DE102014014417A1 - Cleaning device and spinning station - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a cleaning station integrated in a machine tool for removing a machining fluid remaining on a workpiece after a machining operation. In particular, the invention relates to the removal of a machining fluid from toothed workpieces. A particular feature of the invention is an at least two-stage cleaning process with a pre-cleaning of the workpieces and a spinning station, in which preferably the adhering to the outer circumference of the processing liquid is thrown off.

Description

The present invention relates to a cleaning device integrated in a machine tool for removing a machining liquid remaining on a workpiece after machining. In particular, the present invention relates to the removal of a machining fluid from toothed workpieces.

A particular feature of the invention is an at least two-stage cleaning process with a pre-cleaning, preferably the inner contour of the workpieces, and a spinning station in which preferably the adhering to the outer circumference machining fluid is thrown off.

When machining workpieces, in particular when machining toothed workpieces, a machining fluid is used for cooling the workpiece and the tool as well as for removing machining chips. Depending on the machining process, different cooling lubricants are used. When machining gear teeth, mainly cooling oil is used, but in rare cases also an emulsion. The cooling lubricants differ depending on the processing method in terms of their viscosity. Especially with higher viscosity, it is difficult to free the workpieces from the coolant.

The trend in manufacturing is now increasingly in the direction of dry machining of workpieces in order to avoid the entire coolant handling. Especially for environmental reasons, attempts are made to dispense with cooling lubricant. In processes where cooling lubricants can not be dispensed with at present, an attempt is made to minimize the removal of coolant lubricant from the machine. In some follow-up processes to prevent that the coolant used there is mixed with the coolant from the previous process and thereby changed. Overall, the coolant interferes with the follow-up process. In addition, the arranged between the machines automation equipment and transport routes should not be contaminated by falling chips or dripping coolant.

For this reason, many users today value products that are as free of coolant and chip as possible when they are transported out of the machine. By specifying how long a workpiece must remain drip-free, some customers try to define a measure of the purity of the workpieces.

One way to remove the coolant from the workpieces is, for example, in a spinning station. In this case, such a spinning station has a workpiece holder which can be set in rotation by a drive in order to free a workpiece which can be received in the workpiece holder from adhering processing fluid. The removal of the machining fluid is thus carried out by the centrifugal force generated by rotation. Such a spinning station is for example from the DE 10 2005 043 602 A1 known. The workpiece is thereby pivoted directly from its processing point in a transfer station designed as a spinning station and there freed from adhering cooling lubricant.

Also the DE 10 2012 023 978 A1 shows an external spin station for cleaning workpieces. In this transfer device, the workpiece is taken over by a loading system of the machine tool and transported by a movement in a spinner. There, the cooling lubricant is thrown off. After the cleaning process, the workpiece is stored together with its workpiece carrier on a workpiece feed.

Furthermore, it is known to mount centrifugal devices on external belts which supply the machine with workpieces and convey them away from the machine. However, this installation site has the disadvantage that chips and coolant with the workpieces are first conveyed out of the working space of the machine, to then be removed from the workpiece outside the working space. The cooling lubricant can be pumped back relatively easily. However, this is already a major problem with adhering shavings, which means that the shavings accumulate on the spinning station and can not easily be washed back again.

The above-described spinning stations remove relatively well outside of the workpiece adhering machining fluid. However, workpieces with internal areas are difficult to remove from the machining fluid by a spinning station. Furthermore, the distance on the outside is not optimal. Especially in the tooth gaps and in holes, grooves etc. often remains machining fluid which accumulates over time and then drips down from the workpiece. Furthermore remains on the grippers and workpiece supports cooling lubricant when they are left during processing in the work area. Now, if the workpiece is gripped again after the spinning process with these liquid grippers, or if the workpiece is returned to the workpiece supports, there is again a return of the cooling lubricant to the workpiece.

The object of the present invention is now to improve the removal of machining fluid from workpieces, in particular from toothed workpieces.

This object is achieved by a cleaning arrangement for removing machining fluid to workpieces according to the combination of the features of claim 1.

The present invention provides a combination of a spinning station for removing machining fluid adhering to the outside of the workpiece and a cleaning device, in which preferably internal areas of the workpieces and / or, if required, workpieces are also pre-cleaned or subsequently cleaned on the outer circumference. This helps to improve the cleaning result, especially in the tooth gaps and / or holes. The cleaning station is preferably arranged in front of the spinning station, so that the workpieces are pre-cleaned before they then come to the spin-drying station for final cleaning. By dividing the cleaning process in at least two stages, a significantly improved removal of the machining fluid is achieved by the workpieces.

