JP2022021162A - Automatic pipe expansion device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an automatic pipe expansion device capable of improving efficiency of pipe expansion work.SOLUTION: An automatic pipe expansion device comprises a robot 2 which supports and moves a pipe expansion device performing pipe expansion processing on a tube. The pipe expansion device comprises: a mandrel 41 which has a tapered part 411, having its tip side decreased in diameter, formed on an outer peripheral surface; an expander 4 which is held rotatably on a cylindrical frame member fitted slidably and rotatably around the mandrel 41; a rotary driving machine 6 which drives the mandrel 41 to rotate; a clamp device 7 which clamps the frame member of the expander 4; a moving device 8 which moves the clamp device 7 along an axis of the expander 4; and a position sensor 200 which detects the position of the support member 73 provided at the tip of the moving device 8.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an automatic tube expansion device.

Conventionally, an automatic tube expanding device including a tube expanding device for expanding a tube and a robot for supporting and moving the tube expanding device has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1: Practical Fairness 7-31853).
The tube expansion device is performed by, for example, joining a tube constituting a heat exchanger and a tube plate to which the tube is attached by expanding the outer diameter of the tube by an expander and pressing and fixing it to the inner surface of a mounting hole formed in the tube plate. ..
In the automatic tube expansion device described in Patent Document 1, the tube expansion device is moved by a robot to the position of the tube to be expanded.

Jitsufuku No. 7-31853

However, the gap between the inner diameter of the tube and the outer diameter of the expander is small. For example, when it is small, it is only about 0.2 mm. In addition, there are many factors that hinder normal insertion, such as sagging of the tube itself, bending of the tool, and fluctuation of the image processing result depending on the state of the end face of the tube, which causes a problem that the tube cannot be inserted. Further, in addition to causing damage to the tool due to an insertion error, if the tube is continuously expanded with a worn tool, quality defects may occur.
Therefore, there is room for further improvement in order to detect the collision with the tube plate at the time of inserting the expander and the catching of the tube and the roller and prevent the insertion error.
In view of these problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic pipe expansion device capable of improving the efficiency of pipe expansion work.

The automatic tube expansion device of the present invention is an automatic tube expansion device including a tube expansion device for expanding a tube, a robot for supporting and moving the tube expansion device, and a control device for controlling the tube expansion device and the robot. The tube expanding device includes a mandrel having a tapered portion having a small diameter on the tip side formed on the outer peripheral surface, a tubular frame member slidably and rotatably fitted to the mandrel, and a frame member rotatably held by the frame member. An expander having a plurality of rollers inclined with respect to the axial direction, a rotary drive machine for rotationally driving the mandrel of the expander, a clamping device for clamping the frame member of the expander, and an expander for the clamping device. It is characterized by being provided with a moving device for moving in the axial direction of the moving device and a detecting device for detecting the position of the moving portion in the moving device.

According to the present invention, there is provided an automatic pipe expanding device having improved efficiency of pipe expanding work.

It is a schematic side view of the automatic pipe expansion apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the main part of the automatic pipe expansion apparatus of embodiment. It is a front view which shows the operation part of the automatic pipe expansion apparatus of embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the mode that the tube plate or the end surface of a tube collides with the tip of an expander in the automatic tube expansion device of an embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the interference which occurs by tilting an expander and a tube in the automatic tube expansion apparatus of embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the interference between a tube end face and a roller end face in the automatic tube expansion apparatus of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the order of the pre-inspection process in the automatic pipe expansion method used for the automatic pipe expansion device of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the sequence of the pipe expansion process following the pre-inspection process of FIG. 7 in the automatic pipe expansion method used for the automatic pipe expansion device of embodiment.

Hereinafter, the automatic pipe expanding device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 as appropriate.
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an automatic pipe expanding device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic pipe expanding device 1 of the present embodiment includes a robot 2, a pipe expanding device 3, a control device 10, and a tool stocker 11 for storing at least one expander 4. An articulated robot is used as the robot 2 of the present embodiment. The robot 2 supports and moves the tube expansion device 3.
Note that FIG. 1 simultaneously shows a state in which the tube expanding device 3 is moved by the robot 2 and the position and posture of the tube expanding device 3 are changed in three ways.

