JP7316126B2 - Machine tool system and method of estimating machine tool specifications - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a machine tool system and a method for estimating machine tool specifications.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a computer numerically controlled machine tool (hereinafter referred to as "machine tool") is known for machining a workpiece into a desired shape according to an NC (Numerical Control) program.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a system including one or more machine tools and a control device that automatically collects tool information and machining conditions stored in each machine tool.

Further, Patent Literature 2 discloses a system including one or more machine tools and a control device that collects information about the operating status of each machine tool input by an operator.

JP 2018-41387 A JP-A-2004-54701

By the way, when machining a workpiece of a predetermined size, it is necessary to select a machine tool capable of machining the workpiece for production management.

However, in the system described in Patent Document 1, not all machine tools have memorized specifications that are slightly related to machine control. In particular, if there is a machine tool that does not store the size of the storage space (for example, table size) in which the workpiece is arranged, it cannot be determined whether the machine tool can process the workpiece.

Further, in the system described in Patent Literature 2, the operator needs to input the size of the storage space in which the workpiece is arranged for all machine tools, which is complicated.

The present disclosure has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and provides a machine tool system capable of easily estimating the size of an accommodation space, which is one of the machine tool specifications, and a machine tool specification capable of easily estimating the machine tool specifications. The purpose is to provide a method for estimating accurate machine tool specifications.

A machine tool system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a machine tool, a collection unit, and an estimation unit. A machine tool has an accommodation space for accommodating a workpiece and a cutting tool. The collection unit collects a first machining range of the cutting tool in a first axial direction when cutting the workpiece using the cutting tool. The estimation unit estimates the size of the accommodation space in the first axial direction based on the collected maximum and minimum values of the first processing range.

A machine tool specification estimation method according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes the following processes. A machine tool must have a tool, and the working range of the tool must be acquired during construction by the tool. To store the maximum and minimum values of the machining range in a specific direction from the acquired machining range. To update the stored maximum value when the maximum value of a working range in a specific direction becomes larger and to update the stored minimum value when the minimum value becomes smaller each time construction is performed. The difference between the maximum value and the minimum value shall be used as the specification of the machine tool.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a machine tool system capable of easily estimating the size of the housing space of the machine tool, and a machine tool specification estimation method capable of easily estimating the machine tool specifications.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a machine tool system according to an embodiment; Machine tool attribute table stored in machine tool system according to embodiment Flowchart of a method for estimating machine tool specifications according to an embodiment

(Configuration of machine tool system 1)
A configuration of a machine tool system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a machine tool system 1. As shown in FIG.

A machine tool system 1 includes a plurality of machine tool devices 10 and a management device 20 . The plurality of machine tool devices 10 include first to fourth machine tool devices 10a to 10d. However, the number of machine tool devices 10 provided in the machine tool system 1 is not particularly limited as long as it is one or more. In the following description, the first to fourth machine tool devices 10a to 10d are collectively referred to as "machine tool device 10".

[machine tool device 10]
Each machine tool device 10 has a machine tool 11 and a CNC (Computer Numerical Control) controller 12 .

The machine tool 11 cuts a workpiece (so-called work) into a desired shape. The machine tool 11 has a table 13 , a housing space 14 , a cutting tool 15 and a spindle 16 .

A workpiece is placed on the table 13 . The table 13 is movable while holding the workpiece. In this embodiment, the table 13 is movable in each of the x-axis direction (an example of the first direction), the y-axis direction (an example of the second direction), and the z-axis direction (an example of the third direction). The x-axis direction is perpendicular to the y-axis direction. The x-axis direction and y-axis direction are parallel to the horizontal direction. In FIG. 1 , the x-axis direction is the horizontal direction of the machine tool 11 and the y-axis direction is the depth direction of the machine tool 11 . A horizontal plane is defined by the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction. The z-axis direction is perpendicular to each of the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction. In FIG. 1, the z-axis direction is the vertical direction.

The accommodation space 14 is a space provided on the table 13 . A workpiece placed on the table 13 is accommodated in the accommodation space 14 . The cutting tool 15 is rotationally driven while attached to the spindle 16 . The cutting tool 15 is used for cutting a workpiece. In this embodiment, the position of the spindle 16 is fixed.

The CNC control unit 12 controls the machine tool 11 according to an NC (Numerical Control) program. The NC program includes G code for processing the movement of the table 13 in the machine tool 11, the setting of the coordinate system, and the like. The G code includes target coordinate values (X, Y, Z) and a feed rate (F code) for moving the table 13 toward the target coordinate values (X, Y, Z).

