JPH0466231A - Die changing system for turret punch press - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the die changing work and to easily and rapidly change the die by transmitting the NC program for rotating the turret, and indexing automatically the station for mounting the die to be changed to the position for changing the die. CONSTITUTION:The schedule program made with the main controller 16 is transmitted to the upper rank controller 14. The upper rank controller 14 inputs the on-signal of the NC start button, then generates the NC program for rotating the turret, and transmits its program to the NC device 12. Therefore, the turret 20, 21 rotates automatically and station for mounting the die to be changed is indexed to the position for changing the die. In this time, the control of the die to be changed is shown at the display device set near the position for changing the die, by looking the display about the next die to be changed, the prescribed die is mounted at the station for mounting the die to be changed which is automatically indexed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a mold changing system for a turret punch press.

(Prior Art) As is well known, a turret punch press has a mold mounting station on which a large number of molds can be mounted on the turret.
With any mold mounted on any mold mounting station, the mold mounting station designated by the NC program is indexed to a predetermined processing position, and press working is sequentially performed using the indexed molds.

Therefore, with such a turret punch press, check the molds to be used for the NC program that will be processed from now on using work sheets, etc., and make sure that each mold to be used is installed at the mold mounting station specified in the NC program. The mold must be replaced accordingly.

Replacing a die is not just about installing the die at a predetermined station, it also requires confirmation work such as checking the shape and dimensions of the die, checking the placement angle, and checking the clearance, which is the difference between the punch diameter of the die. be.

Therefore, in the past, when replacing molds, first, in order to compare the mold used for the NC program with the mold installed at each mold installation station on the turret, After manually creating a list that allows you to compare the molds and molds that will be used from now on, after completing the machining operations in -units, such as -NC programs or -schedules, stop the press operation and start the turret. While rotating and checking the shape, dimensions, clearance, and placement angle of the currently installed molds, unnecessary molds were removed from the designated stations, necessary molds were installed, and the placement angles were adjusted.

At this time, in order to facilitate the mold confirmation work in these operations, the stations on the turret are divided into a fixed station area where the shape and dimensions of the mold do not change, and a variable station area where the shape and dimensions of the mold can be changed. Divide into
Molds were also replaced only in the variable station area.

In addition, near the mold exchange position of the turret punch press machine,
A turret layout chart was provided that could be rewritten by the operator.

However, when dividing the stations on the turret into a fixed station area and a variable station area,
Since the movable stations are limited, it may be difficult to install the mold, which may hinder flexible production.

In addition, since the turret layout table is created manually by the operator, errors or omissions may occur, and if processed without noticing this, defective products may be produced due to the wrong mold. There is a problem.

By the way, in the current sheet metal processing industry, a high-mix, low-volume production system is progressing, and a single NC processing machine performs a large number of types of processing. For this reason, the number of times molds are replaced has increased, and as a result, the time spent replacing molds in a day has become larger.

Therefore, when creating an NC program, operators should try to use as many general-purpose molds as possible, and at the processing site, consider the order of machining to reduce the number of mold changes as much as possible. ing.

However, when using a special mold, it is often necessary to replace the mold, especially for users who place importance on processing accuracy. For example, even if a relatively small rectangular mold can be used to punch out a large number of shapes using nibbling, the precision of the finished surface is inferior with nibbling, so users who place importance on machining accuracy are forced to prepare several types of molds. It becomes like this.

Therefore, in recent years, a setup check function has been provided in the NC device or its higher-level controller to facilitate and speed up various setups including mold replacement.

This setup check function manages the mold information currently set on the turret and clamp position information as machine information, and uses this machine information, mold information and clamp information in the machining information corresponding to the NC program to be processed. It compares the location information with the system, automatically determines whether setup is necessary, generates setup information for items that need to be setup, and facilitates setup work.
To speed up the process, as shown in Figure 19,
This is a function that displays the support details at the top.

In FIG. 19, on display screen 1, there is a list of used molds under the NC program name (NCPOOI), station number (TNO), name 1 dimension.