The tube expansion device 3 performs tube expansion processing of the tube T. The tube expanding device 3 expands the outer diameter of the tube T by the expander 4 to join the tube T constituting the heat exchanger and the tube plate TB to which the tube T is attached, and the inner surface of the mounting hole TBa formed in the tube plate TB. It is done by pressing and fixing to.
As shown in FIG. 2, the tube expanding device 3 is fixed to the tip portion 21a of the arm 21 of the robot 2. A vision sensor 5 is fixed to the tube expansion device 3.
The tube expansion device 3 includes an expander 4, a rotary drive device 6, a moving device 8, and a coupling 9.
As shown in FIG. 4, the expander 4 has a mandrel 41, a tubular frame member 42, and a plurality of rollers 43. The mandrel 41 is formed on the outer peripheral surface with a tapered portion 411 having a small diameter on the tip side. The frame member 42 is slidably and rotatably fitted to the mandrel 41. The plurality of rollers 43 are rotatably held by the frame member 42.

The mandrel 41 has a cylindrical shape located on the tapered portion 411 located on the tip end side (hereinafter, also referred to as “front side”) of the mandrel 41 and on the proximal end side (hereinafter, also referred to as “rear side”) of the tapered portion 411. It has a columnar portion 412. A cap nut 413 is fixed to the tip of the mandrel 41 by screwing. Further, a square shank (not shown) is provided at the rear end of the mandrel 41, and is connected to the rotation shaft of the rotary drive machine 6 via a coupling 9.

As shown in FIG. 6, the frame member 42 has a cylindrical frame 44 for holding the roller 43 and an annular collar 45 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the frame 44. The collar 45 has a collar rear wheel 451 fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the frame 44 and a collar front wheel rotatably arranged on the front side (tip side of the expander 4) with respect to the collar rear wheel 451 via a ball retainer 450. It has 453 and.

The inner diameter of the hollow portion of the frame 44 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 412 of the mandrel 41. The mandrel 41 is inserted through the hollow portion of the cylindrical frame 44. A plurality of roller grooves 421, which are long grooves evenly in the circumferential direction, are formed on the tip end side of the frame 44, for example, at intervals of 120 degrees. Each roller groove 421 is arranged at the same position with respect to the longitudinal direction of the frame 44. A plurality of rollers 43 having a conical cutting shape are locked and held in the roller groove 421. The roller 43 is partially exposed from the roller groove 421 to the outside and the inside in the radial direction of the frame 44.

The side surface of the roller 43 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the tapered portion 411 of the mandrel 41 around the central axis in the longitudinal direction while rotating inside the frame 44 in the radial direction. On the other hand, the roller 43 rotates around the central axis in the longitudinal direction on the inner peripheral surface of the tube T to be expanded during the tube expansion process on the radial outer side of the frame 44, and is substantially opposite to the contact portion with the mandrel 41. The sides of the side come into contact.

The roller 43 is arranged with a feed angle whose central axis is inclined by a predetermined angle θ with respect to the axial direction of the frame member 42 (the same as the axial direction of the mandrel 41). The roller 43 has a cutting cone shape in which the main body portion on the collar 45 side has a taper whose direction is opposite to that of the tapered portion 411 of the mandrel 41 and whose inclination is half.

The collar 45 of the frame 44 has a collar rear wheel 451 having a smaller outer diameter and a female thread formed on the inner peripheral surface, a ball retainer 450, and a collar front wheel 453.
Of these, the female screw of the collar rear wheel 451 is screwed into the male screw 452 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rear portion of the frame member 42. The collar rear wheel 451 is fixed to the frame 44 by a set nut member. The method of fixing the collar rear wheel 451 to the frame 44 may be a method using, for example, a hexagon socket set screw 451a, in addition to the method using the set nut member.
Further, the collar 45 arranges the ball retainer 450 in front of the collar rear wheel 451. Further, a collar front wheel 453 is arranged on the front surface of the ball retainer 450. The collar 45 is fixed so as to be integrated by using a ring member or the like with the ball retainer 450 interposed between the collar rear wheel 451 and the collar front wheel 453.

