JP2010228063A - Tool changer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten machining time by eliminating the waste of the opening/closing time of a door when a tool is changed in a machine tool. <P>SOLUTION: This tool changer 11 changes a tool between a machine tool 13 the machining area of which is surrounded by a splash guard 25 and a tool magazine 27 disposed on the outside of the machining area through an opening 29 formed in a splash guard 25. The tool changer 11 includes an opening/closing door 31 for opening and closing the opening 29, a door driving device 33 for opening and closing the opening/closing door 31 by driving, a control unit 35 for controlling the operation of the door driving device 33, and a tool change arm 37 for tool change, through the opening 29, with a spindle 21 which is positioned at the tool change standby position 41 and the tool change position 43 of the tool magazine 27. The control unit 35 changes the opening/closing stroke of the opening/closing door 31 by the door driving device 33 according to the length or diameter of a tool T which is changed through the opening/closing door 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a tool changer for exchanging tools through an opening provided in a splash guard between a machine tool surrounded by a splash guard in a machining area and a tool magazine disposed outside the machining area.

  Generally, the periphery of the machining area of the machine tool is covered with a splash guard so that the machining fluid does not scatter around. In addition, the splash guard is provided with an opening that can be opened and closed by an opening / closing door, and is disposed between a tool magazine that is disposed outside the machining area and accommodates a plurality of tools and a spindle of a machine tool on which the tools are mounted. Tool change is performed by the tool change arm of the tool changer through the opening.

  Conventionally, the opening / closing stroke for opening and closing the opening / closing door is determined so that the tool having the maximum tool length or tool diameter among the tools accommodated in the tool magazine can be replaced. It was constant regardless of the length or tool diameter. Further, the tool changing operation by the tool changing arm or the like is performed after the opening / closing door is completely opened. Furthermore, if machining is started before the door is completely closed, machining fluid and machining waste will enter the tool magazine, so machining has been started after the door has been completely closed.

  However, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for shortening the machining time, and accordingly, it has been required to shorten the tool change time. In order to meet this requirement, Patent Document 1 sets the timing of the start of movement of the tool from the tool magazine to the opening according to the tool length or the tool diameter while keeping the opening / closing stroke of the shutter (opening / closing door) constant. It proposes to shorten the tool change time by changing. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228667 proposes shortening the tool change time by performing the tool movement operation by the rotary arm and the opening / closing operation of the shutter in parallel. Further, Patent Document 3 uses a cam mechanism to perform opening / closing operation of the side door (opening / closing door) in synchronization with the movement of the tool changing arm, and performs the tool moving operation and the opening / closing operation of the side door by the tool changing arm. It is proposed to shorten the tool change time by carrying out in parallel.

JP 2006-95664 A JP 2007-30062 JP Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-60596

  In the technologies disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the operation of closing the door after the tool change operation is delayed or the tool change operation is ended due to the movement of the tool being started after the door is completely opened. The tool change time is shortened by eliminating the delay in the opening and closing operation of the door. However, in the technologies disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door is constant regardless of the tool length and the tool diameter. For this reason, even when replacing a tool with a short tool length or tool diameter, the open / close door opens and closes with an open / close stroke that matches the tool with the maximum tool length or tool diameter, and the time required to open and close the open / close door is short. There was a problem of not becoming.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the processing time by eliminating the waste of the opening and closing time of the opening and closing door when changing tools.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, according to the present invention, a tool is formed through an opening provided in a splash guard between a machine tool surrounded by a splash guard and a tool magazine arranged outside the machining area. A tool changer for exchanging, an opening / closing door for opening and closing the opening, a door driving device for driving the opening / closing door to open / close, and a control device for controlling the operation of the door driving device A tool change arm for exchanging tools between the tool change standby position of the tool magazine and the spindle positioned at the tool change position through the opening when the open / close door is open, and the control A tool in which an opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door by the door driving device is changed according to a tool length or a tool diameter of a tool exchanged through the opening / closing door. Conversion device is provided.

  In the above-mentioned tool changer, the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door changes according to the tool length or tool diameter of the tool to be replaced. Therefore, when the tool length or tool diameter is short, the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door is short and the tool length or tool is long. When the diameter is selected, the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door can be lengthened, and waste of the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door can be eliminated.

  The tool changer may further include a storage device that stores a correspondence table that associates a tool identification number with a tool length or a tool diameter, and further includes a tool measuring device that measures the tool length or the tool diameter of the tool. May be. By providing the storage device or the tool measuring device in this way, the tool length or the tool diameter of the tool can be obtained.

