JP7524708B2 - Barrel polishing equipment - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a barrel polishing machine.

Fluid barrel polishing machines are known that polish workpieces by causing the workpieces to flow together with polishing media in a polishing space. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a barrel processing machine that includes a barrel tank including a cylindrical rigid body (fixed tank) and a disk-shaped rotating bottom (rotary disk), a protruding wall provided on the inner surface of the barrel tank, and a support mechanism that supports the barrel tank so that the barrel tank can be tilted in a vertical plane and the fixed tank can be rotated around the central axis. This machine rotates the cylindrical rigid body around the central axis with the central axis of the barrel tank tilted horizontally, guiding the workpieces and polishing media along the protruding wall and discharging them from the mouth (upper edge) of the barrel tank.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 57-189766

In the device described in Patent Document 1, the barrel tank is tilted around a joint located at the bottom of the barrel tank. In this configuration, the turning radius of the upper edge of the barrel tank is large, so the height distance between the upper edge of the barrel tank and the discharge position changes significantly depending on the tilt angle. Therefore, depending on the tilt angle of the barrel tank, the drop between the upper edge of the barrel tank and the discharge position may become large, and the treated object may be damaged by the impact of the drop.

Another cause of damage to the workpiece is the introduction of foreign matter during barrel polishing. In the device described in Patent Document 1, the barrel tank is necessarily positioned at a high position due to its tilting structure. Therefore, when the workpiece, polishing media, etc. are loaded into the barrel tank, they are loaded from a position above eye level of the worker. In this case, it is difficult to check the condition of the workpiece, polishing media, etc. while loading them, so even if foreign matter is introduced, it is difficult to remove it.

The device described in Patent Document 1 has the problem of not only damaging the workpiece as described above, but also of workability. When loading workpieces, polishing media, etc. into the barrel tank, they must be loaded from a position above the worker's eye level, which is hard work for the worker.

Furthermore, when discharging the objects to be treated, depending on the shape of the objects, simply tilting the barrel tank may not be enough to discharge them, so it is necessary to visually check whether or not they have been discharged. However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, the barrel tank is necessarily positioned at a high position, which makes it difficult to check the discharge status of the objects to be treated.

Therefore, there is a demand for a barrel polishing machine that can suppress damage to the workpiece and is easy to use.

One embodiment of the barrel polishing machine is a barrel polishing machine having a barrel tank. The barrel tank includes a cylindrical fixed tank having a central axis, and a rotating plate that is provided to cover the bottom of the fixed tank and is rotatable about the central axis. This barrel polishing machine is equipped with a tilting mechanism. The tilting mechanism has a tilting shaft that extends horizontally, and tilts the barrel tank about the tilting shaft. When viewed from a direction parallel to the extension direction of the tilting shaft, the tilting shaft is disposed closer to the upper edge of the fixed tank than a center line that extends parallel to the tilting shaft and passes through the center of gravity of the barrel tank.

In the barrel polishing machine of the above aspect, the tilting shaft is disposed close to the upper edge of the fixed tank when viewed from a direction parallel to the extension direction of the tilting shaft, so that the rotation radius of the upper edge of the barrel tank can be reduced. Therefore, even if the tilting angle of the barrel tank is changed, the change in the height distance between the upper edge of the barrel tank and the discharge position is small, and as a result, damage to the workpiece due to falling can be suppressed. In addition, because of the structure of the barrel polishing machine, the barrel tank can be disposed at a low position, so that the workpiece can be easily loaded or checked.

In one embodiment, the tilting axis may extend outside the barrel tank. By extending the tilting axis outside the barrel tank, the tilting axis can be positioned close to the upper edge of the fixed tank.

In one embodiment, the apparatus may further include a chute attached to the upper edge of the fixed tank to guide the treated object discharged from the barrel tank in the discharge direction. By guiding the treated object in the discharge direction using the chute, it is possible to make it less likely that the treated object will be damaged.

In one embodiment, the device may further include a sensor that detects whether the barrel tank is supported horizontally.

In one embodiment, the tilting mechanism may further include a connecting member that connects the tilting shaft and the barrel tank, and a cylinder having one end and the other end connected to the connecting member. The barrel tank may be tilted around the tilting shaft by expanding and contracting the cylinder. The tilting mechanism may further include a rail that extends in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the tilting shaft. The other end of the cylinder may be slidable along the rail.

