 is provided with a traveling slide that slides while gripping the rail 43, and a pinion 46 that meshes with the rack 42 and a traveling motor 47 that rotates the pinion 46. The traveling table 45 is provided with a turning table 48 that is rotated by a turning motor 49, and the delivery device 33 and the reversing device 32 are mounted on the turning table 48.

The delivery device 33 is provided with a robot hand 36 at the tip of the articulated robot arm 35. In the multi-joint robot arm 35, a pair of support plates 61 arranged on the turning table 48 at predetermined intervals rises in the vertical direction, and an upper arm member 62 is connected to the upper end of the support plate 61 via a first joint mechanism 63. Yes. Further, a forearm member 65 is connected to the upper arm member 62 via a second joint mechanism 66. Therefore, the posture can be changed between the standing folded state shown in FIG. 4 and the extended state shown in FIG. 3 by driving the first joint mechanism 63 and the second joint mechanism 66. .

The upper arm member 62 of the articulated robot arm 35 has a three-dimensional shape in which a pair of upper arm plates 621 arranged in parallel are connected to each other by transverse beam plates 622. In particular, the cross beam plate 622 is formed so as to connect the front side end portions of the upper arm plate 621. Therefore, the upper arm member 62 is opened to the rear side, that is, the base 2 (processing module 20) side, and a storage space into which the forearm member 65 enters is formed as shown in FIG. A first joint mechanism 63 is configured to adjust the angle of the upper arm member 62. The first joint mechanism 63 has a first joint motor attached to the support plate 61 side, and its output is transmitted to the upper arm member 62 pivotally supported on the upper end side of the support plate 61 via a belt. . Therefore, the first arm motor is driven to rotate the upper arm member 62 through the rotating portion of the support plate 61 and the upper arm member 62, and the inclination of the upper arm member 62 is adjusted.

The forearm member 65 is connected to the upper arm member 62 at the end opposite to the first joint mechanism 63 via a rotating portion, and is rotated by the second joint mechanism 66 including the rotating portion. The forearm member 65 connected to the upper arm member 62 is obtained by connecting a pair of left and right parallel forearm plates 651 by a cross beam plate. The forearm member 65 is assembled so that the forearm plate 651 is parallel to the upper arm plate 621 and is sandwiched between the pair of upper arm plates 621. The second joint mechanism 66 is configured such that the second joint motor is fixed to the forearm member 65, and the rotation is transmitted to the rotating portions of the upper arm member 62 and the forearm member 65 to rotate the forearm member 65.

The forearm member 65 holds the robot hand 36 at the opposite end of the second joint mechanism 66, that is, at the end of the articulated robot arm 35 in the extended state. The robot hand 36 is rotatably supported by a pair of forearm plates 651 and is rotated by a hand motor fixed to the forearm member 65. The robot hand 36 has a clamp mechanism that hydraulically operates three chuck claws, and can grip and release a workpiece. The clamping mechanism is configured on both the front and back sides.

The delivery device 33 configured in this way can deliver workpieces to and from the reversing device 32 mounted on the turning table 48 in addition to delivering workpieces to and from the spindle chuck 11 of the machine tool 10. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the delivery device 33 and the reversing device 32 from the front side of the machine tool 10, which is the opposite side of FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the mounting structure of the reversing device 32.

The reversing device 32 is provided on the traveling table 45 together with the delivery device 33, and is specifically an articulated robot arm 35 of the delivery device 33, and more specifically, a support that constitutes the articulated robot arm 35. It is attached to the block 60. The support plate 61 constituting the articulated robot arm 35 is formed as a part of the support block 60 as shown in FIG. The support block 60 is fixed to the turning table 48, and the reversing device 32 is detachably attached to the support block 60 of the articulated robot arm 35.

The reversing device 32 has a pair of left and right gripping claws 51, and a gripping cylinder 52 for opening and closing the gripping claws 51 is provided. By the operation of the gripping cylinder 52, the pair of gripping claws 51 approach each other to grip the workpiece, and release the workpiece by moving away. A rotary actuator 53 that generates rotation using compressed air as a working fluid is provided under the gripping cylinder 52, and the work gripped by the gripping claws 51 can be rotated 180 ° on a horizontal plane.

Such a reversing device 32 is formed integrally with the mounting base 55. The mounting base 55 includes a flat plate 551 on which the reversing device 32 is placed and a vertical plate 552 that is applied to the mounting surface of the support block 60. The vertical plate 522 has a through hole through which the mounting bolt 56 for fixing to the support block 60 is passed. The through-hole is a long hole 553 that is long in the vertical direction, and the mounting bolt 56 moves up and down relatively in the long hole 553. Therefore, the height of the reversing device 32 can be finely adjusted by shifting the position of the long hole with respect to the mounting bolt 56.