Preferred embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

The cleaning station according to the invention is designed as a compressed air lance in a first embodiment. In particular, the compressed air lance can be used to clean a bore of the workpiece. In a further embodiment, the workpiece can be additionally already cleaned on its outer periphery via an outer peripheral cleaner, for example in the form of an annular nozzle.

By blowing with compressed air according to the invention a significantly improved removal of machining fluid is achieved. The compressed air cleaning arrangement according to the invention thus makes it possible, in particular, to remove machining fluid even from those areas of the workpiece from which it can not be removed by spinning on the spinning station.

In this case, the compressed air cleaning arrangement can in particular remove machining liquid which adheres to an inner and / or the one which adheres to an outer region of the workpiece by blowing with compressed air. In the arrangement for cleaning internal workpiece surfaces, a rod (compressed air lance), in the head region of which a compressed air outlet is arranged, is moved downwards in the longitudinal direction of the workpiece bore, with a vertical workpiece arrangement. In this case, the machining fluid is conveyed by the compressed air jet from the workpiece bore in the direction of gravity. At this point, the cleaning process can be further supported by slowly turning the workpiece around its central axis.

In addition, the workpiece can also be freed from the machining fluid on its outer surfaces with a second outer peripheral cleaner. In this case, an annular nozzle along the outer surface of the workpiece is moved parallel to the direction of the Werkstückmittelchachse.

The traversing speed of the compressed air cleaning nozzles can be adapted individually to the workpiece contour. Thus, the interior and, if necessary, the exterior cleaner can be controlled individually in its speed of movement. If necessary, the pressure or the amount of compressed air depending on the workpiece contour or the position of the / cleaners relative to the workpiece contour can be operated with different pressures, so as to limit the total compressed air consumption to the necessary extent.

The adjustment of the compressed air cleaning system to the workpieces can continue to be done by specially adapted to the diameter compressed air lances and Außenumfangsreingier. These are then changed during the conversion of the machine tool from one workpiece type to the next one. This can improve the cleaning performance, also the compressed air consumption can be reduced if the compressed air cleaner have only a small air gap relative to the inner or outer diameter of the workpiece. Since compressed air cleaners are simply constructed and therefore inexpensive components, the additional investment for each workpiece is always worthwhile. This is a one-time purchase whereas compressed air consumption represents ongoing operating costs.

This pre-cleaned workpiece is received by the machine-internal loading system after the pre-cleaning process with the workpiece gripper at its periphery. It is accepted that the still dirty by the processing process gripper picks up the more or less cleaned workpiece on its outer circumference.

The workpiece is then further clocked to the transfer device / spin station and placed there by the Absenkeinrichtung on the workpiece holder of the spinning station.

The workpiece holders are designed so that they only a minimum Have contact surface with the workpiece in order to identify as few surfaces where a residual oil film can hold between the workpiece and workpiece support. The minimum size of the contact surface is determined by the spin torque necessary for spin.

After the workpiece has been placed, in this embodiment, the workpiece is clamped in the spinning station by the spinning station is lowered with the upper workpiece holder on the workpiece and so the workpiece is clamped.

Subsequently, the gripper is opened and the gripper inserts are swung out of the work area. Alternatively, the grippers are opened slightly to collapse down below the lower edge of the workpiece contour without collision. This prevents machining fluid from dripping from the grippers onto the workpiece after the spin process.

The procedure also differs by the design of the gripper or workpieces. So it may be non-positive or positive gripper and disc or wavy workpieces.

After the spinning process, the external loading door is opened and the cleaned workpiece can be removed from the clamping by the machine operator or an external automation with a gripper and / or exchanged for an unprocessed workpiece. This procedure prevents the external gripper from coming into contact with dirty machine components.

Further features, details and advantages of the invention will become apparent from exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing. Showing:

1 FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of a cleaning arrangement according to the invention, consisting of a cleaning device and a spinning station and arranged on a four-station charging system, FIG.

2 FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of a two-station supercharger with a prior art spinner. FIG.

3 : An embodiment of a gear cutting machine with a cleaning device according to the invention, as shown in the 1 is shown

4 : an embodiment of a compressed air cleaning station for cleaning the inner bore of a workpiece,

5 : A detailed view of a compressed air cleaning station with a compressed air lance and a compressed air outer peripheral cleaner and

6a , b: an embodiment of a spinning station for cleaning a workpiece on its outer periphery.

