JPH08150537A - Automatic chip eliminating device for machine tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an automatic chip eliminating device for a machine tool for enabling a machine tool to perform cutting operation in a state where no chips cling to a spindle chuck or a cutting tool by checking to see whether or not the chips cling to the spindle chuck or the cutting tool, and positively eliminating the chips when the chips cling to the spindle chuck or the cutting tool. CONSTITUTION: A check sensor 50 for detecting the presence or absence of chips T clung to a spindle chuck 9, a chip eliminating hand 70 for grasping and removing the chips T clung to the spindle chuck 9, a control circuit which outputs a control signal based on the detected result of the chip check sensor 50 to drive the chip eliminating hand 70, and thus to eliminate the chips T from the spindle chuck 9, are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a machine tool such as an NC lathe (numerical control lathe) equipped with a robot hand for automatically supplying and discharging a work, and more particularly, to a spindle chuck for gripping a work. The present invention relates to an automatic chip removing device for automatically removing cutting chips or cutting chips entangled in a cutting tool for cutting a work.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in general, a machine tool provided with this type of robot hand, for example, a comb NC lathe,
The unworked workpiece is gripped by the robot hand and supplied to the spindle chuck, and chucked and rotated by the spindle chuck. Further, the cutting tool moves on the bed while being held by the cutting tool holder, and is installed to face the work held by the spindle chuck. Then, by bringing the cutting tool into contact with the work, the work is cut and processed into a predetermined shape.

After the machining of this work is completed, the spindle chuck releases the machined work, the robot hand grips the machined work again, and the machined work is discharged to the outside of the NC lathe. The NC lathe automatically repeats such a cycle, whereby a large number of workpieces can be automatically and continuously machined.

[0004]

However, in the NC lathe equipped with the conventional robot hand as described above, in order to remove a large amount of chips generated by cutting the work with the cutting tool, the NC lathe is cut at the time of cutting. Coolant was continuously supplied to the cutting part of the cutting tool, and the coolant was used to wash away the chips, but it was not configured to check whether the chips could actually be removed from the workpiece. .

As a result, when chips are successively entangled with the cutting tool, the load on the cutting tool increases and stress concentration occurs in the weak portion. Especially, in the case of a cutting tool for drilling small diameter holes, Since the thin portion is weak, the thin portion is easily damaged, which causes damage to the bite. Therefore, when the cutting tool is damaged by the entanglement of the cutting chips, if the processing cycle is automatically continued with the damaged cutting tool, there is a problem that the workpiece may be passed to the subsequent process without being processed. Also, if chips are entangled with the spindle chuck, the workpiece cannot be attached to the spindle chuck in the correct state, chucking failure of the workpiece occurs, and the cutting tool is easily damaged, and there is a risk of defective machining or dropping of the workpiece. There is also the issue that there are.

[0006] Therefore, when an automated line is constructed using such an NC lathe, the above-mentioned problems of cutting chips may be considered, so that the machine is frequently stopped and a person removes the cutting chips. Therefore, even if the line is automated to save manpower, the manpower cannot be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems. It is checked whether chips are entangled with the spindle chuck or the cutting tool, and if the chips are entangled, positive action is taken. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic chip removing device for a machine tool capable of performing a cutting process in a state where the chips are not entangled with the spindle chuck or the bite by removing the chips.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and the like and to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention grasps a work W as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and 6, for example. And a rotating spindle chuck 9 and a robot hand 5 for gripping a workpiece W and supplying it to the spindle chuck 9 and gripping and discharging a workpiece W cut by a cutting tool 90.
In a machine tool automatic chip removing device equipped with, a chip check sensor 50 that detects the presence or absence of chips T entangled in the spindle chuck 9, and a chip that removes the chips T entangled in the spindle chuck 9 by gripping them. A removal hand 70 and a control circuit 100 that outputs a control signal based on the detection result of the chip check sensor 50 to drive the chip removal hand 70 to remove the chips T from the spindle chuck 9 are provided. I am trying.

Further, the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 and 7 to 9, for example, is a cutting tool 90 for cutting a work W held by a spindle chuck 9. And the work W gripped and supplied to the spindle chuck 9 and cut by the cutting tool 90.
In a machine tool automatic chip removing device equipped with a robot hand 5 for gripping and discharging a tool, a bite check sensor 60 for detecting the presence or absence of a chip T entangled in a bite 90.
And a chip removing hand 70 for gripping and removing the chip T entangled in the cutting tool 90, and a control signal is output based on the detection result of the bite check sensor 60 to drive the chip removing hand 70 to cut the cutting chip T. Control circuit 10 removed from 90
The feature is that 0 and 0 are provided.

Further, the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool according to the present invention, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 9, has a spindle chuck 9 for gripping and rotating a workpiece W, and a workpiece gripped by the spindle chuck 9. Tool 90 for cutting W and work W
Gripping the tool and supplying it to the spindle chuck 9
In a machine tool automatic chip removing device equipped with a robot hand 5 that grips and discharges a work W that has been machined by means of a chip check sensor 50 for detecting the presence or absence of chips T entangled in a spindle chuck 9. , A bite check sensor 60 for detecting the presence of chips T entangled in the bite 90
And the chip T entwined with the spindle chuck 9 or the bite 90
Based on the detection results of the chip removing hand 70 that grips and removes the chip check sensor 50 or the bite checking sensor 60, the chip removing hand 70 is driven to drive the chip removing hand 70 to remove the chip T from the spindle chuck 9 or the bite. The control circuit 100 for removing from 90 is provided.

