JP2727237B2 - Processing equipment for long workpieces - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a processing apparatus for clamping a long work and processing a plurality of portions of the long work, and particularly relates to a processing apparatus for a long work. The present invention relates to a long work processing apparatus capable of flexibly coping with a difference and a difference in a processing position with respect to a long work, and capable of automatically feeding a long work to a processing clamper with high accuracy and automatically carrying out the work.

[Conventional technology]

For example, a processing machine such as a machining center is used to process holes and the like at a plurality of locations on a long work, and a plurality of types of tools perform processing such as drilling, spot facing, and chamfering.

As a means for supplying a long work to the above-described processing machine, a transfer conveyor or a transfer device driven by a cylinder is conventionally used. The long workpiece transported to the processing position by these transport means is processed by the tool while being clamped at that position.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, the above-mentioned conventional long work supply means has the following problems.

(1) When a long work is fed by a transfer conveyor or a cylinder-driven transfer device, it is necessary to change the feeding amount to the processing position when the type of work changes and its length or processing location changes. However, a setup work is required for this, and the work efficiency is reduced.

(2) Conventionally, when moving the completed portion of a long workpiece from the processing position and sending it to the next processing location to the processing position, the long workpiece has been moved by applying only the power on the feed side to the long workpiece. High-precision feeding and positioning of the processing location were difficult. In particular, when the processing location is at the rear of the long workpiece, the dimension of the workpiece extending to the side to be fed out becomes longer, and it becomes difficult to feed the workpiece accurately only by the feeding power.

(3) For example, when there is a processing portion at the rearmost portion of a long workpiece, only the rearmost portion is clamped at a narrow portion of the processing position, and the portion beyond this is extended to the discharge side. Therefore, even if the last processed part is clamped, high-precision positioning cannot be performed, and the processing precision of this part is reduced.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and supplies a long work with high precision onto a processing clamper provided at a processing position, and can accurately position a processing location, and can reduce the length of the long work. It is an object of the present invention to provide a long workpiece processing apparatus capable of flexibly responding to a change or a change in a processing location.

[Means for solving the problem]

An apparatus for processing a long work according to the present invention includes a plurality of clamp arms, a processing clamper for clamping the long work to a processing position by the clamp arm, and a long work clamped by the processing clamper. A processing head that is controlled to be fed at least in three orthogonal directions, and a pair of transfer tables arranged on a side that supplies a long work to the processing position and a side that removes the long work from the processing position; A transport clamper mounted on each of the transport tables and having a plurality of clamp arms and clamping a long workpiece by the clamp arms; and the processing clamper by synchronizing the pair of transport tables without changing the interval therebetween. And a feed screw for moving in a direction of approaching and moving away from the vehicle.

In the apparatus for processing a long work according to the present invention, a pair of transfer tables is provided with an elevating mechanism that raises a transfer clamper mounted on each of the work tables and raises the long work to a position higher than the positioning surface of the processing clamper. It is what is being done.

Further, in the above configuration, the feed screw is driven by a servomotor whose rotation amount is controlled.

And, in the above configuration, a stopper in which the tips of a plurality of long workpieces supplied on the transport clamper are in contact with the intermediate between the processing clamper and the transport clamper on the side supplying the long workpiece, A stopper driving mechanism for moving the stopper to a position outside the supply path of the long work is disposed.

In the stopper, a detection switch embedded in each contact surface detects the contact of the work.

In addition, the stopper and the stopper drive mechanism are provided on both sides of the machining clamper, respectively, so that the feeding direction of the long workpiece can be changed, so that the workpiece loading / unloading direction can be selected as appropriate, facilitating automatic loading and unloading in both directions. It was made possible.

Further, a bending preventing member for a workpiece that receives a long workpiece from below can be provided at both sides of the processing clamper.

In the above means, a plurality of types of clamp arms can be exchanged for the processing clamper and the pair of transport clampers.

[Operation] In the above-described means, a pair of transfer tables arranged on the supply side and the discharge side of the work are driven in a direction approaching and separating from the processing position while maintaining a constant interval. Therefore, the long work is first clamped by the transfer clamper on the supply-side transfer table, and is supplied to the processing clamper at the processing position facing the machining center or the like by the movement of the supply-side transfer table.
When the long work is clamped by the processing clamper, the clamp by the transport clamper on the supply side is released. The long work is clamped by the working clamper to perform a process such as drilling with a tool. After the processing is completed, the long work is clamped by the transport clamper, the clamp of the processing clamper is released, and a new processing location of the long work is supplied to the processing clamper by the supply side transfer table. By repeating this process, a new processing location is supplied onto the processing clamper.At this time, the leading end of the long workpiece sent from the processing clamper to the discharge side is clamped by the transport clamper on the discharge side transfer table. Then, it is clamped by the respective transport clampers on the supply side and the discharge side. Due to the synchronous movement of the two carriages, the processing location of the long work is supplied with high precision onto the processing clamper.

