JP2005131771A - Bar supply machine and bar processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a bar supply machine and a bar processing system capable of smoothly and stably replenishing a bar to a guide rail regardless of the kind of bar in one bar supply machine. <P>SOLUTION: This invention relates to the bar supply machine for feeding the bar along the guide rail up to a bar processing machine. The bar supply machine has a material shelf 20a. The material shelf 20a has an endless belt 50 for placing and carrying the bar B, and a driving mechanism for advancing or retreating the endless belt 50. The endless belt 50 has a flat belt part 54 having a flat surface for placing the bar in the peripheral direction, and a belt part 58 with projections provided with a plurality of projections 56 for partitioning the bar one by one. A plurality of bars are placed on the flat belt part 54 or the belt part 58 with projections selected in response to a kind of bar, and the bars are replenished to the guide rail 8. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a bar feeder and a bar processing system, and more particularly, a bar feeder for feeding a bar to be processed to a bar processing machine along a guide rail extending in the longitudinal direction thereof, and The present invention relates to a bar supply system in which such a bar supply machine and a bar processing machine are combined.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a bar supply machine that feeds a bar to be processed to a bar processing machine along a guide rail extending in the longitudinal direction. In these bar feeders, there is a material shelf for placing a plurality of bars to be processed substantially parallel to the guide rail, and the bars placed on the material shelf are moved laterally, There is a bar feeder that includes a bar replenishment device that replenishes the bar into the guide rail by dropping the bar from the guide rail side of the material shelf.

For example, in the bar feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1, the shelf surface of the material shelf is on the downstream side with respect to the moving direction of the bar moving toward the guide rail on the shelf surface in the cross section. A pushing member (bar material replenishing device) is provided to incline upward and to push the bar material parallel to the guide rail along the shelf surface. The push member extends parallel to the guide rail and is provided so as to be able to translate along the shelf surface between the upstream position near the upstream edge of the material shelf and the downstream position near the downstream edge. It has been.
The operation of this bar feeder will be described below. By moving the push member in the downstream direction, the plurality of bars placed in a row on the shelf surface are pushed by the push member from the upstream side. Thereby, the most downstream bar is pushed out from the guide rail side of the shelf and dropped, and one bar is supplied into the guide rail. After extruding the bar, move the push member in the upstream direction by a predetermined distance to prevent the bar to be extruded next from dropping from the end of the shelf surface due to vibration of the bar feeder etc. Return and prepare for the next supply of bars.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-246501 FIG.

By the way, oil for rust prevention is applied in advance to the outer surface of the bar (new material) fed by the bar feeder. This oil is relatively high in tackiness, and because of this oil, the bar is easily attached.
In the bar feeder disclosed in Patent Document 1, in order to drop the downstream bar, all the bars placed on the material shelf are pushed from the upstream side by the push member, In order to prevent the downstream bar from falling, the push member is slightly retracted upstream to move all the bars upstream. In such an apparatus, when a heavy material having a relatively large diameter is replenished, the bars can be smoothly replenished one by one. However, for thin materials with small diameters, the rod sticks to the shelf surface with oil when all the rods on the material shelf are pushed out by the push member and then moved back by a predetermined distance in the upstream direction. Or sticks stick to each other, and the upstream movement of the bar does not follow the movement of the push member with respect to the movement speed of the push member in the upstream direction, and the bar does not return smoothly. There is a case. In such a case, the bars are tangled with each other, and thereafter, the bars may not be smoothly dropped one by one from the material shelf. This phenomenon is not limited to a thin material with a circular cross section, but the same problem occurs with a so-called deformed material having a cross-sectional shape other than a circular shape.

  In addition, many bar processing companies are required to produce a small amount of various kinds of processing at a high production speed, and each bar supplying machine has various sizes of diameters and cross-sectional shapes. It is desirable that the bar can be smoothly and stably supplied to the guide rail.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a bar feeder that can smoothly and stably replenish a bar to a guide rail regardless of the type of bar in a single bar feeder. is there.
Moreover, the objective of this invention is providing the bar processing system which combined such a bar supply machine and a bar processing machine.

  In order to solve the above problems, a bar feeder according to the present invention is a bar feeder for feeding a bar to be machined to a bar machine along a guide rail extending in the longitudinal direction thereof. A material shelf for loading a plurality of bars to be parallel to the guide rail and replenishing the bars one by one toward the guide rail, the material shelf being arranged laterally with respect to the guide rail A pair of pulleys, an endless member wound around the pair of pulleys for transporting the rod on the top, and a drive means for moving the endless member forward or backward. The flat endless member portion on which the mounting surface for placing the bar material is flat and the endless member portion with protrusions provided with a plurality of protrusions for partitioning the bar material one by one, depending on the type of the bar material to be transported Selected flat endless member or endless member with protrusion It is a arranged above the pair of pulleys, is characterized by conveying the bar.

