JPH0372432B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method for performing setup and machining in an FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System), and in particular, a method for automatically implementing setup schedules and machining based on load calculations and machining reference information.
It relates to a preparation/processing method for creating data and processing schedule/data, and for performing setup/processing based on the data.

In recent years, FA (Factory Automation) has developed, and we are entering the era of FMS, which can flexibly respond to needs that change in quantity and type, rather than just the traditional mass production method. In order to operate the FMS comprehensively and automatically under the control of a computer, the setup and machining methods must also be operated based on machining plans that rely on human subjectivity and thinking, as in the past. We have entered an era when things are not efficient. In FMS,
The processing start date and delivery date are strictly controlled based on the production plan and parts preparation plan determined by the host computer.On the other hand, the priorities of the workpiece side, machine side, and tool side are taken into consideration. If each process is not independent and is not set up in an organic relationship with the preceding and following processes, there will be neither smooth flow nor resiliency to change.

Conventional setup and processing methods only schedule each process as an independent entity, and there is no way to carry out work with a comprehensive perspective and continuous relationship within a consistent flow of production management. Ta.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to grasp the status of the workpiece side, machine side, and tool side based on the production plan of the host computer, and to take into account the setup and relationship between processes. The objective is to provide a setup and processing method that allows FMS to be operated efficiently and easily.

In order to achieve the above objects, the present invention has the following features:
A load calculation procedure that creates schedule data and process data showing the schedule and process of parts processing from all work schedules in FMS, and calculates the load of processing work, and the scheduled period for processing for each scheduled period from this load calculation procedure. A part-specific daily schedule data creation procedure that calculates schedule data and sorts daily processes for each part from this scheduled period schedule data, and a part-specific daily schedule data creation procedure that does not require any manual intervention. Same-day multi-step processing procedure that classifies processes that do not require replacement and adds a mark for search to this process, extracts processing time for each process from the daily data of the daily schedule data for each part, and aggregates it on a daily basis. procedures for creating daily schedule data for each process; procedures for processing remaining work that carry over the excess process to the next day when the aggregated daily schedule data for each process exceeds 24 hours; There is a procedure for referring to work data, specifying the presence or absence of machining that requires a setup change, extracting it, and sorting it by time, and a procedure for determining usage priority according to the type of pallet and jig. , a procedure for extracting parts to be machined using a tool group consisting of multiple tools used on the same day, sorting the obtained part data by tool, adding a scheduled work time to the sorted data, and calculating the work time. It consists of a work time determination procedure that determines the work time, and a pallet number assignment procedure that searches for pallet data corresponding to each job and assigns a unique pallet number. It is characterized by carrying out setup and processing.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to examples and drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an FMS line suitable for implementing the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the system is roughly composed of a management department and a work department, and the management department includes a line management control section 100 and a general management control section 101. The line management control unit 100 flexibly manages the flow of each machining process during the system online according to the schedule, and the general management control unit 101 located above it controls the NC data as preparation information, the tool room 1
The tool management data, machining schedule data, setup schedule data, etc. in 20 are comprehensively grasped and managed. Line management control section 1
00 and the general management control unit 101 are connected via a modem (modem/demodulator) between CCUs (Communication Control Units), and data is transmitted and received.

In the work department, the main controller 102 sequentially processes the data sent from the line management control unit 100.
NC machine 103a, 103b, 103c, 103d
NC devices 104a, 104b, 104c, 10
Give commands to 4d. Along with the line management control unit 100, the main control device 102 and the NC device 104a,
104b, 104c, and 104d are linked to an optical data highway 105, and are adapted to take in necessary data as and when required via an NLU (Network Linkage Unit).
The main controller 102 is also connected to a ground platform 110 that controls an unmanned truck 108 and a stacker crane 109 that run on tracks 106 and 107. Furthermore, a tool station 119 that supplies tools and an operation panel 11 that mainly controls manual setup operations are located at the setup station 111.
2, and a terminal 113 that inputs setup information and displays setup instructions.

The worker outputs the setup schedule data and processing schedule data created by calculating the load by operating the terminal 113, and confirms the daily work schedule.

At the setup station 111, necessary workpieces and pallets are selected from the work storage 114 and pallet storage 115, and at the mounting station 116, the workpieces are attached to the pallets using necessary jigs and tools.

The pallet P, which has been prepared according to the schedule of the day, is transferred to the pallet stocker 11 on the setup side.
It is stored in 7. Pallet storage 11 above
5 has various palettes available. The type of pallet is determined by the number of workpieces installed and loaded and the processing method.

