WO2021121968A1

WO2021121968A1 - Automated manufacturing process and manufacturing system for bending glass panes

Info

Publication number: WO2021121968A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/084103
Authority: WO
Inventors: Arthur PALMANTIER; Muhammed Nasuh ALTIN; Achim ZEICHNER
Original assignee: Saint-Gobain Glass France
Priority date: 2019-12-19
Filing date: 2020-12-01
Publication date: 2021-06-24
Also published as: CN113286765A

Abstract

The invention relates to an automated manufacturing process for bending glass panes (2), in which a glass pane (2) can be processed by means of movable system parts (7, 8, 9), wherein the movable system parts (7, 8, 9) can be controlled by a programmable logic control (PLC) on the basis of parameter values, which can be entered manually, wherein the programmable logic control can output control signals to actuators of the movable system parts (7, 8, 9) and can receive sensor signals from sensors to detect actual states of the actuators, wherein - at least one first movable system part (8, 9) and at least one second movable system part (7) are each moved from a starting position to a target position, wherein the movement of the first movable system part (8, 9) from the starting to the target position would lead to a collision with the second movable system part (7) located in the starting position, - a collision zone (13) for the second movable system part (7) in the starting position is defined such that a collision of the movable system parts (7, 8, 9) is avoided if the second movable system part (7) is located outside the collision zone (13), wherein the target position of the second movable system part (7) is located outside the collision zone (13), - wherein the movement of the first movable system part (7, 8) is started when the second movable system part (7) is located in the collision zone (13), wherein the second movable system part (7) is moved out of the collision zone (13) and the first movable system part (8, 9) is moved such that, at the time when the first movable system part (8, 9) enters the collision zone (13), the second movable system part (7) has left the collision zone (13).

Description

Automated manufacturing process and manufacturing system for bending glass panes

The invention lies in the technical field of manufacturing glass panes and relates to an automated manufacturing process for bending glass panes. The invention also extends to an automated manufacturing system for carrying out the automated manufacturing process according to the invention for bending glass panes.

In the manufacture of glass panes for automobiles, flat glasses are cut to size, pre-processed and then subjected to a glass bending process at high temperatures in the range from 500 ° C to 750 ° C in order to form the curved geometry typical of automobiles.

The safety of the occupants is of central importance, especially in the field of glazing of passenger cars. Since untreated glass represents a considerable risk of injury in the event of breakage, the glass is usually subjected to a thermal toughening process, which consists of heating and subsequent rapid cooling. The internal stresses introduced in this way increase the breaking strength of the glass. At the same time, they ensure that the glass breaks into small pieces with blunt edges. The bending and thermal prestressing of the panes is usually carried out in a combined production process in which the heating of the panes to the bending temperature is used for thermal prestressing.

In WO 2004/087590 and WO 2006/072721 methods are described in which a pane is first pre-bent on a bending frame by gravity, followed by press bending by means of an upper or lower bending form. In EP 255422 and US 5906668 the bending of a disc by suction against an upper bending form is described. EP 1550639 A1, US 2009/084138 A1 and EP 2233444 A1 can be found in devices in which a press frame can be transported between bending stations on a carriage which is mounted displaceably on a stationary carrier.

In the industrial series production of glass panes, automated production systems with a large number of movable system parts are used. The movement of the system parts is controlled by means of actuators that actively carry out the movement, typically electric motors, and sensors that detect the current position of the actuator or the moving part of the system. The sensors (encoders), for example rotary encoders, record the actual states of the actuators and convert these into digital signals so that they can be processed by the program.

Actuators often have individual controls (e.g. motor control). The motion controls of actuators are typically controlled by at least one higher-level, programmable logic controller (PLC). This contains the control logic for the entire production process and brings together all process data at a central point. The PLC coordinates the manufacturing process by transmitting setpoints at the right time to the subordinate motion control systems and monitoring the process by feedback from sensor values in the process. The PLC is therefore the central control instance for the automated production process.

Typically, a human operator can use a human-machine interface (MMS) to influence the automated process sequence by entering specific manipulated variables (parameter values) to control the manufacturing process. The manufacturing process is parameterized for this purpose. Changing the process parameters does not change the programming of the PLC, but only adapts it to certain process conditions. The operator has an important task here, since as a rule parameter values must be changed in the automated production process when process conditions have changed. For example, actuators are to be controlled differently when a tool change has taken place or generally another, for example time-optimized process with reduced cycle times is to be carried out. This requires well-trained operators and is challenging, especially since modern systems for automated glass bending are becoming more and more complex due to additional functionalities.

DE 10 2005 043 022 A1 relates to a method for controlling an industrial machine, with physical quantities such as weight, density, friction parameters, geometric shape and / or center of gravity being determined from a free body, such as a production item, which moves in the machine . The movement of the free body in the machine is then simulated with these variables.