In one embodiment, the control device determines a tool group corresponding to the tool length of the tool to be replaced, and changes an opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door by the door driving device according to the determined tool group. .
The door driving device may be a motor or a cylinder device that can be positioned at a plurality of positions.

  According to the present invention, since the opening / closing stroke can be adjusted according to the tool length or the tool diameter, the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door is eliminated, the tool change operation waiting time and the machining start waiting time are shortened, and the machining time is shortened. It becomes possible to make it.

It is a top view which shows the whole structure of the machine tool provided with the tool change apparatus by this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the tool correspondence table memorize | stored in the memory | storage device of the tool change apparatus of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the opening / closing door of the tool change apparatus of 1st Embodiment by this invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3. It is the schematic which shows the opening / closing door of the tool change apparatus of 2nd Embodiment by this invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a tool changer of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Initially, with reference to FIG. 1, the whole structure of the machine tool 13 provided with the tool changer 11 by this invention is demonstrated. The machine tool 13 is, for example, a horizontal machining center, and includes a bed 15 provided on a floor surface of a factory or the like, a column 17 provided on the bed 15 so as to be movable in the left-right direction (X-axis direction), and up and down on the column 17. A spindle head 19 movably provided in the direction (Y-axis direction), a spindle 21 rotatably supported by the spindle head 19, and a table 23 movable in the front-rear direction (Z-axis direction) on the bed 15; The workpiece W fixed on the table 23 is machined by the tool T mounted on the spindle 21 while relatively moving the spindle 21 and the table 23 in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions. The machining area of the machine tool 13 is surrounded by a splash guard 25 in order to prevent machining fluid and machining debris from scattering from the machining area during machining. A tool magazine 27 is disposed outside the machining area. A plurality of tools T having different tool lengths and tool diameters are accommodated in the tool magazine 27, and the tool T accommodated in the tool magazine 27 and the spindle 21 of the machine tool 13 are mounted by the tool changer 11. The tool T can be exchanged.

  In the machine tool 13, the column 17 moves on the bed 15 in the X-axis direction, the spindle head 19 moves on the column 17 in the Y-axis direction, and the table 23 moves on the bed 15 in the Z-axis direction. However, the main shaft 21 and the table 23 of the machine tool 13 only need to be capable of relative movement in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and the machine tool is not limited to the above configuration.

  The tool changer 11 moves along a guide rail (not shown), and an open / close door 31 that opens and closes an opening 29 formed in the splash guard 25 located between the machine tool 13 and the tool magazine 27. A door driving device 33 for driving the door 31; a control device 35 for controlling the operation of the door driving device 33; and a tool changing arm 37 having grippers 37a (see FIG. 4) at both ends. When the tool 31 is open, the tool changing arm 37 turns around the turning axis 39, and passes through the opening 29 between the tool standby position 41 of the tool magazine 27 and the spindle 21 positioned at the tool changing position 43. Change the tool T. Such a tool change arm 37 is well known and will not be described in detail here.

  In FIG. 1, the opening / closing door 31 opens the opening 29 by moving in a direction away from the main shaft 21 along the guide rail, and opens in the direction approaching the main shaft 21 along the guide rail. 29 is closed. Further, in order to allow the tool change arm 37 to turn and perform tool change even when the open / close door 31 opens only a part of the opening 29, the tool change arm 37 is provided with the opening 29 outside the machining area. Is provided adjacent to the front portion (side closer to the main shaft 21).

  As described above, the tool magazine 27 stores tools T having different tool lengths and tool diameters. If the opening / closing stroke of the open / close door 31 is constant regardless of the tool length or tool diameter, the tool length or tool When the diameter is short, the opening / closing operation is wasted, and a wasteful waiting time until the opening / closing door 31 is opened or closed is generated. Therefore, in the present invention, in order to eliminate the waste of the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 31, the door driving device 33 is configured to change the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door 31 according to the tool length or the tool diameter of the tool T to be replaced. Is controlling the operation.

Below, the procedure of the tool change operation | movement by the tool change apparatus 11 of this invention is demonstrated.
When a tool change command is issued, the control device 35 moves the spindle 21 to a tool change position 43 indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 1, and the tool length of the tool T attached to the spindle 21 and the tool of the tool magazine 27. The tool length of the tool T arranged at the standby position 41 is compared, and a value corresponding to the longer tool length is set as the opening / closing stroke of the door 31.