1 is a schematic drawing of a gear cutting machine according to the invention 10 with a machine working space MR, an area in which the pre-cleaning takes place VR and in a transfer area ÜR with integrated spinning station 60 , The workpieces are made for machining in the machine by an external automation or a machine operator via the loading opening 22 on the transfer position, which simultaneously represents the spinning station, filed. From there they will be using the internal charging system, in this case a four-station ring loader 90 who is looking for a backrest 80 spins, picked up and over, in this example unused stopover, on the machine table 35 automatically stretched for processing. The editing tool 30 is over the machining head 40 by a feed movement of the machine stand 45 delivered to the workpiece in the direction of the X1 axis and generates or processes the teeth on the workpiece 25 ,

After finishing the machining process, the workpiece with a gripper 95 through the gripper inserts 96 gripped and positioned after a 90 ° swivel each in the next station. The workpiece from the machining process thus enters the pre-cleaning station, for example a compressed-air cleaning device 70 , and is there prepurified by the machining coolant lubricant. In this case, it is preferably about areas that can be cleaned only insufficiently in the subsequent spinning station, free from machining coolants and / or reduce the amount of cooling lubricant that must be removed in the spinning station before, so as to achieve a better cleaning result achieve. The pre-cleaning area is via a machine-internal partition 110 with automatically lockable through-holes 100 separated from the processing area MR. This separation prevents, on the one hand, that cooling lubricant oversprayed from the machining process to the cleaning process, on the other hand, this serves z. B. in gear grinding machine as a safety device, especially since preferably all process steps are to take place parallel to the main time (the cycle time specification comes from the machining process).

2 shows the state of the art, as shown for example in the DE 10 2005 043 602 was disclosed. Here the workpiece is directly after the Centrifugal process stored in a spinning station and cleaned on its outer circumference. In addition to the version shown with a two-station loader, this version is also available in different versions with multi-station loaders in the state of the art.

3 shows exemplarily a gear cutting machine according to the invention 10 in which the security enclosure 20 The machine was partially omitted or the dimension was shown by dashed dotted lines to better show the area of the cleaning device. The machine is operated via the control panel 50 , The upper quill 64 for the spin station 60 is independent of the gear cutting machine next to this on the hall floor. This prevents vibrations from the spinning process being transferred to the workpiece machining. At the pre-cleaning station 70 however, only a slow linear movement of the compressed air lance or the outer peripheral cleaner takes place, so that they easily on the backrest 80 can be attached without affecting their movement adversely. The spinning station is powered by the engine 65 at the lower console 69 is attached.

Im in the 4 In the embodiment shown, the cleaning station has a compressed air cleaning arrangement according to the invention 70 which is used to the shaft bore of the workpiece 25 free of cooling lubricant. As in 4 can be seen, it is the compressed air cleaning arrangement 70 around a compressed air lance 71 which is in the shaft bore of the workpiece 25 can be introduced to remove the existing cooling lubricant by blowing with compressed air.

The compressed air lance 71 In this case, it can be moved into and out of the shaft bore via a travel arrangement. This is a rear area of the compressed air lance 71 on a sledge 72 attached, which at a guide 75 is linearly displaceable. To move the carriage 72 this stands with an actuator - in the present case a motor 76 that has a bevel box 77 on a rack 74 interacts - and communicates over this along the guide 75 be moved linearly. The direction of travel of the carriage is parallel to the longitudinal extension of the compressed air lance 71 ,

The compressed air lance 71 is designed tubular and has in its interior a compressed air channel, which is in communication with a compressed air supply P, not shown. For this purpose, in the area of the connection of the compressed air lance 71 with the travel arrangement 72 a quick coupling 73 provided, via which the compressed air channel in the interior of the tubular compressed air lance 71 communicates with the compressed air supply. About the quick coupling workpiece-specific compressed air lances can be changed relatively easily.

The workpieces to be cleaned 25 be over the ring loader 90 over the C3 axis around the backrest 80 swung around out of the processing room. For this purpose, the workpiece with the gripper inserts 90 gripped and the gripper is on the lowering guide 97 moved up to the pivot position. By this procedure, it is possible, for example, to wave-shaped workpieces into a chuck. At the pre-cleaning station, the workpiece is held only in position in this embodiment, so that the compressed air lance can dip into the workpiece bore. In addition to the compressed air lance, an outer peripheral cleaner can be arranged at this position, which in this case then blows off cooling lubricant on the outer circumference of the workpiece with compressed air, wherein it moves linearly in the direction of the workpiece axis.