12 installation angles are displayed, and if the 12 angles are insufficient, the next page will be displayed for operation. In addition, replacement molds are displayed in red to distinguish them from others.

Therefore, the operator refers to the display shown in FIG. 19, selects any one of the replacement molds displayed in red, and sequentially performs the mold replacement work. To replace the mold, manually move the mold installation stage tongue to the mold exchange position, remove the mold at the mold exchange station that has reached the mold exchange position, and install the new mold. It is something like this. Sometimes it's just a change of angle. In addition, a mold installed at another mold mounting station may be removed and installed at another station.

There are two ways to rotate the turret for manual mold exchange: one by inputting the station number;
There is a method that uses a turret rotation switch.

The former method by entering the station number is rMDI
When a station number is input from the operation panel of the NC device in the ``(manual data input) mode'', the turret rotates and the mold mounting station with the input number is indexed to the mold exchange position.

The latter method of operating the turret rotation switch is to operate the turret rotation switch in "manual mode" using the control panel located near the mold exchange position.
When you press the turret rotation switch for reverse command, the turret rotates slowly only while the switch is pressed, so when the desired station reaches the mold exchange position, you can stop the suppression operation and control the desired station. It is possible to determine the mold exchange position. When you release the switch, the turret will select the nearest station and stop rotating. If it rotates too much, just operate the switch in the opposite direction. However, since the station number is simply engraved on the turret, searching for the station number can be difficult for those who are not used to it.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, when changing the mold of a conventional turret punch press, the setup check function is used to display setup information as shown in Figure 19, and then manually rotate the turret. The method involved replacing the molds one by one, which was difficult even for experienced workers, and considerably more difficult for unskilled workers, requiring a great deal of effort and time to replace, and slowing down the processing line's operation. The problem is that it reduces efficiency.

In addition, in conventional mold replacement work, the 19th
A display like the one shown in the figure is required, but since this display shows a list of all used molds and leaves it to the worker to replace the molds in the appropriate order, the displayed text is unavoidable. There were problems in that it was small, difficult to see, and difficult to work with.

In particular, since FMS-oriented processing lines are originally intended to be unmanned, this mold replacement work is a bottleneck for turret punch presses.

Therefore, the present invention simplifies the mold changing work by automatically indexing the changing mold mounting station to the mold changing position, allows for easy and quick mold changing, and improves the operating efficiency of the processing line. It is an object of the present invention to provide a mold exchange system for a turret punch press that can be improved.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention for solving the above problems has a plurality of mold mounting stations on a rotatable turret, and mold mounting stations designated by an NC program. In a mold exchange system for a turret punch press, in which the station is indexed to the processing position and press processing is performed using the mold installed in the indexed mold mounting station, the press processing is performed by the NC device that controls the turret punch press machine. A higher-level controller is provided that supplies an NC program for the processing, and the upper-level controller is provided with a mold that is currently installed in the mold mounting station of the turret and a mold that will be used in the NC program for processing that will be supplied from now on. a replacement mold detection means for detecting the mold mounting stage and g to which the mold should be replaced; and a mold mounting station detected by the replacement mold detection means for indexing and operating the mold mounting station to the mold replacement position. A turret rotation NC program generation means that generates an NC program for turret rotation, and the NC program generated by the turret rotation NC program generation means is transferred to the NC device and automatically transferred to the mold exchange position. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with an NC program transfer means for transferring an NC program for machining after confirming that the mold has been replaced to the determined replacement mold mounting station.

Further, the mold changing operation is performed manually or by using an automatic tool changing device.

(Function) With the above configuration, in the turret punch press mold changing system of the present invention, the host controller determines the mold mounting station to be replaced as the mold changing position for the mold changing required in the Canadian Niprogram. Create an NC program for the process, transfer it to the NC device of the turret punch press machine, automatically index the replacement mold installation station to the mold exchange position, replace the mold, and then use the NC program for processing.
Since the program is transferred, there is no need for the operator to rotate the turret when changing molds.