Typically, servomotors, each consisting of an electric motor and a sensor, in combination with a motor controller, move to fixed positions of plant parts. A movement of the system parts usually takes place step-by-step, with a movable system part being moved from a respective starting position to a respective target position. The target position then serves as a further starting position for moving to a further target position and so on. In the start and destination positions, the parts of the system can each be stationary for at least a short period of time. In particular in the case of a reciprocal translational movement (back and forth movement) of a plant part, the plant part is moved from a start position to a target position during the forward movement, with the start position becoming the starting position and the previous starting position becoming the target position when moving backward from the target position. Start and finish positions thus swap their roles.

Maintaining machine safety is particularly important when changing process parameters, and collisions between system parts must be avoided under all circumstances. Collisions can damage parts of the plant and possibly result in longer downtimes in the production plant. However, due to the steadily increasing degree of complexity of automated production systems, it is sometimes difficult to set the parameters in such a way that the machine is always safe. To make matters worse, the bending of glass panes takes place in a hot environment with limited spatial accessibility, so that visual monitoring of the manufacturing process is difficult and not at all possible from certain viewing positions or viewing angles. It is sometimes difficult or impossible for the operator to recognize whether parts of the system are coming dangerously close.

In practice, a situation often arises in which a first movable system part is to be moved to a position in which a second movable system part is still located. Thus, a collision of the two parts of the system would occur if the first movable part of the system is brought into its target position and the second movable part of the system is still in its position. In order to avoid a collision, the second movable plant part is moved from its starting position into a target position in which no collision with the first movable plant part occurs.

In order to avoid a collision of the two system parts, it is common practice to start the movement of the first movable system part only when the second movable system part has been moved from the starting position to the target position, that is, the movement of the second movable system part in its target position is finished. In other words, the movement of the first movable plant part is only started when the movement of the second movable plant part has already been completed. A prerequisite for this is, of course, that a collision of the two movable parts of the system does not occur when the second part of the system is in its target position. The disadvantage of this approach is the relatively long cycle times associated with the wafer production, since the movement of the first movable system part does not begin until the second movable system part has been moved into its target position and it is therefore necessary to wait until its movement has ended. This leads to undesirable delays.

In general, the shortest possible cycle times are desirable for the practice of industrial series production. The operator has the difficult task of entering suitable parameter values to reduce the distances traveled by moving parts of the system, to increase their speeds and accelerations if necessary, and to ensure that the glass pane to be processed is accessed in rapid succession in order to generally achieve compression over time of the manufacturing process. However, this increases the risk of collisions between movable system parts. Due to the often difficult to understand complexity of the controls and the variety of motion sequences of the movable system parts, the operator usually has no other choice than to take the safe route of system control described above through appropriate parameterization, if collisions of system parts are to be reliably and safely avoided , ie the movement of the first movable part of the system does not begin until the movement of the second movable part of the system has already been completed.

In contrast, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved automated manufacturing process and an automated manufacturing system for bending panes with which the disadvantage of relatively long cycle times can be avoided without risking a collision of movable parts of the system.

These and other objects are achieved according to the proposal of the invention by an automatized manufacturing process for bending panes and an automated manufacturing system for performing the method according to the independent claims. Before partial embodiments of the invention emerge from the subclaims.

According to the invention, an automated manufacturing process for bending panes is shown in which a pane can be machined using movable system parts, the movable system parts being controllable by a programmable logic controller (PLC) on the basis of manually enterable parameter values. The programmable logic controller can Output control signals to actuators (active movers) of the movable system parts and receive sensor signals from sensors for recording the actual states of the actuators.

In the automated manufacturing process according to the invention, at least one first movable plant part and at least one second movable plant part are each moved from a start position to a target position, the movement of the first movable plant part from the start to the target position to a collision with the second located in the start position movable part of the system would lead. This case usually occurs when a part of the system is to be moved to the position of another part of the system, so that the other part of the system must first be removed from this position. For example, the target position of the first movable part of the system corresponds to the start position of the second movable part of the system. The first and second movable system parts can also be understood as a collision-endangered pair of movements, the automated manufacturing process having at least one such collision-endangered movement pair.

According to the present invention, in the automated manufacturing process, a spatial zone is defined for the second movable system part, which is located in the starting position. This zone is referred to here and below as the "collision zone". The collision zone is a (logical) spatial area that is used for control purposes, but is not physically bordered or delimited.

The collision zone is defined in such a way that a collision of the two movable plant parts does not occur when the second movable plant part is outside the collision zone and the first movable plant part is moved into the collision zone. This means that the two parts of the system can collide in the collision zone if they are located within the collision zone at the same time.

The collision zone is stationary (unmoved) at the starting position of the second movable system part. The starting position of the second movable part of the system is located within the collision zone, the target position of the second movable part of the system is located outside the collision zone.

The collision zone is preferably defined around the second movable abutment part, ie the second movable abutment part is located completely within the collision zone, if the second movable part of the system is in the starting position. For example, the collision zone corresponds to the geometry of the second movable part of the system, but is typically larger than the second movable part of the system, so that additional security can be achieved when avoiding collisions.

