FI115387B - Method and arrangement for the removal of impurities - Google Patents

Description

115387

Method and arrangement for the removal of impurities

The invention relates to a method for removing impurities from a substantially enclosed space reserved for a machine tool, wherein the impurities are removed from the environment by means of a suction connection by means of a suction device connected to a substantially enclosed space.

Problems have been encountered in various sectors of the industry in situations where operations are essentially confined to the environment. An example of such situations is machining operations using various machine tools such as milling machines, lathes and the like. Quite often, such machining operations take place inside various protective structures, such as a housing structure arranged around a milling machine. Impurities created during machining, such as shavings and the like, are a problem and accumulate in and around the machining point. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that certain materials, such as plastics, are prepared in the machining situation so that the chips adhere to nearby surfaces and parts of the machine, some of which are very sensitive to various impurities. Surfaces sensitive to contaminants include, for example, a tool changer and a laser probe, the function of which may be impaired by contaminants. It often also results, for example, in the fact that the machining area and, in the worst cases, the entire inside surface of the housing structure is covered with chips and crumbs which are relatively firmly bonded to different surfaces.

Such a fouling phenomenon is not only aesthetic, but in the worst cases: Y, even harmful to the machining process itself, unless impurities are removed at regular intervals. However, cleaning is difficult in practice. Various vacuum solutions have been developed to eliminate problem 25, but they do not work very well in practice: * ··. The difficulty is that and the suction assembly is not close enough to the object to be cleaned, as the suction effect as a whole is * * »rather short and the workpiece is moved during the machining step. In addition, • t problems are caused by the use of different robots, for example, when Y 30 workpieces are exchanged. The movement of the robot or the movement of the workpiece itself may prevent the suction joint from being moved sufficiently close to the machining position, '' and thus the suction effect will be too weak.

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and an arrangement, which are capable of eliminating the drawbacks of the prior art.

. This has been achieved by the method and arrangement of the invention. The method according to the invention is characterized in that the replacement air is led from the environment via at least one flow opening arranged substantially opposite to the opening of the suction inlet into a confined space. The arrangement according to the invention, in turn, is characterized in that the replacement air is arranged to be supplied from the environment into a confined space through at least one flow aperture arranged substantially opposite to the opening of the suction inlet.

The advantage of the invention is above all its efficiency and simplicity, whereby the enclosed space can be cleaned efficiently and at no significant cost. For the sake of simplicity, the arrangement of the invention is also reliable in operation. A further advantage is that the 10 inventions provide a previously clean-looking work step which is quite clean, thereby giving the whole plant space a better visual appearance.

The invention will now be illustrated by the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a schematic view of a solution of the prior art ankle and Figure 2 is a schematic view of a solution of the invention.

Figure 1 shows in principle a solution according to the prior art. Reference numeral 1 denotes a blower, reference numeral 2 20 denotes a filter unit and reference numeral 3 denotes a contaminant collection vessel. Reference numeral 4 denotes a suction connection in Figure 1. With reference numeral 5, a cleaning connection is also shown in principle, which can be fitted to the suction connection if necessary.

Reference numeral 6 denotes in principle a machine tool, which may be a milling machine, for example. Reference number 7 denotes the workpiece to be machined. Reference numeral 8 denotes a workbench and reference numeral 9 denotes ···. 1a, a housing structure by means of which the machine tool 6 and the workpiece 7 supported on the tool table 8 are limited to a space substantially limited by the environment. The enclosed space is indicated by reference numeral 9a in Figure 1.

*: 30 Figure 1 shows in principle the area of action of the suction * · '·; ** by the curved lines IV. As can be seen in Figure 1, it is difficult to reach the suction affected area to the workpiece. The arrangement of Fig. 1 has the particular drawbacks that have been described at the beginning of the description in connection with the prior art part.

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The construction and operation of the above-mentioned suction device is completely conventional to those skilled in the art, the details will not be described here.

Figure 2 shows in principle a solution according to the invention. In Fig. 2, the same reference numerals as in Fig. 1 are used at the respective positions.

In the embodiment of Fig. 2, the suction function is implemented as in the embodiment of Fig. 1. However, in accordance with the essential idea of the invention, the replacement air is led from the environment into a confined space 9a through at least one flow opening 10 disposed substantially opposite to the opening 4 of the suction 10. Thus, it is essential in the invention that the replacement air sucked in by the suction device is led in a controlled manner to a space enclosed by the housing structure, thereby providing a favorable blowing effect at any desired position which, together with the suction effect 15, produces an effective shaking effect.

The displacement air blowing effect obtained in the above manner is shown in principle in FIG. 2 by a schematic line PV.

The flow direction of the replacement air flowing through the above orifice or ports 10 may, in accordance with the spirit of the invention, be further adjusted to achieve the desired cleaning efficiency. The flow control of the replacement air can be effected, for example, by means of a flow control mechanism 11 adapted to the flow port. The flow control mechanism 11 may! For example, it can be formed from a control roll fitted to the flow opening 10 as shown in Figure 2. The adjusting grille may be formed from a plurality of la-shaped elements which may be rotated together or / and separately to achieve the desired effect, i.e., the direction of the inlet air flow 1 ···. to provide the desired situation in which said. airflow transfers impurities as efficiently as possible while protecting the suction effect; _ · T at the same time sensitive machine parts.

The purifying effect obtained in the above manner can be *: 1 'further enhanced by adjusting the suction compound. Adjustment of the suction unit may be effected, for example, by means of a suitable adjustable unit 12. The adjustment may be such that the shape and / or direction of the suction effect can be varied according to the situation, to achieve the best possible cleaning performance. .

115387 4

The blowing effect of the air flow generated by the replacement air can be enhanced by supplying blowing air through the flow opening 10. However, the amount of blowing air must not be large, since the blowing air must not interfere with the suction. Blowing air can be drawn from the suction device or from a separate fan. The use of Pu-5 holding air can be used, for example, when the housing structure 9 is not tight enough.

The above exemplary embodiment is not intended to limit the invention in any way, but the invention can be modified freely within the scope of the claims. Thus, it is clear that the embodiment of the invention or its details need not necessarily be exactly as shown in the figures, but other details are possible. For example, the flow opening need not be as shown in the figure, but the flow opening may have another shape. It should also be noted that, according to the basic idea of the invention, several flow openings may be used, for example two flow openings arranged at opposite angles of the space delimited by the housing structure relative to the inlet opening, etc.

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Claims (7)

115387 A method for removing impurities from a substantially enclosed space (9a) reserved for a machine tool (6), wherein the impurities 5 are removed from the environment via a suction port (4) by means of a suction device (1,2,3) connected to the substantially enclosed space (9a). passing from the environment into a confined space (9a) through at least one flow opening (10) substantially opposite to the opening position of the suction port (4). Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the flow direction of the replacement air through the flow opening (10) is controlled to achieve the desired shaking power. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the suction produced by the suction device (1,2,3) is controlled by adjusting the suction assembly 15. Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the blowing air is used as replacement air. Arrangement for removing impurities from a substantially enclosed space (9a) reserved for a machine tool (6), wherein the impurities (20) are adapted to be removed via the suction connection (4) by means of a suction device (1,2,3) the replacement air is adapted to be supplied from the environment to a limited space (9a) at all times, substantially opposite to the opening position of the suction port (4), through at least one flow opening (10). Arrangement according to Claim 5, characterized in that:. that the flow direction of the replacement air flowing through the flow opening (10) is adapted to be adjustable by a flow control mechanism fitted to the flow opening (10); nism (11). Arrangement according to Claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the suction connection is formed as an adjustable unit (12). Ml! »» 1 1 5387