JP2007148873A - Numerical controller - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a numerical controller allowing a user to easily and rapidly edit machining data when editing the machining data used for machining control of a machine tool. <P>SOLUTION: In a machining center displaying a prescribed data editing screen when prescribed input operation through a plurality of operation procedures is performed, when a program editing button is depressed continuously over 3 sec (S1: YES), a new program creation screen is directly displayed (S7) when a set value S is '1', a latest update program editing screen is directly displayed (S11) when the set value S is '2', and a memory operation program editing screen is directly displayed (S15) when the set value S is '3'. When the program editing button is not depressed continuously over 3 sec (S1: NO), a normal program editing menu screen is displayed (S3). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a numerical control device for arbitrarily editing machining data used for machining control of a machine tool.

  Conventionally, in a machining center which is an example of a machine tool, a workpiece (work) is machined by a tool attached to a spindle (for example, “boring”, “milling”, “drilling”, “cutting”, etc.) Has been given. In such a machining center, it is known that a user can arbitrarily edit various machining data such as an NC program and tool data used for machining control of the machining.

  In the conventional machining center, the user edits various machining data in an interactive manner using a plurality of operation keys while referring to the screen displayed on the display screen. As an example, an operation procedure for a user to create a new NC program in a conventional machining center will be described. FIG. 12 is a screen transition diagram for explaining an operation procedure for creating a new program in a conventional machining center.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the user of the machining center first presses the “program edit mode key” as an operation key. Then, a predetermined “program edit menu screen” is displayed on the display screen (state 1). Next, the user presses the operation key “1” to select the menu “1. Edit program” for editing the NC program. Then, a “program list detail screen” displaying a list of already registered NC programs is displayed (state 2). Next, an unused program number (empty number) is searched with reference to “program list details”, and a number (“37” in this case) indicating the empty number is input from the operation key. Then, the NC program in the initial state to which the empty number is assigned is displayed on the “new program creation screen” (state 3). As a result, the user can arbitrarily edit the initial NC program using the operation keys while referring to the display screen, and press the “setting key” for confirming the input after the editing, so that the new NC program is displayed. Can be created.

Further, in a machine tool in which numerical control is performed as described above, by simply inputting only the type and shape of the final machining, the pre-machining process is determined, and the tools necessary for those machining processes are selected and each There is known a technique in which machining is executed so that the user is not required to input a machining program (see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-61-76253

  However, in the conventional machining center, when creating a new program as described above, the “program edit menu screen” (state 1 in FIG. 12) and the “program list detail screen” (state in FIG. 12) are used by using various operation keys. 2) An operation procedure for sequentially displaying the “new program creation screen” (state 3 in FIG. 12) had to be performed. Further, the user has to search for an unused program number (empty number) by referring to the “program list detail screen” (state 2 in FIG. 12).

  As described above, in the conventional machining center, it is necessary for the user to perform a plurality of operation procedures in order to edit the machining data. Such an operation is inconvenient for the user and hinders quick data editing. The invention described in Patent Document 1 saves the user's trouble of inputting a program, but does not save the user's trouble of editing data.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem. When editing machining data used for machining control of a machine tool, the user can save a predetermined input operation to be performed by the user. It is an object of the present invention to provide a numerical control device that can easily and quickly edit machining data.

  In order to achieve the above object, the numerical control device according to the first aspect of the present invention is used for machining control of a machine tool when a predetermined input operation is performed via a plurality of operation procedures using a plurality of operation keys. In a numerical control apparatus in which a data editing screen for arbitrarily editing processed data to be displayed is displayed on the display means, when a predetermined operation key of the plurality of operation keys is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, the predetermined There is provided a display control means for omitting an input operation and displaying the data editing screen on the display means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, the machining data is a machining program for causing a machine tool to execute a predetermined machining process. And

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, the machining data is a machining condition related to a condition to be considered in machining control of a machine tool. To do.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, the machining data is tool data relating to a tool used for machining control of a machine tool. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the data editing screen is a screen for creating new machining data. A plurality of the processing data stored together with management information for uniquely identifying each of the processing data, and when the predetermined operation key is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, the processing data storage means First display means for searching for management information for use, and the display control means displays on the data editing screen the processed data in the initial state to which the management information searched by the first search means is added. It is characterized by that.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, the data editing screen edits the machining data stored in the machining data storage means. A plurality of the processing data, the processing data storage means stored together with the management information for uniquely identifying each, and pressing the predetermined operation key continuously for a predetermined time, Second search means for searching for the recently updated processed data from the processed data storage means, and the display control means displays the processed data searched by the second search means on the data editing screen. It is characterized by.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the sixth aspect of the invention, the display control means uses the last sequence number or the last updated processing data as the last updated processing data. The data is displayed on the data editing screen from a sequence number in the vicinity thereof.

  In addition to the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the numerical control device according to an eighth aspect of the invention includes the display control among a plurality of operation procedures constituting the predetermined input operation. An omission procedure editing means for arbitrarily editing which operation procedure the means omits is provided.