In the automated manufacturing process according to the invention, the movement of the first movable plant part is started from the start to the target position when the second movable plant part is still in the collision zone. The second movable abutment part is moved out of the collision zone, the movement of the first movable abutment part taking place in such a way that at the time when the first movable abutment part enters the collision zone, the second movable abutment part has already left the collision zone.

The second movable plant part is accordingly still in the collision zone when the movement of the first movable plant part begins. The first movable plant part is moved in such a way (i.e. with such a speed and direction of movement) that at the time when it enters the collision zone, the second movable plant part has already left the collision zone. In the process according to the invention, the movement of the second movable system part is anticipated, so to speak, the movement of the first movable system part being coordinated with the movement of the second movable system part.

In contrast to the conventional procedure, in which the movement of the first movable plant part is delayed until the second movable plant part is in its target position, the cycle time can thus advantageously be shortened considerably. A collision of the two parts of the system at risk of collision can be avoided, since the second movable part of the system is located outside the collision zone when the first movable part of the system enters the collision zone.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the automated manufacturing process according to the invention, before the first movable plant part enters the collision zone, at least one query takes place as to whether the second movable plant part is located within the collision zone, the movement of the first movable plant part being interrupted when the second movable plant part is located is located within the collision zone and the movement of the first movable part of the system is continued when the second movable part of the system is outside the collision zone. This measure can further improve the safety when avoiding collisions between the two movable system parts, since it is conceivable that an error occurs in the movement control of the second movable system part and that this occurs second movable part of the system is still within the collision zone, although it should already be outside the collision zone according to the control. A collision due to incorrect movement control of the second movable system part can thus be avoided.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the automated manufacturing process according to the invention, the second movable system part is moved faster within the collision zone than at least temporarily outside the collision zone. In this way it can be achieved that the second movable part of the system is moved quickly out of the collision zone, in particular at the maximum possible speed. As a result, the cycle time can be shortened even further, since the faster clearing of the collision zone enables the first movable first contact part to be moved more quickly into its target position.

The second movable part of the system is particularly advantageously moved within the collision zone without reducing the speed. This has the advantage that particularly time-consuming braking processes of the second moving part of the system are avoided within the collision zone, as a result of which the cycle time can be further improved.

In the automated manufacturing process according to the invention, a collision zone is defined for the second movable system part. According to one embodiment of the invention, this can take place in an automated manner on the basis of the geometry of the second movable system part, a suitable procedure for this being able to be optionally specified. As an alternative or in addition to this, the collision zone can be defined by means of parameter values entered manually by an operator.

In principle, the shape of the collision zone can be selected as desired, whereby a geometrically simple shape can be advantageous for the system control. For example, the collision zone corresponds to the outer dimensions of the second movable plant part, a simplified geometric shape preferably being used for the collision zone, for example a cuboid which contains the second movable plant part. Such a cuboid can accommodate the second movable abutment part, for example, so that it is matched to its dimensions, with at least one cuboid wall notionally coming to rest against the second movable abutment part. The collision zone, in particular in the form of a parallelepiped, can, however, also be larger than the included second movable contact part. The collision zone in the direction of movement of the second movable part of the system is advantageous at least 10%, in particular 10% to 100%, preferably 10% to 50%, larger than a largest dimension of the second movable plant part in this direction. This additional "safety space", which is contained in the collision zone, can further increase safety when avoiding collisions. On the other hand, it is desirable that the collision zone is not too large, since this would otherwise delay the entry of the first movable contact part into the collision zone, with the consequence of an extension of the cycle time. The size of the collision zone is advantageously optimized in relation to a cycle time when machining the panes. The above dimensioning rule, in which the collision zone in the direction of movement of the second movable system part is 10% to 100%, preferably 10% to 50%, greater than a largest dimension of the second movable system part in this direction, creates a satisfactory compromise between one sufficiently large security room and a relatively short cycle time.

The collision zone is advantageously defined as a function of the geometry of the second movable system part, a (physical) state of the first and / or second movable system part being particularly preferably taken into account. For example, the geometry of a movable part of the system can change as a function of its temperature, with an increase in the dimensions with a higher temperature. It is particularly preferable for the collision zone to be defined as a function of the temperature of the first and / or second movable part of the system. This can further improve the safety of collision avoidance, but also a reduction in the cycle time.

In the automated manufacturing process according to the invention for bending panes, the movement of the first movable plant part begins from its starting position to its target position when the second movable plant part is still in the collision zone. The second movable plant part is moved out of the collision zone, being moved from its starting position to its target position. In principle, the second movable plant part can be at rest or in motion when the movement of the first movable plant part begins. With regard to the cycle time, it can be advantageous if the movement of the second movable plant part begins only after the movement of the first movable plant part, since the first movable plant part often has to cover further distances.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the automated manufacturing process for bending panes, the collision zone of the second movable system part is set to at least at least graphically displayed on a monitor. This enables the operator to adapt, in particular to optimize, the collision zone with a view to avoiding collisions and shortening the cycle time by entering appropriate parameter values for process control.

