WO1992016334A1

WO1992016334A1 - Laser-workable combination type machine tool

Info

Publication number: WO1992016334A1
Application number: PCT/JP1992/000314
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ryuji Suzuki
Original assignee: Fanuc Ltd
Priority date: 1991-03-15
Filing date: 1992-03-16
Publication date: 1992-10-01
Also published as: JPH04289038A

Abstract

A cutting machine tool and a laser working machine are combined with each other, thereby providing a combination type machine tool capable of alternately carrying out cutting and surface hardening treatment on a tridimensional work to be worked on. A main shaft (28) is of a hollow construction having a through-hole path (42), rotated by the driving of a main shaft motor (30) and moves in a direction of a Z-axis. A work table (22) is disposed movably in a direction of an X-axis and a Y-axis on a bed (12) under the main shaft (28). Either one of a tool holder (40) for holding a cutting tool and an arbor (46) provided thereon with a laser beam condenser (54) can be suitably mounted on a tool gripping portion (41) at the forward end of the main shaft (28) through a tool changing device (58). A laser beam is guided into the through-hole path (42) via the rear end of the main shaft (28) through a mirror (50) and a pipe (52). An incident direction of the laser beam is a direction in parallel to the Z-axis by the adjusting of the mirror (50). With this arrangement, the main shaft (28) is allowed to move in the direction of the Z-axis with the laser beam kept applied.

Description

Description · Laser-machined compound machine tools

Technical field

The present invention relates to a machine tool having a multifunctional processing function. In particular, the present invention makes it possible to replace a tool holder on which a cutting tool is mounted with an arbor provided with a laser beam emitting means, so that a contact type cutting process and a non-contact type process (for example, a heat treatment or the like) can be performed. And surface hardening treatment) can be performed alternately with a single machine tool. Background art

In a machine tool for metal cutting, the spindle and the work table are generally orthogonal to the axis of the spindle (Z-axis) and the other two axes (X-axis, Y-axis) orthogonal to and orthogonal to each other. It is configured to be relatively movable in the axial direction. The spindle performs cutting by rotating and moving three-dimensionally relative to the workpiece placed on the work table. There is also known a machine tool provided with a so-called automatic tool changing device for automatically attaching and detaching a desired tool to and from a spindle. In this type of cutting machine tool, the work must be firmly mounted on the work table in order to maintain the processing accuracy, and the peak holding structure must have enough strength to withstand the cutting force during processing. is there. On the other hand, laser processing machines that cut, weld, and heat treat materials using high-power laser light using carbon dioxide gas have recently been put into practical use. Since laser light has high directivity and can concentrate energy on minute parts, laser processing machines can accurately and easily drill holes with very small diameters and cut complex patterns. Processing of materials is also possible. Furthermore, by adjusting the heating energy, welding of metal materials and heat treatment of the surface can be performed.

In general, a laser processing machine for metal processing is configured so that a main shaft and a work table can relatively move in two axial directions (X axis and Y axis) orthogonal to the optical axis of laser light. Therefore, the spindle performs two-dimensional machining on the workpiece placed on the work table. This is because laser processing is generally not suitable for cutting or drilling thick plates and does not require three-dimensional movement. However, it is known that a thin plate can be moved in the Z-axis direction by a small distance in order to correct the shift of the focal point of the laser beam due to the work thickness or the like. Unlike the case of the above-mentioned cutting machine tool, the peak support on the work table of the laser processing machine does not need to be firmly fixed because the laser processing is a non-contact type processing. Instead, in consideration of the laser light passing through the work, the work table is generally configured to have a large number of gaps, for example, a plurality of upright pins.

This type of laser processing machine controls heat treatment such as quenching on the metal surface by appropriately controlling the heating energy and the ripening time. Can be applied. In particular, laser surface hardening can be performed by coating, alloying, impact hardening, etc. in addition to heat treatment, but all of them perform precision processing on minute parts, and are compared with other hardening methods. This has the advantage that the heat treatment time is extremely short and the thermal stress and thermal distortion can be reduced. In addition, cutting and surface treatment can be performed alternately with a single laser processing machine only by controlling the heating energy and heating time without requiring a heating furnace / cooling device.

