SE464011B - SET FOR SEQUENTIAL, CONTINUOUS WORKING OR SHAPING OF WORK SHEET OF SHEET MATERIAL - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for substantially continuous machining or shaping of sheet pieces from sheet material, wherein only part of the sheet material at a time is under machining. In the method the sheet material is fed in steps longitudinally forwards; on the surface of the sheet, in the direction perpendicular to its travel direction, there have been positioned in parallel typically several workpieces; and the machining is carried out by machining methods appropriate in each particular case and by using corresponding tools. The tool holders designed for the purpose of attaching various machine tools, and situated at least on one side of the sheet, can be moved and guided at least as one entity in a direction perpendicular to the travel direction of the sheet, starting from the first longitudinal edge of the sheet and ending at the other longitudinal edge of the sheet, the machine tools in use carrying out their machining step during this transfer, synchronically in accordance with predetermined sequencing. When the transfer is repeated from the first edge of the sheet to the other edge of the sheet the workpieces have been fitted to adjoin one another without steps in the travel direction of the sheet.

Description

464 011 10 15 20 25 30 35 2 - the equipment is very expensive, - the share of capital costs in the manufacturing costs is high, - it is difficult and expensive to arrange unmanned production, - the production of small parts is not competitive.

One way of handling sheet metal material in such sheet metal processing centers is to first cut the sheet metal material coming from the roll into sheets, which are automatically transferred to the current processing center. In the machining center, the sheet metal is machined in one or more of the above-mentioned ways, the tools themselves being fixed and the place intended for machining being directed in place by displacing the sheet metal. Such equipment is of significant size and is also very expensive.

Strip-like sheet metal materials have been handled in short production series by hot-cutting methods and completely analogous to this method by laser cutting. Here, the small number of alternative machining methods, ie only one machining method, limits the use due to either lack of dimensional precision or low speed. If the piece requires significant cutting in proportion to its size and the shapes intended for cutting are such that they can be more easily performed by means of other machining methods, the low speed becomes a problem.

Punching has also been applied for processing strip-like sheet material. According to this method, the belt is fed forward in transfer intervals corresponding to at least the size of the final product, the cutting of the product and its separation from the strip being synchronized with this transfer. In addition, the method uses a beam, which has punching tools and which can be displaced in the transverse direction relative to the direction of movement of the plate. By using these tools, punching takes place after the tool or tools have been brought to the desired place by displacing the plate forward a suitable step in the longitudinal direction 10 15 20 25 30 35 464 011 3 and the tool beam a suitable distance in the transverse direction.

In this method there are the following problems: in the longitudinal direction only in steps forward and by (1) the movement displacement of the plate occurs, which entails inaccuracy and loss-making limitations with respect to the shape of the piece; (2) the machining method is limited to one, i.e. punching; (3) all the pieces across the entire width of the plate are cut out at the same time, in which case either a) only one piece is cut across the entire width, which limits the size of the piece or presupposes previous cutting of the plate to the correct width, or b) if a plurality of parallel pieces if present, a plurality of similar cutting tools are arranged in parallel and aligned both with each other and with the preceding punch, resulting in complicated and expensive tools; (4) such use of the space between the designs of the final product that the sheet metal surface is used efficiently is possible only in special cases.

A long production series is performed by means of presses and feeding devices from a strip roller, which has previously been cut to the correct width. The machining takes place by means of tools in series, whereby the workpiece is finished in a press. The advantage of this method includes high dimensional precision and low manufacturing costs if the series is long enough. The disadvantages are as follows: - long delivery time (preparation of the tool, cutting of the strip roll in advance), - expensive tool (usually suitable for the manufacture of only one product), - raw material waste occurs when cutting the strip roll in advance, - the pre-cut strip must be in the right length because otherwise the number of products will be too low or a quantity of strips will be left over, - the production can not be carried out in an unmanned system for longer than it takes to get to the end of the strip, - in short production series the production costs will be high. 464 011 10 15 20 25 30 35 4 The main disadvantages of current processing methods are either that the production of the final product must be divided into several sub-working steps in different machines or that it is necessary to invest in an unreasonably complicated and expensive machine. In both cases, the costs are far too high.

