JPH0295536A - Turning cell - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the exchange of chuck claws and transport robot fingers to be easily conducted, by providing a transport device whose purpose is to grip a chuck claw or a work and to conduct transport among an NC lathe, a claw-finger stocker and supply stations. CONSTITUTION:A transport robot 10 receives a work at a work station, and transports it to the side of an NC lathe 1, and conducts machining. When machining is completed, it is returned to the work station or sent to another station. When the diameter of the work has been changed, the fingers alone of the hand of the transport robot 10 are exchanged at a claw-finger stocker 6. The exchange of the chuck claws of the NC lathe 1 is also made by the transport robot conducting taking out at the claw-finger stocker 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a turning cell. For more details,
The present invention relates to a turning cell having a chuck jaw and a stocker for fingers for a transfer robot.

[Prior Art] FMS has been proposed to systemize the entire factory in order to automate machining. Various systems have been proposed for this FMS, but in many cases the entire system is constructed by combining small systems centered on NC machine tools. This small system is called a cell system.

Various cell systems have been proposed and implemented, but most of them usually consist of an NC machine tool, a workpiece loading/unloading device, a workpiece stocker, and the like.

In order to continue continuous operation for long periods with only this cell system, various measures for automation must be taken.

Continuously machining different workpieces over long periods of time poses difficult problems. In particular, in the case of a lathe, it is necessary to replace the chuck itself depending on the diameter of the workpiece. However, since this is often difficult in practice, the solution is to widen the gap between the jaws without replacing the chuck, but there are limits. Furthermore, the hand of the robot that transports the workpiece must also be replaced depending on the diameter of the workpiece.

On the other hand, an NC lathe that automatically replaces the chuck jaws is known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 55-5273 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-41682 disclose a heavy-duty magazine for storing chuck jaws, and a jaw exchange device for replacing the jaws with chuck jaws. Those with the following are described.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The cell system described above is suitable when the number of types of workpieces is limited, but when the number of types of workpieces increases, it becomes necessary to replace the chuck jaws and the transfer robot hand. Continuous operation for long periods of time is limited. - On the other hand, devices for replacing the chuck jaws of NC lathes are known as mentioned above, but they were developed for single NC machine tools and are not necessarily suitable for turning center cells. .

An object of the present invention is to provide a turning cell that can continuously process a wide variety of workpieces over a long period of time.

[Means for solving the above problems] The following measures will be taken to solve the above problem.

The first means includes an NC lathe, a jaw/finger stocker for storing chuck jaws of the NC lathe and fingers of a conveying device described later, a supply station for supplying unprocessed workpieces, and a supply station for supplying processed workpieces. The turning cell is composed of a discharge station for discharging the workpiece, and a conveying device that grips the chuck jaw or the workpiece and conveys the workpiece between the NC lathe, the wind/figure stocker, and the supply station and discharge station.

It is even more effective if the second means is an attachment/detachment mechanism that detachably connects the hand of the conveyance device and the finger.

[Operation] In the turning cell system, the transfer robot picks up the workpiece from the workpiece station and transfers it to the NC machine tool Ii.
i! Transfer to the side and perform machining. Once machining is complete, the workpiece is returned to the station or sent to another station. When the diameter of the workpiece changes, only the fingers of the transfer robot's hand are replaced using the claw/finger stocker.

The chuck jaws on an NC lathe are also replaced by a transfer robot, which takes them out of the jaw/finger stocker and replaces them.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the entire turning cell of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side view. The NC lathe 1 includes a tool storage magazine 2. The tools in the tool storage magazine 2 are automatically exchanged with the turret tool post 3 tools by an automatic tool exchanger (not shown). A work chuck 5 is attached to the main shaft.

A claw/finger stocker 6 is installed at a side position of the NC lathe 1 along the workpiece conveyance direction. The claw/finger stocker 6 incorporates various types of claws for the workpiece chuck 5 and fingers 40 for a cage transfer robot (described later).9 The detailed structure thereof will be described later. An NC lathe 1, a claw/finger stocker 6, and a tray changer 7 are installed and fixed on the same line. This tray changer 7 stores a tray box in which a plurality of workpieces are arranged. Each tray box can be replaced with another tray box as needed.