The rotary drive machine 6 of the present embodiment rotationally drives the mandrel 41 of the expander 4 via the coupling 9 (see FIG. 2). As the rotary drive machine 6, a servomotor is used here. The servomotor is connected to the control device 10 (see FIG. 1) and can control the rotation speed. Further, the control device 10 is configured so that the rotation torque can be monitored by the display surface portion 101 (see FIG. 3) by measuring the drive current generated during the rotation drive. Further, the control device 10 is configured to be able to monitor the load torque by measuring the drive current of the arm 21 of the robot 2.

The clamp device 7 (see FIG. 2) has a pair of clampers and an air chuck, and is supported by a support member 73. The clamper clamps or opens the collar front wheel 453 (see FIG. 6) of the collar 45 of the expander 4. The clamper restricts the dimension from the tip 4a of the expander 4 to the support member 73 to a predetermined dimension in a state where the expander 4 is clamped and attached to the support member 73.

As shown in FIG. 2, the moving device 8 moves the clamping device 7 provided on the support member 73 along the axial direction of the expander 4. The moving device 8 is fixed to the casing of the rotary drive device 6 via a mounting member (not shown).
As the moving device 8 of the present embodiment, an electric cylinder device is used. The electric cylinder device is connected to the control device 10 and is controlled to move the expander 4 along the axial direction. When the electric cylinder device is used as the moving device 8, there is an advantage that the electric cylinder device can be stopped at a free position with high accuracy as compared with the fluid pressure cylinder.
The moving device 8 is not limited to the electric cylinder device, and a fluid pressure cylinder device using fluid pressure may be used. If accuracy is not particularly required, a fluid pressure cylinder device may be used as the moving device 8. As a result, the cost can be suppressed. The moving device 8 has a main body portion 81 that generates a driving force, and a pair of upper and lower rods 82 that are moved forward and backward by the main body portion 81. The tip of the rod 82 is fixed to the support member 73 as a moving portion.

Further, in the support member 73, the tip 200a of the detection rod 200b extending from the position sensor 200 is fixed to the same mounting surface to which the tip of the rod 82 is fixed.
Here, when a servomotor of an electric cylinder is used as a drive source, the position can be detected by using the encoder of the servomotor as the position sensor 200. When a general-purpose motor is used as the drive source, a general-purpose position sensor 200 can be used. Further, when a fluid pressure cylinder is used as the drive source, the same one as the above-mentioned general-purpose position sensor is used. As the general-purpose position sensor 200, a laser sensor, a magnetic sensor, or the like may be used.
By fixing the tip 200a of the detection rod 200b to the same mounting surface that fixes the tip of the rod 82, the dimensions from the tip 200a of the detection rod 200b to the tip 4a of the expander 4 mounted on the support member 73 are approximately the same. It will be constant. Therefore, the stroke amount L of the support member 73 by the moving device 8 is substantially the same as the stroke amount of the tip 4a.
Therefore, the position sensor 200 can detect the position information of the tip 4a of the expander 4 existing at a predetermined distance from the tip 200a by the extension amount of the detection rod 200b.

On the other hand, the control device 10 shown in FIG. 1 is a computer that controls the operation of each part of the automatic tube expansion device 1 by the CPU executing a program stored in advance in the storage means.
The control device 10 is provided with a display surface portion 101. As shown in FIG. 3, the display surface portion 101 has a touch panel 102 that serves as an interface with the user.
The touch panel 102 has a set torque setting unit 103, a stroke display unit 104, an X, Y coordinate display unit 105, an X, Y coordinate unit 106, a detection torque display unit 107, and a detection torque display unit 107. It has a stroke display unit 108, an indicator display lamp unit 109 indicating an operating state, an operation button unit 110, and the like.
In this embodiment, the touch panel 102 provided on the display surface portion 101 is used and described. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to this, and other interface devices such as a pendant for operation may be used.

