JP2023056728A - Core accommodating device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a core accommodating device that stably accommodates a core with high accuracy.SOLUTION: A core accommodating device 1 includes: a robot 10 for holding a core 130 with a hand part 12 and setting the core to a core accommodating position 121 inside a main mold 100; a sensor 20 installed to the main mold 100 and detecting core position information indicating a position of the core 130 carried to a specified position; and a control unit 30 for controlling the robot 10 on the basis of a result of calculating a difference between the core location information and preliminarily stored master information. The control unit 30 controls the robot 10 to move the hand part 12 in a direction of correcting a position of the core 130 and set the core 130 to the core accommodating position 121 and feeds back differential information indicating the difference to the robot 10 when there is a difference, and controls the robot 10 to set the core 130 to the core accommodating position 121 and feeds back core position information to the robot 10 when there is no difference.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a core setting device for setting a core in a main mold in the casting process of castings.

For example, when casting a casting such as an automobile engine, a sand core corresponding to the shape of the internal space is used to form the internal space such as a bore and a water jacket. Patent Document 1 discloses a casting core assembling apparatus that automatically sets such a core such as a sand core in a main mold.

The casting core assembly apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 detects the position of the core gripped by the hand portion of the robot and transported to the upper position of the main mold by the core position detection means. position is detected by the main die position detecting means, the position of the hand portion is controlled by the control means based on the detection result, and then the core is put into the main die.

JP-A-7-232239

The casting core assembling apparatus described in Patent Document 1 uses a robot to insert the core into the main mold, and moreover, the single robot can perform the inserting of cores with high accuracy for various types of cores. Are listed. However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the positions of the core and the main mold are detected using a camera, the image acquired by the camera may be affected by thermal deformation of the main mold, the manufacturing environment of the production factory, and the like. Variation in image resolution can occur. There is a problem that if the image resolution of the image varies, there is a possibility that the accuracy of the core setting will be lowered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a core inserting device capable of stably inserting a core with high accuracy.

A core placing device according to one embodiment includes a robot that sets a core gripped by a hand portion at a core placing position in a main mold, and a robot provided in the main mold that holds a core at a specified position while being held by the hand portion. The robot is controlled based on a sensor that detects core position information indicating the position of the core carried to the robot, and the result of calculating the difference between the core position information detected by the sensor and pre-stored master information. and a control unit for moving the hand unit in a direction for correcting the position of the core based on the difference and setting the core at the core receiving position when there is a difference. is fed back to the robot, difference information indicating the difference is fed back to the robot, and if there is no difference, the robot is controlled to set the core at the core housing position, and core position information is fed back to the robot.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a core setting device that stably performs core setting with high accuracy.

1 is a front view showing a configuration of a core receiving device according to Embodiment 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a part of the core receiving device shown in FIG. 1; 2 is a flow chart showing the operation of the core receiving device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of step S4 in the flowchart shown in FIG. 3; FIG.

Embodiment 1
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Also, for clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are simplified as appropriate. Furthermore, in the following description, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

The configuration of the core receiving device 1 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the configuration of a core receiving device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a part of the core receiving device shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

The shapes of the main mold 100 and inserts (bore forming insert 110 and jacket forming insert 120) shown in FIGS. This is an example for explaining the method, and the shape of the main mold 100, the insert, etc. can be any shape depending on the shape of the casting to be manufactured.

The core receiving device 1 according to the present embodiment is used, for example, in a process of die-casting a cylinder block used for a multi-cylinder engine of an automobile. FIG. 1 shows how a core 130 used in a cylinder block casting process is set in a main mold 100 using the core setting device 1 .

When casting a cylinder block, a molten metal is poured under high pressure into a cavity corresponding to the shape of the product formed by clamping one mold and the other mold so that they are in contact with each other. The cast cylinder block has a plurality of cylinder bores arranged side by side in a row, and a water jacket provided so as to surround the plurality of cylinder bores, and the outer wall side and the inner wall side of the water jacket are bridged. It is a closed deck type connected with.

Core 130 is used to form the inner space of the cylinder block. The core 130 used in this embodiment is a sand core for forming part of the water jacket. Then, one of the molds used for casting the cylinder block is placed in the metal main mold 100 to which the bore forming inserts 110 and the jacket forming inserts 120 are attached. is configured.

