JPH1133866A - Tool replacing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly replace even a heavy tool with a simple mechanism. SOLUTION: A tool replacing device replaces a present tool mounted on the spindle 5 of a machine tool 1 with the next tool set in the standby position and is equipped with a tool grasping means 25 furnished with a first tool grasping part 26 to grasp a specified part of the next tool in the standby position and a second grasping part 27 to grasp a specified part of the present tool on the spindle 5 and link means 28 and 29 which put the tool grasping means 25 in parallel displacement within a plane parallel with a plane including the axes of the tools grasped by the first 26 and second grasping parts 27 and move the grasped tools following a track of approx. semi-circular shape whose diameter is identical approx. to the inter-axis distance of the tools. The link means 28 and 29 are driven to cause parallel displacement of the tool grasping means 25, and thereby the present tool mounted on the spindle 5 and grasped by the second grasping part 27 is drawn off from the spindle 5 while the next tool grasped by the first grasping part 26 is mounted don the spindle 5, and thus the replacement is conducted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for replacing a tool mounted on a main spindle of a machine tool with a movable main spindle with a new tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for automatically changing a tool mounted on a spindle of a spindle moving type machine tool typified by a machining center or the like with a new tool, a device of a conventional magazine direct type and a device of a W arm type are conventionally used. It has been known. As a tool suitable for such automatic replacement, a tool as shown in FIG. 7 is generally used.

As shown in FIG. 1, a tool T includes a tool holder 120 and a cutting tool 12 mounted on the tool holder 120.
The tool holder 120 includes a tapered portion 121, a pull stud 123 provided at one end of the tapered portion 121, and a V-shaped gripping groove 122a provided at the other end. It has a grip portion 122 as a basic configuration, and further has a blade holder (for example, a collet chuck, a tapered hole, etc.) corresponding to the type of the blade 124 to be used.
Is provided at the end on the gripped portion 122 side. In the tool T, the taper portion 121 of the tool holder 120 is inserted into the taper hole of the main shaft of the machine tool, and the pull stud 123 is clamped by a tool clamping mechanism including a collet chuck provided in the main shaft. Attached to the spindle.

In the tool changer of the magazine direct type, a plurality of pairs of holding claws for holding the groove 122a to be gripped of the tool T are arranged on the circumference, and the holding claws are turned to rotate one by one. It is provided with a tool magazine configured to index the pair of holding claws to a tool attaching / detaching position.

According to this tool changer, first, the tool magazine is driven so that the (empty) 1 that does not hold the tool T is held.
After indexing the pair of holding claws to the tool attaching / detaching position, the spindle with the used tool T mounted thereon is moved to the tool attaching / detaching position so that the tool T is clamped by an empty clamping jaw. Is released and the tool T is unclamped, and then the spindle is moved away from the tool attachment / detachment position to remove the tool T from the spindle. Next, the tool magazine is driven again to index the pair of holding claws holding the next tool T to be used to the tool attaching / detaching position, and then the main spindle is moved to the tool attaching / detaching position to move the tool held by the holding claws. Attach T to the spindle,
Thereafter, the tool T is driven to clamp the tool T. Next, the main shaft is moved in a direction to pull out the mounted tool T from the holding claws. From the above, the used tool T
And the tool T to be used next can be exchanged.

On the other hand, the tool changer of the W-arm type includes a tool magazine formed by connecting a plurality of tool holding pots with a chain or the like and a change arm 101 as shown in FIG. is there. The tool holding pot has a holding mechanism such as a ball lock mechanism and can hold the tool T in the pot. The tool holding pot indexed to a predetermined position is moved to a tool changing position. It can be made to be. FIG. 5 shows the tool holding pot 105 moved to the tool changing position in this way.

The exchange arm 101 includes a first tool gripper 102 and a second tool gripper 103. The exchange arm 101 is supported by a rotary shaft 104 so as to be rotatable in the direction indicated by the arrow VW, and has a hydraulic pressure. It is provided to be able to advance and retreat in the directions indicated by arrows XY by appropriate driving means such as a cylinder. Then, the first tool gripper 102 and the second tool gripper 10
As shown in FIG. 6, reference numeral 3 denotes a semicircular grip 107 and a grip which is inserted into the cylinder 110 so as to be able to advance and retreat in the direction of the arrow RS, and is urged by the spring 109 in the direction of the arrow S. And a claw 108. Thus, the tool holder 120
When the gripped portion 122 is pushed in the direction of arrow U, the gripping claw 108 moves in the direction of arrow R against the urging force of the spring 109 due to the acting force, and the gripped groove 122a and the grip portion 107 are engaged. At the same time, the head of the gripping claw 108 presses the outer peripheral surface 122 b of the gripped portion 122 by the urging force of the spring 109. In this way, the tool T is moved to the first tool gripper 10
2 and the second tool gripping portion 103.

