JP4362797B2 - Cutting device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a cutting apparatus, and more particularly to a cutting apparatus that cuts a thin plate-like workpiece such as a ceramic green sheet laminate into a large number of small rectangular chips.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, there is a cutting apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-106555, for example. As shown in the above-mentioned publication, this conventional cutting processing apparatus uses a horizontal column-like cutting mechanism that is provided with a servo motor on the upper end side and a cutting blade having a cutting blade on the lower end side in the vertical direction. The workpiece is supported by the frame, and the lower work placement table is controlled to move in the horizontal direction and the horizontal rotation direction, and the cutting blade is moved back and forth by driving the servo motor. By alternately repeating the vertical movement of the cutting blade, the thin plate-like workpiece set on the workpiece mounting table is cut into a large number of small rectangular chips.
[0003]
By the way, in order to cut a thin plate-like workpiece such as a ceramic green sheet laminate into a large number of small rectangular chips with high accuracy and high quality, there are some important points to be noted in the structure of the cutting apparatus. There is.
First, it is necessary to maintain the perpendicularity between the cutting blade and the workpiece surface with high accuracy. That is, when the cutting blade is inclined in the blade thickness direction, the cut surfaces of the cut workpiece are not uniform. In addition, when the cutting blade is inclined in the longitudinal direction of the blade edge, one end side of the blade edge comes into contact with the workpiece first, so that the stress applied to the blade edge varies in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the one end side of the blade edge is unevenly worn due to multiple cuttings, the play edge of the cutting edge is rattled, or one end side of the blade edge collides with the upper surface of the work table below the work piece due to the play. This may cause problems such as damage to the blade edge. In addition, when so-called half-cut processing is performed in which the workpiece is cut only halfway through its thickness, there arises a problem that the depths of the cut grooves are not uniform.
In addition, it is necessary to press the periphery of the workpiece against the workpiece mounting table with an appropriate load by the stripper so that the workpiece cut at the time of cutting is spread and does not shift laterally.
It is also necessary to increase the accuracy of the workpiece cutting position by detecting the workpiece cutting position with a CCD camera and correcting the workpiece mounting table based on the detected data.
Furthermore, it is necessary to increase the lowering speed of the cutting blade during cutting. That is, for example, when the cutting blade is lowered at a low speed, the work is pushed and widened by the blade thickness of the cutting blade, so that the work is cut while cracking under the cutting edge. As a result, the cut surface of the workpiece becomes rough.
Also, in order to continue cutting with high accuracy, it is necessary to clean the cutting edge regularly so that the cutting surface does not become rough due to minute foreign matter adhering to the cutting edge. In order to do this, it is necessary to clean the blade edge a plurality of times according to the number of divisions of the workpiece.
[0004]
However, in the conventional cutting apparatus as illustrated above, the vertical load and cutting that the cutting mechanism receives at the time of cutting due to the structure in which the column-shaped cutting mechanism that is long in the vertical direction is supported by the horizontal base frame The rigidity against the horizontal load applied to the base frame from the mechanism is weak, that is, there is a risk that each of the vertically configured members such as the support frame and the rail and the horizontal base frame will be slightly bent or deformed when cut. However, there is a concern about the bonding strength between the members. Therefore, it is difficult to maintain the perpendicularity between the cutting blade and the workpiece surface with high accuracy during cutting. Especially when the cutting speed is increased, the load and vibration that the cutting mechanism and the base frame receive increase. Further, it is more difficult to maintain the perpendicularity, and there is a concern about durability of each part of the apparatus.
Therefore, it is the present situation that the perpendicularity is maintained by using a robust material for each member and maintaining the processing accuracy of each member and the assembly accuracy of each member precisely. Since the cutting speed is limited, there is a limit to improving the quality and shortening the work processing time by high-speed cutting.
[0005]
In the conventional cutting apparatus, the stripper is usually attached under the cutter holder via a spring. For this reason, the pressure at which the stripper presses the workpiece varies due to the vertical movement of the cutter holder. That is, when the cutter holder is lowered, the spring pressure is increased, and when the cutter holder is raised, the spring pressure is decreased, so that the pressing pressure of the workpiece varies. Therefore, there are concerns that the workpiece is pressed and deformed more than necessary by the stripper when the spring pressure is increased, or that the workpiece is displaced laterally when the spring pressure is decreased.
