JP2000202662A - Thermal cutting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To decrease required installation space, to execute foundation work of high accuracy at a low cost, and further to continuously work plural sheets of works. SOLUTION: At least two sets of storing shelves 3A, 3B are separately erected to store plural pallets P set with works W in the up and down direction and at the same time bases 9 extended over the lowest stages in each of the storing shelves are provided, above this base a working table 13 movable in the longitudinal direction of the base is provided, between both the storing shelves a portal shape working main frame 17 is provided in a state crossing over the base; further a working main frame is provided with a thermal cutting head 19 movable in the direction crossing at right angles with the direction of transfer of the working table, and thus, a transfer device movable in up and down direction is provided to each of the storing shelves in order to transfer the pallet stored in each of the storing shelves onto the working table positioned at pallet changing locations PK1, PK2 of the lowest stage of each storing shelf.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal cutting device for performing a thermal cutting process on a work to be processed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a large plate laser processing machine 101 for performing laser processing on a work W exceeding a size of 6 m × 3 m has a Y-axis carriage 103 and a laser oscillator 105 mounted thereon as shown in FIG. Portal-shaped X-axis carriage 10
7 is provided so as to be movable in the X-axis direction (left-right direction in FIG. 9). That is, the guide rail 109 extending in the X-axis direction is laid on the floor. The X-axis carriage 107 is provided on the guide rail 109 via a plurality of guide members 111. A rack 113 extending in the X-axis direction is provided on the floor in parallel with the guide rail 109.

The X-axis carriage 107 is provided with an X-axis motor 115, and an output shaft of the X-axis motor 115 is connected to a pinion 117. The pinion 117 is engaged with the rack 113.

With the above configuration, when the X-axis motor 115 is driven, the pinion 117 is rotated via the output shaft. Since the pinion 117 is meshed with the rack 113, the pinion 117 rotates on the rack 113, so that the X-axis carriage 107 is guided by the guide rail 109 and is moved in the X-axis direction.

The X-axis carriage 107 has a guide rail 11 extending in the Y-axis direction (vertical direction in FIG. 9).
9, a ball screw 121 extending in the X-axis direction parallel to the guide rail 119 is rotatably supported. The Y-axis carriage 103 is provided on the guide rail 119 via a plurality of guide members 123.
Is provided.

The Y-axis carriage 103 is provided with a Y-axis motor 125, and the output shaft of the Y-axis motor 125 is connected to the ball screw 121. A nut member 127 provided below the Y-axis carriage 103 is screwed to the ball screw 121. Said Y
The shaft carriage 103 is provided with a laser processing head 129.

With the above configuration, when the Y-axis motor 125 is driven, the ball screw 121 is rotated via the output shaft. The rotation of the ball screw 121 causes the nut member 1 to rotate.
27, the Y-axis carriage 103 is moved in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, when the X-axis carriage 107 is moved in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis carriage 103 is moved in the Y-axis direction, the laser processing head 129 is moved in the X-axis and Y-axis directions.

A mirror 131 is provided below the laser oscillator 105 in the X-axis carriage 107 in FIG. 10, and a mirror 133 is also provided above the laser processing head 129.

With the above configuration, the laser beam LB output from the laser oscillator 105 is bent by the mirrors 131 and 133 and is irradiated from the lower part of the laser processing head 129 toward the work W.

Therefore, when performing laser processing on the workpiece W, the X-axis carriage 107 and the Y-axis carriage 10
3 is moved in the X-axis and Y-axis directions to move the laser processing head 129 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and the laser beam LB output from the laser oscillator 105 is transmitted to the laser processing head 129 via mirrors 131 and 133. By irradiating the work W from the lower part of the work W, laser processing is performed at a desired position of the work W.

[0011]

In the above-described conventional laser beam machine 101, when six workpieces W are to be continuously machined as shown in FIG. 9, a machining table 135 installed on the floor surface is required. As shown by the above, six works W are solidly arranged and arranged, which requires a machine installation space for the work W, and thus has a problem that the installation space is large.

The guide rail 109 of the X-axis carriage 107 becomes longer by the number of works W, and is laid directly on the floor surface. To maintain the processing accuracy, the foundation work on the floor surface must be finished with high precision. Is required, and there is a problem that the foundation construction cost increases.

An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal cutting apparatus capable of reducing necessary installation space, performing high-precision foundation work at low cost, and continuously processing a plurality of workpieces. It is in.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, at least two storage shelves for vertically storing a plurality of pallets on which a work is set are separated from each other. At the same time, set up a base extending over the bottom of each storage shelf,
A processing table movable in the longitudinal direction of the base is provided on the base, a gate-shaped processing body frame is provided between the two storage shelves in a state of straddling the base, and the processing body frame is provided on the processing body frame. A thermal cutting processing head movable in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the storage table, and the pallets stored in the storage shelves on the processing table positioned at the lowest pallet replacement position of the storage shelves. A transfer device capable of moving vertically is provided on each of the storage shelves so as to transfer the data to the storage shelves.

