JP2005276116A - Management device and management method for production line including forming machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a management device and a management method capable of easily performing a line change on data of the management device and automatically setting established data of changed devices when carrying out the line change. <P>SOLUTION: The management system 10 manages the production line on the basis of information including achievement data of each device in the production line having a plurality of devices including a forming machine 20. When performing the line change, the line change is recognized with the management device 10 by moving an icon of the device on a display screen of the management device 10. The management device 10 automatically changes the information regarding the changed device when the line change is recognized. Further, the management device 10 also changes setting contents of the changed device by matching with the line change when the line change is recognized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a production line management technique, and more particularly to a production line management apparatus and method including a plurality of apparatuses including a molding machine.

  In a molding factory that produces plastic products and the like, a production line is generally formed by various manufacturing apparatuses centering on a molding machine. Various manufacturing apparatuses include a peripheral device of a molding machine, a product inspection device, and an assembly machine. In a large-scale molding factory, multiple such production lines are formed, and the same type of molded product (product) can be manufactured simultaneously on multiple production lines, or different types of molded products can be manufactured on each production line. To do.

In a production line of such a molding factory, a system that centrally manages each molding machine, each peripheral device, and the entire production line with a computer has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2). In these conventional systems, data for line management is collected from each device, and the production line is managed based on the data collected by the management device. The collected data is searched and used for line management.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-134831

  A production line including a molding machine incorporates various apparatuses such as a molding machine, an inspection machine, and an assembly machine, and these apparatuses cooperate to manufacture one molded product (product). In order to finish production of one product and then produce different types of products, the production line organization is often changed. For example, if the types of molded products are different, it is necessary to use a molding machine having a capacity suitable for the molded product, and it is necessary to change the molding machine to form a production line. In addition, for example, even when a different type of product can be molded next by simply exchanging the mold with the same molding machine, the product inspection machine or assembly machine may need to be changed to a different model. Further, during the production of one type of product, for example, when a molding machine fails, the failed molding machine may be replaced with another molding machine. Changing the production line organization in this way is generally referred to as line change.

  In a management system that manages a production line with a management device consisting of a computer, when the production line needs to be changed, the actual production line molding machine and each device are actually changed or replaced on the device. . For example, when a molding machine with a production line is replaced with another molding machine, information on a new production line must be set for the replaced molding machine. This setting operation is performed by an administrator or an operator in the control unit of the molding machine, but this operation is complicated and time consuming. In addition, there is a problem that data is lost or mixed when forgetting to input or erroneous input.

  Furthermore, when the line change setting operation is completed on the actual production line apparatus, it is necessary to change the line on the management system. In other words, it is necessary to change the production line recognized on the data by the management system in accordance with the actually changed line.

  In the conventional management system, in order to change the line on the management system, it is necessary for a system administrator (operator) to change data and programs set in the management apparatus. This input work is a complicated and time-consuming work for the administrator and the operator, as is the case with the input setting work on each device. In addition, there is a problem that data is lost or mixed when forgetting to input or erroneous input.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. When a line change is made, the line change on the data of the management apparatus can be easily performed, and the setting data of the changed apparatus is automatically obtained. An object of the present invention is to provide a management system and a management method for a production line including a molding machine that can be set.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a management device configured to manage a production line having a plurality of devices including a molding machine, connected to the plurality of devices, the device Management means for managing the production line based on information including actual result data, line change recognition means for causing the management means to recognize a line change of the production line, and when the management means recognizes the line change, There is provided a management device comprising information changing means for changing information relating to the changed device.

  The management device according to the present invention preferably includes setting content changing means for changing the setting content of the device to be changed in accordance with the line change when the management means recognizes the line change. The line change recognition unit may be provided in the management unit. The line change recognition unit may cause the management unit to recognize a line change of the production line based on change information from the input unit of the management unit. The input means may generate the change information based on movement of the changed device icon shown on the display screen of the management means.

  In the management device according to the present invention, the line change recognition means may be provided in each of the devices. Each of the devices may have identification information unique to each device, and the line change recognition unit may recognize a line change based on the identification information. Furthermore, the performance data of the device may be stored in at least one of the database of the management unit and the database of each device in distinction for each device. The performance data of the device may be stored in the database with status information indicating the state of the device added.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a production line management method including a molding machine that is connected to a plurality of apparatuses including a molding machine and is performed by a management apparatus that manages the apparatus based on information including performance data of the apparatus. A production line including a molding machine, characterized in that when the management device recognizes a line change of the production line, and the management device recognizes the line change, the information on the changed device is changed. A management method is provided.

  In the above invention, when the management apparatus recognizes a line change, it is preferable to change the setting contents of the apparatus to be changed in accordance with the line change.

