JPH0313025B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a group management system for numerically controlled machine tools, and is particularly applicable to determining the machining position of a workpiece that has been transported and positioned on a table by a transport vehicle or the like. The present invention relates to a machining control device for machine tool equipment suitable for.

Recently, multiple numerically controlled machine tools such as machining centers are centrally managed by computers, and workpieces are automatically loaded into the machine, processed, and unloaded, allowing for efficient high-mix, low-volume production. Development of a so-called flexible manifold bearing system as a management system is underway. When such a machining method is used, the problem is how to correctly determine the machining start position of the workpiece for various types of machine tools.

In other words, the table position relative to the machine origin of a machine tool differs slightly (from 0 mm to several tens of millimeters) even among machines of the same model, and the size of the work pallet on which the workpiece is mounted also varies depending on the workpiece to be mounted. Multiple types are required. In addition, each work pallet has its own dimensional errors and installation errors that occur when workpieces are mounted on individual work pallets, so it is difficult to determine the exact machining start position. It is necessary to consider such dimensional errors and installation errors. Therefore, when transporting and positioning a work pallet loaded with workpieces to each machine, it is necessary to absorb such dimensional differences between machines and correct the size and dimensional errors of various work pallets to determine the correct machining start position. There was a desire to develop a method that could determine this.

Conventionally, the method of correcting the dimensional error of each work pallet with respect to the machine origin during positioning is to store the dimensional error for each work pallet as correction data in memory, and then use the correction data during actual machining. A method is known in which the correct position of the workpiece pallet is determined based on the position of the workpiece and the machining start point is determined accordingly. Just the dimensions,
Mounting errors that occur between the workpieces mounted on individual work pallets and the work pallets are not corrected at all, and this poses many practical problems.

In addition, in transfer machines and the like that have multiple machining units, as shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-6929, the coordinates between the reference point on each pallet and the machining start point of the workpiece, and the coordinates of each pallet and each machine tool are A proposal has been made to store the coordinates between the machine origin and the machine origin, and to correct the positioning error of the table on which the pallet is mounted based on the coordinates. However, unlike a transfer machine, which is a dedicated machine that can only process a single machining program and therefore only a single workpiece, each machine tool can process multiple machining programs, that is, process multiple types of workpieces. In machine tool equipment that has multiple machine tools, where there are multiple machine tools that can process the workpieces on the workpiece or process the workpieces on the workpiece pallet, There is no established technology for how to manage the large number of machining programs and corresponding correction amounts for each machine tool, and there has been a desire to develop a machining control device that can do so.

In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, the present invention provides machine tool equipment having a plurality of numerically controlled machine tools, in which each machine tool executes a machining program corresponding to a workpiece mounted on a workpiece pallet on a table of the machine tool. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing control device for machine tool equipment that can properly start processing from the corresponding processing start point of each machine tool.

That is, the present invention has a number of multi-value control machine tools each having a table, and a single control means for controlling the machining of these machine tools. One of the plurality of work pallets mounted on each of the plurality of numerically controlled machine tools is selectively mounted and fixed on the table of one of the plurality of numerically controlled machine tools, and the workpiece mounted on the work pallet fixed on the table is fixed. In machine tool equipment that processes a workpiece based on a machining start point set for the workpiece, a machining start position command that instructs a machining start position to be executed by each numerically controlled machine tool is stored internally. The control means is provided with a memory means storing a plurality of machining programs, and the machining start position of the workpiece that can be machined by each numerically controlled machine tool with respect to the machine origin of the numerically controlled machine tool is determined by the numerically controlled machine tool. The control means is provided with a memory means for storing a plurality of machining start data groups for each machine and for each work pallet on which the workpiece is mounted, and the control means is provided with a memory means for storing a plurality of machining start data groups for each machine and for each work pallet on which the workpiece is mounted, and the control means is provided with a memory means for storing a plurality of machining start data groups for each machine and for each workpiece pallet on which the workpiece is mounted, so that the machining start data group is machined. The control means is provided with a memory means for storing machining execution data indicating the combination of the numerically controlled machine tools to be obtained and the machining programs to be executed by the numerically controlled machine tools, and the memory means is installed in each table of the numerically controlled machine tools. The machining execution data in the memory means is retrieved from the data identifying the work pallet that has been loaded and the data identifying the numerically controlled machine tool on which the work pallet is mounted, and the machining process to be used when machining the workpiece on the work pallet is retrieved. A program is determined, and the determined machining program is read out from the memory means, and a machining start position command is read out from the machining program, and the machining start position command, data identifying the work pallet, and information on which the work pallet is mounted are read out. The machining start data group is searched from the data that identifies the numerically controlled machine tool, the machining start position of the read machining program is determined, and the read machining program is used for the determined machining. The apparatus is configured to include processing execution means for executing processing based on the start position.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a flexible manifold gearing system to which the present invention is applied, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view showing the machining starting point of each workpiece.
The figure is a schematic diagram showing the contents of machining start position data in the file, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of machining process data in the file, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a part of the machining program in the file. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the information processing process in the present invention.