The main mold 100 has a substantially rectangular base portion 101 and projecting portions 102 extending from four corners of the base portion 101 . Also, the base portion 101 is formed with a mold matching surface 103 that abuts against the other mold during casting. In this embodiment, the mold matching surface 103 is a peripheral portion of the end surface of the base portion 101 facing the other mold and is arranged between the adjacent projecting portions 102 .

A bore-forming insert 110 arranged in the main mold 100 is a mold for forming cylinder bores of the cylinders in the cylinder block, and is formed in a cylindrical shape. The jacket forming insert 120 arranged in the main mold 100 is a mold for forming the water jacket in the cylinder block, and surrounds the plurality of bore forming inserts 110 arranged side by side. installed intermittently. A space (indicated by a dashed line in the figure) formed between the adjacent jacket-forming inserts 120 is a core receiving position 121 in which the core 130 is set.

As shown in FIG. 1, the core placing device 1 includes a robot 10 that grips a core 130 and sets it in a main mold 100, a sensor 20 that detects the position of the core 130, and a controller that controls the robot 10. and a part 30 .

The main mold 100 is transported to a standby position near the robot 10 by the main mold supply line in a state in which the bore forming insert 110 and the jacket forming insert 120 are attached, for example. The core 130 placed on a pallet or the like is transported to a standby position near the robot 10 by, for example, a core supply line. The robot 10 is arranged, for example, on the side of the main mold supply line.

The robot 10 is, for example, an articulated robot, and is connected to the controller 30 . A hand portion 12 for gripping a core 130 is provided at the tip of an arm portion 11 extending from the robot 10 . The arm part 11 is connected to a drive source such as a motor, and can move the hand part 12 along, for example, the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis. The robot 10 grips the core 130 on the core supply line with the hand part 12 and carries it to a specified position near the main mold 100 on the main mold supply line, and then, moves the target inside the main mold 100. A core 130 is set at the core receiving position 121 .

The sensor 20 is provided on the master mold 100 . Here, a plurality of sensor mounting positions 21 for arranging the sensors 20 are set on the mold matching surface 103 of the main mold 100 so as to correspond to the respective core housing positions 121 . A sensor 20 is embedded in the base portion 101 of the main mold 100 at a sensor mounting position 21 . In this way, by providing the sensor 20 in a portion of the main mold 100 that is less affected by thermal deformation, it is possible to suppress a decrease in accuracy of inserting the core. Moreover, since the sensor 20 is incorporated in the main mold 100, the apparatus can be made compact.

As shown in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, three sensors 20 are arranged for each sensor mounting position 21 in order to increase the accuracy of position detection of the core 130 . In addition, in FIG. 2, the die matching surface 103 is indicated by hatching.

The sensor mounting position 21 is not limited to the mold matching surface 103 but is a position that does not affect the cavity surface forming the cavity. Alternatively, any position that can be indirectly detected may be used. Also, the number of sensors 20 is not particularly limited. These sensors 20 are connected to the control section 30 respectively.

In this embodiment, the sensor 20 detects core position information indicating the position of the core 130 existing within a detection range formed by a plurality of sensors 20 provided on the main mold 100. . Therefore, the designated position described above is set within the detection range of the sensor 20 . The sensor 20 then transmits the detected core position information to the control unit 30 .

The sensor 20 is, for example, a non-contact distance sensor that measures the distance to the core 130 to be detected. As such a sensor 20, an infrared sensor that emits infrared rays for measurement, an ultrasonic sensor that emits ultrasonic waves for measurement, or the like can be used. The core position information detected by the sensor 20 can be obtained as position coordinates in a three-dimensional space.

The control unit 30 controls the operation of the robot 10 based on various information such as core position information received from the sensor 20 . The control unit 30 includes a storage device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory). is.

A series of operations for setting the cores 130 in the respective core housing positions 121 in the main mold 100 is stored in the storage device of the control unit 30 . The core receiving device 1 is configured such that the arm portion 11 operates based on a predetermined movement locus stored for each core receiving position 121 to move the hand portion 12 .

Master information is stored in advance in the storage device of the control unit 30 . The master information is information indicating the reference position of the core 130 set corresponding to each core housing position 121 . The reference position of the core 130 can be obtained by experiments, for example.