As described above, the conventional laser processing machine only works near the focal point of the laser beam, and requires extremely high cost to obtain a high output, so that a thick plate or a workpiece having a complicated three-dimensional shape is required. Not suitable for cutting. Therefore, if a metal work having such a three-dimensional shape is cut and then the surface is to be hardened by laser processing, continuous operation with one laser processing machine is impossible. However, cutting by a cutting machine tool was required. In order to eliminate the need to transfer the work from the cutting machine tool to the laser machine, to facilitate the programming of the work process, and to reduce the scale of the machine, the cutting machine tool and the laser machine are combined into a single unit. Attempts have been made to incorporate them into machines.

However, the bottleneck of such compounding is the difference in the structure and operation form between the cutting machine tool and the laser machine as described above. In other words, when configuring a compound machine tool, a solid support of the workpiece to be applied on the work table, an increase in the Z-axis travel distance of the laser processing spindle, and a laser beam for cutting chips and cutting oil Issues such as protection of light focusing lenses Is wearing. Disclosure of the invention

An object of the present invention is to limit the function of laser processing to a surface hardening treatment, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems, and performing cutting processing with a cutting tool and surface processing processing with a laser beam continuously. It is an object of the present invention to provide a compound machine tool capable of speeding up and reducing the scale of a device.

In order to achieve the above object, a composite machine tool capable of laser processing provided by the present invention includes a work table and a work table movable on a stationary machine base in mutually orthogonal X-axis and Y-axis directions. A main spindle with a tool gripper that is mounted to be able to move in the Z-axis direction that is opposite to the second axis and that is perpendicular to both of them, and that has a tool holder that holds a cutting tool at the end so that it can be attached and detached. A straight path with a predetermined diameter extending in the Z-axis direction, laser beam path means for guiding laser light parallel to the Z-axis from the rear end of the main shaft and into the through path, and holding a tool at the front end of the main shaft A laser processing arbor having a mounting portion that is detachably mountable to the portion, and a laser beam emitting unit that emits a laser beam guided by the laser beam path unit, and a tool exchanging unit that exchanges a tool holder with the laser machining aver. Equip It is intended to be constructed.

Further, according to a preferred embodiment, the mounting portion of the laser processing fiber has a shape that is in close contact with a tool gripping portion at the tip of the main spindle, and the laser light emitting means extends inside the laser processing fiber. Laser beam focusing lens fixedly arranged in the provided through hole May be used.

Further, the laser optical path means extends from an external laser oscillation device to the rear end of the main shaft, and is provided at least with a conduit which can be extended and retracted at the rear of the main shaft. At least one mirror which is incident on the through-passage parallel to the Z-axis can be provided.

In the above configuration, when cutting a workpiece first, a tool holder holding a cutting tool is attached to the tip of the spindle, the spindle is rotated and the work table is rotated relative to the work table in three orthogonal axes. Move and cut the workpiece three-dimensionally. Subsequently, when performing laser processing, the tool holder is replaced with a laser processing cover while the work is fixed to the work table, and laser light is incident from the rear end of the spindle. The laser light forms a focal point by a laser light emitting means installed in a laser processing fiber, and performs laser processing on the work. At this time, the incident direction of the laser beam is matched with the moving direction of the main axis (Z-axis direction) by the laser beam path means, so that the main axis can be moved in the Z-axis direction while irradiating the laser beam. Thereby, the laser beam can be focused on a desired portion of the three-dimensional peak surface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a laser-machineable composite machine tool according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a main shaft portion is shown in cross section; FIG. 2 is a front view of the combined machine tool shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of an exchange operation between a tool holder and an arbor in the combined machine tool shown in FIG. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a composite machine tool 10 capable of laser machining according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a column 1 standing on a bed 12 of a stationary machine stand installed on a floor surface. 4 is provided with a spindle head 16 arranged to be movable in the vertical direction, that is, the Z-axis direction. The spindle head 16 is moved in the Z-axis direction by driving a motor (not shown) via a rail 18 extending vertically in front of the column 14. In addition, below the spindle head 16 supported by the column 14, the saddle 20 force on the bed 12 ^ the front-back direction with respect to the column 14, that is, the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the Z axis is not shown. It is installed so that it can be moved by driving the motor. Further, a work table 22 is provided on the upper surface of the saddle 20 in a left-right direction with respect to the column 14, that is, in an X-axis direction (FIG. 2) orthogonal to both the Z-axis and the Y-axis. It is set to be movable by driving. Thus, the spindle head 16 and the worktable 22 relatively move in a three-dimensional space composed of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis.