In this way, since the entire system is structured organically, in the FMS, each process does not exist independently, but the NC machines 103a to 103a
The flow of workpieces inside the machine 103d and the way workpieces are transferred between machines become important. Furthermore, the flow of the workpieces is influenced by yet another factor, the number of pallets on which the workpieces are loaded, making the study even more complicated. Figure 2 shows examples of various pallets on which workpieces are mounted. The flat plate pallet PO1 shown in Fig. 2A can normally accommodate 1 to 4 workpieces, but in a process where workpieces are processed from 5 directions, it is appropriate to load one workpiece, and a process where workpieces are processed from only one direction. Now, you can attach four workpieces. Convex palette PO2
(Figure 2 (b) is for attaching two workpieces,
The prismatic pallet PO3 shown in Figure 2 C is suitable for processing four workpieces by attaching them to each side. Palette PO shown in Figure 2 D and Figure 2 E
4 and PO5 are examples of special pallets (L-shaped, triangular prism), which are used depending on the processing method, and various other pallets are required. Additionally, different types of pallets are available depending on the work size.

Which of these pallets to select is determined by the processing method, but it is also a factor that influences whether setup changes are required and the work flow of the department concerned.

Under the control of each FMS control system in Figure 1,
The pallet P prepared in the setup-side pallet stocker 117 is temporarily held at a predetermined position in the machine-side pallet stocker 118 by the stacker crane 109. A desired pallet P is conveyed by an unmanned cart 108 according to a command from the main controller 102, and is carried into, for example, the NC machine 103b of the process MC51.
The processed pallet P is transferred to the next process by the unmanned cart 108 or placed on the machine side pallet stocker 118.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setup/processing schedule/data creation procedure according to the present invention. In the figure, the creation steps are load calculation step 1, part-specific daily schedule data creation step 2, same day multiple process processing step 3, process-based daily schedule data creation step 4, remaining work processing step 5, work time determination step 6 and pallet number assignment procedure 7, and work time determination procedure 6
includes three processing procedures: 61 sorting by daytime machining designation that requires setup change, priority processing 62 by jig type, and sorting 63 by tool group. Each step,
involves retrieving and validating data files 11-19 stored in an online storage area, and in a final step 8, setup schedule data 81
and processing schedule data 82 are created. In addition, in each stage of the work time confirmation procedure 6, the previously stored work data file 2
Similarly, in the palette numbering step 7, the palette data file 22 is used.

Next, each of the above steps will be explained in more detail.

When all the work schedule data is given from the host computer, the FMS that implements the present invention first searches the all work schedule data for the work that goes through the FMS department, and considers schedule management and process management, respectively. do.
The above schedule management calculates the number of pallets and lots required for the work that the FMS department is in charge of, allocates each pallet to each lot based on the calculated values, and sets the processing start date and processing end date for each lot. and set priorities. Figure 4 is a schedule diagram showing the allocation. For example, if the start date of all work is February 1st,
Assuming that the delivery date is February 5th, the total processing period d ₁ = 5 days is extracted, and the shortest processing period d ₂ depending on the work content is 2
day, the expected completion date D is four days from February 2nd to February 5th, and if the required number of pallets is 6, then
As shown in FIG. 4, schedule data is created by allocating this to four lots starting from the delivery date. In addition, the above-mentioned process control refers to the work standard data for each process of the work that the FMS department is in charge of, considers the number of workpieces loaded on the pallet and the presence or absence of setup changes for each process, and determines branching and merging of sequential workpieces. and set. Fifth
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing an example of branching, merging, and setup between processes. First, the worker carries out the first process 011 for placing n ₁ = 4 workpieces on each pallet in the loading setup 51. However, the second
In the process of , only the workpiece n ₂ = 2-piece pallet L can be used depending on the work content, so in the setup change 52,
Branching to processes 021 and 022, and then proceeding to the third process 031 in so-called transition processing with no setup change 53
Then, in the fourth step 041, since the workpiece n ₄ is a 4-piece pallet, they are merged again at the setup change 52. The workpiece that has been processed leaves the department through unloading setup 54 by the operator. It should be noted that the branching or merging part that is the subject of consideration here does not necessarily mean specifically dividing the machines into multiple machines, but rather, for example, one
There is also a method of performing 022 after performing 021 on one machine. The subject of consideration is that branching or merging requires a change of setup, which requires stopping the continuous flow of automatic processing and adding manual labor, which usually falls within the scope of daytime work. On the other hand, cross-cutting does not require manpower and allows multiple steps to be processed in succession on the same day.

