JPH0521297Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an automatic cutter positioning device that determines the heightwise position of a cutter attached to a shaper, and is particularly applicable to gear shapers. The present invention relates to an automatic cutter positioning device for a shaping machine suitable for randomly producing a plurality of types of workpieces with different shapes.

[Conventional technology]

When machining workpieces with different heights on a shaping machine, conventionally, the height was adjusted by manually loosening the fixing bolt that fixes the cutter shaft to the drive shaft, rotating the cutter shaft, and then adjusting the height. Then, the cutter shaft was fixed to the drive shaft again with the fixing bolt and the setup was changed. Alternatively, after manually replacing fixtures of different heights prepared in advance and changing setups, centering was performed. In addition, when replacing the cutter, after attaching the new cutter to the cutter shaft, lower the cutter shaft clamp to the lowest position, loosen the fixing bolt on the cutter shaft, rotate the cutter shaft, and manually adjust it to the height of the workpiece. After making adjustments, I tightened the fixing bolts again and replaced the tool.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, conventional setup changes and cutter replacements are all done manually, requiring skill in adjusting the position of the cutters, and the work time is long, making them unsuitable for mass production lines.

The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic cutter positioning device for a shaping machine that can automatically perform setup changes and cutter exchanges in a short time, improve the operating rate of the shaping machine, and enable smooth production. That is.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention includes a workpiece discrimination means for detecting the height of a workpiece mounted on a fixture, a threaded part formed at one end, a first gear coaxially provided at the bottom of this threaded part, and a first gear provided at the other end. A cutter shaft on which a cutter is removably attached, a detection device for detecting the original position which is the lowering end position of the cutter, and an inner diameter thread that is threadedly engaged with the threaded portion formed on the cutter shaft. A cutter shaft clamping member consisting of a pair of clamp plates that clamp the cutter shaft, and a fluid cylinder that brings these clamp plates into contact with or separates from the cutter shaft, and a cutter shaft clamp member that is provided so as to be able to directly mesh with a first gear provided on the cutter shaft. the second gear; a pulse motor that rotates the second gear by a predetermined number of rotations; and a drive means that engages or disengages the second gear with the first gear, and If the position of the cutter and the position of the cutter do not match, the pulse motor is rotated at a preset rotation speed and rotation direction based on the signal from the workpiece discrimination means, and the cutter is rotated through the second gear and the first gear. The cutter shaft in the clamped state is rotated and moved up and down to move the cutter to a position where the type of work and the position of the cutter match, and the cutter is returned to the clamped state.When replacing the cutter, the pulse motor is rotated and a new cutter is attached. The original position of the cutter is detected by lowering the cutter shaft in an unclamped state and bringing the cutter into contact with the detection device. The cutter shaft is moved by rotating the pulse motor by the difference between the original position of the cutter and the processing position of the workpiece, and the cutter is positioned at the normal processing position and placed in a clamped state. This is an automatic cutter positioning device for a sharpening machine.

[Effect]