The workpieces are aligned in cooperation with the transfer robot 10 and the tray changer 7. This tray changer 7 is a known technology, and a patent application filed by the present applicant has been published. Tray changer 7 will not be described in detail. Above the NC lathe 1, the claw finger stocker 6, and the tray changer 7, a linear conveyance rail 8 is disposed and supported by a support 9. A transport robot 10 is movably mounted on the transport rail 8. The movement of the transport robot 10 is controlled by NC. Transfer port bot 10
A hand 1 for gripping the chuck claw 31 is provided at the tip of the
1. The fingers at the tip of the hand 11 are replaced depending on the object to be gripped, as will be described later.

- Fin - Stocker 6 FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the claw/finger stocker 6. FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of FIG. 4. The disk 20 can be indexed to intermittent positions, and a plurality of types of chuck claws 31 and fingers 40 of the transfer robot 10 are stocked on the disk 20. At the index position of the disc 20,
Index holes 21 are provided corresponding to index angle positions.

An index gear 22 is fixed to the lower surface of the center of the disk 20. A bearing 23 is installed in the center inner hole of the index gear 22.
It is rotatably attached to the central shaft 24 via. The central shaft 24 is a cylindrical member, and its lower end is a flange and is fixed to the frame plate 25.

The frame plate 25 is the upper plate of the basic frame that supports the claw/finger stocker 6. A servo motor 28 for indexing the disk 20 is fixed to the lower surface of the frame plate 25. A pinion gear 2 is attached to the output shaft of the servo motor 28.
9 is locked. The index gear 22 meshes with the binion gear 29 . The rotational position of the servo motor 28 is controlled by a pulse detected by a proximity switch 39 on a protrusion provided on the disk 20, and performs an indexing operation.

On the other hand, a cylinder device 26 for positioning is provided on the lower surface of the frame plate 25.

A positioning pin 2 is provided on the piston shaft of the cylinder device 26.
7 is fixed. The positioning pin 27 is inserted into the index hole 21 of the disc 20 to position the disc 20 at a predetermined angle. On the upper surface of the outer periphery of the disk 20, in this embodiment, there are chuck claws 31 in 9 locations, 1 set of 3 chuck claws 31 in 4 locations, 2 sets of heavy duty fingers 40 in 1 location, and 2 sets of work fingers 40 in 4 locations. A total of nine storage cases 30 are provided in each location. Inside the storage case 30, three chuck claws 31 are stacked vertically. At the bottom end of the chuck claw 31,
The tip 32 of the piston of the lift cylinder 33 is in contact with it. The lift cylinder 33 is fixed to the lower surface of the frame plate 25.

The upper end of the chuck claw 31 is in contact with the slot 1 to the collar 34. A chuck claw 31 is sandwiched between the stopper 34 and the tip 32 of the piston of the lift cylinder 33. However, this state is the state when the chuck claw 31 is taken out, and is normally located at the lower end due to gravity. The stopper 34 is
It is fixed to the tip of the piston 36 of the cylinder 35. The stopper 34 is slidably guided within the guide tube 37. The cylinder 35 that drives the stopper 34 is connected to the central axis 2.
It is fixed on a stopper stand 38 fixed to the upper end of 4.

The stopper 34 is for taking out the chuck claw 31 and fingers 40, which will be described later, one by one. In other words, the stopper 34 appears and disappears every time a - piece is taken out.

A finger 40 of the transfer robot 10 is housed in a rectangular storage case 30a similar to the chuck claw 31.Normally, the hand at the tip of the robot can be changed depending on the purpose. For example, an assembly robot can be replaced with an assembly hand, a welding hand can be replaced with a welding hand, a transporting hand can be replaced with a transporting hand, etc., which has the optimal structural function for each purpose. In the case of the transfer robot 10 of this embodiment, only the minimum necessary fingers 40 are replaced without replacing the entire hand.

This finger 40 is replaced when the diameter of the workpiece or the object to be gripped changes.9 Furthermore, the chuck claw 31
When replacing the finger 40, the finger 40 is also replaced with a dedicated finger 40. In this example, when the diameter of the workpiece changes and when the chuck jaw 3
1, the fingers 40 are exchanged. What is shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b) is a structure in which the finger 40 is detachably attached to the main body of the robot hand. A bottle 41 is fixed to the base of the finger 40 with a screw. The bottle 41 has a concave outer circumferential groove 42 formed therein.