Further, in the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool according to the present invention, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the bite check sensor 60 can detect the deformation of the bite 90 due to damage, and When damage is detected, the control circuit 100 is detected based on the detection result of the bite check sensor 60.
However, it is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the subsequent processing cycle is stopped.

[0012]

The present invention has the above-mentioned configuration,
When the chip check sensor 50 detects the chip T entangled with the spindle chuck 9, the control circuit 100 outputs a control signal to the chip removing hand 70 based on the detection signal, which drives the chip removing hand 70. Then, the chips T entangled in the spindle chuck 9 are grasped and removed.

When the bite check sensor 60 detects the chip T entangled with the bite 90, the control circuit 100 outputs a control signal to the chip removing hand 70 based on the detection signal, whereby the chip removing hand. 70 drives and removes the chips T entangled with the cutting tool 90 by gripping.

Further, when the chip check sensor 50 detects the chip T entangled in the spindle chuck 9 or the bite check sensor 60 detects the chip T entangled in the bite 90, the control circuit is based on the detection signal. 100 outputs a control signal to the chip removing hand 70, which drives the chip removing hand 70 to drive the spindle chuck 9 or the cutting tool 90.
Grasp and remove the chips T entangled in.

Furthermore, when the bite check sensor 60 detects the breakage of the bite 90, the control circuit 100 stops the subsequent machining cycle based on the detection signal.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 9 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an explanatory view in which a part of the relationship between a robot hand, a spindle chuck and a bite is shown in section, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the robot hand. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the NC lathe, FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the control circuit, and FIG. 6 is a chip check for chips entwined with the spindle chuck. Explanatory drawing showing the state detected by the sensor, FIG.
Is an explanatory view showing a state in which the bite is detected by the bite check sensor, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the chip entwined with the bite is detected by the bite check sensor, and FIG. 9 is a chip removed by the bite entwined It is explanatory drawing which shows the state removed by a hand.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 is an NC lathe showing a specific example of the machine tool of the present invention, and 2 is a robot apparatus for automatically supplying / discharging a work W to / from the NC lathe 1. . The robot apparatus 2 includes a frame 3 provided so as to surround the NC lathe 1 and a mobile robot 4 movably attached to the frame 3.

The mobile robot 4 includes a robot hand 5 capable of detachably gripping a work W, a vertical movement mechanism 6 for moving the robot hand 5 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and the vertical movement mechanism 6. A front-rear moving mechanism 7 that integrally moves the robot hand 5 in the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction), and a left-right moving mechanism 8 that integrally moves the robot hand 5 in the left-right direction (X-axis direction). Have These up / down, front / rear and left / right moving mechanisms 6, 7, 8
Respectively have a motor for moving in each axial direction, a movement guide, etc., and the robot hand 5 can be arbitrarily moved in the vertical, front-back, left-right directions within a range defined by each movement guide, etc. You can move.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the robot hand 5 grips an unmachined work W and conveys it to a machining position, and also an in-chuck for chucking the work W on the spindle chuck 9 at the machining position. 10 and an out chuck 40 that grips the processed work W, receives it from the spindle chuck 9, conveys it to a predetermined position, and discharges it to the outside of the NC lathe 1. The in-chuck 10 and the out-chuck 40 are provided side by side on the base member 12 and attached to the lower end of the vertical movement mechanism 6 via the holding member 13.

The inchuck 10 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1 taken along the line A, three chuck claws 14 arranged at equal angular intervals and the three chuck claws 14 are arranged.
And a chuck body 15 that is driven to open and close by interlocking with each other. Inside the three chuck claws 14, there is provided a work retainer 16 for axially positioning the work W gripped by the chuck claws 14. It is arranged. Work clamp 16
Is fitted to a shaft portion 18a of a holding guide 18 screwed to the front surface of the chuck body 15 with a fixing screw 17 so as to be movable in the axial direction. 19 is a work clamp 16 and a presser guide 1
8 is a spring that is interposed between the stopper 2 and the work 2
Limited to 0.

A support plate 22 is fixedly supported on the back surface of the chuck body 15, and a seal member 23 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the front portion. Support plate 22
Has three arm portions 22a that are provided at equal angular intervals and project laterally, and a columnar rubber 24 is screwed onto the tip of each arm portion 22a. This cylindrical rubber 24 is a work W
Is provided to allow the displacement of the chuck body 15 when loading the chuck body 15 on the spindle chuck 9, and the chuck body 15 can be slightly displaced by the elastic deformation of the cylindrical rubber 24.

