JP2007196390A - Controller for molding machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a controller for a molding machine which can determine a setting value of molding conditions to be a nondefective in a short time by determining a setting value to be changed in reference to the setting history of past molding conditions. <P>SOLUTION: The change history of the setting value of setting items concerning the molding conditions of the molding machine 11a in a prescribed past period is extracted by the controller 21 for the molding machine 11a. The controller 21 makes the extracted change history be indicated in an indication part 21a. On the basis of the indicated change history, the setting value of the setting items of the molding machine 11a is changed by an operator. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a molding machine management apparatus, and more particularly to a molding machine management apparatus that can store various setting values and detection values representing molding conditions and display them later on a display device.

  Conventionally, before entering a mass production process for producing a molded product by a molding machine, molding conditions for molding a good product are determined in a trial production process. The quality of a molded product is determined by various setting values and molding material conditions relating to the operation of the molding machine in a complicated manner. Therefore, setting the theoretical setting value alone does not result in optimum molding conditions. Therefore, in the prototype process, the molding machine is actually operated to mold various molded values while changing various set values, and the molding conditions for the molded products to become target non-defective products are found.

  In the prototyping process, the operator changes various set values little by little while looking at the quality of the molded product to bring it closer to the target non-defective product. At this time, it is determined which set value is to be changed based on the knowledge and experience of the operator. The operator is proficient in manufacturing a molded product, and empirically determines which set value is changed and which actual value is corrected to be close to the target non-defective product. After the molding conditions for molding good products are determined in the prototype process, the process proceeds to the mass production process, and the molding machine is operated based on the molding conditions determined in the prototype process to mass-produce the molded products.

Here, an injection molding machine including a setting history display device that displays a history of designated setting values when trials are repeated while changing various setting values has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). ).
JP 2001-129862 A

  When the process proceeds to the mass production process of molded products, a large amount of molded products are molded by a molding machine. If the molding environment such as molding machine conditions and molding material conditions change over time while molding in the mass production process, the molded product will be defective even if molding is performed under the molding conditions set by the prototype process. It may become. Therefore, in order to prevent defective products from being formed continuously, it is necessary to constantly control the quality so that non-defective products are formed by changing the setting values when the defective products are formed and changing the molding conditions.

  Based on experience in the prototype process, the operator who has determined the molding conditions for a good product in the prototype process can determine which set value should be changed or adjusted when a defective product is molded in the mass production process. Judgment can be easily made, and the molded product can be immediately returned to a non-defective product. However, if the operator is different between the prototype process and the mass production process, it is difficult to pass on the rules of thumb and implicit values possessed by the operator in the prototype process to the operator in the mass production process. An operator in the process has to perform trial and error from the beginning in order to return a defective product once to a good product. In this case, since the set value is changed through trial and error, there is a problem that many defective products are formed before the molded product returns to a non-defective product, and the non-defective product rate in the mass production process is lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and by determining a setting value to be changed while referring to a past setting history of molding conditions, it is possible to quickly determine a setting value of molding conditions to be a non-defective product. An object of the present invention is to provide a molding machine management apparatus that can perform the above process.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, according to the present invention, there is provided a molding machine management apparatus for extracting a setting item change history of setting items relating to molding conditions of the molding machine in a past predetermined period. And a display unit for displaying the extracted change history on a display device.

  In the above-described molding machine management apparatus, it is preferable that the display unit displays the extracted change histories in time series. Moreover, it is preferable that the said display means displays the extracted change log | history with the chart which put in order of the setting item with a high change frequency. The display means may display the change history of the setting item and the actual value of the molding condition corresponding to the change history by a chart. In addition, the actual value includes a value indicating the quality of the molded product, and the value indicating the quality of the molded product is determined by an operator of the molding machine, or is input by an imaging device provided in the molding machine. It may be input as an image recognition result of a molded product. The setting item may include at least one of a measurement completion position, a filling pressure, a back pressure, and a VP switching position.

  According to the above-mentioned present invention, since the change history in the past predetermined period can be displayed, the operator of the molding machine can quickly influence the influence of the change of the setting item on the molding condition based on the display content. I can grasp it. Thus, the operator can easily grasp the change in the molding condition when the setting value of the current setting item is changed, and can change the appropriate setting item in a short time.

