WO1989011375A1

WO1989011375A1 - Modular machine-tool comprising at least one machining unit

Info

Publication number: WO1989011375A1
Application number: PCT/FR1989/000246
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pierre Buessinger
Original assignee: Somex S.A.
Priority date: 1988-05-25
Filing date: 1989-05-24
Publication date: 1989-11-30
Also published as: ES1010758U; JPH03504470A; ES1010758Y; FR2631869A1; EP0452312A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a modular machine-tool arranged to be easily transformable owing to a plurality of possibilities to mount one or a plurality of machining units of different standard types. The frame is comprised of a base box (1) completed by an outer frame (2) constructed with tubular sections. Within said outer frame, the base carries a central rigid structure (12) which may have the shape of a prism of which the side faces are reference faces for the mounting of machining units (16a to 16e). The central structure (12) may be completed by spacing elements (20) fixed thereto and also having reference faces (21). The machining units are mounted on uprights (14) fixed to the reference faces. The apex of the central structure carries a support and/or transfer device (23) for the parts to be machined. The control cables in the supply lines for the machining units pass in the outer tubular frame (2). Applications: machine-tools with or without digital control.

Description

MODULAR MACHINE TOOL COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE MACHINING UNIT.

The present invention relates to a modular machine tool comprising a frame, at least one machining unit, at least one central structure arranged on the frame to support several machining units and at least one workpiece support, and means control to control at least said machining unit, the central structure having at least three vertical and perpendicular reference faces two by two, each of which is arranged for mounting a machining unit.

Complex machining operations, requiring the use of several machining units in the same machine, are generally done by means of special machine tools, adapted to the parts to be treated and equipped for this purpose with specific machining units. These are therefore complex machines which are almost exclusively reserved for machining a large series of parts or possibly two or more series of very similar parts. In the event of a change in production, their transformation is often difficult and costly and requires a fairly long immobilization, if not impossible. There is therefore a market for machines capable of performing multiple jobs, but at least costly and above all adaptable to various needs thanks to the possibility of mounting standardized and interchangeable machining units, in different positions.

To this end, French patent application No. 2 055 S96 proposes a modular machine tool of the type indicated in the introduction. This machine has a central support of generally cubic shape, on the sides of which it is possible to mount different standardized machining units, in particular three axes with numerical control. This construction is advantageous in view of the interchangeability of the machining units, but the versatility of the machine is limited by the fact that it does not allow mounting for vertical machining by a standard unit. For this, a te l unit should then be mounted on an external support, separate from the central support. US Patent No. 2,028,727 also shows a machine tool having a central parallelepiped base provided with lateral reference surfaces for mounting machining units. However, each of these units must be mounted on a respective relatively large and heavy lateral base, which must rest on a horizontal surface of a frame while the central base serves above all to guarantee its position and to support a workpiece table . Each lateral base carries either a horizontal slide or a vertical slide block, so that each machining unit has only one axis of movement. In addition, the bases contain the power supply cables of the machining units, which complicates their construction and the assembly of these units.

This is why the present invention aims to provide a modular and scalable machine tool, easily convertible thanks to multiple possibilities of mounting one or more machining units, as well with vertical axis as with horizontal or inclined axis, and being able to use different standardized types of machining units with or without numerical control, as well as with different bodies for transferring the workpieces.

For this purpose, the invention provides a machine tool of the ': ype indicated in the preamble, characterized in that each machining unit is mounted on the central structure by means of at least one pair of removable vertical uprights, made integral with one of the reference faces of the central structure.

An advantageous embodiment provides that the frame comprises a box-shaped base and an external chassis mounted on the base independently of said central structure, this chassis being arranged to carry control and supply members. The external chassis may include tubular structural elements in which electrical cables and supply conduits for the machining unit are housed. Preferably, said tubular elements are metal profiles with a square or rectangular section. The base may include at least one container for collecting the lubrication liquid and carry a pump arranged to deliver this liquid to distribution pipes to the machining unit. It can also include a chip recovery tank and a chip removal device, provided with an endless central chain carrying pallets arranged to scrape the bottom of said tank, and with a step-by-step drive mechanism. -not of this chain, for example with pneumatic cylinder.

Preferably, the reference faces of the central structure are identical in size. In general, the central structure has substantially the shape of a prism with a vertical axis and a square section, each of the four lateral faces of the prism being a reference face.

According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, the machine comprises at least one spacer element arranged to be fixed on any one of the reference faces, this element comprising a bearing face intended to be applied against said reference face, and another reference face which is parallel to the bearing face and on which a pair of said vertical uprights is fixed. Preferably, the thickness of the spacer element between its bearing face and its reference face is equal to half the thickness of the central structure between two opposite reference faces.