  In the numerical control device according to the first aspect of the present invention, when a predetermined input operation through a plurality of operation procedures is performed, a data editing screen is displayed on the display means, and a predetermined operation key is set for a predetermined time. When pressed continuously, the data editing screen is displayed on the display means without performing a predetermined input operation. Therefore, when editing the machining data used for machining control of the machine tool, the user can easily and quickly edit the machining data by omitting a predetermined input operation to be performed by the user.

  In the numerical control device according to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the machining data is a machining program for causing the machine tool to execute a predetermined machining process. Thus, the user can easily and quickly edit the machining program.

  In the numerical control apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the machining data is a machining condition related to a condition to be considered in the machining control of the machine tool. Thus, the user can easily and quickly edit the machining conditions.

  In the numerical control device according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the machining data is tool data relating to a tool used for machining control of the machine tool. Therefore, the user can edit the tool data easily and quickly.

  In addition, in the numerical control device of the invention according to claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, unused management information is displayed when a predetermined operation key is continuously pressed for a predetermined time. The search is performed, and the processing data in the initial state with the searched management information is displayed on the data editing screen. Therefore, the user can create new machining data to which unused data numbers are assigned without searching for and inputting unused data numbers.

  In addition, in the numerical control device of the invention according to claim 6, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, when the predetermined operation key is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, the machining data that has been updated recently is displayed. Search and display the searched machining data on the data edit screen. Therefore, the user can edit the recently edited machining data without searching for and inputting recently updated machining data.

  In addition, in the numerical control device of the invention according to claim 7, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 6, the machining data that has been updated recently is obtained from the last sequence number that has been updated or a sequence number in the vicinity thereof. Displayed on the edit screen. Therefore, the user can start editing the recently updated machining data from the part where the update has been completed.

  In addition, in the numerical control device according to the eighth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the invention according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, any operation procedure among a plurality of operation procedures constituting a predetermined input operation Omitted or edited arbitrarily. Therefore, the user can freely edit a shortcut operation pattern in which a predetermined input operation is omitted as necessary.

  Hereinafter, a machining center 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of the machining center 1. FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the machining center 1 excluding the splash cover 3. FIG. 3 is a front view of the machining center 1 centering on the tool change mechanism 20 and the spindle head 7. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the machining center 1. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the keyboard 81 provided on the operation panel 80.

  First, the overall configuration of the machining center 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the machining center 1 moves a workpiece (not shown) and a tool 6 (see FIG. 3) relative to each other to perform desired machining (for example, “boring”, “milling”) on the workpiece. It is a machine tool that can perform cutting, drilling, cutting and the like. The machining center 1 includes a machine body that processes a workpiece, a bed 2 that serves as a base of the machine body, a box-shaped splash cover 3 that is provided on the bed 2 and surrounds the periphery of the machine body. It is mainly composed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the bed 2 is an iron base, and leg portions 2a are respectively provided at the lower four corners thereof, and these four leg portions 2a are installed on a floor surface of a factory or the like. Thus, the machining center 1 is installed at a predetermined location. Furthermore, the core part of the bed 2 is so-called cut-out molding (frame structure with ribs) in order to reduce weight and increase strength.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the splash cover 3 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape, and a machining area in which a workpiece is machined by a machine body is provided inside thereof. On the front surface of the splash cover 3, slide type opening and closing doors 4 and 5 for opening and closing the opening are provided. In addition, glass windows 4a and 5a are provided in the approximate center of the open / close doors 4 and 5, respectively, a handle 4b is provided in the vicinity of the right end of the open / close door 4, and the vicinity of the left end of the open / close door 5 is provided. Is provided with a handle portion 5b. Therefore, the openings are opened by opening these handle portions 4b and 5b away from each other. Then, the operator attaches / detaches the workpiece to / from the table 10 disposed inside the splash cover 3 through the opening.

  Although not shown, a maintenance inspection hatch is detachably provided on each of the left and right side wall portions of the splash cover 3. And the splash cover 3 having the above configuration surrounds the periphery of the machine body and protects it from the outside, and blocks the chips discharged from the machine body and splashes of the cutting fluid from scattering to the outside. It prevents the external environment from being polluted.

  On the other hand, on the right side of the front surface of the splash cover 3, an operation panel 80 having a substantially rectangular shape in front view for operating the machining center 1 is provided. A keyboard 81 having various keys is provided on the front surface of the operation panel 80, and a CRT (display) 89 for displaying a setting screen or an execution operation is provided above the keyboard 81.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a keyboard 81 of the operation panel 80 has a mode selection button 81a for selecting various operation modes, an alphabet key 81b for inputting alphabets, a numeric keypad 81c for inputting numbers, and a cursor. A cursor key 81d for moving, a function key 81e for selecting various functions, a processing key 81f for instructing a processing operation of the machining center 1, a coordinate key 81g for setting coordinates relating to processing of the machining center 1, and various keys A plurality of keys, buttons, and the like are provided, such as a setting button 81i for confirming the content input from the and buttons. Of the mode selection buttons 81a, a button for selecting a program editing mode for the user to arbitrarily edit the NC program is a program editing button 81j.