According to the bar feeder according to the present invention configured as described above, a single bar feeder can be used by properly using the flat endless member portion of the endless member and the endless member portion with protrusion according to the type of the rod member. Therefore, it becomes possible to supply the bar material smoothly and stably to the guide rail regardless of the type of the bar material.
That is, for example, when a round material is conveyed, the flat endless member portion of the endless member is positioned above the pulley around which the endless member is wound. A plurality of round members are arranged on the flat endless member portion in a row parallel to the guide rail. By advancing the endless member by the driving means, the most downstream round member is supplied to the guide rail. This process is repeated each time processing of one bar is completed, and the bar is supplied to the guide rail.
Further, for example, in the case of supplying a small-diameter round member, a deformed member, or the like, the endless member portion with the protrusion of the endless member is set on the upper side. One profile material or the like is arranged between adjacent projections. By advancing the endless member, the deformed material or the like moves in the downstream direction, and the deformed material or the like on the most downstream side is supplied to the guide rail. When using an endless member with protrusions to transport a deformed material, etc., even if the anti-rust oil is applied to the peripheral surface of the bar and the adhesiveness is high, the deformed material, etc., is one by one by the protrusion. Moreover, since the round member moves together with the endless member, the rod members are prevented from being entangled with each other. In addition, after one deformed material is replenished to the guide rail, the next projection is prevented from being replenished to the guide rail by the vibration of the bar feeder etc. Yes. As a result, the deformed material and the like can be smoothly and stably supplied to the guide rail even at a high production speed.

  In the above description, as an example, the flat endless member portion of the endless member is used when refilling the round material, and the endless member portion with the protrusion is used when replenishing the deformed material, etc., but the former case has a protrusion. An endless member portion may be used, and in the latter case, a flat endless member portion may be used. That is, the bar feeder according to the present invention is characterized in that it is possible to select a flat endless member portion of an endless member and an endless member portion with a projection according to the type of bar to be replenished. When using either area, it is better to use a flat endless part than a protruding endless part to place more bars at a time in a limited material shelf space. This is advantageous. Moreover, the distribution of the flat endless member portion and the endless member portion with protrusions in the endless member is arbitrary. Therefore, two types of endless member portions with protrusions having different protrusion intervals may be provided, or the proportion of the flat endless member portion and the endless member portion with protrusions may be changed.

In the bar feeder according to the embodiment of the present invention, preferably, a detected portion attached to the rear portion of the selected flat endless member portion or the endless member portion with protrusion, and the detected portion at the rear portion of the material shelf. And a sensor for detecting the detected portion while the endless member is driven by the driving means to switch one of the flat endless member portion and the endless member portion with protrusion to the other. The driving means is controlled so as to stop the endless member when it is done, so that the other end of the flat endless member portion or the endless member portion with protrusions starts feeding the bar material on the upper side with respect to the pair of pulleys. It is characterized by positioning at an initial position.
In the bar feeder configured as described above, the flat endless member portion and the endless member portion with projections are smoothly switched, and a small amount of various types of processing can be performed at a high production speed.

In the bar feeder according to the embodiment of the present invention, preferably, a detected portion provided at a rear portion of the selected flat endless member portion or the protruding endless member portion, and the detected portion A first sensor for detecting that it is located at the front of the material shelf; and a second sensor for detecting that the detected part is located at the rear of the material shelf; While the endless member is moved forward by the driving means, when the detected portion is detected by the first sensor, the endless member is reversed, and the detected portion is moved by the second sensor. When detected, the controller controls the driving means so that the endless member stops.
In the bar feeder configured as described above, it is possible to carry two types of portions provided on the endless member, that is, the selected one of the flat endless member portion and the endless member portion with protrusions.

In the bar feeder according to the embodiment of the present invention, the flat endless member portion extends at least in the circumferential direction of the endless member over the distance between the rotation shafts of the pair of pulleys, and the endless member with protrusions The portion extends over a distance dimension between the rotating shafts to a portion of the endless member facing the flat endless member portion.
In the bar feeder configured as described above, even if the space of the material shelf is limited, the flat endless member portion and the endless member portion with protrusion are efficiently arranged on the endless member, and switching between these portions is possible. It is performed more smoothly.

