JPH079504A - Gate cutting device of molded product - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a sag or scattering matters from being generated on a cut surface, by a method wherein a jig possessing a wall surface coming into contact with a molded product, runner and gate is provided close to a cutting position of the gate and the gate is cut off by applying laser beam processed linearly to the gate. CONSTITUTION:A laser beam taking-in port 42 is set up to a press jig 40 of the top possessing the bottom coming into contact with a molded product 1, a runner 2 and the top of a gate 3. Then a molten scattering matter discharge port 47 is set up to a press rest 41 of the bottom possessing the top coming into contact with the molded product 1, the runner 2 and the bottom of the gate 3. Laser beam 37 is condensed by a semicylindrical lens 38 and square- shaped laser beam is made into linear laser beam. Then the laser is pulse- oscillated and the linear laser beam is applied instantly to the gate 3, through which the molded product 1 is cut off and broken off from the gate 3. Thus a sag or scattering matters on a cut surface can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for cutting a gate interposed between a molded product and a runner with a laser to separate the molded product from the runner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to improve productivity in general molding, as shown in FIG. 14, a plurality of molded products 1 are manufactured in a state where they are connected by a gate 3 via a runner 2. This is a commonly known technique.

As an apparatus for cutting the gate 3 with a laser and separating the molded product 1 from the runner 2 independently, there is, for example, an invention described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-90319. In the above invention, as shown in FIG. 15, an auxiliary base 8 is fixed on the base 7 of the cutting device 6 so as to be orthogonal to the base 7. Two X-axis rails 9 are installed in parallel on the front surface of the auxiliary base 8, and an X-axis moving block 10 moves on the X-axis rail 9.
In addition, the X-axis moving block 10 includes an X-axis feed screw 11
It is connected to the X-axis movement motor 12 via. Further, a jig 13 is installed on the X-axis moving block 10, and a work 26 to be cut is placed on the jig 13.

On the rear side of the base 7, a projecting portion 14 protruding upward is provided upright, and a Y-axis rail 15 is installed on the projecting portion 14. The Y-axis moving block 16 is movably supported by the Y-axis rail 15. The Y-axis moving block 16 is connected to a Y-axis moving motor 18 via a Y-axis feed screw 17. Further, the laser nozzle 1 is provided at the tip of the Y-axis block 16.
9 is attached downward, and a suction nozzle 20 is attached outside the laser nozzle 19.

FIG. 16 shows the structure of the laser nozzle 19 and the suction nozzle 20 attached to the tip of the Y-axis block 16. The laser nozzle 19 has a cylindrical shape with a narrowed tip end,
A focusing lens 21 that focuses the laser light is provided inside. A tube 23 is connected to the side surface of the laser nozzle 19 via a connecting tube 22 to supply cooling air. On the other hand, an exhaust duct 25 is connected to the suction nozzle 20 through an opening 24 provided on the side surface side thereof.

A jig 13 for holding a work 26 to be cut is installed below the laser nozzle 19, and clampers 27, 28 for holding the molded product 1 or the runner 2 of the work 26 on the jig 13 are provided. Is provided.
In addition, the slit 31 of the jig 13 has a pusher 29 for correction.
Is installed so that it can move vertically. The pusher 29 is adapted to be moved up and down by an actuator 30 shown in FIG.

A method of cutting the gate 3 of the work 26 by the cutting device 6 having the above structure will be described below. The laser beam passes through the inside of the laser nozzle 19 and is oscillated by the focusing lens 21 under the laser nozzle 19 in a focused state.
When passing below, the gate 3 part is cut by being vaporized by heat.

At the cut lower part of the cut molded article 1, sagging due to heat occurs. In order to prevent such sagging, the pusher 29 is pushed up by the actuator 30 while being softened by the heat immediately after cutting to eliminate sagging at the lower part of the cut of the molded product 1. Further, in order to suppress the deformation due to heat, the jig 13, the grippers 27 and 28, and the pusher 2
The heat is dissipated by 9 and the cooling air supplied through the tube 23 and the connecting cylinder 22 is jetted from the opening on the lower end side of the nozzle 19 to the gate 3 of the work 26, thereby cooling the air.