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

  The present invention relates to a molding machine management apparatus, and is particularly used for managing and controlling molding conditions of a molding machine during mass production. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an example of a molding machine management system provided with a management apparatus according to the present invention.

  The molding machine management system shown in FIG. 1 includes N injection molding machines 11a to 11n, and a terminal device 21 and a terminal device 25 as management devices. The injection molding machines 11a to 11n have imaging devices 12a to 12n, respectively. The imaging devices 12a to 12n image the molded product in the mold and generate image data of the molded product. As the imaging devices 12a to 12n, for example, an industrial camera, a monitoring camera, or the like can be used.

  The injection molding machines 11a to 11n are provided with take-out devices 14a to 14n, respectively. The take-out devices 14a to 14n have robot hands 15a to 15n for taking out molded products in the mold, respectively. The robot hands 15a to 15n are provided with image pickup devices 16a to 16n, respectively, and pick up images of molded articles taken out from the molds to generate image data.

  The injection molding machines 11a to 11n are provided with individual databases 17a to 17n, respectively. The individual databases 17a to 17n include storage devices such as a magnetic disk device and a semiconductor memory device, and store set values related to molding conditions of the injection molding machines 11a to 11n, measured values during molding, and actual values, respectively. The actual measurement value and the actual value include image data acquired by the imaging devices 12a to 12n. The image data acquired by the imaging devices 12a to 12n are also stored in the individual databases 17a to 17n, respectively. The individual databases 17a to 17n may be provided separately from the injection molding machines 11a to 11n, or may be incorporated in the injection molding machines 11a to 11n.

  Each of the injection molding machines 11a to 11n is a device for molding a molded product, and performs opening / closing and mold clamping of an injection device having a screw rotatably and reciprocally movable in a heating cylinder. And a mold clamping device. The resin as the molding material heated and melted in the heating cylinder is injected into the mold cavity at a high pressure, and is cooled and solidified to form a molded product.

  The terminal device 21 as a management device is connected to each of the injection molding machines 11a to 11n via a line, and is also connected to each of the product take-out devices 14a to 14n via a line. Therefore, the terminal device 21 can acquire setting values, actual measurement values, actual results values, image data, and the like stored in the individual databases 17a to 17n through the line and display them on the display unit 21a of the terminal device 21, and Can be stored in the collective database 23.

  The terminal device 21 includes a calculation unit such as a CPU and MPU, a storage device such as a magnetic disk and a semiconductor memory, an input / output interface, an input unit such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a touch panel, and a display unit 21a such as a CRT, a liquid crystal display, and an LED display. By using a kind of computer to execute a program for performing control and management described below, the computer can function as a management apparatus. As the computer that functions as the terminal device 21, for example, a personal computer, a server, a workstation, or the like can be used.

  In addition, the collective database 23 provided in the terminal device 21 is a storage device such as a magnetic disk device or a semiconductor memory device, and data from the individual databases 17a to 17n acquired through a line or processed in the terminal device 21. Data can be stored.

  The terminal device 25 is connected to the terminal device 21 via the external network 24, and can communicate with the terminal device 21 to exchange data. The terminal device 25 has a configuration equivalent to that of the terminal device 21 and includes a display unit 25 a and a database 26.

  The external network 24 is, for example, a local area network (LAN), but may be a communication circuit network such as an intranet or a wide area network (WAN) as long as it is a wireless or wired communication circuit network. The terminal device 25 can function as a management device similarly to the terminal device 21.

  In the molding machine management system configured as described above, the operators of the injection molding machines 11a to 11n control and manage the operating conditions and operations of the injection molding machines 11a to 11n using the terminal device 21 as a management apparatus. Can do.

  Next, as an example, a case will be described in which the operator of the injection molding machine 11a changes the set value using the terminal device 21 as a management device in order to change the molding conditions.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation when changing the set value of the injection molding machine 11a using the terminal device 21 shown in FIG.

  The operator of the injection molding machine 11a first designates a data group including set values and actual values to be monitored by inputting the period (date and time) and lot number from which the data group was obtained from the input unit of the management device 21. (Step S1). Designating a lot number is the same as designating the period (date and time) when the molded product of that lot number was molded.

  When the period is input from the operator, the extraction means of the management device 21 extracts the set value data within the specified period from the data stored in the collective database 23 (step S2).