A cylindrical hole 24 extending in the Z-axis direction is provided at the front end of the spindle head 16, and a spindle 28 is rotatably disposed in the hole 24 via a roller bearing 26. The spindle 28 is used to drive the spindle motor 30 with respect to the moving direction of the spindle head 16, that is, the axis parallel to the Z-axis direction. More rotation. The spindle motor 30 is supported on the upper surface of the spindle head 16 by a support column 32, and is connected to the rear end of the spindle 28 via a driving pulley 34, a belt 36, and a driven pulley 38. 2 Rotate and drive 8. At the tip of the main shaft 28, a tool holding portion 41 for detachably attaching a tool holder 40 (see FIG. 3) holding a cutting tool is formed. At the time of cutting, the tool holder 40 is mounted on the tool gripper 41, and the work W fixed on the work table 22 is rotated three-dimensionally by the rotation of the main shaft 28 to perform three-dimensional cutting. The axis of the cutting tool held by the tool holder 40 coincides with the axis of the spindle 28 as a matter of course.

Such a structure and operation are the same as those of a known cutting machine tool. However, the main shaft 28 of the machine tool 10 according to the present invention has a special structure described below. It is necessary to be able to move the worktable side in the other two directions.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main shaft 28 has a hollow cylindrical shape provided with a prize passage 42 penetrating the inside linearly in the longitudinal direction, and the main shaft 28 similarly penetrates the tool holding portion 41 at its tip. A hollow laser processing fiber 46 having a hole 44 can be detachably mounted. Laser light (shown by a dotted line in FIG. 1) enters the through-hole 42 of the main shaft 28 from behind the main shaft 28. The laser beam is emitted from an oscillating device 48 located at an appropriate place in the factory, guided to one or a plurality of mirrors 50 as necessary, and guided from the rear of the main shaft 28 to the penetration path 4. Enter 2. The incident path of the laser beam into the main shaft 28 depends on the installation position of the mirror 50 and the angle adjustment. The laser beam is incident parallel to the moving direction of the main shaft 28 (Z-axis direction). Above the rear part of the main shaft 28, a tube 52 for protecting the laser beam is extended. The tube 52 is telescopically extendable as shown in FIG. 1 to allow the main shaft 28 to move in the Z-axis direction. The mirror 50 and the tube 52 constitute the laser light path means of the present invention.

The laser processing laser 46 has a mounting portion 47 at the rear that is in close contact with the tool gripping portion 41 of the main shaft 28. Fix the lens 54 of. The laser beam that has passed through the lens 54 forms a focal point below the arbor 46, and performs a surface treatment on the workpiece W. The mounting portion 47 provided at the rear of the arbor 46 is tapered, and has a so-called pull-stat type locking portion 56 at the rear end. The structure of the mounting part 47 of the laser processing cover 46 is the same as the well-known mounting part structure of the tool holder 40 shown in FIG. 3, and the tool holder 40 holding the aver 46 and the cutting tool is provided. These can be replaced by a tool replacement device 58 (FIG. 2) having a well-known structure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the tool changer 58 is provided with a shaft 60 arranged on the side of the main shaft 28 and a tool holder 40 or an arm located at the lower end of the shaft 60 at each end. An arm 62 is provided for detachably holding the lever 46. The upper end of the shaft 60 is connected to a laterally extending rod 64, and the other end of the rod 64 is pivotally supported on the upper surface of the column 14. The shaft 60 and the arm 62 are usually located away from the main shaft 28. At the time of tool change, a tool storage shelf 6 beside the bed 1 2 6 receives a tool holder (tool holder 40 in FIG. 3) holding a desired tool at one end of the arm 62, and then the shaft 60 moves to the side of the main shaft 28, and moves to the main shaft 28. The mounted tool holder (arbor 46 in FIG. 3) is held by the other end of the arm 62. In this state, the shaft 60 descends (or the spindle head 16 rises), the armor 46 is removed from the spindle 28, and after the arm 62 rotates, the shaft 60 rises. (Or the spindle head 16 descends) Attach the tool holder 40 to the spindle 28 (Fig. 3). The removed member 46 is transferred to a tool storage shelf 66 for storage. The attachment / detachment of the tool holder 40 and the arbor 46 to and from the spindle 28 is performed by anchoring or releasing the locking portion 56 provided at the rear end of the spindle 28 by a well-known mooring mechanism (not shown) provided at the spindle 28 side. It is implemented by doing.