According to the tool changing device, the tool can be changed as follows. That is, first, a predetermined tool holding pot 105 of the tool magazine is indexed and moved to a tool change position, and the main shaft 106 is moved to a predetermined position. At this time, the replacement arm 101
Is in a vertical state (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5).

Next, the rotating shaft 104 is driven to rotate the exchange arm 101 by 90 ° in the direction indicated by the arrow V. Thus, a new tool held in the tool holding pot 105 of tool change position (hereinafter, referred to as "the next tool") T ₂ is held by the first tool-holding portion 102, a tool mounted on the main spindle 106 (hereinafter, "current tool" hereinafter) T ₁ is held in the second tool-holding portion 103.

Next, the tool clamping mechanism in the main shaft 106 is released, the current tool T ₁ mounted on the main shaft 106 is unclamped, and the replacement arm 101 is advanced in the direction indicated by the arrow Y.
Thus, the current tool T ₁ which is mounted in the following tool T ₂ and the main shaft 106 held by the tool holding pot 105 is drawn from each.

Next, after rotating the rotation shaft 104 to rotate the exchange arm 101 by 180 ° in the direction of arrow V, the exchange arm 101 is retracted in the direction of arrow X, and the current tool T ₁ is placed in the tool holding pot 105. while receiving, the following tool T ₂ spindle 106
Mounted on, to clamp the next tool T ₂ by driving the tool clamping mechanism. Thereafter, the exchange arm 101 is rotated by 90 ° in the direction indicated by the arrow W to release the gripping of the first tool gripper 102 and the second tool gripper 103. As described above, the current tool T
It is possible to replace the ₁ and the next tool T _2.

[0012]

However, the above-mentioned conventional tool changer has the following problems.

That is, the magazine direct type tool changer employs a configuration in which the current tool mounted on the main spindle is returned to the empty holding claws, then the next tool is indexed and mounted on the main spindle. First, there is a drawback that the time required for completing the indexing is a waiting time, and the tool change time is long structurally.

Further, since a tool magazine in which the holding claws are arranged on the circumference is provided, if the number of types of tools used increases, the arrangement radius of the holding claws increases. However, there is also a disadvantage that the tool change time becomes longer.

Further, when a surface of a workpiece having a large machining area is machined, efficient machining can be performed by using a large face mill having a large effective cutting area. Considerably heavy in weight, it is necessary to make the acceleration and deceleration of the tool magazine extremely gentle in consideration of the load on the drive system due to inertia, and there is a drawback that the tool change time is prolonged even when such heavy tools are used.

On the other hand, in the tool changer of the W-arm system, the tool pot 105 holding the next tool T ₂ is moved to the tool change position in advance, and then the current tool T ₁ mounted on the main shaft 106 and the next tool T _2. Is exchanged by the exchange arm 101, so that there is no problem of tool indexing time or tool exchange time caused by using various kinds of tools as in the magazine direct type tool exchange apparatus.

However, on the other hand, this W-arm type tool changer has the following problems. That is, in the field of machine tools, so-called rationalization and efficiency improvement of the manufacturing department requires further shortening of the tool change time. As described above, in this tool changer, the change arm 101 is used. The tool is changed by a combined operation that combines the forward / backward movement and the rotation of the tool. Therefore, considering the minimum time required for each operation, the tool change time is further increased as long as the combined operation is assumed. It is extremely difficult to shorten the length, and there is a problem that the above-mentioned demand cannot be met. Further, since the rotation operation and the forward / backward movement of the exchange arm 101 need to be performed in synchronization, the driving mechanism has been complicated.

