JPH04267403A - Interference prevention method for automatic machine equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To complete actual machining in short time while purely avoiding the interference even in automatic operation or unmanned operation without mentally burdening the creater of an operation program by making the machining lately declared automatically stand by only when the used areas of the two milling machines overlap. CONSTITUTION:When two NC milling machines 1 and 2 whose machining ranges are adjacent to each other execute the machining of their respective reference range of clay material, the areas posessed by them are checked and a used area UA is set so that the posessed area is included. The used area UA is inserted in the machining program before the machining program for the reference range that corresponds to the used area. In the actual machining, the two adjacent NC milling machines execute the machining of their respective reference range simultaneously while communicating with each other. Only when the used area UA-A overlaps the used area UA-B, the milling machine which lately deaclared the machining automatically wait for the completion of the machining of the reference range by the milling machine which earlier declared the machining.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interference prevention method suitable for use in preventing interference between a plurality of automatic processing apparatuses whose processing ranges for workpieces are close to each other or overlap each other.

0002

[Prior Art] When using multiple automatic processing devices whose processing ranges for workpieces are close to each other or overlap each other, for example, in order to shorten the design period for a new car, a 1/1 clay model of the workpiece is shortened. In order to create the clay model in a short amount of time, there are cases where the clay model is milled from the clay material using two NC milling machines, each with the left and right halves of the clay material as the workpiece being processed. In this case, the processing ranges of the two NC milling machines will be adjacent to each other in the center of the clay model, or will overlap slightly, so when cutting the center of the clay model, the processing ranges of the two NC milling machines will be The space occupied by the tools overlaps each other between the two tools. Therefore, if the arm tips and tools of two NC milling machines attempt to be located simultaneously in the overlapping occupied spaces, there is a risk that they will interfere with each other and the arm tips and tools will be damaged.

[0003] Conventional interference prevention methods for avoiding interference between such automatic processing devices include, for example, an operation program that is normally used when a plurality of spot welding robots located adjacent to each other are operated simultaneously. There is a known method to avoid interference at the stage of creating NC data for the The machining procedures of the NC milling machines are set so that the tools are always located at a sufficient distance from each other at each point during machining so that they do not interfere with each other, and then the machining procedures of each NC milling machine are set based on the machining procedure. Create NC data, and then
The C data is checked in detail through CAD simulations, etc., and if any interference is found, the NC data is corrected.

[0004] In addition, as a conventional method for preventing damage to automatic processing equipment due to interference, for example, when interference is about to occur or has occurred during actual machining, it is detected by a proximity sensor or a contact sensor. There is also a known method of detecting this and instantly stopping the operation of the processing equipment.

[0005]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the former method, which attempts to avoid interference at the stage of creating NC data, it takes a long time to complete the NC data, and in addition, it is particularly difficult to use the NC milling machine. In cases where it is not allowed to suspend the machine for a long period of time for repair, there is a problem in that the mental burden placed on the NC data creator becomes extremely large. Moreover, with this method, even if the created NC data itself is complete, if one NC milling machine stops even for a moment during processing using that data, the mutual relationship between the two processing procedures will change and the result will change. After that, interference prevention cannot be guaranteed at all, so if one machine needs to be stopped due to unforeseen reasons such as failure or tool replacement during machining, both machines must be stopped, resulting in a low operating rate. There was also the problem that there was a risk of

On the other hand, if the latter method of checking for interference during actual machining with a sensor and stopping the operation of the automatic machining device is applied to the above-mentioned clay model production, interference will occur or is likely to occur. If only one machine is stopped, damage may be unavoidable due to the continued operation of the other machine, so it is necessary to stop both NC milling machines. If the worker does not put one machine on standby, restart the remaining one, run it until there is no risk of interference, and then restart the other machine, he or she will not be able to continue work. Therefore, there was a problem that it was not suitable for automatic driving, especially unmanned driving.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] It is an object of the present invention to provide an interference prevention method that advantageously solves the above-mentioned problems. In order to prevent interference between a plurality of automatic processing devices whose processing ranges for objects are close to each other or overlap each other, each of the plurality of automatic processing devices first performs the following steps.
Before starting machining of the reference range, which is a divided part of the entire machining range of the machining device, on the workpiece, check that a predetermined part of the machining device that is likely to interfere with other machining devices is Declare the usage area including the occupied area to perform processing in the standard range, and then declare the usage area declared by the processing equipment and the usage area declared by the other processing equipment that corresponds to it. The reference range of the processing equipment is compared with that of the unprocessed one, and as a result of the comparison, if the usage area declared by the processing equipment overlaps even slightly with the usage area declared by the other processing equipment, the other processing equipment Wait until the device finishes processing the reference range corresponding to the declared usage area, and when the processing is finished, process the reference range corresponding to the usage area declared by the processing equipment, and check the results of the comparison. , if the usage area declared by the processing equipment does not overlap with the usage area declared by the other processing equipment, perform processing in the reference range corresponding to the usage area declared by the processing equipment without waiting. , the process of
The process is characterized in that the process is repeated while sequentially shifting the reference range to the unprocessed range.