In one embodiment, the apparatus may further include a tilt regulating member that regulates the tilt angle of the barrel tank within a predetermined range. The tilt regulating member can prevent the tilt angle of the barrel tank from becoming excessively large.

In one embodiment, the fixed tank has a cylindrical rigid body and a first lining. The first lining covers the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical rigid body. The rotating disk has a disk-shaped rigid body that can rotate around the central axis and a second lining. The second lining covers the inner surface of the disk-shaped rigid body. The rotating disk can rotate with a gap formed between the first lining and the second lining, the disk-shaped rigid body has a convex portion that protrudes toward the polishing space defined by the cylindrical rigid body, and the periphery of the convex portion is covered with the second lining, and a retreat space is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical rigid body and the first lining, and the retreat space may be formed at a position that overlaps with the gap when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the central axis.

In the above embodiment, the expansion of the first lining and the second lining toward the gap can be suppressed, so the gap width can be designed to be small. As a result, a thin workpiece can be polished. When the barrel tank is tilted, a workpiece of this shape may stick to the inner wall of the barrel tank and may not be able to be discharged by free fall. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable when polishing using a wet method. In one embodiment of the barrel polishing device, the visibility of the inside of the barrel tank can be improved when discharging the workpiece, so that the workpiece can be easily discharged.

In one embodiment, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the central axis, the convex portion overlaps the gap, and the length of the portion of the convex portion that overlaps the gap in the central axis direction may be one-third or more of the length of the gap in the central axis direction. In this embodiment, the convex portion formed on the plate-like rigid body is arranged so as to overlap the gap, so that expansion of the second lining toward the gap can be more reliably restricted.

According to one aspect and various embodiments of the present invention, damage to the workpiece can be suppressed and workability can be improved.

1 is a side view illustrating a barrel polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a barrel tank. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a part of the barrel tank. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the periphery of a gap. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the barrel polishing apparatus with the barrel tank tilted. 1 is a flowchart showing a barrel polishing method according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an evaluation result of a workpiece discharged by a barrel polishing machine according to a comparative example. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an evaluation result of a workpiece discharged by the barrel polishing machine according to the embodiment.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, identical or equivalent elements will be given the same reference numerals, and redundant description will not be repeated. The dimensional ratios in the drawings do not necessarily match those in the description.

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic diagram of a barrel polishing machine according to one embodiment. The barrel polishing machine 1 shown in Figure 1 is a flow-type barrel polishing machine that polishes a workpiece, and is disposed adjacent to a sorting device 60 that sorts the workpiece and the polishing media. As shown in Figure 1, the barrel polishing machine 1 includes a barrel tank 2 and a tilting mechanism 3.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic of the barrel tank 2. As shown in Figure 2, the barrel tank 2 includes a fixed tank 10 and a rotating plate 20. As shown in Figure 2, the fixed tank 10 is open at the top and bottom and is formed in a cylindrical shape with the axis Z as the central axis. The fixed tank 10 has an upper edge 10a and a lower edge 10b. The fixed tank 10 includes a cylindrical rigid body 12 and a first lining 14. The cylindrical rigid body 12 is made of a rigid body such as metal, and has a cylindrical shape with the axis Z as the central axis.

The inner peripheral surface 12a of the cylindrical rigid body 12 is covered with a first lining 14. The first lining 14 is substantially cylindrical and made of an abrasion-resistant material. The first lining 14 prevents the cylindrical rigid body 12 from being worn when the workpiece is polished. Note that, although urethane resin is exemplified as the material of the first lining 14, it is not limited to urethane resin as long as it is an abrasion-resistant polymeric material.

A flange 18 is provided below the cylindrical rigid body 12. The flange 18 is formed in an annular shape and is fixed to the lower edge portion 10b of the fixed tank 10.

The flange 18 is supported by a support plate 32. The support plate 32 has a disk shape with an opening formed in the center, and the radially inner end is fixed to a base 36. The support plate 32 includes an inner region 32a that slopes downward as it moves radially outward, and an outer region 32b that slopes upward as it moves radially outward. A retention portion 32c is formed between the inner region 32a and the outer region 32b. A discharge pipe 34 is connected to the support plate 32 so as to communicate with the retention portion 32c. A valve 35 is provided on the discharge pipe 34.