Further, by raising the transport clamper from the transport table, the long work clamped by the transport clamper can be lifted and sent to and discharged from the processing clamper. Therefore, the work and the positioning surface can be prevented from being damaged.

In addition, by rotating the feed screw by the servomotor, the amount of movement of the two carriages can be controlled by numerical control, and the processing position of the long work can be sent to the processing position with high precision. In addition, if there is a processing part at the end of a long work, it is possible to control the amount of movement of the transfer table and clamp the long part of the rear of the long work to a processing clamper. The long workpiece can be positioned on the machining clamper with high accuracy up to the point.

In addition, by disposing the stopper between the processing clamper and the supply-side transport clamper, the leading end of the workpiece can be positioned when a plurality of long workpieces are supplied onto the supply-side transport clamper.

Further, by providing the stopper on both sides of the working clamper, it becomes possible to supply a long work to the working clamper from both sides thereof.

Further, by providing the workpiece bending preventing members on both sides of the working clamper, it is possible to prevent the distal end of the long workpiece held by the clamper from bending by its own weight when supplying or discharging the long workpiece.

Further, by making the clamp arm provided in each clamper replaceable, it becomes possible to clamp works of various shapes or dimensions.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an outline of the entire structure of a long work processing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing details of a work loading / unloading part in the above apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a front view thereof. is there.

 The structure of the entire device will be described with reference to these drawings.

1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a frame of the apparatus, which is installed on a floor F of a work place. A processing clamper A is fixedly installed substantially at the center of the gantry 1 corresponding to the processing position. In the case of this embodiment, the long work W is conveyed from right to left in the figure (in the direction of arrow α in FIG. 3) and supplied onto the processing clamper A. Processing clamper A
The transport clamper B on the supply side is disposed on the right side of the drawing, and the transport clamper C for discharge is disposed on the left side of the processing clamper A, respectively. Conveying clamper B is and conveyed clamper C is placed on the carrying table B ₁ represents is placed on the conveyance stage C _1. Each of the transfer tables B ₁ and C ₁ is supported on the gantry 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction of the figure, and the distance l (see FIG. 3) of the figure is not changed by a drive device described later without changing. It is fed and driven in the left and right direction.

That is, a pair of linear guides 11 are installed on the upper surface of the gantry 1 in parallel, and each of the transfer tables B ₁ and C ₁ is guided by the linear guides 11 and is movably supported in the left-right direction in the figure. . A feed screw 12 having a ball screw formed in the middle of the linear guide 11 is provided with a gantry 1 at its left and right ends.
The feed screw 12 is rotatably supported, and one end of the feed screw 12 is connected to a servomotor M provided at an end of the gantry 1 and is driven to rotate. The rotation amount of the servo motor M is controlled by numerical control or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the pair of transfer tables B ₁ and
Each of the C ₁ holds a ball nut 13, and each of the ball nuts 13 is screwed into the feed screw 12.
When the screw 12 feed by the servo motor M is driven, the conveying table B ₁ and C ₁ pair of driven synchronously to the left and right direction in FIG without changing the distance l from each other. By controlling the rotation amount of the servomotor M by the above-described numerical control, the feed amount of the pair of transfer tables B ₁ and C ₁ can be controlled with high accuracy.

As shown in FIG. 1, a processing machine (machining center) D is arranged beside the gantry 1. The upper surface of the base 2 of the machine D is installed a linear guide 3, the linear guide 3 and are movably supported saddle 4 in the X direction by the saddle 4 is the amount of movement is controlled by a servo motor M _X And is driven in the X direction.
A linear guide 5 is provided on the saddle 4, and the column 6 is supported by the linear guide 5 so as to be movable in the Y direction. The column 6 the amount of movement is adapted to be driven by being controlled in the Y direction by a servomotor M _Y. Further on the front surface of the column 6 machining head 7 is vertically movably supported in the Z direction and is adapted to be driven vertically by a controlled amount of movement by the servo motor M _Z. A plurality of (three in the case of the illustrated embodiment) tools T ₁ , T ₂ , and a plurality of spindles 7 a provided on the lower surface of the machining head 7 are provided.
T ₃ is held respectively. A tool magazine (not shown) is arranged on the side of the processing head 7 so that a tool can be exchanged with the processing head 7.