According to the above configuration, at the time of setup change or tool change, the clamp mechanism that clamps the cutter shaft is unclamped, and the pulse motor is used to
By rotating the first gear by a predetermined amount via the gear, the cutter can be positioned at a predetermined height. This makes it possible to automate the positioning of the cutter, which was previously done manually.
Setup changes and tool exchanges for a wide variety of workpieces can be easily performed in a short period of time without requiring any skill.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of an automatic cutter positioning device for a shaping machine according to the present invention;
2 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing a position detection device for confirming the original position of the cutter. In Fig. 1, the left side of the center line shows the A workpiece 1a, and the right side shows the B workpiece 1b mounted on the fixture 2, and the difference in height between the A workpiece 1a and the B workpiece 1b is It is. A workpiece discrimination device 3 is provided on the same base as the fixture 2. This workpiece discrimination device 3 consists of a detection rod 3b driven by a cylinder 3a, and limit switches 3c and 3d that respectively detect the forward and backward ends of this detection rod 3b.
Depending on whether or not the detection rod 3b comes into contact with the side surface of the workpiece 1, it is determined whether the workpiece is A or B. On the other hand, a cutter 4 such as a pinion cutter for processing the workpiece 1 is attached to the lower end of a cutter shaft 5, and the cutter shaft 5 is supported by the shaping machine body so as to be rotatable and vertically movable. The cutter shaft 5 is divided into two in the vertical direction, and the upper and lower parts are connected to each other so that they can rotate independently, and the lower shaft is connected to a drive device (not shown) that drives the cutter 4. . Further, a threaded portion 5a is formed at the upper end of the cutter shaft 5, and a first gear 6 is provided coaxially with the cutter shaft 5 at the lower part of the threaded portion 5a. Katsuta shaft 5
As shown in FIG. 2, the threaded portion 5a has a pair of clamp plates 7a, 7b and clamp bolts 7c, 7d.
A cutter shaft clamp 7 made of the following is provided.
The clamp plates 7a, 7b have an inner diameter screw 7e formed in the center thereof, which can be screwed into the threaded portion 5a of the cutter shaft 5. When the clamp plates 7a and 7b firmly clamp the cutter shaft 5, when the cutter shaft 5 and the clamp plates 7a and 7b are separated, the cutter shaft 5 and the clamp plates 7a and 7b are screwed together at the threaded portions 5a and 7e and can rotate. For this reason, one clamp plate 7b is provided with a fluid cylinder 8, and one end 7f of one clamp bolt 7c is enlarged in diameter so as to slide on the inner diameter surface of this cylinder 8. Further, the outer end surface of the cylinder 8 is liquid-tightly sealed by a flange 9, and the flange 9 is provided with an inlet 9a for supplying pressure oil into the cylinder 8.
10a and 10b are O-rings that liquid-tightly seal the outer periphery of the flange 9 and one end 7f of the clamp bolt 7c, respectively, and the inner periphery of the cylinder 8; 11 is an O-ring that seals the outer periphery of the clamp bolt 7c and the hole of the clamp plate 7b; This is an O-ring that liquid-tightly seals the inner periphery of the clamp plate 7b, and 12 is a spring that biases the clamp bolt 7c in a direction to separate from the clamp plate 7b.
Further, 13 is a clamp bolt 7c of the cylinder 8.
This is the inlet for supplying pressure oil to the side.

On the other hand, the first gear 6 can be engaged with and disengaged from the second gear 14.
is rotatably provided on a movable plate 16 that is slidably attached to a support base 15. The movable plate 16 is moved back and forth on the support base 15 by a cylinder 17 fixed to the support base 15.
The gear 14 and the first gear 6 are brought into engagement and disengagement. Further, the second gear 14 is rotationally driven by a pulse motor 19 via a speed increasing gear 18 provided on the moving plate 16 . Further, the limit switch 20 shown in FIG. 3 is a detection device for detecting the original position, which is the lowest end of the cutter 4.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained based on FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. At the time of setup change, the workpiece 1 is attached to the fixture 2, and the workpiece discrimination device 3 discriminates whether the workpiece 1 is A or B. Next, it is checked whether the type of workpiece 1 and the position of the cutter 4 match. If they match, processing continues; however, if they do not match, a signal from the workpiece discrimination device 3 is sent to the cylinder 17. is activated, the second gear 14 moves forward via the moving plate 16, and the first gear moves forward.
meshes with the gear 6. Thereafter, pressure oil is supplied from an unillustrated hydraulic source to the flange 9 side of the cylinder 8 from the inlet 9a, and the clamp bolt 7c moves in the unclamping direction shown by arrow A against the biasing force of the spring 12, and the clamp plate The clamps 7a and 7b on the threaded portion 5a of the cutter shaft 5 are released. At this time, the inner diameter threads 7e formed on the clamp plates 7a and 7b are engaged with the threaded portion 5a of the cutter shaft 5. Next, the motor 19 starts rotating, and the first gear 6 is transferred through the speed increasing gear 18 and the second gear 14.
rotates. At this time, since the inner diameter screws 7e formed on the clamp plates 7a and 7b are fixed, the cutter shaft 5 moves up and down as the threaded portion 5a of the cutter shaft 5 that engages with the inner diameter screws 7e rotates. Then, the cutter 4 moves to a predetermined position according to the preset rotation speed and rotation direction of the motor 19.
Thereafter, the clamp bolts 7c and 7d are moved in the direction of arrow B by the pressure oil from the inlet 13, and the clamp plates 7a and 7b clamp the cutter shaft 5, and the cylinder 17 is operated and the second gear 14 and the first gear 6
The meshing with the machine is released, the setup change is completed, and machining begins.