Furthermore, the difficulties increase due to the fact that, regardless of which alternative is chosen, it must be decided whether to choose an arrangement which is suitable for short production series or for long production series, in which case one of the respective alternatives has a disadvantage. parts. A disadvantage that is common to all other methods and combinations of methods with the exception of hot / laser cutting is the significant waste of material between the cut patterns or between the cut patterns and the edge of the strip.

The disadvantage of hot / laser cutting is the use of only one machining method, which is not suitable for all pieces.

Let us now set out the following requirements for the manner of carrying out the processing: l) It must be possible to use standard stock material as raw material, either in flat form or rolled, so that it is not cut into sheets or into a strip with a width throughout the manufacturing process , which corresponds to the product. This must be done to reduce the number of processing steps significantly, to reduce the number of alternative materials significantly and to significantly reduce the material waste. 2) The method must be such that, when used, it must be possible to apply to at least almost all known machining methods, such as punching, nibbling, drilling, laser cutting, etc. in combinations freely selected according to the situation. 3) The method must be such that, when used, the tool type can be selected individually according to the size of each specific set of pieces. For example, in a short production series, laser cutting and drilling are used, in a longer series of multi-step punching and cutting, and in a very long series of conventional series tools in one press. 4) It must be possible to change the product at any time without additional material waste. 5) The method must be easy to automate, so that continuous staffing is not required. 6) The dimensional precision obtained must be good.

Not all of the above objects can be achieved by any of the known methods previously described.

By means of the method according to the invention, on the other hand, a decisive improvement is achieved with respect to all the above-mentioned disadvantages. To achieve this, the method according to the invention is characterized by what is stated in the characterizing part of the appended claim 1.

Preferred variants of the method according to the invention are set out in the following dependent claims 2-8.

The following factors can be considered the most significant advantages of the invention: - Standard plates and standard strip rollers can be used as raw material, - by combination of standard tools it is possible to manufacture many different kinds of pieces, - large dimensional precision, - manufacturing costs are low even for short production series , - it is possible to use the cheapest possible raw materials, - the loss of raw materials is less than in other processes, - it is possible to use whole strip rolls, eg 10 000 kg / roll, in which case production can continue unmanned beyond the entire length of the roll , eg for 400 hours, - the production can be computer controlled, in this case all the company's operations can be computerized, - subsequent refinement of the workpiece can be easily performed using manipulators or robots, - it is directly useful as part of a automatic production line, 464 011 10 15 20 25 30 35 6 - replacements and settings of the tool can be automated, - changes to the series can be performed using a computer program, - it is possible to apply different manufacturing methods, drilling, punching, cutting, drawing, slitting, nibbling, plasma cutting, laser cutting, - the quality control of the workpiece can be performed by the computer immediately to 100% , - it is possible to process most raw materials, - it is possible to produce exactly the required number of products. The remaining material can be used for other production, since standard sizes are used.

The invention will be described in detail below with reference to Fig. 1 according to a Fig. 2 embodiment of the accompanying drawings. shows schematically in perspective an application embodiment of the invention. shows diagrammatically from the side an application of according to Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 schematically shows the method for a possible separation of the products on the plate according to the invention.

Fig. 4 shows diagrammatically from below a method for setting up a tool / workpiece according to the invention.

Fig. 5 shows another possible method according to the invention for separating the products on the plate.

Fig. 6 shows a product form which is easily achieved by the method according to the invention.

Fig. 1 shows in its entirety an embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the machining method is punching, but when using any other machining method, only a single tool needs to be changed and not the method or method according to the invention for using them together or separately.