Next, the structure of the processing clamper A will be described. 4th
The figure is a front view of the working clamper A, and is an enlarged front view of the working clamper A shown in FIG. 3 and including a partial cross-section omitting the structure of the central portion. FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 4, and FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the chassis 21 of the processing clamper A is fixed to the upper surface of the gantry 1 by a bracket 22. On the chassis 21, five rows of clamp bases 23a to 23e are arranged at equal pitches in the work supply direction (the direction of arrow X in FIG. 1). FIG. 4 shows only the rightmost clamp base 23a located at the supply end and the leftmost clamp base 23e located at the discharge end. The intermediate clamp bases 23b to 23d are omitted from FIG. 4 because they have substantially the same structure as the two clamp bases 23a to 23e.

Here, the clamp base 23e located at the discharge side end
5 will be described with reference to the cross-sectional portion of FIG. 4 and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, three cylinder mechanisms 24a, 24b, and 24c are built into the clamp base 23e at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction (the direction traversing the work W: the direction of the arrow Y shown in FIG. 1). Have been. This cylinder mechanism is hydraulically driven or air driven, and the same applies to other cylinder mechanisms described below. For example, the rightmost cylinder mechanism 24
“a” is for moving the elevating member 25a up and down, and a clamp rod 26a integrally provided at the upper end of the elevating member 25a is adapted to move up and down. Reference numeral 27 denotes a sleeve held by the clamp base 23e, and the clamp rod 26a is slidably supported by the sleeve 27. A clamp arm 28a is supported on the upper end of the clamp rod 26a so as to be able to move freely in a certain movable range with the shaft 29 as a fulcrum. The cylinder mechanism 24a is a clamp rod 2
It has a function of driving the 6a up and down and rotating the clamp rod 26a approximately 90 degrees. Cylinder mechanism 24a
When the clamp rod 26a is raised, the clamp arm 28a is raised from the clamp state of FIG. 5 to the clamp release state. At this time, the clamp rod 26a rotates by about 90 degrees, as shown in FIG. The clamp arm 28a is directed in the short width direction of the clamp base 23 (work supply direction; arrow X direction shown in FIG. 1). At the same time when the clamp rod 26a is lowered by the cylinder mechanism 24a, the clamp arm 28a is turned substantially 90 degrees from the direction of FIG. 1 to the direction shown in FIG. 5, and the work W is clamped.

Similarly, other cylinder mechanisms 24b and 24c arranged in line with the cylinder mechanism 24a are also provided with clamp rods 26b and 26c and clamp arms 28b and 28c, respectively, and the respective clamp rods 26b and 26c and the clamps 28a and 28b are described above. Clamp rod 26
a and the same operation as the clamp arm 28a. First
As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 3, three clamp rods 26a, 26b, 26c and clamp arms 28a, 2 are provided on each of five rows of clamp bases 23a to 23e.
8b and 28c are provided, and the clamper A for processing is provided with a total of 15 clamp rods and clamp arms. And by the corresponding cylinder mechanism,
The clamp arm is driven similarly to the clamp arm 28a. As shown in FIG. 5, a rod 31 extending downward is provided in the cylinder mechanism 24c located at the leftmost portion, and this rod 31 moves up and down in response to the up and down operation of the clamp rod 26c. The rod 31 is provided with a detection lever 32 and can be moved up and down along a guide shaft 32a. The limit switches 34a or 34b are operated by the pressing members 33a and 33b provided on the detection lever 32, and the detection of the rising dead center and the falling dead center of the clamp arm 28c, that is, the detection of the clamp operation and the clamp release operation are performed. . This detection mechanism may be provided only in one of the plurality of cylinder mechanisms, and the detection may be made to be able to detect the raising / lowering operation of all clamp arms, or may be provided in all cylinder mechanisms. Is also good.

