JPS59219102A - Parts gripping part supported by tarret for lathe machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method in which a plurality of turning tools for internal or external diameters are mounted on an indexable tool turret so that the tool can be selectively indexed with respect to the work area and The present invention relates to a rotating machine which is biased into operation onto a workpiece by suitable slides of cooperating compound sliding devices.

Some automatic loading devices currently used in the art use a component loading device that is completely external to the machine's slide system. For example, a robotic manipulator can be used that typically picks up a part from a conveyor, inserts it into a machine's workpiece holding chuck, and moves it to the front of the machine to perform the opposite operation when the job is complete. Placed. Similarly, this robot manipulator can also be located at the rear of the machine so that it can be reached from the rear protective part for changing workpieces between the workpiece holding chuck and the conveyor device. To increase the transfer rate of the crop, the end actuating part of the robot is generally
That is, two grippers are fitted, one for holding an unmachined workpiece and one for holding a finished workpiece.

When the robot manipulator arm is extended into the work area, the end actuator is held in place by the workpiece holding chuck.
Operated to exchange two workpieces.

The main problem specific to this prior art device is that the effective load is reduced, i.e. two workpieces have to be held in the arm extension, compared to when only one workpiece had to be held by the robot. Also, the size of the workpiece is much more limited.

Additionally, extension of the robot arm into the work area may interfere with the work slide and may interfere with the workpiece holding chuck. Furthermore, when the rear robotic manipulator is used on a machine with an inclined indium for supporting the turret slide,
The sloped (rad area) may also prevent the flexible arm from entering the work area.

Applicants have identified these particular problems of prior art devices as follows:
Novel use of a robotic-type manipulator or other conveyor device to deliver the part to the part's location, which is typically a fixed point relative to a workpiece holding chuck above a stationary bearing. The installation of parts is reduced by a removal device. The tool turret is
At least one part gripper is engaged in an indexable tool station between the location where the part is present and the workpiece holding chuck, so that the tool turret moves the workpiece from the robot arm under automatic control. It acts as an exchange device for exchanging the holding chuck.

In a preferred configuration, a pair of resiliently supported workpiece holding chucks or grips are provided for each pair of tool turret stations, so that finished parts can be replaced while also being replaced. Simultaneous exchange of machined parts becomes possible. The gripping portion is attached so as to follow irregularities and misalignments of the parts to avoid blockage of the parts. The robot arm further moves the completed part from the part's location to the waiting reciprocating controller while the machine is working on the workpiece, so that the time required for the robot arm's movement does not affect the machine's work cycle time. is moved relative to A, and acts to send the unprocessed part from Conia again to the position where the part exists. Additionally, the robot arm must handle one workpiece at a time in embodiments of the present invention, compared to prior art assemblies that use two workpiece holding members at the end actuator. , it is possible to handle much heavier workpieces (typically, about twice to the same size).

The invention is shown implemented in a rotating machine having a base and supporting a fixed core bearing and a rotatable workpiece holding chuck that is movable between a locked position and a released position. The machine has a tool slide assembly that is axially and radially positionable with respect to the main axis of the fixed core in the ordinate of each tool slide.The tool turret supported on the tool slide assembly is , each having a plurality of tool stations selectively indexable to a first turret position proximate to the work-holding chuck and a second turret position distal to the work-holding chuck. A position far from the workpiece holding chuck is defined as a location where the part is operated by a device, such as a robot manipulator, for feeding the unprocessed part into the part preparation position and removing the finished part from this position. '' position. A gripping device including at least one part gripper is supported on one of said tool stations and is resiliently supported against an auxiliary spring to allow the gripper to float in the axial direction.

The part gripper is operable to feed the raw part into the workpiece-holding chuck and to remove the finished part from the workpiece-holding chuck by appropriate sliding movements, and also to determine the position of the part and the workpiece-holding chuck. A device is provided which operates to open and close the gripping portions at the first and second turret positions during the exchange of workpieces between the chucks.

In the drawings, particularly in FIG.
Turning machine 10 with a toporad or fixed center receiving part 12
It is shown. This fixed center receiving part 12 accommodates a rotatable main shaft 16 and a workpiece holding main shaft chuck 14 for rotatably supporting and driving a workpiece 15 during processing.

The turning machine 10 has an angled bed section 16 that is raised to avoid chips falling from the workpiece during machining, and the angled bed section 16 has a passageway 17 that supports a tool slide assembly 18. Tool slide assembly 1 in the above machine
8 has associated movable upper and lower slides 19.20;
A lower slide 20 is supported along the path 17 of the inclined bed in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axle of the workpiece 15 and is movable radially relative to the workpiece 15. It has a passage device 21 supporting the upper slide 19. Suitable slider drives 22,26 are provided on the inclined Indian section 16 for moving the lower slider 20 and on the upper slider 19.
are respectively supported on lower slides 20 for movement. The upper slide 19 includes a rotatable tool turret 24 which is an indexable multi-station assembly to provide individual tools 25 to the workpiece 15 during the required machining.
support. Details of this turret assembly are omitted, but see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,802 for an indexable assembly using, for example, multiple perforation bars. It is sufficient to understand that the indexing power section 26 and the two gear trains are driven under automatic control in a manner well known in machine tool technology.