The seal member 23 is fitted and fixed to the inner peripheral surface of a ring-shaped seal cap 30, and three columns 32 are fixed to the seal cap 30 by fixing screws 31. There is. These three columns 3
2 are arranged at equal angular intervals between adjacent cylindrical rubbers 24, and the other end of each is provided with a flange portion 28a of a sleeve 28.
It is screwed to. Therefore, the minute displacement amount of the chuck body 15 is regulated by the seal member 23 held by the seal cap 30.

The sleeve 28 is axially movably held by a holder 34 via a metal bearing 33.
The holder 34 is fitted in a through hole 35 provided in the base member 12 and is fixed to the base member 12 by a fixing screw 36. Reference numeral 37 is a sleeve cap screwed and fixed to the sleeve 28, and the head portion 37 a is enlarged so that a part thereof overlaps the end surface of the holder 34. Further, 38 is a spring interposed between the base member 12 and the flange portion 28a of the sleeve 28, which constantly biases the chuck body 15 toward the protruding side via the sleeve 28, and the chuck body 15 and the like by the biasing force. Is removed by the sleeve cap 37. In addition, the hole 39 provided in the base member 12
Is for avoiding contact with the head of the fixing screw 29.

The out chuck 40 is provided with two chuck claws 41, 41 arranged to face each other, and a chuck body 42 for driving the two chuck claws 41, 41 to open and close by interlocking with each other. And two chuck claws 4 on the front surface of the chuck body 42 attached to the base member 12.
1, 41 are provided so that they can approach and separate from each other. The out chuck 40 is driven independently of the in chuck 10 and can hold the work W by its own operation.

As a power source for the in-chuck 10 and the out-chuck 40, a pneumatic device generally used for this type of chuck is suitable, but a hydraulic device may be used. That is, various types of power devices such as a motor can be used. The opening / closing operation is controlled based on the control signal output from the control circuit 100.

Further, the base member 12 has a structure shown in FIGS.
As shown in, the chip check sensor 50, the bite check sensor 60, the chip removing hand 70, and the rotation stopping mechanism 80.
And are provided. The axis of the chip check sensor 50 is
The heights of the axes of the in-chuck 10 and the out-chuck 40 are set to be substantially the same, and a chip removing hand 70 is set below the chip check sensor 50, and below the chip removing hand 70. The bite check sensor 60 is set to. Further, a rotation stopping mechanism 80 is set above the chip check sensor 50.

The chip check sensor 50 includes a cylindrical sensor base 51, a sleeve 52 movably held in the sensor base 51 in the axial direction, and a sensor 53 movably held in the sleeve 52 in the axial direction. A spring retainer 54, and a spring 55 interposed between the spring retainer 54 and the sleeve 52. The sensor base 51 has a flange portion 51 extending vertically in the base portion.
It has a and is attached to the front surface of the base member 12 by a fixing screw 56 penetrating an insertion hole provided in the flange portion 51a.

The sleeve 52 biased forward by the spring 55 is prevented from coming off by a small diameter portion provided at the tip of the sensor base 51, and the base end of the sensor 53 whose tip projects from the sleeve 52 is shown in the drawing. A switch that does not operate is exposed, and the switch is turned on / off by pushing the sensor 53. This switch is a sensor 5 that is pushed back by the resistance force when the sensor 53 is pressed against the entangled chips T when detecting the presence of the chips T entangled in the spindle chuck 9.
It is turned on and off by the movement of 3. A detection signal of the chip check sensor 50, which is an on / off signal of this switch, is input to the control circuit 100.

The bite check sensor 60 has a sensor main body 61, a contact 62 attached to the tip of the sensor main body 61, and a bracket 63 for attaching the sensor main body 61 to the base member 12. Contact 62
Has a shape in which the base of a needle-shaped member is wound in a coil shape, and is thus configured to be capable of flexural deformation in the lateral direction. The bracket 63 is formed in an L-shape, and the sensor body 61 is attached to one of the pieces with the contact 62 facing downward. Then, the other piece of the bracket 63 is fixed to the base member 12 with a fixing screw 64.

The sensor body 61 has a built-in switch which is turned on / off by the bending deformation of the contact 62. This switch breaks byte 90 and bit 90
When the presence or absence of the cutting chips T entangled in the cutting tool 90 is detected, the contact element 62 is flexibly deformed by the resistance force when the contacting element 62 contacts the cutting tool 90, or the contacting element 62 is applied to the cutting chips T entwined in the cutting tool 90. When the contact piece 62 is flexed and deformed by the resistance force received from the chip T when the
It is turned off. By the on / off operation of the switch based on the operation of the contactor 62, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of breakage of the cutting tool 90 and the presence or absence of the cutting chips T entwined with the cutting tool 90. The detection signal of the bite check sensor 60 is also input to the control circuit 100.

Further, the chip removing hand 70 has a pipe-shaped sensor tube 71, a sleeve 72 slidably held in the sensor tube 71 in the axial direction, and an axially slidable body together with the sleeve 72. A moving cylinder 73 and a pair of grip claws 74 that are openably and closably held at the tip of the cylinder 73 are provided. The sensor tube 71 has its base end fitted and fixed to the base member 12 so that its tip is projected in the same direction as the bite check sensor 60. The sensor tube 71 is provided with a long groove 75 extending in the axial direction, and a guide pin 76 provided on the sleeve 72 is engaged in the long groove 75, thereby preventing the rotation fluctuation of the cylinder 73 and the sleeve 72. ing. 77
Is a spring contracted in the sensor tube 71, and constantly urges the holding claw 74 and the like outward through the sleeve 72.