As shown in FIG. 5, horizontal positioning blocks 35a and 35b are disposed on both sides of the right end clamp rod 26a, and horizontal positioning blocks 3 are disposed on both sides of the central clamp rod 26b.
Horizontal positioning blocks 35e and 35f are provided on both sides of the clamp rod 26c at the left end, respectively. The horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f are fixed to the upper surface of the clamp base 23e, and the upper surfaces of the horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f are horizontal positioning surfaces H located on the same plane. Further, a vertical positioning block 36a is provided on the right side of the horizontal positioning block 35a at the right end. A vertical positioning block 36b is provided between the horizontal positioning blocks 35b and 35c, and a horizontal positioning block 35d is provided.
A vertical positioning block 36c is provided between the first and the third 35e. Further, a vertical positioning block 36d is provided on the left side of the left end horizontal positioning block 35f. And the opposite side surfaces of the vertical positioning blocks 36a and 36d at the left and right ends,
Both side surfaces of the vertical positioning blocks 36b and 36c are vertical positioning surfaces V, and the vertical positioning surface V and the horizontal positioning surface H are formed at an accurate right angle. As shown by a chain line in FIG. 5, the long work W is positioned by the positioning surfaces H and V by being pressed by the clamp arms 28a to 28c, and the work clamper A
Clamped on top. Each of the clamp arms 28a to 28c can be detachably attached to the clamp rods 26a to 26c, and can be easily replaced with a clamp arm according to a work shape, so that it can easily cope with works of various cross-sectional shapes and cross-sectional dimensions. I have.

The horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f and the vertical positioning blocks 36a to 36d are connected to the other four rows of the clamp bases 23.
Each of a to 23d is similarly provided.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the clamp base 23a located on the most supply side (rightmost row) of the five rows of clamp bases is provided with a workpiece A stopper 40 for determining a feed reference position is provided. A support block 41 is fixed to the right side of the clamp base 23a in the figure, and the stopper 40 is driven up and down by a cylinder mechanism 42 as a stopper drive mechanism supported by the support block 41. A positioning plate 43 is provided on an upper front surface of each stopper 40, and a plurality of contact surfaces 44 each having a surface located on the same vertical plane are formed at a plurality of positions of the positioning plate 43. A proximity switch 66 as a detection switch is embedded in each of the contact surfaces 44, and the proximity switch 66 can detect that the work W has contacted the contact surface 44. The switches 67 and 68 shown in FIG. 6 detect the rise and fall of the stopper 40.

As shown in FIG. 4, further behind the clamp base 23e positioned on the supply side and the most discharge side of the stopper 40, rollers 45 and 47 as work bending preventing members are further disposed in the discharge direction.
Are provided respectively. These rollers 45 and 47 are respectively attached to brackets 46 fixed to the clamp bases 23a and 23e.
It is rotatably supported by. In addition, each roller
The heights of 45 and 47 are set so that the upper surface thereof substantially coincides with the horizontal positioning surface H of the processing clamper A.

Next, the conveying clamper B and C and the structure of the conveying table B ₁ and C _1.

Conveying clamper B of the supply side, conveying the clamper C of the conveying table B ₁ and the discharge side, they are disposed symmetrically in the direction to each other and conveying table C _1, the structure is similar. Therefore the following description will only structure of the carrying table C ₁ and the conveying clamper C on the discharge side.

Figure 7 is shows a conveying clamper C as well as the structure of the transport board C ₁ on the discharge side is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 3. FIG. 8 is a right side view of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and FIG. 8, the bottom of the movable base 52 of the transport board C ₁ is is provided with the sliding member 51, slidably installed the sliding member 51 is in the linear guide 11 Have been. The ball nut 13 is held in the central bottom portion of the transfer table C _1, the ball nut 13 is the feed screw 12
It is screwed on. The sliding base 52 is provided with a vertically extending guide portion 52a, and the elevating base 53 is supported by the guide portion 52a so as to be able to move up and down. Then, the lifting base 53 is driven to move up and down by a cylinder mechanism 54 shown in FIG. The cylinder mechanism 54, the transport clamper C is part of the upper from the lift base 53 is lifted from the transport platform C ₁ upward. In dashed line (beta) is the first diagram, conveying the clamper C indicates an elevated position from the conveying table C _1.

As shown in FIG. 8, the lifting base 53 is provided with three cylinder mechanisms 55a, 55b, and 55c arranged in the left-right direction (the arrow Y direction in FIG. 1). Each cylinder mechanism 55
a, 55b, 55c have clamp rods 56a, 56b, 56c that move up and down.
Is provided. As shown in the cross section of FIG. 8, the clamp rod is slidably supported by a sleeve 59 held at the upper end of the lifting base 53. At the upper ends of the clamp rods 56a, 56b, 56c, clamp arms 58a, 58 supported by a shaft 57 so as to be freely movable in a certain range.
b, 58c are provided. The clamp arms 58a to 58c in this transport clamper are also provided interchangeably with respect to the clamp rods, similarly to the clamp arms 28a to 28c provided in the processing clamper. As shown in FIG. 1, the clamp rods 56a, 56b, and 56c and the clamp arms 58a, 58b, and 58c are provided in two rows at intervals in the workpiece insertion direction (the direction of the arrow X in FIG. 1). A total of six clamp rods and clamp arms are mounted on one transport clamper C. Each is driven up and down by an individual cylinder mechanism. Although not shown, any one of the clamp rods or all the clamp rods is provided with a limit switch mechanism for confirming the elevating operation.