Of these, the detection torque display unit 107 displays the rotational torque generated during rotational drive. Then, the detected rotational torque is monitored by the X and Y coordinate units 106 for each individually shaken tube.
A position sensor 200 is connected to the control device 10. Then, the position sensor 200 detects the position of the support member 73 moved by the moving device 8 and transmits it to the control device 10 as a position signal.
The detection stroke display unit 108 displays the stroke L detected by the position sensor 200. Then, the detected stroke L is monitored by the X and Y coordinate units 106 for each individually shaken tube.

The control device 10 is provided with a torque fluctuation detection unit 10a, a stroke position detection unit 10b, and a stroke change determination unit 10c. The control device 10 determines an abnormality based on the position sensor 200 detecting the stroke position of the support member 73 of the moving device 8 when the expander 4 is inserted into the tube T by the robot 2.
Using the position of the support member 73 in this way, the insertion stroke is monitored when the expander 4 is inserted into the tube T. As a result, the abnormality can be determined by setting the timing for detecting the tube expansion torque to be accurate.
In addition, abnormalities can be found in the pre-inspection process before shifting to the diameter expansion process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a pipe expansion error and improve the yield.

In the torque fluctuation detection unit 10a, when the tip 4a of the expander 4 provided in the tube expansion device 3 collides with the tube plate TB or the end face te of the tube T (see FIG. 4), the torque fluctuation of the robot 2 supporting the tube expansion device 3 Detects a collision.
In this way, when the tip 4a of the expander 4 collides with the end surface te of the tube plate TB or the tube T, the torque fluctuation detection unit 10a detects the torque fluctuation of the robot 2 supporting the tube expanding device 3 and is a collision. Judge whether or not. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine that the insertion is abnormal by determining the torque fluctuation by the stroke at which the tip 4a of the expander 4 collides with the tube plate TB or the end surface te of the tube T.

The stroke position detection unit 10b detects that the roller 43 or the frame 44 is caught in the tube T (see FIG. 5) when the expander 4 is inserted, based on the stroke position of the support member 73 of the moving device 8. , Judge an abnormality.
Therefore, the stroke position detection unit 10b assumes in advance that the position where the expander 4 is caught when the expander 4 is inserted is the position where the roller 43 or the frame 44 is caught by the tube T even in the middle of the stroke L shown in FIG. If the position is set, it can be accurately determined that the roller 43 or the frame 44 is an insertion abnormality caught in the tube.

The stroke change determination unit 10c determines the change in the stroke amount required for the expansion of the expander 4 by the moving device 8 based on the change in the position detected by the position sensor 200.
When the expander 4 wears due to use, it reduces the external dimensions with respect to the tube diameter of the tube T. Therefore, the stroke change determination unit 10c can determine that the expander 4 has reached the end of its life when the change in the stroke amount becomes large. Therefore, as compared with the management method in which the expander 4 is replaced at a predetermined number of times, the deterioration of the expander 4 can be accurately controlled and the durability can be improved.

Next, the operation of the automatic pipe expanding device 1 of the present embodiment will be described. The operation of the automatic pipe expansion device 1 is controlled by the control device 10.
First, the automatic pipe expansion work using the automatic pipe expansion device 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In the automatic pipe expansion work, the pre-inspection process and the pipe expansion process are continuously performed. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the order of the pre-inspection steps, which are performed in advance of the pipe expanding step among the automatic pipe expanding operations. Further, FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the order of the pipe expansion steps performed following the pre-inspection step.

