JPH01100603A - Sequence program generation supporting system for sequence controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatize the generation of a operating time chart by detecting an operating time when a sequence program is applied to a controlled system and operated, and generating the operating time chart based on stored operating condition data. CONSTITUTION:When a machine tool 10 is operated by the sequence program at the initial time of designing or at the time of amendment, a CPU 26 of an operating control part 14 measures the respective operating times with a timer 37 based on the input/output address data of respective operating units stored in a memory 28 and of an operating condition detector, relating information data to indicate the correspondence between the respective operating units and the operating condition detector, and the operating condition data to indicate the operating condition, which the respective operating units can obtain, and stores them into the memory 28. Next, when the generation instruction for the operating time chart is issued, the CPU 26 reads the operating time data from the memory 28, and automatically generates the operating time chart corresponding to the latest sequence program.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a sequence program creation support system in a sequence control device that controls a controlled object such as a machine tool using a sequence program.
In the case where a sequence program created by a designer, programmer, etc. is modified when it is applied to a controlled object such as a machine tool or when a partial change occurs in the controlled object, a time chart related to the sequence program. The present invention relates to a sequence program creation support system for a sequence control device that facilitates modification and modification of new sequence programs by automatically creating a sequence program.

[Background of the Invention] Generally, in devices such as machine tools or working robots,
In order to reduce the number of personnel and improve work efficiency, sequence control devices are widely used in which the operating procedures are set by a sequence program to perform desired processing functions.

In a system using such a sequence control device, the sequence program is sequentially decoded by a sequencer (sequence control device) and supplied as a control signal to a controlled object such as a machine tool. Then, each part of the controlled object operates based on the control signal, and when a predetermined operation is completed, a detection signal is generated from a detection means such as a limit switch or sensor, and this is used as an operation transition state signal of each part of the controlled object. Output to the sequencer. On the other hand, the sequencer detects, based on the detection signal, that each part to be controlled has completed a predetermined operation in response to the control signal, and processes the next step of the sequence program. By sequentially repeating this process, a desired machining operation is performed on the controlled object.

In a machine tool using such a sequence control device, the control procedure for controlling the operation of the machine tool that is the target of control is first determined by the designer on the time axis, the operational relationship of each operation unit that makes up the machine tool. It is set as an operation time chart written in . Next, a programmer creates a sequence program represented by a ladder diagram using relay symbols etc. based on this time chart, and then the ladder diagram is converted into a form suitable for the sequencer by the translation program of the sequence control device. An actual sequence program, that is, an object program is completed. This corresponds to the creation of a logic specification (program specification) by a designer, the creation of a source program by a programmer, and the conversion into an object program by a compiler (translator program) in general program creation.

By the way, when applying the sequence program created in this way to an actual controlled object such as a machine tool, the operation of each operation unit such as an actuator may be slightly shorter than the operating time scheduled at the time of design. It may shift. Additionally, some of the machinery and equipment may be changed.

In such cases, part of the sequence program is modified or changed in order to make the controlled object operate normally, but such detailed modifications or changes are not made to the operation time chart created at the time of design. Usually there is no.

Therefore, if many such modifications and changes are made, there will be a considerable gap between the operating time chart initially created at the time of design and the actual machine tool. When creating or modifying a new machine tool using a machine as a model, the above operation time chart cannot be used as is, and a large amount of time must be spent on analyzing the operation sequence, which is an inconvenience. In this case, the above-mentioned inconvenience can be resolved by going back and re-creating the above-mentioned operation time chart when modifying or changing the sequence program, but each time a modification or change is made, the above-mentioned operation time chart must be It has been pointed out that the drawback is that it requires a considerable amount of man-hours to recreate the time chart.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages, and the present invention has been made to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages. To provide a sequence program creation support system for a sequence control device that facilitates the analysis and creation of sequence programs for subsequent equipment changes, remodeling, etc. by automatically creating a created operation time chart. With the goal.

[Means for Achieving the Object] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a method for controlling each operation unit of a controlled object and each operating state detector connected to an input/output boat of a sequence control device that executes a sequence program. storage means for storing input/output address data, related information data indicating the correspondence between each operating unit and each operating state detector, and operating state data indicating possible operating states of each operating unit, and each operating unit and each operating state detector; and a time measuring means for detecting the operating time of the device, the control target is operated by executing the sequence program, and the time measuring means detects the operating time of each operation unit and each operating state detector, The present invention is characterized in that an operation time chart is created based on input/output address data, related information data, and operation state data stored in the storage means.

[Embodiments] Next, preferred embodiments of the sequence program creation support system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a sequence program creation support system according to the present invention. In this case, the system includes a machine tool 10 that performs a predetermined operation on a workpiece, a sequencer 12 that controls the operation of the machine tool 10 based on a sequence program created by a designer, programmer, etc. It basically consists of an operation control section 14 that monitors the operation of the machine tool 10 or gives various commands to the sequencer 12 via the control section 14. Note that an interface 16 is provided between the machine tool 10 and the sequencer 12 and between the sequencer 12 and the operation control unit I4.
and 18.