  As for the tool length of the tool T mounted on the spindle 21 and the tool T at the tool standby position 41, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a tool correspondence table 45 for associating the tool identification number with the tool length is stored in the storage device 47. It can be obtained from the tool identification number by referring to the tool correspondence table 45 stored in advance. Further, a tool length measuring device (not shown) may be provided outside the machining area, and the tool length of the tool T arranged at the tool standby position 41 may be measured. Further, both the storage device 47 and the tool measuring device are provided, the tool length obtained from the tool identification number is compared with the tool length actually measured by the tool measuring device, and the tool length data stored in the storage device 47 If there is an error, an alarm may be issued to stop the tool change operation, thereby preventing the tool T and the door 31 from colliding with each other.

  When the opening / closing stroke is set, the door driving device 33 is controlled by the control device 35 and moves the opening / closing door 31 by the set opening / closing stroke to open the opening 29. When it is confirmed that the opening 29 is opened, the control device 35 turns the tool changing arm 37 by 90 ° around the turning axis 39 from the standby position where the tool changing arm 37 extends in the vertical direction. The gripper 37a at one end of the tool gripper 27 grips the tool T disposed at the tool standby position 41 of the tool magazine 27, while the gripper 37a at the other end of the tool changer arm 37 is mounted on the spindle 21 positioned at the tool change position 43. The tool T is gripped.

  Next, the tool T mounted on the main shaft 21 is moved by moving the tool changer arm 37 along the turning axis 39 in a direction away from the main shaft 21 while the tool T mounted on the main shaft 21 is held by the gripper 37a. Remove from the main shaft 21. When the tool T is removed from the main shaft 21, the tool change arm 37 is further turned by 180 ° around the turning axis 39, and the tool T held by the gripper 37a at one end of the tool change arm 37 (the tool standby of the tool magazine 27). The tool T) arranged at the position 41 is moved to the main shaft 21 side, and the tool T held by the gripper 37a at the other end of the tool changing arm 37 (the tool T attached to the main shaft 21) is moved to the tool magazine 27 side. Then, the tool change arm 37 is moved toward the main shaft 21 along the turning axis 39, and the tool T held by the gripper 37a at one end of the tool change arm 37 (disposed at the tool standby position 41 of the tool magazine 27). The tool T) is mounted on the main shaft 21, and the tool T (mounted on the main shaft 21) is held by the gripper 37a at the other end of the tool changing arm 37. The tool T) is moved in the tool standby position 41 is housed in the tool magazine 27.

  When a new tool T is mounted on the main shaft 21, the tool changing arm 37 is turned 90 ° around the turning axis 39 and returned to the standby position, and the tool changing operation is completed.

  When the tool change operation is thus completed, the door driving device 33 is controlled by the control device 35 and moves the opening / closing door 31 by the set opening / closing stroke to close the opening 29.

  In the present invention, when the tool is changed as described above, the opening / closing stroke of the door 31 is changed according to the tool length, so that the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing door 31 is not wasteful and the tool is changed until the opening / closing door 31 is opened. It is possible to reduce the time for waiting for the start of operation and the time for waiting for the start of processing until the door 31 is closed. Therefore, the tool change time can be shortened and the machining time can be reduced.

With reference to FIG.3 and FIG.4, 1st Embodiment of the door drive device 33 of the tool change apparatus 11 shown by FIG. 1 is described.
The door drive device 33 according to the present embodiment includes a motor 49 controlled by the control device 35 and a transmission mechanism 51 for converting the rotation of the motor 49 into a linear motion and transmitting it to the open / close door 31. As the motor 49, a servo motor or a stepping motor can be used. As the transmission mechanism 51, a rack and pinion mechanism or a ball screw mechanism can be used. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a rack and pinion mechanism is used as the transmission mechanism 51. A rack 51a is attached to the upper part of the open / close door 31, and a pinion 51b that engages with the rack 51a is provided. By rotating the motor 49, the door 31 is driven along a guide rail (not shown). Thus, when the motor 49 is used as the door driving device 33, an arbitrary value can be set as the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door 31.

  When a tool change command is issued, the control device 35 moves the spindle 21 to the tool change position 43 and is arranged at the tool length of the tool T mounted on the spindle 21 and the tool standby position 41 of the tool magazine 27. The tool length of the tool T is compared, and a value obtained by adding a predetermined amount to the longer tool length is set as the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door 31.

