WO2022180921A1

WO2022180921A1 - Processing system

Info

Publication number: WO2022180921A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/037893
Authority: WO
Inventors: 清和齋藤
Original assignee: Dmg森精機株式会社; 株式会社入曽精密
Priority date: 2021-02-26
Filing date: 2021-10-13
Publication date: 2022-09-01
Also published as: JP2022130897A

Abstract

A processing system (1) is provided with a machine tool (10), a workpiece accommodation device (40), a manipulator (30) and a control device (60). The machine tool (10) is provided with a position detection device (24) disposed on a table (14). The control device (60) implements: an operation of driving the manipulator (30) to take a workpiece (W) out of the (workpiece) accommodation device (40); an operation of driving the manipulator (30) and a feed mechanism (18, 20) to load the workpiece (W) to a loading position; an operation of detecting the position of the loaded workpiece by the position detection device (24); an operation of moving the table (14) by the feed mechanism (18, 20) on the basis of the detected position information to position a workpiece holding unit (23) in a holding position; and an operation of driving the manipulator (30) to attach the workpiece (W) to the workpiece holding unit (23).

Description

Machining system

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a work storage device that stores a work, a machine tool that processes the work, a manipulator that supplies the work stored in the work storage device to the machine tool, and a machining system that includes a control device that controls these operations. .

As an example of the above-described processing system, the processing system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-102825 is conventionally known. This machining system comprises a machine tool, a robot system and a workpiece stocker, as described in the publication.

A machine tool includes a numerical controller, a table that is movable under the control of the numerical controller, and a workpiece fixing jig that is arranged on the table and movable integrally with the table. Further, the robot system includes a 6-axis articulated robot disposed near the machine tool, and a robot controller for controlling the robot. The robot has a robot hand for gripping a workpiece. , is configured to supply and remove workpieces to and from a workpiece fixture of a machine tool. Also, the numerical controller of the machine tool and the robot controller of the robot system are connected via a network so that information can be transmitted between them.

Although the publication does not provide detailed description of the work stocker, the work stocker is generally arranged near the robot and accommodates a plurality of works. Then, the robot grips the pre-machined work stored in the work stocker with a robot hand, takes it out of the work stocker, and supplies the taken-out pre-machined work to the work fixing jig of the machine tool. Also, the robot grips a work machined by the machine tool with a robot hand, takes it out of the work fixing jig, and stores the machined work taken out in the work stocker or a work stocker separately provided.

JP 2017-102825 A

By the way, various industrial robots can be applied to the processing system described above. and articulated robots such as horizontal articulated robots, and coordinate axis type robots such as cylindrical coordinate robots, two-axis or three-axis rectangular coordinate robots, and polar coordinate robots.

In such various robots, the accuracy with which the hand as the end effector is positioned in the three-dimensional space varies from robot to robot. There is These various robots are generally more expensive as they have higher positioning accuracy.

In the case of machine tools, the dimensional clearance between the workpiece and the workpiece fixing jig for fixing the workpiece tends to be set according to the machining accuracy applied to the workpiece, and the machining accuracy is high. In the case of accuracy, the clearance is set narrow.

Thus, conventionally, when the clearance between the workpiece fixing jig and the workpiece is set to be narrow, it is necessary to use an expensive robot with a high positioning accuracy of the hand correspondingly, so the equipment cost is increased. There was a problem that the In various manufacturing fields, there is a constant demand for lower manufacturing costs. Processing systems using robots are no exception, and there is always a demand for lower facility costs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its object is to provide a machining system that can reduce equipment costs even in a machining system that requires high machining accuracy.