In a form

antageuse, the spacer comprises, along two opposite vertical edges of its reference face, chamfers at ° each forming a vertical reference surface arranged to carry one of said vertical uprights. In this way, two identical spacing elements can be fixed respectively on two perpendicular reference faces of the central structure, so as to form, by their neighboring chamfers, a pair of reference surfaces situated in a common vertical plane and each carrying a desd iτs vertical posts, these posts being arranged to gate ^r a united machining side horizontal axis disposed ^ ° with respect to said perpendicular reference faces of the central structure. In a particular embodiment, the machine comprises at least one upper support plate, arranged in a horizontal plane above the support of the workpiece and supported by a pair of said vertical uprights, this upper plate comprising at least one surface reference for carrying a vertical axis machining unit. This upper plate can be stabilized by fixing to the above-mentioned external chassis.

In an advantageous embodiment, the workpiece support comprises a rotary workpiece table, or a linear pallet transfer mechanism.

The present invention and its advantages will appear better in the following description of an exemplary embodiment of a modular machine tool according to the invention, having different more or less complex shapes depending on the number of modular elements or units of machining installed there, as shown in the drawings, in which:

fig. ^" 1 is a schematic plan view showing a form of arrangement of a machine according to the invention,

fig. 2 is a schematic view in elevation along arrow II of FIG. ^' l,

fig. 3 is a perspective view showing in more detail a machine according to the invention, equipped with four machining units,

fig. is a schematic view in vertical section of a chip evacuator shown in fig. I,

fig. 5 is a schematic plan view of an exemplary arrangement comprising a single machining unit.

fig. G is an elevation view of the machine illustrated in FIG. 5. fig. 7 is a schematic plan view of an arrangement comprising four machining units mounted on two juxtaposed central structures,

FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement with five machining units with a horizontal axis,

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view of a machine comprising five machining units with horizontal axis and three machining units with vertical axis, as well as a circular transfer table with eight stations, and FIG. 10 is a front elevational view of the arrangement shown

With reference to fig. 1 to 3, the machine shown comprises a frame comprising a rigid base 1 constructed in the form of a box and an external frame 2 mounted on the periphery of the base 1 and consisting of ordinary tubular profiles with square or rectangular section. This tubular chassis contains most of the distribution pipes and the electrical cables supplying and controlling the machining units. The control cables are connected to a control console 3 (fig. 1) which may be of the digital type and which is suspended from an arm of the chassis 2 within reach of an operator 5. In front of the latter, the chassis 2 is equipped with an automatic protection gate 6. On the opposite side, the chassis in this example supports a cabinet 7 for pneumatic components and a cabinet 8 for hydraulic components. For its part, the base box 1 can contain a wide variety of auxiliary equipment, in particular a tank 10 for recovering a lubrication liquid, with the corresponding filtration and supply members, as well as a pump 11 delivering this liquid under pressure in pipes housed inside the tubular profiles of the chassis 2, to join the machining units.

On the base box 1 is rigidly fixed a central structure 12 in the form of a prism with a vertical axis and a square section, constituting a support barrel for one or more machining units and for a support device for the parts to be machined. In the term central structure, the term "central" does not mean that this structure is found necessarily in the middle of the machine, but that it forms the center of a production unit comprising several distinct units. In this example, the four vertical faces of the central structure 12 are machined with great precision, for example rectified, to serve as reference surfaces on which it is possible to fix, in a very precise and very rigid manner, support members which are constituted here by pairs of vertical uprights 14a, 14b and I c, arranged as seen in fig. 1, to define, around the central structure 12, three locations 15a, 15b and 15c for different units. For example, fig. 3 shows two machining units I 6a and 16c mounted respectively at locations 15a and 15c, on the corresponding uprights 14. The placement 15b is free and could be occupied for example by a support 17 of a linear transfer device for the parts "

In fact, in fig. 3, the pairs of uprights 14a and 14c carrying the machining units are not fixed directly to the reference faces of the central structure 12. but are made integral with the latter by means of spacers 20 which have support faces 20 'fixed against the reference faces of the structure 12. The elements 20 themselves have, opposite the structure 12, the same vertical reference face 21 arranged to receive a pair of uprights 14. In order to obtain a construction as modular as possible, the total thickness of a spacer 20 is equal to half that of the structure 12. Thus, in the example of FIG. 3, a double-wide central barrel is obtained, offering a large upper surface.