As shown in Fig. 1, the flexible manifold gearing system 1, which is a group management system,
The main controller 2 includes a file device 3 such as a magnetic disk device, and an input/output controller 9.
is connected. A plurality of numerically controlled machine tools 10 such as machining centers are connected to the input/output control section 9, and each machine tool 10 has a base 11. A saddle 12 is provided on the base 11 so as to be movable and driven in the directions of arrows A and B, that is, in the direction of the X-axis.
That is, it is provided so as to be freely movable and driven in the Z-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis. The main body 13 has a spindle head 1
A quill 17 that rotatably supports a main shaft 16 is provided in the spindle head 15 so as to be movable and driven in the directions of arrows E and F, that is, in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X and Z axes. It is provided so that it can freely protrude in the direction. Note that a tool 19 is attached to the main shaft 16.
is installed. Further, a table 20 is provided in front of the base 11 so as to be able to rotate freely within a horizontal plane, and a work pallet mounting surface 20 of the table 20 is provided.
A work pallet 22 on which workpieces 21 are mounted is mounted on a. Further in front of the table 20, rails 23, 23 are laid, and on the rails 23, a conveyance cart 25 for conveying the workpiece is provided so as to be movable and stop in the directions of arrows A and B.

Flexible manifold earring system 1
has the above configuration, so when processing the workpiece 21 using the numerically controlled machine tool 10, the workpiece 21 is first loaded onto the transport vehicle 25 with the workpiece 21 still mounted on the workpiece pallet 22. Then, it is transported to the side of the table 20 by the transport cart 25. Next, the work place 21 on the carrier 25 is moved and mounted on the table 20 together with the work pallet 22. The work pallet 22 is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position on the table 20 by a work pallet 22 fixing means (not shown) provided on the table 20. Next, the saddle 12 is moved in the X-axis direction, the main body 13 and quill 17 are moved in the Z-axis direction, and the spindle head 15 is moved in the Y-axis direction, and the tool 1
Machining is started by aligning the cutting edge of No. 9 with the machining start point ST set on the workpiece 21.

That is, the main control unit 2 searches the file in the file device 3, and retrieves the machine number MNO of the machine tool in which the workpiece 21 to be machined is set and the workpiece 2.
The pallet number PTNO of the workpiece pallet 22 on which the workpiece 1 is loaded is read out, and based on this, the workpiece number WNO of the workpiece 21 on the pallet 22 and the program number PRNO of the machining program are input from the machining process data MPD in the file. As shown in Fig. 4, the data MPD includes, for each workpiece, the corresponding workpiece number WNO, the required machining process, the machine used for machining each process, and the machine on which the workpiece can be mounted. The machining program used when machining the workpieces, the process number PCNO, and the machine number
MNO, palette number PTNO, program number
Since it is stored as PRNO, if you search the data MPD using pallet number PTNO and machine number MNO, you will immediately find the workpiece number WNO of workpiece 21.
The program number PRNO of the machining program used for machining is determined.

On the other hand, based on the machine number MNO and pallet number PTNO, the main control unit 2 searches the machining start position data MSD in the file and determines the machining start data group SDG corresponding to the numbers MNO and PTNO.
That is, as shown in Figure 3, the machining start position data MSD is divided into machining start data groups for each machine number in an area divided by the pallet number PTNO.
SDG is set, and each machining start data group SDG has a large number of machining start positions S1 to S99.
have. Each machining start position has a machining start point.
X coordinate XS, Y coordinate YS relative to the mechanical origin of ST,
The Z coordinate ZS (the Z coordinate is divided into the main body coordinate ZM and the quill coordinate ZQ for controlling the main body 13 and the quill 17. Note that one unit of the number in the figure is 10 μm) is stored. .

