JP2003025177A - Tool management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase work efficiency when performing the work for attaching a cutting tool to a tool holding means and prevent an erroneous cutting tool being different from a cutting tool to be mounted originally from being mounted in a cutting work machine provided with a means for changing the tool holding means automatically. SOLUTION: A tool set 10 is mounted on a head 16 of a machining center to measure a protrusion amount of the cutting tool 14 using an automatic length measuring device 20 provided in a lower part of the head 16. The automatic length measuring device 20 can measure the protrusion amount of the cutting tool precisely using laser beams. The measured protrusion amount is compared with a predetermined protrusion amount included in the information registered in a computer, and its difference is calculated as a compensation amount. This compensation amount is used as parameter for compensating the protrusion amount automatically when performing actual machining.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tool management system applied to a cutting machine equipped with means for automatically exchanging a detachably mounted cutting tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, many machining centers have prepared a large number of tool holders for attaching cutting tools to their tips (tool holders, which are tool holding means with cutting tools attached to their tips, are called "tool sets"). While automatically exchanging this tool set by an automatic exchanging means (ATC), it is possible to automatically perform a complicated machining operation consisting of a number of steps. There are many types of cutting tools with different dimensions and shapes, but normally one cutting tool is associated with one cutting tool.

In one example of the machining center, a large number of pots are provided on the side of the head, and these pots can be moved, for example, while rotating on a roller type orbit by a predetermined drive mechanism. One tool set is inserted in one pot, and the pot to be inserted is predetermined for each tool set. When exchanging the tool set, first, the ATC exchange arm removes the tool set attached to the head of the machining center, conveys the tool set to the vicinity of the lowermost part of the roller type track, and returns it to a predetermined pot that has come here. Next, wait until the pot in which the next tool set is inserted comes to the bottom of the roller-type track, then grasp and pull out the tool set that is inserted and convey it to the head of the machining center. Attach to.

The machining center performs a machining operation based on numerical control data supplied from the outside, and automatically replaces the tool set attached to the head if necessary in the process. The machining center has data indicating the correspondence between the tool set and the pot number required in each machining process in the computer connected to the inside or the outside, and in the actual replacement work, the machining center is The pot number corresponding to the tool set required for processing is instructed to the ATC replacement arm. Therefore, when mounting a large number of tool sets on a machining center, it is premised that the operator correctly inserts each tool set into a pot having a predetermined number.

[0005]

By the way, when preparing a tool set necessary for machining, until now, an operator often repeats so that the protrusion amount of the cutting tool mounted on the tool holder becomes a predetermined value. It was necessary to repeat measurement and adjustment. Even with a tool set whose protrusion amount is adjusted in this way, when it is actually used for machining, the protrusion amount is automatically measured by a known automatic length measuring device, and as a result, the protrusion amount error exceeds the allowable range. In this case, it is necessary to stop the operation of the machining center and readjust the amount of protrusion, which causes a decrease in work efficiency.

Further, as described above, a large number of tool sets must be attached to the machining center, and the work of inserting the tool sets into the pot is performed manually by a person. It is possible to make the mistake of inserting the toolset into a different location than the original pot. If the machining work is started without noticing such an error, the machining center has no way of grasping it, so the machining can be continued with an inappropriate cutting tool attached to the head, and it should be cut. A situation may occur in which a portion that is not cut is cut, the cutting amount of a portion to be cut is insufficient, or the portion is not cut at all. In actual machining sites, machining defects often caused by such human error.