In addition, two CCD cameras that detect the cutting position of the workpiece are provided so as to sandwich the cutting blade, and usually an XY moving mechanism or an optical axis direction moving mechanism for focusing is provided for each camera. Since the operation takes time, improvement has been demanded in order to shorten the workpiece machining time.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention can cut a thin plate-like workpiece such as a ceramic green sheet laminate into a large number of small rectangular chips at high speed with high accuracy and high quality, and also shortens the workpiece processing time and improves durability. The object is to provide an excellent cutting device.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a technical means of the present invention for achieving the above object, the first aspect of the present invention is configured to have a substantially rectangular shape by erection and fixing an upper frame and a lower frame on the upper end side and the lower end side of the left and right guide posts, respectively. A movable frame and a work base that supports the movable frame so that it can be moved up and down by inserting the middle part of the left and right guide posts, and the upper frame moves the workpiece by moving the cutting blade back up and down. A cutting mechanism for cutting is provided, and the work base includes a movable frame elevating mechanism that elevates and lowers the movable frame, and a workpiece mounting table that is controlled to move back and forth by a linear movement mechanism and rotated by a predetermined angle by a rotating mechanism. A cutter holder on which the cutting blade is detachably mounted with the cutting edge facing downward, and a guide for guiding the vertical reciprocation of the cutter holder on both the left and right sides. And a drive unit that is fixed to the upper frame and moves the cutter holder back and forth, and the cutting blade, the cutter holder, and the drive unit are substantially at the center in the left-right direction of the movable frame and The cutter holder is supported on the upper frame by the guide rods so as to be vertically movable back and forth so that the movable frame is positioned at substantially the center in the front-rear direction.
The drive means a mechanism that moves the cutter holder up and down.For example, the cutter holder is fixed to the return shaft of a linear motor, or the cutter holder is attached to the rotation shaft of a servo motor. A configuration that can be moved back and forth by a ball screw mechanism, or a configuration in which the cutter holder is fixed to the rod of an air cylinder that moves back and forth up and down, and a servo motor is fixed horizontally and a cam on its rotating shaft For example, a mechanism or a link mechanism is provided to move the cutter holder up and down.
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an intermediate frame between the upper frame and the work base, having a through-hole through which the cutting edge of the cutting blade can be inserted, and having both ends fixed to the left and right guide posts, A stripper is provided on the lower surface of the intermediate frame to clamp the workpiece with the workpiece mounting table.
And the camera unit which images the reference line of the workpiece | work mounted in the workpiece mounting base through the said through-hole is fixed to the upper surface of the said intermediate | middle frame,
The movable frame is raised and lowered by the movable frame raising / lowering mechanism to adjust the focus of the camera unit. Based on the coordinate data of the imaged reference line, the workpiece mounting table is corrected by the linear movement mechanism and the rotation mechanism. It is characterized by making it.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the intermediate frame is provided with a cleaning mechanism including a guide rail fixed in a longitudinal direction of the intermediate frame, and a cleaner unit controlled and moved on the guide rail, and the cleaning mechanism includes the cleaning mechanism. The cutting edge of the cutting blade is cleaned by the cleaner unit.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the drive unit is configured such that the cutter holder is fixed to a return shaft of a linear motor.
[0009]
According to the above technical means, the present invention has the following effects.
(Claim 1) When cutting a workpiece, first, the workpiece is set on a workpiece mounting table on a work base. Next, the workpiece mounting table is controlled to move back and forth on the work base by the linear movement mechanism, so that the set workpiece is moved to a position corresponding to the cutting blade. Then, the movable frame is lowered by the movable frame elevating mechanism, so that the cutting blade mounted on the cutter holder of the cutting mechanism brings the blade edge closer to the workpiece. And a cutter holder reciprocates up and down by the drive of the drive part of a cutting | disconnection mechanism, and a cutting blade cut | disconnects a workpiece | work between workpiece | work mounting bases. At that time, each time the cutter holder and the cutting blade move up and down once, the workpiece mounting base is moved by a predetermined pitch by the linear movement mechanism, and the operation is repeated, whereby the workpiece is divided into a plurality of parallel shapes. Next, the workpiece mounting table is rotated by a predetermined angle by the rotation mechanism, and the vertical movement of the cutter holder and the cutting blade and the predetermined pitch movement of the workpiece mounting table are repeated as described above, and the workpiece is cut into a large number of small rectangular chips. Is done.