In Figs. 1 and 2, the sheet raw material 15 comes from a sheet roll 5, which is standard stock item. The forward feeding of the plate 10 here takes place by means of a motor 13 and rollers 19, the plate 15 being pressed between them and moving forward a distance required at any given time. Transport means of other types can also be used. In this case, hydraulic pressure means 8 are attached to the frame 9 of the tool holder, the tools consisting of two punches 2 and an upper cutting blade 1. Opposite these are pads 4 and a lower cutting blade 3 attached to the same frame. This can be achieved by that the frame 9 is designed, for example, as a U, to whose flanges in mutually corresponding places the upper and lower tools are fastened, for example by means of mounting plates which are not shown in the figure. The tool holder frame 9 is, for example, mounted on guides 11, which can be several in number and / or placed in different ways. The frame 9 is displaced in the transverse direction in relation to the direction of movement 16 of the plate 15, i.e. in the direction 17, by means of a transport device 12, for example in the form of a ball screw, by means of a motor 14.

The machining of the workpieces and their removal from the plate 15 takes place here across the direction of movement 16 of the plate starting from the first edge 18 of the plate 15. In the first machining step the front punch 2 makes the hole in the first workpiece in an area a of this workpiece. The cut and the later punch 2 are at this time outside the edge 18 of the plate 18. In the following steps, the front punch 2 makes the first hole in the second workpiece in the area b of this workpiece and the latter punch 2 does at the same time the the second hole in the area a of the first piece, both removing scrap pieces 7. In the third step the punches work in the areas c and b as above while the cutting means 1, 3 removes the first finished workpiece 6 from the area a. Then the punches move to the areas d and c and the cutting means to the area b, where the above-mentioned processing steps are repeated. When the cutting means 1, 3 has removed the last finished workpiece in this row from the area m, at which time the punches are located, the entire edge 19 of the plate 8, the entire frame 9 returns together with the tools to the first edge 18. and begins to repeat the above-described chain of work steps towards the other edge of the plate 19. The procedure continues in this way until the plate 15 is used or until the ordered series of workpieces is obtained, whereupon either the plate roll is replaced with another or in the latter case the tools are replaced with others of a new piece is started, for example from the same plate, if the material is to be the same.

When machining by the method described above, only one set of tools corresponding to the workpiece is required and the tools must be aligned only in relation to each other, in which case the tool cost is kept low and high precision is achieved. The material waste is as small as it can generally theoretically be with the machining method in question, since pre-cutting into strips is not required. The interval between the material changes is long, since the roll contains considerably more material than, for example, cut rolls corresponding to the width of a product.

The material savings increase further due to the fact that since the process starts from the sheet metal edge 18 and processing takes place all the way to the edge 19, it is possible to separate the products 20 in different processing rows I-II etc. (Fig. 3) in a way that is considered best , either in the direction of movement 16 of the plate 15, as in Fig. 3, or in the direction of movement 17 of the tool holder frame 9 or in both directions simultaneously over the entire surface of the plate 15. In Fig. 3, where the length of the workpiece is A, the saving thus achieved is of size B (this is only to illustrate the principle, as one can find an even more efficient layout for the current paragraphs). The workpiece 20 in the middle of the sheet can be replaced by the workpiece 21, the only limiting condition being that the sheet material is the same. Such separation in two directions and exchange is not possible in other combinations of processing methods. The method described above is perhaps one of the most primitive embodiments of the invention. However, the method is suitable for use with much more complicated equipment. There can be a considerably larger number of tools 2, 4 and 1, 3 and these can be easily replaced by bolt fastening or automatically and their positions can easily be changed for this reason. When control logic is added to the method, such as numerical control, for example, nibbling function is performed. In that case the punch can be arranged to make, for example, 50 punches while the frame 9 moves at a steady speed in small steps, after which other tools only punch once. This nibbling can be diversified by making one or more tool holders 23 steerable in different directions in the tool holder frame 9.