  The operation panel 80 is controlled so that the display screen of the CRT (display) 89 changes according to the operation of the keyboard 81 by the user. Therefore, the user can edit the NC program and tool data, set and operate the machining operation in an interactive manner using the keyboard 81 while referring to the display screen of the CRT 89.

  Next, the machine body of the machining center 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the machine body of the machining center 1 is housed inside the splash cover 3, is mounted and fixed on the upper surface of the column seat portion 17 a of the bed 2, and extends substantially vertically upward. A prismatic column 17b, a spindle head 7 provided so as to be movable up and down along the front surface of the column 17b, a spindle 9 projecting vertically downward from the lower front side of the spindle head 7, and a right side of the spindle head 7. A tool exchange mechanism (ATC) 20 for exchanging a tool 6 (described later) attached to the tip of the main shaft 9 with another tool 6, a table 10 provided on the upper portion of the bed 2 for detachably holding a workpiece, and a column A control panel 19 is provided mainly on the back side of 17b and incorporates each device such as a power supply device and a control board. A control device 70 for controlling the machining center 1 is disposed inside the control panel 19, and details will be described later.

  A pair of guide rails (not shown) extending in the vertical direction and guiding the spindle head 7 are fixed in the vertical direction on the front surface of the column 17b. A Z motor 86 (see FIG. 4), which is a servo motor, is provided on the upper surface of the column 17b, and a feed screw (not shown) extending below the Z motor 86 is selectively forward and backward. The spindle head 7 is moved in the vertical direction.

  A spindle 9 corresponding to a machining axis is rotatably mounted on the spindle head 7 and a spindle motor 8 (see FIG. 4) for rotating the spindle 9 is provided at the top. A tool 6 (described later) is detachably attached to the tip of the main shaft 9, and the main shaft 9 is driven to rotate by a main shaft motor 8 (see FIG. 4) so that the tool 6 is rotated and fixed on the table 10. The workpiece is processed.

  On the other hand, a table 10 is disposed below the main shaft 9. The table 10 has a workpiece detachably fixed thereto, and is controlled to move in the X-axis direction (left-right direction) and the Y-axis direction (depth direction) by an X motor 87 and a Y motor 88 (see FIG. 4) that are servo motors. Is. A substantially rectangular parallelepiped support base 12 is provided below the table 10, and a pair of X-axis feed guides (not shown) extending along the X-axis direction are provided above the support base 12. Thus, the table 10 is movably supported on the X-axis feed guide. Further, the support 12 is supported on a pair of Y-axis feed guides extending along the longitudinal direction of the bed 2 so as to be movable. In this state, the table 10 is moved in the X-axis direction along the X-axis feed guide by the X motor 87 provided on the bed 2, and the Y motor 88 is also provided on the bed 2 by the Y motor 88. It moves in the Y-axis direction along the axis feed guide.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tool change mechanism 20 includes a tool magazine 30 having a substantially oval shape in side view for storing a plurality of tool holders 60 to which the tool 6 is attached, and a tool holder 60 attached to the spindle 9. And a tool change arm 40 for gripping and transporting the other tool holder 60.

  The tool change arm 40 is an arm provided with gripping portions 41 and 41 capable of gripping the tool holder 60 at both ends at the lower end portion of a cylindrical arm turning shaft 43 that is rotatably and vertically movable. The part 42 is configured to be fixed. The arm turning shaft 43 is parallel to the Z-axis direction, and the arm portion 42 is rotatable about the arm turning shaft 43. A tool change motor 27 (see FIG. 4) is provided on the upper part of the tool change arm 40, and the tool change arm 40 is turned and moved up and down by the rotation of the tool change motor 27.

  In addition, the tool magazine 30 is provided with a transfer mechanism (not shown) in which a plurality of tool pots 31 each capable of storing a plurality of tools 6 are arranged. The attached tool 6 is maintained in a state (stored state) oriented in the lateral direction. A magazine motor 26 (see FIG. 4) is provided on the upper part of the tool magazine 30, and a plurality of tool pots 31 are conveyed by a transfer mechanism (not shown) by the rotational drive of the magazine motor 26.

  Further, a split outlet 32 is formed on the lower end side of the tool magazine 30 and the tool pot 31 extends from the retracted state to the state in which the tool 6 faces downward (changeable state) only at the position where the split outlet 32 is formed. It can be turned. A pot lifting mechanism (not shown) that is driven by an air cylinder 28 (see FIG. 4) and rotates the tool pot 31 to a retracted state or a replaceable state is disposed at the tool replacement position.