Robot chuck 60 capable of holding workpiece 75(a)
A fixed core receiving part 1 of a machine 1o with an end working part having
Neko Handa Patent No. 6,909, which extends its arm over 2
A robot manipulator 28 of the type disclosed in No. 600, or other similar types known in the robotics art, is used at the rear of the machine 10. A robot chuck 60 is placed at a "part present" station 37 above the spindle chuck 14 so that the robot chuck 60 and the workpiece holding spindle chuck 14
Exchange can be performed at a predetermined exchange time between 0 and 0. The turret 24 is mounted on the slide 19 . to the point where the first gripper 62 (near the workpiece holding area) is engaged with the workpiece 15 held in the workpiece holding spindle chuck 14 .
20 is advanced so that the second gripper 36 is placed in a second or remote position relative to the workpiece holding spindle chuck 14 corresponding to the station 61 where the part is present. A pair of component grippers 2.66 occupying the tool positions at 64.65 are fitted. Slider 19.20 to each workpiece 15.15 (a
), and the jaws 66. of the component gripping parts 62.66.
By actuating 67, the part 15.15(a) can be gripped and released from each of the robot chuck 6D and the workpiece holding spindle chuck 14, and can be changed from position to position, so that the The spindle 16 that holds the workpiece 15(a) from the robot chuck 60
The finished part 15 can be transferred from the workpiece holding spindle chuck 14 to the robot chuck 50 again. After the change has been made, tool turret 24 is indexed to provide workpiece holders 25 as needed to complete the machining operation on workpiece 15(a). During a machining cycle, the robot arm 29 picks up the finished part 15 fed to its robot chuck 60.
and transfers it to a distant location (not shown). This remote location may be a passing conveyor device at the rear of the machine 10, or it may be a collection point for workpieces, such as wood planks. After placing the finished workpiece 15 at a remote location, another unmachined workpiece 15(a) is picked up and returned to the part location 1 for subsequent replacement by the tooling tray 24.

In a turning machine f, it is not known to support a workpiece with a component gripper or chuck attached to the indexable tool turret 24 during indexing. The grip part 62 has a cutaway view like this.
．． 66 configuration method is shown.

The jaws 66,67 of the gripper are unclamped by fluid pressure applied to the piston inside the gripper 62,6. Details of the structure of the gripping portion are explained in more detail in FIGS. 6, 4, and 5. Fluid pressure lines 38 (a, b) and 59 (a, b) are internal ports in the rotatable turret main shaft 40, which lines are connected to the non-rotating end cap 46 to ensure rotating fluid coupling. Each annular groove 41 (a, b)
and 42 (a.

communicate with each other. External hose passages 44 (alb) and 45 (a, b) connect annular grooves 41 (a, b) and 42 (alb) to spring return fluid control valves 46, 47 (symbolically (shown). When the "part release" mode is signaled by a mechanical control (not shown) which energizes solenoid operated valves 46,47, the pressurized fluid bar is released from gripper filter 2.
Connected to 66 by hoard. Then valve 46.4
7 is deenergized, the grips 62, 66 are tightened again by fluid pressure.

FIG. 2 shows an end view of the machine of FIG. 1, in which the rear-mounted robotic manipulator 28 extends its arm 29 over the stationary center receiver 12 of the machine 10 to the station where the part is located. 61 is established. Workpiece 15
For example, the workpiece holding spindle chuck 14 is replaced by an indexable turret 24 supporting grippers 62,66 mounted thereon. In actual operation, the slides 19,20 of the machine can be moved automatically by electronic controls well known in the art. For example, one control system that can be used is to cause a cooperating slide assembly of a turning machine to move relative to a workpiece held in a spindle under encoded commands of a numerical control (NG) system. The NCi controller described in US Pat. No. 3,703.12 shows in principle how this can be done.

The view shown in FIG. 3 represents the tool turret 240 of FIG.
A gripper 66 or chuck is shown at the top.

This gripping part 36 basically consists of a housing 4 of the gripping part.
six equally spaced jaws 67 movable radially within each of the nine guide slots 48;
It's Chuck. A retaining plate 50 is provided to prevent the slidable jaw 67 from falling off the assembly.

Each jaw 67 has a jaw slide 51 with an internally extending rack portion 52 that engages a central drive pinion 56 . When the drive pinion 53 is rotated, it moves the radial portion of the jaws 670, thereby allowing the workpiece to be tightened and released. The cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 4 is a partial axial cross-section of the grip portion 63 of FIG. 6, in which the center drive pinion 56 is integral with the rotatable center shaft 54,
An integral gear 55 is provided in the intermediate portion of the supported shaft 54 in mesh with a pair of racks 56, 57 located on opposite sides of the gripper housing 49.