At the same time, ambient air is sucked through the exhaust duct 25 and the suction nozzle 20 to suppress heat generation. Further, the exhaust duct 25 and the suction nozzle 20 also suck the generated gas from the work 26 to prevent the deposit of gas from adhering to the molded product 1.

[0010]

However, the above-mentioned conventional techniques have the following drawbacks. That is, when the workpiece 26 is cut by continuously irradiating the laser while moving it, as shown in FIG. 17, the cutting surface is not a straight line, and the cutting start portion 32 is greatly blunted, which causes a problem in quality. . Further, when the laser is pulse-oscillated and cut, as shown in FIG. 18, marks between the spots, that is, burrs 33 are generated on the cut surface, which is a quality problem. Furthermore, when the laser spot diameter is increased and the laser is irradiated only once for cutting, as shown in FIG. 19, a large edge 34 is generated on the cut surface, which is a quality problem.

The above-mentioned quality problem is that the cutting start portion 32, the burr 33 and the edge 34 interfere with the parts to be combined and cannot be fitted, or a large gap is generated after the fitting and the position is increased. Is unstable.

Further, the conventional method has the following problems. Description will be given with reference to FIG. It is not only gas that is generated during laser cutting, but also molten debris.
The suction nozzle 20 can suck the generated gas, but the molten scattered material cannot be sucked and adheres to the periphery of the cut portion. That is, it adheres to the side surface of the molded product 1, the clampers 27 and 28, the jig 13, and the like (scattered materials that adhere to the clampers 27 and 28 and the jig 13 secondarily adhere to the molded product 1). Therefore, there has been a problem that the molded product 1 becomes defective. Further, since the molten scattered material scattered downward is deposited on the upper surface of the pusher 29, there is a problem that the molded product 1 is deformed and indented during the correction, and the molded product 1 is defective.

Therefore, the present invention was developed in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a molded product gate cutting device capable of cutting a non-defective molded product without generating defective molded products due to burrs, edges, molten scattered materials, and the like.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an apparatus for cutting the gates of a plurality of molded products connected to each other through a runner, wherein the molded products, runners and gates are located near the cutting position of the gate. In addition to having a jig having a wall surface in contact with, a means for irradiating a laser beam processed into a linear shape to cut the gate is provided.

1 and 2 are conceptual views showing the present invention. A means for solving the problem of the cut surface shape (sagging, soreness, burrs, edges, etc. at the cutting start portion) described in the above problem will be described with reference to FIG. It is considered that the cause of the above problem occurs because the laser light is circular. First, a mask 36 having a rectangular cutout is provided on the optical path of the multimode laser light 35 having a uniform energy distribution, and the circular laser light 35 is changed to a rectangular laser light 37.

Next, the laser light 37 is condensed by a semi-cylindrical cylindrical lens 38, and the quadrangular laser light 37 is converted into a linear laser light 39. By pulsing a laser with an apparatus equipped with the structure described above and irradiating the gate 3 with the linear laser light 39 instantaneously, the molded product 1 is cut and separated.

Further, the means for solving the problems caused by the molten scattered matter described in the above problems will be described below with reference to FIG. It is considered that the cause of the above-mentioned problem is caused by a problem in the treatment of the molten scattered matter generated by laser cutting. The present apparatus comprises an upper surface holding jig 40 having a lower surface in contact with the upper surfaces of the molded product 1, the runner 2 and the gate 3,
The molded product 1, the runner 2, and the lower surface pressing base 41 having an upper surface in contact with the lower surfaces of the gate 3 are configured.

The upper surface holding jig 40 is provided with a laser beam taking-in port 42, and glass 43, packing 44 and glass holding member 45 are arranged on the upper surface thereof. An air inlet 46 is provided on the side surface of the laser light intake 42.
Is installed and air is introduced from the outside. The lower surface holder 41 is provided with a molten scattered matter exhaust port 4
7 is provided so that the molten scattered matter and the generated gas are sucked and exhausted.

While the air is being introduced from the air introduction port 46 and the air is being exhausted from the exhaust port 47, the quadrangular laser beam 37 described above is passed through the semi-cylindrical cylindrical lens 38 and the glass 43 to form a laser beam. The gate 3 is irradiated with light from the light intake port 42. Since the laser oscillates in pulses, the cutting of the gate 3 is instantaneously performed,
The generated gas and the molten scattered matter are all sucked into the lower exhaust port 47.