The present invention for solving the above problems is
A table on which a work holding portion for holding a work is arranged, a tool holding portion for holding a tool, a first axis and a second axial direction perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plane for the table and the tool holding portion; A machine tool having a feed mechanism for relatively moving in a third axis direction orthogonal to the first axis and the second axis;
a workpiece storage device including a storage body having a plurality of storage portions for storing workpieces;
a manipulator having a hand for gripping a workpiece, gripping the workpiece accommodated in the workpiece accommodating device with the hand and supplying the workpiece to the workpiece holding section of the machine tool;
A processing system comprising a control device that controls the operation of the feed mechanism and the manipulator,
The machine tool includes a position detection device that is arranged on the table and detects the position of the workpiece that has been loaded into the loading position that is set with respect to the table,
The control device is
a take-out operation of driving the manipulator to move the hand, grasping and taking out the work contained in the container with the hand;
a carrying-in operation of driving the manipulator and the feed mechanism to relatively move the hand and the table, carrying the work gripped by the hand to the carrying-in position and positioning the work;
an operation of detecting the position of the workpiece positioned at the carry-in position by the position detection device;
Based on the positional information of the work detected by the position detection device, the table is moved by the feed mechanism to position the work holding unit at the holding position set with respect to the work at the carry-in position. action and
The present invention relates to a processing system configured to drive the manipulator to perform a mounting operation of mounting a workpiece gripped by the hand on the workpiece holding section.

In the machining system of this aspect (first aspect), under the control of the control device, the work accommodated in the work accommodation device is taken out by the manipulator, and the taken out work is mounted on the work holder of the machine tool. do.

Specifically, the control device first drives the manipulator to move the hand, and the hand grips and takes out a predetermined work out of the plurality of works housed in the housing. It should be noted that high positioning accuracy is not required for the positioning accuracy between the hand and the container, since the accuracy is sufficient for the hand to properly grip the workpiece.

Conventionally known robots can be applied to the manipulator, for example, articulated robots such as 4-axis, 5-axis, 6-axis or 7-axis vertical articulated robots, horizontal articulated robots, and cylindrical robots. Coordinate axis type robots such as coordinate robots, 2-axis or 3-axis Cartesian robots, and polar coordinate robots can be applied.

Next, the control device drives the manipulator and the feed mechanism of the machine tool to relatively move the hand and the table of the machine tool, and carries the workpiece gripped by the hand to the carrying-in position as a target position and positions it. After that, the positioning error of the workpiece with respect to the carry-in position as the target position is detected by the position detecting device.

The carry-in position is a reference position set for control purposes, and is a relative positional relationship between the position detecting device on the table and the workpiece gripped by the hand. This is a position set so that the detection reference position of the position detection device and the reference position of the work match in the direction of one of the axes and the third axis (referred to as the positioning axis). For example, if the position detection device is a camera, the center position of the image sensor group is the detection reference position, and if it is a cylindrical workpiece, the center axis is the reference position. Then, the feed mechanism moves the table in two axial directions other than the positioning axis direction to position the table at the carry-in position.

Next, based on the work position information detected by the position detection device, i.e., the positioning error information, the control device causes the feed mechanism to move the table so that the work holder on the table moves to the loading position. The work is positioned at the set holding position. This holding position is a position corresponding to the carry-in position. is the matching position. The positional relationship (distance) between the reference position of the position detection device and the reference position of the work holding unit in the other two axial directions is obtained in advance, and the control device adjusts the carrying-in position to this positional relationship. Considering the positioning error of the workpiece with respect to the position, the table is moved to position the workpiece holder at the holding position.

Machine tool feed mechanisms are generally positioned with high precision through numerical control. Therefore, by the above operation, the work holding portion can be accurately positioned with respect to the work so that the reference position of the work holding portion and the reference position of the work match in the positioning axis direction. After the work holding portion and the work are positioned with high precision in this way, the control device drives the manipulator to move the hand in the positioning axis direction, and the hand gripped by the hand is moved. A work is mounted on the work holding portion.

As described above, according to this machining system, after the work accommodated in the work accommodation device is taken out by the manipulator, the work is carried into the carry-in position set in the machine tool, and the positioning error is detected by the position detection device. , and considering the detected positioning error, the work holder is positioned with respect to the work at the carry-in position using the feed mechanism of the machine tool capable of high-precision positioning. , the workpiece holder can be positioned with high accuracy with respect to the workpiece.

Therefore, even if the clearance between the workpiece holder and the workpiece is set to be narrow, there is no need to use an expensive robot with high hand positioning accuracy as in the conventional art, and an inexpensive robot with not so high positioning accuracy is required. can be used, thereby making it possible to reduce the equipment cost of the processing system.