Further, since the NC device only executes the NC program for mold replacement and then the NC program for machining, there is no need to add any special functions to the NC device.

Furthermore, if the higher-level controller is a controller for DNC operation of an NC device, it only determines the replacement mold mounting station as part of normal DNC operation, so in this case, the higher-level controller has a controller for turret rotation. It only has a function to generate NC programs.

Not only can molds be replaced manually at the automatically determined replacement mold mounting station, but a mold changing robot can also be linked to automatically replace the molds. When replacing the mold manually, a display to support the replacement work as shown in FIG. 19 is required, but in the present invention, the replacement mold mounting station is automatically determined. Only the information necessary for exchange can be enlarged and displayed for the station that has been exchanged.

(Embodiment) In FIG. 2 showing an example of an FMS processing line in which the present invention is implemented, the processing line 2 is equipped with an automatic warehouse 4 equipped with racks 3 having multi-row, multi-stage material storage stations. A material carrying device 5 for carrying sheet metal materials from the rear side to a predetermined storage station is provided behind the storage station 3. In addition, in front of rack 3, rack 3
A lifting platform 6 that can be positioned at the height of each storage station is provided, and a material loading/unloading device 7 that can be moved to any desired position is provided on the front side of the rack 3.

Therefore, the material stored in one storage station by the material loading device 5 can be transferred to another storage station by the general loading/unloading operation of the loading/unloading device 7, and the materials stored in the storage station can be transferred as needed. Alternatively, the product can be taken out onto the lifting platform 6 as appropriate.

A turret punch press machine 10 equipped with a loading device 8 and an unloading device 9 is arranged on a line at a certain distance from the front side of the rack 3, and the loading device 8 and the unloading device! ! A conveyance path 11 is appropriately provided between 9 and the automated warehouse 4, and the materials shown in the order of arrows A, 口, C, 2, and H are processed into products, and are conveyed to the next process or warehouse section as appropriate. It has become so.

In the processing line 2 having the above configuration, an intelligent stocker controller (ISC) 11 is arranged near the material loading device 5 of the automated warehouse 4, and an intelligent stocker controller (ISC) 11 is arranged near the turret punch press machine 10.
An NC device 12 is disposed near the NC device 12, and a controller 13 that is connected to the loading device 8 and the unloading device 9 and controls each machine is disposed near the NC device 12. An intelligent data terminal (IDT) 14 that collectively processes data is arranged. Since this data terminal 14 becomes a higher-level controller of the NC device 12, this terminal will be referred to as a higher-level controller hereinafter. Further, these controllers are connected by a LAN line 15, and a main controller (IMC) 6 and an automatic programming device 17 located in the office are connected to the LAN line 15. A terminal (T) connected to the stocker controller 11 via a line 18
H) 19 and 20 are appropriately placed at separate locations to perform operations regarding the automated warehouse 4 at various locations.

In the input 2, each controller 11, 12.14, main controller 16, automatic programming device 17, etc. are interconnected by LAN wiring 15,
By transferring the schedule program created by the main controller 16 to the upper controller 14,
Scheduled NC programs can be executed sequentially.

As shown in FIG. 4, the turret punch press 10 is equipped with upper and lower turrets 20 and 21 that are vertically opposed to each other in a so-called bridge-shaped frame 19. By hitting the indexed mold (not shown) with the striker 22, the work W held by the work clamp device 23 and positioned on the table 24 can be pressed as appropriate.

FIG. 5 shows a plan view of the turret 20.21. As shown, the turret 20, 21 is provided with a large number of mold mounting stations on each of three circumferential tracks, and each mold mounting station is assigned a station number.

The turret 20.21 in this example is an example of 72 stations, and each of the inner, center, and outer tracks has 24 stations.
Mold mounting stations are provided. The distance between each track is 40 mm, and the work clamp device 2
3 positions the workpiece W based on the center track, and when using a mold on the inner or outer track, the position is 40.
It is controlled by giving an offset of mm.