As shown in FIG. 7, first, when the automatic pipe expansion work is started, in step S1, the clamping device 7 sets the air chuck in the unclamped state.
Next, in step S2, the tool diameter is set to the minimum (Min). At this time, the moving device 8 moves the frame member 42 to the tip end side of the mandrel 41 in a state where the clamping device 7 is in contact with the collar front wheel 453 of the frame member 42. As a result, the roller 43 is located on the small diameter side of the tapered portion 411 of the mandrel 41, and the amount of protrusion of each roller 43 to the outside in the radial direction is the smallest. That is, the tool diameter is minimized.

In step S3, the clamping device 7 clamps the collar front wheel 453. From here, the electric cylinder device of the moving device 8 is in a free state.
That is, when the clamping device 7 clamps the collar front wheel 453 of the frame member 42, the holding force of the clamping device 7 at the axial position by the moving device 8 is released. Therefore, the moving device 8 is in a brake release state, that is, a floating state in which the moving device 8 moves in accordance with an external force.
At this time, the position sensor 200 stores the detected position of the electric cylinder, and the stored position becomes the origin of the cylinder. Further, the stroke of the expander 4 and the stroke L of the support member 73 are substantially the same due to the clamp. Therefore, the position of the tip of the expander 4 can be accurately measured by using the position of the electric cylinder detected by the position sensor 200.
Further, in the floating state, when the collar 45 is pushed by the tube T or the tube plate TB, the distance from the position of the cylinder can be shortened.

The robot 2 is started in step S4.
In step S5, the expander 4 of the tube expanding device 3 is sent out and moved to a position facing the end face te of the tube T to be expanded. The position of the tube T to be expanded is to capture the position data (design data) of the mounting hole TBa of the tube plate TB or to capture the image of the mounting hole TBa of the tube plate TB from the vision sensor 5 for image processing. Can be identified by.
In step S6, the tip of the expander 4 is transferred to a position facing the end face of the tube T at a predetermined speed (fast-forward control). The robot 2 starts decelerating when the expander 4 reaches a few mm in front of the end face of the tube T. The image captured from the vision sensor 5 is image-processed by the control device 10. As a result, the position of the tube T to be expanded, the position data (design data) of the mounting hole TBa of the tube plate TB, and the like are taken in.
In step S7, the expander 4 is inserted into the tube T while maintaining the decelerated state.

In step S8, it is determined from the current change of the drive current driving the robot 2 whether or not resistance is generated when the tip 4a of the expander 4 is inserted into the tube T.
When the robot 2 detects the resistance in step S8 (YES in step S8), the process proceeds to step S10 and the robot 2 is stopped.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the tip 4a of the expander 4 collides with the end face te of the tube T, the robot 2 detects the resistance at the time of insertion. Therefore, when the current change of the drive current is detected at the position of the end face te of the tube T, it is considered that the tip 4a of the expander 4 has collided with the end face te of the tube T, and the control device 10 immediately stops the robot 2. (See step S10).
If no resistance is detected in step S8 (NO in step S8), the control device 10 proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the robot 2 is operated so that the end face of the roller 43 is inserted into the tube T 1 mm from the end face te of the tube T.

In step S9 of this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. When the end face of the roller 43 and the end face of the tube T are caught, the distance from the origin to the cylinder position is shortened by 1 mm. Therefore, when the shortening of the distance is detected by the position sensor 200 by the movement (YES in step S9), the moving device 8 can proceed to the process in step S10 and stop the robot 2.
If the shortening of the distance is not detected in step S9 (NO in step S10), the tip of the roller 43 is normally inserted into the tube, and the process proceeds to step S11.