As shown in FIG. 8, horizontal positioning blocks 61a and 61b are arranged on both sides of the rightmost clamp rod 56a, and horizontal positioning blocks 6 are provided on both sides of the central clamp rod 56b.
1c and 61d, horizontal positioning blocks 61e and 61f are provided on both sides of the leftmost clamp rod 56c, respectively. Each of the horizontal positioning blocks 61a to 61f is fixed to the upper surface of the lifting base 53, and
Upper surfaces of 61f are horizontal positioning surfaces H located on the same horizontal plane. Further, a vertical positioning block 62a is provided on the right side of the rightmost horizontal positioning block 61a. A vertical positioning block 62b is provided between the horizontal positioning blocks 61b and 61c.
A vertical positioning block 62c is provided in the middle of 61e. Further, a vertical positioning block 62d is provided on the left side of the left horizontal positioning block 61f. The opposite side surfaces of the vertical positioning blocks 62a and 62d at the left and right ends, and both side surfaces of the vertical positioning blocks 62b and 62c are vertical positioning surfaces V. The vertical positioning surface V and the horizontal positioning surface H are formed at a right angle. Is configured.
As shown by a dotted line in FIG. 8, the long work W is pressed by the clamp arms 58a to 58c, thereby being positioned by the positioning surfaces H and V and fixed on the transport clamper C.

As described above, the transport clamper B and transport board B ₁ on the feed side is directed to the transport platform C ₁ symmetric and conveying clamper C on the discharge side, the structure conveying clamper C and conveying table
Is the same as the C _1.

That is, the transport clamper B of the supply side in the same manner adapted to be raised from the conveying table B ₁ by a cylinder mechanism (see one-dot chain line (beta) in FIG. 1).

The work clamping function of the transport clampers B and C is substantially the same as the clamp function of the processing clamper A as described above. However, in the machining clamper A, the clamp arms 28a to 28c are rotated by approximately 90 degrees for the purpose of requiring high positioning accuracy and for facilitating the flow of machining chips from the horizontal positioning surface H by the coolant when the clamp is released. While moving up and down, the clamp arms 58 in the transport clampers B and C
a to 58c do not rotate and move up and down in the direction shown in FIG.
The arrangement pitch of the clamp arms 28a to 28c of the processing clamper A and the clamp arms 58a to 58c of the transport clampers B and C are the same in the direction crossing the work. And the clamp arm 28 of the processing clamper A described so far.
a to 28c and the clamp arms 58a of the transport clampers B and C
58c is the same size for the same work. Further, by changing the size and shape of these clamp arms by replacing the clamp arms, it becomes possible to clamp workpieces having various cross-sectional areas. Ninth
The figure illustrates a work that can be clamped when different clamp arms are used. This figure shows the processing clamper A
Are shown, the same applies to each clamp arm of the transport clamper. Since a plurality of the same kind of workpieces are used in actual machining, clamp arms having the same shape are used in the machining operation, but for convenience of explanation, different clamp arms are attached to each clamp rod in FIG. FIG. Rightmost clamp arm 28A
In a possible clamping of the workpiece W ₁ and W ₂ of a relatively large cross-sectional area. In the middle of the clamp arm 28B, it is possible to clamp the workpiece W ₃ and W ₄ of the small cross-sectional area. The clamping of the workpiece W ₅ and W ₆ of the cross-sectional area of the size of the medium in the left end of the clamp arm 28C can be respectively.

Next, the operation of the long workpiece processing apparatus having the above structure will be described.

 FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing operation.