In addition, when the weight of the tool to be used is heavy, the rotation speed of the exchange arm 101 must be reduced to a certain speed or less, or conversely, a certain limit must be imposed on the usable tool weight. There was the same problem as in the direct type tool changer. As shown in FIG. 5, moment of inertia is rotated exchange arm 101 gripping the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ in the arrow V direction, the fulcrum the grip portion of the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ There acting in a direction opposite to the rotation direction to each of the center-of-gravity position of the center-of-gravity position and the tapered portion 121 side of the cutting tool 124 side (M ₁ the moment of inertia of the blade 124 side in FIG. 5, the taper 121
Showing the moment of inertia of the side in the M _2). As is well known, the values of the moments of inertia M ₁ and M ₂ are obtained by multiplying the respective masses, the rotational acceleration, and the distance from the fulcrum to the center of gravity. Therefore, when the weight of the cutting tool is considerably heavy,
The moment of inertia M ₁ is considerably larger than M ₂ ,
At the start of the rotation of the exchange arm 101, the tool T is twisted, or the tool T is further advanced, and the first tool gripper 102 and the second tool gripper 103 are released and the tool T falls. Therefore, conventionally, when a heavy cutting tool is used, the rotation speed of the exchange arm 101 is reduced to a certain speed or less, or the weight of the usable cutting tool is limited.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tool changing apparatus which can change a heavy tool at a high speed with a simple mechanism.

[0020]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a present invention, wherein a current tool mounted on a main shaft of a machine tool, the current tool and a working portion are in the same direction, and the axes are mutually aligned. A device for replacing a next tool arranged at a standby position such that the grasped parts are located in the same plane orthogonal to the axis while being parallel, and the next tool arranged at the standby position. Tool gripping means including a first tool gripper for gripping a gripped portion of a tool, a second tool gripper gripping a gripped portion of the current tool mounted on the spindle, and the first tool gripper And, by parallel movement of the tool gripping means in a plane parallel to the plane containing the axis of each tool gripped by the second tool gripping portion, each of the gripped tools, the approximate distance between the axis and the diameter. Link hand that moves along a substantially semicircular orbit By driving the link means to move the tool gripping means in parallel, the current tool attached to the main spindle and held by the second tool gripping part is extracted from the main spindle, while the The next tool gripped by one tool gripper is configured to be mounted on the spindle.

According to the present invention, first, the current tool mounted on the main spindle of the machine tool is gripped by the second tool gripping portion of the tool gripping means, and the next tool arranged at the standby position is gripped by the first tool gripping portion. Hold. Next, the link means is driven to move the tool gripping means in parallel. As a result, each of the current tool and the next tool gripped by the first tool gripper and the second tool gripper moves so as to pass on a substantially semicircular trajectory whose diameter is approximately the distance between the axes. The current tool is removed from the spindle while the next tool is mounted on the spindle. As described above, according to the present invention, the tool can be changed by one operation of moving the tool gripping means in parallel by the link means, so that the tool can be changed very quickly as compared with the conventional combined operation. Can be.

In general, an object which starts moving from a stopped state and stops again under an external force is subjected to the largest acceleration when the moving starts and stops, and the maximum moment of inertia accompanying this acceleration is applied. However, in the present invention, since each of the tools performs a substantially semicircular motion, the direction of acceleration at the time of starting and stopping the movement of each of the tools is the axial direction of each of the tools. The maximum moment of inertia acting on is also axial. As described above, according to the present invention, since the moment of inertia acting on the tool at the time of tool change does not act in a direction to twist it, even if the weight on the cutting tool side is heavy, it can be moved without hindrance. Can be replaced.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied and embodied in a machining center, and FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus according to the present embodiment comprises a machining center 1, a tool changing device 20, and a tool transfer device 30. Hereinafter, details of each unit will be described.

The machining center 1 is a machine tool having a generally known configuration, and its schematic configuration is as follows. In the figure, 3 is a main bed and 6 is a sub bed.
The main bed 3 and the sub bed 6 are provided so that their longitudinal directions are orthogonal to each other, and slide rails 4 and 7 are provided on the upper surfaces of the main bed 3 and the sub bed 6 respectively.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a column, which supports the main shaft 5 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, is disposed on the slide rail 4, and is movable in the direction of the arrow AB which is the longitudinal direction of the main bed 3. ing. Reference numeral 8 denotes a saddle, which is disposed on the slide rail 7 and is movable in the direction of arrows CD, which is the longitudinal direction of the subbed 6. A table 9 is provided on the upper surface of the saddle 8 so as to be rotatable in the directions indicated by arrows EF, and a workpiece is placed and fixed on the upper surface of the table 9. The main shaft 5 has a tapered hole for mounting a tool and a tool clamping mechanism for clamping the mounted tool.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a tool magazine having a plurality of tool pots 11 connected by a chain (not shown) or the like. The tool pot 11 is a cylindrical member, has a holding mechanism such as a ball lock mechanism, and holds a tool in a cylinder. Then, by turning the tool pot 11 in the arrowed G-H direction by driving the coupling means such as the chain, thereby making it possible to determine the desired tool pot 11 to the indexed position P _1.