[0008]

[Operation] In such a method, when creating an operating program for each automatic processing device, the entire machining range of the automatic processing device for the workpiece is divided into multiple parts in advance, each of which is set as a reference range, and each reference range is Therefore, we investigate the area occupied by a predetermined part of the processing equipment that is likely to interfere with other processing equipment when processing the standard range, and set the usage area to include the occupied area. If the usage area is inserted before the machining program for the reference range to which it corresponds, during actual machining, multiple automatic machining devices each insert the other automatic machining devices before starting machining of their respective reference ranges. Make mutual declarations with the processing equipment, compare the usage area declared by the automatic processing equipment with the usage area declared by other automatic processing equipment that has not yet finished machining, and if they overlap even a little. Only until the person who declares first finishes processing the standard range in the declared use area, the person who declares later waits to process the reference range in the declared use area, and if there is no overlap, Processing of the reference range in the usage area declared by the user is performed without waiting, and the reference range is sequentially shifted to the unprocessed range, and finally the entire processing range of the user is processed.

Therefore, according to the method of the present invention, a plurality of automatic processing devices whose processing ranges for workpieces are close to each other or overlap each other communicate with each other and process their respective processing ranges in parallel to the reference range. If the usage areas overlap, the one declared later will automatically wait until the processing within the reference range of the one declared first is completed, so the operation of those multiple automatic processing devices will be delayed. When creating a program, it does not impose a huge mental burden on the creator of the operating program, and during actual machining, automatic operation or even unmanned operation can be performed in a short time while reliably avoiding interference. It is possible to finish machining the entire machining range of the workpiece.

0010

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Examples of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a clay model creation device to which an embodiment of the interference prevention method for an automatic processing device of the present invention is applied. In order to create the product in 8 hours (target time), we installed two N machines as automatic processing equipment.
It is equipped with a C milling machine. In the figure, 1 is the NC milling machine A, 2 is the same type of NC milling machine B, and 3 is the surface plate (separately for the two NC milling machines 1 and 2). 4 is a 1/1 clay model of a car carved out on the surface plate 3.

[0011] NC milling machines 1 and 2 here
As shown in the front view in FIG.
, 2a in the Y-axis direction, which is the horizontal direction along the long side of the surface plate 3. Gate-shaped column 1 moving in the direction (direction is positive)
b, 2b, and a slide 1c, which is supported by these columns 1b, 2b and moves in the Z-axis direction, which is the up-and-down direction.
2c, and arms 1d and 2d that are supported by these slides 1c and 2c and move in the X-axis direction (the direction away from the surface plate 3 is positive), which is a horizontal direction perpendicular to the long side of the surface plate 3. and ball end mills 5, 6 as tools provided at the tips of the arms 1d, 2d.
The ball end mills 5 and 6 are held and rotated, and the postures of the ball end mills 5 and 6 are swung around an axis perpendicular to the X-axis. It includes heads 1e and 2e.

In addition, the NC milling machines 1 and 2 here are provided at the upper ends of the columns 1b and 2b,
An automatic tool change mechanism 1f, 2f that holds a plurality of ball end mills 5, 6 with different outer diameters and automatically exchanges one of them with the ball end mill 5, 6 held by the spindle head 1e, 2e; Through numerical control based on a given operating program (NC data), the column, slide, and arm are moved, and the spindle head rotates the ball end mills 5 and 6, and the automatic tool is controlled according to the shape of the machined part. The exchange mechanism is equipped with NC controllers 1g and 2g for appropriately exchanging ball end mills 5 and 6.