The rotating disk 20 is provided to cover the lower part of the fixed tank 10. The rotating disk 20, together with the fixed tank 10, defines a polishing space S for polishing the workpiece. The rotating disk 20 has a disk-shaped rigid body 22 and a second lining 24.

The plate-shaped rigid body 22 is provided above the support plate 32. The plate-shaped rigid body 22 is made of a rigid body such as metal, and has a disk shape with an opening formed in the center. The plate-shaped rigid body 22 has a central region 22a and an outer region 22b provided to surround the central region 22a. A protrusion 23 that protrudes toward the polishing space S along the axis Z direction is formed in the outer region 22b of the plate-shaped rigid body 22. Details of the protrusion 23 will be described later.

The upper surface of the plate-shaped rigid body 22 (the surface on the polishing space S side) is covered with a second lining 24. The second lining 24 has a disk shape with an opening in the center, and is made of a material that is wear-resistant. The second lining 24 has the function of preventing the plate-shaped rigid body 22 from wearing when the workpiece is polished. Note that, although urethane resin is exemplified as a material for the second lining 24, it is not limited to urethane resin as long as it is a polymeric material that is wear-resistant.

A gap 40 is formed between the inner surface 14a of the first lining 14 and the end face 24a of the second lining 24 to allow rotation of the turntable 20. To prevent the workpiece in the polishing space S from falling through the gap 40, the distance between the inner surface 14a of the first lining 14 and the end face 24a of the second lining 24 (width d of the gap 40, described below) is designed to be smaller than the width of the workpiece.

The radially inner end of the plate-shaped rigid body 22 is fixed to a connecting member 26, which is fixed to a rotating shaft 28. The rotating shaft 28 extends along the axis Z and is rotatable about the axis Z. A motor 30 is connected to the rotating shaft 28. The motor 30 generates a driving force that rotates the rotating shaft 28 about the axis Z, and transmits the driving force to the rotating shaft 28 via a transmission mechanism. When the driving force of the motor 30 is transmitted to the rotating shaft 28, the plate-shaped rigid body 22 rotates about the axis Z with a gap 40 formed between the first lining 14 and the second lining 24.

When the disk-shaped rigid body 22 rotates around the axis Z, the workpiece and the polishing media flow in a vortex shape within the polishing space S due to centrifugal force. This flow causes the workpiece and the polishing media to collide with each other and polish the workpiece. When wet barrel polishing is performed, water and compound are introduced into the polishing space S along with the workpiece and the polishing media, and are caused to flow within the polishing space S.

A drain passage 31 is formed between the plate-shaped rigid body 22 and the support plate 32. The drain passage 31 is used as a passage for discharging the polishing chips of the workpiece generated by barrel polishing, pieces of the polishing media (hereinafter, the polishing chips of the workpiece and the pieces of the polishing media are collectively referred to as "chips"), or polishing liquid containing the chips. The drain passage 31 is connected to the gap 40 and the evacuation space 42 described later. The chips and polishing liquid generated by barrel polishing in the polishing space S pass through the gap 40 formed between the first lining 14 and the second lining 24 and are collected in the drain passage 31. The chips and polishing liquid collected in the drain passage 31 are collected in the retention section 32c and discharged from the discharge pipe 34 to the outside of the barrel polishing apparatus 1.

Next, the fixed tank 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, an evacuation space 42 is formed between the inner peripheral surface 12a of the cylindrical rigid body 12 of the fixed tank 10 and the first lining 14. More specifically, the evacuation space 42 is formed between the cylindrical rigid body 12 and the first lining 14. This evacuation space 42 is formed at a position overlapping the gap 40 when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axis Z (the left-right direction in FIG. 3).

When a workpiece placed in the polishing space S is barrel polished, the temperature in the polishing space S rises over time due to frictional heat between the workpiece and the polishing media. When the temperature of the first lining 14 rises with the temperature rise in the polishing space S, the first lining 14 expands thermally and increases in volume. At this time, since the first lining 14 has a cylindrical shape, the first lining 14 expands radially and enters the evacuation space 42. Meanwhile, the radially inward expansion of the first lining 14 is suppressed by the amount of radially outward expansion of the first lining 14. As a result, the width d of the gap 40 (see FIG. 4) is suppressed from narrowing.