By the way, an autoloader which is an automatic workpiece transfer machine is generally used for transferring a workpiece. Even in the autoloader 3 of the present embodiment, the workpiece 45 can be transferred to and from a predetermined machine tool 10 by moving the traveling platform 45 in the Y-axis direction. However, the autoloader 3 of the present embodiment is equipped with not only the delivery device 33 but also another work device for the traveling platform 45 so that a predetermined work can be performed in addition to the work transfer work. A reversing device 32 is shown as an example of the working device.

In addition to the reversing device 32, the working device includes the phasing device shown in FIG. 7 and the inspection device shown in FIG. The phasing device 37 and the inspection device 38 are integrally formed with a mounting base 55 similar to the reversing device 32 and are detachably attached to the support block 60 of the delivery device 33. That is, the autoloader 3 can be attached by selecting necessary ones from various working devices such as the reversing device 32, the phase determining device 37, and the measuring device 38 in accordance with the processing content of the workpiece.

7 is configured such that a chuck body 372 having three chuck claws 371 is connected to a phase servomotor 373 so that the rotation of the gripped workpiece W can be adjusted. The phase determining device 37 is arranged with the chuck claws 371 facing between the pair of support plates 61 in order to deliver the workpiece. Between the pair of support plates 61, a workpiece passage opening 68 that is wide open on the lower side of the cross beam plate 622 is formed so that the workpiece W can be delivered between the phase determination device 37 and the robot hand 36. . Therefore, by the folding operation of the articulated robot arm 35, for example, the workpiece W is delivered through the workpiece passage port 68 in the image of passing through the crotch. The same applies to work using other work devices such as the reversing device 32 and the inspection device 38.

Next, in the inspection device 38 shown in FIG. 8, a pair of left and right finger members 381 are slidably provided with respect to the horizontal table 382, and the horizontal table 382 is fixed to the stand 383. The inspection device 38 includes a sensor such as an operating transformer, and the outer diameter is measured by contacting the left and right finger members 381 so as to sandwich the workpiece W therebetween. That is, a measurement signal is transmitted from the sensor, and based on the signal, the control unit performs a processing dimension calculation process, and performs feedback control in processing the workpiece.

Subsequently, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the processing machine line 1, the workpiece is taken out from the supply pallet by the autoloader 3 and is sequentially transferred from the machine tool 10 A to the machine tool 10 D. In the machine tool 10, a tool corresponding to the machining content is selected by indexing the turret device 13. For example, in drilling, a rotary tool such as an end mill is selected, and rotation is given to the rotary tool by driving a machining motor mounted on the turret device 13. A cutting tool such as a cutting tool is selected for turning and deburring. Then, the turret device 13 is moved in the X-axis and Z-axis directions by the X-axis drive device or the Z-axis drive device, the position of the tool with respect to the workpiece set on the spindle chuck 11 of the headstock 12 is adjusted, and predetermined machining is performed. Done.

In the autoloader 3, the pinion 46 that rotates by driving of the traveling motor 47 rolls on the rack 42, and the traveling platform 45 moves in the Y-axis direction. At that time, the traveling slide grips and slides on the rail 43 to move while maintaining the posture of the delivery device 33 and the like. In the delivery device 33 being transported, the articulated robot arm 35 is in the folded state shown in FIG. And it stops before the machine tool 10 used as object, and a workpiece | work delivery is performed. At the time of workpiece transfer, the articulated robot arm 35 changes from the folded state shown in FIG. 4 to the extended state shown in FIG.

That is, in the articulated robot arm 35, the upper arm member 62 is inclined forward toward the machine tool 10 (base 2) side, and the forearm member 65 coming out of the upper arm member 62 is more than the upper arm member 62. Arranged forward. In the delivery of the workpiece, the robot hand 36 is rotated by driving the hand motor, and the angle is adjusted. In the robot hand 36, the chuck claws of the clamp mechanism are moved in the radial direction by supplying and discharging the hydraulic oil. Is gripped and released.

Thus, machining of each process is performed on the workpiece in the machine tools 10A to 10D by the workpiece conveyance of the autoloader 3. At this time, for example, when the machining surface for the workpiece is switched between the machine tool 10B and the machine tool 10C, the robot hand 36 must hold the workpiece with its orientation reversed. Therefore, during the transfer between the machine tool 10B and the machine tool 10C, the workpiece is transferred from the transfer device 33 to the reversing device 32, and the direction of the workpiece is reversed. The delivery is performed through the workpiece passing port 68 provided on the lower side of the upper arm member 62 with the articulated robot arm 35 in a folded state and the workpiece gripped by the robot hand 36.

The reversing device 32 opens and closes the pair of left and right gripping claws 51 by driving the gripping cylinder 52 and receives a workpiece from the robot hand 36. Then, the gripping claw 51 is rotated 180 ° by driving the rotary actuator 53, and the direction of the workpiece is reversed. Then, the workpiece is transferred to the robot hand 36 again, and the workpiece is transferred from the transfer device 33 to the machine tool 10C, and the workpiece is processed on the surface opposite to the previous step.