In practice, the construction of the structure 12 and of a spacer 20 can be arbitrary, provided that it is extremely rigid. One can in particular use castings or a welded construction. L a structure 20 may advantageously be provided with a central longitudinal passage (not shown) which can be used for example for the return of a linear transfer chain. The support members for the workpieces can advantageously be mounted on the horizontal upper face 22 of the structure 12. In the example of FIG. 3, there is provided a circular transfer device 23 provided with a support table 24 of part, rotatable around a vertical axis 25. It is a well-known member, provided with an indexing system making it possible to position the parts with precision opposite the machining units.

Fig. 3 also shows how two upper machining units 16d and 16e with a vertical axis can be mounted above the units 16a and 16c, to machine the parts at the same time as the latter. Each unit 16d, 16e is fixed on a respective horizontal upper plate 26, itself fixed in a position that can be adjusted precisely at the top of the uprights 14 carrying the units 16a. 16c, as well as chassis 2.

In the example of FIG. 3, the four machining units 16. grouped two by two, correspond to two machining stations served by the circular transfer device 23. The machining units 16 can advantageously be units commercial standards, similar or different from each other, for example for performing operations such as drilling, tapping, milling, surfacing etc. They can also be multi-spindle heads or angle heads. Preferably, each machining unit 16 comprises a translation module 2S with three orthogonal axes, the correct orientation of which is ensured by the reference surfaces provided on the elements 12, 20 and 26. FIG. 3 also shows the advantage constituted by the external tubular frame 2 which surrounds all the machining units and which makes it possible to bring opposite the different possible locations of these units, the cables or supply and control lines which are thus particularly easy to establish and well protected.

Fig. 4 schematically represents a chip evacuation member 30, disposed inside the base box 1, in a Dac αe chip recovery 31 which is combined with the liquid recovery tank 10. The tank 31 has inclined side walls and a flat bottom to concentrate the chips in a middle area where a single endless central chain 32 equipped with pallets 33 which scrape the flat bottom of the tank 31 and the bottom of an inclined spout 34 extending outside of the base 1, for dumping the shavings on an appropriate evacuation member . The pallets preferably have the shape of a triangle and are staggered on either side of the rubbing chain, as are the pallets against the flat bottom of the recovery tank. The chain 32 is carried and guided by a toothed wheel 37 and free wheels 35 and 36. To drive the chain, the wheel 37 is integral with a shaft carrying a second toothed wheel 38 which is located outside the tank 31 and which is driven by means of a step-by-step mechanism comprising a pneumatic cylinder 40 and a ratchet device 41 actuated back and forth by this cylinder. Thanks to the presence of a single chain 32 disposed in the center, the construction of the chip evacuation member 30 is particularly simple. In addition, driving the chain step by step requires only a very simple mechanism and it allows the chips to gradually drip along the inclined bottom of the spout 34.

The modular design of the machine according to the invention makes it possible to obtain an easily transformable, upgradeable and flexible machine from the point of view of its use, as will be shown below with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10 which represent some examples of provisions of a. variable number of machining units, among a multitude of possibilities achievable in the same machine.

The extremely simple case illustrated in figs. 5 and 6 shows a basic arrangement comprising a single machining unit 16a with a horizontal axis, mounted laterally on the central structure 12 by means of the uprights 14a. The acquisition of this elementary form of the machine is relatively inexpensive, for example for a small workshop, but it offers enormous possibilities for further development, on the one hand by exchanging the unit 16a for a standard unit- d 'another type depending on the work to be done, and secondly by completing the machine with additional machining units such as the I6f unit shown in broken lines in fig. 6. As an example, this unit is equipped with an inclined sliding base plate & 3 giving the desired inclination to the axis 44 of the rotary spindle. In the case of FIG. 7, a second central structure 12 ′, made up in fact of two juxtaposed spacer elements 20, is fixed against the reference face 13b of the latter. Of course, it is also supported by the base 1. Thus, the two aligned structures 12 and 12 'together form a rectangular barrel on which four machining units with horizontal axes 16a, 16c, 16g and 16h have been mounted, by l 'through pairs of uprights 14. This machine can comprise for example two machining stations with two units, these stations being served by a linear transfer device for the parts, mounted on the top of the structures 12 and 12'.