Next, the rotating disk 20 and the gap 40 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 3 and 4. As described above, the gap 40 is formed between the inner peripheral surface 14a of the first lining 14 and the outer peripheral end face 24a of the second lining 24. In the cross-sectional views shown in Figures 3 and 4, the inner peripheral surface 14a and the end face 24a are arranged to face each other via the gap 40, and the gap 40 extends in a direction parallel to the axis Z between the inner peripheral surface 14a and the end face 24a. As shown in Figure 4, the gap 40 has a length L1 in the direction of the axis Z and a width d in a direction perpendicular to the axis Z.

A convex portion 23 is formed in the outer region 22b of the plate-shaped rigid body 22, more specifically, in the radially outer end portion of the plate-shaped rigid body 22. The convex portion 23 protrudes from the plate-shaped rigid body 22 in a direction parallel to the extension direction of the gap 40, i.e., in the axial Z direction. The periphery of the convex portion 23 is covered with the second lining 24 so that the convex portion 23 is not exposed to the gap 40. By covering the periphery of the convex portion 23 with the second lining 24 in this manner, the convex portion 23 is prevented from being worn by cutting chips and abrasive liquid passing through the gap 40.

In addition, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axis Z direction (left and right direction in Figures 3 and 4), the convex portion 23 is arranged to at least partially overlap the gap 40. Here, when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the axis Z, the overlapping portion 23a of the convex portion 23 that overlaps with the gap 40 has a length L2 in the axis Z direction. The length L2 of this overlapping portion 23a is set to be at least one-third the length L1 of the gap 40. Note that the length L2 of the overlapping portion 23a may be set to be at least one-half the length L1 of the gap 40.

The protrusion 23 has the function of restricting the expansion of the second lining 24 toward the gap 40 (outer periphery). That is, when the workpiece is polished in the polishing space S and the temperature in the polishing space S rises, the second lining 24 thermally expands and the volume of the second lining 24 increases. Here, if the protrusion 23 extending in the axial Z direction is provided, the expansion of the second lining 24 toward the gap 40 (outer periphery) is restricted, and the expansion of the second lining 24 progresses toward the polishing space S (axial Z direction). Therefore, the width d of the gap 40 is prevented from narrowing due to the expansion of the second lining 24. In particular, the length L2 of the overlapping portion 23a of the protrusion 23 is set to be at least one-third of the length L1 of the gap 40, so that the width d of the gap 40 can be more reliably prevented from narrowing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second lining 24 formed on the convex portion 23 has a thickness TH1 larger than the thickness TH2 of the second lining formed on the central region 22a. In the flow-type barrel polishing, centrifugal force is generated by the rotation of the plate-shaped rigid body 22, and the workpiece and the polishing media flow in a vortex in the fixed tank 10 side region in the polishing space S, so that the outer part of the second lining 24 (the part of the second lining formed on the outer region 22b) wears faster than the inner part of the second lining 24 (the part of the second lining formed on the central region 22a). At this time, by making the thickness TH1 of the second lining 24 on the convex portion 23 larger than the thickness TH2 of the second lining 24 on the central region 22a, the second lining 24 is worn and the convex portion 23 is prevented from being exposed to the polishing space S. Therefore, it is possible to improve the life of the barrel polishing device 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a chute 15 that guides the workpieces discharged from the barrel tank 2 to the sorting device 60 (discharge direction) may be attached to the upper edge 10a of the fixed tank 10 (see FIGS. 1 and 5). The chute 15 is attached to the upper edge 10a at a position that includes the axis Z and overlaps with a plane perpendicular to the tilting axis 50 described below, for example, and extends from the upper edge 10a in the direction of the axis Z.