With the above configuration, in the processing line 2 of this example, the
With the connection shown in Figure 6, the NC device 12 can be operated in a DNC manner by the host controller 14, but it is also possible to control the NC device 12 independently by the host controller 14, as shown in Figure 6). It is.

FIG. 7 shows a communication method between the host controller 14 and the NC device 12.

When the NC start button is turned on, the host controller 1
4, the signal DCI is transmitted and the NC program is transferred. Therefore, when the buffer of the NC device 12 becomes full, the signal DC3 is transmitted to the upper controller 14, and the transfer is restarted with the next transfer restart signal DC1. signal dc
Processing is completed with the signal SYN following 1. These protocols are common.

In order to perform processing such as the data transfer processing shown in FIG. 7, the upper controller 14 has a module configuration as shown in FIG. 8.

That is, the host controller 14 stores the ROM 25 and R
AM26, and serial communication ink faces 27 and 28 for communicating with the NC device 12, the IMC 16, and the like. The ROM 25 includes a main module 39 and an NC
A program editing module 30, a DNC operation module 31, a machine information editing module 32, a maintenance module 33, and an external input/output module 34 are built-in. The DNC operation module 31 is attached with a DNC section 35 and a setup check section 36, and has storage sections 37, 38, 39, 40 for storing machine information and system parameters, respectively.

Upper controller 14 configured as a module as described above
Figure 1 shows the functions divided.

In FIG. 1, a turret punch press machine 10 as described above is shown.
A host controller 14 is connected via a DNC line 40 to an NC device 112 that numerically controls the.

The NC unit M12 includes an NC program input unit 41 for inputting NC programs and other information from the host controller 14 side, and an N unit for controlling the turret punch press machine 10.
The mold exchange information processing section 43 is provided with a C section 42 and a mold exchange information processing section 43 that displays support information for mold exchange work and processes signals at the time of exchange, such as manually inputting an exchange confirmation signal.

The host controller 14 includes a schedule program setting section 44, an NC program setting section 45, an exchange mold detection section 46, a turret rotation NC program generation section 47, and an NC program transfer section 48. The NC program generation section 47 is connected to a mold exchange conversion table 49 and a table origin setting parameter storage section 50 .

The schedule program setting section 44 inputs and sets a schedule program from the main controller 16 side in the line configuration shown in FIG.

The NC program setting section 45 extracts the NC program to be processed from now or the NC program for the next operation from the schedule set in the schedule program setting section 44, and sets it in the replacement mold detection section 46 and the NC program transfer section 48. It is something to do.

For the input NC program, the replacement mold detection unit 46 compares the mold used in the NC program with the currently installed mold as part of the setup check shown in the conventional example, and detects a replacement mold. It is something to do.

For example, in Figure 9, the NC program is called NCPool.
When station T2O1 replaces NCPOO2 from
There is no need to replace station TlO2.
, the mold (RO50) is replaced with another mold (RO3, O
) needs to be replaced. RO indicates a round shape. Therefore,
The replacement mold detection unit 46 creates a replacement mold list 51 as shown in No. 10.

The turret rotation NC block generation unit 47 refers to the stored contents of the mold exchange position conversion table 49 and the table origin setting parameter storage unit 50, and generates the information for the replacement mold.
This is to generate an NC program for locating the replacement mold mounting station to the mold replacement position.

The mold exchange position conversion table 49 shows that in the turrets 20 and 21 shown in FIG. 11, there is a difference between the position of the striker 22 shown in FIG. Since the commanded station is located directly below the striker 22, which station should be located directly below the striker 22 (processing position) in order to locate the scheduled station at the mold exchange position as shown in Fig. 12. This stipulates whether it should be located at

Therefore, by converting the station number using the table 49 shown in FIG. 12 and writing this into the station number of the NC program, the scheduled station can be determined as the mold exchange position. Note that the mold replacement position is a position on the near side in FIG. 4.