The present invention has been made to solve such a technical problem, and an object thereof is to provide a cutting tool in a cutting machine equipped with means for automatically exchanging tool holding means. It is to improve the work efficiency in the work of attaching to the holding means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cutting machine equipped with means for automatically exchanging tool holding means, in which a wrong cutting tool different from the cutting tool which should be originally installed in the cutting machine is installed. To effectively prevent that.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided with an exchanging means for automatically exchanging a tool holding means to which a cutting tool is attached, and if necessary, a plurality of tools are provided. A tool management system for applying to a cutting machine for automatically processing a workpiece while exchanging a holding means, the marking means being capable of writing and reading information provided in the tool holding means, An information storage unit that stores information about a cutting tool, and a dimension related to the cutting tool when the tool holding unit is mounted on a cutting machine, for example, the amount of protrusion is measured, and the measurement result or a value calculated from this is obtained. Measuring means to be written in the information storage means as information on the position of the cutting tool, and information on the cutting tool stored in the information storage means or one-to-one with this Write means for writing corresponding information to the marking means in a non-contact manner, reading means for reading the information written in the marking means in a non-contact manner, and the marking means provided from the information read by the reading means. A recognition means for recognizing the cutting tool present and a correction means for correcting the position of the tool holding means mounted on the cutting machine based on the information read by the reading means are provided.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the following description is merely an example of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited by the following description.

A machining center (not shown) has an attached A
In order to perform a complicated machining operation consisting of multiple steps while automatically exchanging the tool set using TC, it is necessary to prepare the necessary tool set in advance by human hands. I have to. As a preparation stage,
In the present embodiment, first, necessary information about the cutting tool and information about the tool set are registered in the computer of the machining center. This registration work is input by the operator to the computer from a keyboard or the like. If the number of required tool sets is 120, for example, the number of such registered items will also be 120. The registered information is stored in a predetermined position in the storage means of the computer.

Here, the information about the cutting tool includes the type and size of the cutting tool, and the information about the tool set includes the type of the holder (whether the fixing method is collet chuck, shrink fitting, press fit). Etc.) and the amount of protrusion of the cutting tool.

When the worker actually prepares the tool set, the information about the cutting tool and the information about the tool set stored in the storage means of the computer are read out and displayed on the display of the terminal.
The operator selects an appropriate cutting tool and tool holder based on the displayed contents, and attaches the cutting tool to the tool holder by a predetermined method and a predetermined protrusion amount according to the displayed contents of the instruction. This completes the preparation of one toolset.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tool set 10 in which a cutting tool 14 is attached to the tip of a tool holder 12. The dimension indicated by the symbol d in this figure is the protrusion amount of the cutting tool. The cutting tool 14 thus mounted on the tool holder 12 is not removed from the tool holder 12 until the life of the cutting tool 14 is reached. This ensures a one-to-one relationship between the tool holder and the cutting tool.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2, the tool set 10 in which the cutting tool 14 is attached to the tool holder 12 is shown.
Is attached to the head 16 of the machining center. And
The protruding amount of the cutting tool 14 is measured by using the U-shaped automatic length-measuring device 20 (corresponding to “measuring means” in the claims) provided on the lower portion of the head 16 and opening upward. . This automatic measuring device 20 is conventionally known, and can accurately measure the protrusion amount of the cutting tool by using a laser beam. The protrusion amount measured by the automatic length measuring device 20 is compared with a predetermined protrusion amount included in the information registered in the computer, and the difference is calculated as a correction amount. The correction amount thus calculated is additionally registered in the computer as one of the pieces of information regarding the tool set. The additionally registered correction amount is read by the automatic correction function of the machining center and is used as a parameter for automatically correcting the protrusion amount during actual machining.

If a precise protrusion amount is required at the stage of attaching the cutting tool to the tool holder as in the conventional case,
The operator must measure the length of the cutting tool using a block gauge, dial gauge, tool setter, etc., and adjust the amount of protrusion based on that, so the operator's burden is large. , It took a long time to work.

On the other hand, as in this embodiment, when the correction amount calculated based on the actual measurement value and the automatic correction function are used to automatically correct the error during mounting,
It is not necessary for the operator to adjust the amount of protrusion with high accuracy at the stage of attaching the cutting tool, and for example, an accuracy of several millimeters, which can be measured with a general ruler, is sufficient. Therefore, the burden on the operator is reduced, the time required for the operation is shortened, and the efficiency of the processing operation is improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an RFID (Radio Fr.
equency IDentification) tag 30 (corresponding to "marking means" in claims) is attached. Inside the RFID tag, a coil for transmitting and receiving electromagnetic wave signals, an integrated circuit chip in which a signal processing electronic circuit and a nonvolatile memory for storing data are integrated are embedded.