Refer to FIG. 1. The tilting mechanism 3 tilts the barrel tank 2 in a vertical plane including the axis Z. The tilting mechanism 3 has a tilting shaft 50 that serves as a fulcrum for tilting. As shown in FIG. 1, the tilting shaft 50 extends horizontally outside the barrel tank 2 and is supported on a frame 55 so as to be rotatable around its axis. Here, if a virtual line that extends parallel to the tilting shaft 50 and passes through the center of gravity of the barrel tank 2 is defined as the center of gravity line Y, the tilting shaft 50 is disposed closer to the upper edge 10a of the fixed tank 10 than the center of gravity line Y when viewed from a direction parallel to the tilting shaft 50. For example, the tilting shaft 50 is disposed closer to the upper edge 10a than the axis Z in the radial direction of the barrel tank 2, and is disposed closer to the upper edge 10a than the intermediate position between the lower edge 10b and the upper edge 10a in the axis Z direction.

The tilting mechanism 3 further includes a connecting member 51, a cylinder 52, and a rail 53. The connecting member 51 is formed, for example, in a plate shape, and connects the tilting shaft 50 and the barrel tank 2. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the connecting member 51 is fixed to the barrel tank 2 at a position overlapping the center of gravity line Y.

The cylinder 52 applies a driving force to the barrel tank 2 to rotate the barrel tank 2 around the tilting shaft 50 as a fulcrum. The cylinder 52 is, for example, a hydraulic cylinder, and is configured to be extendable and retractable in its length direction. The cylinder 52 has one end 52a and the other end 52b, and the one end 52a is rotatably connected to the connecting member 51, for example, at a position between the tilting shaft 50 and the center of gravity line Y.

The rail 53 is supported on the base 54 and extends in a horizontal plane in a direction perpendicular to the tilting axis 50. The other end 52b of the cylinder 52 is supported on the rail 53 in a slidable state. In addition, a slide stopper 56 is provided on the rail 53 to restrict the movement of the other end 52b.

The operation of the tilting mechanism 3 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 5. As shown in Figure 1, before or during barrel polishing, the cylinder 52 of the tilting mechanism 3 supports the barrel tank 2 horizontally in a contracted state.

On the other hand, when the barrel tank 2 is tilted to discharge the treated objects after the barrel polishing is completed, the cylinder 52 is extended. When the cylinder 52 is extended, the other end 52b of the cylinder 52 slides along the rail 53 in a direction perpendicular to the tilting axis 50 and eventually comes into contact with the slide stopper 56. When the cylinder 52 is further extended with the other end 52b in contact with the slide stopper 56, the barrel tank 2 is tilted with the tilting axis 50 as a fulcrum by the pressing force from the cylinder 52, as shown in FIG. 5. When the tilting angle of the barrel tank 2 reaches a certain angle, the mass M containing the treated objects and polishing media in the barrel tank 2 is discharged to the sorting device 60, for example, via the chute 15. At this time, by keeping the height position of the sorting device 60 close to the height position of the tilting axis 50, the falling distance of the mass M can be reduced, thereby suppressing damage to the treated objects.

When discharging the mass M from the barrel tank 2, a cleaning liquid may be sprayed from a cleaning nozzle into the inside of the inverted barrel tank 2 to promote the discharge of the mass M.

The sorting device 60 separates the workpieces from the polishing media, for example by vibrating the mass M discharged from the barrel tank 2 on the screen 62 while supplying cleaning water from the cleaning nozzle 61.

In one embodiment, the tilting mechanism 3 may further include an inversion stopper 57 and a sensor 58. The inversion stopper 57 functions as a tilting restriction member that restricts the tilting angle of the barrel tank 2 within a predetermined range. As shown in FIG. 5, the inversion stopper 57 is fixed to, for example, a frame 55, and when the tilting angle of the barrel tank 2 reaches a predetermined maximum tilting angle θ, the inversion stopper 57 abuts against the connecting member 51, thereby restricting the tilting of the barrel tank 2 from exceeding the maximum tilting angle θ.

The sensor 58 detects that the barrel tank 2 is supported horizontally. The sensor 58 is, for example, a contact sensor, and is attached to the frame 55 so as to come into contact with the barrel tank 2 when the barrel tank 2 is in a horizontal position. The sensor 58 may be attached to the barrel tank 2 and detect the horizontal state of the barrel tank 2 by detecting that it has come into contact with the frame 55.