In the above processing system, the control device is composed of separate control devices for machine tool control, workpiece storage device control, and manipulator control, and these control devices are linked by communication or by a higher-level control device. Alternatively, a mode in which the machine tool, the work accommodating device, and the manipulator are configured by a single control device that controls the machine tool, the workpiece storage device, and the manipulator.

Further, in the processing system of the first aspect, the workpiece container further includes a movement mechanism for moving the container in at least a fourth axial direction, and the control device further controls the movement mechanism. In addition, in the take-out operation, the manipulator and the moving mechanism are driven to relatively move the hand and the container. According to this aspect, the work can be taken out by relatively moving the hand and the containing body by the combined operation of the manipulator and the moving mechanism, thereby setting a wide range of relative movement between the hand and the containing body. Therefore, more workpieces can be accommodated in the container, and as a result, the operating time of the machining system can be lengthened.

In the machining system according to the first or second aspect, the machine tool is configured such that the feed mechanism moves the table in the first and second axis directions, and the control device comprises the In the carrying-in operation, it is possible to employ a mode configured so that the table is moved in the first axis and second axis directions by the feed mechanism. In this aspect (third aspect), the positioning axis is the third vertical axis.

In any one of the first to third aspects, the workpiece accommodation device includes an orientation detection device that detects the orientation of the workpiece gripped by the hand of the manipulator,
In the take-out operation, the control device drives the manipulator and the moving mechanism, grasps the work housed in the container with the hand and takes it out of the container, and then uses the posture detection device to Execute an operation to detect the posture of the work gripped by the hand. If the detected posture of the work is within the allowable range, proceed to the next operation. can be adopted to stop the operation of and output an alarm.

In the case where the posture of the work taken out of the container is greatly inclined in the taking-out operation, if the work is carried into the carry-in position as it is and is to be mounted on the work holding portion, for example, the work may fall off. In the case of a cylindrical object, even if the center position of the work holder is accurately positioned with respect to the center position of the bottom surface, it is difficult to mount the work on the work holder because the work is slanted. may not be possible.

According to the processing system of this aspect (fourth aspect), in the take-out operation, the posture of the work taken out from the container is detected by the posture detection device, and the detected posture of the work is within the allowable range. When there is, that is, when the work is in a posture where the work can be mounted on the work holding portion, the next operation is performed and the work is mounted on the work holding portion. can be worn on In addition, if the posture of the workpiece is not within the allowable range, subsequent operations are stopped and an alarm is output. or damage to the work holding portion, the work and the hand due to collision between the work holding portion and the work holding portion.

In any one of the first to third aspects, the workpiece accommodation device includes an orientation detection device that detects the orientation of the workpiece gripped by the hand of the manipulator,
In the take-out operation, the control device drives the manipulator and the moving mechanism, grasps the work housed in the container with the hand and takes it out of the container, and then uses the posture detection device to Execute an operation to detect the posture of the workpiece gripped by the hand, and when the detected posture of the workpiece is within the allowable range, move to the next operation, and when the posture of the workpiece is not within the allowable range, After returning the container to its original position, the container is gripped again by the hand and taken out, and then the attitude detection device performs a redoing operation for detecting the attitude, and the redoing operation is performed a predetermined number of times. When the posture of the work does not fall within the allowable range, the subsequent operation is stopped and an alarm is output, or another work is taken out instead of the work. Aspects can be taken.

In the processing system of this aspect (fifth aspect), in the take-out operation, the posture of the work taken out from the container is detected by the posture detection device, and when the detected posture of the work is within the allowable range, When moving to the next operation and the posture of the work is not within the allowable range, the work is returned to its original position in the container until the posture of the work is within the allowable range. If the posture of the workpiece does not fall within the allowable range even after repeating the re-doing operation to check the posture a predetermined number of times, the following operations will be stopped and an alarm will be output, or The take-out operation of taking out another work instead of the work is executed. By performing the redoing operation in this way, the machining system can be operated continuously without stopping as much as possible, and the operation rate can be improved. In addition, if the attitude of the work does not fall within the allowable range even after the rework operation is performed, another work can be taken out in place of the work in question, thereby further improving the operating rate.