In step S11, the entire frame 44 is moved to a position within the tube T by the operation of the robot 2.
In step S12, it is determined whether or not the tube T and the frame 44 interfere with each other as shown in FIG.
Therefore, it is determined whether or not the cylinder position detected by the moving device 8 in step S13 is located at the origin. If the cylinder position is not located at the origin (NO in step S13), the process proceeds to step S10, it is determined that the insertion is abnormal, and the robot 2 is stopped in step S10.
If the cylinder position is located at the origin in step S13 (YES in step S13), the insertion is regarded as normal and the process proceeds to step S14, the pre-inspection step is completed, and the next tube expansion step (steps S20 to S32) is performed. Proceed (step S15).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the sequence of the pipe expansion steps performed following the pre-inspection step of FIG. 7.
When the pipe expansion process is started in step S20, the rotary drive machine 6 starts the rotary operation in step S21. The servo drive is rotated in the forward direction, and the mandrel 41 is sent by the robot 2.
When a load is applied in the feed direction in step S22, tube expansion is started in step S23.
In step S23, during the tube expansion process, the collar front wheel 453 of the collar 45 comes into contact with the end face te of the tube T, and neither rotation nor axial position movement occurs.
However, the mandrel 41 is rotationally driven by the rotary drive machine 6. Therefore, due to the rotation of the mandrel 41, the roller 43 revolves with the frame 44 while rotating on the inner peripheral surface of the tube T, but does not move in the axial direction. The frame 44 only revolves around its own central axis due to the rotation of the roller 43, and does not move in the axial direction.

On the other hand, a feed angle is provided between the central axis of the mandrel 41 and the central axis of the roller 43.
Therefore, when the mandrel 41 is rotated, it naturally has an action of being sent in the axial direction. Therefore, the mandrel 41 moves toward the tip end side by the action of the feed angle of the roller 43 while rotating, that is, self-propells. By moving the mandrel 41 forward, the contact position of the roller 43 with the mandrel 41 moves to the large diameter side of the tapered portion. Therefore, the tool diameter increases and the tube T undergoes tube expansion processing.

In step S24, the expander 4 self-propells, and the robot 2 automatically follows the self-propulsion speed of the expander 4. While the expander 4 receives a self-propelled axial external force, the robot 2 is operated to move the expander 4 in the direction of the axial external force. As a result, the support position of the tube expansion device 3 by the robot 2 is made to follow the axial movement of the mandrel 41 of the expander 4.
When the servo drive detects the torque set in step S25, the rotation is stopped and the reverse rotation is started.
In step S26, since the stroke is determined whether the expander 4 is inserted to the normal position, the stroke is detected by the position sensor 200. Here, it is monitored whether or not the cylinder position is shrunk from the origin and the position is deviated. For example, when the set torque is small and the detection is unstable, such as when the tube expansion tube is thin, the stroke detected by the position sensor 200 is used as the threshold value instead of the torque. Thereby, the insertion state of the expander 4 into the tube T can be accurately determined.

In step S27, it is confirmed whether or not the stroke at the time of reaching the torque is within the predetermined range. At this time, by confirming whether or not the stroke at the time of reaching the torque is within the predetermined range, a double check based on the torque and the stroke can be performed.
When the stroke is out of the predetermined range with the preset torque indicating the torque arrival in step S27 (NO in step S27), the process returns to step S25 and the stroke is within the predetermined range with the set torque (step S27). If YES), the process proceeds to step S28.

In step S28, when the stroke reaches a predetermined amount, the rotation is stopped and the reverse rotation is started.
In step S29, the expander 4 self-retracts due to reverse rotation. Therefore, the robot 2 automatically follows the self-retracting speed due to the reverse rotation of the expander 4 and retreats.
When the load due to the reverse rotation is removed in step S30, the robot 2 removes the expander 4 from the tube T.

In step S31, a post-process after the completion of the tube expansion process is performed.
In the post-process, the transition of the stroke L required for the pipe expansion is checked.
For example, as the roller 43 or the mandrel 41 wears out, the stroke required to obtain the same tube expansion torque (tube expansion diameter) increases. Therefore, the stroke obtained by the position sensor 200 is managed, and when the threshold value is exceeded, it is determined that the life has expired and the new expander 4 is replaced. As a result, it is possible to determine the degree of wear more reliably than the number of times management.