  When the tool 6 mounted on the spindle 9 is exchanged, the tool exchange arm 40 first turns in a state where the tool exchange arm 40 is raised to the origin, and the tool holder 60 and the spindle 9 on the tool magazine 30 side are turned. The mounted tool holder 60 is gripped by the gripping portions 41 and 41, respectively. Next, the tool change arm 40 is lowered and a tool removal operation is performed. After that, the tool change arm 40 is turned and the tool holder 60 on the spindle 9 side and the tool holder 60 on the tool magazine 30 side are switched. At this time, the tool change arm 40 rotates 180 degrees. Thereafter, the tool change arm 40 is raised, and the tool 6 held by the tool change arm 40 is mounted on the tool pot 31 or the spindle 9 on the tool magazine 30 side. Then, the tool changing arm 40 turns by a predetermined angle, the tool holder 60 is released from the gripping portions 41, 41, and one cycle of the arm turning operation of the tool changing arm 40 is completed.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the machining center 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 70 that controls the entire machining center 1 is composed of a microcomputer, and is basically composed of a CPU 71, ROM 72, RAM 73, an input interface 74, and an output interface 75. A keyboard 81 provided on the operation panel 80 is connected to the input interface 74 of the control device 70, and a CRT 89 is connected to the output interface 75 of the control device 70.

  The output interface 75 of the control device 70 is connected to the Z motor 86, X motor 87, Y motor 88, spindle motor 8, magazine motor 26, tool change motor 27, and air cylinder 28 described above. The Z motor 86, the X motor 87, the Y motor 88, the spindle motor 8, the magazine motor 26, and the tool change motor 27 are provided with encoders 86a, 87a, 88a, 8a, 26a, and 27a for detecting respective rotation angles. These are connected to the input interface 74, respectively. Then, signals from the encoders 86 a, 87 a, 88 a, 8 a, 26 a, 27 a are respectively input to the control device 70 via the input interface 74. As a result, the control device 70 controls the speeds of the Z motor 86, the X motor 87, the Y motor 88, the spindle motor 8, the magazine motor 26, and the tool change motor 27, respectively.

  Further, an arm sensor 82, a Z-axis origin sensor 83, a pot raising sensor 84, and a pot lowering sensor 85 are connected to the input interface 74 of the control device 70. The arm sensor 82 detects the end of one cycle of the arm turning operation of the tool changing arm 40, and the operation of the tool changing arm 40 is controlled based on the detection signal. The Z-axis origin sensor 83 detects the origin of the spindle 9 (tool change height position of the spindle 9), and positioning control of the spindle 9 is performed based on the detection signal. The pot raising sensor 84 detects that the tool pot 31 is in a retracted state, and the pot lowering sensor 85 detects that the tool pot 31 is in a replaceable state. The raising / lowering control of the pot raising / lowering mechanism (not shown) is performed based on the signal.

  The plurality of tool pots 31 described above are provided with a pot identification plate 78 that moves integrally with the tool pot 31. The pot identifying plate 78 is formed with a light transmission portion (not shown) having a different pattern for each tool pot 31 so that each tool pot 31 can be identified individually. The tool magazine 30 is provided with an identification sensor 79 that individually identifies the plurality of tool pots 31. The identification sensor 79 is composed of a light projecting element 79a and a light receiving element 79b arranged to face each other with the pot identification plate 78 interposed therebetween. Which tool pot 31 is conveyed is detected, and predetermined tool 6 positioning control is performed based on this detection signal.

  Further, the RAM 73 of the control device 70 is provided with a machining data storage area (not shown) for storing various data (hereinafter referred to as machining data) used for machining control of the machining center 1. In this embodiment, a plurality of NC programs, which are machining programs for causing the machining center 1 to execute a predetermined machining process, are stored in the machining data storage area together with related information such as the program number, file size, and comments. Has been. The ROM 72 of the control device 70 stores in advance a control program for executing a main process (FIG. 6) of a data editing operation described later.

  Here, the machining center 1 according to the present invention omits a predetermined input operation when the user continuously presses a predetermined key (in this embodiment, the program edit button 81j) of the keyboard 81 for a predetermined time (that is, long press). (Shortcut), and a data editing screen for the user to arbitrarily edit the machining data is directly displayed on the CRT 89. The RAM 73 of the control device 70 stores a shortcut operation (what kind of data editing screen should be displayed) that is executed when a predetermined key of the keyboard 81 is pressed and held together with the shortcut number. An information storage area (not shown) and a set value storage area (not shown) for storing, as the set value S, a shortcut number indicating a shortcut operation executed in a main process (FIG. 6) described later are provided. In this embodiment, the setting value S of the RAM 73 can be set to any one of the shortcut numbers “1” to “3”, and “1” is set as the initial value.

  Hereinafter, display control of the data editing screen executed by the control device 70 of the machining center 1 will be described. The data editing screen refers to various screens displayed on the CRT 89 in order to arbitrarily edit processing data used for processing control of the machining center 1. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a main process of display control of the data editing screen. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the program edit menu screen 100a. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the new program creation screen 100b. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the latest update program editing screen 100c. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the memory operation program editing screen 100d. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the long press shortcut editing screen 100e. This process is executed by the CPU 71 based on the control program stored in the ROM 72 of the control device 70, and is started when the user presses the program edit button 81j of the keyboard 81.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the main process of display control of the data editing screen, it is first determined whether or not the program editing button 81j provided on the keyboard 81 of the operation panel 80 is pressed for 3 seconds or more (S1). When the user presses the program edit button 81j for a short time of less than 3 seconds, it is determined that the user has not pressed the program edit button 81j continuously for more than 3 seconds (S1: NO), so as in the conventional technique (see FIG. 12), The program edit menu screen 100a is displayed on the CRT 89 of the operation panel 80 (S3). The program editing menu screen 100 a displays a plurality of menus related to program editing work so that the user can select any menu using the keyboard 81.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a program editing menu screen 100a, which is one of the data editing screens, is basically the same as the conventional “program editing menu screen” (state 1 in FIG. 12). “1. Program editing” for editing programs, “2. Directory display” for displaying NC program directories, “3. External for reading NC programs of external devices or writing NC programs to external devices. Input / output ". Further, the menu includes “4. Long press shortcut editing” which is a menu for editing a shortcut operation executed when the user presses and holds a predetermined key of the keyboard 81 (in this embodiment, the program edit button 81j).