The tool changing device 20 is provided on the left side of the machining center 1, and includes a base 21, a support 22 provided on the base 21, and a slide rail 24.
A slide plate 23 that engages with the support base 24 through the support plate 25, a holding plate 25, and one end attached to the slide plate 23,
The other end includes a link arm 28 attached to the side surface of the holding plate 25 and a rotary actuator 29.

The support base 22 is made of an L-shaped member having a vertical side and a horizontal side. The horizontal side is fixed to the upper surface of the base 21 while the slide is attached to the vertical side. The rail 24 is engaged with the slide plate 23
Are movably supported in the vertical direction. Although not specifically shown, a lifting drive means such as a hydraulic cylinder is separately provided, and by driving the lifting drive means, the slide plate 23 can be moved up and down. ing.

The slide plate 23 is made of a rectangular member, and is provided with the slide rail 24 along the longitudinal direction of one surface as described above. One end of each of two link arms 28 is attached to the opposite surface by a support shaft at an appropriate interval vertically, and the link arm 28 is rotatable about the axis of the support shaft. In this example, the link arm 2 provided on the upper side
8, a rotary actuator 29 is attached to the support shaft, and by driving the rotary actuator 29, the link arm 28 can be rotated about the axis of the support shaft. The two link arms 28 have the same length.

As shown in the figure, the holding plate 25 has a first tool grip 26 and a second tool grip 2 at upper and lower ends, respectively.
The other end of each of the two link arms 28 is axially attached to the side surface thereof at the same interval as that attached to the slide plate 23. Thus, by driving the rotary actuator 29, the holding plate 25 can be moved in parallel in the directions indicated by arrows IJ. Also, as shown in FIG.
The tool holding portion 26 and the second tool holding portion 27 are
3 is formed by opening one side thereof, and has a substantially U-shaped gripping portion 26a and a gripping claw that is inserted into the cylinder 26d so as to be able to advance and retreat, and is urged in the advance direction by a spring 26c. 26b, and FIG.
The first tool gripper 102 of the conventional exchange arm 101 shown in FIG.
The tool T can be held by the same operation as that of the second tool gripping portion 103.

The tool transfer device 30 is provided with a standby pot 31 having the same configuration as the tool pot 11, and the standby pot 31 is positioned at an index position P _{1 in the} direction indicated by an arrow KL in a horizontal plane. a support moving means 32 for pivoting movement between a position P _2, arrow O-Q direction is linearly movable (in a direction approaching or away from to standby pot 31 in the indexed position P ₁₎ and arrow It comprises a transfer arm 33 rotatably provided in the MN direction. The transfer arm 33 includes a tool gripper 3 having the same configuration as the first tool gripper 26 and the second tool gripper 27 provided on the holding plate 25.
3a.

According to the present apparatus having the above configuration, the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ can be exchanged as follows. In addition, the empty standby pot 31 is moved to the indexing position P _{1 in} advance.
, The transfer arm is at the end in the direction of arrow M, the slide plate 23 is at the lower end position, and the holding plate 25 is at the upper end position of the parallel movement in the direction of arrow I (AA position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3). And the current tool T ₁ is mounted on the main shaft 5.