5 shows a compressed air lance 71 and an outside air peripheral cleaner 76 with a ring nozzle 79 when cleaning a workpiece 25 , By the linear movement of the compressed air lance 71 down and the structure of the lance head is blown with the compressed air, the cooling lubricant from the bore along the inner wall of the workpiece down. In parallel, the outer perimeter cleaner can clean the outer surface and the tooth spaces of the workpiece. The workpiece is held by the workpiece grippers (not shown) or deposited on a workpiece holder (not shown).

The sling station in the 6a and 6b has a workpiece spindle with an upper workpiece holder 62 and a lower workpiece holder 63 on, between which a workpiece 25 can be clamped. The lower workpiece spindle 63 is about the drive 65 drivable. The upper quill 61 is movable in height direction on the stand 64 arranged. This is the quill 61 at a guide of the stand 64 arranged linearly displaceable and can be adjusted in height via an actuator (not shown), in the embodiment an electric motor.

A workpiece can be received in the workpiece spindle by moving the workpiece with the grippers 95 on the lower workpiece holder 63 is placed and then the upper workpiece holder 62 together with the quill 61 As long as moved down until contact with the workpiece top is. The workpiece 25 is preferably frictionally engaged with the lower Workpiece holder 63 in connection and can thereby on the drive 65 be set in rotation.

Advantageously, the workpiece 11 thereby rotated in spin mode at a speed between 500 revolutions per minute and 5000 revolutions per minute to remove still adhering to the outer circumference of the workpiece coolant residues.

The gripper inserts 96 are here, as shown in this embodiment, swung backwards. Gripper inserts that are not hinged can also be lowered below the lower edge of the workpiece.

During the subsequent loading and unloading process, it is also advantageous not to allow the gripper inserts to stand in the region of the path piece, so that dripping of cooling lubricant from the gripper inserts onto the cleaned workpiece can be prevented.

QUOTES INCLUDE IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant has been generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Cited patent literature

• DE 102005043602 A1 [0006]
• DE 102012023978 A1 [0007]
• DE 102005043602 [0036]

Claims (10)

Workpiece cleaning device for a machine tool, in particular for a gear cutting machine, with a loading system for transporting workpieces from a machine loading and unloading station to the processing station and after processing back to the machine loading and unloading station, wherein the loading system can approach at least three positions within the machine , And with a spinning station for cleaning the workpiece outer contour, characterized in that in addition to the spinning station at least one further cleaning station for cleaning the workpieces, preferably at the inner contour, is provided. Workpiece cleaning device according to claim 1, characterized in that the loading system for the cleaning device is designed as a ring loader with a pivot axis or as a loading portal with a linear loading axis. Workpiece cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the spinning station is arranged with its spinner within the safety housing of the machine, the mounting bracket for attaching the spinner but separately mounted next to the machine on the hall floor, so that vibrations and / or vibrations from the spinning process not be transferred to the processing machine, wherein the Sicherheitsaushausung has a resilient and oil-tight interface between the mounting bracket and the spinner. Workpiece cleaning device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that an additional cleaning station is designed as a compressed air cleaning station with at least one linear axis for moving at least one cleaning nozzle parallel to the workpiece center axis. Workpiece cleaning device according to claim 4, characterized in that the compressed air cleaning station is equipped with a compressed air lance for cleaning the workpiece inner contour and / or with a compressed air outer peripheral cleaner. Workpiece cleaning device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the compressed air cleaning device has a control device with which the travel speed and / or the pressure of the compressed air is adjustable depending on the workpiece contour. Workpiece cleaning device according to one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the compressed air lance and / or the compressed air outer peripheral cleaner are formed as a removable part, so that the compressed air cleaning station is individually adapted to the workpiece dimensions, the removable parts are preferably equipped with a quick change connection. Workpiece cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that between the processing space for the workpiece and the cleaning area a splash-proof partition with at least one closable opening is arranged, wherein the at least one opening can be automatically opened when changing workpieces, so that the loading system, the workpieces in the processing area can exchange automatically. Workpiece cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the spinning station is additionally equipped with a movable splash guard, which catches the majority of the spun-off processing liquid. Workpiece cleaning device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the workpieces can be removed from the machine after the last cleaning operation by an external loading system, in order to prevent any re-transfer of processing liquid to the cleaned workpiece.

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