During the cutting process, the load received by the upper frame via the cutting mechanism is one guide post because the cutting mechanism is located at the approximate center in the left-right direction of the movable frame and at the approximate center in the front-rear direction of the movable frame. Or either side of the front or back. Therefore, the load received by the two fixed portions of the upper frame and the left and right guide posts is well balanced. In addition, since the movable frame is configured in a substantially rigid and relatively rigid structure, it is difficult to bend or deform, and vibration during cutting is relatively small. In addition, the movable frame is moved up and down by a shaft sliding structure using a guide post, and thus has superior dust resistance compared to a sliding structure using a linear guide.
Further, since the movable frame is supported on the work base by the left and right guide posts, the support structure is robust, and the load and vibration received by the work base are good and the left and right balance is good and relatively small.
Further, since the cutting mechanism has a shaft sliding structure in which the cutter holder is guided by the left and right guide rods and slides at substantially the center thereof, the sliding structure by the linear guide is similar to the lifting structure of the movable frame. Compared to its superior dust resistance, it is also structurally robust, and it is easy to maintain vertical straightness when subjected to a load during cutting.
Therefore, the perpendicularity between the cutting blade and the workpiece surface during the cutting process is accurately maintained.
[0010]
(Claim 2) When the workpiece is pressed by the stripper, the workpiece is clamped between the stripper and the workpiece mounting table in the operation of lowering the movable frame by the movable frame lifting mechanism. Since the stripper is provided on the intermediate frame fixed to the vertical movement of the cutter holder, the clamping pressure is kept constant without changing during the cutting process.
(Claim 3) Since the camera unit is provided on the upper surface of the intermediate frame, the focus adjustment is performed in the operation of lowering the movable frame by the movable frame elevating mechanism.
(Claim 4) Since the cleaning mechanism has the guide rail fixed to the intermediate frame that is installed and fixed to the left and right guide posts, the fixing structure is simple and the dimensional accuracy in assembling is easily obtained. Therefore, the cleaner portion is controlled and moved on the guide rail with high accuracy, and comes into sliding contact with the cutter edge accurately.
(Claim 5) Since a linear motor is used for the drive unit, the work holder and the cutting blade are moved back at a relatively high speed when the work is cut. Therefore, since the workpiece is cut at a high speed, it is not cut while causing cracks below the cutting edge of the cutting blade. In addition, since the movable frame and the cutting mechanism have a robust structure as described above, even during the high-speed cutting, minute bending and deformation are difficult to occur, and vibration during cutting is relatively small.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3 show an example of a cutting apparatus according to the present invention.
[0012]
As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting apparatus A includes a movable frame 10 having a generally rectangular shape when viewed from the front, a work base 20 that supports the movable frame 10 to be movable up and down, and a movable frame 10 that is driven up and down. A movable frame raising / lowering mechanism 40, a cutting mechanism 30 on the upper part of the movable frame 10, an intermediate frame 60 fixed to a middle part in the vertical direction of the movable frame 10, and a front-rear (front-rear direction in FIG. 1) direction on the work base 20. A workpiece mounting table 50 or the like controlled in the rotation direction is provided, and a thin plate-like workpiece W such as a ceramic green sheet laminate set on the workpiece mounting table 50 is cut into a large number of small rectangular chips.
[0013]
The movable frame 10 includes two guide posts 11 and 11 that are parallel on the left and right (left and right in FIG. 1), an upper frame 12 that is installed and fixed on the upper end side of both guide posts 11 and 11, and both guide posts 11 and 11. From the lower frame 13 which is constructed and fixed on the lower end side, a robust structure having a B shape in front view is formed. The movable frame 10 is supported so that it can be moved up and down by inserting the middle portion of the left and right guide posts 11 and 11 into the work base 20.
Further, between the upper frame 12 and the work base 20 in the left and right guide posts 11, 11, an intermediate frame 60 is installed and fixed substantially parallel to the upper frame 12 and the work base 20.
[0014]
The fixing means for fixing the upper frame 12, the lower frame 13, and the intermediate frame 60 to the guide posts 11, 11 may be any fixing means such as nut tightening, bolt tightening, or welding, but is easy to maintain. From the viewpoint, it is preferably a detachable fixing means such as nut tightening or bolt tightening.