Therefore, a plurality of pallets on which the work is set are stored in the respective storage shelves in the vertical direction. Then, one pallet is sequentially pulled out from one pallet in which a plurality of works stored in the one storage shelf are set by one of the transfer devices and placed on the transfer device, and then lowered to lower the bottom of the storage shelf. Stop when you reach the position. Next, the pallets are transferred from one transfer device to the processing table waiting at the pallet changing position, which is the lowermost stage of the storage shelf.

In this state, the work table is moved in the longitudinal direction of the base and the thermal cutting head is moved in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the base, thereby thermally cutting the work on the pallet on the work table. Processing is performed. During the thermal cutting process, the pallet to be processed next is pulled out from the other storage shelf by the other transfer device and lowered to the pallet replacement position at the lowest stage. When the desired thermal cutting of the work is completed, the pallet on which the work processed by the above-described operation of loading the work is set is stored in the storage shelf. When the thermal cutting of one work is completed, the pallet in the other transfer device is transferred to the processing table, and the required number of sheets are successively subjected to the thermal cutting.

[0017] Thus, the required installation space is smaller than in the past, and high-precision foundation work is performed at low cost. In addition, the required number of workpieces are continuously subjected to the thermal cutting, and the interruption time of the thermal cutting is reduced.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a laser processing apparatus 1 as an example of a thermal cutting apparatus includes a plurality of standing storage shelves 3A and 3B. And 3B are separated. These storage shelves 3A, 3B
Are provided with framed frames 5A and 5B. The frames 5A and 5B accommodate pallets P on which works W made of, for example, 6 m × 3 m fixed length materials are set at appropriate intervals in the vertical direction. A plurality of shelves 7A, 7B are provided. A space is formed below the lowermost stage 5D in the frames 5A and 5B, and serves as pallet exchange positions _PK1 and _PK2 .

Between the pallet exchange positions P _K1 and P _K2 , for example, a base 9 extending in the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2 is installed on the floor surface. A guide rail 11 extending in the C-axis direction (the left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 2) is laid on the base 9, and a processing table movable in the C-axis direction by, for example, a C-axis motor, a rack, and a pinion. 13 are provided. Pallet sets 15 are provided on the right side of the processing table 13 in FIG. 3 at appropriate intervals in the Y-axis direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2 and the direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 3).

Between the storage shelves 3A and 3B, a portal-shaped main body frame 17 is provided upright so as to straddle the base 9. An upper frame 17U is provided on the upper side of the processing main body frame 17 on the left side in FIGS. The upper frame 17U is provided with a laser processing head 19 as a thermal cutting processing head movable in the Y-axis direction.

Transfer devices 21A and 21B are provided on the storage shelves 3A and 3B on the upper side in FIG. 2 and on the left side in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer device 21A (21B) has a storage shelf 3A (3B).
Is provided with a movable lifter 23A (23B) which is guided by the frame 5A (5B) and can move in the vertical direction. This movement lifter 23A (23B) are laid guide rails 25A was stretched in the Y-axis direction (25B) is a plurality of wheels P _S attached to the lower portion of the pallet P is on the guide rails 25A (25B) Moves the pallet P in the Y-axis direction. The movable lifter 23A (23B) has a traverser 27A (27) which is self-propelled and movable in the Y-axis direction.
B) is provided. This traverser 27A (27
B) hooks 29A (29) for disengaging the pallet P
B) is attached.

With the above-described configuration, a series of processes in which the selected pallet P is taken out from the state where the pallets P in which the works W are set on the plurality of shelves 7A and 7B in the storage shelves 3A and 3B and the laser processing is performed. The operation will be described.

First, in the state shown in FIG. 4, six shelves of a pallet P on which a work W to be processed is clamped are stored in a shelf 7A in a storage shelf 3A. The movable lifter 23A rises to, for example, the height of the first stage, and the hook 29A of the traverser 27A retreats with a part of the pallet P in the storage shelf 3A hooked, and the pallet P comes out onto the movable lifter 23A. Pallet P is moved on the guide rails 25A of the guide rail and on the mobile lifter 23A in the shelf 7A in the wheel P _S on one side (back).

The movable lifter 23A is lowered to the height of the processing table 13, as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the traverser 29A moves forward toward the pallet exchange position P _{K1 at} the lowermost stage of the storage shelf 3A while a part of the pallet P is hooked by the hook 29A of the traverser 27A. The pallet P is transferred on the rail of the processing table 13. At the forward end of the traverser 27A, the movable lifter 23A is lowered by, for example, about 80 mm to remove the hook 29A from the pallet P.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the pallet P is fixed to the processing table 13 by a pallet set 15 provided on the processing table 13 side. Traverser 2
7A retreats and stops at the standby position. The processing table 13 fixes the pallet P and becomes movable.