When supplying a long workpiece W, the left and right transfer tables B ₁
C ₁ is positioned on the right side of the position (Figure 2, position indicated by the solid line in Figure 3). Also, at each of the transport tables B ₁ and C ₁ ,
The transport clampers B and C are lowered (see step (a) in FIG. 10). In a state where the transport clampers B and C are lowered, the upper surfaces of the horizontal positioning blocks 61a to 61f of the transport clampers B and C and the upper surfaces of the horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f of the processing clamper A are horizontally aligned. The positioning surfaces V are located on substantially the same horizontal plane. When the workpiece W is supplied, the stopper 40 is raised (step (b)). For example, a plurality of long workpieces W are supplied simultaneously from a conveyor (not shown). The long work W is supplied on the supply side (right side) while being pressed by a pressing device (not shown) along the supply roller 65 shown on the right end of FIG.
(Step (c)). At this time, the clamp arms 58a to 58c on the transport clamper B are raised. Horizontal positioning block 61 of transport clamper B
The plurality of long workpieces W supplied on a to 61f hit the contact surface 44 of the stopper 40, whereby the tips of the plurality of long workpieces W are aligned with the feed reference position (step (d)). ; See FIG. 3). At this time, all the proximity switches 66 are turned on. Next, the clamp arm on the transport clamper B on the supply side
58a to 58c are lowered, and a plurality of long works W are clamped on the transport clamper B as shown in FIG. 8 (step (e)). At this time, the transport clampers B and C are still lowered with respect to the transport tables B ₁ and C ₁ .

When the supply of the long workpiece W, by the position of the transfer table B ₁ is the tip of the workpiece W is set to a position as not to place the deflection until it hits the abutment surface 44, the deflection of the long workpiece W Can be minimized and the abutment surface by the roller 45
When the workpiece contacts 44, the tip of the workpiece is prevented from lowering from below. Workpiece supporting position by the conveyance table B ₁ for minimizing deflection of the long work W may store a computer an optimal point, the carrier table B ₁ controls the rotational speed of the servomotor M It is performed by moving to the optimum position. Then, the long work W is clamped by the transport clamper B at that position.

After the long work W is clamped by the transport clamper B, the stopper 40 descends (step (f)). Thereafter, the transport clampers B and C are raised by the cylinder mechanism 54 (see FIG. 8) provided on the transport tables B ₁ and C _1, and
Workpiece W is lifted from B ₁ (in FIG. 1 (beta); see step (g)). Then, the carriages B ₁ and C ₁ are moved to the left in the figure by the feed screw 12 (step (h)) (the position shown by the dashed line in FIGS. 2 and 3), and the long work W It is supplied onto the working clamper A while being raised by B (step (i)). Since the long workpiece W is sent in a raised state,
The long work W is supplied without hitting the horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f of the processing clamper A or sliding on the upper surface thereof. Therefore, the work W is prevented from being damaged by the horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f or cutting chips or the like on the horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f.

After the long work W is supplied to the working clamper A by a predetermined size, the transport clampers B and C are lowered, and the work W is placed on the upper surfaces (horizontal positioning surfaces H) of the horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f of the working clamper A. (Step (j)).
Then, the clamp arms 28a to 28c on the processing clamper A are lowered, and the long work W is moved to the horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f and the vertical positioning blocks 36a to 36d on the processing clamper A.
And are clamped (step (k)). At the same time or a little later, transport clamper B,
The clamp arms 58a to 58c on C are raised and the transport clamper
The clamping force by B and C is released (step (l)).

When the long work W is clamped on the processing clamper A, the processing head 7 of the processing machine (machining center) D
Is driven in the -Y direction, the tool T ₁ and T ₂ and T ₃ is driven in the Z direction while being rotated by the spindle motor 69 to move to a predetermined processing position, long work W is machined by the tool ( Step (m)). When the long workpiece W is, for example, a linear guide, the processing is drilling, spot facing, chamfering, and the like.
The tool is changed for each process. As shown in FIG. 5, in the working clamper A in this embodiment, six long workpieces W are clamped side by side. On the other hand, there are three tools indicated by T ₁ , T ₂ , and T ₃ . Therefore, the processing procedure is, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the vertical positioning surface V of the vertical positioning block 36d, the vertical positioning surface V on the right side of the vertical positioning block 36c, and the vertical positioning surface V on the right side of the vertical positioning block 36b. Based on
The center of the tool T ₁ , T ₂ , T ₃ is moved to a position separated by a distance δ from the reference position to the center of the workpiece W, and a processing location is determined to perform processing. For the other three workpieces W, for example, the distance from the vertical positioning surface V on the left side in the drawing of each of the vertical positioning blocks 36a, 36b, 36c to the center of the workpiece W is calculated, and the tool Moves to perform processing. Further, the tools T ₁ , T ₂ , and T ₃ move in the longitudinal direction of the long workpiece W, and a plurality of processing locations of each workpiece are processed.