The invention also extends to an automated production system for bending panes, which is suitably set up for carrying out the method according to the invention.

The manufacturing plant comprises movable plant parts for processing a pane, which can be controlled by a programmable control device based on manually inputted parameter values. The programmable logic controller can output control signals to actuators of the movable system parts and receive sensor signals from sensors for detecting the actual states of the actuators. The production plant optionally has at least one monitor for displaying content relating to the process sequence, in particular for graphically displaying a collision zone.

The production system is programmed in such a way that at least one first movable system part and at least one second movable system part are each moved from a start position to a target position, the movement of the first movable system part from the start to the target position causing a collision with the two-th movable part of the system located in the starting position would lead.

The production system is also set up in terms of programming so that a collision zone for the second movable system part is defined in the starting position so that a collision of the two movable system parts does not occur when the second movable system part is outside the collision zone, with the target position of the second movable part of the system is located outside the collision zone. Here, the movement of the first movable plant part is started when the second movable plant part is still in the collision zone, the second movable plant part is moved out of the collision zone and the movement of the first movable plant part takes place so that at the time when the first movable part of the system enters the collision zone, the second movable part of the system has already left the collision zone. For the more extensive programming of the automated manufacturing system, reference is made to the above statements on the automated manufacturing process, which apply equally to the automated manufacturing system.

In the context of the present description of the invention, the term "pane" generally refers to a pane of glass, for example a soda-lime glass.

The automated production system for bending panes advantageously comprises several structurally and functionally delimitable zones. An essential component is a bending zone for bending hot panes, which is advantageously equipped with a heating device for heating panes. In particular, for this purpose, the bending zone can be brought to a temperature that enables the plastic deformation of panes and is, for example, in the range from 500.degree. C. to 750.degree. The bending zone is preferably designed as a heatable chamber that is closed or closable towards the external environment.

For the bending of panes, the bending zone comprises at least one shape that can be equipped with a tool for fixing a pane, as well as at least one frame (e.g. ring-shaped frame or ring) on which the pane can be placed. Typically, the pane rests on the frame only with the pane edge. The tool has a contact surface for contacting the disk. The contact surface is designed to be suitable for a desired curvature of the disk. The frame is used to lay down the pane and, if necessary, to press the edge area of the pane with a mold. In the form of a press frame, the frame has a press surface which is designed to be complementary to the contact surface of a tool of a mold. The frame is advantageously designed to be suitable for surface prebending by gravity in the inner area of the pane, with the inner area of the pane being made possible to sag downward by gravity. For this purpose, the frame can be open, i.e. it can be provided with a central opening, but it can also be designed over the entire surface as long as the inner area of the pane can sag. An open design is preferred with a view to simpler processing of wafers.

In one embodiment, the bending zone has at least one mold and a press frame assigned to the at least one mold, the mold and press frame being displaceable in the vertical direction relative to one another so that the pane can be pressed in the edge area between the mold and press frame. Preferably, the mold can only be moved in the vertical direction in terms of translation. The shape is preferably only translational (one-dimensional or uniaxial) movable in the vertical direction. Preferably, the press frame can only be moved in a translatory manner in a horizontal plane. This enables simple control of the mold and press frame. For example, the bending zone has only a single shape and associated press frame. For more complex pane geometries, the bending zone can, for example, also have two or more shapes and at least one associated press frame, the pane being bent in several stages.

The at least one mold preferably has a means for fixing a pane on its contact surface, for example a pneumatic suction device for sucking in a gaseous fluid, in particular air, through which the pane can be drawn against the contact surface by means of negative pressure. The contact surface can be provided for this purpose, for example, with at least one suction hole, advantageously with a plurality of suction holes, for example evenly distributed over the contact surface, at each of which a negative pressure can be applied for a suction effect on the contact surface. The suction device generates a typically upwardly directed flow of a gaseous fluid, in particular air, which is sufficient to hold the pane firmly on the contact surface. This makes it possible, in particular, to place a frame for receiving the pane fixed to the contact surface underneath the pane. Alternatively or in addition, the means for fixing a disc on the contact surface comprises a pneumatic blowing device for generating a gaseous fluid flow, in particular an air flow, which is designed so that a disc is blown from below by the gaseous fluid flow, thereby raised and counteracted the contact surface of the mold can be pressed. Fixing a disk on the contact surface of a mold is not necessarily associated with a bending process, but can lead to a bending of the disk.

The automated production system advantageously has a preheating zone with a heating device for heating panes to the bending temperature, as well as a transport mechanism, in particular of the roller bed type, for transporting panes from the preheating zone to the bending zone, in particular to a removal position (e.g. directly) below a mold . The roller bed is advantageously designed so that individual slices can be transported to the removal position one after the other. The removal position can in particular correspond to an end section of the roller bed.