  For example, if the tool length of the tool to be replaced is short and the opening / closing stroke is set to a value a obtained by adding a predetermined amount to the tool length, the control device 35 drives the motor 49 to open the door in a direction away from the spindle 21. 31 is moved by a distance a, only a part of the opening 29 is opened, and the rotation of the motor 49 is monitored by a rotation position detector (not shown) to confirm that the opening / closing door 31 has moved by the opening / closing stroke a. When confirmed, the tool changing arm 37 is turned around the turning axis 39 to exchange the tool T at the tool standby position 41 of the tool magazine 27 and the tool T mounted on the main shaft 21 located at the tool changing position 43. When the tool change is completed and the tool change arm 37 is turned to the standby position, the control device 35 rotates the motor 49 in the reverse direction to move the door 31 closer to the spindle 21 by the opening / closing stroke a. When the opening / closing door 31 is moved by the opening / closing stroke a and the opening 29 is closed by monitoring the rotation of the motor 49 with the rotation position detector, the machining is started.

  On the other hand, when the tool length of the tool T to be replaced is long and the opening / closing stroke is set to a value b (> a) obtained by adding a predetermined amount to the tool length, the control device 35 drives the motor 49 to drive the spindle 21. The opening / closing door 31 is moved in the direction away from the center to open the substantially entire opening 29, and the rotation of the motor 49 is monitored by a rotational position detector (not shown), so that the opening / closing door 31 is moved by the opening / closing stroke b. When this is confirmed, the tool change arm 37 is turned around the turning axis 39 to change the tool. When the tool change is completed and the tool change arm 37 is turned to the standby position, the control device 35 rotates the motor 49 in the reverse direction to move the door 31 closer to the spindle 21 by the opening / closing stroke b. When the opening / closing door 31 is moved by the stroke b by monitoring the rotation of the motor 49 with the rotation position detector and the opening 29 is closed by the opening / closing door 31, the machining is started. Since the tool change operation itself is performed in the same procedure as that shown in FIG. 1, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  In the above embodiment, a value obtained by adding a predetermined amount to the tool length of the longer tool T is set as the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door 31, and the opening / closing stroke can be set to an arbitrary value. The tool lengths are classified into several tool groups, and a value larger than the maximum tool length belonging to each tool group is determined as an opening / closing stroke corresponding to the tool group, and the longer tool T The opening / closing stroke of the door 31 may be set corresponding to the tool group to which the tool length belongs, and the opening / closing stroke may be set to a stepwise value. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the tool length and the tool group to which the tool belongs are stored in the storage device 47 in correspondence with the tool number, and the longer tool T of the tools T to be replaced is stored. The opening / closing stroke may be set to a value corresponding to the tool group.

With reference to FIG. 5, 2nd Embodiment of the door drive device of the tool change apparatus shown by FIG. 1 is described.
The door drive device 33 of the present embodiment is configured by a multi-position stop type cylinder device 53 that can stop the piston 53a at a plurality of positions of three or more positions. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, a three-position stop type cylinder device 53 that can be stopped at three positions is used. Further, by using a plurality of two-position stop type cylinder devices and attaching another two-position stop type cylinder to the tip of the piston of one two-position stop type cylinder device, the piston can be stopped at three positions. It may be. In the three-position stop type cylinder device 53 shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the piston 53 a is fixed to the top of the rear end portion (the end portion on the side far from the main shaft) of the open / close door 31. The door 31 is driven along a guide rail (not shown) by advancing and retracting 53a. Thus, when the multi-position stop type cylinder device 53 is used as the door drive device 33, a value selected from a plurality of predetermined stroke values is set as the opening / closing stroke of the door 31. become.

  When a tool change command is issued, the control device 35 moves the spindle 21 to the tool change position 43 and is arranged at the tool length of the tool T mounted on the spindle 21 and the tool standby position 41 of the tool magazine 27. The tool length of the tool T is compared, and the smallest stroke value among the stroke values larger than the longer tool length is set as the open / close stroke from among a plurality of predetermined stroke values.