[0015]
The work base 20 has a cylindrical guide portion 20a having upper and lower through holes formed on both left and right ends, and a guide bush 21 is fitted on the inner peripheral surface of each of the guide portions 20a and 20a. The work base 20 supports the movable frame 10 up and down with high accuracy by inserting the guide posts 11 and 11 through the guide bushes 21 and 21.
Further, the space between the guide portions 20a and 20a is extended in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2) in FIG. 1, and the portion extended in the front-rear direction is fixed to a base (not shown) and placed on the floor surface. Placed.
[0016]
The movable frame elevating mechanism 40 has two guide rods 43, 43 inserted into the lower frame 13 through guide bushes 13 a and screwed into the lower surface of the work base 20, and these guide rods 43. , 43 is provided with a horizontal plate-like support member 44 fastened with a nut to the lower end thereof, and further, the lower side is pivotally supported by two ball bearings 45d, 45d fitted in substantially the center of the support member 44. At the same time, the upper end portion is pivotally supported by a ball bearing 45c fitted to the lower surface of the work base 20, and the upper side feed screw portion 45a is screwed to the nut 45b fitted in the lower frame 13, thereby lowering the lower portion. The driven shaft 45 that constitutes a ball screw mechanism that raises and lowers the frame 13, the Z-axis motor 41 that is fixed to the rear side of the support member 44 so as to be perpendicular to the axis, and the rotational drive of the Z-axis motor 41 are described above. And a belt transmission mechanism 42 for transmitting the lower end of the shaft 45.
[0017]
The movable frame elevating mechanism 40 is configured to elevate and lower the lower frame 13 by being controlled by a Z-axis motor 41 composed of a servo motor. The work base 20 and the lower frame 13 are connected by tension springs 46 and 46 at both sides sandwiching the guide rods 43 and 43, and these tension springs 46 and 46 are used when the lower frame 13 is raised. This acts to balance the load balance applied to the Z-axis motor 41 when it is lowered.
That is, when the lower frame 13 is lowered, the Z-axis motor 41 is lightly loaded due to the weight of the movable frame 10 and the cutting mechanism 30 and the like, so that the tensile force of the tension springs 46 and 46 is applied to the load. When acting and raising the lower frame 13, the Z-axis motor 41 is overloaded by the weight of the movable frame 10 and the cutting mechanism 30, so the load is reduced by the tension force of the tension springs 46, 46. Acts as follows.
[0018]
The belt transmission mechanism 42 includes a driving pulley 42a fixed to the driving shaft tip of the Z-axis motor 41, a driven pulley 42b fixed to the lower end of the driven shaft 45, and both of these pulleys 42a and 42b. And a belt 42c wound around the belt, and is a known device that transmits the rotation of the drive shaft of the Z-axis motor 41 to the driven shaft 45 at a predetermined rotation ratio.
[0019]
The cutting mechanism 30 includes a cutter holder 32 on which a cutting blade 31 is detachably mounted with its cutting edge facing downward, guide rods 34 and 34 for guiding the vertical movement of the cutter holder 32 on both right and left sides, and an upper frame. 12 and a drive unit 33 that moves the cutter holder 32 back and forth, and the cutting blade 31, the cutter holder 32, and the cutting mechanism 30 are located at the approximate center in the left-right direction of the movable frame 10 and the movable frame 10. The cutter holder 32 is supported on the upper frame 12 by guide rods 34 and 34 so as to be movable back and forth so that it is positioned at the approximate center in the front-rear direction.
[0020]
In the cutter holder 32, the cutting blade 31 is detachably mounted on the lower end side, and the lower end portions of the guide rods 34, 34 are screwed and fixed to both sides of the upper surface. The lower end of the return shaft 33a is configured to be screwed, and both ends are suspended from the upper frame 12 by tension springs 35 and 35.
[0021]
Each of the two guide rods 34, 34 is inserted into a guide bush 12a fitted to the upper frame 12, and is slidably contacted with the inner peripheral surface of the guide bush 12a to slide up and down with high accuracy without rattling. It is comprised so that it may do.
A compression spring 36 is provided between the lower end of the guide bush 12 a and the upper surface of the cutter holder 32 on the outer periphery of each of the guide rods 34, 34.
The compression springs 36 and 36 prevent the upper surface of the cutter holder 32 from colliding with the lower surface of the upper frame 12 during the backward movement, and cooperate with the tension springs 35 and 35 that suspend the upper frame 12. Similar to the tension springs 46 and 46 of the movable frame elevating mechanism 40 described above, the load balance applied to the drive unit 33 is also balanced.