  Then, when editing the NC program from the program editing menu screen 100a as in the conventional case, the user presses “1” on the numeric keypad 81c in order to select the menu “1. Program editing”. Then, a “program list detail screen” displaying a list of already registered NC programs is displayed (state 2 in FIG. 12). Next, an unused program number (empty number) is searched with reference to the “program list detail screen”, and a number (here, “37”) indicating the empty number is input from the numeric keypad 81c. Then, the NC program in the initial state to which the empty number is assigned is displayed on the “new program creation screen” (state 3 in FIG. 12). Thus, the user arbitrarily edits the initial NC program using the keyboard 81 while referring to the CRT 89, and creates a new NC program by pressing the setting button 81i for confirming the input after the editing. be able to.

  On the other hand, if the user presses the program edit button 81j for a long time of 3 seconds or longer, it is determined that the user has continuously pressed the program editing button 81j for 3 seconds or longer (S1: YES), so the set value S of the RAM 73 is “1”. It is determined whether or not (S5). When the set value S of the RAM 73 is “1” (S5: YES), the new program creation screen 100b is displayed on the CRT 89 (S75).

  As shown in FIG. 8, the new program creation screen 100b, which is one of the data editing screens, allows the user to arbitrarily select a new NC program as in the conventional “new program creation screen” (state 3 in FIG. 12). This is a screen for creating and registering. Therefore, the NC program in the initial state is displayed on the new program creation screen 100b, and the cursor is displayed at the top sequence number “000001”. Further, the program number “0037” is automatically assigned to the NC program in the initial state.

  That is, in S7, an unused program number is searched from the machining data storage area of the RAM 73, and the initial NC program to which the searched program number is assigned is displayed on the new program creation screen 100b. In other words, a shortcut operation for directly displaying the new program creation screen 100b on the CRT 89 is executed without going through a plurality of key operations on the operation panel 80 and screen transitions corresponding thereto. In the present embodiment, program numbers other than program numbers assigned to NC programs already registered in the machining data storage area of the RAM 73 are searched in ascending order from the top as unused program numbers, and are searched first. The unused unused program number (“0037” in FIG. 8) is automatically assigned to the new program.

  That is, if the setting value S of the RAM 73 is set to “1” in advance, when the user's purpose is “creation of a new NC program”, a plurality of operation procedures (state 1 in FIG. 12) are used. Even without step 3), it is possible to start creating a new program on the new program creation screen 100b simply by pressing and holding the program edit button 81j. Furthermore, since the user does not have to search for an unused program number by himself / herself, the time and labor involved in creating a new program is further reduced.

  On the other hand, when the set value S of the RAM 73 is not “1” (S5: NO), it is determined whether or not the set value S of the RAM 73 is “2” (S9). When the set value S of the RAM 73 is “2” (S9: YES), the latest update program edit screen 100c is displayed on the CRT 89 (S11).

  As shown in FIG. 9, the latest update program edit screen 100c, which is one of the data edit screens, is an NC program that has been recently updated (for example, last time) by the user among the NC programs already registered in the machining data storage area of the RAM 73. This is a screen for editing the program. For this reason, the NC program that has been recently updated by the user is displayed on the latest update program editing screen 100c, and the cursor is displayed at the top sequence number “000001”. Further, the program number “2427” has already been assigned to this recently updated NC program.

  That is, in S11, the NC program that has been updated recently is searched from the machining data storage area of the RAM 73, and the searched NC program is displayed on the latest update program editing screen 100c together with the program number. In other words, a shortcut operation for directly displaying the latest update program editing screen 100c on the CRT 89 is executed without going through a plurality of key operations on the operation panel 80 and screen transitions corresponding thereto. In the present embodiment, the program number of the edited NC program (“2427” in FIG. 8) is stored in the predetermined storage area of the RAM 73 at the end of the recently performed editing operation. The recently edited NC program is retrieved from the machining data storage area based on the programmed program number.

  That is, if the setting value S of the RAM 73 is set to “2” in advance, when the user's purpose is “editing the NC program that has been recently updated”, it is not necessary to perform a plurality of operation procedures as in the past. By simply pressing and holding the program edit button 81j, editing of the latest update program can be started on the latest update program editing screen 100c. Furthermore, since the user does not have to memorize and retrieve the program name and program number of the latest update program, the trouble of editing the latest update program is further reduced.

