JPH08150530A - Machine tool having automatic tool changer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a machine tool having an automatic tool changer which is simple and which can cope with speed-up operation, for attaching and removing a tool in association with vertical motion of a main spindle head, by indexing a magazine and turning a tool change arm by means of a single drive motor. CONSTITUTION: A shift gear 14 is moved by an air cylinder 29 so as to change over the meshing of gears 14A, 14B for a first drive gear 24 for a tool magazine and a second drive gear 25 for a changing arm unit 9. Further, the tool change arm 12 which can be only turned by a drive motor is turned by an angle of 90deg. so as to elevate a main spindle head 5 in a condition in which a spindle 6 side tool and a magazine side tool are gripped, and accordingly, a magazine pod 43 having a coupling piece 44 is elevated along a pot guide 41 through the intermediary of a hook body 46 engaged with a coupling pin 49 and a hook 48, and accordingly, tools are simultaneously pulled out from the spindle and the magazine pot.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention selectively pivots a storage tool in a tool magazine and pivots a tool exchanging arm of an exchanging arm unit with a single drive motor, and vertically inserts / removes the spindle head. The present invention relates to a machine tool having an automatic tool changer for performing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, since a tool magazine and an exchange arm unit of an automatic tool changer are functionally separated and independent, each has an independent drive unit. For example, a cam drive type exchange arm unit requires one drive motor, and an NC drive type exchange arm unit requires two drive motors, one for turning and one for inserting / removing. . On the other hand, the tool magazine also requires a dedicated drive motor, and the automatic tool changer requires two to three drive motors as a whole.

[0003]

The cam drive type exchange arm unit described in the prior art is relatively inexpensive because it requires only one drive motor, but has a problem that it cannot cope with high speed tool exchange. The NC drive type exchange arm unit has a short cycle time and is easy to assemble and adjust, but has a problem that two drive motors (servo motors) are required and the cost is high.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide one drive motor (servo) for rotation indexing of the tool magazine and rotation of the tool changing arm of the changing arm unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine tool having an automatic tool changer that can be operated by a motor and that can be inserted and removed by vertically moving a spindle head at a low cost and capable of accommodating high-speed tool change.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a machine tool having an automatic tool changing device according to the present invention is provided with a plurality of machine tools provided in the vicinity of a vertical spindle head capable of moving and positioning vertically and horizontally. A machine tool having an automatic tool changing device comprising a tool magazine for storing tools and indexing them to a tool changing position parallel to a spindle, and an changing arm unit provided between the tool magazine and the spindle head. A magazine pot provided to the pot chain so as to be able to move up and down along a fixed vertical guide, and a tween-shaped tool exchanging arm provided so as to be only pivotable around the pivot center axis of the exchanging arm unit,
Driving means for turning the tween type tool changing arm by 90 ° and 180 °, a hook member provided above the tween type tool changing arm of the turning central shaft so as to be only vertically movable, and a lower end portion of the spindle head. A connecting pin member that is provided horizontally and that engages and disengages with the hook member by the horizontal movement of the spindle head; and the hook member that is provided on the upper surface of the magazine pot when the magazine pot is swung to a tool exchange position. And a connecting piece that engages and disengages with the tween type tool changing arm, and the tool is exchanged by the turning operation of the tween type tool changing arm and the inserting and removing operation by the vertical movement of the spindle head.

An automatic tool comprising a tool magazine provided near the spindle head for storing a plurality of tools and indexing to a tool exchange position, and an exchange arm unit for exchanging tools between the tool magazine and the spindle head. In a machine tool having an exchanging device, the first drive gear for turning and indexing the storage tool of the tool magazine and the second drive gear for tool exchanging operation of the tween type tool exchanging arm of the exchanging arm unit are selectively meshed with each other. A shift gear that is movable in the axial direction, a drive member that moves the shift gear in the axial direction, and a drive motor that rotates the shift gear. Both of the rotation indexing of the tool magazine and the rotation of the tool exchanging arm are performed by one drive motor. Is to be driven.