On the other hand, two finger bodies 45 are provided on the body of the robot hand so as to be swingable about a bottle 46. One ends of the two finger bodies 45 are inserted into the bin 47.

The bin 47 is driven by hydraulic pressure, a servo motor, etc., and opens and closes the tip of the finger body 45.

A bottle hole member 48 is fixed to the tip of the finger body 45 with a bolt. This bottle hole member 48 has a bottle hole 49 formed therein.

A bottle 41 is inserted into the bottle hole 49 . Bottle hole 49
Notches 50 protrude from two locations in the radial direction. The notch 50 is constantly pushed toward the center of the bottle hole 49 by a spring, but when pushed outward from the radius, the notch 50 compresses the spring and is pulled out of the bottle hole 49.

When the bottle 41 is inserted into the bottle hole 49, the notch 50 is inserted into the circumferential groove 42 of the bottle 41. Therefore, the finger 40 will not come out from the bottle hole 47, and
Since the finger 40 is formed with a stepped portion 51 (FIG. 5), the stepped portion 51 and the side surface of the bottle hole member 48 are in contact with each other, so that the finger 40 does not rotate around the bottle 41.

Figure 7 is a functional block diagram of a control device for controlling the turning cell conveyance device described above. NC device 6
0 is a well-known control device that numerically controls the NC lathe 1. The NC device 60 is electrically connected to a power sequencer 61 for driving the claw/finger stocker 6, the tray changer 7, and the transfer robot IO. Further, the NC device 60 is connected to a transfer robot control panel 66 . The transfer robot control panel 66 numerically controls the position of the transfer robot 10 according to commands from the NC device 60.The 1-ray information reading device 65 reads the type and diameter of the workpiece from an IC card provided in each tray in the tray changer 7. It reads information such as. The read information regarding the workpiece is input to the sequencer 61. The sequencer 61 compares the command information with the NC device 60 and, if they match, outputs it to the 110 unit 62 and instructs the necessary replacement operation of the chuck jaws 31 and fingers 40. Upon receiving this command, the transfer robot control panel 66 controls the transfer robot 10.
commands to drive the transfer robot. Stocker control! 63, the tray changer control panel 64 receives this command and causes the claw/finger stocker 6 and the tray changer 7 to perform necessary operations.

Operation FIG. 8 is a flow diagram showing an overview of the operation of the turning cell control device of the present invention. It is determined whether the control device is in the initial state (Pl). It is determined whether the operation of the entire system has been completed (P2), and if it has been completed, it has been completed, and if not, it is determined whether the processing of one tray or a certain number of materials has been completed (P3). That is, after the processing of a certain rod is completed, it is determined whether or not the material should be changed.

If it is necessary to change the material, use the tray information reader 6.
5 reads necessary information from an IC card provided in the tray in the tray changer 7.

(P4). The steps following step P4 are to issue a command using a custom macro program (one of the NC functions provided in advance so that it can be defined by the user), and to determine whether or not the chuck jaw 31 needs to be replaced based on the read information ( P5). If replacement is necessary, then it is determined whether the fingers 40 of the transfer robot 10 need to be replaced. The fingers 40 are used for chuck jaw 31 and for exchanging workpieces separately, and the fingers for exchanging workpieces also differ depending on the diameter of the workpiece. Based on these facts, it is determined whether or not to replace the finger 40 for the chuck jaw 31 of the transport robot 10 (P6>).This judgment is made by determining whether the finger 40 of the transport robot 10 is designed for the chuck jaw 31. , and the finger 40 is replaced.This replacement is performed as follows.The old finger 40
First, the indexing motor 28 is driven and the pinion gear 29 is
(See Figure 4). This drive rotates the index gear 22 to rotate the disc 20 and rotate the finger 40.
The storage case 30 is indexed to the replacement position. This indexing position is determined by counting signals from three proximity switches. Further, the positioning pin 27 is inserted into the positioning hole 21 to accurately position and lock it.

