JP7022168B2 - Work fixtures and processing systems - Google Patents

Description

The present application relates to a work fitting, a work gripping bag and a processing system.

The workpiece machined by the machine tool can have a complex shape. Various methods for gripping such a work have been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1-4). Patent Document 1 discloses a jig for holding a blade. The jig comprises two semi-circular cylinders connected by a hinge. The blades are housed between the tubes. The space provided between the cylinder and the blade is filled with a molten resin material. The blade is held by the resin material solidified by the temperature drop.

Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose a resin tightening block for fixing a turbine blade. This tightening block is integrally molded with the turbine blade by fixing the turbine blade inside the mold and filling the mold with the molten resin.

Patent Document 4 discloses an apparatus for gripping a work. This device includes a contact portion that comes into direct contact with the work. The abutting portion has a bag-like shape and contains granules inside. When the inside of the bag is depressurized by a vacuum pump, the granules are firmly pressed against each other, whereby the abutting portion can grip the work while following the outer surface shape of the work.

Japanese Patent No. 5470605 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-11538 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-13608 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-23260

When the work is gripped by the resin as in Patent Documents 1 to 3, it is necessary to wash the work in order to remove the resin from the work after processing. Therefore, an additional process is required after machining the work. Further, when the work is held by granules as in Patent Document 4, it is necessary to reduce the pressure inside the bag by a vacuum pump before processing. Therefore, an additional process is required before machining the work.

An object of the present invention is to provide a work fitting capable of efficiently processing a work while considering the above problems. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a related work gripping bag and processing system.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a work attachment for setting a work in a machine tool, which is a fixing material that is housed in a flexible sealed bag, solidifies at room temperature, and has a melting point lower than the maximum heat resistant temperature of the sealed bag. A work gripping bag made of, a gripping member having a first gripping member and a second gripping member that can be opened and closed facing each other across the work, and gripping at least a part of the work through the work gripping bag. The work gripping bag comprises a first gripping member and a bolt for tightening the second gripping member, and the work gripping bag is arranged between the work and the first gripping member and the second gripping member, respectively, and the work gripping bag is provided. The work is sandwiched between the grip members, and the gripping member has a flow path for supplying a fluid around the work gripping bag, and the work gripping bag containing the heat-softened fixing material is flown. It is a work attachment that presses along the shape of the work by supplying fluid to the path .

In the work attachment and the work gripping bag described above, a fixing material that follows the shape of the work at a temperature above the melting point is housed in a flexible sealing bag. Therefore, the work gripping bag is heated together with the work to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fixing material, which is lower than the maximum heat resistance temperature of the work gripping bag, and then the work gripping bag is cooled to a temperature lower than the melting point to imitate the shape of the work. Can hold the work. Once the workpiece grip bag has been cooled to a temperature below the melting point of the fixed material, no additional equipment such as a vacuum pump is required. Therefore, the work can be attached to the work attachment in advance before machining. Moreover, since the fixing material does not come into direct contact with the work, it is not necessary to clean the work after processing. Therefore, the work can be processed efficiently.

The sealed bag may include a plurality of divided compartments, each containing a fixing material. In this case, since the molten fixing material is held in each section, it is possible to prevent the fixing material from gathering at a specific spot due to gravity, for example. In addition, the amount of fixing material used can be reduced.

The gripping member may have a first gripping member and a second gripping member facing each other across the work, and the work gripping bag may include the work and at least the first gripping member or the second gripping member. It may be arranged between one and the other. In this case, for example, the work gripping bag can be arranged in advance on at least one of the first gripping member and the second gripping member before the work is sandwiched by the first gripping member and the second gripping member. Therefore, the work gripping bag can be easily arranged between the work and the gripping member.

The gripping member may have a flow path for supplying fluid around the work gripping bag so as to press the fixing material. In this case, the fixing material can easily follow the shape of the work. Therefore, for example, it is possible to grip a work having a complicated shape.