  The setting value change data extracted by the extracting means is arranged in time series as shown in FIG. 3 and displayed on the display unit 21a of the terminal device 21. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the above-described period specification is, for example, a period from 19:40 on February 2, 2001 to 14:15 on February 3, 2001, and was performed during that period. The change history of each setting item is extracted and displayed.

  In the set value change data shown in FIG. 3, the first line shows that the set value of the setting item “filling pressure” is changed from 100 (MPa) to 110 (MPa) at 14:10 on February 3, 2001. , It indicates the 215th shot. The second line shows that the setting value of the setting item “filling speed” was changed from 130 (mm / second) to 140 (mm / second) at 13:55 on February 3, 2001, which is the 207th shot. Indicates that The third line shows that at 13:50 on February 3, 2001, the setting value of the setting item “back pressure” was changed from 60 (MPa) to 70 (MPa), which is the 205th shot. Show. In the last line, the setting value of the setting item “filling time” was changed from 0.8 (seconds) to 0.9 (seconds) at 19:44 on February 2, 2001, which is 60 shots. Indicates eyes.

  In this way, the change history of each setting item is arranged in time series and displayed together with the number of shots at that time. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the images are displayed from the top in the newest order, but may be displayed in the oldest order from the top.

  Further, the display means provided in the terminal device 21 can display not only the change history data within the specified period in time series but also display the setting items in a Pareto chart in order of increasing change frequency. FIG. 4 is a view showing a display example of a Pareto diagram created by arranging setting items in order of increasing change frequency. According to the example shown in FIG. 4, 10 shots are performed within the designated period, and during that time, the setting item of “filling pressure” is changed 6 times, the change item of “filling speed” is changed 5 times, The operator may recognize that the setting item of “back pressure” has been changed three times, the setting item of “screw speed” has been changed twice, and the setting item of “VP switching position” has been changed once. it can. In addition, since it is displayed as a Pareto chart, the operator can instantly confirm that the most frequently used setting item is “filling pressure” and the next most frequent setting item is “filling speed”. Can be recognized.

  In addition, the above-mentioned setting items, “filling pressure”, “filling speed”, “back pressure”, “screw rotation speed”, and “VP switching position” are setting items particularly related to good and defective molded products, It is preferable to put it as a display item in the setting change history or Pareto chart.

  For example, if the specified period is the period of the prototype process, the setting item changed during the prototype process can be changed by knowing which setting item has the highest frequency during the prototype process. It can be seen that there is a high possibility that the molding conditions should be satisfied. In this way, when a defective product is molded under the current molding conditions, the operator in the mass production process determines the tendency of the molding machine or molded product from a Pareto chart as shown in FIG. The setting items to be changed / adjusted can be estimated.

  A good product is not always formed immediately after changing the estimated setting item, but it is possible to find a setting item to be changed / adjusted at an early stage, rather than selecting and changing the setting item quickly. Thereby, the molding conditions for molding defective products can be made earlier to the molding conditions for molding non-defective products, and the reduction of the non-defective product rate can be prevented.

  As described above, the operator in the mass production process can recognize and inherit the rule of thumb and tacit knowledge of the operator in the prototype process from a Pareto diagram as shown in FIG.

  In the Pareto diagram shown in FIG. 4, it can be seen that the setting value of the setting item of “filling pressure” is changed most frequently. Therefore, the operator can see the change in the setting value of the selected setting item in a table or graph by selecting the setting item to be analyzed in more detail in the Pareto diagram shown in FIG.

  That is, when the Pareto chart shown in FIG. 4 is displayed, the operator selects a setting item to be analyzed in more detail (step S3 in FIG. 2). For example, if “filling pressure”, which is the most frequently used setting item, is selected, a change history of the selected setting item as shown in FIG. 5 is displayed (step S4 in FIG. 2).

  In the example shown in FIG. 5, a table of “filling pressure” that is the selected setting item is displayed at the top of the screen. Below that, the value of “cushion position”, which is the actual value, is shown by a table having the same configuration as the table of “filling pressure”. Furthermore, below it, the “burr or short level” of the molded product is shown as a result value by a table having the same configuration as the “filling pressure” table.

  In the “filling pressure” of the example shown in FIG. 5, the set value of the filling pressure is 183 MPa in the first shot, is increased to 185 MPa in the second shot, is maintained as it is in the third shot, and is 187 MPa in the fourth shot. Increased to 189 MPa on the 5th shot, increased to 191 MPa on the 6th shot, maintained on the 7th shot, increased to 193 MPa on the 8th shot, maintained on the 9th shot, maintained on the 10th shot It can be seen that the pressure was reduced to 191 MPa.