The RFID tag 30 uses an electromotive force generated by electromagnetic induction between an electromagnetic wave sent from an RFID reader / writer (not shown) and the coil as a power source. Therefore, the RFID tag 30 needs to have a power source therein. Absent. Information can be written to and read from the RFID tag 30 in a non-contact manner via an RFID reader / writer.
An RFID reader / writer (not shown) of this embodiment is connected to a computer of a machining center via a controller, and an operator operates the computer to write information in the RFID or RF.
Information can be read from the ID. Further, an RFID reader (not shown) for reading information from the RFID tag 30 in a non-contact manner is provided at the tip of the exchange arm of the ATC.

As described above, the cutting tool is fixed to the tool holder according to the instruction displayed on the display of the terminal, the protruding amount is measured by the automatic measuring device, and the difference between the registered protruding amount and the measured value is measured. Once registered as a correction amount in the computer, the ID information corresponding to the registered information in a one-to-one correspondence can be used as an RF by using an RFID reader / writer.
Write on the ID tag. Therefore, the computer of the machining center can uniquely identify each tool set by reading this ID information through the RFID reader / writer. By performing the above work for the number of toolsets, preparation for the required number of toolsets is completed.

The prepared tool set is inserted one by one into each of a large number of pots provided near the machining center by the operator. Each pot is attached to, for example, a roller type track, and is rotationally driven around a substantially horizontal rotation axis by a predetermined driving device (not shown).

By the way, in a conventional machining center equipped with an ATC, in order to ensure machining with a correct cutting tool, it was necessary to mount a necessary tool set in a predetermined correct pot. In some cases, the number of pots and toolsets reaches around 100, and since this work is performed manually by humans, there is an error that the worker inserts the toolset into a pot different from the original pot. The possibility of committing is unavoidable.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, the RFID tag 30 is attached to each tool holder as described above, and the ID information corresponding to the information about the tool holder registered in the computer of the machining center is in one-to-one correspondence therewith. Since it is written, for example, if the RFID reader provided at the tip of the exchange arm of the ATC approaches the pot and reads the ID information sequentially from the tool set conveyed to the lowermost end of the roller type trajectory, the machining center will be , You can immediately recognize what the toolset looks like.

If it is necessary to replace the tool set currently mounted on the head with another tool set in the middle of a machining operation consisting of multi-stage machining steps, the AT is first used.
The C replacement arm removes the tool set from the head and inserts it into any open pot. Then, a predetermined driving device (not shown) drives, for example, a roller-type track to rotate a large number of pots.

The RFID reader sequentially reads the ID information from the tool set successively conveyed to the lowermost end of the roller type track. This information is sent to the central processing unit which is the recognition means of the ATC, and the central processing unit judges whether or not it is the instructed tool set based on the read ID information. Then, when the tool set having the ID information instructed to the machining center reaches the bottom end, the replacement arm pulls out the tool set from the pot, conveys it, and mounts it on the head of the machining center.

Further, the machining center reads out the correction amount additionally registered as described above from the information about the tool set, and automatically corrects the protrusion amount when the actual machining is performed by the known automatic correction function. To do.

Therefore, according to the tool management system of the present embodiment, in addition to the efficiency of the work for preparing the tool set, the mistake of machining the work with a tool different from the originally intended cutting tool It can be prevented almost completely. In addition, when inserting a large number of tool sets into a large number of pots one by one, the work of confirming whether each pot is correct is no longer necessary, and the worker can randomly insert it into any pot.
The efficiency of the work of inserting the tool set into the pot is also improved.