  In the production line management method including the molding machine described above, the line change may be recognized by moving the icon of the apparatus displayed on the display screen of the management apparatus. Moreover, it is preferable to add status information indicating the state of the device to the performance data of the device and store it in a database.

  According to the present invention, when a line change is made, the management apparatus can be made to recognize it by a simple operation or automatically, and the line change on the data of the management apparatus can be easily performed. Also, the setting data of the changed device can be automatically changed to data suitable for a new line simply by making the management device recognize the line change. Alternatively, new data can be automatically set for the changed device simply by inputting a change in the line from the management device. As a result, it is possible to omit the data input work of the administrator and the worker, and it is possible to prevent the trouble of the production line and the trouble on the production management system due to the erroneous input by the administrator and the worker.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, as an example of a system to which the present invention is applied, a production line and a production line management system in a molding factory will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a production line management system in a molding factory.

  The production line management device shown in FIG. 1 includes five production lines from production lines A to E, and a management device 10 that manages these production lines A to E. Each of the production lines A to E is knitted by an injection molding machine 20, a take-out machine 30, an inspection machine 40, and an assembly machine 50. In FIG. 1, the production lines C and D have the same formation as the other production lines A, B and E, and are not shown.

  The injection molding machine 20 is a device for molding a plastic molded product, and has a control device (not shown) and a database 22 for storing various information such as setting data and history data. The take-out machine 30 is a device that takes out the molded product molded by the injection molding machine 20 from the mold and transfers it to the inspection machine 40, and stores a control device (not shown) and various information such as setting data and history data. And a database 32. The inspection machine 40 is a device for inspecting the shape and dimensions of the molded product to determine whether the molded product is good or defective, and a control device (not shown) and a database 42 for storing various information such as setting data and history data. And have. The assembling machine 50 is an apparatus for assembling non-defective products that have passed the inspection machine 40 together with other parts, and includes a control device (not shown) and a database 52 for storing various information such as setting data and history data. Have. In the following description, the molding machine 20, the take-out machine 30, the inspection machine 40, the assembly machine 50 and the like may be collectively referred to simply as an apparatus or equipment.

  The knitting of each production line is not limited to the illustrated knitting, and other devices may be incorporated, or a plurality of each device may be incorporated. Further, for example, a production line knitted only by the injection molding machine 20 and the take-out machine 30 may be used. Moreover, although each production line is arrange | positioned along the straight line in FIG. 1, the actual apparatus does not need to be installed in alignment on a straight line (line). That is, the production line means a connection between a series of production processes, and the devices in one production line device may not be adjacent to each other.

  The control device of each device of each production line A to E is connected to a management device 10 formed of a computer, and can exchange data and control signals with each other. The management device 10 includes an input device such as a keyboard 10a and a mouse 10b, and a display device 10c that displays data and input information in the management system. In addition, the management device 10 includes a database 12 that stores data obtained from each device and information input from the input device in order to manage the production line.

  In addition to the devices incorporated in the production line, the molding factory also has devices being repaired and spare devices, and the management device 10 also stores information on these repaired devices and spare devices. Yes.

  Next, in one embodiment of the present invention, data stored for managing a production line will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a table showing an example of data used in the production line management system.

  In FIG. 2, the column “equipment name” indicates a name for identifying each apparatus or facility. The column of “line number” next to it indicates to which production line the device indicated by the equipment name was incorporated at a certain point in the past (including the present) when the status changed. The status of the device means the state of the device, and indicates, for example, the state where the device is operating, the state where the operation is stopped, or the state where repair is being performed.

  The status of the apparatus is indicated by a numerical value in the “equipment status” column. In the “equipment status” column, 1 indicates an operating state, 2 indicates an operation stop state, 3 indicates a standby state as a spare device, and 4 indicates a state under repair. The “status change time” column indicates the time when the status of each device changes. By referring to the column of “equipment status” and “status change time”, it is possible to grasp when each device is in what state, or what state it is currently in. For example, molding machine No. 2, it moves to the operating state (equipment status 1) at 9:45:54, and then shifts to the stop state (equipment status 2) at 9:46:10, and it can be seen that it has reached the present.

  The column of “lot number” in the table of FIG. 2 indicates the lot number of the molded product (product) manufactured by each device, and the number of shots on the molding machine corresponding to the lot number is the column of “shot number”. The product number is shown in the “Product number” column. Further, in the columns of “product acceptance time” and “product discharge time”, the time at which the apparatus starts the process of processing the lot and the time at which the process is completed are shown for each lot. Columns on the right side of “Status change time” (for example, “Cushion position”, “Filling pressure”, “Measuring time” columns in molding machine No. 1) are set information, history information, and actual data of setting items in each device. Etc. are shown as necessary.