[0022]
In the illustrated example, the guide rods 34 and 34 are configured so that the lower ends thereof are fixed to the cutter holder 32 and are guided by being inserted through the upper frame 12. However, the guide rods 34 and 34 are limited to this configuration. Alternatively, the upper end side may be fixed to the movable frame 10 and the lower side may be inserted into the cutter holder 32 so that the cutter holder 32 is slid while being guided up and down.
[0023]
The drive unit 33 inserts the return shaft 33a of the linear motor into the upper frame 12 through the guide bush 33b, and the lower end portion of the return shaft 33a is screwed to a substantially central portion on the upper surface of the cutter holder 32. The main body 33c that drives the return shaft 33a up and down is screwed and fixed to the approximate center in the left-right direction and the approximate center in the front-rear direction on the upper surface of the upper frame 12.
The drive unit 33 may have another configuration that moves the return shaft 33a up and down.
For example, a configuration using a servo motor may be used. In this case, the lower end of the return shaft 33a and the upper portion of the cutter holder 32 may be configured to be engaged by a ball screw mechanism.
As another example, the drive unit 33 may be a mechanism that moves the return shaft 33a up and down by an air cylinder.
[0024]
As still another example, the drive unit 33 is a drive unit 33 ′ that vertically drives a return shaft 33 a ′ screwed to a substantially central portion of the upper surface of the cutter holder 32 by a rotating cam mechanism as shown in FIG. 5. It may be replaced.
The drive unit 33 ′ has a main body 33c ′ made of a servo motor fixed in a horizontal axis substantially at the center of the upper surface of the upper frame 12, and a rotating cam 33d fixed to the rotation shaft 33e concentrically. This is a mechanism for converting the rotation of the rotary shaft 33e into the vertical movement of the return shaft 33a ′ and the cutter holder 32 by bringing the eccentric outer peripheral surface of the cam 33d into sliding contact with the rear end of the return shaft 33a ′.
Since the other components in FIG. 5 are the same as the configuration of the cutting apparatus A described above, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and redundant description is omitted.
[0025]
The drive unit 33 can be configured in various modes as described above, but the lowering movement of the cutting blade 31 is performed at high speed from the viewpoint of improving the quality of the workpiece W cutting surface and shortening the workpiece machining time. The configuration to be preferable. The embodiment using the illustrated linear motor and the embodiment using the rotating cam mechanism are particularly preferable configurations.
[0026]
The intermediate frame 60 is a rod-shaped member having a substantially rectangular vertical cross section that is horizontally installed between the left and right guide posts 11, 11, and the cutting blade 31 that moves back and forth is allowed to freely pass through substantially the center in the longitudinal direction. An upper and lower through hole 60a having a rectangular shape in plan view is formed.
[0027]
Two camera units 70 are arranged on the upper surface of the intermediate frame 60 so as to sandwich the through hole 60a. These camera units 70, 70 are configured so that a CCD camera 71 directed to the lower left end of the cutting blade 31 and a CCD camera 71 directed to the lower right end of the cutting blade 31 are respectively mounted on the upper surface of the intermediate frame 60 by a support base 72. It is fixed to. That is, the two CCD cameras 71 and 71 are mounted so as to image the reference line W1 (see FIG. 4) on the surface of the workpiece W on the workpiece mounting table 50 through the through holes 60a.
The CCD cameras 71 and 71 are adjusted in focus during the operation of lowering the movable frame 10 before the cutting operation, but for each CCD camera 71 so that fine adjustment can be made for each CCD camera 71. Manual focus adjusting means (not shown) is provided.
[0028]
A stripper 61 is fixed to the lower surface of the intermediate frame 60 so as to surround the through hole 60a. The stripper 61 is formed in a frame shape so that the workpiece W on the workpiece mounting table 50 is pressed from above at a position corresponding to the periphery of the cutting blade 31 on the surface thereof.
[0029]
A cleaning mechanism 80 that cleans the cutting blade 31 is provided on the side surface (the back surface in FIG. 1) of the intermediate frame 60.