According to the bar feeder according to the present invention, in one bar feeder, the bar can be smoothly and stably supplied to the guide rail regardless of the type of the bar.
Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a bar processing system in which such a bar supply machine and a bar processing machine are combined.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a bar processing system and a bar feeder according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a bar processing system including a bar processing machine and a bar supplying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention arranged adjacent to the bar processing machine. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the bar feeder according to the present invention. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the bar processing system 1 in the present embodiment is arranged on a feed axis 1A to which the bar B is fed in order to feed the bar B to be processed along the longitudinal axis. A bar feeder 2 extending in the longitudinal direction from the upstream side, that is, the rear side to the downstream side, ie, the front side, and a bar processing machine 4 disposed on the downstream side of the bar feeder. The bar processing machine is 4, for example, a spindle fixed NC lathe. In the following description, it is assumed that the bar processing machine 4 is a spindle fixed NC lathe. The NC lathe has a main shaft 4a disposed coaxially with the feeding axis 1A, and a processing portion 4b disposed on the downstream side of the main shaft 4a.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bar feeder 2 extends along the support frame 6 and the feeding axis 1 </ b> A and guides the bar B supported by the support frame 6 to the NC lathe 4. Guide rail 8, feed arrow 10 that feeds the NC lathe along the guide rail 8 while pushing the bar B, and a primary feed member 12 for primary feed of the bar B (see FIG. 3). A feed arrow drive device 14 for moving the feed arrow 10 back and forth in the feed direction, a primary feed member drive device 15 (see FIG. 2) for moving the primary feed member 12 back and forth in the feed direction, and a bar While the material B is being processed in the NC lathe 4, the steadying device 16 for gripping the bar B and preventing the shake and the bar B (remaining material) brought back from the NC lathe 4 after processing. ) And the remaining material shelf 18 and the guide rail 8 in the longitudinal direction. It located obliquely above the Doreru 8, and a stock rack 20 a plurality of bars B (new material) in order to put substantially parallel to the guide rail 8. The material shelf 20 is arranged in a lateral direction with respect to the guide rail 8, which will be described later, and an endless belt 50 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) on which a rod is placed and conveyed, and a rod B from the material shelf 20. And a drive mechanism 22 for moving the endless belt 50 forward or backward in order to take them out one by one and replenish them to the guide rail 8. The bar feeder 2 further includes a controller 24 that controls various devices included in the bar feeder 2 such as the feed arrow drive device 14, the steadying device 16, the primary feed member drive device 15, and the drive mechanism 22. ,have.

First, the guide rail 8 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the guide rail 8 includes a plurality of guide rail portions 8a and 8b that are coaxially spaced apart from each other. 6, a downstream guide rail portion 8 a disposed coaxially with the feeding axis 1 </ b> A, and an upstream guide rail portion 8 b disposed upstream of the support frame 6.
The downstream guide rail portion 8a is further divided into a plurality of portions (two in the present embodiment), and the steady rest device 16 is provided between the downstream guide rail portions 8a adjacent to each other. The downstream guide rail 8a has an opening (not shown) for receiving the bar B replenished from the material shelf 20 by the drive mechanism 22 in the upper part, and the bar B and the feed arrow 10 move inside thereof. An internal space (not shown) having a U-shaped surface is formed.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the upstream guide rail portion 8 b includes a primary feed guide rail portion 28 and a secondary feed guide rail portion 30 that are arranged side by side. The primary feed guide rail portion 28 has an opening for receiving a bar at the top thereof, and a U-shaped internal space 28a in which the primary feed member 12 and the bar B move is formed therein. On the other hand, the secondary feed guide rail portion 30 has a U-shaped internal space 30a in which the feed arrow 10 moves. The upstream guide rail 8b includes a primary feed side position (not shown) where the primary feed guide rail portion 28 and the downstream guide rail portion 8a are aligned, a secondary feed guide rail portion 30 and a downstream guide rail. The linear guide and the drive device 31 can move in the lateral direction between the secondary feed side position (see FIGS. 3 and 4) where 8 a is aligned. The linear guide and drive device 31 can be controlled by the controller 24.

Next, the feed arrow 10 and the primary feed member 12 will be described.
The feed arrow 10 moves back and forth in the feed direction in the internal space of the secondary feed guide rail portion 30 and the downstream guide rail portion 8a and feeds it to the bar processing machine 4 while pushing the bar B. belongs to. The feed arrow 10 has a main body portion 10a disposed on the upstream side and a finger chuck 10b disposed on the downstream side of the main body portion 10a for gripping the rear end portion of the bar B. The finger chuck 10b is connected to the main body portion 10a through a chuck joint (not shown) so as to be rotatable about a longitudinal axis. A blade member 10c for attaching an endless chain 14b of a feed arrow driving device 14 to be described later is provided at the rear end of the main body 10a.
The primary feed member 12 moves back and forth in the inner space 28a of the primary feed guide rail portion 28 in the feed direction, and moves the bar B in the primary feed guide rail portion 28 along the downstream guide rail 8a to the primary. It is for moving to the feed position. The primary feed member 12 has a block shape.