[0034] First, by driving the tool magazine 10 by the tool pot 11 is pivoted moved in the arrowed G or H direction, determine the tool pot 11 holding the next tool T ₂ the indexing position P _1. Then, after grasping the next tool T ₂ in its tool-holding part 33a by rotating the transfer arm 33 in the arrow N direction, the tool pot is moved to the transfer arm 33 in the arrowed direction O 11 extracting the next tool T ₂ from. Then
By rotating the transfer arm 33 in the arrow M direction, after matched grasped with the axis of the next tool T ₂ and the axis of the standby pot 31, the next tool T is moved it to the arrow Q direction ₂ is mounted in the standby pot 31. Then, after solving the holding of the next tool T ₂ by further rotating the transfer arm 33 in the arrow M direction,
By driving the supporting and moving means 32 to pivot moving the standby pot 31 until the arrow L direction of the tool exchange position P _2. Thus, the next tool T ₂ is now the tool T ₁ and in the same direction the processed working portion attached to the main shaft 5, and each other with axes parallel to the each of the gripping portions (to be shown in FIG. 7 Gripper 1
22) waits tool changing position P ₂ in the state that are located in the same plane perpendicular to the axis. At the tool change position P ₂ , the first tool holding portion 2 of the holding plate 25 in the above state
6 and the standby pot 31 are set to be at the same height position, and the next tool T ₂ held in the standby pot 31 by the movement of the standby pot 31 is clamped by the first tool holding portion 26. . In this state, each unit waits until the machining center 1 completes the predetermined processing.

Next, after completing the predetermined machining, the machining center 1 moves the main shaft 5 vertically so that the axis of the main shaft 5 is at the same height position as the second tool holding portion 27 of the holding plate 25. post which moves in the direction of arrow B allowed to sandwich the current tool T ₁ which is attached to the spindle 5 in the second tool gripping portion 27. Thereafter, the tool clamping mechanism provided in the main shaft 5 and unclamped to release the current tool T _1. This state is shown in FIG. In the figure, the ball lock mechanism of the standby pot 31 and the tool clamp mechanism of the main shaft 5 are not shown for convenience.

Then, the rotary actuator 29 is driven to move the holding plate 25 in the direction indicated by the arrow J in parallel. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 3, the holding plate 25 is moved from the rising end position (AA position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 3) to the intermediate position (2
Through the BB position indicated by the dashed line), it reaches the lower end position (the CC position also indicated by the dashed line). As described above, the holding plate 25 moves in parallel in a plane parallel to the plane including the axes of the held current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ , and the holding plate 25 is kept parallel in any position. I have. Thus, the next tool T ₂ from the standby pot 31, the current tool T ₁ is drawn off from each of the main shaft 5, the pull stud 12
3 moves so as to draw a semicircular trajectory indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 3, and when the holding plate 25 reaches the lower end position CC, the next tool held by the first tool gripper 26 T ₂ is mounted on the main shaft 5.

[0037] Thus, since the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ are moved so as to pass over the semicircular orbit, during this movement, these current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ in the axial direction And a combined acceleration of the acceleration in the direction orthogonal to this axis acts. The current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ have a portion held by the first holding portion 26 and the second holding portion 27 as a fulcrum, and each of the cutting tool side and the taper portion side has a corresponding mass. Moment of inertia acts. That is, a moment of inertia obtained by multiplying the mass, the acceleration, and the distance from the fulcrum to the center of gravity acts on the cutting tool side and the tapered portion side in directions opposite to the moving direction.

By the way, an object which starts moving from a stop state and stops again under an external force is usually subjected to the largest acceleration when the movement starts and stops. Therefore, acts maximum acceleration when and stopped when start moving to the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T _2, the maximum moment of inertia acts associated therewith. Further, the at the time of moving the start and stop of the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T _2, acts acceleration in the axial direction only, the direction of the slight acceleration that is perpendicular to the axis of the acceleration of both the axial direction in the way of movement Works. Therefore, the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ are but receives the greatest moment of inertia in the axial direction during movement, moment of inertia in this case acts in a direction such pries the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ Not so
Even if the weight on the cutting tool side is heavy, it can be moved without any trouble. In the middle part of the movement, the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ receive acceleration in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, but their magnitude is small, and even a considerably heavy cutting tool is pryed. It can be moved without having to.

Also, the current tool T ₁ and the next tool T ₂ can be exchanged by performing only one operation of moving the holding plate 25 in parallel, and the tool exchange can be performed very quickly.

The gap between the pull stud 123 and the tapered hole of the standby pot 31 and the main shaft 5 at the time of movement is sufficiently ensured so that the pull stud 123 does not come into contact with the tapered hole. Has become.