That is, the shapes of the workpieces 21 mounted on each workpiece pallet 22 are variously different, as shown in FIG. 2, and therefore the coordinates of the machining start point ST thereof are also variously different. Also, during machining, the table 20 may be rotated, and in this case, the machining start point ST
The coordinates with respect to the mechanical origin MZP will also change.
Therefore, here, for workpieces 21 having various shapes mounted on the workpiece pallet 22, when the table 20 rotates, the machining start point ST
All possible positions are set to processing start positions S1 to S99
As shown in FIG. 5, during the machining program PRO for the workpiece 21, the machining start position used for machining the workpiece 21 ("S10" in the figure) is registered in the file. display) location information
Show it as LIF.

Therefore, when the processing start data group SDG is determined, the main control unit 2 selects the data from the file.
Read the machining program PRO corresponding to the program number PRNO found from the MPD, find out the machining start position from the position information LIF stored therein, and immediately select the corresponding one in the data group SDG (in the case of Fig. 5, "S10"). ) Read out the coordinates XS, YS, and ZS of the machining start position. The read coordinates XS, YS, and ZS are the machining origin coordinate storage position MZS, which is blank in the machining program PRO.
is written, and the program PRO is completed.
The completed machining program PRO is input/output control section 9
The data is transferred to the machine tool 10 on which the work pallet 22 is mounted, and the machine tool 10 starts machining based on the machining program. That is, machine tool 1
0 is the coordinate XS of the saddle 12, and the coordinate of the body 13
ZM, the spindle head 15 is moved by an amount corresponding to the coordinate YS, and the quill 17 is moved by an amount corresponding to the coordinate ZQ to align the cutting edge of the tool 19 with the machining start position ST, and machining is started from that position, that is, the machining origin.

In addition, the coordinates XS of the processing start positions S1 to S99,
YS and ZS are set on the table 20 of the machine 10 to be processed with the workpiece 21 to be processed mounted on the corresponding work pallet 22,
In addition, since the values actually measured while rotating and positioning the table 20 as necessary are stored, the values include the machine origin of the table 20 between each machine 10.
Differences to MZP, size and various dimensional errors of work pallet 22, and even work pallet 2
2, the table 20, and the workpiece 21, which are unique to each workpiece pallet 22, are included, and the cutting edge of the tool 19 is accurately positioned at the machining start point ST.

Incidentally, FIG. 6 shows a flowchart FLO of the information processing process of this embodiment. flowchart
The explanation of each step shown in FLO is omitted here because it overlaps with the explanation already given, but in flowchart FLO, each step is
In step S1, it is checked whether or not the machining work of the machine tool 10 has been completed, and if the machining work has been completed, in the next step S2, the next workpiece pallet 2 to be machined is
If there is no work pallet 22, the machine tool 10 is stopped, and if the work pallet 22 exists, the process returns to step S3 and the machine number is retrieved from the file.
Enter MNO and pallet number PTNO.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, 99 machining start positions, S1 to S99, constituting the machining start data group SDG are set for each machine tool 10. Of course, it is okay to do so.

