JPH0550350A - Tool changing method of machining unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automate a tool change by feeding a work's machining reference position with a tool within the operating range, and making the tool so as to be held by an installing part at once when this supply is judged, in the tool change in an automobile production line or the like. CONSTITUTION:A specified tool 5a is fed by a feeding means 2 to a machining reference position P of a work 4a within the operating range of a machining unit 1. If so, a judging means 3 judges whether it is the work 4a or the tool 5a. When it is judged to be the tool 5a, the installing part 1b is driven, thereby holding the supplied tool 5a. Recovery and change of the tool after being used are performed in reverse motion as charging an empty tool jig.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tool exchanging method for automatically exchanging a required tool in a machining device used in a machining line for cutting parts in an automobile production line or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when performing machining such as cutting of mechanical parts, machining data concerning a workpiece supplied to a machining line and a tool to be used for the machining condition is inputted into a machining apparatus in advance to perform machining. Was given. An automatic tool changer called a so-called auto tool changer is attached to such a processing device, and the necessary tool is automatically selected from the various tools such as drills and cutters that are held based on the above processing data. And supply it to the processing equipment. And processing into a preset number of workpieces,
The tools are sequentially attached to and detached from the processing apparatus main body by the automatic tool changer.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional tool exchanging method in the above-mentioned machining apparatus, if the automatic tool exchanging machine is used when the machining contents on the line are changed, the exchanging of the tool can be surely and safely performed. Although there is an advantage that, in addition to the automatic tool changer attached to the processing device, the tool necessary for changing using the transfer mechanism such as a transfer arm was moved from the changer to the processing device,
Many tools are stored in advance, and it is necessary to install such an automatic tool changer in addition to the processing apparatus itself. Moreover, if the above-mentioned automatic tool changer is attached to the processing device, the size of the entire device becomes large, which causes a problem that maintenance management becomes complicated. In addition, due to circumstances such as machining type and production schedule, when the machining process is frequently changed, it is extremely complicated to rearrange the machining data and the tool exchange data into the work.

Further, when trying to manually replace a necessary tool in the above-mentioned processing apparatus, especially when processing a small amount of a wide variety of products, the tool may be replaced at a large number of places at a time, which is very large. It takes a lot of effort and the whole line may be stopped.

In recent years, while the machining apparatus has become multifunctional, there is a demand for a tool exchanging method for a machining apparatus that can easily perform line knitting and can flexibly access a working machining line.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a tool in a machining line for cutting mechanical parts without using a large tool changing device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool exchanging method for a machining apparatus capable of automatically and easily exchanging.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the tool exchanging method for a machining apparatus according to the present invention, a tool detachable from the main body is gripped by a mounting portion and supplied to an operating range. In a tool exchanging method of a machining apparatus for machining a work, a step of supplying the tool to a machining reference position for the work in the working range, a step of determining that the tool has been carried into the working range, and a tool The step of gripping the tool carried in by the mounting portion when the carrying-in of the tool is determined.

[0008]

The machining device uses a detachable tool to perform machining such as cutting on the work supplied in its operating range. When exchanging the tool, the necessary tool to be newly mounted is supplied to the machining reference position of the workpiece to be machined within the working range of the machining apparatus. The work or tool to be machined is supplied to the working range of the processing equipment, but since the processing equipment determines whether or not the tool has been carried into that working range, the work and tools are placed within the working range of the processing equipment. Even if both are supplied, an appropriate operation can be performed according to the information obtained by the discrimination. Then, when it is newly determined that the tool has been loaded, the loaded tool is gripped by the mounting unit of the processing device based on the information. Since the tool is supplied to the working reference position of the work to be processed within the working range of the working device, the tool may be picked up and held by the mounting portion in the same manner as when working the work. That is, every time the tool needs to be replaced, the tool can be replaced by supplying a predetermined tool required for the next processing to the processing apparatus side in the flow of the work.

Therefore, the tool exchanging device for preserving many tools on the side of the processing device is not required, and the occupation area around the processing device is small, and the maintenance related to the tool is simplified only on the supply side.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The tool exchanging method according to the present invention is executed in a machining apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as an apparatus) 1 as shown in FIG. 1 which is a conceptual diagram. This device 1 is a so-called conventional machine tool, and grips a tool such as a cutter or a drill, which can be attached to and detached from the main body 1a, by the mounting portion 1b, and supplies the work 4a supplied to the operating range H of the device 1. 4a
Processing such as cutting and drilling is applied to the. That is, when the already processed work is designated by reference numeral 4b, first, the work 4a is operated by the supply means 2 including a conveying mechanism such as a conveyor and a supply device for introducing the work into the conveyor. Supplied to H. And
The workpiece is stopped at a predetermined machining reference position P within the supply range H, and the mounting portion 1B of the device 1 on which the tool is mounted approaches the stopped work 4a, and a predetermined feed amount and rotation from a predetermined zero point position. It is processed according to the number.