Next, after driving the tool clamping mechanism of the main spindle 5 to clamp the next tool T ₂ mounted on the main spindle 5,
The main shaft 5 is moved in the arrow A direction in FIG. 1, the second tool-holding unit 27 releases the holding of the next tool T _2. Thereafter, the machining center 1 while performing predetermined processing by using the next tool T _2, tool changer 20 moves to the upper end of the slide plate 23 by driving the lift driving means (not shown). Then, the rotary actuator 29 is driven again to move the holding plate 25 in the direction of arrow I in parallel as shown in FIG. 4 and move the holding plate 25 from the lower end position CC (the position indicated by the two-dot chain line) to the intermediate position BB ( It moves to the rising end position AA (the position shown by the solid line) via the position also shown by the two-dot chain line). As a result, the current tool T ₁ held by the second tool gripping part 27 moves so that the end of the pull stud 123 draws a semicircular trajectory indicated by a dashed line, and enters the standby pot 31. Be attached. Incidentally, the reason similar to that described above, or prying current tool T ₁ sandwiched second tool gripping portion 27 when the parallel movement of the holding plate 25 by the moment of inertia, or off the second tool gripping portion 27 falls There is no such a problem that the user does.

Next, by driving the supporting and moving means 32 to pivot moving the standby pot 31 until indexing position P ₁ in the arrow K direction shown in FIG. Thereby, the holding of the second tool holding portion 27 is released. Thereafter, the lifting drive means (not shown) is driven to move the slide plate 23 to the lower end, thereby returning the tool changing device 20 to its original state. On the other hand, in the tool transfer device 30, the transfer tool 33 is rotated in the direction of arrow N to hold the current tool T ₁ held in the standby pot 31.
After the gripped by the tool gripper 33a, extraction by moving the transfer arm 33 in the arrowed direction O the current tool T ₁ from the standby pot 31 after rotating further in the arrowed direction N, arrow Q is moved in the direction, the current tool T ₁ to the tool pot 11 of the previously indexed position current tool T ₁ for accommodating that indexed P ₁
To store. Thereafter, the transfer arm 33 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow M to return to the original position, and the tool transfer device 30 is returned to the original state.

Thereafter, by repeating the above operation, necessary tools can be sequentially exchanged.

As described above, according to the present apparatus, the tool can be changed by using only one operation of the parallel movement without using a complicated mechanism, so that the tool can be changed very quickly. In addition, the maximum moment of inertia acting on the tool when changing the tool acts in the axial direction of the tool, and does not cause a problem such as prying or dropping of the tool. Can be replaced quickly.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, it is needless to say that the specific form of the present invention is not limited to this.

[0046]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the linking means causes the tool gripping means to move in parallel.
Since the tool change can be performed by one operation, the tool can be changed very quickly as compared with the conventional combined operation.

Further, according to the present invention, since the maximum moment of inertia generated at the time of tool change acts in the axial direction of the tool, the tool does not pry at the time of tool change, and therefore a relatively heavy weight However, it can be quickly replaced without any trouble.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an entire apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a holding plate of the device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of a tool changing device of the device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an operation of the tool changing device of the device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional W-arm type tool changer.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing, in partial cross section, an exchange arm of a conventional W-arm type tool exchange device.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a tool used for conventional automatic tool change.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Machining center 2 Column 3 Main bed 5 Main shaft 6 Subbed 8 Saddle 9 Table 10 Tool magazine 11 Tool pot 20 Tool changer 21 Base 22 Support stand 23 Slide plate 24 Slide rail 25 Holding plate 26 First tool gripping part 27 Second tool Gripping part 28 Link arm 29 Rotary actuator 30 Tool transfer device 31 Standing pot 32 Supporting and moving means 33 Transfer arm

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A current tool mounted on a main shaft of a machine tool,
The current tool and the working portion are in the same direction, and their axes are parallel to each other, and the next tool is disposed at the standby position such that the gripped portions are located in the same plane orthogonal to the axis. An apparatus for exchanging tools with a first tool gripper for gripping a gripped portion of a next tool disposed at the standby position, and a second tool gripping a gripped portion of a current tool mounted on the spindle. A tool gripper having a tool gripper, and a parallel movement of the tool gripper in a plane parallel to a plane including an axis of each tool gripped by the first tool gripper and the second tool gripper. Link means for moving each of the gripped tools so as to pass on a substantially semicircular orbit whose diameter is substantially equal to the axial distance, and driving the link means to grip the tool. By means of parallel movement of the means, While extracting the destination is and the current tool held by the second tool gripping portion from the main shaft,
A tool changing device, wherein the next tool gripped by the first tool gripping portion is mounted on the spindle.