The data for which the above consideration has been completed is schedule data 101.
and process data 102, but these two
When these data are combined in the load calculation procedure 1 in FIG. 3, the load pile shown in FIG. 6 is obtained.
In other words, the processing work load that the FMS department is responsible for is calculated by adding up the processing time for each workpiece, A to Fa, and Fb, for each production part, for each day and each process, as shown in Figure 6. If you go, it will become clear. Theoretically, this data is of course continuous, but for convenience it is extracted on a weekly basis, and moreover, it is stored in a file as weekly schedule data 11, which has relationships such as the previous week's and next week's handovers and handovers. will be done. As shown in the pile above, this weekly schedule data 11 is a collection of files that compile the loads three-dimensionally by day, by process, and by part, so these three items can be easily sorted. be able to.

In FIG. 3, the part-specific daily schedule data creation procedure 2 in the second stage is to sort the daily processes by part from the weekly schedule data 11 to create part-specific daily schedule data 12. be. FIG. 7 is a sample diagram showing an example of printing out daily schedule data 12 for each part. Items include processing time, etc.

Among this part-specific daily schedule data 12, those that do not require setup changes in the transition processing are as follows:
A search mark (flag) 13a is added as shown in FIG. 8 for use in subsequent prioritization as a product that can be processed in multiple steps on the same day.
This is same-day multi-step processing procedure 3.

Next, in step 4 of creating daily schedule data for each process, processing time is extracted for each process from the data 13 and totaled for each day. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of daily schedule data by process.
At this stage, parts A, B, C, etc. are simply arranged in sequence. Note that the lined up results may take more than 24 hours due to the unit processing time, but in this case, the last part F is divided into Fa and Fb and actually processed as one process. , the schedule data includes the excess amount shown in Figure 10.
Process to carry forward Fb to the next day. This is the remaining work processing procedure 5.

Now, each machining operation has standards such as the process, pallet type, jig type, presence or absence of setup, day/night work distinction, tool group name, etc., depending on the part name, that is, the type of workpiece and the work content. , for example, is set as work data as shown in FIG. 11, and is stored in the work data file 21.

The work time determination procedure 6 is carried out with reference to the work data file 21 described above, and first, the process/daily schedule data for which the remaining work has been processed shown in FIG. 10 is transferred from the memory file 15 in FIG. 3. The data is extracted and referred to as whether or not daytime processing is specified in the work data, and those that are designated for daytime processing are grouped into daytime hours. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the data file 16 after completing this daytime work designation rearrangement 61. Part A is placed at the end of daytime work d because it includes the latter part that is possible in night work n.

Next, priority processing 62 based on palette and jig types is performed. The types of pallets must be within the above-mentioned loading limit, and in principle, the use of the same jig must be separated for a certain period of time, for example 4 hours or more, in consideration of securing the jig and flexibility of operation. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the order of component example D has been moved because it is the same jig as component example A.
This is because 1 is used.

Finally, sorting 63 by tool group is performed. Since tools are handled by means such as pallets and magazines that are always supplied in multiples, an automatic co-supply system is used as a group of tools, and it is efficient to have the same group consecutively on a schedule. As shown in file example 18 shown in FIG.
For example, if the tool group used in the final work of the previous day in the MC 50 is TO3, then at the beginning of the day, the part example E using the tool group TO3 is searched from the daytime designated set and rearranged. For the group specified at night, emphasis is placed on the use of tool group TO1, and parts examples F and D follow A, but the jig JO
It is also confirmed that D does not come before F due to the restriction of 1, and that F maintains an interval of more than 4 hours.

Then, the data whose order has been determined is given its processing start time as is and is determined.

In the file 18 at this stage, the palette types PO1, PO2, etc. have already been written in the schedule data, but as data for automatic control,
It would be more convenient to assign specific numbers to individual palettes. As mentioned above, the palette is
Since the number of pieces to be loaded and the method of use are minutely regulated depending on the workpieces and jigs, a palette data file 22 that summarizes the data is usually stored in a storage area. Figure 15 is a diagram showing an example of palette data. Figure A is an index of palette numbers by type, and Figure B shows current assignment information for each palette in numerical order, including jig code, previous part name, and next part name. Processing after the previous part is performed with the setup code shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, when the above palette numbering procedure 7 is completed, the created data file 1
9 is almost completed as shown in FIG. Here, the pallet number for transition processing is 2.
If there are more than one pallet, a pallet number other than the pallet used multiple times on the same day should be assigned.Also, as in the case of the jig, the same pallet, that is, the same pallet number, should be assigned separated by 4 hours or more. It is confirmed that

From the collection of data files created in this way, the present invention creates two data files, setup schedule data 81 and processing schedule data 82, and uses them for processing operations.