  On the other hand, when the set value S of the RAM 73 is not “2” (S9: NO), it is determined whether or not the set value S of the RAM 73 is “3” (S13). When the set value S of the RAM 73 is “3” (S13: YES), the memory operation program edit screen 100d is displayed on the CRT 89 (S15).

  As shown in FIG. 10, the memory operation program edit screen 100 d that is one of the data edit screens is a memory operation that is executed during the memory operation of the machining center 1 among the NC programs already registered in the machining data storage area of the RAM 73. This is a screen for editing the program. Therefore, the NC program set as the memory operation program is displayed on the memory operation program editing screen 100d, and the cursor is displayed at the first sequence number “000001”. Further, the program number “3001” is already assigned to the NC program set as the memory operation program.

  That is, in S15, the NC program set as the memory operation program is searched from the machining data storage area of the RAM 73, and the searched NC program is displayed on the memory operation program editing screen 100d together with the program number. In other words, a shortcut operation for directly displaying the memory operation program editing screen 100d on the CRT 89 is executed without going through a plurality of key operations on the operation panel 80 and screen transitions corresponding thereto. In the present embodiment, a predetermined flag is set in the NC program set as the memory operation program in the machining data storage area of the RAM 73, and the memory operation program corresponds to the set flag based on the set flag. The NC program is searched.

  That is, if the setting value S of the RAM 73 is set to “3” in advance, when the user's purpose is “edit NC program for memory operation”, a plurality of operation procedures are not required as in the prior art. However, it is possible to start editing the memory operation program on the memory operation program editing screen 100d by simply pressing and holding the program edit button 81j. Furthermore, since the user does not have to memorize and retrieve the program name and program number of the memory operation program, the trouble of editing the memory operation program is further reduced.

  On the other hand, when the set value S of the RAM 73 is not “3” (S13: NO), since none of the set values S1 to “3” is set, the shortcut operation is not executed. A predetermined error display (for example, “no shortcut operation is set”) is displayed on the CRT 89 (S17). Note that after executing any of S3, S7, S11, S15, and S17, the main process (FIG. 6) ends. When the user performs various operations from the keyboard 81 of the operation panel 80, the display screen control corresponding to the operations is executed by the CPU 71.

  Here, editing of the setting value S stored in the RAM 73 will be described. In the present embodiment, when the user selects “4. Long press shortcut edit” from the above-described program edit menu screen 100 a (see FIG. 7), the long press shortcut edit screen 100 e is displayed on the CRT 89.

  As shown in FIG. 11, on the long press shortcut editing screen 100e, the shortcut numbers already registered in the shortcut information storage area of the RAM 73 and their shortcut operations are listed as shortcut menus. Specifically, the shortcut operation “create new program” corresponding to the shortcut number “1”, the shortcut operation “latest update program edit” corresponding to the shortcut number “2”, and the shortcut operation corresponding to the shortcut number “3”. “Edit memory operation program” is displayed as a selection menu. When the user selects an arbitrary shortcut number from the long press shortcut edit screen 100e, the shortcut number is set as the set value S in the set value storage area of the RAM 73.

  In the main process (FIG. 6), a shortcut operation corresponding to the set value S is executed. That is, if the set value S is “1”, the new program creation screen 100b is displayed by the shortcut operation “new program creation” (S7). If the set value S is “2”, the latest update program edit screen 100c is displayed by the shortcut operation “edit latest update program” (S11). If the set value S is “3”, the memory operation program edit screen 100d is displayed by the shortcut operation “edit memory operation program” (S15).

  Then, the user can arbitrarily perform shortcut editing from the long press shortcut editing screen 100e. For example, when the shortcut operation executed in the main process (FIG. 6) is to be changed from “new program creation” to “latest update program editing”, if the shortcut number “2” is selected together with a predetermined change command, the RAM 73 The set value S “1” is changed to “2”. If the user wants to delete the menu “1. Edit latest update program” from the long press shortcut edit screen 100e, select the shortcut number “1” together with a predetermined delete command, and it is stored in the shortcut information storage area of the RAM 73. The shortcut action "Create new program" is deleted. When a new shortcut menu is to be registered in the long press shortcut editing screen 100e, an unused shortcut number and an arbitrary shortcut operation are input together with a predetermined new creation command, and a new shortcut is stored in the shortcut information storage area of the RAM 73. be registered. Further, when it is desired to change the execution content of the shortcut operation already registered in the long press shortcut editing screen 100e, the execution content of each shortcut operation can be arbitrarily modified together with a predetermined editing command, and the shortcut information storage area of the RAM 73 can be used. The execution content of the operation is updated.

  For example, the user registers an unused shortcut number “4” and the shortcut operation “Edit latest program” as a new shortcut from the long press shortcut edit screen 100e, and sets “4” as the setting value S. Then, in the main process (FIG. 6), when the user presses the program edit button 81j for a long time, the NC program that the user recently created (for example, last time) is arbitrarily edited by the shortcut operation “edit latest created program”. The latest creation program edit screen (not shown) is displayed.