Fig. 4 shows such an arrangement, in which the tool holder 23 is arranged so that it is movable by means of a transfer device 37 in the direction 22, which extends transversely or perpendicular to the directions of movement 17. In this case, nibbling, cutting or laser cutting can be controlled simultaneously in two mutually perpendicular directions 17 and 22, which are at the same time independent of each other. By means of this arrangement, displacement of the plate 15 during the machining of a number of workpieces is also avoided; such displacement can easily cause cracks in the workpiece. In terms of control, the most advantageous way of displacing the tool holder frame 9 and of displacing the tool holders relative to the frame is to use a machine element which provides a linear transmission. There are several types of such machine elements.

The tool holder frame 9 may have a plurality of tool racks 23, 25 and 27, one, some or all of which may be controllable during machining, such as the holder 23, or adjustable only in connection with tool change, and in each of them a plurality tool kits 28 be attachable. In an individual tool set there can be several tools, for example several punches in a hydraulic press. Each of these tool kits can suit any machining method with its control means and power sources. When required, it is of course possible to use a common power source. the tool holders or some of them can be placed under the plate 15, for example in the lower flange of the frame 9, or the tool holders can be arranged on both sides of the plate 15 and be used simultaneously. In this case, it is possible to take into account the asymmetry of the machining in the direction of the plate thickness and its effect on the finished workpiece. For example, it is possible to punch or cut different holes in one and the same workpiece from different directions. The tools intended for connection to the tool holders can perform all machining methods allowed by the limited conditions of an individual machine design, such as drilling, punching, cutting, nibbling, plasma cutting, slitting, etc. and also forming methods, such as chamfering, e.g. from the side edge or the leading edge of the sheet, flanging, compression molding, etc. By machining is meant in the present patent application and the claims also molding.

The tool holder frame 9, which is displaceable and controllable across the direction of movement of the plate 15 or generally the whole formed by the tool holders; the tool holders 23, 25, 27, etc., which are displaceable and controllable in relation thereto and which can be displaced by linear movement or by means of eccentrics, etc. in relation to the frame; the tools associated with each tool holder, which are usable independently of each other, form a hierarchical unit (compare decision trees etc). Such a whole is suitable for control using microprocessors or complete computers and in particular microcomputers, in which case their programming can be easily performed by following the processing technology hierarchy of the main program sub-program hierarchy. Although the frame, the tool holders and the tools with their actuators as such are independent of each other, their operation in relation to each other must of course be sequenced correctly, ie they must be mutually synchronized.

When tool holders 23, 25, 27, etc., which are adjustable or controllable in a sufficiently versatile manner, are used and then a logic control device which is sufficiently versatile and flexible, e.g. a microcomputer , used, for example, the workpieces can be placed on the plate 15 in such a way as to considerably save the surface. For example, in Fig. 5, every second row of workpieces are mirror images of adjacent rows. In reality, the workpieces can be placed arbitrarily on the plate with each individual workpiece 29-36 in a different position, provided that the covering of the surface of the plate 15 is effective and the machining itself takes place in the direction across the plate 15.

Effective control and versatile displacement of the tools in accordance with the invention also allows standardization of the tools. This means that each opening, hole combination and the contour of the piece do not require a separate tool, which is specially made for this purpose. For example, the piece according to Fig. 6 requires a) if it is manufactured using a series tool in a press, 32 punches and cutting means in the tool, which is expensive; b) if it is produced by laser cutting, the machining speed becomes slow; c) if it is produced in several working steps using conventional machining techniques, machining becomes both slow and expensive. Using the method according to the invention, it is possible to select machining methods and tools which are suitable for the size of the series, for example the holes 37 using the punch 1, the holes 38 using the punch 2, all small holes 39 (compared to the diameter due to the larger plate thickness) using drill 3, openings 40 and contour by laser cutting. In this case, the bores are controlled numerically as well as the laser cutting. As the size of the series intended for production increases, reversal can be made to punching and cutting to a suitable extent. 464 011 10 15 20 25 30 35 12 With regard to the details of the tool holder frame 9 and the machining technique, it must be taken into account that if the frame is of the specified U-shape in the machine, the tool moving in the direction of movement 17 in each row must perform the cutting step for the result to be a removed plate area corresponding to the removed workpiece to create space for the central part of the U-shape. If the upper tool holders are guided without a U-shaped, eg numerical, alignment with the lower relevant pads or if the machining methods are such that the lower pads are not required, the scrap material can be left in strip form because in this case the web along which removed, always free. Usually, however, it is most advantageous to cut off the scrap material, since then the leading edge of the plate 15 in its direction of movement 16 is kept well-shaped, which simplifies the further work. The transfer of the remaining part of the sheet metal roll and its handling then takes place, if the work is interrupted at this time, also possibly without further processing steps.