Next, the feed arrow drive device 14 and the primary feed member drive device 15 will be described.
The feed arrow drive device 14 is used to move the feed arrow 10 back and forth along the feed axis 1A in the guide rail 8, and when the controller 24 is turned ON / OFF, the feed arrow 10 is moved back and forth. Or stop at a predetermined position. The feed arrow drive device 14 basically travels substantially parallel to the servo motor 14a, a transmission portion 14b such as a sprocket pulley connected to the output shaft of the servo motor, and the transmission portion and parallel to the feed axis. The endless chain 14 c is attached to the blade member 10 c of the feed arrow 10.
The primary feed member driving device 15 moves the primary feed member 12 back and forth along the feed axis 1A. Since the primary feed member drive device has the same configuration as the feed arrow drive device 14 except that the feed arrow 10 is changed to the primary feed member 12, the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the material shelf 20 having the drive mechanism 22 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 2, the material shelf 20 includes a plurality of material shelf portions 20 a to 20 c that are separated from each other in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail 8. In the present embodiment, the material shelf 20 includes a first material shelf portion 20a arranged on the most upstream side with respect to the feeding axis 1A, a second material shelf portion 20b arranged on the downstream side thereof, and There are three third material shelf portions 20c arranged on the downstream side. Since these material shelf portions 20a to 20c have common components, the common components will be described below, and then different portions of the drive mechanism 22 and the material shelf are described. 3 and 4, common components are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  First, the 1st material shelf part 20a is demonstrated with reference to FIG. The material shelf portion 20 a is supported by a material shelf support member 40 attached to the support frame 6. The material shelf portion 20a is disposed laterally with respect to the guide rail 8 and the material shelf frame 42 extending laterally with respect to the guide rail 8 from obliquely above the guide rail 8 when viewed in the feeding axis direction 1A. A pair of pulleys 46 and 48 rotatably attached to the shelf frame 42, an endless belt 50 wound around the pair of pulleys and carrying the bar B thereon, and the endless belt 50 moved forward or backward The above-described drive mechanism 22 is provided. One pulley 46 is a drive pulley 46 rotatably attached to an end of the material shelf frame 42 on the guide rail side and around an axis 44a substantially parallel to the guide rail 8, and the other pulley 48 is made of material. A driven pulley 48 is rotatably attached to an end portion of the shelf frame 42 opposite to the guide rail and rotatably about an axis 44 b substantially parallel to the guide rail 8.

  The driving pulley 46 and the driven pulley 48 are timing pulleys, and the endless belt 50 is a timing belt. The endless belt 50 has an upper portion 50a located above the pair of pulleys 46 and 48, and a lower portion 50b located below the upper portion 50a. The upper portion 50a extends upwardly from the upper portion of the driven pulley 48 to the upper portion of the drive pulley 46, and is a portion on which the bar B to be replenished is placed. The lower portion 50 b extends while being inclined downward from the lower portion of the drive pulley 46 to the lower portion of the driven pulley 48. Below the upper portion 50a of the endless belt 50, a receiving plate 52 is provided that is supported by the material shelf support member 40 and prevents the upper portion 50a on which the bar B is placed from bending downward. . The receiving plate 52 has an upper surface 52 a disposed along the upper portion of the endless belt 50. When the upper portion 50a of the endless belt 50 moves toward the guide rail 8 in the direction of the arrow 53, the bar B placed on the upper portion 50a is advanced and replenished. The direction of the endless belt 50 or the like with respect to the direction is represented on the upstream side and the downstream side. Further, the guide rail side of the upper portion 50a of the endless belt 50 is referred to as a front side, and the opposite side is referred to as a rear side.

The endless belt 50 includes a flat belt portion 54 having a flat mounting surface on which a bar is placed and a belt portion 58 with a protrusion provided with a plurality of protrusions 56 for partitioning the rod one by one in the circumferential direction. When the flat belt portion 54 is disposed on the upper portion 50a (see FIG. 4) at the initial position where the supply of the rod material is started according to the selection depending on the type of the rod material to be conveyed, the belt portion 58 with a protrusion is In some cases, the upper portion 50a is disposed (see FIG. 3). The flat belt portion 54 extends in the circumferential direction over at least the distance between the rotation shafts 44 a and 44 b of the pair of pulleys 46 and 48, and the protruding belt portion 58 faces the flat belt portion 54 of the endless belt 50. It is preferable that the distance between the rotating shafts 44a and 44b extends over the portion to be rotated. The protrusions 56 are provided at equal intervals in the moving direction of the endless belt 50. In the present embodiment, the protrusion 56 is provided over almost a half circumference of the endless belt 50. As shown in FIG. 3, when the protrusion-equipped belt portion 58 is positioned on the upper portion 50a in the initial position, the protrusion 56 is located on the most upstream side of the protrusion row and on the most downstream side. It includes a downstream projection 56b.
In FIG. 3, a detected portion 60 that can be detected by sensors 70 and 72 described later is detachably attached to the downstream projection 56a. Specifically, the detected portion 60 is composed of a pair of components, and these components are arranged so as to sandwich both sides of the downstream protrusion 56a and are screwed together. The detected portion 60 can be detachably attached to the upstream projection 56b in the same manner as the downstream projection 56a. In the initial position, when the protruding belt portion 58 is disposed on the upper portion 50a, the detected portion 60 is attached to the rear portion of the protruding belt portion 58, that is, the upstream protrusion 56a (see FIG. 3). When the flat belt portion 54 is disposed at 50a, the detected portion 60 is attached to the rear portion of the flat belt portion 54, that is, the downstream protrusion 56b (see FIG. 4). In the latter case, the surface 60a facing the front of the detected portion 60 also functions as a stopper for preventing the rod placed on the flat belt portion 54 from rolling backward.