Further, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the work accommodating device is configured such that the moving mechanism moves the accommodating body in directions of fourth and fifth axes orthogonal to each other in a horizontal plane. and the control device may be configured to move the container in the fourth and fifth axis directions by the moving mechanism in the take-out operation. According to this aspect (sixth aspect), since the containing body can be moved in the fourth and fifth axis directions, it is possible to further widen the relative movement area between the hand and the containing body. can. Therefore, more workpieces can be accommodated in the accommodation body, thereby further increasing the operating time of the machining system.

In any one of the first to sixth aspects, the manipulator can move the hand in the direction of a sixth axis that is a horizontal axis and a seventh axis that is a vertical axis, and can move the hand vertically. The machine tool, the manipulator, and the workpiece storage device are configured to be rotatable about an eighth axis that is a rotation axis, and the machine tool, the manipulator, and the workpiece storage device can be positioned at the loading position by rotating the hand about the eighth axis. , are arranged at positions where the workpieces in the container can be gripped. Since such a manipulator has a simple structure and is inexpensive, the equipment cost of the processing system can be reduced.

As described above, according to the machining system according to the present invention, after the work accommodated in the work accommodation device is taken out by the manipulator, the work is carried into the carry-in position set in the machine tool, and the positioning error is corrected. is detected by a position detection device, and the workpiece holding part is positioned with respect to the workpiece at the carry-in position using the feed mechanism of the machine tool, which is capable of high-precision positioning, in consideration of the detected positioning error. Therefore, the work holding portion can be positioned with high accuracy with respect to the work.

Therefore, even if the clearance between the workpiece holder and the workpiece is set to be narrow, there is no need to use an expensive robot with high hand positioning accuracy as in the conventional art, and an inexpensive robot with not so high positioning accuracy is required. A robot can be used, and by doing so, the equipment cost of the processing system can be reduced.

1 is a front view showing a processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a top view showing the processing system concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining operation of a processing system concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining operation of a processing system concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining operation of a processing system concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining operation of a processing system concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining the detection mode of the attitude detection device according to the present embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining operation of a processing system concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining the detection mode of the position detection device according to the present embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining operation of a processing system concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining operation of a processing system concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view for explaining operation of a processing system concerning this embodiment.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the machining system according to this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the machining system according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the machining system 1 of this example includes a machine tool 10, a workpiece accommodating device 40 arranged near the machine tool 10 at a predetermined interval, a machine tool 10 and a workpiece accommodating device It is configured with a robot 30 as a manipulator disposed between it and the device 40 . In this example, the work W is described as a cylindrical object, but the shape of the work W is not limited to such a cylindrical object as a matter of course.

The machine tool 10 is a so-called vertical machining center, and includes a bed 11, a saddle 12 and a column 13 arranged on the bed 11, a table 14 arranged on the saddle 12, and a table 14 arranged on the table 14. It consists of a chuck 23 as a work holding part and a camera 24 as a position detection device, a spindle head 15 supported by a column 13 and a spindle 16 rotatably supported on the spindle head 15, and the like. be.

The saddle 12 is guided by a pair of two guide rails 19 arranged in parallel on the bed 11 and is movable in the horizontal Y-axis direction. It is driven in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis feed mechanism 18 including a mechanism (not shown) and a servomotor (not shown).

Similarly, the table 14 is guided by a pair of two guide rails 21 arranged in parallel on the saddle 12 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction, which is a horizontal axis orthogonal to the Y-axis. It is driven in the X-axis direction by an X-axis feed mechanism 20 including this guide rail 21, a ball screw mechanism (not shown), a servomotor (not shown), and the like. Also, the positional relationship in the X-axis-Y-axis plane between the central axis of the chuck 23 and the central axis of the camera 24 (imaging optical axis), that is, the distance X _L between them in the X-axis direction shown in FIG. and the distance _YL in the Y-axis direction are accurately measured in advance using, for example, a touch probe, a gauge with a conical tip, or the like. The X-axis corresponds to the first axis, and the Y-axis corresponds to the second axis.

The column 13 is erected on the bed 11, and the spindle head 15 is moved by a Z-axis feed mechanism 22 incorporated in the column 13, although not specifically shown. It is configured to be movable in the Z-axis direction, which is a vertical axis perpendicular to the axis. A tool 17 is attached to the spindle 16 .