In the present embodiment, the RFID tag described above is also used to manage the usage time of each cutting tool. That is, when machining is actually performed with a certain tool set, the usage time of the cutting tool attached to that tool set is registered in the computer and stored in the storage means. This usage time is accumulated each time the toolset is used. Therefore, the cumulative use time can be known by reading the ID information from the RFID tag and reading the corresponding information from the computer. This allows you to monitor the cumulative usage time of each cutting tool,
The life of each cutting tool can be precisely controlled, for example, when the cumulative usage time of the cutting tool reaches a certain time (life), the cutting tool is replaced with a new one.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. Is.

For example, in the ATC of the above-mentioned embodiment, the replacement arm takes out and returns the replacement tool holder with respect to the pot carried to the lowermost part of the roller type track, but the tool holder is moved. Alternatively, the replacement arm may be moved to find a desired tool holder, and the gripped / conveyed.

Further, in the above embodiment, since the tool holder has a one-to-one correspondence with the cutting tool, the RFID tag is attached to the tool holder. The part to which the RFID tag is attached is not limited to the tool holder.

Further, in the above embodiment, specific information about the cutting tool and the tool set is stored in the storage means of the computer of the machining center, and only the ID information corresponding to this information is written in the RFID tag. I did it. However, since the storage capacity of the RFID tag has increased considerably, specific information may be directly written in the RFID tag.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the read-only RFID reader is attached to the replacement arm.
Instead of the RFID reader, an RFID reader / writer capable of writing and reading information is attached to the replacement arm, and the RFID reader / writer attached to the replacement arm is used when writing information to the RFID reader. You can also

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the tool holding means is attached to the cutting machine, the dimension (for example, the protrusion amount) of the cutting tool is measured, and the information about this is written in the marking means provided in the tool holding means, and the tool holding means is set in the cutting machine. By reading this information when mounting, and correcting the position of the tool holding means mounted on the cutting machine, a cutting machine that advances the machining work while automatically exchanging many tool holding means Even in this case, high precision is not required when performing the work of attaching the cutting tool to the tool holding means, and therefore the work of attaching the cutting tool to the tool holding means becomes efficient.

Further, since the reading means can read the information of the marking means attached to the tool holding means in a non-contact manner and identify what kind of cutting tool is attached to the tool holding means, the cutting process can be performed. The machine can always recognize what kind of cutting tool it is using, and thereby almost completely prevent mistakes such as machining the work piece with the wrong cutting tool different from the original cutting tool be able to. Further, when the cutting tool or the like is mounted on the cutting machine, it is not necessary to confirm each place to be mounted, so that the mounting work efficiency is significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tool set 10 in which a cutting tool 14 is attached to a tip of a tool holder 12.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a tool set mounted on a head of a machining center and an automatic length measuring device for measuring a protruding amount of a cutting tool.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Tool set 12 ... Tool holder 14 ... Cutting tool 16 ... Head 20 ... Automatic length measuring device 30 ... RFID tag

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 3C002 HH06 KK04 LL01                 3C029 DD01 DD20                 5H269 AB01 AB26 AB31 BB03 EE05                       FF07

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A cutting process for automatically machining a workpiece by exchanging a tool holding means to which a cutting tool is attached and automatically exchanging a plurality of tool holding means. A tool management system for application to a machine, wherein information storage means for storing information on the cutting tool, and a dimension for the cutting tool when the tool holding means is mounted on a cutting machine, This measurement result or a value calculated from this is written in the information storage means as information about the position of the cutting tool, a measuring means provided in the tool holding means and capable of writing and reading information, Writing means for writing information about the cutting tool stored in the storing means or information corresponding to the cutting tool in a one-to-one correspondence to the marking means in a non-contact manner; Read-out means for reading out the information written in the means in a non-contact manner; recognition means for recognizing the cutting tool provided with the marking means from the information read out by the read-out means; and read-out means by the read-out means A tool management system comprising: a correction unit configured to correct the position of the tool holding unit mounted on the cutting machine based on information. 2. The tool management system according to claim 1, wherein the dimension related to the cutting tool is a protrusion amount of the cutting tool. 3. The RFID tag according to claim 1, wherein the writing means is a means for writing information in the RFID tag, and the reading means is a means for writing information in the RFID tag. Tool management system described.