Yet another aspect of the present disclosure is to accommodate at least one machine tool and a flexible sealed bag in a system for transporting a work fixture holding a work to a machine tool to process the work. It has a work gripping bag made of a fixing material that solidifies at room temperature and has a melting point lower than the maximum heat resistance temperature of the sealed bag, and a first gripping member and a second gripping member that can be opened and closed facing each other across the work. The work gripping bag comprises a gripping member that grips at least a part of the work through the work gripping bag, and a bolt that tightens the first gripping member and the second gripping member . The work is placed between the gripping member and the second gripping member, respectively, and the work is sandwiched between the work gripping bags, and the gripping member is a flow for supplying fluid around the work gripping bag. For work fittings and work fittings that have a path and press the work gripping bag containing the heat-softened fixing material along the shape of the work by supplying fluid to the flow path . It is a machining system including a work setup station having an external setup jig for mounting a work, and a transport device for transporting a work mounting tool between a machine tool and a work setup station.

According to the above system, the work fitting to which the work is attached by the external setup jig in the work setup station is carried to the machine tool by the transfer device. Therefore, while the previous work is being machined by the machine tool, the next work can be preliminarily attached to the work fixture at the work setup station. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently process a plurality of workpieces.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, the work can be efficiently processed.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the processing system which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the machine tool which holds the work attachment which concerns on embodiment. It is a side view which shows the machine tool of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the work attachment and the outer setup jig which concerns on embodiment. It is a schematic plan view which shows the work gripping bag which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the operation for attaching a work to a work attachment.

Hereinafter, the work attachment, the work gripping bag, and the processing system according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the attached drawings. Similar or corresponding elements are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description is omitted. The scale of the figure is subject to change for ease of understanding. Orientation terms such as "up" and "down" used with reference to a drawing indicate the direction in that drawing and may not necessarily mean a particular direction for a component.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a processing system according to an embodiment. The processing system 100 includes a machine tool 90, a work attachment 10, a work setup station 80, a transfer device RB, and a pallet stocker PS. In this embodiment, the machining system 100 includes a plurality of machine tools 90 and a plurality of work setup stations 80. However, in other embodiments, the machining system 100 may include one machine tool 90 or one work setup station 80. In the processing system 100, a work (not shown in FIG. 1) is attached to the work attachment 10 at the work setup station 80 (details will be described later). The work attachment 10 to which the work is attached is carried to the machine tool 90 or the pallet stocker PS by the transfer device RB. The work machined by the machine tool 90 is carried to the pallet stocker PS or the work setup station 80 by the transfer device RB together with the work attachment 10. The work fitting 10 carried to the pallet stocker PS is stored until it is next carried to the machine tool 90 or the work setup station 80. Further, in the work setup station 80, the work may be removed from the work attachment 10.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a machine tool that grips the work attachment according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a side view showing the machine tool of FIG. With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, the machine tool 90 can be a horizontal machining center. The machine tool 90 may be another type of machine tool. The table 92 of the machine tool 90 holds the work fitting 10 to which the work W is attached. With reference to FIG. 3, the table 92 has a protrusion 93 that engages with the recess 11a of the gripping member 14, which will be described later. By engaging the recess 11a with the protrusion 93, the work attachment 10 (further, the work W) can be attached to the table 92 at a predetermined position. A tool T is attached to the spindle 91 of the machine tool 90. The work W is machined by relatively moving the rotating tool T and the work W. The work W can be, for example, a turbine blade or another work having a complex shape. Work W is not limited to these.

With reference to FIG. 1, the pallet stocker PS has a plurality of stock areas SA. Each stock area SA may store various articles (for example, a work attachment 10 to which a work W is attached, a work attachment 10 to which a work W is not attached, a single work W, a tool T, or the like. ). Goods are carried to each stock area SA by the transport device RB.

The transfer device RB moves between the machine tool 90, the work setup station 80, and the pallet stocker PS along a predetermined path R. For example, the transport device RB can be an automatic guided vehicle (AGV). The transfer device RB may be another type of transfer device. For example, the transfer device RB may have a robot arm RA configured to grab an article.

Subsequently, the work attachment 10 and the work setup station 80 for attaching the work W to the work attachment 10 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a work attachment and an outer setup jig according to an embodiment. The work setup station 80 has an outer setup jig 20 and a tank 30. In the work setup station 80, the work W is attached to the work attachment 10 by using the outer setup jig 20. The work attachment 10 has a work gripping bag 15 and a gripping member 14.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a work gripping bag according to an embodiment. The work gripping bag 15 includes a fixing material 17 and a sealing bag 16.