Further, a drive member that axially moves the shift gear engages with the second drive gear when the shift gear meshes with the first drive gear, and engages with the first drive gear when the shift gear meshes with the second drive gear. The lock pin member is provided to restrain the rotation of the engaged gear.

[0008]

According to the present invention, the connecting pin member engages with the hook member when the spindle head is positioned at a predetermined tool exchange position.
At this time, the hook member is already engaged with the connecting piece of the magazine pot when the next necessary tool is indexed to the tool changing position of the magazine. Next, the tool changing arm is rotated by 90 ° by the driving means to simultaneously grip the spindle mounting tool and the tool to be stored in the magazine pot, and when the spindle head is raised, the magazine pot is also raised. At this time, since both tools are gripped by the tool exchange arm and the vertical movement is restricted, both tools are pulled out at the same time when the spindle and the magazine pot are raised. Then, the tool changing arm is moved by the drive means to 18
Both tools are exchanged by turning 0 °, both the spindle head and the magazine pot are lowered, both tools are inserted into the spindle and the magazine pot, the spindle head is separated from the tool exchange position, and the connecting pin is pulled out from the hook member. Therefore, since the tool is inserted / removed by the vertical movement of the spindle head, the insertion / removal drive motor becomes unnecessary.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the shift gear is axially moved by the drive means to mesh with the first drive gear by the turning index command of the tool magazine, and the magazine pot is moved to the tool magazine of the tool magazine by the drive motor. Index to the tool change position. In addition, the shift gear is axially moved in response to the tool change command to mesh with the second drive gear, and the tool change arm is rotated by the drive motor via the second drive gear. Therefore, since the turning indexing of the tool magazine and the turning operation of the tool changing arm are performed by one drive motor, the automatic tool changing device has a simple structure, and both cost reduction and space saving can be achieved.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the shift gear is axially moved to mesh with the first drive gear for driving the tool magazine, the lock pin provided on the shifter of the drive means drives the second tool exchanging arm for driving. Engages with the drive gear to regulate movement of the tool change arm. Further, when the shift gear is meshed with the second drive gear, the lock pin engages with the first drive gear for driving the tool magazine to restrict the movement of the tool magazine. Therefore, the non-driving side does not start accidentally and safety can be secured.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a machine tool having an automatic tool changer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the vertical machining center shown in FIG. 5, the table 2 is movably mounted on the guide in the X-axis direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface) on the bed 1, and the column 3 is erected on the right side of the bed 1. Has been done. The column 3 is provided with a guide in the Y-axis direction (horizontal direction), and the saddle 4 is mounted on the Y-axis guide so as to be movable and positioned. A guide in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction) is provided on the end surface of the saddle 4 on the table side, and a spindle head 5 is mounted on the saddle 4 so that the spindle head 5 can be moved and positioned along the Z-axis guide. A spindle 6 is rotatably supported by a plurality of bearings (not shown) on the spindle head 5, and a tool holder T (hereinafter referred to as a tool) is detachably mounted in a taper hole (not shown) at the lower end of the spindle 6. Has become.

Automatic tool changer 7 (hereinafter referred to as ATC)
As shown in the longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 1, the column 3 is attached to the bed 1 so as to penetrate almost the center of the column 3 in the Y-axis direction, and the frame body of the ATC 7 is a lower stand 8A, a middle stand 8B, and an upper stand 8C. It is made up of three parts. A swivel center axis 11 of the exchange arm unit 9 is erected vertically and upwardly on the spindle head 5 side on the lower base 8A, and the swivel center axis 11 has tools at both ends as shown in the top view of FIG. A tween type tool changing arm 12 having a grip portion 12a is fitted.