The table origin setting parameter storage unit 50 stores the track offset amount (40 mm) shown in FIG.
is memorized. As described above, the center track is used as a reference for positioning the work clamp device 23, and if an inner or outer track is specified, the work clamp device 23 performs a correction operation. Therefore, if the NC program for rotating the turret is transferred to the NC device 12, the work clamping device W23 will automatically operate, resulting in an unexpected and dangerous operation for the operator. Therefore, in this example, an offset of 40 mm is given to the internal and external traps so that the work clamping device 23 is not operated in the NC program for rotating the turret when replacing the mold.

As described above, the turret rotation NC program generation unit 47
automatically generates the NC program N1 for turret rotation as shown below. An offset value (±40 or 0.0) is assigned to the part marked *.

■ G92X Y ■ G70X0.00Y* T ■ G50; Item ■ is the code for setting the origin, item ■ is the code that rotates the turret without moving the table, and indexes the exchange mold mounting station to the mold exchange position. This is the code for returning to origin.

The NC program transfer unit 48 inputs the NC program NT and the processing NC program N generated by the turret rotation NC program generation unit 47, and inputs a signal to start setup after the current processing operation of the turret punch press machine 10 is completed. First, after outputting the NC program NT to the NC device 12, and after completing the mold exchange, the NC program N,
is output and causes the NC device 12 to execute DNC operation.

Next, we will show how to deal with this on the worker side.

In FIG. 15, the upper controller side performs step 1.
After processing the first NC program NCP001 with 501,
Set the next NC program NCPOO2 and determine whether there is a setup check.If there is no mold change, step 1
The process moves to 508 to start the next process, but if the mold needs to be replaced, in step 1503 the process waits for signal DC1 based on the ON signal of the operator's NC start button, and then in step 15
After inputting the signal DCI in step 03, an NC program N7 for turret rotation is created in step 1504, and step 15
At step 05, the program N1 is transferred to the NC device 12. This automatically rotates the turret 20,21 and indexes the exchange mold mounting station to the mold exchange position.

Therefore, the operator performs a mold replacement operation in step 1510.

At this time, as shown in Fig. 16, on the screen 1' of the display device installed near the mold replacement position, the contents of one replacement mold are displayed in an enlarged manner under the NC program name, and the contents of one replacement mold are displayed on the right side. There is a small display on the side that allows you to refer to the next replacement mold, so look at the display and attach the desired mold to the automatically determined replacement mold mounting station.

After replacing the mold, press the NC start button.
Signal DC1 is input to the upper controller side in step 1503, and processing is performed for the next replacement mold.

After the processing for all replacement molds is completed, the operator manually sends a confirmation signal using the light bench, and this signal is received in step 1507, which is delayed after step 1506, and in step 1508, the next processing,
That is, the NC program NCPOO2 is transferred.

The NC program NT for turret rotation in step 1504 may be created in advance before the start of the next machining.

As described above, in the turret bunched brace mold exchange system of this example, the replacement mold mounting station is automatically determined, so the operator only has to replace the mold with the determined mold. The work is simple, easy, reliable, and quick.

Further, at this time, even with the three-track turret 20.degree. 21, the work clamping device 23 is not operated by mistake, and the mold can be replaced safely. Moreover, turret 20.
The rotation of 21 is transmitted from the host controller 14 to the NC device 12.
Since this can be done by transferring the NC program N7 to the PC, there is no need to modify the NC device f12, and there is no need to increase the cost of the device.

Furthermore, since the screen 1' used for work support can enlarge and display the contents of the mold to be replaced, the screen 1' can be easily seen even from a far away position, reducing the possibility of making mistakes.

In addition, since the work is simple and easy to understand, the worker can easily perform the mold replacement work without causing any confusion regarding the mold replacement.

In the above embodiment, the mold replacement work was performed by the operator, but it is also possible to configure the system as shown in FIG. 17 to perform the mold replacement work fully automatically.

