JP2006326768A - Automatic tool exchanging device of machine tool - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a high-speed tool exchanging by enabling an immediate tool exchanging operation at the end position of machining. <P>SOLUTION: The automatic tool exchanging device is provided with a spindle head 8 rotatably supporting a spindle 14, an elevating body 17 disposed at the front side position of the spindle head 8 through an elevating operation means A, a swing body 20 swingably disposed by a support shaft 21 provided on the elevating body 17, a lot of holding pawls 22 which are disposed on the periphery of the swing body 20, and detache a tool holder 30 by the opening/closing operation, an indexing drive means B positioning a desired tool holder 30 at the tool changing position right under the spindle 14, and an opening/closing actuation means C opening/closing the holding pawls 22 at the tool changing position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic tool changer for a machine tool that achieves a high-speed tool change operation and a compact structure.

  A large number of gripping claws (grippers) are arranged on the circumference of the revolving body (turret), and a desired one of the tools held by the gripping claws is indexed to a tool change position directly below the main spindle, and at this position, An apparatus for performing a tool change in a series by performing a relative lifting operation of a tool and a spindle and a gripping claw opening / closing operation is already known from Patent Document 1.

  This conventional automatic tool changer has an arm member, a plurality of grippers on the outer periphery, a turret holding a tool holder with the grippers, a crank fixed to the back surface of the turret, a first fixed to the spindle head, A second cam, a swing roller for causing the turret to swing in cooperation with the first cam, a lift slider connected to the crank and the rotation shaft, a lift link connected to the lift slider, and a rotation attached to the lift link A lift lever having an arm member that rotates about an axis, a lift roller provided on the arm member of the lift lever, and a turret for rotating a turret gear and a turret gear that mesh with a main shaft gear provided on the main shaft. It is composed of a speed reducer that decelerates, transmits to the turret, and rotates.

  Based on the tool change command, the spindle head moves up and stops at the origin position of the Z-axis, the orientation of the spindle is carried out at this position, and after completion of the orientation, the spindle head further rises, The swing roller and the first cam cause the turret to swing counterclockwise, and the gripper disposed on the outer periphery of the turret engages with the groove of the tool holder attached to the main shaft. Further, the spindle head moves up and the tool holder 1a is removed from the spindle. At the end of the spindle head raising operation, the spindle gear and the turret gear are engaged, and in this state, the spindle rotates to execute indexing of a desired tool. Thus, after the desired tool holder is selected, the spindle head moves downward, thereby disengaging the spindle gear and the turret gear, mounting the tool holder in the spindle taper hole, and retracting the gripper from the tool holder.

Now, in the above-described conventional automatic tool changer, the turret provided with the tool holder and the spindle head are configured separately, and the turret always takes a standby state at the upper position. For this reason, each time the tool is changed, the spindle head must return to the upper end, which is the origin of the Z axis, and the tool change operation cannot be performed immediately at the machining end position. Therefore, it has been unavoidable that extra time is required for tool replacement. Further, this tool changer requires a link mechanism, a cam mechanism, and the like that travels to a position outside the spindle head, and thus has a problem that the configuration is complicated and large.
JP 2005-28460

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to make it possible to immediately perform the tool change operation at the machining end position, thereby speeding up the tool change. Another object is to reduce the size of the structure by eliminating complicated link mechanisms.

  As a means for solving the problem, the automatic tool changer for a machine tool according to the present invention is provided such that the spindle head and the swivel body holding the tool holder are integrally provided via the lifting / lowering operation means and can be moved together. The biggest feature.

  According to the gantry-type machine tool of the present invention, the swivel body is always arranged close to the spindle head, and the spindle head does not move greatly to the rising end position every time the tool is changed. For this reason, tool change can be performed immediately at the processing end position, and high speed can be achieved. Further, since the link mechanism and the cam mechanism are not employed, the configuration can be simplified.

  The objective of moving the spindle head and the revolving body integrally and speeding up the tool change operation is realized simply and rationally by the following configuration.

  FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of an automatic tool changer for a machine tool according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view taken along line XX of FIG. Is a Y-axis guide rail 3 disposed on the horizontal beam 1, a horizontal movement base movably disposed on the Y-axis guide rail 2 via a slide bearing. The horizontal movement base 3 is a feed screw shaft 5 on the horizontal beam 1 side. These are controlled and moved in the Y-axis direction by the passive nut 6 on the horizontal movement base 3 side and a servo motor (not shown).

  7 is a Z-axis guide rail disposed on the horizontal movement base 3. 8 is a spindle head which is movably disposed on the Z-axis guide rail 7 via a slide bearing. The spindle head 8 includes a feed screw shaft 10, a passive nut 11 and Controlled and moved in the Z-axis direction by the Z-axis servomotor 12. Is done. Reference numeral 13 denotes a drive motor 14 built in the spindle head 8, a spindle formed by the output shaft of the drive motor 13, and a tapered hole 14 a corresponding to a tapered portion of a tool holder described later is formed at the lower end of the spindle 14. Reference numeral 15 denotes a pneumatic cylinder that moves up and down a draw bar (not shown because it is well known) in the main shaft 14.