The barrel polishing apparatus 1 may further include a control device Cnt. The control device Cnt is a computer equipped with a processor, a memory unit, an input device, a display device, etc., and controls each part of the barrel polishing apparatus 1. With this control device Cnt, an operator can use the input device to input commands to manage the barrel polishing apparatus 1, and the display device can visualize and display the operating status of the barrel polishing apparatus 1. The memory unit of the control device Cnt stores control programs for controlling various processes executed by the barrel polishing apparatus 1 with the processor, and programs for causing each component of the barrel polishing apparatus 1 to execute processes according to the processing conditions.

Next, an example of a barrel polishing method using the barrel polishing apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the barrel polishing method of one embodiment. At least a part of the process shown in FIG. 6 is executed by the control device Cnt controlling each part of the barrel polishing apparatus 1.

In this barrel polishing method, first, the workpiece and polishing media are placed in the barrel tank 2 (step S1). If necessary, water and compound may be placed in the barrel tank 2. Below, a wet barrel polishing method in which water and compound are placed in addition to the workpiece and polishing media will be described.

Next, the control device Cnt rotates the plate-shaped rigid body 22 to move the workpiece and polishing media in the barrel tank 2 and perform barrel polishing (step S2). After the workpiece is barrel polished for a certain period of time, the control device Cnt opens the valve 35 provided in the discharge pipe 34 to drain the processing liquid in the barrel tank 2 (step S3).

Next, the control device Cnt tilts the barrel tank 2 to discharge the workpieces and polishing media from the barrel tank 2 (step S4). More specifically, the control device Cnt extends the cylinder 52 to tilt the barrel tank 2 around the tilting axis 50 as a fulcrum. When the tilt angle of the barrel tank 2 reaches a certain angle, the workpieces and polishing media discharged from the upper edge portion 10a of the barrel tank 2 are transferred to the sorting device 60 via the chute 15.

Next, the sorting device 60 sorts the workpieces and polishing media transferred from the barrel polishing device 1 (step S5). At this time, the workpieces are washed with cleaning water sprayed from the cleaning nozzle 61.

In the above-mentioned barrel polishing apparatus 1, the tilting shaft 50 is disposed close to the upper edge 10a of the fixed tank 10 when viewed from a direction parallel to the tilting shaft 50. Therefore, even if the tilting angle of the barrel tank 2 is changed, the change in the drop between the upper edge 10a of the barrel tank 2 and the sorting device 60, which is the discharge destination, can be reduced. Therefore, damage to the treated object due to falling can be suppressed. In addition, in order to reduce the impact when the treated object falls, a lining for absorbing impact may be formed on the sorting device 60. In addition, the sorting device 60 may be provided with a drop reduction chute having an inclined surface that reduces the height distance between the upper edge 10a of the barrel tank 2 and the sorting device 60. Furthermore, in the barrel polishing apparatus 1, the barrel tank 2 can be disposed at a low position due to its structure, so that visibility can be improved, and as a result, the work of inserting or checking the treated object can be easily performed. In particular, since the upper part of the fixed tank 10 of the barrel tank 2 is open, it is possible to discharge the treated object while visually checking the inside of the barrel tank when the barrel tank is tilted.

Next, the effects of the barrel polishing machine 1 will be described in more detail based on examples and comparative examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

In the examples and comparative examples, the polishing media, dummy workpieces, and evaluation workpieces were placed in a barrel tank with a volume of 190 L, and polishing was performed for 1 minute at a rotation speed of 130 min ^-1 . As the polishing media, 70 L of Power Media V7-A6 x 10, a ceramic abrasive manufactured by Shinto Kogyo Co., Ltd., was placed. As the dummy workpieces, 1,000 L-shaped angles made of SS440 were placed. The dimensions of the dummy workpieces were 25 mm x 25 mm x 3 mm. As the evaluation workpieces, 10 products made of S45C were placed. The dimensions of the evaluation workpieces were 22 mm in diameter x 15 mm in length.

In the comparative example, a conventional barrel polishing machine having a tilting axis near the center of gravity Y was used, and the polishing media, dummy workpieces, and evaluation workpieces after polishing were discharged to a sorting device 60 to select the polishing media, dummy workpieces, and evaluation workpieces. The dents on the evaluation workpieces were then evaluated. On the other hand, in the example, a barrel polishing machine 1 that tilts the barrel tank 2 around a tilting axis 50 located close to the upper edge 10a of the fixed tank 10 was used, and the polishing media, dummy workpieces, and evaluation workpieces after polishing were discharged to a sorting device 60 to select the polishing media, dummy workpieces, and evaluation workpieces. The dents on the evaluation workpieces were then evaluated.