That is, in this example, a mold rack 52 is provided, and an automatic tool changer ATC equipped with a mold change robot 54 controlled by a mold change controller 53 is provided between the rack 52 and the turret punch press machine 10. The host controller 14 automatically rotates the turrets 20 and 21 as in the above-described embodiment, issues a mold exchange command to the ATC, and causes the mold exchange robot 54 to automatically exchange the molds.

The molds held in the rack 52 are managed as in-rack mold information 55 as shown in FIG. It's fine if you do it.

In this example, the host controller 14 rotates the turrets 20 and 21 via the NC device 12 to determine the replacement mold mounting station, which has the advantage that the ATC operation is simple and automated processing can be easily performed. .

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be implemented in any suitable manner by making appropriate design changes.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, since the present invention is a mold exchange system for a turret punched brace as described in the claims,
It is possible to transfer the NC program for turret rotation, which is similar to the NC program for machining, from the host controller of the NC device that controls the turret punch press machine, and automatically index the exchange mold mounting station to the mold exchange position. This simplifies the mold replacement work and allows manual work,
Furthermore, in response to ATC, molds can be replaced easily and quickly, and the operating efficiency of the processing line can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a mold changing system for a turret punch press according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a processing line to which the invention is applied, and Fig. 3 is an illustration of each control of the processing line. Explanatory diagram showing the connection relationship for La, 4th
The figure is a front view of the turret punch press machine placed in the processing line, Figure 5 is a plan view of the turret showing the arrangement of the mold mounting station, and Figure 6 is an explanation showing the connection relationship between the host controller and the NC device. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the communication protocol between the upper controller and the NC device, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the module configuration of the upper controller, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the transition state of the machining NC program, Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of the exchange mold list created from the relationship of the machining NC program shown in Figure 9, and Figure 11 is the turret mold. An explanatory diagram of the exchange position, Fig. 12 is a stock diagram of the mold exchange position conversion table, Fig. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the turret track offset, Fig. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the NC program for rotating the turret, and Fig. 15 is an explanatory diagram of the NC program for rotating the turret. An explanatory diagram showing the correspondence of workers to the processing of the controller, Fig. 16 is an explanatory diagram of the mold exchange support screen used in the work shown in Fig. 15, and Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the ATC application method. ,
FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of expressing retained mold information about the mold rack shown in FIG. 17, and FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a conventionally used mold exchange support screen. 1'...Mold replacement support screen 2...Processing line 4...Automated warehouse 10...Turret punch press 12...NC device 14...Upper controller 15...LAN line 16... ...Main controller 40...DNC line 46...Replacement mold detection section 47...NC program generation section for turret rotation 48.
...NC program transfer section 49...mold exchange position conversion table 50...parameter storage section N for table origin setting,
... NC program for machining NT ... NC program for turret rotation Agent Patent attorney Hide Miyoshi Kazu 4th Ward 2 QI To J To Figure 9 Figure 13 Figure 14 Figure 16 Figure 18 Figure 17 Shadow Figure 15 Figure 19

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A rotatable turret has multiple mold mounting stations, and the mold mounting station specified by the NC program is indexed to the processing position, and the mold is mounted at the determined mold mounting station. In a mold exchange system for a turret punch press that performs press processing at Exchange mold detection means for comparing the mold currently installed in the mounting station with the mold to be used in the NC program for processing to be supplied from now on and detecting the mold mounting station at which the mold should be replaced; , turret rotation NC program generation means for generating a turret rotation NC program for indexing and operating the mold mounting station detected by the exchange mold detection means to a mold exchange position; and turret rotation NC program generation means. The NC program generated by the means is transferred to the NC device, and after confirming that the mold has been replaced at the replacement mold mounting station that is automatically determined as the mold replacement position, the NC program for processing is transferred. A mold exchange system for a turret punch press, characterized in that it is provided with an NC program transfer means for transferring a program. (2) The die changing system for a turret punch press according to claim 1, wherein the die changing operation is performed manually or by using an automatic tool changer.