As explained above, according to the present invention, a plurality of numerically controlled machine tools 10 each having a table 20 are provided, and a single control means for controlling the machining of these machine tools is provided. One of the plurality of work pallets 22 each carrying a workpiece 21 to be machined is placed on the table 2 of one of the plurality of numerically controlled machine tools 10.
In machine tool equipment, a workpiece mounted on a workpiece pallet 22 fixed on a table is selectively mounted and fixed on a table, and a workpiece mounted on the workpiece pallet 22 is machined based on a machining start point ST set for the workpiece. The control means controls a memory means such as a file device 3 that stores a plurality of machining programs PRO internally storing machining start position commands for commanding machining start positions such as position information LIF to be executed by each numerically controlled machine tool. The machining start position ST of the workpiece that can be machined by each numerically controlled machine tool with respect to the machine origin MZP of the numerically controlled machine tool is determined for each numerically controlled machine tool and the work pallet on which the workpiece is mounted. The control means is provided with a memory means such as a file device 3 for storing a plurality of machining start data groups SDG shown for each workpiece, and the numerically controlled machine tool is capable of machining the workpiece pallet and the workpieces mounted on the workpiece pallet. , and memory means such as a file device 3 for storing machining execution data such as machining process data MPD indicating combinations of machining programs to be executed by the numerically controlled machine tool, Data such as pallet number PTNO that identifies the work pallet mounted on each table,
Search the machining execution data in the memory means from data such as the machine number MNO that identifies the numerically controlled machine tool on which the work pallet is mounted, and create a machining program PRO to be used when machining the workpiece on the work pallet. and reading out the determined machining program from the memory means, reading out a machining start position command from the machining program, and storing the machining start position command, data identifying the work pallet, and the location where the work pallet is mounted. The machining start data group SDG is searched from the data identifying the numerically controlled machine tool, the machining start position of the read machining program is determined, and the read machining program is used as the determined machining start position. Since the structure is equipped with machining execution means such as the main control unit 2 that executes the process based on the position, the work can be executed by a work pallet, a numerically controlled machine tool capable of machining the workpiece mounted on the work pallet, and those numerically controlled machine tools. During machining, the memory means stores machining execution data indicating the combination of machining programs to be executed. Searching the machining execution data in the memory means from data identifying the numerically controlled machine tool, determining a machining program to be used when machining the workpiece on the workpiece pallet, and reading the machining program from the memory means; Machining start data group based on machining start position command stored in machining program
The SDG is searched to determine the machining start position of the machining program, and based on the determined machining start position, the machining program is commanded to be executed on the numerically controlled machine tool equipped with the work pallet. In a machine tool facility having several machine tools, a machining program corresponding to a work pallet, that is, a workpiece, mounted on the table of each machine tool is read out on the control means side, and the machining program corresponding to the work pallet mounted on the table of each machine tool and the execution program are read out on the control means side. The machining start position corresponding to the machining program to be processed is determined and executed by each machine tool. Therefore, it is possible to selectively supply work pallets to a plurality of machine tools and start machining workpieces mounted on these work pallets from appropriate machining start positions. In addition, the machining start position can be arbitrarily selected from the machining start data group by the machining start position command in the machining program.
Even in the case where the table is indexed, this can be easily handled by storing an appropriate machining start position command in the machining program each time the table is indexed. In this way, in machine tool equipment where there are multiple machining programs and multiple machine tools that can execute them, the work pallet on which the workpiece is mounted and the machine tool that actually processes the workpiece are Accordingly, an appropriate machining start position is determined by the machining start position command, and machining is instructed to each corresponding machine tool based on the determined machining start position, so the technology for properly performing machining in machine tool equipment is improved. can be established.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a flexible manifold gearing system to which the present invention is applied, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view showing the machining starting point of each workpiece.
The figure is a schematic diagram showing the contents of machining start position data in the file, FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the contents of machining process data in the file, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a part of the machining program in the file. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the information processing process in the present invention. 1... Group management system (flexible manifold bearing system), 10... Machine tool, 2
0...Table, 21...Workpiece, 22...Work pallet, S1, S2,...S99...Machining start position, ST...Machining start point, XS, YS, ZS...
Coordinates, SDG...Machining start data group, MZP
...Machine origin, LIF...Position information, PRO...Machining program.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. It has a plurality of numerically controlled machine tools each provided with a table, and a single control means for controlling the machining of these machine tools is provided. One of the plurality of work pallets mounted on each of the plurality of numerically controlled machine tools is selectively mounted and fixed on the table of one of the plurality of numerically controlled machine tools, and the workpiece mounted on the work pallet fixed on the table is fixed. In machine tool equipment that processes a workpiece based on a machining start point set for the workpiece, a machining start position command that commands a machining start position to be executed by each numerically controlled machine tool is stored internally. The control means is provided with a memory means storing a plurality of machining programs, and the machining start position of a workpiece that can be machined by each numerically controlled machine tool with respect to the machine origin of the numerically controlled machine tool is determined by the numerically controlled machine tool. The control means is provided with a memory means for storing a plurality of machining start data groups for each machine and for each work pallet on which the workpiece is mounted, and the control means is provided with a memory means for storing a plurality of machining start data groups for each machine and for each work pallet on which the workpiece is mounted, and the control means is configured to machine the workpiece pallet and the workpieces mounted on the workpiece pallet. The control means is provided with a memory means for storing machining execution data indicating the combination of the numerically controlled machine tools to be obtained and the machining programs executed by the numerically controlled machine tools, and the memory means is provided in each table of the numerically controlled machine tools. The machining execution data in the memory means is retrieved from the data identifying the work pallet that has been loaded and the data identifying the numerically controlled machine tool on which the work pallet is mounted, and the machining process to be used when machining the workpiece on the work pallet is retrieved. A program is determined, and the determined machining program is read out from the memory means, and a machining start position command is read out from the machining program, and the machining start position command, data identifying the work pallet, and information on which the work pallet is mounted are read out. The machining start data group is searched from the data that identifies the numerically controlled machine tool, the machining start position of the read machining program is determined, and the read machining program is used for the determined machining. A machining control device for machine tool equipment configured with a machining execution means that executes processing based on a starting position.