The CNC control unit 12 controls the stroke of the table 13 in the x-axis direction (hereinafter referred to as “x-axis stroke”) and the y-axis A stroke in the direction (hereinafter referred to as "y-axis stroke") and a stroke in the z-axis direction of the table 13 (hereinafter referred to as "z-axis stroke") are acquired. The x-axis stroke indicates the movement range of the table 13 in the x-axis direction, and is defined by the maximum and minimum values in the x-axis direction. The x-axis stroke is an example of the first machining range of the cutting tool 15 in the first axial direction. The y-axis stroke indicates the range of movement of the table 13 in the y-axis direction, and is defined by the maximum and minimum values in the y-axis direction. The y-axis stroke is an example of the second machining range of the cutting tool 15 in the second axial direction. The z-axis stroke indicates the range of movement of the table 13 in the z-axis direction, and is defined by the maximum and minimum values in the z-axis direction. The z-axis stroke is an example of a third machining range of the cutting tool 15 in the third axial direction. The x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke are represented by the movement trajectory of the table 13 in each axis direction or the coordinates of the table 13 .

The CNC control unit 12 transmits control data including the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke (first to third machining ranges) during machining to the management device 20 each time the workpiece is cut. .

[Management device 20]
The management device 20 has a collection unit 21, an estimation unit 22, a storage unit 23, and a communication unit 24, as shown in FIG. Functions of the management device 20 are achieved by a server. The server may be a cloud server.

The management device 20 can mutually communicate with the plurality of machine tool devices 10 and the plurality of terminal devices 30 via the network by the communication unit 24 . Each terminal device 30 may be a smart device such as a smartphone, or an information processing device such as a personal computer. A user can use the management device 20 via the terminal device 30 .

As shown in FIG. 2, the storage unit 23 stores in advance the attributes and specifications of the machine tools 11 of the machine tool devices 10 that can communicate with each other.

The attribute of machine tool 11 includes position information of machine tool 11 shown in FIG. The position information is the installation location information of the machine tool 11, and specifically includes information on the installation country, installation company, installation factory, installation building, and installation line.

The specifications of the machine tool 11 include a table size 13S, an estimated table size 13T, an x-axis stroke, a y-axis stroke, and a z-axis stroke.

The table size 13S means the effective working range of the machine tool 11, which is one of the machine tool 11 specifications. The table size 13S is indicated by "(the size of the effective working range in the x-axis direction).times.(the size of the effective working range in the y-axis direction)". The table size 13S may be indicated by the larger value of the size of the effective working range in the x-axis direction and the size of the effective working range in the y-axis direction. The table size 13S may be indicated by the maximum value among the size of the effective working range in the x-axis direction, the size of the effective working range in the y-axis direction, and the size of the effective working range in the z-axis direction. Of these, the size of the effective working range in the x-axis direction usually exhibits the largest value.

The estimated table size 13T is the size of the accommodation space 14 estimated based on at least one of the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke. In FIG. 2, the estimated table size 13T is a value obtained by truncating the largest difference between the maximum value MAX and the minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke. A method for estimating the estimated table size 13T will be described later. The estimation method of the present disclosure is activated when data of table size 13S is not stored in storage unit 23 .

The collection unit 21 is connected to the CNC control unit 12 of each machine tool device 10 via a network such as LAN (Local Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network). The collection unit 21 receives control data including x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke and z-axis stroke (first to third machining ranges) during machining from the CNC control unit 12 of each machine tool device 10 .

If there is a machine tool device 10 lacking information on the table size 13S, the collection unit 21 stores the x-axis strokes collected from the CNC control unit 12 of the machine tool device 10 in the storage unit 23 . The collection unit 21 updates the x-axis stroke stored in the storage unit 23 as needed.

Specifically, when receiving the x-axis stroke for the first time from the first machine tool device 10a, the collection unit 21 converts the received maximum value max0 and minimum value min0 of the x-axis stroke to It is stored in the storage unit 23 as MIN. Subsequently, when the collection unit 21 receives a new x-axis stroke from the first machine tool device 10a, the newly received maximum x-axis stroke max1 is stored in the storage unit 23 as the maximum x-axis stroke. It is determined whether or not the minimum value min1 of the x-axis stroke newly received is smaller than the minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke stored in the storage unit 23. When the maximum value max1 is greater than the maximum value MAX, the collection unit 21 updates the maximum value MAX to the maximum value max1. When the minimum value min1 is smaller than the minimum value MIN, the collection unit 21 updates the minimum value MIN to the minimum value min1. The collection unit 21 updates the maximum value MAX and the minimum value MIN each time the x-axis stroke is received from the first machine tool device 10a.