In machining using an automatic machine, auxiliary work may be required in addition to machining work performed directly on the workpiece. For example, when the workpiece is processed through each process by the plurality of machine tools 10, the reversing operation described above is performed between predetermined processes. In addition, there is a phasing work using a phasing device to adjust the phase of the workpiece. In addition, there is a case where auxiliary work for appropriately performing predetermined processing is required for automatic processing of a workpiece. For example, the workpiece inspection work using the inspection device 38 is performed in order to process the workpiece according to the dimensions. In the autoloader 3 of the present embodiment, the phase determination device 37, the inspection device 38, and the like are replaced with the support block 60 in place of the reversing device 32 according to necessary auxiliary work.

The phasing work is performed, for example, when the machining of the machine tool 10A is finished and the machining of the workpiece machine 10B is required to change the workpiece phase. During the transfer between the machine tool 10A and the machine tool 10B, the workpiece is transferred from the transfer device 33 to the phasing device 37, and the phase of the workpiece is adjusted. That is, the phase determining device 37 receives a workpiece from the robot hand 36, and the chuck main body 71 rotates by a predetermined angle by driving the phase servomotor 72. As a result, the phase of the gripped workpiece is adjusted, and then transferred to the robot hand 36 again.

Also, the workpiece inspection work is used to check the dimensions of the workpiece. For example, when the outer peripheral cutting of the workpiece is performed with the machine tool 10A, it is inspected whether the outer diameter is in accordance with the dimensions. If an error occurs, the machine tool 10A is feedback-controlled based on the value, and accurate machining is performed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, a pair of finger members 81 are applied to the workpiece placed on the workpiece passage port 68 from both the left and right sides, and the outer diameter of the workpiece is measured. A measurement signal is transmitted from the sensor. If the inspection value is within the tolerance, the workpiece is conveyed to the next machine tool 10B. If the inspection value is not within the tolerance, machining by feedback control of the machine tool 10A is performed again based on the value.

As described above, according to the autoloader 3 (workpiece automatic transfer machine) of the present embodiment, not only the work transfer but also the auxiliary work such as the reversing work can be performed on the traveling platform 45. That is, since a work device such as the reversing device 32 is mounted on the traveling platform 45, auxiliary work can be performed during the transfer of the workpiece, and the transfer distance of the workpiece is shortened, and the cycle time is shortened. That is, until now, in order to perform reversing work, phasing work, inspection work, and the like on the work, the work must be moved to the place where each work device is arranged in addition to the movement between the machine tools 10. There wasn't. In this regard, in the present embodiment, it is possible to eliminate the movement of the work for such auxiliary work and to transport the work at a shortest distance through a plurality of machining steps.

Further, since the autoloader 3 is configured such that necessary work devices such as the reversing device 32, the phasing device 37, and the measuring device 38 can be attached to and detached from the support block 60, the work device corresponding to the processing content can be easily replaced. Can do. Further, a work device such as the reversing device 32 is mounted on the traveling table 45 together with the delivery device 33, so that the autoloader 3 is configured compactly. As shown in FIG. 1, the processing machine line 1 is constituted by a small machine tool 10, and is entirely compact as a whole. For this reason, the processing machine line 1 does not have a space for separately incorporating a work device such as the reversing device 32. Therefore, the autoloader 3 as in this embodiment is very effective for use in such a compact processing facility. It is.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning.
For example, although the working device such as the reversing device 32 is attached to the support block 60 in the embodiment, the attachment position is not limited as long as the working device is mounted on the traveling platform 45.
Further, the work device may be other than the reversing device 32, the phasing device 37, and the inspection device 38 described above.
Further, the object to which the workpiece automatic transfer machine is used is not limited to the processing machine line 1 like the auto loader 3, and may be an automatic processing facility configured by different automatic processing machines.

1: processing machine line 10; machine tool 20: processing module 31: traveling device 32: reversing device 33: delivery device 35: articulated robot arm 36: robot hand 45: traveling platform 62 upper arm member 65: forearm member 37: phasing Device 38: Inspection device

Claims

It is a workpiece automatic transfer machine that transfers workpieces to a plurality of processing parts that perform predetermined processing,
A traveling device that moves a traveling table corresponding to each processing position of the plurality of processing units;
A delivery device that is mounted on the platform and delivers workpieces to and from the processing unit;
An automatic workpiece transfer machine comprising: a work device mounted on the travel platform for performing a predetermined work on the travel platform.
2. The automatic workpiece transfer machine according to claim 1, wherein the work device is detachable from the traveling platform.
3. The working device according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of models corresponding to different operations are prepared, and the working device of a model selected according to workpiece processing is mounted on the traveling platform. Automatic workpiece transfer machine described in 1.
The said delivery apparatus is provided with the delivery mechanism which delivers the workpiece | work delivery between the said process parts, and the workpiece | work delivery between the said working devices, Any one of Claim 1 thru | or 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Crab automatic workpiece transfer machine.
5. The automatic workpiece transfer machine according to claim 1, wherein the traveling platform has a turning section that turns the mounted delivery device and the working device. 6.