The cleaning mechanism 80 includes a servo motor 84 fixed to the upper surface on the left end side of the intermediate frame 60 with a rotation shaft facing downward via a bracket 85d, a drive pulley 85a fixed to the rotation shaft of the servo motor 84, A belt driving mechanism is constituted by a driven pulley 85b rotatably supported on a right side surface of the intermediate frame 60 via a shaft supporting member and the like, and a driving pulley 85a and a driving belt 85c wound around the driven pulley 85b. ing. The cleaning mechanism 80 has a cleaner 81 mounted on the side surface of the intermediate frame 60 so as to be linearly movable in a longitudinal direction via a linear guide mechanism including a guide rail 82 and a guide housing 83. The cleaner unit 81 is configured to be controlled along the intermediate frame 60 by being fixed to the drive belt 85c.
[0030]
The cleaner unit 81 is formed by fixing a soft cleaning member such as a nonwoven fabric or a sponge on the upper surface of a horizontal piece of a metal bracket having a substantially L-shaped longitudinal section so as to be in sliding contact with the cutting edge of the cutting blade 31. The cleaner unit 81 cleans the cutting edge of the cutting blade 31 by being controlled along the intermediate frame 60 in a state where the returning cutting blade 31 is stopped at the lowered position.
[0031]
The workpiece mounting table 50 has a substantially cylindrical shape on which the workpiece W can be mounted. The workpiece mounting table 50 is provided on the upper surface of the work base 20 via a horizontal moving table 51a and a rotary table 52a. The rotation of the angle and the linear movement in the front-rear direction by the linear movement mechanism 51 are enabled. A recess 50a is formed on the upper surface of the workpiece mounting table 50 so as to allow the cutting edge of the cutting blade 31 that has cut the workpiece W to escape.
[0032]
The rotating mechanism 52 includes a rotating table 52a interposed between the bottom surface of the workpiece mounting table 50 and the horizontal moving table 51a of the linear moving mechanism 51, and a substantially central portion in the cylinder longitudinal direction on the horizontal moving table 51a. A cylinder rod 52d rotatably supported, and the tip of the rod 52c of the cylinder rod 52d is pivotally attached to the peripheral side surface of the workpiece mounting table 50 via a pivot member 52b, whereby the rod 52c can be expanded and contracted. The motion is converted into a horizontal rotational motion in which the work mounting table 50 is rotated by approximately 90 °.
The configuration of the rotation mechanism 52 is not limited to that described above, and may be a configuration in which the workpiece mounting table 50 is rotated by a predetermined angle by a servo motor.
[0033]
The linear movement mechanism 51 is provided with two linear guide mechanisms each including a guide rail 51c and a guide housing 51b at predetermined intervals by fixing the guide rail 51c to the upper surface of the work base 20. Since the guide housings 51b and 51b of the mechanism are fixed to the lower surface of the horizontal moving table 51a having a rectangular shape in plan view, the horizontal moving table 51a is configured to be horizontally movable in the front-rear direction. The linear moving mechanism 51 fixes a Y-axis motor 51f made of a servo motor to the rear end (right end in FIG. 2) of the work base 20, and feeds a feed screw 51d formed on the rotating shaft to a horizontal moving base 51a. A ball screw mechanism is configured by screwing onto a nut 51e fixed at substantially the center of the lower surface, and the horizontal moving table 51a is controlled to move back and forth by controlling the rotation of the Y-axis motor 51f. It is.
[0034]
Thus, according to the cutting apparatus A having the above-described configuration, when cutting the workpiece W, first, the workpiece W is set on the workpiece mounting table 50 on the work base 20. Next, the workpiece mounting table 50 is controlled to move back and forth on the work base 20 by the linear movement mechanism 51, thereby moving the set workpiece W to a position corresponding to the cutting blade 31. Then, the movable frame 10 is lowered by the movable frame raising / lowering mechanism 40, so that the cutting blade 31 mounted on the cutter holder 32 of the cutting mechanism 30 brings its blade edge closer to the workpiece W.
[0035]
When the movable frame 10 is lowered, the left and right CCD cameras 71 and 71 are focused on the reference lines W1 and W1 printed in advance on the left and right sides of the surface of the work W, and the CCD camera 71 is focused ( (See FIG. 3B). The workpiece mounting table 50 is corrected and moved by the linear movement mechanism 51 and the rotation mechanism 52 based on data obtained by the CCD cameras 71 and 71 imaging the reference lines W1 and W1.