The sequencer 12 includes a memory 20 in which a sequence program is stored, a CPU 22 that sequentially processes the sequence program, and a CPU 22 that transfers operation commands based on the sequence program to the machine tool 10 via an interface 16. and an I10 port 24 that transfers ten transition state signals to the CPU 22.

The operation control unit 14 controls the machine tool 10 via the sequencer 12.
A predetermined operation command is given to the machine tool 10, and the transition state of the machine tool 10 corresponding to the operation command is read, and an operation time chart is created as described later. It includes a memory 28 that stores data (described later), and an I10 boat 3o that sends and receives operation commands to the machine tool 10 and the operating state of the machine tool 1o as data.

In this case, the memory 28 stores information about each operation unit such as an actuator that constitutes the machine tool 1o driven by the operation command and an operating state detection means such as a limit switch that detects that the actuator etc. has performed a predetermined operation. Various data indicating functional relationships are stored and used to create an operation time chart to be described later. A display 34 and a keyboard 36 are connected to the I10 port 3o via an interface 32.
An operation command is given to the machine tool 1o via the machine tool 1o. Further, a timer 37 is connected to the CPU 26 as a time measuring means. This timer 37 measures the time from when an operation command is output to the machine tool 10 until the machine tool 10 detects the operating state.

On the other hand, the machine tool 10 is configured as shown in FIG. 2, for example. In other words, this machine tool 1° performs drilling on the workpiece W using the drill 38.
It basically consists of a processing section 40 and a processed section 42. In the machining section 40, the drill 38 is placed on the base 44.
A feed motor 46 that is displaced in the direction is fixed. In this case, the drive shaft 48 of the feed motor 46 has the workpiece 4
A ball screw 50 extending toward 2 is integrally attached, and a moving table 52 is screwed onto this ball screw 50.

A spindle unit 56 that supports the rotating shaft 54 of the drill 38 is attached to the moving table 52, and a driving motor 58 that drives the rotating shaft 54 is attached to this spindle unit 56. The drive shaft 60 of the drive motor 58 is connected to the rotating shaft 54 supported by the seventh spindle unit 56 by a belt 66 via boots IJs 62 and 64. Here, the position of the moving table 52 is detected by three limit switches LSI, LS2, and LS3 arranged along the ball screw 50. That is, the limit switch LSI detects that the movable table 52 is at the backward end, and the limit switch LS2 detects that the movable table 52 is at the cutting start point of the drill 38. Further, the limit switch LS3 detects that the moving table 52 is at the forward end.

In the workpiece portion 42 , a workpiece mount 70 is fixed onto a base 68 , and a workpiece W is positioned and fixed to the workpiece mount 70 by a clamp jig 72 .

That is, the clamp jig 72 includes a clamp cylinder 74 fixed to the workpiece mount 70 and a support member 78 whose one end is pivoted to the cylinder rod 76 of the clamp cylinder 74 and whose middle part is fixed to the workpiece mount 70. and a clamp member 80 pivotally supported by the clamp member 8.
The workpiece W is positioned and fixed by the other end of the workpiece W. In this case, the clamped state and unclamped state of the workpiece W by the clamp jig 72 are detected by two limit switches LS4 and LS5, respectively.

Note that the base 68 includes a tank 84 for storing cutting oil 82.
is mounted, and the cutting oil 82 is supplied to the workpiece W via a pipe line 90 by a pump 88 driven by a cutting oil supply motor 86.

Here, the sequence program for driving and controlling the machine tool 10 is usually created by a programmer creating a ladder diagram using relay symbols etc. while looking at an operation time chart created by a designer, and then by using a translation program of a sequencer to create a ladder diagram. Created from a ladder diagram using logical conditions. In this case, the machine tool 10 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the operation time chart for the clamp cylinder 74, which is each operation unit that constitutes the machine tool 10, the feed motor 46 that drives the moving table 52,
The operating state of each operation unit of the drive motor 58 that rotationally drives the drill 38 and the cutting oil supply motor 86 is expressed along the time axis.

The sequence program creation support system according to the present invention is basically configured as described above.Next, the operation and effects of this system will be explained.

The machine tool 10 operates as follows according to the operation time chart shown in FIG. 3 using a sequence program created by the system.

That is, when the sequence program is started, the clamp jig 72 clamps the workpiece W, and the movable table 52 in the processing section 40 moves forward from the retreat end to the cutting start point. Next, the drive motor 5B is driven to rotate the drill 3B, and the cutting oil 82 is supplied to the workpiece W to start the cutting operation. When the moving table 52 moves to the forward end, the rotation of the drill 38 and the supply of cutting oil 82 are stopped, and then the moving table 52 moves to the backward end.

Finally, the clamp jig 72 becomes unclamped, and the series of operations ends.

Here, the machine tool 1 based on the sequence program
The operation of 0 may deviate slightly from the operation time scheduled at the time of design, or may change due to a partial change in equipment. In such a case, it is necessary to modify or change the sequence program, but it is extremely complicated to go back and modify the operation time chart that was originally created. For this reason, if the sequence program is modified or changed repeatedly, a considerable gap will occur between the original operation time chart and the actual machine tool 10, and when a new operation design is performed based on this machine tool 10 at a later date, Analysis of the motion sequence will take a lot of time.