The pair of holding claws 74 held at the tip of the cylinder 73 are connected to the piston of the cylinder 73 via a claw opening / closing mechanism. The joint 78 provided at the rear end of the cylinder 73 is connected to the tip of a piping pipe 79, one end of which is connected to an air supply device (not shown) showing a specific example of the power generation source. By controlling the drive of the device by the control circuit 100, the pair of sandwiching claws 74 can be opened / closed by the high pressure air to grasp and remove the chips T entangled in the spindle chuck 9 or the cutting tool 90.

The base member 12 to which the inchuck 10 having the above-mentioned structure is attached is the holding member 13.
It is held rotatably in the vertical direction by. The holding member 13 includes a cylindrical holder 44 attached to the lower end of the vertical movement mechanism 6 and a fixing screw 4 attached to the lower end of the holder 44.
A flat plate 46 fixed by 5 and side plates 48a, 48b fixed by fixing screws 47 on both side surfaces of the flat plate 46 are provided. Bearing holes are provided in the side plates 48a and 48b, and bearings 49a and 49b fitted and fixed in these bearing holes are provided.
And shaft portions 12a and 12b provided at both ends of the base member 12, respectively.
Is rotatably fitted.

One shaft portion 12b of the base member 12
Is a rotary shaft 6 of a swing motor 66 showing a specific example of an actuator for swinging the base member 12.
6a are connected. Therefore, the shaft portion 12b is formed in a cylindrical shape, the rotary shaft 66a is inserted into the hole of the shaft portion 12b, and the shaft portion 12b and the rotary shaft 6 are inserted via the key 67.
6a is integrated in the rotation direction. Therefore, the rotary shaft 66
The shaft center lines C of a and both shaft portions 12a and 12b coincide with each other, and the base member 12 can rotate in the front-rear direction with the shaft center lines C as the center of rotation. 68 is a fixing screw for fixing the swing motor 66 to the side surface of the side surface plate 48b.

In order to limit the swinging motion of the base member 12 in the vertical direction within a certain range, the holding member 13 and the like are provided with a rotation stopping mechanism 80. This rotation stop mechanism 80
2 and 3, etc., are two shock absorbers 81 and 82 attached to the holding member 13, two stoppers 83 also attached to the holding member 13, and a stopper fixed to the base member 12. Block 84. The two shock absorbers 81 and 82 and the two stoppers 83 are paired with each other, and the pair of shock absorbers 81 and the stoppers 83 regulate the upward rotation of the base member 12, and the other pair. The shock absorber 82 and the stopper (not shown) of the base member 1 are
The downward rotation of 2 is restricted.

The upper shock absorber 81 and the upper stopper 83 for restricting the upward rotation of the base member 12 are attached to the flat plate 46 of the holding member 13 so as to be located above the base member 12. Further, the lower shock absorber 82 and the lower stopper that restrict the downward rotation are attached to the flat plate 46 so as to be located behind the base member 12. That is, the upper shock absorber 81 penetrates the flat plate 46 in the vertical direction, and the contactor 81a provided at the tip thereof.
With the lock nut 85
The height is fixed so that it can be adjusted. Further, the lower shock absorber 82 is mounted on the flat plate 46 by a bracket 86.
Through the vertical direction and the contactor 8 provided at the tip
The lock nut 8 is attached to the flat plate 46 with 2a facing downward.
The height is fixed at 7.

Further, the upper stopper 83 vertically penetrates the flat plate 46 in front of the upper shock absorber 81, and is fixed to the flat plate 46 by a lock nut 88 so that the height of the flat plate 46 can be adjusted. Further, although not shown, the lower stopper is provided on the side of the lower shock absorber 82 by the bracket 86.
And penetrates in the vertical direction, and is fixed to the bracket 86 by a lock nut in a height adjustable manner.

Corresponding to the upper shock absorber 81 and the upper stopper 83, a stopper block 84 is fixed by fixing screws 89 above the chip check sensor 50 of the base member 12. This stopper block 84
When the base member 12 rotates upward, the contact energy is first abutted on the contact 81a to attenuate the rotational energy by the upper shock absorber 81, and then abutted on the stopper 83 for positioning. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the base member 12 faces forward, the chip check sensor 50 and the chip removing hand 70 project forward, and the bite check sensor 60 moves downward. Project.

On the other hand, when the oscillating motor 66 is driven to rotate the base member 12 downward, first, the base 82 contacts the contact 82a to attenuate the rotational energy by the lower shock absorber 82, and then contacts the stopper. Be positioned. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9, the base member 12 is moved downward by 90 degrees.
The chip check sensor 50 and the chip removing hand 70 project downward, and the bite check sensor 60 projects rearward.