The collection unit 21 also updates the maximum value MAX and the minimum value MIN for each of the y-axis stroke and z-axis stroke collected from the CNC control unit 12 of each machine tool device 10, similarly to the x-axis stroke.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 2, since the table sizes 13S for the first to third machine tool devices 10a to 10c out of the first to fourth machine tool devices 10a to 10d are not stored, the collection unit 21 Similarly to the first machine tool 10a, the maximum value MAX and minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke are updated for each of the second and third machine tools 10b and 10c.

The estimation unit 22 estimates the size of the housing space 14 of the first machine tool 10a based on the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke of the first machine tool 10a stored in the storage unit 23. .

Specifically, the estimation unit 22 causes the storage unit 23 to store the largest difference among the differences between the maximum value MAX and the minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke, the y-axis stroke, and the z-axis stroke as the estimated table size 13T. . Thus, in this embodiment, the estimation unit 22 sets the largest stroke among the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke as the estimated table size 13T. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, in the machine tool device 10a, the y-axis stroke is equal to or greater than the x-axis stroke and is equal to or greater than the z-axis stroke. It has become. In FIG. 2, the estimated table size 13T is a value obtained by truncating the ones digit of the largest difference.

The estimating unit 22 also calculates the size of the housing space 14 (i.e., , estimated table size 13T).

[Estimated flow]
Machine tool 11 and management device 20 can communicate with each other via a network. When the machine tool 11 and the management device 20 are connected by mutual communication, the attributes of the machine tool 11 are input to the management device 20 and stored in the storage unit 23 of the management device 20 . One of the attributes to be stored is the table size 13S of machine tool 11, but table size 13S is often not stored in management device 20. FIG. In such a case, the following estimation flow is used to estimate the table size 13S.

Referring to FIG. 3, when machine tool 11 performs a machining operation, control data including x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke (first to third machining ranges) during machining are sent to management device 20. It is automatically sent to the collection unit 21 (S101). The collection unit 21 of the management device 20 stores the received control data and the like in the storage unit 23 .

When the collecting unit 21 of the management device 20 confirms that the information on the table size 13S of the machine tool 11 is missing in the storage unit 23 (S102), it obtains the maximum value max0 and the minimum value min0 of the machining range from the control data. get. The acquired values are respectively stored in the storage unit 23 as the maximum value MAX and the minimum value MIN of the machining range (S103).

When the machine tool 11 performs a new machining operation, the control data and the like are transmitted from the machine tool 11 to the collection unit 21 of the management device 20 as in S101. The collection unit 21 of the management device 20 acquires the maximum value max1 and the minimum value min1 of the machining range from the received control data (S104). When the maximum value max1 is greater than the maximum value MAX, the collection unit 21 updates the value of the maximum value MAX to max1. If the minimum value min1 is smaller than the minimum value MIN, the value of the minimum value MIN is updated to min1 (S105).

The estimation unit 22 of the management device 20 stores the difference between the maximum value MAX and the minimum value MIN in the storage unit 23 as the estimated table size 13S (S106).

Thereafter, the processing of S104-S106 is repeated. When the user uses the terminal device 30 to search for the machine tool 11 for machining a workpiece of a certain size using the management device 20, the estimated table size data enables smooth search. becomes.

(feature)
The machine tool system 1 includes a collection section 21 and an estimation section 22 . The collection unit 21 collects the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke (that is, the first to third machining ranges of the cutting tool 15) when cutting the workpiece using the cutting tool 15. do. The estimation unit 22 estimates the estimated table size 13T (that is, the size of the accommodation space 14) based on the collected maximum value MAX and minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke.

Therefore, even if each machine tool device 10 does not store the table size 13S, the size of the accommodation space 14 can be easily estimated without manual input by the operator. As a result, in machining a workpiece of a predetermined size, when selecting the machine tool device 10 capable of machining the workpiece for production management, the estimated table size 13T and the size of the workpiece must be combined. By comparing, the machine tool device 10 capable of processing the workpiece can be quickly selected.

(Modification)
The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments as described above, and various modifications or modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

(Modification 1)
In the above embodiment, the estimated table size 13T is estimated based on the maximum value MAX and minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke, y-axis stroke, and z-axis stroke (that is, the first to third machining ranges of the cutting tool 15). However, it is not limited to this. For example, the estimated table size 13T may be estimated based only on the maximum value MAX and minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke (that is, the first machining range of the cutting tool 15). In this case, the collection unit 21 may cause the storage unit 23 to store only the maximum value MAX and minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke. It should be noted that it is not possible to accurately determine whether or not the workpiece can be accommodated in the accommodation space 14 unless the sizes in the y-axis direction and z-axis direction are compared in addition to the x-axis direction, but in general, the x-axis stroke , y-axis stroke and z-axis stroke, the x-axis stroke is the largest, so if the size in the x-axis direction is compatible, the sizes in the y and z-axis directions are also compatible. Therefore, in most cases, it is sufficient to compare the estimated size of the accommodation space 14 in the x-axis direction with the size of the workpiece in the x-axis direction.