The control unit 30 has a function of comparing the master information with the core position information detected by the sensor 20 and calculating the difference between the core position information and the master information. The control unit 30 is configured to control the motion of the robot 10 based on the result of computing this difference.

For example, when there is a difference between the core position information and the master information, the control unit 30 moves the hand unit 12 in a direction to correct the position of the core 130 based on the difference, and inserts the core 130 into the core. Control robot 10 to set position 121 . In this case, the controller 30 transmits difference information indicating the difference to the robot 10 .

That is, when there is a difference between the core position information and the master information, the core setting device 1 corrects the position of the core 130, sets the core 130 at the core setting position 121, and sets the core 130 to the core setting position 121 based on the difference information. feedback control of the robot 10.

On the other hand, the controller 30 controls the robot 10 to set the core 130 at the core receiving position 121 when there is no difference between the core position information and the master information. In this case, the control unit 30 transmits core position information indicating the position of the core 130 to the robot 10 .

That is, the core receiving apparatus 1 is configured to set the core 130 at the core receiving position 121 without correcting the position of the core 130, and feedback-control the robot 10 based on the core position information. there is

When the core setting device 1 is used, by performing such feedback control, the precision of core setting performed in the next casting cycle is improved, and the amount of correction of the position of the core 130 is reduced.

Next, the operation of the core receiving device 1 in the casting process for continuously casting a cylinder block will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the core receiving device shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the casting method using the core receiving device 1 has steps S1 to S6.

At step S1, the core 130 is carried to a designated position. In step S2, the sensor 20 detects the position of the core 130 carried in step S1. In step S3, the difference between the core position information detected by the sensor 20 in step S2 and the master information is calculated. In step S4, the robot 10 is controlled based on the result of calculating the difference in step S3. In step S5, the setting of the cores 130 is completed for all the core housing positions 121. FIG. In step S6, the mold obtained in step S5 is combined with other molds, clamped, and cast.

Furthermore, each of the above steps will be described in detail. In the casting process, when the robot 10 is instructed to perform the core placing operation, the robot 10 is activated to start the core placing operation. In step S1, when the robot 10 is activated, the robot 10 moves the hand portion 12 to a predetermined activation position in activation processing. The hand unit 12 moves to a position where it can grip the core 130 at the standby position on the core line, grips the core 130 , and then moves to a position above the main mold 100 . The position above the master mold 100 is an example of a designated position. As a result, the core 130 is carried to the designated position within the detection range of the sensor 20 while being held by the hand portion 12 .

In the following step S2, the distance from each sensor 20 to the core 130 at the designated position is measured by each sensor 20, and the x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate of the core 130 are obtained, thereby determining the core 130. Detect location. The sensor 20 then transmits the detected core position information to the control unit 30 .

In the subsequent step S3, the control unit 30 compares the core position information received from the sensor 20 with the master information and calculates a correction value for the arm unit 11 necessary to correct the deviation of the core 130 from the reference position. Calculate The correction value is an example of difference information indicating the difference between the core position information and the master information. The control unit 30 stores the calculated difference information in the storage device.

The following step S4 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing details of step S4 in the flowchart shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, in step S4-1, the control unit 30 determines whether or not there is a difference from the calculation result in step S3. If there is a difference between the core position information and the master information (step S4-1: YES), the process proceeds to step S4-2.

At step S4-2, the core receiving apparatus 1 determines that the core 130 is displaced from the reference position, and corrects the position of the core 130. FIG. When correcting the position of the core 130 , the control section 30 transmits a correction instruction signal to the robot 10 . Upon receiving the correction instruction signal, the robot 10 moves the hand unit 12 in a direction to correct the position of the core 130 by the correction value, thereby correcting the position of the core 130 to the reference position. After correcting the position of the core 130, the process proceeds to step S4-3.

In step S4-3, the robot 10 moves the core 130 to the target core housing position 121 in the main mold 100, and then releases the grip of the hand unit 12 to move the core to the core housing position 121. set child 130; When the setting of the core 130 is completed, the hand part 12 moves away from the main mold 100, and the robot 10 returns to the starting position. Then, the process proceeds to step S4-4.

In step S4-4, the controller 30 feeds back the difference information stored in the storage device to the robot 10. FIG. The core placing device 1 controls the operation of the core placing operation in the next casting cycle based on this feedback difference information.

