JPS5818899B2 - Automatic mold exchange system in injection molding machines - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic mold exchange system in an injection molding machine for plastics, etc.

Generally, in an injection molding machine, a mold corresponding to the shape of the molded product to be manufactured is prepared, and a desired molded product is obtained by injecting a molding material such as plastic into the mold.

Therefore, in an injection molding machine, if a different molded product is to be manufactured, the mold must be replaced each time.

Conventional injection molding automatic mold changing devices are limited to those that replace relatively large molds, and in that case, a roller conveyor for loading and unloading molds is installed on the side opposite to the operation side of the molding machine. However, the molds are moved in and out from the side of the molding machine by cylinder or chain drive, and most of the molds transferred onto the conveyor are transported by trolleys or overhead lanes.

To replace a small mold, suspend the mold using a tube lock or mold block, and manually insert it from the top of the molding machine.
This is done by transporting it out.

In the case of the conventional automatic die changer of the above-mentioned scale type, the molds to be carried in and the molds to be carried out are placed on a roller conveyor.
Transport to the mold stocker is done manually, which can shorten mold change time, but does not result in labor savings or automation.

Further, if an automatic transport cart or an automatic mold stocker is adopted, it is possible to realize unmanned mold exchange using the conventional method, but this method has the disadvantage of being expensive.

In addition, in the case of the above-mentioned side-molding mold changing device, one changing device is always required for each molding machine, and when multiple molding machines are installed, the molding machine is changed as much as the roller conveyor installed on the opposite side of the operation. It is necessary to provide an extra installation gap, which has the disadvantage that the required space increases accordingly.

This invention has been made in order to solve the drawbacks of the conventional method as described above, and therefore, the purpose of this invention is to realize labor saving and unmanned operation with a relatively low floor space and cost.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an automatic mold exchange system for injection molding machines that eliminates the need for extra space for mold exchange even when the number of molding machines increases. This method is not suitable for use in injection molding machines for high-mix, low-volume production where molds are frequently replaced.

The key point of the configuration of this invention is that a ceiling traveling mold transfer robot that works with a mold stocker can hang the mold and automatically take it in and out of the molding machine and the mold stocker from above. The point is that it is structured as follows.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a top view of one embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2.

A turntable type mold stocker 1, four molds 3 stocked on the stocker, a cart 2 for carrying molds into the stocker 1 and carrying the molds out from the stocker 1, An injection molding machine 9, a mold positioning stopper 10 and a mold clamper 11 in the molding machine
, a running rail 4 stretched over the injection molding machine 9, the mold stocker 1, and the trolley 2, respectively, a mold transport robot 5 that can travel on the rail 4, and a chuck section of the robot 5. 6, the vertical drive unit 7, the vertical guide 13, the traverse drive unit 8, and the overall centralized control panel 12 are illustrated.

The mold stocker 1 is of a turntable type and can set four molds at once.

Station A on the turntable is a preheating station, and a temperature controller (not shown) that works with the main stocker preheats the mold placed at station A. (It must be heated to a predetermined temperature before being set.)

Station B is a mold loading/unloading station, and the mold that has been preheated is set at station B by rotation of the turntable.

The trolley 2 is used when loading and unloading molds onto the mold stocker 1.

The mold 3 has standardized dimensions such as the size of its base and the dimensions of the mold chuck portion.

In this embodiment, a gate-type double rail is used as the rail 4 for the mold transfer robot to travel.

The mold transfer robot 5 includes a mold chuck section 6, a vertical drive section 7, a traverse drive section 8, and the like.

Positioning stopper 10 and oil-type mold clamper 11
is installed on the fixed plate of the molding machine 9.

In addition, a mold fall prevention frame and safety metal steel are actually used, but they are not shown.

Next, the operation will be explained.

FIG. 3 is an operation pattern diagram of this method, and FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart for attaching the mold and removing the sushi by the robot (A is the flowchart for attachment, and mouth is the flowchart for removal).