  Reference numeral 16 denotes a guide rail in the Z-axis direction disposed on the front side of the spindle head 8. Reference numeral 17 denotes a lifting body which is disposed on the guide rail 16 via a slide bearing so as to be movable up and down. A is a pneumatic pressure attached downward to the spindle head 8 side. The lifting / lowering operation means is constituted by a cylinder 18 and a piston rod 19 attached to the lifting / lowering body 17. The swinging body 20 disposed on the lifting / lowering body 17 is lifted / lowered. The revolving body 20 is rotatably held by a support shaft 21 protruding from the elevating body 17.

  A number 22 (six in the embodiment, first to sixth) gripping claws 22 arranged on the same circumference as the outer periphery of the revolving body 20, as shown in FIG. It comprises a pair of lever-like sandwiching pieces 23, 23, a spring 24 for imparting a closing tendency to the sandwiching pieces 23, 23, and a stopper 25 for regulating the closing interval. B is an indexing drive means for the gripping claws 22 constituted by a turning drive motor 26 attached to the lifting body 17, a drive gear 27 provided on the output shaft of the turning drive motor 26, and a passive gear 28 of the turning body 20 meshing with the drive gear 27. This index drive means B controls the turning body 20 so that the desired gripping claw 11 is positioned at the tool change position immediately below the main shaft 14 described above.

  Reference numeral 30 denotes a tool holder 31 that is held by the gripping claws 22 by engaging the concave groove portions with the sandwich pieces 23, 23. A tool fixed to the tool holder 30 through a chuck. The above tool holder 30 is a well-known tool holder. And a pull stud that engages with the locking portion of the draw bar. C is an opening / closing operation means for the gripping claw 22 provided on the spindle head 8 side corresponding to the gripping claw 22 at the tool change position. This opening / closing operation means C is composed of a pneumatic cylinder 32 and a piston rod 33 that projects to both ends. The piston rod 33 corresponds to the end portions of the sandwiching pieces 23 and 23 in the gripping claw 22. (See Figure 2)

  Reference numeral 40 denotes a chip scattering prevention cover that surrounds the outer periphery of the tool 31 held on the main shaft 14. This scattering prevention cover 40 is retracted vertically from a horizontal surrounding position by an arm member 41 and a pneumatic cylinder 42 linked to the arm member 41. Set to position.

  The configuration of the automatic tool changer for a machine tool according to one embodiment is as described above. In the state where the tool 31 is held at the tip of the spindle 14 and a workpiece (not shown) is being cut, the spindle head 8 On the other hand, the turning body 20 is set as shown in FIG. That is, the swing body 20 is pulled up to the upper position by the lifting / lowering operation means A, and the gripping claws 22 are opened by the opening / closing operation means C as shown in FIG. Accordingly, in this state, the spindle 14 can be rotated at high speed without any trouble, and further, the cutting can be smoothly performed by controlling and moving the spindle head 8 in the Z-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. During this cutting movement, the spindle head 8 and the swivel body 20 move together.

  In order to use the second tool 31 instead of the first tool 31 in use after the above-described cutting process is finished, first, the piston rod 33 in the opening / closing operation means C is contracted to close the gripping claws 22. . The first tool holder 30 is held by the gripping claws 22. After the holding, the draw bar in the main shaft 14 is lowered to release the engagement with the pull stud in the tool holder 30, and the chip scattering prevention cover 40 is set at the retracted position. Then, the tool holder 30 is moved together with the revolving unit 20 to the lowered position as shown in FIG.

  When the removal operation of the first tool 31 is completed in this way, the turning body 20 is controlled to rotate by the indexing drive means B, and the desired second tool 31 is moved to the tool change position, that is, directly below the main shaft 14. Set to position. Then, each means is operated in the reverse order to the above-described removal of the tool to attach the second tool 31 to the spindle 14. That is, first, the tool holder 30 is pulled up and fitted to the main spindle 14 by the lifting operation means A. After the fitting, the draw bar is lifted to fix the tool holder 30 to the main shaft.

When the installation of the tool is completed, the gripping claw 22 is opened by the opening / closing operation means C, and the spindle 14 is set in a rotatable state. Then, the chip scattering prevention cover 40 is set at a horizontal tool go position. By the above, the 2nd tool 31 can be attached to the main axis | shaft 14, and it can respond to the next cutting process.

It is the side view which showed one Example of the automatic tool change apparatus of a machine tool. It is an enlarged plan view cut | disconnected and shown by the XX line of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the operating state of the automatic tool changer which concerns on one Example.

Explanation of symbols

8 Spindle head 14 Spindle 17 Lifting body 20 Revolving body 21 Spindle 22 Grip claw 23 Claw claw 30 Tool holder 31 Tool 32 Pneumatic cylinder 40 Chip scattering prevention cover A Lifting operation means B Indexing drive means C Opening / closing operation means

Claims (1)

A spindle head that rotatably supports the spindle, a lifting body that is disposed at a front side position of the spindle head via a lifting operation means, a swiveling body that is pivotally disposed by a support shaft provided on the lifting body, and a swiveling body In the above-mentioned tool change position, there are a number of gripping claws for attaching and detaching the tool holder by opening and closing operations, indexing drive means for positioning a desired tool holder at a tool change position directly below the spindle, and An automatic tool changer for a machine tool, comprising: an opening / closing operation means for opening and closing the gripping claws.