On the other hand, if there is no difference between the core position information and the master information in step S4-1 (step S4-1: NO), the process proceeds to step S4-5. At step S4-5, the core setting device 1 determines that the core 130 is not displaced from the reference position, and the controller 30 transmits a core setting instruction signal to the robot 10 to continue core setting. The robot 10 that has received the core set instruction signal sets the core 130 at the target core housing position 121 in the main mold 100 without correcting the position of the core 130 . When the setting of the core 130 is completed, the hand part 12 moves away from the main mold 100, and the robot 10 returns to the starting position. Then, the process proceeds to step S4-6.

At step S4-6, the control unit 30 stores the core position information received from the sensor 20 in the storage device, and proceeds to step S4-7.

At step S4-7, the control unit 30 feeds back the core position information stored in the storage device to the robot 10. FIG. The core setting device 1 controls the operation of the core setting operation in the next casting cycle based on the feedback core position information.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3, in step S5, the flow of steps S1 to S4 is repeated until the setting of the cores 130 is completed for all the core housing positions 121. FIG. In this way, the work of setting the cores 130 to the respective core receiving positions 121 in the main mold 100 is performed, and the core receiving work is completed when the required number of cores 130 are set.

In the following step S6, a cylinder block is cast using the mold constructed by the flow of steps S1 to S5. A cast product obtained by casting is taken out from the mold after the mold is opened, and the core is removed. Thus, a cylinder block can be manufactured. Further, when performing the next casting cycle, the process returns to step S1.

Here, as a device used for the core placing work, for example, a method of detecting the positions of the main mold 100 and the core 130 based on image information taken by a camera such as a CCD camera instead of the sensor 20 described above is adopted. can be considered. However, when a camera is used for position detection, there is a possibility that the image resolution of the image acquired by the camera may vary due to factors such as thermal deformation of the mold and the manufacturing environment of the production plant, including seasonal temperature changes. be. When the image resolution of the image varies, there is a possibility that the accuracy of the core setting may deteriorate. Further, the core housing position 121 may be displaced due to thermal deformation of the mold, the manufacturing environment of the production factory, or the like.

On the other hand, since the core setting device 1 according to the present embodiment does not perform position detection using images, it is less likely to be affected by thermal deformation of the mold and the manufacturing environment of the production factory, and position detection using images is possible. It is possible to suppress a decrease in accuracy of inserting the core that may occur when detection is performed.

Further, the core receiving apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured to feedback-control the robot 10 based on the core position information or the difference information regardless of whether there is a difference between the core position information and the master information. ing. Therefore, the core 130 can be accurately set with respect to the core housing position 121 which may be displaced under the influence of thermal deformation of the mold, the manufacturing environment of the production factory, and the like. In addition, according to such a configuration, the accuracy of inserting the core is improved as the casting cycle is repeated.

Furthermore, in the core receiving apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the position correction of the core 130 is executed when there is a difference between the core position information and the master information. Saves time. With such a configuration, it is possible to improve the working efficiency of core placement. Therefore, the core receiving device 1 according to the present embodiment is suitable for die casting that requires accurate setting of cores in a short period of time in accordance with a short cycle time.

As described above, according to the core setting device 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to stably perform core setting with high accuracy.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, when the control unit 30 determines whether or not there is a difference, an allowable range for the difference may be provided, and the position of the core 130 may be corrected when the difference is outside the allowable range.

1 core receiving device 10 robot 11 arm portion 12 hand portion 20 sensor 21 sensor mounting position 30 control portion 100 main mold 101 base portion 102 projecting portion 103 mold matching surface 110 bore forming insert 120 jacket forming insert 121 core Insertion position 130 Core

Claims (1)

A robot that sets the core gripped by the hand part to the core housing position in the main mold;
a sensor provided in the main mold for detecting core position information indicating the position of the core held by the hand portion and transported to a specified position;
a control unit that controls the robot based on a result of computing a difference between the core position information detected by the sensor and pre-stored master information;
The control unit
controlling the robot to move the hand unit in a direction in which the position of the core is corrected based on the difference when the difference exists and to set the core at the core housing position; feedback difference information indicating the difference to the robot;
controlling the robot to set the core at the core receiving position when there is no difference, and feeding back the core position information to the robot;
Core storage device.

Images