[0020]

Embodiment 1 FIGS. 3 to 11 show the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an apparatus, FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a work holding portion, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of essential portions of a laser portion, and FIGS. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of cutting the work. In the present embodiment, the same components as those described above are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The apparatus is composed of a robot section 49, a work holding section 50, and a laser section 51.

The robot unit 49 moves the height position to the Z-axis 52.
In addition, the position on the plane (on the XY axes) can be changed to the arms 53, 54.
Can be adjusted with. A hand base 55 is attached to the lower end of the θ axis 56 supported by the arm 54, and the hand base 55 can be moved to an arbitrary position. Further, the θ axis 56 can be rotated, and the orientation of the hand base 55 can be arbitrarily changed. The hand base 55 has a turning shaft 59 as its center,
A swivel base 61 that can swivel 90 degrees by the swivel cylinder 60 is installed. A work chuck 57 and a molded product runner suction portion 58 are installed on the swivel base 61.

That is, by the operation of the swiveling cylinder 60, the swivel base 61 can swivel 90 degrees, so that the work chuck 57 can be horizontally oriented and the molded product runner suction portion 58 can be vertically downwardly oriented. The work chuck 57 has a structure capable of opening and closing the claws by turning air on and off, and the molded product runner suction portion 58 can suck and hold the molded product and the runner by different air sources. There is.

The work holding portion 50 is composed of a lower surface holding base 41 and an upper surface holding jig 40, and the lower surface holding base 41
Is a platform moving cylinder 62 in one horizontal direction, the upper surface holding jig 40 is a holding jig moving cylinder 63 in one vertical direction,
It is supposed to work. At this time, the lower surface support base 41
A notch is provided on one end side of the so as not to interfere with the rod of the holding jig moving cylinder 63, and a guide for guiding the upper surface holding jig 40 in the vertical direction is provided.

The laser section 51 is equipped with a laser oscillation section 64 and a laser optical path section 65. A YAG laser was used for the laser oscillator 64. The laser oscillating unit 64 and the laser optical path unit 65 are provided at the bottom with an X movement motor 66 and a Y
It is equipped with a moving motor 67 and has a structure capable of moving on a horizontal plane (on an XY plane) and irradiating a laser at an arbitrary position.

Details of the upper surface holding jig 40 and the lower surface holding base 41 will be described with reference to FIG. The upper surface holding jig 40 is provided with a recess on its lower surface so that the runner 2, the gate 3 and the molded product 1 come into contact with each other. In addition, a laser beam intake port 42 is provided at the upper part of the recess that contacts the gate 3.
Is installed, and the glass 43, packing 44, and glass retainer 45 are arranged on the upper surface thereof. Further, an air introduction port 46 is installed on the side surface of the laser light intake port 42 so that air can be introduced from the outside.

The lower surface pressing base 41 is provided with a recess on its upper surface so that the runner 2, the gate 3 and the molded product 1 are in contact with each other. A molten scatterer exhaust port 47 is provided in the lower part of the recess in contact with the gate 3 so that the molten scatterer and the generated gas can be sucked and exhausted. In addition, a lid 69 is installed below the melted and scattered material exhaust port 47 via a packing 70 so that the melted and scattered material attached to the inside can be cleaned and removed by removing the lid 69.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a fixing hole 72 is provided so that the portion 71 into which the material is introduced at the time of molding can be fixed, and the work 26 is sucked by the suction port 68.
Can be fixed by adsorption. Furthermore, molded product 1
A molded product suction port 78 is installed in the part where the is installed, so that the molded product 1 part can also be sucked and fixed individually.

Although one molded product 1 is shown in FIG. 4, the molded product 1 is also similarly mounted on the front and back sides of the paper through the runner 2.
Are provided in the upper and lower sides of the gate 3 connecting the molded products 1, respectively, and the laser intake port 42, the air introduction port 46, the exhaust port 47, etc. are provided as described above.

Details of the laser optical path portion 65 will be described with reference to FIG. The circular laser beam 35 oscillated from the laser oscillating unit 64 is redirected from the horizontal direction to the vertical direction by the mirror 74 installed inside the laser optical path unit 65. The mirror 74 is fixed to the mirror installation base 73, and its angle can be finely adjusted by pulling a screw or pulling. The laser light 35 is turned in the vertical direction, and then the curved portion of the circumference is cut by the mask 36 to be converted into a rectangular laser light 37.