[0013] In this clay model creation device, one of automobiles is used.
/1 In order to process a clay model in a short time, two NC milling machines 1,
2, the clay model 4 can be machined from the clay material. To do this, first, the computer is used for each NC milling machine 1 and 2 from the car shape data created with CAD (computer-aided design). As shown in Fig. 4(a), the ball traces the left and right halves of the car-shaped surface in a zigzag pattern (the left half for No. A NC milling machine 1 and the right half for No. B NC milling machine 2). Create NC data for the cutter path CP, which is the moving path of the tips of the end mills 5 and 6, and then add operation start commands and operation end commands for each NC milling machine 1 and 2 to the NC data for the cutter path CP. In addition, while checking with computer graphics, etc., so that the actual machining of each part is possible, the ball end mill 5
, 6 to appropriately swing the posture of the ball end mill 5, 6, and to use a thicker outer diameter for areas to be machined that are close to a flat surface, and a narrower outer diameter for areas to be machined with a small radius.
Each NC milling machine 1.
Create NC data for the operation program in step 2.

By the way, the operable range in the X-axis direction of the two NC milling machines 1 and 2 is defined by the forward movement of the spindle heads 1e and 2e and the ball end mills 5 and 6 held by them, as shown by the imaginary lines in FIG. They overlap each other above the center of the surface plate 3 to indicate the limit position, and for the part on the center line CL of the clay model 4, the two NC milling machines 1 ，
2 are arms 1d and 2d from the left and right directions, respectively.
will be extended and cut out. Therefore, the processing range of these two NC milling machines 1 and 2 is the entire length of the clay model 4 in the longitudinal direction (Y-axis direction) on the center line CL of the clay model 4, as shown in Fig. 4(a). Therefore, when cutting out the part on the center line CL of clay model 4,
The spaces occupied by the tips of the spindle heads 1e, 2e and the ball end mills 5, 6 overlap with each other between the two machines. Therefore, two NC milling machines 1
, 2 proceed with the cutting work independently of each other based on the above operating program, and if the tips of the spindle heads 1e, 2e or the ball end mills 5, 6 try to be located in the overlapping occupied spaces at the same time, interference will occur with each other. , the spindle heads 1e, 2e and ball end mills 5, 6 may be damaged.

In order to prevent such interference, in the interference prevention method of this embodiment, first, each NC milling machine 1
As shown in FIG. 5, the NC data of the cutter path CP of .
m), and then the ball end mill 5,
When moving and processing the spindle heads 1e and 2, there is a risk of interference with the other NC milling machine.
For example, in this embodiment of the ball end mills 5 and 6, the occupied area occupied by the projection onto the X-Y plane moves within that plane is defined as the usage area UA;
The width W in the Y-axis direction and the length L in the X-axis direction (both absolute values) of A and the position of its usage area UA are determined for each reference range.

When determining the above width W, for example, as shown in FIG. The representative points of the corners of the tips of 1e and 2e are designated as P2 to P7, and in consideration of the change in the direction of the spindle heads 1e and 2e when machining the above reference range, for example, in Fig. 7(a), the arrows are When machining is performed while the spindle heads 1e and 2e are tilted inward with respect to the ball end mills 5 and 6, as shown in FIG. is the distance between the representative point P4 of the spindle heads 1e, 2e when machining the path at one end of the cutter path CP in the reference range and the representative point P5 of the spindle heads 1e, 2e when machining the path at the other end. , or, although not shown, the spindle head 1e,
If 2e is further inclined, the width W is the distance between the tip points P1 of the ball end mills 5 and 6 during machining of the paths at both ends plus the outer diameter of the ball end mills 5 and 6.

Furthermore, as similarly shown in FIG. 7(b), when the spindle heads 1e and 2e perform machining while moving in parallel along the surface to be machined, the paths at both ends of the cutter path CP in the reference range are The distance between the representative points P6 and P7 at both ends of the spindle heads 1e and 2e during machining is defined as the width W,
Furthermore, as similarly shown in FIG. 7(c), the spindle head 1e
, 2e tilt outward with respect to the ball end mills 5, 6, the spindle head 1e, Representative points P6 and P at both ends of 2e
7 is the width W. However, the length of the ball end mills 5 and 6 differs depending on the thickness and the number of times of re-grinding, and there are various thicknesses, so the width W is determined assuming that the longest and thickest ones are used.