In this state, the hand of the transfer robot 10 is placed in the storage case 30.
a Lower it from above. Case 3 stores both fingers 40
Insert into 0. Transfer robot 1 drives cylinder 35
6(b)>.

The finger 40 falls into the storage case 30 under its own weight and is stored therein. The hand of the transfer robot 10 is once again raised, and the claw/finger stocker 6 is operated in the same manner as described above to index the storage case 30a in which the required finger 40 is stored.

When the storage case 30a is indexed to a predetermined position, the stopper 34
is moved forward to drive the cylinder 33 and push up the tip 32 of the piston. The transport robot 10 is lowered and the bottle 42 is inserted into the bottle hole 47. When this insertion is completed, the stop collar 34 is retracted and the hand of the transfer robot 10 is pulled up (P7). The hand of the transfer robot is raised again, the storage case 30 is indexed again, and the chuck claws 31 are indexed to the take-out position. Below, finger 4
The stopper 34 and cylinder 33 are driven in the same order as in step 0, and the chuck claw 31 is gripped by the finger 41. After this, the transport robot 10 moves on the transport rail 8 and
It is located on the chuck 5 on the C lathe 1.

The mechanism for exchanging the chuck jaws 31 is a well-known technique, as described above, and will not be described in detail here. Transfer robot 10
You can replace the jaws of chuck 5 directly with the hand, or
The chuck jaw 31 may be replaced with the storage magazine. In this embodiment, the chuck jaws 31 of the chuck 5 are directly replaced (P9).

When the chuck jaw 31 has been replaced, it is determined whether it is necessary to replace it with the workpiece finger 40 (P9).
. If necessary, replace it with the workpiece finger 40 using the same operation as described above (Pl.

). Next, data is transferred from the NC device 1 to the transfer robot control panel 66 for a variable movement amount according to the type and size of the workpiece to the transfer robot 10 (Pll). This is because the basic movement pattern of the transfer robot 10 is predetermined, so here it is only variable depending on the shape of the workpiece.

When this transfer is completed, a normal machine program is executed and the NC lathe 1 starts machining. The transfer robot 10 is
It reciprocates between the tray changer 7 and the NC lathe 1 to transport unprocessed workpieces and processed workpieces.

[Other Embodiments] The chuck claws 31 described above are directly replaced by the fingers 40 of the transfer robot 10. However, not only the chuck/finger stocker 6 but also the chuck jaw 3 on the NC lathe 1.
1 magazine is provided, and once stored in the claw magazine,
An exchange arm may be provided between the jaw magazine and the chuck jaws 31 for exchange. Furthermore, although the tray changer 7 of the above embodiment processes unprocessed workpieces and processed workpieces in the same station, they may be placed at other locations as long as they are on the path of the robot. Furthermore, although the transfer robot 10 in the embodiment described above had one hand, it may be a so-called double hand in which two hands can be indexed.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, the present invention has a simple structure and allows the chuck claws and the fingers of the transport port I to be replaced. In addition, since the chuck claws and fingers are stored in the same stocker, the transport robot only needs to travel a short distance, resulting in more efficient operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view of the turning cell, Fig. 2 is a plan view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side view of Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the pawl/finger stocker, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the turning cell. 6 is a sectional view of the finger body and the finger combined,
FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of the turning cell control device.
FIG. 8 is an operation flow diagram showing an overview of the operation of the turning cell. 1...NC turning rock, 2...tool storage magazine, 3...
・Turret tool rest, 5... Workpiece chuck, 6...
Claw/finger stocker, 7... Tray changer, 8... Conveyance rail, 10... Conveyance robot, 3
1... Chuck jaw, 60... NC operation panel, 64...
・Trace edger production machine, 66... Robot control panel, 70... Turning cell operation panel

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An NC lathe, a jaw/finger stocker for storing chuck jaws of the NC lathe and fingers of a conveying device described later, a supply station for supplying unprocessed workpieces, and a supply station for supplying unprocessed workpieces, A turning cell comprising a discharge station for discharging a workpiece, and a conveyance device for gripping the chuck jaw or the workpiece and conveying the workpiece between the NC lathe, the jaw/fixer stocker, the supply station, and the discharge station. 2. The turning cell according to claim 1, further comprising an attachment/detachment mechanism for detachably connecting the hand of the conveyance device and the finger.