While processing is completed, the feed table is
B ₁ and C ₁ are moved to predetermined positions in the right direction in the figure (step (t)). Almost simultaneously with the completion of the processing, each long work W is clamped by the transport clamper B or both clampers B and C (step (n)). Further, the clamping of the workpiece W by the processing clamper A is released (step (o)).
The conveying clamper B is raised from the conveying table B _1, the workpiece W is floated by the processing clamper A (step (p)). If the machining is not completed, the carriages B ₁ and C ₁ are then driven to the left by the feed screw 12 to move the next machining portion of the long workpiece W onto the machining clamper A by a predetermined amount (step (q)). )). Then, the above steps (j) to (q) are repeated until the processing at all the processing positions is completed. Thereby, the processing location is processed sequentially.

When all the processes are completed, the transport tables B ₁ and C ₁ are moved leftward in the figure by the feed screw 12 (step (r)), and the transport clamper C on the discharge side clamps the workpiece W while the processing clamper A is clamped. The work W is taken out from above (step (s)). This completes the work unloading. While maintaining the spacing l conveying table B ₁ and C ₁ of the right and left by a common feed screw 12, a driven right-to-left direction in synchronization. Also on each transport block B ₁ and C _1, the transport clamper B and C are also synchronously lifting. Further, each transport clamper B and C
The upper clamp arms 58a to 58c perform an ascending and descending operation (clamping and releasing operations) in synchronization. Therefore, clamper A for processing
The workpiece W sent out from the left side in the figure is clamped by the transport-side clamper C on the discharge side to apply a discharge force.
In this way, the workpiece is clamped by the transport clampers B and C on the left and right sides of the processing clamper A, and is sent out in the discharge direction.
The processing position of the long workpiece W is accurately sent to the processing position. At this time, the right and left transport clampers B and C
As a result, the workpiece W is lifted and sent to the left in the drawing, so that the workpiece does not slide on the horizontal positioning blocks 35a to 35f on the processing clamper A, thereby preventing the workpiece from being damaged.

As described above, the transfer operation of the work W is performed by the right and left transfer tables B and C moving to the left and right in synchronization without changing the interval l. Here, the feed amount of the work W can be set arbitrarily by controlling the drive amount of the servo motor M by numerical control or the like. For example, the pitch of the processing portion in the longitudinal direction on the work is P, and 1
In the case where three machining operations are performed by the number of times of clamping, by setting the feed amount of the workpiece to (3 × P), the three machining locations on the workpiece are accurately moved to the machining locations in the preceding process. be able to.

Further, for example, when the processing part at the rearmost part of the work W is near the rear end of the work, the feed amount of the carriages B ₁ and C ₁ is controlled,
If the rear part of the work W is clamped in a wide range on the clamp bases 23a to 23e in five rows of the working clamper A, the work W is accurately positioned on the working clamper A and clamped. Will be able to

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the processing clamper A and the transport clampers B
The clamp mechanism on C and C may have another structure. Further, the long work is not limited to a rod material such as a linear guide, but can be applied to other various work, for example, processing of a flat work.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the work loading / unloading direction is set from right to left in the drawing has been described.
It is also possible to reattach the stopper 40 provided on the right side of FIG. 3 and its driving part to the left side position as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, and the changeover for the work feed in the opposite direction is completed only by this replacement work. I do. Feed control can be easily performed only by changing the feed direction of the NC program. Alternatively, by providing the same stopper 40 and its driving unit at both left and right positions of the processing clamper A in advance, the work loading / unloading direction can be appropriately selected without any setup change work for changing the feeding direction. Thus, automatic loading and unloading in both directions can be easily performed.

[Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, a transfer table having a transfer clamper is provided on each of the supply side and the discharge side of the processing clamper at the processing position. The long work, which has been processed by the processing machine, is clamped by a pair of transport clampers, supplied to the processing clamper, and clamped. In this way, the long clamper is clamped and transported by the pair of transport clampers sandwiching the processing clamper, so that the transport distance is accurate, and the processing location of the long workpiece is accurately sent to the processing position.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the transport clamper is lifted from the transport table, and the long work clamped by the transport clamper is lifted up from the positioning surface of the processing clamper and sent in. It can be prevented from being scratched by chips attached to or on the positioning surface of the clamper.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the feed screw for driving the transfer table is driven by the servomotor, the feed amount of the transfer table can be controlled by numerical control or the like, and the processing position of the long work can be controlled by the tool. It is possible to accurately feed to the processing position. Further, even if the length of the work or the pitch of the processing portion is changed, the servo motor controls the moving amount of the transfer table, so that it is possible to immediately respond without performing another setup operation.