  Next, the drive mechanism 22 will be described with reference to FIG. The drive mechanism 22 extends along the axis 44a through the drive pulleys 46 of all the material shelf portions 20a to 20c, and rotates the drive shaft 64 about the axis 44a. And a power transmission mechanism 68 such as a sprocket pulley or a chain connected between the drive shaft 64 and the material shelf motor 66. The material shelf motor 66 is preferably a servo motor. The drive shaft 64 is fixed to the drive pulley 46 so that the phase can be adjusted. Due to the phase adjustment, the protrusions 56 of the endless belts 50 of the respective material shelf portions 20a to 20c are aligned in the direction of the axis 44a in order to allow the endless belts 50 to run synchronously.

  Next, a different part of each material shelf part is demonstrated. Since the 3rd material shelf part 20c does not have composition other than the above-mentioned common form, hereinafter, the 1st material shelf part 20a and the 2nd material shelf part 20b are explained.

The first material shelf portion 20a shown in FIG. 3 has a forward end sensor 72 that is a first sensor for detecting that the detected portion 60 is located at the front portion of the material shelf 20 in addition to the common form. And a backward end sensor 70 that is a second sensor for detecting that the detected part 60 is located at the rear part of the material shelf 20. Specifically, the forward end sensor 72 is provided in the vicinity of the upper portion of the drive pulley 46, and the backward end sensor 70 is provided in the vicinity of the upper portion of the driven pulley 48.
These sensors 70 and 72 are proximity switches, for example. Each of the backward end sensor 70 and the forward end sensor 72 is an initial position at which supply of the bar material is started when the bar material is supplied by placing the bar material on the flat belt portion 54 or the protruding belt portion 56 of the endless belt 50. Then, the end position at which all of the plurality of bar members placed on the upper portion of the endless belt 50 are dropped is determined. These sensors 70 and 72 are electrically connected to the controller 24.
Further, a protrusion sensor 74 capable of detecting the protrusion 56 is provided in the vicinity of the lower portion of the drive pulley 46. The protrusion sensor 74 is, for example, a transmissive sensor. Specifically, the protrusion sensor 74 has a U-shaped portion configured to straddle the protrusion 56 of the endless belt 50, and can detect the protrusion 56 each time the protrusion 56 passes between the U-shaped portions. It is. The protrusion sensor 74 is electrically connected to the controller 24. The position of the protrusion sensor 74 is such that when the belt portion 58 with protrusions is disposed on the upper portion 50a and the detected portion 60 attached to the upstream protrusion 56a is detected by the backward end sensor 70, the protrusion sensor 74 is on the downstream side. It is preferable to be set so as to detect the protrusion 56b.

  The second material shelf portion 20b shown in FIG. 4 includes a bar material detection sensor 76 that detects that the bar material has dropped from the material shelf 20, in addition to the common form. The bar detection sensor 76 is preferably a touch sensor. Specifically, the bar detection sensor 76 is centered on a pivot 78 provided on the material shelf frame 42, and has an upper position 80a that crosses the path of the bar falling from the material shelf and a lower position 80b that is remote from the upper position 80a. A sensor arm 80 that can swing between them is provided. The sensor arm 80 is biased to the upper position 80a by a biasing member such as a spring (not shown). The bar detection sensor 76 is electrically connected to the controller 24.

  The bar feeder 2 further includes a guide member 82 that extends from the vicinity of the front edge of the material shelf 20 to the vicinity of the upper portion of the guide rail 8, and a bar that moves from the guide rail side of the material shelf 20 along the guide member 82. And a stop device 84 capable of releasably stopping the material. The guide member 82 is provided for each material shelf portion. The guide member 82 has a guide surface 82a extending obliquely downward from the vicinity of the side edge of the material shelf 20 toward the guide rail 8 so that the bar can roll immediately after dropping from the material shelf 20. ing. The guide surface 82 a terminates above the guide rail 8. Specifically, when the guide rail portion 28 for primary feed and the downstream guide rail 8a are aligned, it terminates above the guide rail portion 28 for primary feed (not shown), and the guide rail portion for secondary feed 30 and the downstream guide rail 8a are aligned above the secondary feed guide rail portion 30 (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

  The stop device 84 includes a stop member 86 that can move between an upper position 86a that receives the bar material that has rolled on the guide surface and a lower position 86b that releases the received bar material and passes it to the guide rail. The stop member 86 is moved by an air cylinder, for example.

  Next, operation | movement of the bar feeder which is embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. First, the case where the flat belt portion 54 is disposed on the upper portion 50a of the endless belt 50 in the initial position will be described, and then the case where the protruding belt portion 58 is disposed on the upper portion 50a in the initial position will be described. To do.