  As a result, if the setting value S of the RAM 73 is set to “4” in advance, when the user's purpose is “editing a recently created NC program”, a plurality of operation procedures are not required as in the prior art. In addition, editing of the latest creation program can be started on the latest creation program editing screen (not shown) simply by pressing and holding the program edit button 81j. Furthermore, since the user does not have to memorize and search the program name and program number of the latest created program, the trouble of editing the latest created program is further reduced.

  In addition, the user can not only display the NC program that has been updated recently, but also finish editing the NC program from the long-press shortcut editing screen 100e. The display is changed to display from the last sequence number or the sequence number in the vicinity thereof, and the set value S is set to “2”. Then, in the main process (FIG. 6), when the user presses the program edit button 81j for a long time, the NC program that has been recently updated by the user by the shortcut operation “Edit latest update program” The latest update program editing screen 100c is displayed (S11).

  As a result, if the setting value S of the RAM 73 is set to “2” in advance, when the user's purpose is “editing the NC program that has been recently updated”, the latest update program editing screen 100c is updated as described above. You can start editing the update program. Furthermore, since the user can start editing from the part where the previous editing has been completed without having to memorize and retrieve the last sequence number of the latest update program himself, the trouble of editing the latest update program is further reduced. The

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the shortcut operation “new program creation” is executed, all of the conventional series of operation procedures (states 1 to 3 in FIG. 12) are omitted, and the new program creation screen 100b is directly displayed. It is displayed (S7). However, when the user edits the execution contents of the registered shortcut operation “new program creation”, only the conventional “program editing menu screen” (state 1 in FIG. 12) is omitted, and the “program list detail screen” ( State 2) in FIG. 12 may be directly displayed.

  In this way, the user can freely edit the shortcut operation as necessary by performing various edits related to the shortcut operation from the long press shortcut editing screen 100e. Then, the user can arbitrarily set contents such as which operation procedure to omit among a plurality of operation procedures constituting a predetermined input operation.

  As described above, according to the machining center 1 according to the present embodiment, when a predetermined input operation through a plurality of operation procedures is performed from the keyboard 81, a predetermined data editing screen is displayed on the CRT 89, and the program When the edit button 81j is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, the predetermined input operation is omitted and the data edit screen is displayed on the CRT 89. Therefore, when editing an NC program for causing the machining center 1 to execute a predetermined machining process, the user can easily and quickly edit the NC program by eliminating the time and effort of a predetermined input operation to be performed by the user. .

  When the program edit button 81j is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, an unused program number is searched from the machining data storage area of the RAM 73, and the NC program in the initial state to which the searched program number is assigned is a new program. It is displayed on the creation screen 100b. Therefore, the user can create a new NC program to which an unused program number is assigned without searching for and entering an unused program number.

  When the program edit button 81j is continuously pressed for a predetermined time, the NC data that has been recently updated is searched from the machining data storage area of the RAM 73, and the searched NC program is displayed on the latest update program editing screen 100c. did. Therefore, the user can edit the recently updated NC program without searching for and inputting the recently updated NC program. Further, the recently updated NC program is displayed on the latest update program editing screen 100c from the last sequence number whose update has been completed or a sequence number in the vicinity thereof. Therefore, the user can start editing the NC program that has been recently updated from the site where the latest update has been completed.

  Furthermore, the user arbitrarily edits which operation procedure to omit among a plurality of operation procedures constituting a predetermined input operation from the long press shortcut editing screen 100e. Therefore, the user can freely edit a pattern in which a predetermined input operation is omitted as necessary.

  In the above embodiment, the machining center 1 corresponds to the “machine tool” of the present invention, and the control device 70 corresponds to the “numerical control device”. The NC program corresponds to “processing data” of the present invention, the keyboard 81 corresponds to “plural operation keys” of the present invention, the CRT 89 corresponds to “display means” of the present invention, and various display screens 100a to 100a. 100e corresponds to the “data editing screen” of the present invention, and the RAM 73 provided with the machining data storage area (not shown) corresponds to the “processing data storage means” of the present invention. Further, the CPU 71 that executes the main process (FIG. 6) corresponds to the “display control means” of the present invention, the CPU 71 that executes S7 corresponds to the “first search means” of the present invention, and the CPU 71 that executes S11. Corresponds to the “second search unit” of the present invention, and the CPU 71 executing shortcut editing on the shortcut editing screen 100e corresponds to the “omitted procedure editing unit” of the present invention.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Of course, various improvement and deformation | transformation are possible within the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the shortcut operation related to the display control of the data editing screen, which is executed when the program editing button 81j is pressed and held, is exemplified. However, a predetermined shortcut operation may be executed when a predetermined operation key other than the program edit button 81j (for example, another mode selection button 81a or a function key 81e) is pressed and held.

  Further, when a predetermined operation key is pressed for a long time, a shortcut operation other than the display control of the data editing screen may be executed. As an example, when the user presses and holds a predetermined function key 81e, the user displays a maintenance operation screen for performing maintenance of the machining center 1, or the machining operation for the user to operate the workpiece machining in the machining center 1. A screen may be displayed.