  For example, if the tool length of the tool T to be replaced is short and the opening / closing stroke is set to the smallest stroke value a among the stroke values longer than the longer tool length, the control is performed. The device 35 is provided on the guide rail by causing the piston 53a of the cylinder device 53 to extend from the initial position to move the opening / closing door 31 by a distance a in a direction away from the main shaft 21 to open only a part of the opening 29. When it is confirmed by the limit switch 55b that the opening / closing door 31 has moved by the opening / closing stroke a, the tool changing arm 37 is turned around the turning axis 39, and the tool T at the tool standby position 41 of the tool magazine 27 and the tool changing position are turned on. The tool T mounted on the main shaft 21 located at 43 is exchanged. When the tool change is completed and the tool change arm 37 is turned to the standby position, the control device 35 retracts the piston 53a of the cylinder device 53 to the initial position and moves the opening / closing door 31 by the opening / closing stroke a. When the opening / closing door 31 is moved by the opening / closing stroke a by the limit switch 55a provided on the guide rail and it is confirmed that the opening 29 is closed, the machining is started.

  On the other hand, when the tool length of the tool T to be replaced is long and the opening / closing stroke is set to the maximum stroke value b among the preset stroke values, the control device 35 moves the piston 53a of the cylinder device 53 from the initial position. By extending, the opening / closing door 31 is moved by a distance b in a direction away from the main shaft 21 to open substantially the entire opening 29, and the opening / closing door 31 is moved by the opening / closing stroke b by the limit switch 55c provided on the guide rail. When it is confirmed that the tool change arm 37 is turned, the tool change arm 37 is turned around the turning axis 39 to change the tool. When the tool change is completed and the tool change arm 37 is turned to the standby position, the control device 35 retracts the piston 53a of the cylinder device 53 to the initial position and moves the opening / closing door 31 by the opening / closing stroke b to the main shaft 21. When the opening / closing door 31 is moved by the opening / closing stroke b and the opening 29 is closed by the limit switch 55a provided on the guide rail, the machining is started. Since the tool change itself is performed in the same procedure as that shown in FIG. 1, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  As mentioned above, although the tool change apparatus 11 of this invention was demonstrated based on embodiment shown in figure, the tool change apparatus 11 of this invention is not limited to embodiment shown in figure. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the case where the tool T mounted on the main shaft 21 of the horizontal machining center is replaced is illustrated, and the tool T is replaced in a horizontal direction (the longitudinal axis of the tool T is horizontal). Since the open / close door 31 that opens and closes the opening 29 moves in the horizontal direction, the open / close stroke of the open / close door 31 is changed according to the tool length of the tool T to be replaced. However, the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door 31 only needs to change according to the dimension of the tool T in the moving direction of the opening / closing door 31, and depends on the moving direction of the opening / closing door 31 and the direction of the tool T, In some cases, it is changed according to the tool length, and in other cases, it is changed according to the tool diameter. For example, when the tool T mounted on the main shaft 21 of the vertical machining center is replaced and the open / close door 31 that opens and closes the opening 29 moves in the horizontal direction, the tool T is oriented vertically (the longitudinal axis of the tool T is vertical). Therefore, the opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door 31 is changed according to the tool diameter (maximum diameter) rather than the tool length of the tool T to be replaced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Tool changer 13 Machine tool 21 Spindle 25 Splash guard 27 Tool magazine 29 Opening part 31 Opening and closing door 33 Door drive device 35 Control device 37 Tool change arm 41 Tool standby position 43 Tool change position 45 Tool correspondence table 47 Storage device 49 Motor 53 Cylinder device T Tool

Claims (5)

A tool changer for exchanging a tool through an opening provided in a splash guard between a machine tool surrounded by a splash guard and a tool magazine arranged outside the machining area,
An open / close door for opening and closing the opening;
A door driving device for driving the opening and closing door to open and close;
A control device for controlling the operation of the door driving device;
A tool changing arm for exchanging a tool between the tool change waiting position of the tool magazine and the spindle positioned at the tool changing position through the opening when the open / close door is open;
And the control device changes an opening / closing stroke of the opening / closing door by the door driving device in accordance with a tool length or a tool diameter of a tool exchanged through the opening / closing door. .   The tool changer according to claim 1, further comprising a storage device that stores a correspondence table in which a tool identification number is associated with a tool length or a tool diameter.   The tool changer according to claim 1, further comprising a tool measuring device that measures a tool length or a tool diameter of the tool.   The said control apparatus discriminate | determines the tool group corresponding to the tool length of the tool to replace | exchange, and changes the opening-and-closing stroke of the said door by the said door drive device according to the discriminated tool group. The tool change apparatus as described in any one of 3.   The tool changer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the door driving device is a motor or a cylinder device that can be positioned at a plurality of positions.

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