The automated production system also advantageously has a thermal prestressing zone with a cooling device for thermal prestressing of a pane, with a prestressing frame (e.g. prestressing ring) for transporting a pane from the bending zone into the prestressing zone can be provided. The thermal pre-stressing (tempering) deliberately creates a temperature difference between a surface zone and a core zone of the pane in order to increase the breaking strength of the pane. The pretensioning of the pane is advantageously generated by means of a device for blowing a gaseous fluid, preferably air, onto the pane. Preferably, the two surfaces of a disc are acted upon at the same time with a cooling flow of air.

For example, the production system has at least one mold, a press frame (e.g. press ring) and a prestressing frame (e.g. prestressing ring), wherein the mold can be lowered and raised in the vertical direction by a reciprocating translational movement, and both the press frame and the prestressing frame each by a reciprocal translational movement can be offset in a horizontal direction, in particular in a position directly below the at least one shape. Thus, a disc can be taken up from the mold, pressed in cooperation with the press frame and then placed on the prestressing frame. The press and pre-tensioning frames are advantageously moved one after the other to a position directly below the mold.

In the present description of the invention, the first movable part of the system can be, for example, the press frame or prestressing frame that can be moved in only one horizontal direction, preferably in a bidirectional translatory manner, the second movable part of the system being, for example, only in one vertical direction , preferably bidirectional translatory, movable form.

The various embodiments of the invention can be implemented individually or in any combination. In particular, the features mentioned above and to be explained below can be replaced not only in the specified combinations, but also in other combinations or on their own, without leaving the scope of the present invention.

The invention is explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment, reference being made to the accompanying figures. It shows in a simplified, not to scale representation:

Fig. 1 is a schematic representation of an exemplary automated Ferti supply process for bending panes; FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a production system for bending panes in a plan view for the production process of FIG. 1; FIG.

3 shows a schematic illustration of the definition of a collision zone and the movement of system parts;

4 shows a diagram to illustrate the automated manufacturing process.

First of all, FIGS. 1 and 2 are considered. FIG. 1 uses a schematic representation to illustrate an exemplary automated production process for bending panes in automobile glazing. In the manufacturing process, flat, two-dimensional glasses are processed that have previously been cut and pre-processed. The resulting product is what is known as single-pane safety glass with a geometry that can be freely designed within the framework of certain boundary conditions. To do this, a pane is machined in a production system in two steps. First, the pane is bent under the influence of heat to give it a shape by pressing and then pretensioned by controlled cooling. FIG. 2 uses a schematic representation to illustrate an exemplary manufacturing system for the automated manufacturing process of FIG. 1 in a top view from above. In the schematic representation of FIG. 1, the manufacturing process runs from left to right.

In this case, a pane 2 is first heated over a heating section, since a deformation of the glass in the cold state is not possible. The heating of the disc 2 takes place in a pre-heating zone 12 by radiant heat 3, which is supplied from above and below a roller bed 4 on which the disc 2 is supported for its transport. The disk 2 is fed to a bending zone 5 on the roller bed 4. Within the bending zone 5, the pane 2 is blown on from below with hot air 6 and picked up by a vertically movable mold 7. The mold 7 is provided with a suction device for the disk 1 in order to generate a negative pressure on its surface. The surface of the mold 7 is specially designed to achieve a desired geometry of the disc 2 to be produced. By adapting the hot glass to the surface of the mold 7, a deformation of the pane 2 is already achieved. Now, as a counterpart to the mold 7, a horizontally movable, hot press ring 8 is moved under the mold 7. In contrast to the mold 7, the press ring 8 does not depict the complete geometry of the disk 1, but only offers a contact surface for the edge of the disk 2. The mold 7 becomes then lowered and the disc 2 between the mold 7 and press ring 8 pressed ge shaping. The disc 2 remains after the pressing process with the aid of a negative pressure generated on the surface of the mold 7 on the mold 7 until the press ring 8 is retracted and a horizontally movable, cold pre-tensioning ring 9, which was previously in a pre-tensioning zone 10 next to the bending furnace 5, Has taken position. The vacuum is now released and the disk 2 is placed on the pretensioning ring 9. On the prestressing ring 9, the disc 2 is transported from the bending furnace 5 into the prestressing zone 10 and prestressed with a stream of cold air 11 and cooled. After the pretensioning, the process is complete and the pane 1 can be removed.

In Figure 2, the linear reciprocal movements of the three central elements form 7, press ring 8 and pretensioning ring 9 are illustrated schematically by means of double arrows. In particular, the press ring 8 and the pretensioning ring 9 are reciprocally moved (to and fro) in the horizontal (horizontal direction). The mold 7 is reciprocally moved in the vertical (vertical direction) (reciprocating movement).