Robot hand 5 having such a configuration
As shown in FIG. 1, the spindle chuck 9 to which the work W is supplied from is a cylindrical chuck base 95 and a positioning pin holder 9 fixed to the front surface of the chuck base 95.
6 and three chuck claws 97 held by the positioning pin holder 96 at equal angular intervals and slidably in the radial direction.
And a work stopper 98 held inside the positioning pin holder 96. 3 chuck jaws 97
Are configured to be opened / closed in conjunction with each other, and are driven by power supplied from a power source (not shown).
The chuck claw 97 of the book can be opened and closed to grip the work W or release the grip. Reference numeral 92 is a positioning pin for positioning the work W.

The spindle chuck 9 having such a structure is attached to the spindle 11 of the NC lathe 1. In FIG. 1, 91
Is a tool holder for holding a tool 90, and is configured to be able to approach and separate from the spindle chuck 9. Further, 99a is a fixing screw for fixing the positioning pin holder 96 to the chuck base 95, 99b is a fixing screw for fixing the chuck claw 97, and 99c is a fixing screw for fixing the work stopper 98 to the chuck base 95. is there. The cutting tool 90 is a center hole for making a small-diameter hole in the work W.

Reference numeral 100 shown in FIG. 4 is a control circuit of the automatic chip removing device. The control circuit 100 is composed of, for example, a one-chip type microcomputer, and, for example, a 4-bit parallel processing unit (CP).
U), a storage device (R
OM), a storage device (RAM) that can write information, such as a machining counter, and an input / output interface for controlling signal input / output.

The control circuit 100 receives the detection signal of the chip check sensor 50 and the detection signal of the bite check sensor 60 having the above-mentioned configuration, and executes a predetermined arithmetic processing based on these detection signals. Then, a control signal corresponding to the processing result is output to the in-chuck 10, the out-chuck 40, the chip removing hand 70, the swing motor 66, and the mobile robot 4 having the above-described configurations. Then, the control circuit 100 executes the process based on the flowchart shown in FIG. 5, for example, and controls the drive of the inchuck 10 and the like as follows.

That is, when the CPU of the control circuit 100 is interrupted, the subroutine starts from step 1, and in step 2, the in-chuck 10 of the robot hand 5 grips the unprocessed work W outside the NC lathe 1. take. In this case, the vertical movement mechanism 6, the forward-backward movement mechanism 7, and the left-right movement mechanism 8 of the mobile robot 4 are driven as necessary, the robot hand 5 is moved to a position where the unprocessed work W is present, and the inchuck 10 is moved. 3 chuck claws 14
Close and grab the work W.

Next, in step 3, the robot hand 5 is moved to the front of the spindle chuck 9 in the NC lathe 1 and the machined work W previously held by the spindle chuck 9 is out-chucked 40. Grab it with. Also in this case, as in the case of taking the unmachined work W, the vertical movement mechanism 6, the front-back movement mechanism 7, and the left-right movement mechanism 8 of the mobile robot 4 are driven to move to the front of the spindle chuck 9, Close the two chuck claws 41 of the chuck 40 and work W
Grab

Next, in step 4, it is determined whether or not the count number of the machining number counter is the nth time. That is, the number of times of processing recorded in the number of times of processing provided in the storage device of the microcomputer is read,
The read value is compared with a predetermined value (n and an integer multiple of n) stored in advance in the storage device to determine whether or not the number of times of processing is the predetermined value n (or a multiple of the integer). To do. As a result of this determination, if the number of times of processing matches the predetermined value n, the process proceeds to step 5, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step 7.

When the process proceeds to step 5 by the determination in step 4, it is determined whether or not the cutting chips T are entangled with the spindle chuck 9. The operation of detecting the presence of chips T on the spindle chuck 9 can be performed, for example, as follows. First, a control signal is output from the control circuit 100 to the mobile robot 4, and the chip check sensor 50 provided integrally with the robot hand 5 is moved to the front of the spindle chuck 9. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the entire robot hand 5 is moved forward to insert the sensor 53 of the chip check sensor 50 into the central portion of the spindle chuck 9.

At this time, if the chips T are not entangled in the spindle chuck 9, no resistance acts on the sensor 53 and the sensor 53 is inserted without resistance to a predetermined depth. It is possible to detect that the cutting chips T are not entangled in the inside 9. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds from step 5 to step 7.

On the other hand, when the chip T is entangled in the spindle chuck 9, when the sensor 53 is inserted into the central portion of the spindle chuck 9, the tip of the sensor 53 comes into contact with the chip T and the resistance force thereof The sensor 53 is pressed and the switch of the chip check sensor 50 is turned on. As a result, it is possible to detect that the chips T are entangled in the spindle chuck 9, and the detection signal of the chip check sensor 50 that has detected the chips T is input to the control circuit 100.
In this case, the process proceeds from step 5 to step 6.

In step 6, the operation of removing the chips T entwined with the spindle chuck 9 is performed. The operation of removing the chips T can be performed as follows, for example. First, the entire robot hand 5 is retracted to pull out the sensor 53 from the spindle chuck 9, and then the robot hand 5 is raised to move the chip removing hand 70 to the front of the spindle chuck 9. Next, the robot hand 5 is advanced to insert the sandwiching claw 74 of the chip removing hand 70 into the central portion of the spindle chuck 9. Then, the chip T is cut by the pair of clamping claws 74.
Is grasped, and in this state, the robot hand 5 is retracted to extract the chips T from the spindle chuck 9. As a result, the chips T entangled in the machining of the previous work W are removed from the spindle chuck 9 and discharged in the same manner as the normal chips T.