If the width W is determined as described above, while machining the reference range, in the Y-axis direction, the spindle heads 1e, 2e are placed within the use area UA corresponding to the reference range.
and ball end mills 5 and 6 will always fit there.

On the other hand, when determining the length L, as shown in FIG. 4(a), for example, the path CP that is farthest in the negative direction of the The distance to the position of the end point P1 of the ball end mills 5, 6 plus the radius of the ball end mills 5, 6, or the spindle heads 1e, 2e (not shown)
If it stands further, the distance to the representative points P2 and P3 of the spindle heads 1e and 2e is defined as the length L. However, here again, it is assumed that the ball end mills 5 and 6 are the longest and thickest ones.

If the length L is determined as described above, in the negative direction of the X-axis, that is, the direction in which interference with the other NC milling machine occurs while machining the reference range,
Spindle head 1 is placed in the usage area UA corresponding to the reference range.
e, 2e and ball end mills 5, 6 will always fit there.

[0021] Note that if the above reference range is set too wide,
If it is determined that interference will occur as a result of the interference check described later, the waiting time will be too long, resulting in lower processing efficiency, and if the reference range is set too narrow, the number of usage areas UA for which the above data needs to be obtained will be reduced. This increases the number of times, making the work complicated, and the number of interference checks becomes too large, which increases the time for the checks, which also reduces processing efficiency. Therefore, the reference range is appropriately determined as described above, taking these balances into consideration.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the other party's NC milling machine extends its arm as much as possible in the negative direction of the
From the locus BL drawn by the point P1 at the tip of the ball end mill when the ball end mill is moved in parallel in the Y-axis direction with the ball end mill extending horizontally in the negative direction of the X-axis. , define the area close to the other party's NC milling machine as the interference area CA, and the side closer to yourself as the non-interference area DA, so that the usage area UA does not fall within the interference area CA at all and is completely within the non-interference area DA. Since there is no need to consider interference in the case where the usage area UA is in the interference area CA, it is set that the usage area UA does not exist. If so, the used area UA shall be used as is.

In this embodiment, the NC data indicating the usage area UA determined for each reference range as described above is sent to the other party's NC milling machine along with an instruction to output a signal declaring that the usage area will be used. N of the operating program for each NC milling machine 1 and 2 created in
Insert the NC data of the cutter path CP divided into each reference range in the C data immediately before the reference range parts corresponding to those usage areas UA, and insert the reference range parts immediately after those reference range parts. A command is inserted to cause the other party's NC milling machine to output a signal indicating that the machining has been completed.

[0024] Thus, the NC milling machine 1 is provided with the function of performing an interference check using the method of this embodiment.
, 2 are given here to the NC controllers 1g and 2g of the clay model processing device, and based on the operating programs, the
The controllers 1g and 2g operate the NC milling machines 1 and 2 of No. A and No. B, respectively, according to the procedure shown in the flowchart in Figure 1 (the No. A machine is shown as a representative, but the same applies to the B machine) while transmitting and receiving signals to each other. Then, a 1/1 clay model is cut out from the clay material roughly shaped like a car placed on the surface plate 3.

That is, for example, the No. A NC milling machine 1 first, in step 11, selects the corresponding use area UA-A for the first reference range of its entire machining range.
A signal declaring that the machine will be used is output to the other party, the B NC milling machine 2, and then in step 12, the B machine NC milling machine 2 declares its use before itself, but the processing has not been completed (when trying to start machining, It is checked whether there is a used area UA-B (which is currently being processed) by checking whether or not the machine B outputs a signal indicating that the processing of the corresponding reference range has been completed after the declaration, and whether or not the processing area is not processed. If there is no use area UA-B, there is no risk of interference, so proceed to step 16 described below, but if there is no use area U that has not been processed,
If there is A-B, the process proceeds to step 13, where it is determined whether or not the usage area UA-B interferes with the usage area UA-A declared by the user. This judgment can be made, for example, in Figure 4 (a
), if the usage area UA-A and usage area UA-B do not overlap at all on the X-Y plane, there will be no interference, and as shown in FIG. If the area UA-B overlaps with the area UA-B even slightly on the X-Y plane, interference will occur. Note that, as described above, if the used area UA-A is completely within the non-interference area DA and is therefore set to not exist, it is determined that there will be no interference.