In such a device 1, first, the device 1
The desired tool 5a is supplied by the supply means 2 to the machining reference position P of the work 4a within the operating range H of. Next, when the tool 5a is supplied to the machining reference position P, it is determined whether or not the tool 5a is loaded. This determination is performed by the determination means 3, and the operating range H of the device 1 is determined.
Whether the work supplied to the tool is the work 4a carried in or the tool 5a
It can be configured by using a shape recognition device such as a sensor or an image scanner that detects the presence or absence of an object and its position.
The tool 5 is supplied to the operating range H of the device 1.
When it is determined that the load is a, the mounting unit 1
The tool 5a carried in by b is grasped.

Further, the series of operations in the device 1 are as follows.
The supply means 2 for supplying the workpieces 4a, 4a and the tool 5a to the apparatus 1 by the control means A in response to the signal from the discrimination means 3
In addition, it is executed by controlling the device 1. In this case, when the determining means 3 determines that the work 4a is carried in by the determining means 3 supplied by the supplying means 2 to the working range H of the apparatus 1, the control means A processes the work 4a by the apparatus 1. On the contrary, when it is determined that the tool 5a is carried in, the device 1 is caused to execute the tool exchange. Note that reference numeral 4b indicates the unloading of the processed work.

By the way, the machining reference position P of the work 4a
In addition, when the tool 5a is supplied, it can be easily implemented by supplying the work 5a and the tool 5a as well as the jig 5b holding the tool 5a at the same time by the supply means 2. The jig 5b holds the tool 5a at the same position as when processing the workpiece 4a by the device 1, and also holds the gripped portion of the tool 5a by the mounting portion 1b so as to project in the mounting direction. That is, the jig 5b holds the tool 5a in the same processing posture as that when processing the work 4a and supplies the tool 5a to a predetermined position.

On the other hand, various kinds of sensors can be used as the discrimination means 3, but, for example, a bar code reader for reading a bar code can be used. In this case, the type of the tool 5a held in advance on the jig 5b is described by a bar code. Thereby, with respect to the object carried into the operating range H of the device 1 by the supply means 2, the presence of the tool is determined by a reflection type or transmission type optical sensor or the like of a part of the tool 5a protruding from the jig 5b. Further, the existence of the jig 5b and the type of the tool 5a held by the jig 5b can be discriminated by the bar code. In addition, a plurality of devices 1 and 1 are usually arranged in the processing line, but the bar code of the jig 5b also includes the identification information of the supply destination of the tool 5a so that only the corresponding device 1 can be replaced. May be.

Next, the operation and action in one embodiment of such a tool changing method will be described with reference to FIG. 2 which is a flow chart of the operation, and each step of the flow chart is indicated by a symbol in parentheses.

During operation of the apparatus 1, the work 4a is supplied to the supply means 2
Supplied by. Normally, at the start of operation, the tool 5a held by the jig 5b is placed at the top, and then the required number of workpieces 4
a and 4a are sequentially charged. When the machining process is changed, the tool 5 is added based on the new machining information for the work 4a.
After selecting the jig 5b corresponding to the tool 5a related to a,
The jig 5b holds the tool 5a.

Next, the work 4a or 5b supplied to the operating range H of the apparatus 1 by the conveying mechanism of the supplying means 2.
Is detected by the discrimination means 3 including a sensor (S1),
The transport mechanism is stopped at a predetermined processing reference position P for processing the work 4a (S2). At this time, the presence / absence of the jig 5b, the presence / absence of the tool 5a, and the type thereof are simultaneously determined by the determination means 3 including a barcode reader, a sensor, and the like. In addition, based on this discrimination information, the main body 1 is controlled by the control means A.
a, The operation of the mounting portion 1b is controlled. As described above, since it is possible to determine whether the workpiece supplied to the operating range H of the apparatus 1 is the workpiece 4a or the tool 5a, the operating range H of the apparatus 1 along with the workpiece 4a can be determined. Thus, it becomes possible to supply the necessary tool 5a.