For example, the fixing material 17 has a melting point of 40 to 100 degrees Celsius and melts at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point so as to follow the shape of the work W. From another point of view, the fixing material 17 has a melting point that does not melt during processing on the machine tool 90. For example, the fixing material 17 can have a melting point higher than the temperature of the coolant used in the machine tool 90. It is desirable to control the temperature of the coolant so that it is maintained at 20 degrees Celsius, for example. In dry processing without using a coolant, it is possible to have a melting point higher than the temperature of the work, which is heated by the processing heat. The fixing material 17 solidifies so as to fix the work W at a temperature lower than the melting point. Of course, it solidifies at room temperature (for example, 5 to 35 degrees Celsius) where the machine tool is normally operated. For example, the melting point can be measured at a predetermined rate of temperature rise using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). For example, the melting point can be the melting start point (or peak point). For example, the fixing material 17 can be a low melting point metal (or a low melting point alloy). For example, the low melting point metal may contain at least one of bismuth or tin. For example, the low melting point metal may be U alloy 70G commercially available from Osaka Asahi Metal Factory, Japan.

The sealing bag 16 contains the fixing material 17. The sealed bag 16 has flexibility and heat resistance equal to or higher than the melting point of the fixing material 17 as described above. For example, the maximum heat resistant temperature of the sealed bag 16 is 150 degrees Celsius. The sealing bag 16 also has a strength that can withstand the tightening by the gripping member 14 described later. For example, the sealed bag 16 is a fluororesin (for example, FEP (fluorinated ethylene / propylene hexafluoride copolymer) or PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene)), or an extruded film of these fluororesins in multiple directions. It can be made of a film formed by laminating. The sealing bag 16 may be made of other materials. For example, the sealed bag 16 may be made by LFP2103, which is commercially available from HT Tech, Inc. of Japan.

For example, the sealed bag 16 can have a flat polygonal shape (for example, a quadrangular shape), or a circular or elliptical shape. The shape of the sealing bag 16 is not limited to these, and can be changed according to the shape of the work W to be gripped. The sealing bag 16 includes a plurality of compartments 16a, a plurality of holes 16b for passing the bolt B1 described later, and a sealing portion 16c. Each compartment 16a has a cavity in which the fixing material 17 is housed. The plurality of compartments 16a are divided by the sealing portion 16c at predetermined intervals, whereby the fixing material 17 in each compartment 16a cannot be moved to the other compartment 16a. The hole 16b can be formed, for example, in the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the sealing portion 16c. The sealing portion 16c surrounds the compartment 16a and closes the compartment 16a so that the fixing material 17 inside the compartment 16a does not leak.

With reference to FIG. 4, the gripping member 14 is configured to grip at least a part of the work W via the work gripping bag 15. Specifically, the gripping member 14 grips the non-machined portion without gripping the machined portion of the work W. In the present embodiment, the gripping member 14 has a lower gripping member (first gripping member) 11 and an upper gripping member (second gripping member) 12 facing each other with the work W interposed therebetween. For example, the lower grip member 11 or the upper grip member 12 can be connected so as to be openable and closable by a hinge or the like. The work gripping bag 15 is attached to the surface (upper surface) of the lower gripping member 11 facing the work W by bolts B1. Further, the work gripping bag 15 is also attached to the surface (lower surface) of the upper gripping member 12 facing the work W by the bolt B1. In another embodiment, the work gripping bag 15 may be attached to only one of the lower gripping member 11 and the upper gripping member 12. The lower gripping member 11 or the upper gripping member 12 is configured to be fastened to each other by the bolt B2 with the work gripping bag 15, the work W, and the work gripping bag 15 sandwiched between them. Each of the lower grip member 11 and the upper grip member 12 can be formed of a material (for example, a metal such as stainless steel) that is harder than the fixing material 17 and can withstand tightening by the bolt B2.

A recess 11a that engages with a protrusion 23 of the base 21 of the outer setup jig 20 is provided on the surface (lower surface) of the lower grip member 11 that does not face the work W. By engaging the recess 11a with the protrusion 23, the work attachment 10 can be positioned with respect to the outer setup jig 20. In another embodiment, the lower grip member 11 may be provided with a protrusion and the base 21 may be provided with a recess. The mechanism for positioning the work mounting tool 10 with respect to the external setup jig 20 is not limited to these.

The upper gripping member 12 is for supplying the fluid L around the work gripping bag 15 (more specifically, between the upper gripping member 12 and the work gripping bag 15) so as to press the fixing material 17. It has a flow path C. The fluid L can be, for example, a liquid (eg, oil or water) or a gas (eg, air) and is fed from the fluid source by a pumping device such as a piston or pump (not shown).