  First, the case where the flat belt part 54 is arrange | positioned to the upper part 50a is demonstrated with reference to FIG. First, the preparation process of the material shelf 20 is performed. Specifically, the controller 24 operates the material shelf motor 66 independently to place the flat belt portion 54 on the upper surface 52a of the receiving plate 52 and attach the detected portion 60 to the downstream protrusion 56b. When the detected part 60 is attached to the upstream protrusion 56a, the detected part 60 is removed from the upstream protrusion 56a and attached to the downstream protrusion 56b. At this time, it is preferable to move the detected portion 60 of the first material shelf portion 20a to the vicinity of the backward end sensor 70 (see FIG. 3). Subsequently, the controller energizes the material shelf motor 66 and moves the endless belt 50 until the detected portion 60 is detected by the backward end sensor 70 for positioning the endless belt 50. Thereby, the flat belt portion 54 is arranged at the initial position. Moreover, an air cylinder etc. are operated by the controller 24 and the stop member 86 of the stop device 84 is moved to an upper position. Next, in the controller, the operation is switched so that the bar feeder 2 operates by the replenishment method (sensor identification type replenishment method) using the bar detection sensor 76.

  Next, a bar placing process for placing the bar B on the material shelf 20 is performed. Specifically, a plurality of bars are placed on the flat belt portion 54 by hand so that the adjacent bars are in contact with each other.

  Next, a bar replenishing step of replenishing one guide rail 8 with the bar of the material shelf 20 is performed. Specifically, for example, a manual supply button is pressed to send a supply start signal to the controller 24. The controller 24 operates the material shelf motor 66 to rotate the drive shaft 64 via the power transmission mechanism 68. Thereby, the endless belt 50 moves forward, and the plurality of bar members placed thereon are moved in the downstream direction. When the endless belt 50 continues to advance further, the rod on the most guide rail side falls from the guide rail side of the material shelf 20 and rolls down on the guide surface 82 a of the guide member 82. The rolled bar is received by the stop member 86 of the stop device 84. While the bar material rolls down on the guide surface 82a, the bar material moves the sensor arm 80 of the bar material detection sensor 76 from the upper position 80a to the lower position 80b. It is detected that one material has been replenished. After the bar has passed, the bar detection sensor 76 returns to the upper position 80a by the biasing means (not shown). When a detection signal is sent from the bar detection sensor 76 to the controller 24, the controller 24 immediately stops the advance of the endless belt 50. Next, the endless belt 50 is moved backward by a predetermined distance in order to prevent the bar to be replenished next from dropping due to vibration of the bar feeder 2 or the like. Next, the stop device 84 is stopped in a state where the guide rail portion 28 for primary feeding on the upstream guide rail portion 8b is positioned on the feeding axis 1A and is coaxially aligned with the downstream guide rail portion 8a. The member 86 is moved to the lower position 86b, and the bar material received by the stop member 86 is supplied to the guide rail 8. When the bar is supplied to the guide rail 8, the stop member 86 is moved again to the upper position 86a.

Next, a feeding process of feeding the bar B to the NC lathe 4 by the feed arrow 10 is performed. Specifically, first, the primary feed of the bar B is performed. When the bar B is supplied from the material shelf 20 into the guide rail portions 8a and 28 in the procedure already described, the controller 24 drives a primary feed member driving device (not shown) to provide a primary feed member driving device. The primary feed member 12 connected to the 15 endless chains is moved in the downstream direction. By pushing the rear end of the bar B with the primary feed member 12 in the downstream direction, the bar B is moved to the primary feed position. The tip of the bar B is gripped by a clamp (not shown), and the bar B is restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction.
Subsequently, the upstream guide rail portion 8b is moved laterally with respect to the feed axis 1A by the controller 24, and the downstream guide rail portion 8a and the secondary feed guide rail portion 30 are aligned. Next, secondary feeding is performed. The controller 24 drives the servo motor 14 a of the feed arrow drive device 14 to move the feed arrow 10 connected to the endless chain 14 c of the feed arrow drive device 14 in the downstream direction. When the feed arrow 10 is advanced and the rear end portion of the bar B is inserted into the finger chuck 10b provided at the downstream end portion, the clamp is released.

  The feed arrow 10 feeds the tip end portion of the bar B, that is, the downstream end portion, to the machining portion 4 b of the NC lathe 4. During the processing of the bar B, the anti-vibration device 16 is closed to grip the bar B in the guide rail 8 and prevent the bar B from swinging. When the length of the bar B is such that no more products can be made, the feed arrow 10 is returned to the bar feeder 2 and the remaining material is gripped by the clamp. The feed arrow 10 is further retracted to remove the remaining material from the feed arrow 10, and the remaining material is dropped from a remaining material processing window (not shown) of the guide rail 8 and accommodated in the remaining material shelf 18.