At this time, the forward movement of the robot hand 5 causes the sensor 53 of the chip check sensor 50 or the sandwiching claw 74 of the chip removing hand 70 to move the workpiece W or the spindle chuck 9.
However, as described above, the sensor 53 is biased by the spring 55, and the clamping claw 74 is biased by the spring 77, as described above.
When an external force that overcomes this urging force acts, the sensor 53 or the sandwiching claw 74 retracts due to the external force. As described above, since the chip check sensor 50 and the chip removing hand 70 are provided with the mechanism for retracting and escaping rearward when they come into contact with an obstacle, the sensor 50 and the hand 70 are arranged so that the sensor 50 and the hand 70 can move to the spindle chuck 9 and the workpiece. It is possible to ensure the safety when it comes into contact with W.

Next, in step 7, when the count value of the machining counter is other than n, or when the chip T of the spindle chuck 9 is checked but there is no chip T, or the entangled chips are present. After any of the removal of the powder T, the unworked work W is attached to the spindle chuck 9. That is, the inchuck 10 of the robot hand 5 is moved to the front of the spindle chuck 9, and the work W grasped by the inchuck 10 is grasped by the chuck claws 97 of the spindle chuck 9.
Next, after loosening the inchuck 10, the robot hand 5 is retracted.

Next, in step 8, it is determined whether or not the number of times the machining counter is counting m times. That is, the number of times of machining recorded in the number of times of machining counter is read, and the read value is compared with a predetermined value (m and an integer multiple of m) stored in advance in the storage device to determine that the number of times of machining is a predetermined value m. (Or an integer multiple thereof). As a result of this determination, if the number of times of processing matches the predetermined value m, the process proceeds to step 9, and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step 11.

When the process shifts to step 9 by the determination in step 8, it is determined whether or not the bite 90 is damaged. The operation for detecting the presence or absence of damage to the byte 90 is
For example, it can be performed as follows. First, a control signal is output from the control circuit 100 to the mobile robot 4, and the bite check sensor 6 provided integrally with the robot hand 5 is provided.
0 is moved to above the tip of the cutting edge of the cutting tool 90 holding the cutting tool mounting base 91. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the entire robot hand 5 is lowered to a predetermined position, and the contactor 62 of the cutting tool check sensor 60 is applied to the tip end of the cutting tool 90 (a portion that does not affect cutting).

In this case, when the contact piece 62 hits a predetermined portion of the cutting edge of the cutting tool 90, the base of the contact piece 62 bends due to the resistance force of the cutting tool 90, whereby it is detected that the cutting tool 90 is not damaged. be able to. Therefore,
In this case, it is determined that the bite 90 is not damaged,
Go to step 11. Use this contactor 62 with a bite 90
The contact may be made only once, but it may be made to contact at a plurality of locations to detect the presence or absence of damage for the sake of caution.

On the other hand, if the contact element 62 does not come into contact with the cutting tool 90 even when the tool check sensor 60 is lowered to a predetermined position, that is, if the predetermined position of the cutting tool 90 is lacking, the contact element 62 will not be affected. Since no change occurs, this makes it possible to detect that the cutting tool 90 is damaged. Therefore, in this case, it is determined that the cutting tool 90 is damaged, and the process proceeds to step 10.

In this step 10, the robot hand 5
Is returned to the reference position (origin) and the subsequent machining cycle is stopped. Then, after the damaged bite 90 is replaced with a new bite 90, for example, the position is returned to the position of the step 9 one step before or the step 11 is moved to the next step 11.

In the next step 11, the count of the machining counter is either after the count value of the machining counter is other than m, or the byte 90 is not damaged or the byte is replaced with a new byte 90. It is determined whether the value is k. That is, the number of times of processing recorded in the number-of-processings counter is read, and the read value is compared with a predetermined value (k and an integer multiple of k) stored in advance in the storage device to determine that the number of times of processing is the predetermined value k. (Or an integer multiple thereof). As a result of this judgment,
When the number of times of processing matches the predetermined value k, the process proceeds to step 12, and when they do not match, the process proceeds to step 14.

Based on the determination in step 11, step 1
When shifting to 2, it is determined whether or not the cutting chips T are entangled with the cutting tool 90. The operation of detecting the presence or absence of the entanglement of the chips T of the cutting tool 90 can be performed, for example, as follows. First, the bite check sensor 60 provided integrally with the robot hand 5 is moved above the cutting edge base end (the original portion from the cutting edge tip) of the cutting tool 90 held on the cutting tool mount 91. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the entire robot hand 5 is lowered to a predetermined position (above the damage check position of the cutting tool 90), and the tool check sensor 6 is moved.
The contactor 62 of 0 is brought close to the base end of the cutting edge of the cutting tool 90. Next, the entire robot hand 5 is moved to a predetermined position in the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction.