The outer setup jig 20 can have, for example, a base 21 and a plurality (for example, 6) locators 22. The base 21 has a protrusion 23 for engaging with the recess 11a of the lower grip member 11. The locator 22 is fixed to the base 21. The plurality of locators 22 are configured to arrange (position) the work W at a predetermined position with respect to the base 21. For example, a plurality of predetermined reference points for the work W (for example, three points for determining a plane in the X direction, two points for preventing rotation in the Y direction, and two points for preventing movement in the Z direction). A total of 6 points) may be predetermined, and the work W can be arranged at a predetermined position with respect to the base 21 by pressing the work W at the corresponding reference point by each locator 22.

The tank 30 functions as a heating means for heating the fixing material 17. Specifically, the outer setup jig 20 is arranged inside the tank 30, and the tank 30 can store the hot water HW. The boiling water HW is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fixing material 17.

Next, the operation for attaching the work W to the work attachment 10 will be described.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation for attaching the work to the work attachment. The operation shown in FIG. 6 may be performed by the robot arm RA or may be performed manually by the operator.

First, the work gripping bag 15 is attached to each of the lower gripping member 11 and the upper gripping member 12 (step S100). Specifically, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the bolt B1 is passed through the hole 16b of the work gripping bag 15 and the bolt B1 is tightened to the lower gripping member 11 and the upper gripping member 12. After that, the work gripping bag 15 can be left attached, and step S100 can be omitted from the second time onward. Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 6, the work attachment 10 is arranged on the outer setup jig 20 (step S102). Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, the lower gripping member 11 is placed on the base 21 while inserting the protrusion 23 into the recess 11a. The upper grip member 12 remains open.

With reference to FIG. 6, subsequently, the outer setup jig 20 and the work mounting tool 10 are immersed in hot water HW (step S104). Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, boiling water HW heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fixing material 17 is poured into the tank 30. Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 6, the work W is put into the tank 30, and the work W is fixed at the reference point by the outer setup jig 20 (step S106). Specifically, with reference to FIG. 4, the work W is positioned at the corresponding reference point by each locator 22. Subsequently, the upper grip member 12 is closed (step S108).

Subsequently, the work gripping bag 15 is compressed (step S110). Specifically, the lower grip member 11 and the upper grip member 12 are fastened to each other by the bolt B2. If the compression is insufficient, the fluid L may be supplied from the flow path C, and the work gripping bag 15 may be further compressed by the fluid L. As a result, the fixing material 17 follows the shape of the work W without directly contacting the work W.

Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 6, the work attachment 10 is removed from the outer setup jig 20 (step S112), and a series of operations is completed. Specifically, referring to FIG. 4, the hot water HW is removed from the tank 30, whereby the fixing material 17 is cooled to a temperature lower than the melting point. The solidified fixing material 17 fixes the work W at the position arranged by the locator 22. Each locator 22 is removed from the work W, and the work attachment 10 to which the work W is attached is removed from the tank 30. The work attachment 10 may be carried from the work setup station 80 to the machine tool 90 or the pallet stocker PS by the transfer device RB. When the work attachment 10 is set in the machine tool 90, the work attachment 10 (further, further, by engaging the recess 11a of the gripping member 14 with the protrusion 93 of the table 92 with respect to the table 92, as described above. The work W) can be attached in a predetermined position.

In the work attachment 10 and the work gripping bag 15 according to the above-described embodiment, the fixing material 17 that imitates the shape of the work W at a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point is housed in the flexible sealing bag 16. Therefore, the work gripping bag 15 is heated together with the work W to a temperature equal to or higher than the melting point of the fixing material 17, and then the work gripping bag 15 is cooled to a temperature lower than the melting point to grip the work according to the shape of the work W. be able to. Once the work grip bag 15 has been cooled to a temperature below the melting point of the fixing material 17, no additional equipment such as a vacuum pump is required. Therefore, the work W can be attached to the work attachment 10 in advance before processing. Further, since the fixing material 17 does not come into direct contact with the work W, it is not necessary to clean the work W. Therefore, the work can be processed efficiently. Further, since the fixing material 17 is solidified in a state of following the shape of the work W, indentations and strains are unlikely to occur on the work W. Further, since the fixing material 17 is solidified in a state of following the shape of the work W, it is possible to absorb fluctuations in the accuracy of the material or shape of the work.