  Thereafter, the bar B is replenished to the guide rail 8 one by one by repeating the bar replenishing step and the bar feeding step. In the second and subsequent bar supply steps, it is preferable to send a supply start signal to the controller 24 by detecting that the remaining material is stored in the remaining material shelf 18 instead of pressing the manual supply button. The bar replenishment process is repeated until the forward end sensor 72 detects the detected portion 60. When the forward end sensor 72 detects the detected portion 60, all the bars on the material shelf 20 have been dropped, so the endless belt 50 is reversed, that is, moved in the upstream direction. Next, when the backward end sensor 70 detects the detected portion 60, the endless belt 50 is stopped. If necessary, the bar placing process, the bar supplying process, and the bar feeding process are repeated.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the case where the belt part 58 with a protrusion is arrange | positioned to the upper part 50a is demonstrated. First, the preparation process of the material shelf 20 is performed. Specifically, the controller 24 operates the material shelf motor 66 independently to place the protruding belt portion 58 on the upper portion 50a and attach the detected portion 60 to the upstream protrusion 56a. When the detected part 60 is attached to the downstream protrusion 56b, the detected part 60 is removed therefrom and attached to the upstream protrusion 56a. At this time, it is preferable to move the detected portion 60 to the vicinity of the backward end sensor 70 (see FIG. 3). Subsequently, the controller energizes the material shelf motor 66 and moves the endless belt 50 until the detected portion 60 is detected by the backward end sensor 70 for positioning the endless belt 50. Thereby, the belt part 58 with a protrusion is arrange | positioned in the initial position. As described above, the protrusion sensor 74 is in the state of detecting the downstream protrusion 56b. Further, the controller 24 operates an air cylinder or the like to move the stop member 86 of the stop device 84 to the upper position 86a. Next, in the controller 24, the operation is switched so that the bar feeder 2 is operated by the replenishment method (top feed type replenishment method) using the protrusion sensor 74.

  Next, a bar placing process for placing the bar on the material shelf 20 is performed. Specifically, a plurality of bars are manually placed on the belt portion 58 with protrusions so that the bars are arranged one by one between the protrusions 56.

  Next, a bar replenishing step of replenishing one guide rail 8 with the bar of the material shelf 20 is performed. Specifically, for example, a manual supply button is pressed to send a supply start signal to the controller 24. The controller 24 activates the material shelf motor 66 to cause the drive shaft 64 to move through the power transmission mechanism 68. Thereby, the endless belt 50 moves forward, and the plurality of bar members placed thereon are moved in the downstream direction. When the protrusion sensor 74 detects the next protrusion 56, the forward movement of the endless belt 50 is immediately stopped. While the endless belt is moving forward, the bar disposed between the protrusions 56 and positioned closest to the guide rail falls from the guide rail side of the material shelf 20 and the guide surface 82a of the guide member 82 Roll down the top. The bar that has been rolled down is received by the stop member 86 of the stop device 84. While the bar material rolls down on the guide surface 82a, the bar material moves the sensor arm 80 of the bar material detection sensor 76 of the second bar material shelf portion 20b from the upper position 80a to the lower position 80b. In the case of the feed type replenishment method, the detection sensor 76 does not operate. After the bar has passed, the bar detection sensor 76 returns to the upper position 80a by the biasing means (not shown). Since there is a projection 56 on the front side of the bar to be replenished next, it is prevented from dropping due to vibration of the bar feeder 2 or the like. Next, the stop device 84 is stopped in a state where the guide rail portion 28 for primary feeding on the upstream guide rail portion 8b is positioned on the feeding axis 1A and is aligned coaxially with the downstream guide rail portion 8a. The member 86 is moved to the lower position 86b, and the bar material received by the stop member 86 is supplied to the guide rail 8. When the bar is supplied to the guide rail 8, the stop member 86 is moved again to the upper position 86a.

Next, a feeding process of feeding the bar B to the NC lathe 4 by the feed arrow 10 is performed. Since this process is the same as when the flat belt portion 54 is selected, the description thereof is omitted.
Thereafter, the bar B is replenished to the guide rail 8 one by one by repeating the bar replenishing step and the bar feeding step. In the second and subsequent bar supply steps, it is preferable to send a supply start signal to the controller 24 by detecting that the remaining material is stored in the remaining material shelf 18 instead of pressing the manual supply button. The bar replenishment process is repeated until the forward end sensor 72 detects the detected portion 60. When the forward end sensor 72 detects the detected portion 60, all the bars on the material shelf 20 have been dropped, so the endless belt 50 is reversed, that is, moved in the upstream direction. Next, when the backward end sensor 70 detects the detected portion 60, the endless belt 50 is stopped. If necessary, the bar placing process, the bar supplying process, and the bar feeding process are repeated.