If it is determined in step 13 that there is no interference, the process proceeds to step 16, which will be described later.
If it is determined that there will be interference in step 3, the next step 14 waits for machining in the reference range corresponding to the used UA-A, and in the subsequent step 15, the B NC milling machine 2 It is determined whether or not a signal indicating that processing of the reference range corresponding to UA-B has been completed is output. If the signal is not output, the process returns to step 14 and waits, and a signal indicating that processing has been completed is determined. If the signal is being output, the process advances to the next step 16.

[0027] However, the A No. 1 NC milling machine 1 is
When proceeding to step 16, there is no risk of interference with the No. B NC milling machine 2, or the machining that may cause such interference has been completed, so step 1
In step 6, the reference range corresponding to the usage area UA-A is processed, and in the subsequent step 17, it is checked whether the processing of the reference range has been completed, and if it has not been completed, the process returns to step 16. Continuing the processing, if completed, proceed to the next step 18, check whether there is an unprocessed reference range remaining, and if there is, step 19, change the area to be used for the next reference range. After declaring the intention to use UA-A, return to step 12 and repeat the previous procedure, but if no unprocessed reference range remains in step 18, it is determined that processing of the entire processing range has been completed. Exit the program.

FIG. 9 is a time chart showing an example of the operating states of the A and B NC milling machines 1 and 2 based on the above program. Area 1A as UA
- A declares the above step 11, then performs the interference check of the above steps 12 and 13 in step 22, and since the NC milling machine 2 of machine B has not made the declaration at this point, the use area 1A of the above step 16 Start processing the reference range corresponding to. On the other hand, Unit B NC
The milling machine 2 firstly processes, for example, the use area 1 in step 41.
The usage area 1B that interferes with A is declared in step 11 above as UA-B, and then in step 42 the declaration in step 1 is performed.
2 and 13 are performed, and at this point, the NC milling machine 1 of machine A is processing using area 1A that was declared earlier, so the interference check shows that area 1B is used earlier than that. It is determined that it interferes with the declared use area 1A, and in step 43, the machine waits for its own processing until the No. A NC milling machine 1 finishes machining the reference range corresponding to the use area 1A.

[0029]The B No. 1 NC milling machine 2 is
When the No. 1 NC milling machine 1 finishes machining the reference range corresponding to the use area 1A, in step 44, the above-mentioned use area 1B is processed.
Start processing the reference range corresponding to. On the other hand, Unit A NC
The milling machine 1 then, in step 24, e.g.
The next usage area 2A that does not interfere with B is declared as UA-A, and then an interference check is performed in step 25, and at this point, the NC milling machine 2 of machine B uses the usage area 1B that was declared earlier. Although it is being processed, it is determined by the interference check that the use area 2A does not interfere with the use area 1B declared earlier, and in step 26, the reference range corresponding to the own use area 2A is processed, When the machining is completed, in step 27, for example, the next use area 3A that does not interfere with use area 1B is declared as UA-A, and then in step 28, an interference check is performed, and at this point, the B-type NC milling machine 2 is being processed using the usage area 1B declared earlier, but in the interference check it was determined that usage area 3A would not interfere with the usage area 1B declared earlier, and in step 29 A reference range corresponding to the usage area 3A is processed.

[0030]Furthermore, after the No. B NC milling machine 2 finishes machining the reference range corresponding to the usage area 1b, in step 45, it declares the next usage area 2B that does not interfere with the usage area 3A as UA-B. and then step 46
At this point, NC milling machine 1 of machine A is processing using area 3A that was declared earlier, but in the interference check, area 2B was declared earlier. It is determined that there is no interference with the usage area 3A, and in step 47, processing is performed in the reference range corresponding to the own usage area 2B. On the other hand, No. A NC milling machine 1 is
After completing the processing of the reference range corresponding to the usage area 3A,
Next, in step 30, for example, the next use area 4 within the non-interference area is
A is declared as UA-A, and then an interference check is performed in step 25. At this point, the NC milling machine 2 of machine B is being processed using the usage area 2B that was declared earlier, but the interference is detected. After checking, it is determined that the usage area 4A does not exist, and it is determined that it will not interfere with the usage area 1B declared earlier, and in step 31, the reference range corresponding to the own usage area 2A is processed.