Also, in the above embodiment, the sealed bag 16 includes a plurality of divided compartments 16a, each containing the fixing material 17. Therefore, since the molten fixing material 17 is held in each section 16a, it is possible to prevent the fixing material 17 from gathering at a specific spot due to gravity, for example. Therefore, the fixing material 17 can be quickly made to follow the shape of the work W. In addition, the number of fixing materials 17 used can be reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the gripping member 14 has a lower gripping member 11 and an upper gripping member 12 facing each other with the work W interposed therebetween, and the work gripping bag 15 includes the work W and the lower gripping member 11. It is arranged between the work W and the upper grip member 12. Therefore, the work gripping bag 15 can be attached to the lower gripping member 11 and the upper gripping member 12 in advance before the work W is sandwiched by the lower gripping member 11 and the upper gripping member 12. Therefore, the work gripping bag 15 can be easily arranged between the work W and the gripping member 14.

Further, in the above embodiment, the gripping member 14 has a flow path C for supplying the fluid L around the work gripping bag 15 so as to press the fixing material 17. Therefore, the fixing material 17 can easily follow the shape of the work W. Therefore, for example, a work W having a complicated shape can be gripped. The flow path C may be formed in the lower grip member 11.

Further, according to the processing system 100 of the above embodiment, in the work setup station 80, the work attachment 10 to which the work W is attached by the outer setup jig 20 is carried to the machine tool 90 by the transfer device RB. Therefore, for example, while the previous work W is being machined by the machine tool 90, the next work W can be attached to the work attachment 10 in advance by the outer setup jig 20. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently process a plurality of workpieces W. Both ends of the work W are ground by the tool T.

Although embodiments of the work attachment, the work gripping bag, and the processing system have been described, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various variations of the above embodiments are possible.

For example, in the above embodiment, the tank 30 is used as a heating means for heating the fixing material 17. However, in other embodiments, heating means such as a heater may be used. For example, the heater may be embedded in the grip member 14. Further, in still another embodiment, the grip member 14 may be provided with a flow path for flowing the heated fluid. Further, it may be immediately solidified through the cooling fluid.

10 Work fixture 11 Lower grip member (first grip member)
12 Upper grip member (second grip member)
14 Gripping member 15 Work gripping bag 16 Sealed bag 16a Section 17 Fixing material 20 External setup jig 90 Machine tool 100 Processing system C Flow path R Transport device path RB Transport device W work

Claims (3)

In the work fixture for setting the work on the machine tool,
A work grip bag made of a fixed material that is housed in a flexible sealed bag, solidifies at room temperature, and has a melting point lower than the maximum heat resistant temperature of the sealed bag.
A gripping member having a first gripping member and a second gripping member that can be opened and closed facing each other across the work, and gripping at least a part of the work through the work gripping bag.
Bolts for tightening the first gripping member and the second gripping member,
Equipped with
The work gripping bag is arranged between the work and the first gripping member and the second gripping member, respectively, and the work is sandwiched between the work gripping bags.
The gripping member has a flow path for supplying a fluid around the work gripping bag, and the work gripping bag containing the heat-softened fixing material is supplied with the fluid to the flow path. A work mounting tool characterized by pressing along the shape of the work. The work attachment according to claim 1, wherein the sealed bag includes a plurality of divided compartments each containing the fixing material. In a processing system that processes a work by transporting a work attachment that grips the work to a machine tool.
With at least one machine tool,
A work grip bag made of a fixed material that is housed in a flexible sealed bag, solidifies at room temperature, and has a melting point lower than the maximum heat resistance temperature of the sealed bag, and a first openable / closable bag that faces each other across the work. A gripping member having a gripping member and a second gripping member for gripping at least a part of the work through the work gripping bag, and a bolt for tightening the first gripping member and the second gripping member. The work gripping bag is arranged between the work and the first gripping member and the second gripping member, respectively, and the work is sandwiched between the work gripping bags. The gripping member has a flow path for supplying a fluid around the work gripping bag, and the work gripping bag containing the heat-softened fixing material is supplied with the fluid to the flow path. By doing so, the work attachment that presses along the shape of the work and the work attachment
A work setup station having an external setup jig for mounting the work on the work mounting tool, and
A transport device that transports the work fixture between the machine tool and the work setup station, and
Equipped with a processing system.

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