Figure 7 shows the evaluation results of dents on the evaluation workpieces discharged by the barrel polishing machine of the comparative example. Figure 8 shows the evaluation results of dents on the evaluation workpieces discharged by the barrel polishing machine of the example. As shown in Figures 7 and 8, when the barrel polishing machine 1 of the example was used, it was confirmed that the average number of dents on the evaluation workpieces was reduced and the average size of the dents could be reduced. From these results, it was confirmed that the barrel polishing machine 1 can suppress damage to the treated object due to dropping.

Although the barrel polishing apparatus according to various embodiments has been described above, it is possible to configure various modified embodiments without being limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, as long as the gist of the invention is not changed.

For example, in the above embodiment, the barrel tank 2 is tilted using an extendable cylinder 52, but as long as the barrel tank 2 can be tilted around at least the tilting shaft 50 adjacent to the upper edge 10a as a fulcrum, the means for tilting the barrel tank 2 is not limited to the cylinder 52. For example, the barrel tank 2 may be rotated around the tilting shaft 50 by the driving force of a motor.

In addition, the destination of the treated object is not limited to the sorting device 60, and the barrel polishing device 1 can discharge the treated object to any destination.

1...barrel polishing machine, 2...barrel tank, 3...tilting mechanism, 10...fixed tank, 10a...upper edge, 12...cylindrical rigid body, 12a, 14a...inner peripheral surface, 14...first lining, 24...second lining, 15...chute, 20...rotary plate, 22...plate-shaped rigid body, 23...projection, 40...gap, 42...retraction space, 50...tilting shaft, 51...connecting member, 52...cylinder, 52a...one end, 52b...other end, 53...rail, 58...sensor, S...polishing space, Y...center of gravity.

Claims (7)

A barrel polishing apparatus having a barrel tank including a cylindrical fixed tank having a central axis and a rotating disk provided to cover a bottom of the fixed tank and rotatable around the central axis,
a tilting mechanism having a tilting shaft extending in a horizontal direction and tilting the barrel tank around the tilting shaft;
When viewed from a direction parallel to the extending direction of the tilting shaft, the tilting shaft is disposed closer to an upper edge portion of the fixed tank than a center line that extends parallel to the tilting shaft and passes through a center of gravity of the barrel tank ;
The tilt mechanism includes:
a connecting member that connects the tilting shaft and the barrel tank;
a cylinder having one end and an other end connected to the connecting member;
The barrel tank is tilted around the tilting axis by the extension and contraction of the cylinder,
the tilt mechanism further includes a rail extending in a direction perpendicular to an extension direction of the tilt axis,
The other end of the cylinder is slidable along the rail . The barrel polishing machine according to claim 1, wherein the tilting axis extends outside the barrel tank. The barrel polishing machine according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a chute attached to the upper edge of the fixed tank and guiding the workpiece discharged from the barrel tank in a discharge direction. The barrel polishing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a sensor that detects whether the barrel tank is supported horizontally. The barrel polishing machine according to claim 1 , further comprising a tilt restricting member that restricts a tilt angle of the barrel tank within a predetermined range. The fixed tank has a cylindrical rigid body and a first lining that covers an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical rigid body,
the rotating disk has a disk-shaped rigid body rotatable around the central axis and a second lining covering an inner surface of the disk-shaped rigid body, and is rotatable with a gap formed between the first lining and the second lining;
a protrusion protruding toward the polishing space defined by the cylindrical rigid body is formed on the plate-shaped rigid body, and the periphery of the protrusion is covered with the second lining;
a retreat space is formed between an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical rigid body and the first lining,
The barrel polishing machine according to claim 1 , wherein the evacuation space is formed at a position overlapping with the gap when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the central axis. 7. The barrel polishing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the central axis, the convex portion overlaps the gap, and a length of the portion of the convex portion overlapping the gap in the central axis direction is one-third or more of a length of the gap in the central axis direction.

Images