  Information including the performance data of each apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is stored in the database of the management apparatus 10 and is referred to when the management apparatus 10 recognizes that the production line has been changed. In addition, information including the performance data of each device shown in FIG. 2 is recorded for each device, but each device stores its information in its own database, and the management device 10 stores the information when necessary. May be removed from each device.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the management apparatus 10, information is divided for each apparatus, and production line information and status information are recorded for each shot, so that even if there is a line change, the past This information can be aggregated for each production line, and the operation rate in a specific production line can be easily calculated.

  Here, if the past line number or equipment status has not been recorded for each device, when trying to obtain the operating rate of line A, refer to the information of the device incorporated in the current line A. Will be calculated. In this case, since the information of the device before the line change is not referred to, the operation rate is calculated based on the wrong device. However, as shown in FIG. 2, by dividing the information for each device and recording the production line information and status information for each shot, for example, a certain device can change from the production line A by changing the line. Even when moving to the production line B, when calculating the operation rate on the production line A, the correct operation rate can be obtained by referring to only the item in which the “line number” column is A. Can be calculated.

  Next, a process based on the management method in the present embodiment when the production line is changed will be described.

  When a device or equipment in a certain production line is changed, the management system (that is, the management device 10) must recognize the line change, and the production line on the management system must be matched to the actual production line. Conventionally, an administrator or an operator inputs data from the management device 10 or an input device of each device on the production line, and performs an operation of matching the production line on the management system with the actual production line. According to the management method in the present embodiment, when an actual production line is changed, the production line in the production line management system can be changed automatically or semi-automatically.

  First, a method for easily changing a production line in the production line management system by an operation on the display device screen of the management device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a screen display example of the display device of the management device when the production line is changed in the production line management system by an operation on the display device screen of the management device 10.

  In the display screen shown in FIG. 3, the configurations of the production line A and the production line B, a standby device as a spare facility, and a repaired device are shown. Here, the inspection machine No. 2 is inspection machine No. 2 which is spare equipment. It is assumed that a line change such as 4 is performed.

  In the actual production line B, the inspection machine No. 2 is the inspection machine no. After switching to 4 (or confirming that the replacement is to be performed), the manager of the production management system or the person in charge of the production line displays the screen shown in FIG. 3 on the display device of the management device 10 and changes the line on the screen. input.

  The input operation for changing the line is completed with a simple operation by simply dragging and dropping the icon on the screen. That is, as indicated by arrows A and B in FIG. The icon 2 is dragged into the spare equipment frame using the mouse 10b as an input device and dropped. And the inspection machine No. in the frame of the spare equipment. As shown by the arrow C in FIG. Drag to the place where there was 2 and drop. By the above operation on the screen, change information indicating that “inspection machine No. 2 of production line B has become a spare equipment and inspection machine No. 4 has been incorporated into the production line instead” is generated, and production line management is performed. Input to the system (management device 10). With the above processing, the function of the line change recognition means for causing the management apparatus to recognize the line change of the production line is realized.

  Here, the inspection machine No. 2 is dropped on the spare equipment frame, the management apparatus 10 checks the inspection machine No. 2 shown in FIG. Update information about 2. Specifically, the inspection machine No. is displayed on the screen. 2 is moved to the spare equipment, the equipment name in FIG. As shown at the bottom of the item 2, 3 indicating the preliminary state is newly recorded in the “equipment status” column. At the same time, 17:00:30, which is the time when the icon is dragged, is recorded in the “status change time” column. However, the “status change time” field can be manually changed later using the keyboard 10a. With the above processing, the function of the information changing unit regarding the changed device is realized.

  Next, on the screen, the inspection machine No. When the icon 4 is dropped on the production line B, the management apparatus 10 checks the inspection machine No. shown in the figure. Update information about 4. Specifically, the inspection machine No. is displayed on the screen. 4 is moved to the production line B, the equipment name in FIG. As shown at the bottom of item 4, B is recorded in the “line number” column, and 17:00:40, which is the time at this time, is recorded in the “status change time” column. In this example, the inspection machine No. No. 4 is immediately put into operation, and the lot number B1 is inspected from 18:00:33 to 18:00:38, so 1 indicating the operation is recorded in the column of “equipment status”. Corresponding data is also recorded in the other columns. With the above processing, the function of the information changing unit regarding the changed device is realized.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, simply by moving an icon on the display device screen of the management apparatus 10, data recording corresponding to the moved icon is automatically executed. As a result, it is possible to cause the management device 10 to recognize the line change and to record the data to be recorded by the line change only by moving the icon without manually inputting the data by the administrator or the operator. it can. Therefore, the administrator and the operator can save the trouble of inputting the data related to the line change to the management apparatus 10, and the erroneous input can be prevented.