In the manufacturing plant 1, the discs 2 are automatically fed in, and finished discs are automatically removed and transferred to downstream manufacturing steps. The sequence of the manufacturing process within the manufacturing system 1 is completely automated, with the mold 7, press ring 8 and pretensioning ring 9 each being able to be moved uniaxially by actuators (e.g. servomotors). The movement path of the mold 7, press ring 8 and preload ring 9 controlled by actuators is decisive for the transport and the resulting geometry of the disk 2. In addition to the actuators for moving these central elements of the production system 1, further actuators are used to target the process influence. For example, the supply of hot and cold air is controlled by flaps that are moved by actuators, and the separation of various furnace areas by movable doors. This is not shown in detail in the figures.

The process is determined by the control of the axes of the mold 7, press ring 8 and preload ring 9 of the production system 1, since their movements are mutually dependent and they operate in the same work area. In particular, the mold 7 must first be raised before the press ring 8 can be moved into a position below the mold 7. Otherwise the press ring 8 and the mold 7 will collide. In a corresponding way, the mold 7 must first be moved up before the preload ring 9 moved into a position below the mold 7 who can. Otherwise the preload ring 9 and the mold 7 will collide. On the other hand must For example, the mold 7 is lowered into the press ring 8 in order to be able to carry out the pressing step. Small deviations in the position or the timing of the movements can result in undesired collisions, which results in an expensive downtime in the manufacturing process, but also in severe damage to the tools and the iron due to the high speeds and forces of the servomotors control system 1 itself. A control of further axes is important for the successful sequence of the production process, but their control is based on the movements of the central elements of the production plant 1.

The automated manufacturing process for bending panes illustrated with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises a single mold 7 and a press ring 8 and pretensioning ring 9. This is only to be understood as an example, it being understood that in principle, for example, several molds can also be used to manufacture complex disc geometries. In addition, thermal pre-tensioning of the pane is optional.

The process control is carried out by a central PLC, which is connected to all the sensors of the production plant 1 and, on this basis, determines target values for the various axes to be controlled. Accordingly, the PLC specifies movement controls for the respective actuators on the basis of received sensor data. Subordinate motor controls take over the control of the actuators based on the setpoints of the PLC. In addition, the PLC controls the non-kinematic process influences, for example furnace temperatures and flow pressures. The operator can access the PLC through an MMS and control the process sequence, with specific parameters being entered in the MMS for this purpose. The role of the human operator is generally to monitor and parameterize the manufacturing process. The MMS is available to the operator for this, via which the production process can be started or stopped and parameters for controlling the production process can be entered. This is illustrated schematically in FIG.

The operator monitors production in particular with regard to system malfunctions, such as the loss of a pane within the system, which can be caused by a faulty hot air flow or a break in the negative pressure. The process parameterization is important for the correct flow of the manufacturing process. In particular after the mold has been retooled with a new tool, the parameters must be adapted to the changed process and the new tool geometry. The programming of the PLC specifies the existing movement positions of the axes and their basic sequence structure. A change to the programming only takes place in the event of profound process changes, for example when a completely new movement step is introduced. The concrete axis position values of a specific movement step as well as the associated speed and acceleration are the subject of parameterization by the operator. There are preset parameter values for each tool type, but these may have to be adjusted manually to the condition of the wheel or to the prevailing conditions. The operator enters all parameter values manually into the MMS and overwrites the existing parameterization of the PLC after pressing the start button. The process is then carried out with the new parameters.

The production system 1 comprises several system parts which are at risk of collision when processing panes 2. For example, the press ring 8 and the mold 7 form a first pair of collision-endangered contact parts and the preloading ring 9 and the mold 7 form a second pair of collision-endangered contact parts. In the manufacture of disks 2, for example, the press ring 8 is moved from a starting position that is not located below the mold 7 to a target position that is located below the mold 7. With the reverse movement of the press ring 8, the target position below the mold 7 becomes the new starting position and the previous starting position becomes the new target position. Likewise, the preload ring 9 is from a starting position that is not located below the mold 7, in a target position that is located below the mold 7, moved. Correspondingly, with the reverse movement of the pretensioning ring 9, the target position below the mold 7 becomes the new starting position and the previous starting position becomes the new target position. The mold 7 is moved upwards from a starting position to a target position before the press ring 8 or pretensioning ring 9 can be moved to a position below the mold 7. When the mold 7 moves in the opposite direction, the target position becomes the start position and, for example, the previous start position becomes the new target position.

The PLC of the automated manufacturing system 1 for bending panes is programmed in such a way that a first movable system part and a second movable system part of at least one collision-endangered pair of movements are each moved from a starting position to a target position. In this case, the movement of the first movable system part from the start position into the target position would lead to a collision with the second movable system part located in the start position. In order to avoid a collision of the system parts of a collision-endangered movement pair, a collision zone for the second movable system part is defined in the starting position within the scope of the automated manufacturing process according to the invention. This is explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, which are schematic sectional views. By way of example, the press ring 8 is the first movable contact part and the mold 7 is the second movable contact part, whereby the prestressing ring 9 could equally be sought in place of the press ring 8.