The masks 36 are installed above and below the optical path base 77, and the upper mask cuts the laser circumferential portion in the lateral direction of the paper and the lower mask cuts the laser circumferential portion in the front-back direction of the paper. The converted square laser light 37 is used as the cylindrical lens 3
Introduced in 8. The cylindrical lens 38 is fixed to a lens support base 75 that can be finely adjusted, and the angle, direction, height and the like can be adjusted. Then, the laser light 37 is condensed by the lens 38 and is applied to the gate 3 of the work 26. In addition, a protective glass 76 is provided below the laser 38 to prevent dust from entering from the outside.
Is installed.

A process of cutting a work with the apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIGS. First, the work chuck 57 of the robot unit 49 takes out the work 26 from the molding machine 77. At this time, the work chuck 57 at the time of taking out is used in a state of being rotated by the cylinder 60, that is, in a horizontal position (see FIG. 6).

Next, the arms 53 and 54 of the robot are moved, the chuck 57 is rotated, and the work 26 is moved downward while the work 26 is directed downward. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the work 26
Is inserted and fixed. The fixing method is performed by sucking the suction port 68 and the molded product suction port 78 of the fixing hole 72 provided in the pressing base 41 (see FIG. 7).

Next, the lower surface holding base 41 is moved below the upper surface holding jig 40 by the cylinder 62, and thereafter,
The upper surface holding jig 40 is lowered by the cylinder 63, and the work 26 is sandwiched. Then, air is introduced into the air introduction port 46, and at the same time, suction is performed from the exhaust port 47. After that, the laser is irradiated from the laser optical path portion 65 toward the gate 3.

At the laser irradiation position, the laser light path portion 65 is moved by the motors 66 and 67, and all the gate portions set on the jig are irradiated with the laser one by one. After laser cutting all the gates 3, the introduction of the air is stopped and only the suction of the exhaust port 47 is performed, and the upper surface holding jig 40 is raised. Then, the suction of the exhaust port 47 is stopped. The lower surface support base 41 is returned to the position where the original work was mounted by the cylinder 62 (see FIG. 8).

Next, the molded product runner suction portion 58 attached to the hand of the robot 49 is swung by the cylinder 60 so as to face downward, and sucks the work 26 that has been cut into the runner 2 and the molded product 1. To do. The adsorption part 58 is provided with a molded product adsorption hole 79 for adsorbing the molded product 1 and a runner adsorption hole 80 for adsorbing the runner 2, which are connected to different air suction sources. After sucking the molded product suction hole 79 and the runner suction hole 80 of the suction part 58, the suction port 68 and the molded product suction port 78 of the lower surface pressing base 41 are sucked and broken (release the suction and instantly apply a protruding pressure). I will let you do it. As described above, the molded product 1 and the runner 2 are transferred from the lower surface pressing base 41 to the molded product runner suction portion 58 (see FIG. 9).

The work holding section 50 shown in FIG. 3 is equipped with the upper surface holding jig 40, the lower surface holding base 41, and two cylinders 62 and 63, respectively. Therefore, in this device, while one side is performing laser cutting,
On the other side, a robot can mount and eject the work.

Next, the molded product runner suction section 58 is moved above the runner waste box 81 by the robot arms 53 and 54, and the runner suction holes 80 are sucked and destroyed, and the runner 2 is put into the waste box 81 (see FIG. 10). ).

Next, the molded product runner suction section 58 is moved above the parts feeder 82 by the robot arms 53 and 54, and the molded product suction hole 79 is sucked and destroyed, whereby the molded product 1 is placed in the parts feeder 82. Put in. Molded product 1
Are aligned in the same direction by the parts feeder 82, and are sent to a subsequent process, that is, an inspection process, an assembly process or the like (see FIG. 11).

According to the present embodiment, the cutting can be completed by one moment of laser irradiation, and therefore the sagging at the cutting start portion caused by cutting with continuous irradiation, soreness, and burrs caused by multiple irradiations. Can be extinguished. Further, since the linear laser light is emitted, the edge generated when cutting with one circular laser light can be eliminated. Furthermore, the generation of defective products due to melted scattered materials can be eliminated,
The problems described in the conventional problems can be eliminated.