In the present embodiment, the expander 4 exerts an axial external force in the direction of advancing itself (self-propulsion) during the tube expansion process, and exerts an axial external force in the direction of self-extracting (self-retracting) when extracting after expanding the tube. The robot 2 controls the torque of the drive motor provided in the robot 2 according to the load which is the axial external force so that the axial external force and the power of the robot 2 do not press against each other. Specifically, a limit is applied by controlling the motor current so that the operation of the robot 2 can follow the self-propulsion and self-retraction of the expander 4, and when an external force is applied to the robot 2, the robot 2 follows this external force. Operate.

In step S10, when the robot 2 is stopped, or when a preset load torque is detected, the rotary drive machine 6 stops the rotation and rotates in the reverse direction. The load torque is obtained based on the value of the current flowing through the rotary drive machine 6.
Then, the robot 2 sends the mandrel 41, which is rotated in the reverse direction by the rotary drive machine 6, to the base end side of the expander 4. While rotating in the reverse direction, the mandrel 41 moves toward the proximal end side by the action of the feed angle of the roller 43, that is, self-retracts. By moving the mandrel 41 backward, the contact position of the roller 43 with the mandrel 41 moves to the smaller diameter side of the tapered portion 411, so that the tool diameter is reduced.

While the expander 4 receives an axial external force that causes it to retract itself, the robot 2 is operated so as to move the expander 4 in the direction of the axial external force. As a result, the support position of the tube expansion device 3 by the robot 2 is made to follow the axial movement of the mandrel 41 of the expander 4. Subsequently, the robot 2 removes the expander 4 of the tube expansion device 3 from the tube T, and stops the rotation drive by the rotation drive machine 6.

As described above, in the automatic pipe expanding device 1 of the present embodiment, the efficiency of the pipe expanding work can be improved.
Specifically, the automatic tube expanding device 1 includes a position sensor 200 that detects the position of the support member 73 in the moving device 8 that moves the expander 4 in the axial direction.
As a result, it is possible to detect that the frame member 42 or the roller 43 of the expander 4 is caught in the tube T and does not enter normally by moving the expander 4 in the axial direction or changing the position, and determine that it is abnormal. can. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a pipe expansion error and improve the efficiency of the pipe expansion work.

In this way, by monitoring the insertion stroke with the position sensor 200 separately from the tube expansion torque detected by the rotary drive machine 6, it is possible to prevent a tube expansion error and improve the efficiency of the tube expansion work.
Further, the stroke control for completing the tube expansion is possible depending on the position of the mandrel 41 detected by the position sensor 200. Therefore, the dimensional tolerance can be reduced.

Further, based on the stroke obtained from the position information of the support member 73 detected by the position sensor 200, it is possible to determine an abnormality when the expander 4 is inserted into the tube T by the robot 2.
In this way, the position of the support member 73 is used to monitor the insertion stroke when the expander 4 is inserted into the tube T. As a result, the abnormality can be determined by setting the timing for detecting the tube expansion torque to be accurate.
In addition, abnormalities can be found in the pre-inspection process before shifting to the diameter expansion process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a pipe expansion error and improve the yield.

Further, the control device 10 has a torque fluctuation detection unit 10a. The torque fluctuation detection unit 10a detects that the tip 4a of the expander 4 provided in the tube expansion device 3 collides with the tube plate TB or the end face te of the tube T by the torque fluctuation of the robot 2 supporting the tube expansion device 3. Judge an abnormality.
That is, the position sensor 200 transfers the position information of the support member 73 to the control device 10 as the position information of the tip 4a of the expander 4 existing at a distance set from the support member 73, which is obtained from the position information of the support member 73. send.
As shown in FIG. 4, the torque fluctuation detection unit 10a provided in the control device 10 indicates that the tip 4a collides with the tube plate TB or the end face te of the tube T, and the torque fluctuation of the robot 2 supporting the tube expansion device 3 Can be detected by.
In this way, when the tip 4a of the expander 4 collides with the tube plate TB or the end face te of the tube T, the torque fluctuation detection unit 10a can detect an abnormality as the torque fluctuation of the robot 2 supporting the tube expansion device 3. ..
Therefore, the torque fluctuation detection unit 10a is in a state where there is a high possibility that an insertion abnormality will occur even if the insertion operation and the diameter expansion step are carried out as they are before the tip 4a of the expander 4 is inserted into the tube T. It is possible to accurately determine that there is.