[0036]
Then, the movable frame 10 is further lowered, and the stripper 61 on the lower surface of the intermediate frame 60 presses the workpiece W with a constant pressure between the upper surface of the workpiece mounting table 50 (see FIG. 3C).
Next, the cutter holder 32 moves back and forth by driving the drive unit 33 of the cutting mechanism 30, and the cutting blade 31 cuts the workpiece W between the workpiece mounting table 50 at high speed (see FIG. 3D). At that time, each time the cutter holder 32 and the cutting blade 31 move up and down once, the workpiece mounting table 50 is moved by a predetermined pitch by the linear movement mechanism 51, and the operation is repeated, whereby the workpiece W is divided into a plurality of parallel shapes. The Next, the workpiece mounting table 50 is rotated by approximately 90 ° by the rotation mechanism 52, and the vertical movement of the cutter holder 32 and the cutting blade 31 and the predetermined pitch movement of the workpiece mounting table 50 are repeated in the same manner as described above. Cut into small rectangular chips.
In addition, when exchanging the cutting blade 31, the movable frame 10 is raised to the uppermost position (see FIG. 3A), and the exchanging operation is performed in a wide vertical space that does not obstruct the work placing table 50. Can be done in.
[0037]
During the cutting process, the load received by each part is either left or right or front and back because the cutting mechanism 30 is positioned at the approximate center in the left-right direction of the movable frame 10 and the approximate center in the front-rear direction of the movable frame 10. The balance is good. In addition, the movable frame 10 is configured as a relatively rigid structure having a substantially rectangular shape, and the structure that supports the movable frame 10 on the work base 20 so as to be movable up and down is also robust by the left and right guide posts 11 and 11. Furthermore, the cutting mechanism 30 also has a robust structure in which the cutter holder 32 is guided by the left and right guide rods 34 and 34.
Therefore, as described above, in addition to the good load balance that each part receives during cutting, each part is robust, so that bending and deformation hardly occur, vibration during cutting is relatively small, a linear motor, a rotating cam mechanism, etc. Therefore, no trouble occurs even when the cutter holder 32 and the cutting blade 31 are moved backward at high speed.
In addition, since the vertical movement structure of each part is a shaft sliding structure with the guide posts 11 and 11, the guide rods 43 and 43, or the guide rods 34 and 34, it is excellent in dust resistance as compared with the sliding structure with the linear guide. ing.
Further, since the focusing of the CCD camera 71 and the clamping of the work W by the stripper 61 are performed in the operation of lowering the movable frame 10 and bringing the cutting blade 31 closer to the work W, the control operation is not wasteful. It is simple.
[0038]
Therefore, the cutting apparatus A according to the present embodiment can maintain the perpendicularity between the cutting blade 31 and the surface of the workpiece W with high accuracy by the robust structure, so that the workpiece W is formed into a large number of small rectangular chips. High-speed, high-precision and high-quality cutting is possible. Further, the processing time of the workpiece W can be shortened, and the durability is excellent.
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured as described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(Claim 1) Since the load received by each part of the apparatus during cutting is well balanced, the movable frame and the cutting mechanism are robust, and the support structure that allows the movable frame to be raised and lowered relative to the work base is also robust. In addition, the movable frame and the work base are not slightly bent or deformed, and vibration during cutting is relatively small. Moreover, since the movable frame is moved up and down and the cutter holder is moved back and forth in a shaft sliding structure with guide posts and guide rods, the toughness is excellent.
Therefore, the perpendicularity between the cutting blade and the workpiece surface during the cutting process can be accurately maintained, and a thin plate-like workpiece such as a ceramic green sheet laminate can be cut into a large number of small rectangular chips with high accuracy and high quality. In addition, it is possible to provide a cutting apparatus capable of improving the quality and shortening the work processing time by increasing the cutting speed, as well as excellent durability of the apparatus.
(Claim 2) Since the pressing pressure of the workpiece by the stripper can be kept suitable and constant during the cutting process, the stripper presses the workpiece more than necessary and deforms it, or the pressing becomes weak and the workpiece becomes High-precision and high-quality repetitive cutting can be continued without shifting in the horizontal direction.
(Claim 3) Since the focus adjustment of the camera unit can be performed in the operation of lowering the movable frame by the movable frame elevating mechanism, even when a plurality of camera units are provided, each camera unit as in the conventional structure is provided. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform a focusing control operation, and the work processing time can be shortened by shortening the control operation time.