In the present embodiment, the method of taking out the molded product from the molding machine 77 is adopted, but the present invention is not limited to this, and may include supplying the works arranged in the tray. Further, although the arm type robot is used in the present embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the molded products after cutting are aligned by the parts feeder and sent to the subsequent process, but the present invention is not limited to this, and means for aligning them on the tray with a robot hand may be used. .

[0041]

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of a main portion of the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In this example,
Similar to the first embodiment, the robot unit 49 and the work holding unit 5
0 and a laser section 51. In the present embodiment, the laser section 51 has a structure shown below.

The circular laser beam 35 oscillated by the laser oscillating unit is converted into a quadrangular laser beam 37 by cutting the curved portion of the circumference with a mask 36. The converted square laser light 37 is a cylindrical lens 38.
The light is collected linearly at. As shown in FIG. 12, a cylindrical lens 83 is provided on the optical path in the middle of condensing the lens 3
Insert and install by turning 8 and 90 degrees.

The lens 83 is inserted in order to change the length of the laser light 39 which is linearly condensed. When the lens 83 is below (closer to the work), the linear laser light is longer, and when it is above (closer to the lens 38), the linear laser light is shorter. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the laser light of the optimum length according to the length of the gate 3 to be cut by moving the lens 83 up and down.

According to this embodiment, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, the energy of the laser is not wasted,
The gate can be cut with a small amount of power. Further, therefore, deterioration of the lamp and the like can be suppressed, and the production cost can be reduced.

[0045]

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing the present embodiment. In the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, the robot unit 49 and the work holding unit 50 are the same as in the first embodiment.
And a laser section 51. In this embodiment,
The work holding part 50 has the following structure.

The upper surface holding jig 40 has a runner 2 on the lower surface.
A recess is provided so that the gate 3 and the molded product 1 are in contact with each other. A laser beam intake port 42 is installed above the recess in contact with the gate 3, and a glass 43, a packing 44 and a glass retainer 45 are arranged on the upper surface thereof. Has been done. An air inlet 46 is provided on the side surface of the laser light intake 42.
Is installed so that air can be introduced from the outside. Furthermore, on the molded product side near the laser cutting,
A hole 84 through which cooling water can flow is provided so that water having a constant temperature can always flow.

The lower surface pressing base 41 is provided with a recess on the upper surface so that the runner 2, the gate 3 and the molded product 1 come into contact with each other, and a molten scattered matter exhaust port 47 is provided below the recess which comes into contact with the gate 3. The molten scatter and generated gas can be sucked and exhausted. Further, a hole 84 through which cooling water can flow is installed on the side of the molded product near the laser cutting,
Water with a constant temperature always flows.

According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the above-described embodiment, even if the laser cutting is continuously performed for a long time, the jig 40,
Since heat is not accumulated in 41, the molded product is not deformed by heat, and the effect that production efficiency can be improved is obtained.

[0049]

As described above, according to the molded article gate cutting apparatus of the present invention, since the means for irradiating the gate with the laser beam processed on the line is employed, the cut surface is sagged, sore, and burred. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of edges. In addition, since a means for installing a molded product, a runner, and a holding jig that has a wall surface in contact with the gate near the cutting position of the gate is adopted, the function of the device may be impaired due to melted scattered materials due to laser cutting, It is possible to obtain the effect of eliminating defects that impair the quality of the product.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the work holding unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a laser unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of cutting the work according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of cutting the work according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of cutting the work according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of cutting the work according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of cutting the work according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of cutting the work according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of essential parts showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 17 is a partially enlarged plan view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 18 is a partially enlarged plan view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 19 is a partially enlarged plan view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Molded Product 2 Runner 3 Gate 35 Laser Light 36 Mask 37 Square Laser Light 38 Cylindrical Lens 39 Linear Laser Light

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for cutting a gate of a plurality of molded products connected to each other through a runner, comprising a jig having a wall surface in contact with the molded product, the runner and the gate near a cutting position of the gate. In addition, the molded product gate cutting device is provided with means for irradiating a laser beam processed into a linear shape to cut the gate.