As described above, according to the clay model processing apparatus using the interference prevention method of this embodiment, the two NC milling machines 1 and 2 whose processing ranges for clay material are adjacent to each other communicate with each other. Machining of each person's machining range is executed in parallel for each reference range while matching, and the usage area U
Only when A-A and usage area UA-B overlap, the one declared later will automatically wait until the milling of the standard range of the one declared first is completed, so those two NC milling machines When creating the operating programs 1 and 2,
It does not impose a huge mental burden on the creator of the operating program, and in addition, during actual machining, if one of the machines stops due to an unforeseen reason such as a failure or a tool change, there is no need to wait until the machine is restored. Even if there is a discrepancy in the operating procedure when only one machine is in operation and two machines are used to process the process, interference can be reliably prevented depending on the combination of operating procedures, so interference can be reliably prevented even in automatic or even unmanned operation. It is possible to carve out a 1/1 clay model of a car in a short period of time (about 6 hours in experiments conducted by the applicant).

[0032] The clay model processing device described above uses a proximity sensor, a contact sensor, etc. to detect interference when it is about to occur or has occurred during actual processing, and activates the processing device. It is also equipped with an interference prevention device similar to conventional ones that instantly stops the two NC milling machines 1 and 2. It plays a role in preventing damage caused by.

Although the above description has been made based on the illustrated example, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned example. A margin of a certain width that includes the moving path during return to the origin, etc. may be added to the occupied area to form the used area, or the used area may be defined spatially rather than planarly. Furthermore, the automatic processing equipment is
The robot is not limited to a milling machine, but may be a spot welding robot, an assembly robot, or the like, as long as it works together to perform processing.

[0034]

[Effects of the Invention] Thus, according to the interference prevention method of automatic processing equipment of the present invention, a plurality of automatic processing equipment whose processing ranges for workpieces are close to each other or overlap each other can work in parallel while communicating with each other. Execute machining of the machining range for each reference range, and only if the used areas overlap, the one declared later will automatically wait until the machining of the reference range of the one declared first is completed, so those When creating operating programs for multiple automatic processing devices, it does not impose a large mental burden on the creator of the operating programs, and during actual processing, automatic operation or even unmanned operation is possible. It is possible to finish machining the entire machining range of the workpiece in a short time while reliably avoiding interference.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of an interference prevention method for an automatic processing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a clay model creation device to which the method of the above embodiment is applied.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the clay model creation device.

FIG. 4(a) is an explanatory diagram showing the usage area and its non-interference state in the interference prevention method of the above embodiment;
) is an explanatory diagram showing the interference state of the usage area.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a reference range and a usage area in the interference prevention method of the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing representative points that serve as references for the positions of the spindle head and ball end mill when determining the usage area.

FIGS. 7A to 7C are explanatory diagrams each showing a method for determining the width of the use area according to the movement state of the spindle head.

FIGS. 8(a) to 8(d) are explanatory diagrams showing cases in which the above-mentioned usage area is in a non-interference area and an interference area, respectively.

FIG. 9 is a time chart showing an example of operating states of two NC milling machines of the clay model creation apparatus based on the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 NC milling machine 1e Spindle head 1g NC controller 2 NC milling machine 2e Spindle head 2g NC controller 3 Surface plate 4 1/1 clay model 5 Ball end mill 6 Ball end mill CL Center line CP cutter path UA usage area CA Interference area DA non-interference area

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In order to prevent mutual interference between a plurality of automatic processing devices whose processing ranges for the workpiece are close to each other or overlap each other, each of the plurality of automatic processing devices first performs processing on the workpiece. Before starting machining of a reference range that is a divided part of the entire machining range of the processing device, check whether a predetermined part of the processing device that is likely to interfere with other processing devices is being processed in the reference range. Declare the usage area including the area occupied for processing, and then declare the usage area declared by the processing equipment and the usage area declared by the other processing equipment earlier and whose corresponding reference range is used for processing. As a result of the comparison, if the usage area declared by the processing equipment overlaps even slightly with the usage area declared by the other processing equipment, the other processing equipment Wait until the machining of the reference range corresponding to the usage area is completed, and when the machining is completed, perform the machining of the reference range corresponding to the usage area declared by the processing equipment, and as a result of the comparison, the processing equipment If the declared usage area does not overlap with the usage area declared by the other processing equipment, processing is performed in a reference range corresponding to the usage area declared by the processing equipment without waiting; A method for preventing interference in an automatic processing device, characterized in that the method is repeatedly carried out while sequentially shifting the reference range to an unprocessed range.