  In the above-described embodiment, the function of the line change recognizing means for causing the management apparatus 10 to recognize a line change is realized by operating an icon on the display screen. Therefore, the operation for recognizing that the production line has been changed is a manual operation by an administrator or an operator.

  Here, as a method for causing the management apparatus 10 to recognize that the production line has been changed, that is, the function of the line change recognition means, not only the above-described movement of the icon but also various other methods can be considered. Further, as in the example described below, when a line change is performed in an actual apparatus, information is automatically sent to the management apparatus 10 so that the line change can be recognized.

1) Recognition by changing IP address A unique IP address is assigned to each device or facility in the molding factory. All devices or facilities are connected to the Internet or an intranet, and each production line is defined as a connection on the network. For example, in the connection on the network of the production line A, the device No. 1 (IP address: 192.168.151) is replaced with another device (IP address: 192.168.153), it can be recognized that the IP address has changed on the network relating to the production line A. Thus, it can be recognized that the device has been replaced. The IP address functions as identification information unique to each device.

2) Check and recognize the equipment number of each equipment Register the equipment number (identification information) unique to each equipment or equipment in the database of each equipment. The management device 10 refers to the equipment number of the device at regular intervals in the order along each line. When the device is replaced, when the equipment number of the device is referred to in the same order as the previous time, the equipment number different from the equipment number at the previous time is referred to. Thereby, the management apparatus 10 can recognize that there was a line change.

3) Recognition based on data with line number added The management device 10 writes the line number of the line to which the device is currently connected in the database of each device at a certain period. This line number is data stored in the database of the management apparatus 10. Each device adds the written line number to the data for each shot and sends it back to the management device 10 side. The returned data is accumulated in a storage area for each device in the database in the management device 10. As a result, the management apparatus 10 can recognize that the apparatus has moved, and can always grasp the latest line number even when the apparatus has moved.

4) Recognition based on processing condition name (molding condition name) Normally, devices installed in the same production line are operated under the same processing condition name (product name). The processing condition name is data accumulated in an area for storing data for each device provided in the database of the management device 10. Therefore, when a certain apparatus is moved to another production line, it is different from the processing condition name of the movement destination, so that it can be determined and recognized that the line has been changed. When the apparatus is a molding machine, the processing condition name is the molding condition name.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the production line management system in a molding factory. It is a figure which shows an example of the data used with a production line management system as a table | surface. It is a figure which shows operation on the display screen of the management apparatus performed in order to make a management apparatus recognize the change of a production line.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Management apparatus 10a Keyboard 10b Mouse 10c Display screen 12, 22, 32, 42, 52 Database 20 Injection molding machine 30 Unloader 40 Inspection machine 50 Assembly machine

Claims (13)

A management device configured to manage a production line having a plurality of devices including a molding machine,
A management means connected to the plurality of devices and managing the production line based on information including performance data of the devices;
Line change recognition means for causing the management means to recognize a line change of the production line;
An information change means for changing information related to the changed device when the management means recognizes a line change. The management device according to claim 1,
A management apparatus comprising: setting content changing means for changing setting contents of a device to be changed in accordance with the line change when the management means recognizes a line change. The management device according to claim 1 or 2,
The line change recognition unit is provided in the management unit. The management device according to claim 3,
The line change recognition means causes the management means to recognize a line change of the production line based on change information from an input means of the management means. The management device according to claim 4,
The management device characterized in that the input means generates the change information based on the movement of the icon of the changed device shown on the display screen of the management means. The management device according to claim 1 or 2,
The line change recognition means is provided in each of the devices. The management device according to claim 1 or 2,
Each of the devices has identification information unique to each device, and the line change recognition means recognizes a line change based on the identification information. A management apparatus including the molding machine according to claim 1 or 2,
The apparatus performance data is stored in at least one of the database of the management means and the database of each apparatus in distinction for each apparatus. The management device according to claim 8, wherein
The apparatus performance data is stored in the database with status information indicating the state of the apparatus added thereto. A method for managing a production line including a molding machine connected to a plurality of apparatuses including a molding machine and performed by a management apparatus that manages the apparatus based on information including performance data of the apparatus,
Let the management device recognize line changes in the production line;
When the management apparatus recognizes a line change, the information regarding the changed apparatus is changed. A production line management method including a molding machine. A production line management method including the molding machine according to claim 10,
A production line management method including a molding machine, wherein when the management device recognizes a line change, the setting content of the device to be changed is changed in accordance with the line change. A method for managing a production line including the molding machine according to claim 10 or 11,
A method for managing a production line including a molding machine, wherein an apparatus icon displayed on a display screen of the management apparatus is moved to recognize the line change. A method for managing a production line including the molding machine according to claim 10 or 11,
A production line management method including a molding machine, wherein status information representing the state of the apparatus is added to the result data of the apparatus and stored in a database.

Images