  As mentioned above, although the bar feeder which is embodiment of this invention was demonstrated, this invention is not limited to this embodiment, A various change is possible within the range of the invention described in the claim. Needless to say, these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the controller 24 is provided on the bar material feeder 2 side, but the controller may be provided on the bar material machine 4 side.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the upper part 50a of the endless belt 50 on which a bar material is mounted is inclined, it is advantageous at the point which can prevent more reliably that a bar material falls unexpectedly from a material shelf, The upper portion 50a of the belt 50 may be disposed flat.
In the above embodiment, when the belt portion with protrusions 68 is selected, the feed-type supply method using the protrusion sensor 74 is used to stop the endless belt 50. However, the protrusion sensor 74 is not used. Instead of this, a sensor identification type replenishment method using a bar detection sensor 76 may be adopted.
In the above-described embodiment, when the flat belt portion 64 is arranged on the upper side and the case where the belt portion 68 with the projection is arranged on the upper side, the detected portion 60 is connected to the upstream projection 56a and the downstream projection. 56b is removed from one side and attached to the other, but if the detected part 60 does not interfere with other parts of the bar feeder, use two detected parts 60 and leave them attached to both. Alternatively, these may be formed integrally with the endless belt. Further, the protrusion sensor 74 may directly detect the protrusion 56 without providing the detected portion 60.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the endless belt 50 is used and a bar is mounted in the outer peripheral surface, an endless chain is used, for example, the bar is made of a flat member formed of a flexible material on the outer peripheral surface. A material placement surface may be formed. In this case, the drive pulley 46, the driven pulley 48, the protrusion 56, etc. may be changed to corresponding parts.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the flat belt part 54 and the belt part 58 with a protrusion are comprised by the substantially same ratio in the circumferential direction of the endless belt 50, those ratios are arbitrary, for example, one is the other. It may be configured with a larger ratio. In the above embodiment, the endless belt 80 has one flat belt portion 54 and one protruding belt portion 58, but the number thereof is arbitrary, for example, the distance between the protrusions 56 is different 2 You may comprise the belt part with a protrusion more than a kind.
In the above-described embodiment, the case of performing the bar replenishment operation by returning the flat belt portion 54 or the protruding belt portion 58 to the initial position is described. However, when the endless belt 50 is moved alone, the initial state is visually observed. It may be stopped between the position and the end position, and the bar supply operation may be started from that position.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the bar processing machine has been described as a spindle-fixed NC lathe, but any processing machine can be used, for example, a spindle-moving lathe, a cutting machine, etc. There may be.

It is a front view showing roughly a bar processing system containing a bar processing machine and a bar supply machine concerning an embodiment of the present invention arranged adjacent to it. It is a top view of the bar feeder concerning the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bar material processing system 2 Bar material supply machine 4 Bar material processing machine 8 Guide rail 20 Material shelf 22 Drive mechanism 24 Controller 46 Drive pulley 48 Driven pulley 50 Endless belt 54 Flat belt part 56 Projection 58 Projection belt part 60 Detected part 70 Back end sensor 72 Forward end sensor

Claims (4)

A bar feeder that feeds a bar to be processed to a bar processing machine along a guide rail extending in the longitudinal direction,
A material shelf for placing a plurality of bars to be processed substantially parallel to the guide rail and replenishing the bars one by one toward the guide rail,
The material shelf includes a pair of pulleys disposed laterally with respect to the guide rail, an endless member wound around the pair of pulleys and carrying a bar on the top, and the endless member being advanced. Alternatively, the endless member is provided with a flat endless member portion having a flat mounting surface on which the bar material is placed and a plurality of protrusions partitioning the bar material one by one in the circumferential direction. The flat endless member portion or the endless member portion with protrusions arranged on the upper side with respect to the pair of pulleys. A bar feeder that transports a material.   Further, a detected portion provided at the rear portion of the selected flat endless member portion or the protruding endless member portion, and a sensor for detecting that the detected portion is located at the rear portion of the material shelf. The endless member portion and the protruding endless member portion, when the endless member is detected by the sensor while the endless member is driven by the driving means to switch the one end to the other. The driving means is controlled so as to stop the member, whereby the other of the flat endless member portion or the endless member portion with protrusions is supplied with the bar material on the upper side with respect to the pair of pulleys. The bar feeder according to claim 1, wherein the bar feeder is positioned at an initial position to be started.   Further, a detected portion provided at a rear portion of the selected flat endless member portion or the protruding endless member portion, and a first portion for detecting that the detected portion is located at a front portion of the material shelf. 1 sensor and a second sensor for detecting that the detected part is positioned at the rear part of the material shelf, and while the endless member is advanced by the driving means, the detected part is The drive means is arranged so that the endless member reverses when detected by the first sensor, and so that the endless member stops when the detected portion is detected by the second sensor. The bar feeder according to claim 1, wherein the bar feeder is controlled.   The flat endless member portion extends in the circumferential direction of the endless member over at least a distance dimension between the rotation axes of the pair of pulleys, and the endless member portion with protrusions includes the flat endless member portion of the endless member. The bar feeder according to claim 1, wherein the bar feeder extends over a distance dimension between the rotating shafts at opposing portions.

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