Figure 17 is a sample diagram showing an example of printed out machining schedule data. The machining schedule data is extracted and created by process and by day, orders are confirmed in chronological order, and the progress status of the machine is directly displayed. used for management.

FIG. 18 is a sample diagram showing an example of a printout of setup schedule data. The setup schedule data collectively shows the necessary setups in the relevant FMS department in chronological order and is used for managing the work of workers.

When creating the setup schedule data 81, the operator's setup method is examined in detail with reference to the palette data file 22 mentioned above. The setup information determines the setup method to be performed by the operator from now on with respect to the workpiece to the pallet or the jig to be attached to or detached from the pallet. As described above, the basic setup work includes the on-demand unloading setup 54 (FIG. 5), the loading setup 51, and the inter-process setup change 52.

Sample diagram of setup schedule data 81 No. 18
In the figure, the first two digits of the setup code indicate the unloading setup work of the pallet data Fig. 15C, and the second two digits indicate the loading setup work. Setup code 00 indicates that there is no unloading setup work. The setup code (FIG. 15C) is selected based on the information in the palette data FIG. 15B. For example, in the setup schedule data in FIG. 18, for pallet number #001 at time 18:00, the pallet data (FIG. 15 b) is referred to, and when changing the setup for part name A, the previous part name C' and the previous Perform unloading setup work (setup code 01) for tool JO5, and set part name A.
This means that it is a mounting setup (setup code 11) work in which the is mounted using jig J01.

Machining work in FMS is regulated based on the overall work schedule from the host computer, flexible operation that takes into consideration the priorities of the work side, machine side, and tool side, and whether or not there are setup changes that require human participation, day and night. Key points such as processing specifications have a large influence, but as explained above, the schedule data created with each procedure according to the present invention was created by considering all of the above points. and its schedule.
Using setup schedule data and machining schedule data extracted from the data,
A setup/processing method for operating a system while managing machine work and human work achieves the objectives of the present invention and greatly contributes to improving production efficiency and responding flexibly to needs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a control system diagram of an example of FMS, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of each example of a pallet, Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the schedule data creation procedure according to the present invention, Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of schedule data, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of process data, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of load pileup, and FIGS. 7 to 18 are sample diagrams of data files. 100...Line management control unit, 101...General management control unit, 103a-103b...NC machine, 1
05...Optical data high weight, 119...Tool station, 120...Tool room, PO1 to PO8
...Pallet type, JO1 to JO8...Jig type,
TO1 to TO3...Tool group, 1 to 8...Procedure, 1
1-19...Online storage area, 21, 22,
81, 82... Memory file, 51... Loading setup, 52... Setup processing, 53... Transition processing, 54... Lowering setup.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Production parts are loaded on pallets with different loading numbers depending on the processing process, and while changing pallet setups as necessary, processing is carried out on a schedule based on the overall work schedule, and the types of production parts are determined. In the setup and processing method of FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System), which flexibly responds to production and quantity, schedule data and process data indicating the schedule and process of parts processing are created from the entire work schedule of FMS, and processing operations are performed. A load calculation procedure that calculates the load of schedule
a data creation procedure; a same-day multi-step processing procedure for classifying processes that do not require manual intervention or set-up changes from the created daily schedule data for each part; and assigning a mark to this process for search; A process-specific daily schedule data creation procedure that extracts machining time for each process from the daily data of the previous day's daily schedule data for each part, and aggregates the process-specific daily schedule data on a daily basis.
When 24 hours are exceeded, the remaining work is carried over to the next day based on the remaining work processing procedure that carries over the excess process to the next day, and the data on whether or not there is a processing specification that requires a setup change, which is set in advance in the work data for each part. If there is a process with this designation in the processed daily schedule data by process, a step of dividing and rearranging the daily schedule data by process into a group of processes with designation and a group of processes without designation; A procedure for determining usage priority according to the type of pallet and jig, extracting parts to be machined using a tool group consisting of multiple tools used on the same day, and sorting the obtained part data by tool. Find the procedure, the procedure for determining the work time by assigning the scheduled work time to the sorted data, and determining the work time, and the pallet data corresponding to each work.
A setup/processing method in an FMS, comprising a pallet numbering procedure for assigning a unique pallet number, and carrying out setup and processing according to a setup schedule and a processing schedule created by each of the steps.