Jaw slide 51 is shown with a grooved top surface 58 for installing a repositionable top jaw 59 in a manner well known in the work holding art. The grip housing 49 has a rearwardly extending shank 60 having a kneader 1 that receives a rigid spring 62 . This shaft part 60
The main shaft 400 of the turret is secured to the turret main shaft 400 by threaded studs 66 and nuts 67 that hold the adapter flange 68.
Inner hole 6 of grip adapter 64 fixed against surface 65
It will be collected on 6th. The adapter 64 has a cylindrical diameter portion 69 that is received within a pocket 70 in the turret main shaft 40. The rear inner end 71 of the adapter 64 is connected to the adapter 64 to provide a reaction plate for the spring 62.
A cap 72 bolted to the cap 72 is fitted. The inner surface 76 of this cap 72 has a bulge 74 that accommodates the spring 62. A transverse pin 75 extends radially from the shank 60 and abuts an end 76 of an elongated slot 77 in the gripper adapter 64 to secure the gripper housing 4 .
9 from the grip adapter 64, but allows inward movement of the grip housing 49 relative to the grip adapter 64.

The purpose of the spring loading of the gripper housing 49 is to allow some axial compliance of the gripper jaws 67 when pressed against a workpiece that may have tolerance variations or positional inaccuracies. This is to avoid clogging of parts. The central shaft 54 is captured against axial movement relative to the retainer housing 49 by a split bushing 78 inserted into a groove 79 created by the pinion 56 and the gear 55 of this shaft. This bushing 7B is fixed to the grip housing 49 by screws 80.

FIG. 5 shows a cross-section of the gear 55 in the gripper housing 49 and the racks 56, 57 arranged in opposite positions. This rack 56,57 is formed on the same piston 81,82 which is biased in each cylinder 85,84. The piston 81, 82 has a seal ring 85 thereon.
A fluid port 86.87.88.89 is connected to the end of the cylinder 86.84. Here, the racks 56 and 57 move together in the opposite direction and the gear 5
It will be seen that this results in a torque load for 5. The opposite ends of the racks 56,570 are thus interconnected and connected to the turret main shaft 40 by hoses 90,91 to each fluid pressure line 68 (a+b). The hoses 90 , 91 or other flexible fluid connections serve to permit axial movement of the gripper housing 49 relative to the turret main shaft 40 .

Although the preferred embodiment of the invention shows a general purpose robotic manipulator 28 for transporting a part between the station 61 where the part resides and a remote location, other types of transport devices may also be used, such as a dedicated reciprocating mechanism. Obviously it is possible.

Furthermore, while the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to one preferred embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiment, but is intended to include all constructions and modifications that fall within the scope of the appended claims. It extends.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a turning machine using the component attachment/removal mechanism of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a left end view of the turning machine of Fig. 1 as seen in the direction of arrow 2 in Fig. 1; The figure is line 6 in Figure 1.
-6 is a front view showing the component gripping section, FIG. 4 is an axial sectional view of the component gripping section along line 4-4 in FIG. 6, and FIG. 5 is a front view showing the component gripping section along line 5-5 in FIG. It is a sectional view of the piston of a holding part. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Turning machine, 11... (-s, 12... Fixed center bearing part, 16... Main spindle, 14... Main spindle chuck for holding workpiece, 15... Workpiece, 16...・・Inclination is Rad part, 17 ・Passage, 18 ・Tool slide assembly, 1
9... Lower slider, 20... Lower slider, 21... Passage device, 22. 26... Slider moving part, 24... Tool turret, 25... Tool, 26. ... Indexing power unit, 27 ... Gear train, 28 ... Robot manipulator, 29 ... Robot arm, 60 ... Robot chuck, 31 ... Station where parts exist, 52 .66...Gripper, 54.65...Tool station, 66.67...Jaw, 40...Turret main shaft, 4 rollers...End cap, 46.47...
Fluid control valve, 48... Guide slot, 49... Grip housing, 50... Presser plate, 51... Jaw slider, 52... Rack, 56... Drive pinion, 54...
... Central axis, 55 ... Gear, 56.57 ... Rack, 58 ... Top surface, 59 ... Jaw section, 60 ... Shaft section,
61... Kneading, 62... Spring, 66... Inner hole, 64... Gripping part adapter, 66... Stud, 6
7... Nut, 68... Adapter flange, 69
... diameter section, 70 ... pocket, 72 ... cap, 74 ... kneading, 75 ... cross pin, 77 ...
- Slot, 78...Cracked bushing, 79...Groove, 80...Screw, 81.82...Piston, 86.
84...Cylinder, 85...Seal ring, 86
~89...Fluid hoard, 90.91...Hose. Patent Applicant: Cincinnati Φ Milacron Industries, Inc. FIG, 2 “IO2 FIG, 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] K) In a part gripping part for a turning machine having a tool turret provided with a large number of tool pockets, the gripping part has a central support axis and is supported in the tool pocket. a plurality of jaws movable radially on the housing perpendicular to the center support axis; and a plurality of jaws movable radially on the housing perpendicular to the center support axis; A component gripping unit, characterized in that it is provided with a followable device that causes relative movement between the housing and the turret along the center, and a device that operates the jaws between an open position and a closed position. . (2) The component gripping unit according to claim 1, wherein the support axis is parallel to the axis of a rotating main shaft for holding a workpiece of the machine.