As shown in a partially enlarged view of FIG. 2, a spline shaft 13 is vertically and rotatably supported on the center base 8B, and a shift gear 14 is fitted on the spline shaft 13 so as to be movable in the axial direction. A passive pulley 15 is fitted to a lower end portion of the spline shaft 13 projecting from a middle base 8B via a key, and a drive motor (sabot motor) 16 is fixed downward to the opposite main spindle head side on the lower base 8A, A synchro belt 18 is stretched between the drive pulley 17 fitted to the output shaft of the servo motor 16 and the passive pulley 15.

Further, a first output shaft 19 and a second output shaft 21 are concentrically and rotatably supported in parallel with the spline shaft 13 on the center stand 8B, and the tip of the second output shaft 21 is the middle stand. It projects below 8B. The drive pulley 2 is attached to this protrusion.
2 is fitted via a key, and a synchro belt 30 is stretched between the drive pulley 22 and the passive pulley 20 fitted at the lower end of the turning center shaft 11. First drive shaft 19
Is integrally provided with a gear 23, and a first drive gear 24 is fitted adjacent to the gear 23 via a key,
A second drive gear 25 is fitted on the second drive shaft 21 via a key.

The shift gear 14 is integrally provided with a gear 14A for driving a tool magazine and a gear 14B for driving a tool changing arm. The gear 14A is a first drive gear 24.
Further, the gear 14B is adapted to selectively mesh with the second drive gear 25.

A switching shaft 26 as shown in FIG. 3 is vertically movable and vertically supported near the spline shaft 13, the first drive shaft 19 and the second drive shaft 21, and the upper end of the switching shaft 26 is an upper base. A shifter 27 that protrudes upward through 8C and engages with an outer peripheral groove 14a formed in the shift gear 14 is fitted to a lower position. Further, a lock pin 28 penetrating up and down is planted in the shifter 27, and through holes 24a, 25a into which the tip ends of the lock pin are detachably fitted are inserted in the first drive gear 24 and the second drive gear 25. Each is drilled.

The upper end of the switching shaft 26 has an upper base 8C.
It is connected to a piston rod 29a of a hydraulic or pneumatic fluid pressure cylinder 29 that is fixed downward via a support, and the shift gear 14 moves in the axial direction by switching the pressure fluid, so that the gear 14A moves to the first position. When engaged with the drive gear 24, the lock pin 28 is fitted into the through hole 25a of the second drive gear 25 to restrain the rotation of the second drive shaft 21, and when the gear 14B engages with the second drive gear 25. The lock pin 28 is inserted into the through hole 24a of the first drive gear 24 to restrain the rotation of the first drive shaft 19.

On the other hand, the drive shaft 32 of the tool magazine 31 is erected on the upper spindle head side of the center table 8B so as to be rotatable upward, and the gear 33 is fitted to the lower end and the chain gear 34 is fitted to the upper end. Further, a tension adjusting member 35 is provided on the upper opposite main spindle side of the upper base 8C, and a shaft 36 is erected so as to be positionally adjustable in the Y-axis direction via the tension adjusting member. The chain gear 37 is rotatably supported. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of chain guides 40 and roller guides 38 are horizontally attached to both sides of the upper base 8C through a plurality of brackets 36, and a pot chain is stretched between the chain gears 34 and 37. 39 is circulated along the chain guide 40.

A plurality of pot guides 41 are vertically fixed to the pot chain 39, and a roller 42 pivotally supported at the lower end of the pot guide 41 abuts on the roller guide 38 to support the weight. , Pot guide 4
A magazine pot 43 is attached so as to be vertically movable along the direction 1. The magazine pot 43 has a taper hole into which the tool T is detachably mounted, has a tool clamping mechanism (not shown) composed of a spring and a ball inside, and a connecting piece 44 is fixed to the upper end surface. Further, a stopper member 45 is attached to the shaft 36 to regulate the vertical movement of the magazine pot 43 when the manual tool is attached or detached.