  The measured value of the cushion position is displayed at “cushion position” under “filling pressure”. The cushion position represents a position when the screw is pushed most into the cylinder, and is obtained from an output value of an encoder attached to a motor that drives the screw, for example. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the detection value of the cushion position is 0.6 mm at the first shot, does not change until the third shot, is 1.0 mm at the fourth shot, and is 1.5 mm at the fifth shot. It can be seen that the sixth shot is 2.0 mm, the seventh shot is unchanged, the eighth shot is 2.5 mm, and the ninth and tenth shots remain 2.5 mm. Here, the non-defective product range is shown in the figure, and if the detection value of the cushion position is included in this range, most of the molded product is a non-defective product.

  Further, in the “burr or short level” under the “cushion position”, the degree of the burr or short generated in the molded product is displayed in a level of −5 to 5. Stages -1 to -5 indicate the degree of short circuit of the molded article, and stages 1 to 5 indicate the stage of burrs generated in the molded article. Stage 0 means that the product is a non-defective product that does not cause short circuits or burrs. In the example shown in FIG. 5, a large short of -5 steps occurs in the molded product in the first shot, and a short of -4 steps occurs in the second shot. The second shot is a -2 short in the 5th shot, the -1 short in the 6th shot, the 7th shot is unchanged, the 0th shot is the 8th shot, and the 9th shot is the opposite 1 It can be seen that burrs at the stage occurred and the product returned to the zero-grade good product at the 10th shot.

  The above “filling pressure” (setting item), “cushion position” (actual value), and “burr or short level” (actual value) are arranged vertically so that the number of shots corresponds to each other. Therefore, by changing the setting value of the setting item “filling pressure”, it is possible to easily recognize how the “cushion position” and “burr or short level” which are actual values have changed.

  Here, the value representing the stage of the burr or short level may be a value input by the operator visually observing and inputting an actual molded product, and is automatically analyzed by image analysis by the imaging device 12a or 16a in FIG. It may be a determined value.

  The operator estimates the setting item to be changed and an appropriate setting value based on the display contents as shown in FIG. 5, and sets the setting value of the setting item to be input to the actual molding machine (FIG. 2). Step S5).

  As described above, it is possible to easily recognize trial and error in the trial production process in the mass production process by extracting and displaying the change history of the set value in a past period by the management device. Rules of thumb and implicit values can be applied to the mass production process. Thereby, the number of inferior goods in a mass production process can be reduced, and the fall of a good quality rate can be prevented.

These are figures which show the structure of an example of the molding machine management system provided with the management apparatus by this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement at the time of changing the setting value of an injection molding machine using the terminal device shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the display screen of change log | history data. It is a figure which shows the Pareto diagram of change log | history data. It is a figure which shows the display screen of the change history data of the selected setting item.

Explanation of symbols

11a to 11n Injection molding machine 12a to 12n Imaging device 14a to 14n Picking device 15a to 15n Robot hand 16a to 16n Imaging device 17a to 17n Individual database 21, 25 Terminal device 21a, 25a Display unit 23, 26 Collective database 24 External network

Claims (6)

A molding machine management device,
Extraction means for extracting a change history of setting values of setting items related to molding conditions of the molding machine in a predetermined period in the past;
And a display unit for displaying the extracted change history on a display device. The molding machine management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit displays the extracted change histories in time series. A molding machine management apparatus according to claim 1,
The said display means displays the extracted change log | history by the chart which arranged in order of the setting item with a high change frequency, The management apparatus of the molding machine characterized by the above-mentioned. A management apparatus for a molding machine according to claim 1,
The said display means displays the change log | history of the said setting item, and the actual value of the molding conditions corresponding to it with a chart, The management apparatus of the molding machine characterized by the above-mentioned. The molding machine management apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the actual value includes a value indicating the quality of the molded product, and the value indicating the quality of the molded product is determined by an operator of the molding machine, or is input. A molding machine management device, which is inputted as an image recognition result of a molded product by an imaging device provided in the molding machine. A management apparatus for a molding machine according to claim 1,
The setting item includes at least one of a filling pressure, a filling speed, a back pressure, a screw rotation speed, and a VP switching position.

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