In FIG. 3A, the press ring 8 is in a first position or starting position which is not located below the mold 7. The mold 7 is in a first position or lowered position. A second position or target position of the press ring 8 is below the mold 7, the press ring 8 not being able to move into the target position as long as the mold 7 is in its starting position if a collision between the two is to be avoided.

A spatial collision zone 13 is defined around the shape 7, which contains the shape 7 and is larger here than the shape 7. For example, the collision zone 13 is cuboid, whereby other geometric shapes for the collision zone 13 would also be conceivable. The collision zone 13 is here for example in the direction of the movement of the mold 7 at least 10%, in particular 10% to 100%, preferably 10% to 50%, larger than a largest dimension of the mold 7 in this direction, which provides additional security for collision avoidance can be reached. The target position of the mold 7 is a raised position and is located outside the collision zone 13. The collision zone 13 is a spatial area around the mold 7, which is (logically) defined and used in terms of control technology. There is no physical delimitation or delimitation of the collision zone 13.

The movement of the press ring 8 from the start to the target position is started when the mold 7 is still completely within the collision zone 13. The movement of the mold 7 from the start to the target position is started shortly thereafter. The movement of the press ring 8 thus begins before the movement of the mold 7 has started. However, it would also be possible to start the movement of the press ring 8 after the movement of the mold 7 or to start the movement of the press ring at the same time as the movement of the mold 7. This is illustrated in Figure 3A by the arrows. Here, a movement of the press ring 8 is carried out, ie the speed of movement of the press ring is selected so that the press ring 8 only enters the collision zone 13 when the mold 7 has left the collision zone 13. Optionally, before the press ring 8 enters the collision zone 13, there is at least one query as to whether the mold 7 has already left the collision zone 13. If not, the move will of the press ring 8 stopped. Alternatively, the movement of the press ring 8 is continued when the mold 7 has already left the collision zone 13. By "nesting" the movements of press ring 8 and mold 7 instead of sequential movements, the processing of discs 2 can be done with a relatively short cycle time.

The mold 7 is preferably moved at a greater speed within the collision zone 13 than at least temporarily outside the collision zone 13, in particular without a delay (reduction in speed) within the collision zone 13, which further reduces the cycle time.

The collision zone 13 is defined automatically on the basis of a previously known geometry of the shape 7 or manually by the operator entering appropriate parameter values on the MMS.

Instead of the press ring 8, the prestressing ring 9 can be viewed as the first movable part of the plant. Since the preload ring 9 is much colder than the press ring 8 used to press the disc 2, which also results in lower thermal expansion, it is advantageous with regard to the cycle time if the collision zone 13 is defined differently if there is a risk of collision with the preload ring 9. With the same dimensions of the press ring 8 and pre-tensioning ring 9 at the same temperature, the collision zone 13 in the pre-tensioning ring 9 can be smaller than in the pressing ring 8.

In general, it is advantageous to reduce the cycle time if the size of the collision zone 9 is selected to be as small as possible. However, a safety space beyond the dimensions of the mold 7 of at least 10% of the largest dimension of the mold 7 in the direction of the movement of the mold 7 should be maintained in order to reliably and safely avoid a collision with the mold 7.

For example, it can be advantageous if the collision zone 13 defined automatically or on the basis of an input of parameter values is graphically displayed on a monitor so that the operator can freely adjust the size of the collision zone 13 by entering changed parameter values on the MMS.

In Figure 4, the sequence of the automated manufacturing process of the manufacturing plant 1 is shown on the basis of a flow chart. Accordingly, a collision zone 13 for the second becomes movable System part, here the form 7, defined in the starting position so that a collision of the first movable system part, here press ring 8 or pretensioning ring 9, with the second movable system part is avoided when the second movable system part is outside the collision zone 13 (step I ). The movement of the first movable part of the system is then started, the second movable part of the system still being in the collision zone 13 (step II). In addition, the second movable system part is moved out of the collision zone 13 (step III). The movement of the first movable contact part takes place in such a way that at the point in time when the first movable contact part enters the collision zone 13, the second movable contact part has already left the collision zone 13. Step III can also be carried out before step II. It is also possible to carry out step II and step III at the same time. Optionally, before the first movable plant part enters the collision zone 13, at least one query takes place as to whether the second movable plant part is still in the collision zone 13. If so, the movement of the first movable plant part is interrupted. If not, the movement of the first movable plant part is continued.

From the above it follows that the invention provides a novel automated manufacturing process for glass bending and a manufacturing system for performing the automated manufacturing process, which advantageously enables the cycle time to be shortened without the risk of a collision of system parts. Unwanted downtimes and increased production costs due to the replacement of damaged parts in the event of a collision can advantageously be avoided. The number of slices produced per time can be increased by reducing the cycle time.