Alternatively, the estimated table size 13T is calculated based on the maximum value MAX and minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke (that is, the first machining range of the cutting tool 15) and the y-axis stroke (that is, the second machining range of the cutting tool 15). can be estimated. In this case, the collection unit 21 may cause the storage unit 23 to store the maximum value MAX and minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke and the y-axis stroke, respectively. Thus, by using not only the x-axis stroke but also the y-axis stroke, the estimated table size 13T can be estimated with higher accuracy than when only the x-axis stroke is used.

(Modification 2)
In the above embodiment, the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction are parallel to the horizontal direction, and the z-axis direction is the vertical direction, but this is not restrictive. The x-, y-, and z-axis directions may be inclined with respect to the horizontal or vertical direction as long as they are orthogonal to each other.

(Modification 3)
In the above embodiment, the table 13 is supposed to move in the x, y and z axial directions, but it may be moved in one or more axial directions.

(Modification 4)
In the above embodiment, the position of the spindle 16 to which the cutting tool 15 is attached is fixed, and the table 13 is moved, but this is not restrictive. For example, the table 13 may be fixed and the spindle 16 may be moved. In this case, the x-axis stroke is defined by the range of movement of the main shaft 16 in the x-axis direction, the y-axis stroke is defined by the range of movement of the main shaft 16 in the y-axis direction, and the z-axis stroke is defined by the range of movement of the main shaft 16 in the z-axis direction. is defined by the range of motion of The spindle 16 may move in one or more axial directions.

(Modification 5)
In the above embodiment, among the differences between the maximum value MAX and the minimum value MIN of the x-axis stroke, the y-axis stroke, and the z-axis stroke, respectively, the numerical value of the largest difference is rounded down to the estimated table size 13T. is not limited to The method of determining the estimated table size 13T from the largest difference can be changed as appropriate.

1 Machine Tool Systems 10a to 10c First to Third Machine Tool Devices 11 Machine Tool 12 CNC Control Unit 13 Table 13S Table Size 13T Estimated Table Size 14 Storage Space 15 Cutting Tool 16 Spindle 20 Management Device 21 Collection Unit 22 Estimation Unit 23 Storage Unit 24 Communication unit 30 Terminal device

Claims (8)

a machine tool having a housing space for housing a workpiece and a cutting tool;
a collection unit that collects a first machining range of the cutting tool in a first axial direction when cutting the workpiece using the cutting tool;
an estimating unit that estimates the size of the accommodation space in the first axial direction based on the collected maximum and minimum values of the first processing range;
Machine tool system with The collection unit collects a second machining range of the cutting tool in a second axial direction perpendicular to the first axial direction when cutting the workpiece using the cutting tool,
The estimating unit estimates the size of the accommodation space in the second axial direction based on the collected maximum and minimum values of the second processing range.
The machine tool system according to claim 1. The collection part is configured to define a third machining range of the cutting tool in a third axial direction orthogonal to each of the first and second axial directions when cutting the workpiece using the cutting tool. collect and
The estimating unit estimates the size of the accommodation space in the third axial direction based on the collected maximum and minimum values of the third processing range.
The machine tool system according to claim 2. the first axial direction and the second axial direction are parallel to the horizontal direction;
The first stroke defined by the maximum and minimum values of the first machining range is equal to or greater than the second stroke defined by the maximum and minimum values of the second machining range, and the maximum value of the third machining range and not less than the third stroke defined by the minimum
The machine tool system according to claim 3. A method for estimating specifications of a machine tool, comprising:
The machine tool has a tool, and acquiring a machining range of the tool during construction by the tool;
storing the maximum and minimum values of the machining range in a specific direction from the acquired machining range;
Updating the maximum value when the maximum value of the processing range in the specific direction becomes larger each time the construction is performed, and updating the minimum value when the minimum value becomes smaller;
estimating the difference between the updated maximum and minimum values as the specification of the machine tool;
Estimation method including . The machine tool has an accommodation space for accommodating a workpiece,
The specifications are sizes in the specific direction of the accommodation space,
The estimation method according to claim 5. the specific direction includes a first axial direction, a second axial direction, and a third axial direction that are orthogonal to each other;
The axial direction in which the difference between the updated maximum value and the minimum value in each axial direction is the maximum is defined as the specific direction;
The estimation method according to claim 6. Activating when information about the size of the housing space of the machine tool that should have been acquired has not yet been acquired;
The estimation method according to claim 6, comprising:

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