On the other hand, a hook body 46 is vertically movably fitted to the upper end portion of the turning center shaft 11, and the hook body 46 is restricted from rotating by a guide pin 47 fixed to the column 3. A hook 48 that is detachably engaged with the connecting piece 44 is fixed to the end portion. Further, a connecting hole 46a is horizontally formed in the hook body 46 on the spindle head side, and a connecting pin 49 is horizontally attached to a position corresponding to the lower end of the spindle head 5.

Further, a dustproof cover (not shown) for partitioning the cutting area and the tool magazine 31 is provided on the end face of the column 3 on the table 2 side so as to be opened and closed, and the dustproof cover is automatically opened by a NC tool change command. Has become. An air curtain may be provided instead of the dustproof cover to prevent dust such as cutting chips from being applied to the tool magazine.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the tool exchange position (home position) of the spindle head 5 in the ATC is the A position where the Z axis is lower than the upper limit position a by c, and the Y axis is further than the machining area rear limit position b. The position B is determined to be backward by d, and the spindle head 5 can be moved to the position B in the Y-axis direction only when a tool change command is issued from the NC.

When a tool change command is issued from the NC, the spindle head 5 is positioned at the A position in the Z-axis direction and the b position in the Y-axis direction, and then further moved to the B position rearward by the distance d in the Y-axis direction to the home position. Is positioned on the connecting pin 4
9 is inserted into the hole 46a of the hook body 46. In this state, the pressure fluid is already supplied to the lower chamber of the fluid pressure cylinder 29, the shift gear 14 moves upward through the shifter 27, the gear 14B meshes with the second drive gear 25, and the lock pin 28 makes the first drive. It is inserted into the through hole 24 a of the gear 24.

Next, when the servo motor 16 rotates and the spline shaft 13 rotates via the synchro belt 18, the drive shaft 21 moves via the gear 14B and the second drive gear 25.
Rotates, and further, the swivel center shaft 11 rotates via the synchro belt 30 and the tool exchanging arm 12 swivels 90 ° counterclockwise in FIG. The magazine pot 43 storage tool T indexed to the home position is simultaneously gripped.

After the spindle mounting tool T is unclamped, the spindle head 5 is moved to Z by a Z-axis motor (not shown).
The distance c is increased in the axial direction. At this time, both the spindle-side tool T and the magazine-side tool T are gripped by the tool exchange arm 12 and their vertical movements are regulated. As the spindle head 5 rises, the hook body 46 and the hook 48 rise through the connecting pin 49,
Further, the magazine pot 43 rises along the pot guide 41 via the connecting piece 47. By the ascent of the spindle head 5 and the pot guide 41, both tools T are moved to the pot guide 41 of the spindle 6.
Simultaneously extracted from.

Next, when the tool exchanging arm 12 pivots clockwise or counterclockwise by 180 ° and the positions of both tools T to be grasped are exchanged, and the spindle head 5 is lowered by the distance c in the Z axis direction, the magazine pot 43 is simultaneously lowered. Then, the tool T necessary for the next machining is inserted into the spindle 6 to perform tool clamping, and at the same time, the used tool T is inserted into the magazine pot 43 and clamped.

Next, the tool exchanging arm 12 pivots clockwise by 90 ° in FIG. 4 and moves away from both tools T to a standby position, the spindle head 5 moves forward in the Y axis direction by a distance d, and the connecting pin 49 moves. After being pulled out from the hole 46a of the hook body 46, it is moved in the Z-axis and Y-axis directions and the cutting process is restarted.

Next, when a tool indexing command for the tool magazine 31 is issued, the pressure fluid is supplied to the upper chamber of the fluid pressure cylinder 29, and the gear 14A of the shift gear 14 is moved to the first drive gear 24.
At the same time, the lock pin 28 is inserted into the through hole 25a of the second drive gear 25 to restrict the turning of the tool changing arm 12.

Then, the servomotor 16 rotates clockwise or counterclockwise to move the chain gear 34 and the pot chain 3.
The makajin pot 43 turns via 9 and the magazine pot 43 having the tool T to be used next is indexed to the home position of the tool magazine.