At this time, if the cutting powder T is not entangled with a predetermined portion of the base end of the cutting edge of the cutting tool 90, even if the cutting tool 60 is operated to a predetermined position, the contact 6
Since no resistance acts on 2 and it operates without resistance, it is possible to detect that the cutting chips T are not entangled with the cutting tool 90. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds from step 12 to step 14. This contact 62
The number of times of approaching the cutting tool 90 to the cutting tool 90 may be once, but the presence or absence of the cutting chips T may be detected at a plurality of locations for the sake of caution.

On the other hand, if the contact element 62 hits the cutting chips T while the bite check sensor 60 is operating to a predetermined position,
The base of the contact 62 is bent by the resistance force of the cutting chips T and the switch is turned on, whereby the cutting chips T can be detected by the bite check sensor 60. Therefore, in this case, it is determined that the cutting chips T are entangled with the cutting tool 90, and the process proceeds to step 13.

In this step 13, the operation of removing the chips T entangled with the cutting tool 90 is performed. The operation of removing the chips T can be performed as follows, for example. First,
The rocking motor 66 is driven to move the robot hand 5 forward.
The chip removing hand 70 is turned downward, and the chip removing hand 70 is directed downward. Next, while slightly lowering the chip removing hand 70, as shown in FIG.
As shown in, the pair of clamping claws 74 are opened and closed to grip the cutting chips T. Then, the robot hand 5 is moved to the cutting edge side of the cutting tool 90, and the chips T are extracted from the cutting edge of the cutting tool 90. As a result, the chips T entangled in the previous work W can be removed from the cutting tool 90 and discharged in the same manner as the normal chips T.

Next, in step 14, when the count value of the machining number counter is other than k, or in byte 90.
The robot hand 5 is moved from the work machining position to the NC lathe 1 in order to perform the machining of the work W by the cutting tool 90 either after the chips T are not entangled with or when the tangled chips T are removed. To the outside of the. After that, the spindle chuck 9 is rotated, and the cutting tool 90 is pressed against the workpiece W held by the spindle chuck 9 to subject the workpiece W to predetermined processing.

After this step 14, the process moves to step 15 to count the machining number counter. That is, 1 is added to the count value of the machining number counter, and this new count value is replaced with the previous count value.

Then, the process proceeds to step 16 to end this interrupt processing. Then, when the processing of the work W is completed, the process returns to step 1 to start a new interrupt process, and thereafter, the processes of steps 1 to 16 are repeated.

The count values n, m and k of the machining number counter are integer values arbitrarily set in the control circuit 100. Normally, the three values are n <m <k, but the three values are three values. May be equal to each other, and n = m = k, or n>m> k.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the NC
When the workpiece W is automatically supplied to the lathe 1 by the robot hand 5 for machining, when the machining number is n, it is checked whether or not the chips T are entangled with the spindle chuck 9 and the entangled chips T are entangled. When the number of machining times is m, the tool 90 is checked for damage.
When the number of machining times is the kth time, it is checked whether or not the cutting chips T are entangled with the cutting tool 90, and the cutting chips T are entangled.
Therefore, the work W can be processed in a state where the cutting chips T are not always entangled in the spindle chuck 9 and the cutting tool 90.

Therefore, when the robot hand 5 is used in the NC lathe 1 to construct an automated line for machining a workpiece, the chips T entwined with the spindle chuck 9 or the cutting tool 90 are removed automatically without relying on manpower. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the manpower and achieve the purpose of building the automated line. Further, when the work W is loaded on the spindle chuck 9, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as the work W being bitten and the work W being obliquely chucked, and the cutting tool T being entangled. It is possible to prevent damage to 90. Further, the machining of the next work W is not performed by the bite 90 which is still damaged, and the reliability of the machining can be improved, and the removal of the chips T which was conventionally performed by the cooling liquid is performed by the robot hand 5. Therefore, the reliability of removing the chips T can be improved.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and for example, the chip check sensor 5
The zero, the bite check sensor 60, and the chip removing hand 70 can be separately provided separately from the in-chuck 10 and the out-chuck 40. In this case, the work of detecting and removing the chips T is performed by the spindle chuck 9
This can be performed in parallel with the work W attachment / detachment work, and the work efficiency can be further improved. That is, in the above-described embodiment, since the work of detecting the chips T and the work of attaching and detaching the work W have been described as a series of continuous processes, the other work cannot be performed during one work, resulting in a loss of work time. However, by configuring the check sensor and the like separately from the robot hand 5, the above loss time can be eliminated.

In the above embodiment, the machine tool is N
Although the example applied to the C lathe has been described, the present invention is
Of course, it can be applied to other machine tools such as a C milling machine and an NC drilling machine. As described above, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0071]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the chip check sensor, chip removal hand, and control circuit are configured, the chip check sensor can detect the chips entwined with the spindle chuck. The chip removing hand can be driven and controlled by the control circuit to grasp and remove the chips entwined with the spindle chuck. Therefore, NC
When an automated line for machining a workpiece is constructed by using a robot hand on a lathe, the chips that are entangled in the spindle chuck can be automatically removed without relying on human labor, and the purpose of constructing an automated line is to reduce human labor. Can be achieved. Moreover, conventionally, the chips are removed by the cooling liquid, but by actively removing the chips by the robot hand, the effect of improving the reliability of the chips removal can be obtained.