In this state, the processing table 13 to which the pallet P is fixed is moved from the pallet changing position P _K1 to C in FIG.
By moving the laser processing head 19 in the Y-axis direction while moving it to the left in the axial direction, the work W
Laser processing will be performed at the desired position of.

While performing laser processing on the work W,
The pallet P on which the work W stored in the storage shelf 3B is set is pulled out by the movable lifter 23B, and
Placed on B, previously moved down to the position of the pallet exchange position P _K2 lowermost.

When the laser processing of the work W is completed, the processing table 13 is returned to the pallet changing position _PK1 . Then, the pallet P on the processing table 13 returned to the pallet exchange position P _K1 is removed from the processing table 13 by operating the pallet set 15. The operation of storing the pallet P on the shelf 7 in the storage shelf 3 in this state is described with reference to FIGS.
The pallet P is stored in the shelf 7 by performing the operation opposite to the operation described with reference to FIG.

Next, after the pallet P on which the unprocessed work W is set is transferred from the movable lifter 23B to the processing table 13, laser processing can be automatically performed one after another by the above-described operation. Therefore, storage shelf 3
A, Pallet P on which work W is set in 3B
Can continuously perform laser processing without intervention of an operator, and can perform laser processing on the laser processing head 1.
9 can reduce the interruption time of the processing.

The number of pallets P in the storage shelves 3A and 3B,
In other words, irrespective of the number of processed workpieces W of the 6 m × 3 m fixed length material, the installation area of approximately three 6 m × 3 m fixed length materials, that is, the areas of the storage shelves 3 A and 3 B and the transfer devices 21 A and 21 B, The installation space for the laser processing apparatus 1 can be provided, and the space can be saved more than before.

The transfer device 2 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4
The movable lifters 23A and 23B in 1A and 21B have a cantilever type structure to facilitate the external setup work during laser processing. However, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, the strength of the movable lifter 23A (23B) can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, but can be embodied in other forms by making appropriate changes. In this embodiment, a laser processing apparatus has been described as an example of the thermal cutting apparatus. However, a plasma processing apparatus or a gas fusing apparatus may be used.

[0035]

As will be understood from the above description of the embodiments of the present invention, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of pallets on which works are set are stored in each storage shelf in the vertical direction. Then, one pallet is sequentially pulled out from one pallet in which a plurality of works stored in the one storage shelf are set by one of the transfer devices and placed on the transfer device, and then lowered to lower the bottom of the storage shelf. Stop when you reach the position. Next, the pallets are transferred from one transfer device to the processing table waiting at the pallet changing position, which is the lowermost stage of the storage shelf.

In this state, the work table is moved in the longitudinal direction of the base, and the thermal cutting head is moved in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the base, so that the work on the pallet on the work table is thermally cut. Processing is performed. During the thermal cutting process, the pallet to be processed next is pulled out from the other storage shelf by the other transfer device and lowered to the position of the pallet changing device at the lowermost stage. When the desired thermal cutting of the work is completed, the pallet on which the work processed by the above-described operation of loading the work is set is stored in the storage shelf. When the thermal cutting of one work is completed, the pallet in the other transfer device is transferred to the processing table, and the required number of sheets are successively subjected to the thermal cutting.

Thus, the required installation space is reduced as compared with the related art, and a high-precision foundation work cost can be reduced. In addition, it is possible to continuously perform the thermal cutting process on a plurality of workpieces by a required number, and to shorten the interruption time of the thermal cutting process.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a laser processing apparatus as a thermal cutting processing apparatus embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an operation until a work stored in a shelf of a storage shelf is processed by a laser processing head.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an operation until a work stored in a shelf of a storage shelf is processed by a laser processing head.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory diagram until a work stored in a shelf of a storage shelf is processed by a laser processing head.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a moving lifter portion of the transfer device instead of FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a conventional laser processing apparatus for processing a plurality of large-sized workpieces.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 laser processing device (thermal cutting device) 3 storage shelf 9 base 13 processing table 17 processing body frame 19 laser processing head (thermal cutting processing head) 21 transfer device 23 moving lifter 25 guide rail 27 traverser 29 hook P pallet W Work

Claims (1)

[Claims] At least two storage shelves for vertically storing a plurality of pallets on which works are set are provided at a distance from each other, and a base extending to the lowest stage of each storage shelf is provided, and a base is provided on the base. A processing table movable in the longitudinal direction of the base is provided, a portal-shaped processing body frame is provided between the two storage shelves in a state of straddling the base, and the processing table is moved to the processing body frame. And a pallet stored in each of the storage shelves is transferred onto a processing table positioned at the lowest pallet replacement position of each of the storage shelves. A thermal cutting apparatus comprising a transfer device movable in the vertical direction in each of the storage shelves.