When passing through the home position of the tool magazine when the magazine pot 43 is rotated, the hook 48 can pass through the gap between the connecting piece 44 and the upper surface of the magazine pot. The turning of 43 is not hindered.

[0031]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. According to a first aspect of the present invention, in the tool exchanging operation between the spindle positioned at the tool exchanging position and the magazine pot indexed at the magazine side tool exchanging position, the tween type tool exchanging arm is 90 ° from the standby position.
Pivot to simultaneously grip the spindle mounting tool and the magazine pot storage tool, and vertically move the spindle head to move up and down the magazine pot that has the connecting piece that engages with the hook member connected to the spindle head by the connecting pin member. Since the tool is inserted / removed, the tool insertion / removal drive motor is not required, and the structure is simplified and the cost can be reduced.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, since one drive motor drives both the rotation indexing of the tool magazine and the rotation of the tool exchanging arm by switching the meshing by the shift gear, the drive required individually. Since only one motor is required, the cost can be greatly reduced and the space can be saved by simplifying the drive system.

Since the movement of the non-driving side is restrained at the same time when the shift gear is switched, the replacement arm unit does not move accidentally while the tool magazine is being driven, and the replacement arm unit is erroneously driven. As a result, the tool magazine does not move and the automatic tool change arm has a simple and reliable inexpensive lock mechanism.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing an automatic tool changing device portion of a machine tool having an automatic tool changing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a driving unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow line in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the automatic tool changer.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a machine tool having an automatic tool changer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 bed 2 table 3 column 5 spindle head 6 spindle 9 exchange arm unit 12 automatic exchange arm 14 shift gear 16 drive motor 24 first drive gear 25 second drive gear 27 shifter 28 lock pin 31 tool magazine 34, 37 chain gear 39 pot chain 41 Pot guide 43 Magazine pot 44 Connecting piece 46 Hook body 48 Hook 49 Connecting pin

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tool magazine, which is provided in the vicinity of a vertical spindle head capable of moving and positioning vertically and horizontally, stores a plurality of tools and indexes them at a tool exchange position parallel to the spindle, and the tool magazine and the spindle. In a machine tool having an automatic tool changer consisting of an exchange arm unit provided between the head and a magazine, a magazine pot movably provided up and down along a vertical guide fixed to the pot chain of the tool magazine, A tween type tool changing arm provided so as to be rotatable only around the center axis of rotation of the changing arm unit, and the tween type tool changing arm is set at 90 ° and 1 °.
A drive means for turning by 80 °, a hook member provided on the upper side of the tween type tool changing arm of the turning center shaft so as to be movable only up and down, and a lower end portion of the spindle head horizontally provided for horizontal movement of the spindle head. And a connecting pin member that is releasably engaged with the hook member, and a connecting piece that is provided on the upper surface of the magazine pot and that is releasably engaged with the hook member when the magazine pot is pivoted to a tool exchange position. A machine tool having an automatic tool changer, characterized in that the tool is changed by turning a tween type tool changing arm and inserting / removing by vertically moving a spindle head. 2. An automatic machine comprising a tool magazine provided near the spindle head for storing a plurality of tools and indexing to a tool exchange position, and an exchange arm unit for exchanging tools between the tool magazine and the spindle head. In a machine tool having a tool changing device, a first driving gear for turning and indexing a storage tool of the tool magazine and a second driving gear for tool changing operation of a tween type tool changing arm of the changing arm unit are selectively meshed with each other. A shift gear that is movable in the axial direction, a drive member that axially moves the shift gear, and a drive motor that rotates the shift gear. A machine tool having an automatic tool changer, characterized in that it drives both. 3. A drive member for axially moving a shift gear engages with a second drive gear when the shift gear meshes with the first drive gear, and engages with the first drive gear when the shift gear meshes with the second drive gear. A machine tool having an automatic tool changer according to claim 2, wherein a lock pin member is provided to restrain the rotation of the engaged gear.