Further, the control device 10 has a stroke position detection unit 10b. When the expander 4 is inserted, the stroke position detection unit 10b determines that the roller 43 or the frame 44 is caught in the tube T by determining the position of the support member 73 based on the detection of the position sensor 200.
In the present embodiment, the position information of the tip 4a of the expander 4 existing at a set distance from the support member 73 can be obtained by detecting the position of the support member 73 by the position sensor 200.
If the position where the roller 43 or the frame member 42 is caught when the expander 4 is inserted is a position assumed in advance when the roller 43 or the frame member 42 is caught on the tube T, the roller 43 or the frame member 42 is caught on the tube T and inserted. It can be accurately determined to be abnormal.

Further, the control device 10 has a stroke change determination unit 10c. The stroke change determination unit 10c detects a change in the stroke amount required for the expansion of the expander 4 by the moving device 8 with the position sensor 200.
Therefore, the stroke change determination unit 10c can determine that the expander 4 has reached the end of its life due to wear or the like when the change in the stroke amount becomes large. Therefore, the deterioration of the expander can be accurately controlled, and the durability can be improved.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the configuration described in the embodiment. The present invention can appropriately change the configuration within a range that does not deviate from the gist thereof, including appropriately combining or selecting the configurations described in the above embodiments. In addition, a part of the configuration of the embodiment can be added, deleted, or replaced.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the articulated robot is used as the robot 2, but the robot 2 is not limited to this, and various robots such as a Cartesian coordinate type robot may be used.

Further, in the embodiment, the case where the electric cylinder device is used as the moving device 8 has been described, but the present invention is not particularly limited to this. For example, an electric cylinder device including a servomotor may be used as a drive source, and the position may be detected by an encoder.
Further, a general-purpose motor may be used as a drive source of the mobile device 8, or a fluid pressure cylinder may be used as a drive source. In these cases, a general-purpose position sensor such as a laser sensor or a magnetic sensor can be used, so that the cost increase can be further suppressed.

1 Automatic pipe expansion device 2 Robot 3 Pipe expansion device 4 Expander 6 Rotary drive 7 Clamp device 8 Moving device 41 Mandrel 42 Frame member 43 Roller 73 Support member (moving part)
200 Position sensor (detector)

Claims (5)

A tube expansion device that expands the tube,
A robot that supports and moves the tube expansion device,
The tube expansion device, the control device that controls the robot, and
It is an automatic pipe expansion device equipped with
The tube expansion device is
A mandrel having a tapered portion having a small diameter on the tip side formed on the outer peripheral surface, a cylindrical frame member slidably and rotatably fitted to the mandrel, and a shaft of the frame member rotatably held by the frame member. An expander with multiple rollers arranged at an angle to the direction,
A rotary drive machine that rotationally drives the mandrel of the expander,
A clamping device for clamping the frame member of the expander, and
A moving device that moves the clamp device in the axial direction of the expander,
An automatic pipe expansion device including a detection device for detecting the position of a moving portion in the moving device. The control device is characterized in that when the expander is inserted into the tube by the robot, an abnormality is determined based on the result of detecting the position of the moving portion by the detection device. Item 1. The automatic pipe expansion device according to Item 1. The control device detects that the tip of the expander provided in the tube expansion device collides with the tube plate or the end surface of the tube by the torque fluctuation of the robot supporting the tube expansion device, and determines an abnormality. The automatic tube expansion device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the automatic tube expansion device is characterized by having. The control device has a stroke position detecting unit that detects that the roller or the frame member is caught in the tube when the expander is inserted, based on the detection of the position of the moving unit. The automatic tube expansion device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the automatic tube expansion device is characterized. The automatic tube expansion device according to claim 2, wherein the control device includes a stroke change determination unit that detects a change in the stroke amount required for expansion of the expander by the moving device by the detection device.

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