In the machine tool 10 having the above configuration, at the time of cutting the work W, the work W is firmly fixed on the work table 22 and the tool holder 40 holding the cutting tool is attached by the tool changing device 58. To the spindle 28. Then, the spindle 28 is rotated by driving the spindle motor 30, and the workpiece W is three-dimensionally cut by the relative movement between the spindle head 16 and the work table 22. At this time, the arbor 46 provided with the laser beam focusing lens 54 is stored in the tool storage shelf 66 so that the lens 54 can be protected from cutting chips and cutting oil during cutting. .

Subsequently, at the time of surface treatment processing of the workpiece W, the tool holder 40 is replaced with the laser processing fiber 46 by the tool changing device 58 while the workpiece W is fixed on the work table 22. You. Then, the laser light generated by the operation of the oscillation device 48 is guided to the through path 42 of the main shaft 28 via the mirror 50, and the surface of the workpiece W is irradiated from the tip of the chamber 46 with the laser light. I do. The energy of the laser light is controlled for the surface hardening treatment, and does not penetrate through the laser beam W, so that the work table 22 can be continuously used. In addition, since the incident direction of the laser light within the main shaft 28 coincides with the moving direction of the main shaft 28, that is, the Z-axis direction, the laser beam focuses on a desired minute portion on the surface of the work W having a three-dimensional shape. The main shaft 28 can be moved so as to match.

As is apparent from the above description, in the present invention, a laser beam is incident from behind a main shaft of a hollow structure, and a laser processing member provided with laser light emitting means is detachably attached to a front end of the main shaft. Furthermore, this arbor has a structure that can be replaced with a tool holder that holds a cutting tool, so that cutting and laser processing can be performed alternately on a single machine, speeding up work and reducing the scale of equipment. Measured. In addition, since the incident direction of the laser beam into the main shaft is matched with the moving direction (Z-axis direction) of the main shaft by the laser beam path means, the main shaft is moved while irradiating the laser light to change the focal position. This makes it possible to perform laser processing on a desired portion on the surface of a three-dimensional complex shaped peak. Also, since the laser processing member can be stored at a position away from the main shaft during the cutting process, the lens serving as the laser beam emitting means can be protected from cutting chips and cutting oil.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. A worktable that can move in the x-axis and γ-axis directions that are orthogonal to each other on a stationary machine stand.

A tool gripping portion which is arranged to be movable in the axis direction, which is perpendicular to both of the two axes, opposite to the work table, and at the tip of which a tool holder holding a cutting tool is detachably mounted. Spindle and

A straight through passage having a predetermined diameter extending in the axial direction inside the main shaft;

Laser light path means for guiding laser light and traveling straight from the rear end of the main shaft into the through passage parallel to the Ζ axis;

A mounting portion detachable from a tool holding portion at the tip of the spindle;

A laser processing fiber provided with laser light emitting means for emitting the laser light guided by the optical path means,

Tool exchange means for exchanging the tool holder and the laser processing aver,

A composite machine tool comprising: a cutting machine and a laser machine that can alternately perform cutting and laser machining.

2. The mounting portion of the laser processing fiber has a shape which is in close contact with a tool gripping portion at the tip of the main spindle, and the laser light emitting means is fixedly disposed in a through hole extending inside the laser processing fiber. 2. The composite machine tool according to claim 1, comprising a laser beam focusing lens.

3. The laser beam path means is provided in front of an external laser oscillation device. A pipe extending to a rear end of the main spindle and extending at least behind the main spindle; and a pipe arranged in the pipe 內 to allow a laser beam to enter the through-path parallel to the Z-axis. 2. The combined machine tool according to claim 1, comprising one mirror.