Further, in the invention according to the fourth aspect, at the stage of supplying the workpiece to the transport clamper on the supply side, the tip of the long workpiece can be positioned at the feed reference position, so that the long workpiece can be accurately supplied to the processing position. This makes it possible to speed up the machining operation and determine the machining location with high accuracy.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the contact of the work with the stopper is detected by the detection switch, the leading end of the work can be reliably positioned at the feed reference position, and a malfunction in the subsequent stroke can be prevented.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the stopper for positioning the leading end of the workpiece at the time of supply and the drive mechanism thereof are provided not only on one side of the machining clamper but also on the other side, so that the direction of the workpiece transport direction can be changed. Even in such a case, the apparatus can be operated immediately without any changeover work, and is very versatile.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the bending prevention members for receiving the work from below are provided at both sides of the machining clamper,
When the workpiece is supplied and discharged, the tip of the workpiece held by one of the clampers can be reliably prevented from being bent by its own weight, and the workpiece can be smoothly loaded and unloaded.

In the invention according to claim 8, since each clamp arm is replaceable, the clamp arms of various shapes and dimensions are selectively replaced according to the type of work, so that the clamper can be easily changed according to the type of work. And can flexibly cope with the processing of various types of workpieces.

[Brief description of the drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an outline of the entire structure of a long work processing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a specific work loading / unloading part in the processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a simple structure, FIG.
The figure shows a specific structure of the working clamper, and is a partial front view in which a central portion is omitted, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 4, and FIG. , FIG. 7 is an enlarged front view showing a specific structure of a discharge-side transport clamper, FIG. 8 is a right side view thereof, and FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating types of clamp arms provided on a processing clamper (and a transport clamper). FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing the working steps. A: processing clamper, B: transport clamper on the supply side, B ₁ ...
Supply-side transfer table, C: unloading-side transfer clamper, C ₁ : unloading-side transfer table, D: processing machine, 1: apparatus mount, 7: processing head,
_{T 1, T 2, T 3} ... tool 11 ... linear guide, 12 ... feed screw, 13 ... ball nut, 23 a - 23 e ... clamp base of the working clamper, 24a-24c ... cylinder mechanism, 28 a to 28 c
… Clamp arm, 35a to 35f… Horizontal positioning block,
36a to 36d: Vertical positioning block, W: Work, 40: Stopper, 42: Cylinder mechanism, 44: Contact surface, 45: Roller as a work deflection preventing member, 52: Base of the carriage, 53 ...
Elevating base, 55a to 55c: cylinder mechanism, 58a to 58c: clamp arm, 61a to 61f: horizontal positioning block, 62a to 6
2d: Vertical positioning block, 66: Proximity switch as a detection switch.

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A machining clamper having a plurality of clamp arms for clamping a long workpiece to a machining position by the clamp arm, and at least a three-axis direction orthogonal to the long workpiece clamped by the machining clamper. A pair of transport tables arranged on the side where the long workpiece is supplied to the processing position and the side where the long workpiece is taken out from the processing position, and mounted on each of these transport tables A transport clamper having a plurality of clamp arms and clamping a long work with the clamp arms, and a direction in which the pair of transport tables are moved toward and away from the processing clamper by synchronizing the pair of transport tables without changing the distance therebetween. For processing long workpieces having a feed screw for moving the workpiece 2. A pair of transport tables are provided with a lifting mechanism for raising a transport clamper mounted on each of the transport tables to raise a long work to a position higher than a positioning surface of a processing clamper. Processing equipment for long workpieces described 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feed screw is driven by a servomotor whose rotation amount is controlled. 4. A stopper between the processing clamper and the transport clamper on the side for supplying the long workpiece, the stopper being in contact with the tips of a plurality of long workpieces supplied on the transport clamper. 2. An apparatus for processing a long workpiece according to claim 1, further comprising a stopper drive mechanism for moving the stopper to a position outside the supply path of the long workpiece. 5. An apparatus for processing a long workpiece according to claim 4, wherein a detection switch for detecting the contact of the long workpiece is embedded in each contact surface of said stopper. 6. A long workpiece processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said stopper and said stopper drive mechanism are provided on both sides of a processing clamper, respectively, so that a feeding direction of the long workpiece can be changed. 7. An apparatus for processing a long workpiece according to claim 1, further comprising bending prevention members for receiving the long workpiece from below at both sides of the processing clamper. 8. A long workpiece processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of types of clamp arms can be exchanged for the processing clamper and the pair of transport clampers.