At this point, it is determined that the jig 5b is present (S
3) and the tool 5a is determined to be present (S9),
The mounting portion 1b of the device 1 approaches the tool 5a stopped at the machining reference position P (S10), grips the tool 5a held by the jig 5b (S11), and again the machining standby position of the device 1 (S12). That is, since the tool 5a is supplied to the machining reference position P of the work 4a of the apparatus 1, it suffices to pick up the tool 5a at the mounting portion 1b and grip it as in the case of machining the work 4a.

On the other hand, the means 3 for discriminating the work or the like on the transfer mechanism
When it is determined that the work 4a is carried in by (S
3), the mounting portion 1b of the apparatus 1, that is, the processing portion approaches the workpiece 4a that stops at the predetermined processing reference position P (S).
4) After performing necessary processing according to the processing information of the previously loaded jig 5b (S5), the processing returns to the processing standby position of the apparatus 1 again (S6). Then, when the processing is completed, the transport mechanism is started (S7), and the processed work 4b is discharged,
At the same time, the carrying-in of a new work 4a is judged by the judging means 3. Then, based on this information, it is determined whether or not the operation is continued (S8), and if it is continued, the process returns to the step S1 again.

When a tool already installed is to be replaced with a new tool, if an empty jig having no tool is put into the line, it is determined that the jig 5b is present (S3), and the tool is If it is determined that there is no 5a (S
9), the mounting portion 1b holding the tool 5a of the apparatus 1 approaches toward the empty jig 5b stopped at the predetermined processing reference position P (S13), and the tool 5a is opened to this jig. (S1
4) Return to the standby position again (S15). Also in this case,
Since the jig 5b stops at the machining reference position P of the workpiece 4a and supports the tool 5a at the same angle as during machining, the workpiece 4a
It is sufficient to move the mounting portion 1b to the processing position in the same direction as in the case of the machining to the above and open the tool 5a.

After that, the jig 5 holding the tool 5a
When b comes to a predetermined position, the tool 5a is attached through the steps from S10 onward.

As described above, since the tool 5a is exchanged by determining that the tool 5a has been carried in, both the work 4a and the tool 5a can be supplied within the same range in which the apparatus 1 operates. Then, every time the tool needs to be replaced, a predetermined tool 5a required for the next machining is supplied to the machining apparatus 1 side together with the work 4a, so that the machining process can be changed.

Incidentally, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the tool 5a
The jig 5b for receiving the tool 5a is used to remove the tool 5a. However, the jig 5b may be used only when the tool 5a is mounted, and the tool 5a to be removed may be opened onto the transport mechanism and carried out.
Also, a tool replacement method controlled by the control device is described, but in this replacement method, both the work and the tool are supplied to the working range of the processing device, the supplied work and tool are discriminated, and the tool is Can be configured as including manual work,
In this case, it can be carried out more easily, and is suitable for a line knitting which is operated for a short period of time and changed.

[0025]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

(1) Since the tool to be replaced is supplied in the same manner as the work piece as needed, it is not necessary to attach many tools and its automatic tool changer to the processing apparatus side, and the tool can be transferred from the changer to the processing apparatus. Since there is no need to transport the tool, the construction area of the entire processing line can be small.

(2) Does not require a separate automatic tool changer,
Since it is only necessary to control the processing device itself to replace the tool, the equipment around the processing device does not become complicated and the tool can be supplied from one place, making it easy to control the processing line and maintain the tool itself. Becomes

(3) The tool is replaced in the processing device every time the work is changed, and the necessary tools are supplied to the mounting part of the processing device for replacement, so that the replacement work is very simple. Yes, there is no stoppage of the processing line due to tool changes, even for the processing of a wide variety of small quantities

(4) Since it is possible to change the work and tool supply side even if the machining contents are frequently changed, it is not necessary to change the machining data in the machining device each time, and thus the line formation is easy. Becomes

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a tool changing method for a machining device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of a machining apparatus using the tool changing method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Machining device 1a Main body 1b Mounting part 2 Supply means 3 Judgment means 4a, 4b Work piece 5a Tool 5b Jig P Processing standard position A Control means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method of exchanging a tool for a machining apparatus, wherein a tool detachable from a main body is gripped by a mounting portion to machine a workpiece supplied in an operating range, and a machining standard for the workpiece in the operating range. Supplying the tool to the position,
A tool exchange of a machining apparatus, which comprises a step of determining that a tool has been carried into the operating range, and a step of gripping the tool carried in by the mounting part when it is determined that the tool has been carried in. Method