(Claim 4) Since the cleanness of the cutting blade is kept high by accurately sliding the cleaner portion in contact with the cutting edge of the cutter, the workpiece has a small rectangular shape with high accuracy and high quality having a good cutting surface. Can be processed into chips.
(Claim 5) Since the linear motor is used for the drive unit, the cutting blade can be moved back faster than a cutting apparatus using a conventional servo motor for the drive unit. In addition, since the movable frame and the cutting mechanism have a robust structure, minute bending and deformation are difficult to occur even in high-speed cutting, and the vibration is small, so that the durability of the apparatus can be maintained. Therefore, the workpiece can be processed into a high-precision and high-quality small rectangular chip having a good cutting surface by high-speed cutting, and the workpiece processing time is also shortened.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a cutting apparatus according to the present invention, in which main parts are cut out.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the cutting apparatus, with each part cut out and shown.
FIG. 3 is a main part enlarged front view showing the operation of lowering the movable frame and the intermediate frame, and FIG. 3A shows the state where the movable frame and the intermediate frame are raised so that the cutting blade can be easily replaced. , (B) shows a state in which the movable frame and the intermediate frame are lowered and the CCD camera is focused on the reference line of the workpiece, and (C) further lowers the movable frame and the intermediate frame so that the stripper moves the workpiece. (D) shows a state in which the cutting blade is lowered and the workpiece is cut.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an example of a workpiece lowered by the cutting processing apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a front view showing the main part of the other example of the drive unit of the cutting apparatus by cutting away each part.
[Explanation of symbols]
10: Movable frame 11: Guide post
12: Upper frame 13: Lower frame
20: Work base 30: Cutting mechanism
31: Cutting blade 32: Cutter holder
33, 33 ': Drive unit 33a, 33a': Return shaft
34: Guide rod 40: Movable frame lifting mechanism
43: Guide rod 50: Work table
51: Linear movement mechanism 52: Rotation mechanism
60: Intermediate frame 60a: Through hole
61: Stripper 70: Camera unit
71: CCD camera 80: Cleaning mechanism
81: Cleaner part 82: Guide rail
A: Cutting device W: Workpiece
W1: Reference line

Claims (5)

An upper frame and a lower frame are installed and fixed on the upper and lower ends of the left and right guide posts, respectively, and a movable frame configured in a substantially rectangular shape, and the middle portion of the left and right guide posts are inserted through the movable frame. And a work base that supports the lift up and down,
The upper frame is provided with a cutting mechanism for cutting the workpiece by moving the cutting blade back and forth, and the work base is moved in the front-rear direction by a movable frame lifting mechanism for moving the movable frame up and down and a linear moving mechanism. A workpiece mounting table that is controlled and rotated by a rotation mechanism by a predetermined angle;
The cutting mechanism is fixed to the cutter holder on which the cutting blade is detachably mounted with the cutting edge facing downward, a guide rod for guiding the vertical movement of the cutter holder on both the left and right sides, and the upper frame. A drive unit that moves the cutter holder up and down, and the cutting blade, the cutter holder, and the drive unit are positioned at the approximate center in the left-right direction of the movable frame and the approximate center in the front-rear direction of the movable frame. The cutting apparatus is characterized in that the cutter holder is supported on the upper frame by the guide rods so as to be movable back and forth. Between the upper frame and the work base, there is provided an intermediate frame having a through-hole through which the cutting edge of the cutting blade can be inserted and both ends fixed to the left and right guide posts. The cutting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stripper that clamps a workpiece with the mounting table. On the upper surface of the intermediate frame, a camera unit that captures an image of a reference line of a workpiece placed on the workpiece placement table through the through hole is fixed.
The movable frame is raised and lowered by the movable frame raising / lowering mechanism to adjust the focus of the camera unit. Based on the coordinate data of the imaged reference line, the workpiece mounting table is corrected by the linear movement mechanism and the rotation mechanism. The cutting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: The intermediate frame is provided with a cleaning mechanism having a guide rail fixed in the longitudinal direction thereof and a cleaner portion controlled and moved on the guide rail, and the cleaning mechanism uses the cleaner portion to cut the cutting edge of the cutting blade. The cutting apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the cutting device is cleaned. The cutting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drive unit is configured such that the cutter holder is fixed to a return shaft of a linear motor.

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