List of reference symbols

I production line 2 disc

3 heating radiation

4 roller bed

5 bending zone

6 hot air 7 mold

8 press ring

9 preload ring

10 preload zone

I I cold air flow 12 preheating zone

13 collision zone

Claims

1. Automated manufacturing process for bending disks (2), in which a disk (2) can be processed by means of movable plant parts (7, 8, 9), the movable plant parts (7, 8, 9) based on manually inputted parameter values a programmable logic controller (PLC) can be controlled, the programmable logic controller outputting control signals to actuators of the movable system parts (7, 8, 9) and receiving sensor signals from sensors for detecting actual states of the actuators, with at least one first movable system part (8, 9) and at least one second movable plant part (7) are each moved from a starting position to a target position, the movement of the first movable plant part (8, 9) from the start to the target position to a collision with the in Starting position located second movable system part (7) would lead to a collision zone (13) for the second movable system part (7) in the starting position defini in such a way that a collision of the movable system parts (7, 8, 9) is avoided when the second movable system part (7) is outside the collision zone (13), the target position of the second movable system part (7) being outside the collision zone (13) is, the movement of the first movable plant part (7, 8) is started when the second movable plant part (7) is in the collision zone (13), the second movable plant part (7) from the Collision zone (13) is moved and the movement of the first movable plant part (8, 9) takes place so that at the time when the first movable plant part (8, 9) enters the collision zone (13), the second movable plant part (7 ) has left the collision zone (13).

2. Automated manufacturing process for bending panes (2) according to claim 1, in which before the entry of the first movable plant part (8, 9) into the collision zone (13) at least one query is made as to whether the second movable plant part (7) is within the collision zone (13) is, the movement of the first movable plant part (8, 9) is interrupted when the second movable plant part (7) is within the collision zone (13) and the movement of the first movable plant part (8, 9) is continued when the second movable plant part (7) is outside the collision zone (13).

3. Automated manufacturing process for bending disks (2) according to claim 1 or 2, in which the second movable contact part (7) is moved faster within the collision zone (13) than at least temporarily outside the collision zone (13).

4. Automated manufacturing process for bending disks (2) according to one of claims 1 to 3, in which the second movable system part (7) is moved within the collision zone (13) without reducing the speed.

5. Automated manufacturing process for bending disks (2) according to one of claims 1 to 4, in which the collision zone (13) is defined automatically on the basis of the geometry of the second movable system part (7).

6. Automated manufacturing process for bending panes (2) according to one of Claims 1 to 4, in which the collision zone (13) is defined by parameter values entered manually by an operator.

7. Automated manufacturing process for bending panes (2) according to one of claims 1 to 6, in which the collision zone (13) as a function of a state of the first and / or second movable system part (7, 8, 9), in particular its temperature , is defined.

8. Automated manufacturing process for bending discs (2) according to one of claims 1 to 7, in which the movement of the second movable system part (7) begins after the movement of the first movable system part (8, 9).

9. Automated manufacturing process for bending panes (2) according to one of claims 1 to 8, in which the collision zone (13) is shown graphically on at least one monitor.

10. Automated manufacturing process for bending disks (2) according to one of claims 1 to 9, in which the collision zone (13) is reduced in size to reduce the cycle time in the processing of disks.

11. Automated manufacturing process for bending panes (2) according to one of claims 1 to 10, in which the collision zone (13) in the direction of movement of the second movable plant part (7) is at least 10%, in particular 10% to 100%, in particular 10% to 50%, is larger than a largest dimension of the second movable system part (7) in this direction.

12. Automated manufacturing plant for bending disks to carry out the method according to one of claims 1 to 11, which movable plant parts (7, 8, 9) for processing a disc (2), wherein the movable plant parts (7, 8, 9 ) are controllable on the basis of manually enterable parameter values by a programmable logic control device, the programmable logic control device outputting control signals to actuators of the movable system parts (7, 8, 9) and receiving sensor signals from sensors for detecting actual states of the actuators , in which a first movable system part (8, 9) and a second movable system part (7) can each be moved from a starting position to a target position, the movement of the first movable system part (8, 9) from the start to the target position would lead to a collision with the second movable part (7) located in the starting position, which is set up in the program t that a collision zone (13) for the second movable plant part (7) is defined in the starting position, such that a collision of the movable plant parts (7, 8, 9) is avoided when the second movable plant part (7) is outside the Collision zone (13) is, the target position of the second movable plant part (7) is outside the collision zone (13), the movement of the first movable plant part (8, 9) is started when the second movable plant part (7) is in the collision zone (13) is located, the second movable plant part (7) being moved out of the collision zone (13) and the movement of the first movable plant part (8, 9) takes place in such a way that at the time when the first movable plant part ( 8, 9) enters the collision zone (13), the second movable system part (7) has left the collision zone (13).