By the way, in the present invention, by applying a sequence program created at the time of design or modification to the machine tool 10 and operating it, the timer 37 is used to collect operating time information of each operation unit, operating state detector, etc. To provide a support system that can automatically create an operation time chart always in the latest state based on the operation time information and facilitate the creation of sequence programs and the like. In this case, the data shown in FIG. 4 is stored in the memory 28 of the operation control unit 14 in the system shown in FIG.

That is, the clamp cylinder 74 and the feed motor 46
, the drive motor 58, the cutting oil supply motor 86, etc. are connected to the I10 port 24 of the sequencer 12, and as shown in FIG.
are assigned, and each operation control signal from the sequencer 12 is given to each operation unit according to this input/output address. On the other hand, the operating states in FIG. 4 are data indicating possible operating states of each operating unit, and each operating unit operates in accordance with the operating control signal given from the sequencer 12 to reach a predetermined operating state. For example, when the clamp cylinder 74 receives a clamp command as an operation control signal from the sequencer 12, it performs an operation to clamp the workpiece W at a predetermined position. When each operation unit transitions (operates) to a predetermined state according to the operation control signal from the sequencer 12, limit switches LSI to LS5, which are operation state detectors that detect the operation state of each operation unit, are activated. . Furthermore, although not shown in the drive motor 58, cutting oil supply motor 86, etc., the operating state can be detected by turning on or off a detection element that detects (monitors) the drive current for rotating each motor. I can do it. The correspondence between the operating state of each operation unit and the operating state detector is stored as related information data. Each operating state detection signal is input to the I10 port 24 of the sequencer 12, and is assigned an input/output address such as n to n+7. Note that these basic data are designed at the beginning of the design of the machine tool 10 and do not change even when the sequence program is modified.
Store it in advance.

Next, the originally designed or modified sequence program is applied to the actual machine tool 10 and operated. At this time, operation control signals transmitted and received between the sequencer 12 and the machine tool 10 via the I10 boat 24 of the sequencer 12 and detection signals (operation status signals) from the operation status detector are used for operation control via the interface 18. The signal is input to the I10 port 30 of the unit 14, and each status is monitored on the display 34. On the other hand, the CPU 26 of the operation control unit 14 stores the input/output address data of each operation unit and the operation state detector stored in the memory 28, the related information data indicating the correspondence between each operation unit and the operation state detector, and the latest information of each operation unit. Based on the operating state data indicating possible operating states, the timer 37 measures the changing time of each operating state detector, that is, the operating time, and stores it in the memory 28 as operating time data as shown in FIG. do.

In this way, the sequence program is executed to operate the machine tool 10 and collect operating time data. Then,
When an instruction to create an operation time chart is given via the keyboard 36 or the like of the operation control unit 14, the CPU 26 reads the operation time data shown in FIG. 5 from the memory 28, and
As shown in FIG. 3, each operation unit and the change point (operating point) of the corresponding operating state detector are plotted and output on the RT display 34 or a printer, with TI to T6 as the time axis. As a result, an operation time chart corresponding to the latest sequence program can be automatically obtained at all times.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, even if a sequence program is modified in a complicated manner, it is possible to apply the modified sequence program to actually operate the device. After collecting the necessary operating time data, simply issuing an instruction to create an operating time chart automatically creates an operating time chart that corresponds to the latest sequence program. Therefore, when designing a new machine tool or the like, there is an advantage that the operation sequence can be easily analyzed by referring to the latest operation time chart.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
Of course, various improvements and changes in design are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of the sequence program creation support system according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a configuration diagram of a machine tool incorporated in the system shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an operation of the machine tool shown in Fig. 2. Figure 4 is an operation time chart showing the procedure; Figure 4 is a data table showing the relationship between each operating state detector, etc. corresponding to each operation unit that makes up the machine tool shown in Figure 2; Figure 5 is a diagram showing the sequence program being executed. This is an operation time data table for each operation unit, each operation state detector, etc. obtained. 10...Machine tool 12...Sequencer 14
...Operation control unit 16.18...Interface 20...Memory 22...CPU24
...I10 port 26...CPU28...Memory 30...I10 port 34...Display 36...Keyboard 37...Timer 38...Drill 40...Machining section
42...Workpiece part W...Workpiece LSI~LS5...Limit switch FIG, 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Indicates the input/output address data of each operation unit of the controlled object connected to the input/output port of the sequence control device that executes the sequence program and each operating state detector, and the correspondence between each operating unit and each operating state detector. A storage means for storing related information data and operating state data indicating possible operating states of each operating unit, and a time measuring means for detecting the operating time of each operating unit and each operating state detector, and the sequence program By executing this, the controlled object is operated, the time measuring means detects the operating time of each operation unit and each operating state detector, and input/output address data, related information data, and operating state data are stored in the storage means. A sequence program creation support system for a sequence control device, characterized in that an operation time chart is created based on.