This system has four operation patterns: 1, 2, 2, and 2 as shown in FIG.

A transports the mold from the mold stocker 1 to the molding machine 9,
The opening shows an operation pattern for carrying out the completed molding from the molding machine 9 and returning it to the trolley 2.

C.2 shows an operation pattern for loading and unloading molds from the trolley 2 to the mold stocker 1.

In addition, the numbers circled in Figure 3 indicate the numbers of each movement pattern.
It shows the operational steps.

This device handles "mold transport" from the central control panel 12 or "
In response to the instruction "Return", the operation is performed according to the operation flowchart shown in FIG.

Further, the horizontal arrows shown in FIG. 4 indicate interlock points between the molding machine and the robot, and the present device can perform fully automatic mold changing operations in conjunction with the molding machine.

Next, we will take up the movement pattern in Figure 3A, and
The operation will be described in detail below with reference to the figure and FIG. 4A.

First, ■Robot 5 in the fixed position starts and moves to rail 4.
The stocker 1
When the robot 5 reaches the upper part of the mold removal part on the turntable, the vertical drive unit 7 of the robot 5 works to
The chuck part 6 descends along the upper and lower guides 13 and chucks the mold.

Next, when the chuck part 6 is raised, the robot 5 moves across the rail 4 and reaches the upper part of the molding machine 9.

Then, the chuck section 6 is lowered again, and the mold that has been conveyed is positioned by the positioning stopper 10 and set into the molding machine 9.

After confirming that the mold is set using a limit switch (not shown) or the like, the robot 5 requests the molding machine 9 to close the mold (closing the movable plate and fixed plate (not shown) of the molding machine) by means (not shown). When mold closure is confirmed by a signal from the molding machine, the mold clamper 11 is turned on to clamp the mold, and then the chuck section 6 turns off the chuck of the mold.

Then, the chuck part 6 rises (2), and when the rise is finished, the robot 5 moves sideways (2) and returns to its home position.

On the other hand, the molding machine 9 starts a molding operation.

The operation control of the robot 5 as described above by the centralized control panel 12 can be easily realized by a sequence controller having a built-in microcomputer or the like.

As explained above, the automatic mold exchange system according to the present invention has the advantage that even if the number of molding machines installed increases, it can be shared by all molding machines by simply extending the travel rail accordingly. Also, unlike the conventional method, there is no need for a roller conveyor to carry the mold into and out of the molding machine from the side, so there is an advantage that the required space can be reduced accordingly. Another feature is that it is particularly suitable for molding machines that produce high-mix, low-volume production that requires frequent mold changes.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a top view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, Fig. 3 is an operation pattern diagram of the embodiment, and Fig. 4 is an operation of attaching and removing a mold by a robot. It is a flowchart. In the figure, 1 is a turntable type mold stocker, 2
1 is a cart, 3 is a mold, 4 is a traveling rail, 5 is a mold transfer robot, 6 is a chuck part, 7 is a vertical drive part, 8 is a traverse drive part, 9 is an injection molding machine, 10 is a positioning stopper, 11
12 indicates a mold clamper, 12 indicates a central control panel, and 13 indicates an upper and lower guide.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mold stocker for stocking molds for an injection molding machine, a running rail stretched between the upper part of the mold and the upper part of the injection molding machine where the mold is to be replaced, and the traveling rail. a robot mechanism capable of traveling on a rail and lifting or lowering molds from below the rail; and after the robot mechanism lifts the molds stored in the stocker from above the stocker, the robot mechanism It travels on the rail to reach the upper part of the injection molding machine, and then lowers the mold to the injection molding machine, or lifts the mold set in the molding machine from above the injection molding machine, and then travels on the rail. and control means for controlling the robot mechanism so as to change the mold in the injection molding machine by suspending the robot mechanism from above the stocker and suspending it from there to the stocker. Automatic mold exchange system.