Further, since the bite check sensor, the chip removing hand, and the control circuit are provided, the bite check sensor can detect the chips entangled with the bite, so that the detection signal of the bite check sensor can be detected. Based on this, the control circuit drives and controls the chip removing hand, and the chips entangled with the cutting tool can be grasped and removed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the bite from being damaged by the entangled chips.

Further, since the chip check sensor, the bite check sensor, the chip removing hand, and the control circuit are provided, the chip check sensor detects the chip entangled with the spindle chuck, or the bite check sensor makes a bite. It is possible to detect the chips entangled in the spindle chuck, and the control circuit drives and controls the chip removal hand based on the detection signal of the chip check sensor or the detection signal of the bite check sensor. You can grab and remove the chips that are entangled in the powder and bite. Therefore, when an automated line for machining a work is constructed using a robot hand on an NC lathe, the chips entwined with the spindle chuck or the cutting tool can be automatically removed without relying on manpower, reducing manpower. The purpose of automated line construction can be achieved. Further, when a work is loaded on the spindle chuck, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem such as the work being caught by chips and chucking the work obliquely, and also the damage of the cutting tool due to the chips can be prevented. Furthermore, since the next work is not machined with a bite that has been damaged, the machining reliability can be improved and the robot hand can actively remove the chips, which was conventionally done with cooling liquid. It is possible to obtain the effect that the reliability of chip removal can be improved.

Furthermore, since the tool check sensor can detect the deformation due to the tool breakage, when the tool check sensor detects the tool breakage, the control circuit stops the subsequent machining cycle based on the detection signal. You can Therefore, the bite 90 remains damaged
Thus, it is possible to obtain an effect that the reliability of the processing can be improved without processing the next work W.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an automatic chip removing device for a machine tool according to the present invention, and is an explanatory view in which a part of the relationship between a robot hand, a spindle chuck, and a cutting tool is shown in section.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a robot hand of the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing the overall configuration of the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the control circuit of the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view, partly in section, showing a state of detecting chips in the spindle chuck by a chip check sensor of the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view, partly in section, showing a state in which a bite check sensor of the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool according to the present invention detects damage to the bite.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view, partly in cross section, showing a cutting detection state of a cutting tool by the cutting tool check sensor of the automatic chip removal device for a machine tool of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view, partly in section, showing a chip removal state of the cutting tool by the cutting tool check sensor of the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 NC Lathe (Machine Tool) 2 Robot Device 4 Mobile Robot 5 Robot Hand 9 Spindle Chuck 10 Inchuck 14 Chuck Claw 40 Out Chuck 41 Chuck Claw 50 Chip Chuck Sensor 53 Sensor 60 Byte Check Sensor 62 Contactor 66 Swing Motor 70 Chip removal hand 74 Claw 80 Rotation stop mechanism 90 bytes 100 Control circuit

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A machine tool provided with a spindle chuck for gripping and rotating a work, and a robot hand for gripping and feeding the work to the spindle chuck and gripping and discharging a work cut by a cutting tool. In the automatic chip removing device of, a chip check sensor for detecting the presence or absence of chips entwined with the spindle chuck, a chip removal hand for removing the chips entwined with the spindle chuck by gripping, and the chip check sensor And a control circuit for driving the chip removing hand to remove the chips from the spindle chuck by outputting a control signal based on the detection result of the automatic chip removing device for a machine tool. 2. A cutting tool for cutting a workpiece gripped by a spindle chuck, and a robot hand for gripping the workpiece and supplying the workpiece to the spindle chuck and gripping and discharging the workpiece cut by the cutting tool. In the automatic chip removing device for machine tools, a bite check sensor that detects the presence of chips entangled with the cutting tool, a chip removal hand that removes the chips entangled with the cutting tool by gripping it, An automatic chip removing device for a machine tool, comprising: a control circuit that outputs a control signal based on a detection result to drive the chip removing hand to remove the chip from the cutting tool. 3. A spindle chuck that grips and rotates a workpiece, a cutting tool that cuts the workpiece gripped by the spindle chuck, and a workpiece that grips the workpiece and supplies it to the spindle chuck and that is cut by the cutting tool. In an automatic chip removing device for machine tools equipped with a robot hand that grips and discharges workpieces, a chip check sensor that detects the presence or absence of chips entwined with the spindle chuck and a chip entangled with the cutting tool A bite check sensor that detects the presence / absence, a chip removing hand that grips and removes the chips that are entangled in the spindle chuck or the bite, and outputs a control signal based on the detection results of the chip check sensor or the bite check sensor And a control circuit for driving the chip removing hand to remove the chips from the spindle chuck or the cutting tool. An automatic chip removing device for machine tools characterized by being provided with. 4. The automatic chip removing device for a machine tool according to claim 2, wherein the bite check sensor is capable of detecting deformation caused by breakage of the bite, and when the breakage of the bite is detected, the bite is detected. An automatic chip removing device for a machine tool, wherein the control circuit stops the subsequent machining cycle based on the detection result of the check sensor.