  In the above-described embodiment, various shortcut operations are executed according to the set value S. However, as described above, the set value S and various shortcut operations can be arbitrarily edited. For example, if the set value S is “0”, a shortcut operation that resets (initializes) the display screen of the CRT 89 may be executed.

  In the above embodiment, the NC program is exemplified as “machining data”. However, various data can be applied to the “machining data” as long as it is used for machining control of the machining center 1. These various data may be stored in the machining data storage area (not shown) of the RAM 73.

  For example, as “machining data”, machining conditions relating to conditions to be considered in machining control of the machining center 1 (for example, workpiece material and strength, machining shape, machining position, etc.) can be used. When the user presses and holds a predetermined operation key (for example, a machining condition edit button), a new condition registration screen (not shown) for setting a new machining condition is directly displayed on the CRT 89. The shortcut operation may be executed in the same manner as described above.

  Further, as “machining data”, tool data (for example, tool length, weight, type, application, etc.) relating to a tool used for machining control of the machining center 1 can be used. When the user presses and holds a predetermined operation key (for example, a tool edit button), a new tool registration screen (not shown) for registering new tool data is directly displayed on the CRT 89. The operation may be performed in the same manner as described above.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, only one shortcut operation is executed when a predetermined operation key is pressed and held. However, in the machining center 1, a plurality of shortcut operations may be executed in response to a long press of a predetermined operation key. For example, when the user presses and holds a predetermined function key 81e, the display screen of the CRT 89 is reset (initialized) and the maintenance operation of the machining center 1 is performed simultaneously.

  In the machining center 1, a plurality of shortcut operations for a long press of a predetermined operation key may be set. For example, if the user presses the machining condition edit button (not shown) for a long time, a new condition registration screen (not shown) is displayed, while if the user presses the tool edit button (not shown) for a long time, a new tool is registered. For example, a screen (not shown) is displayed. Further, different shortcut operations may be executed according to the time or pressure when the user presses a predetermined operation key.

  The numerical control apparatus of the present invention can be used for a machining center or the like that edits various machining data in an interactive manner using a plurality of operation keys while referring to a screen displayed on a display screen by a user.

1 is a front view of a machining center 1. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a machining center 1 excluding a splash cover 3. FIG. 2 is a front view of the machining center 1 centering on a tool change mechanism 20 and a spindle head 7. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the machining center 1. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a keyboard 81 provided on an operation panel 80. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the main process of the display control of a data edit screen. It is a figure which shows an example of the program edit menu screen 100a. It is a figure which shows an example of the new program creation screen 100b. It is a figure which shows an example of the latest update program edit screen 100c. It is a figure which shows an example of the memory operation program edit screen 100d. It is a figure which shows an example of the long press shortcut edit screen 100e. It is a screen transition diagram for demonstrating the operation procedure for creating a new program in the conventional machining center.

Explanation of symbols

1 Machining Center 7 Spindle Head 9 Spindle 19 Control Panel 20 Tool Change Mechanism 70 Controller 71 CPU
72 ROM
73 RAM
80 Operation panel 81 Keyboard 89 CRT
100a Program edit menu screen 100b New program creation screen 100c Latest update program edit screen 100d Memory operation program edit screen 100e Shortcut edit screen

Claims (8)

When a predetermined input operation through a plurality of operation procedures is performed using a plurality of operation keys, a data editing screen for arbitrarily editing machining data used for machining control of the machine tool is displayed on the display means. In the numerical control device,
A display control unit configured to omit the predetermined input operation and display the data editing screen on the display unit when a predetermined operation key of the plurality of operation keys is continuously pressed for a predetermined time; Characteristic numerical control device.   The numerical control device according to claim 1, wherein the machining data is a machining program for causing a machine tool to execute a predetermined machining process.   The numerical control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the machining data is a machining condition related to a condition to be considered in machining control of a machine tool.   The numerical control device according to claim 1, wherein the machining data is tool data relating to a tool used for machining control of a machine tool. The data editing screen is a screen for creating new machining data,
A plurality of processing data, processing data storage means stored together with management information for uniquely identifying each of the processing data,
A first search means for searching for unused management information from the machining data storage means when the predetermined operation key is continuously pressed for a predetermined time;
5. The display control unit according to claim 1, wherein the processing data in the initial state to which the management information retrieved by the first retrieval unit is added is displayed on the data editing screen. Numerical control unit. The data editing screen is a screen for editing machining data stored in the machining data storage means,
A plurality of processing data, processing data storage means stored together with management information for uniquely identifying each of the processing data,
A second search unit that searches the machining data storage unit for recently updated machining data when the predetermined operation key is continuously pressed for a predetermined time;
5. The numerical control device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit displays the processing data searched by the second search unit on the data editing screen. 6.   The numerical control according to claim 6, wherein the display control means displays the recently updated machining data on the data editing screen from the last sequence number at which the update has been completed or a sequence number in the vicinity thereof. apparatus. The omission procedure editing means for arbitrarily editing which operation procedure the display control means omits among a plurality of operation procedures constituting the predetermined input operation. The numerical controller according to any one of 1 to 7.

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