The invention is not limited to the examples described above, since the method can be modified and various processing methods and machine elements, which are not mentioned here, together with computer technology, can be used for carrying out the method.

Claims (8)

10 15 20 25 30 35 464 011 13 PATENT REQUIREMENTS A method for sequential, continuous machining or shaping of workpieces of sheet material of indefinite width, in which case only a part of the sheet material is machined at each time, the sheet material (15) being fed stepwise and only in one of its longitudinal directions forward to the machining area and on the plate surface in a direction (17) perpendicular to its direction of movement (16) one or more workpieces (6:20; 21; 29-36) can be placed parallel and the tool holders (23, 25, 27) together with the machining tools (1-4 24, 26, 28) are arranged in a processing unit (9), which is fed only in a direction (17) which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement (16) of the plate (15), starting from a first longitudinal edge (18). ) on the plate (15) and ceasing this feed in the second longitudinal edge (19) of the plate while the plate material is kept stationary, and after a longitudinal transport of the plate material this unidirectional straight transfer of bear the machining unit (9) is repeated and the workpieces in this machining path (II) are arranged to fit or join without step with other workpieces in other machining paths (I) adjacent to the direction of movement of the plate, characterized in that one or more machining - working tools (1-4; 24, 26, 28) are in accordance with a machining method or machining method combination, used simultaneously or separately, connected to tool holders (23, 25, 27) arranged on at least one side of the plate, that a machining tool, which is connected to a tool holder , together with its drive mechanism (8) can be controlled to operate with a predetermined sequencing, which differs from the other machining tools connected to the same tool holder but is synchronous with them, and that each of the different tools used, performs its machining operation during the unidirectional straight transmission (17), which is controlled on the basis of a predetermined, even, small step feed (16). 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein at least one (23) of the tool holders is characterized as movable and controllable in the machining unit (9) in a direction transverse to the direction of movement (17) performed by the machining unit between the plate (15) longitudinal edges (18, 19). 3. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the tool holders, which are movable relative to the other tool holders in the processing unit, are controlled to operate in movements which differ from each other but are mutually synchronized. 4. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that tool holders are arranged both above and below the plate intended for machining for use in connecting and driving the tools used on each particular occasion and for machining the workpiece simultaneously or at different times from both sides. 5. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the upper tool required by the machining method at each particular occasion is aligned with the corresponding required lower tool or vice versa by arranging a mechanical coupling between them. , which is fixed during surgery. 6. A method according to any one of claims 2-5, characterized in that a mechanism which produces a linear movement is used for displacing the machining unit and for displacing the tool holders in relation to the rest of the machining unit. 7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the control of the drive devices for the tools and tool holders takes place electronically by means of microprocessors or microcomputers, so that each machining function is hierarchically corresponded to a corresponding function performed by the program. 10 15 20 25 30 35 464 011 15 8. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that during the rectilinear movement of the machining unit in one direction, the last machining tool set performs such a cutting of the sheet material that the next leading edge of the sheet material in its direction of movement forms a direct starting point for the next machining path from the first longitudinal edge of the sheet to its second longitudinal edge.