Next, the operation during tool exchange will be explained. After removing the old cutter 4 from the cutter shaft 5 and installing the new cutter 4, a position adjustment command is issued using a push button (not shown) or the like. Based on this command, the cylinder 17 is operated in the same way as at the time of setup change, and the first gear 6 and the second gear 14 mesh with each other. After that, cutter shaft 5
is lowered by the rotation of the motor 19 when the clamps from the clamp plates 7a and 7b are released. The cutter 4 attached to the tip of the cutter shaft 5
However, the cutter shaft 5 comes into contact with a limit switch 20 that detects the original position of the cutter 4, and the lowering of the cutter shaft 5 is stopped. Next, the motor 19 rotates in the opposite direction by the height difference Y between the original position of the cutter 4 and the machining position of the workpiece 1, which is stored in advance, and the cutter shaft 5 rises, so that the cutter 4 returns to the normal machining position. leading to. After that, the cutter shaft 5 is clamped by the clamp plates 7a and 7b,
The second gear 14 separates from the first gear 6 and the tool exchange is completed. However, if the machining position of the workpiece 1 and the height of the limit switch 20 are the same, there is no need for correction.

According to this embodiment, when randomly producing many types of workpieces 1 with different heights at processing positions, the amount of movement of the cutter 4 corresponding to the thickness of each workpiece 1 is stored in advance, and the motor 19 Since all you have to do is drive and move the cutter, setup change and cutter replacement can be done fully automatically. As a result, on a mass production line, with the minimum necessary equipment, human errors in setup can be prevented, line confusion during random production can be prevented, and smooth production can be achieved.
Moreover, it is possible to respond to changes in the design of the workpiece in a short period of time, and the operator does not need to be skilled, and the operating rate can be improved. Furthermore, automation according to this embodiment can be easily implemented by implementing NC conversion of the shaping machine.

[Effect of idea]

According to the present invention, since the cutter shaft can be independently moved up and down by a predetermined amount using a pulse motor as a drive source with high precision, when replacing the cutter, the new cutter can be positioned by bringing the cutter into contact with the detection device. This eliminates the need to manually adjust the height of the cutter when changing setups and replacing cutters, and makes it easier to position the cutter when changing setups and replacing cutters for many types of workpieces with different heights at machining positions. This can be done automatically, improving work efficiency and enabling smooth line production.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an embodiment of an automatic cutter positioning device for a shaping machine according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line -- in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a position detection device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1... Workpiece, 2... Fixture, 3... Workpiece discrimination device, 4... Cutter, 5... Cutter shaft, 5a...
...Threaded portion, 6...First gear, 7...Clamp plate, 7e...Inner diameter thread, 14...Second gear, 1
7...Cylinder, 19...Pulse motor.

Claims (1)

[Utility Model Claims] A device comprising: a work discrimination means for detecting the height of a work mounted on a fixture; a cutter shaft having a threaded portion formed at one end, a first gear coaxially attached to a lower portion of the threaded portion, and a cutter removably attached to the other end; a detection device for detecting the original position which is the lowermost position of the cutter; a cutter shaft clamping member comprising a pair of clamp plates which are formed with internal threads which mesh with the threaded portion formed on the cutter shaft and which clamp the cutter shaft, and a fluid cylinder which brings the clamp plates into contact with or away from the cutter shaft; a second gear provided so as to be directly meshable with the first gear provided on the cutter shaft; a pulse motor which rotates the second gear a predetermined number of revolutions; and drive means which brings the second gear into or away from the first gear, When the type of workpiece and the position of the cutter do not match, the pulse motor is rotated at a preset number of revolutions and in a preset direction based on a signal from the workpiece discrimination means, and the cutter shaft in the unclamped state is rotated and moved up and down via the second gear and the first gear, so that the cutter is moved to a position where the type of workpiece and the position of the cutter match, and the cutter is again placed in the clamped state;
This automatic cutter positioning device for a shaping machine is characterized in that, when replacing a cutter, the pulse motor is rotated to lower the unclamped cutter shaft with a new cutter attached, and the original position of the cutter is detected by abutting the cutter against the detection device, and the pulse motor is rotated by an amount corresponding to the difference between the pre-stored original position of the cutter for the workpiece and the machining position of the workpiece based on a signal from the work discrimination means, thereby positioning the cutter at the regular machining position and clamping it.