Fig. S shows a particularly advantageous arrangement of a machine according to the invention which can also be obtained by completing the basic version illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. In this case, the central structure 12 is completed by three spacing elements 20 as described above, each carrying a machining unit 16a, 16b, 16c opposite its reference face 21 located opposite the central structure. However, the two vertical edges of this face 21 are provided with 45 ° chamfers which are rectified to each form a vertical reference surface 50 on which a vertical upright 14 can be fixed 14. The depth of the chamfers is chosen so that. when two parallel uprights 14 are fixed on the adjacent chamfers of two spacers 20 forming between them a right angle, the spacing between these uprights is the same as that of a pair of uprights fixed on a reference face of the central structure 12 or of a spacer element 20. Thus it is possible to fix on these uprights, exactly in the same way as on the others, machining units 16ι and 16j with horizontal axis arranged at 45 ° with respect to the horizontal axes of units 16a to 16c. The machine illustrated in fig. 8 can execute up to five simultaneous machining operations, or it has five machining stations offset by 45 ° if it is equipped with a rotary table 24 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Finally, Figs. 9 and 10 illustrate an ideal configuration of a machine for the circular transfer of parts using a 2 ^ rotary table. In addition to five lower machining units 16a. L 61, 16b, 16d. 16c arranged as in fig. 8, this machine further comprises three upper machining units I6k, 161 and 16m with vertical axis. These upper units are mounted as described with reference to FIG. 3. The circular transfer mechanism has eight stations, namely a loading station 51, the five machining stations, a washing station 52 and an unloading station 53. The parts are loaded and unloaded by means of an automatic manipulator 54 which is a well-known robot arm. This transfers the workpieces to an arrival track 55 to place them on the station 51, and it takes the machined pieces from station 53 to place them on an evacuation track 56.

The above description shows that the invention makes it possible to combine a variable number and various types of machining units on the same frame, so as to form a machine tool which can easily undergo multiple transformations, in particular for adapt to small series productions. As the support members are modular and suitable for standard machining units, it is possible to mount the latter indifferently in several locations and in different directions. In addition, the same frame can be used indifferently for manually controlled units or for a set of numerically controlled units. In addition, the possibility of using different types of transfer mechanisms further increases the flexibility of the machine.

Claims

claims

1. Modular machine tool com carrying a frame, at least one machining unit, at least one central structure arranged on the frame to support several machining units and at least one workpiece support, and control means for controlling at least said machining unit, the central structure having at least three vertical and perpendicular reference faces two by two, each of which is arranged for mounting a machining unit, characterized in that each unit machining (16) is mounted on the central structure (12, 12 ') by means of at least one pair of removable vertical uprights (14), made integral with one of the reference faces (13a to 1 3d) of the central structure.

2. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame comprises a base (1) in the form of a box and an external frame (2) mounted on the base (1) independently of said central structure, this frame being arranged to carry control and supply members.

3. Machine according to claim 2, characterized in that the outer frame (2) comprises tubular structural elements in which are l ogés electrical cables and supply conduits of the machining unit (16).

4. Machine according to claim 3, characterized in that said tubular elements are metal profiles with a square or rectangular section.

5. Mach i ne according to claim 3, characterized in that the base (1) comprises at least one tank (1 0) for recovering the liquid from the ubπ ﬁ cation and a pump (1 1) arranged to discharge this the liquid towards distribution pipes to the machining unit, these pipes being housed in the tubular structural elements of the external chassis.

6. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the base (1) comprises a tank (31) for chip recovery and a member (30) for evacuating these chips, provided with an endless central chain (32 ) carrying pallets arranged to scrape the bottom of said tank, and a step-by-step drive mechanism (38, 40, 41) of this chain.

7. Machine according to claim 6, characterized in that ψe said drive mechanism comprises a pneumatic cylinder (40).

8. Machine according to claim i, characterized in that it comprises at least one spacer element (20) arranged to be fixed on any one of the reference faces (13), this element comprising a bearing face (20 ¹ ) intended to be applied against said reference face, and another reference face (21) which is parallel to the bearing face and on which is fixed a pair of said vertical uprights (14).

9. Machine according to claim 8, characterized in that the thickness of the spacer element (20) between its bearing face and its reference face is equal to half the thickness of the central structure (12) between two opposite reference faces.

10. Machine according to claim S, characterized in that the element ^'spacer (20) has, along two opposite vertical edges of the reference face, the 45 ° chamfers each forming a vertical reference surface ( 50) arranged to carry one of said vertical uprights.

1 1. Machine according to claim 10, characterized in that two identical spacer elements (20) are fixed respectively on two perpendicular reference faces of the central structure (12), so as to form by their adjacent chamfers a pair of reference surfaces located in a common vertical plane and each carrying one of said vertical uprights, these uprights being arranged to carry a machining unit (16i, I 6j) with horizontal axis disposed at 45 ° relative to said perpendicular reference faces of the central structure (12).

12. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises at least one upper support plate (26), arranged in a horizontal plane above the support of the workpiece and supported by a pair of said vertical uprights ( 14), this upper plate comprising at least one reference surface for carrying a vertical axis machining unit (16d, 16e).

13. Machine according to claims 2 and 12, characterized in that said upper plate (26) is stabilized by fixing to said outer frame (2).

14. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the workpiece support comprises a rotary workpiece carrier table (24).

15. Machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the workpiece support comprises a linear pallet transfer mechanism.