Thus, in the machine tool 10, under the control of the controller 60, the X-axis feed mechanism 20, the Y-axis feed mechanism 18, and the Z-axis feed mechanism 22 move the work W held by the chuck 23 and the spindle. A tool 17 attached to 16 is relatively moved in the X-, Y-, and Z-axis directions, whereby the workpiece W is appropriately machined by the tool 17 . The operations of the chuck 23 and camera 24 are also controlled by the controller 60 . The positioning accuracy of the X-axis feed mechanism 20, the Y-axis feed mechanism 18, and the Z-axis feed mechanism 22 in the machine tool 10 is higher than the positioning accuracy of the hand 36 in the robot 30, which will be described later.

The robot 30 is a so-called cylindrical coordinate robot. 33, a horizontal arm 34 movably supported in the E-axis direction, which is the vertical axis, on the column 33, a moving body 35 supported by the horizontal arm 34, movably in the D-axis direction, which is the horizontal axis, and these A hand 36 as an end effector provided at the lower end of the moving body 35 is provided. In this robot 30, the control device 60 controls the operations of the turntable 32, the horizontal arm 34, and the moving body 35, respectively. move to

The work container 40 includes a base 41, a saddle 42 arranged on the base 41, a table 43 arranged on the saddle 42, and a work container 48 arranged on the table 43. and a posture detection device 50 and the like.

The saddle 42 is guided by a pair of two guide rails 45 arranged in parallel on the base 41 and is movable in the horizontal H-axis direction. It is driven in the H-axis direction by an H-axis feed mechanism 44 including a screw mechanism (not shown) and a servomotor (not shown).

Similarly, the table 43 is guided by a pair of two guide rails 47 arranged in parallel on the saddle 42, and is configured to be movable in the G-axis direction, which is a horizontal axis perpendicular to the H-axis. It is driven in the G-axis direction by a G-axis feed mechanism 46 including the guide rail 47, a ball screw mechanism (not shown), a servomotor (not shown), and the like. One of the H-axis and the G-axis corresponds to the fourth axis, and the other corresponds to the fifth axis. The positioning accuracy of the H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46 in the work accommodating device 40 is also higher than the positioning accuracy of the hand 36 in the robot 30 .

The work container 48 is a rectangular plate-like member, and has work containing holes 48a with a circular cross-section opening on the surface. They are arranged in multiple rows. The posture detection device 50 is composed of a bracket 51 and two

cameras

52 and 53 attached to the bracket 51, and is located on the opposite side of the robot 30 with the work container 48 interposed in the G-axis direction. It is arranged on the table 42 .

The bracket 51 includes a base portion 51a and

attachment portions

51b and 51c having a hook shape in plan view and standing on the base portion 51a. are arranged perpendicular to each other. The camera 52 is attached to the mounting portion 51b so that its imaging optical axis is parallel to the G axis, and the camera 53 is attached to the mounting portion 51c so that its imaging optical axis is parallel to the H axis. In the inner region formed by the hook-shaped mounting

portions

51b and 51c, the imaging optical axis of the camera 52 and the imaging optical axis of the camera 53 intersect when viewed from above (planar view). there is

Thus, in this work container 40, the work container 48 and the posture detection device 50 are arranged by the H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46 under the control of the control device 60. The table 43 is moved in the H-axis and G-axis directions, thereby properly positioning the table 43 in the H-axis and G-axis directions. The operations of the

cameras

52 and 53 are also controlled by the control device 60 .

Needless to say, the control device 60 is composed of a computer including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like.

In the processing system 1 of the present embodiment having the above configuration, under the control of the control device 60, the following operations, that is, the operation of taking out the workpiece W from the workpiece storage device 40 by the robot 30, the taken-out workpiece W, The robot 30 carries the workpiece W into the machine tool 10 and attaches it to the chuck 23, the robot 30 carries out the workpiece W machined by the machine tool 10 from the machine tool 10, and the machined workpiece W is carried out. is stored in the workpiece accommodating device 40. As shown in FIG. Each operation will be described below.

[Extraction operation]
First, the control device 60 rotates the turntable 32 of the robot 30 in the direction of arrow F to move the hand 36 to a predetermined take-out position set above the base 41 of the work accommodating device 40, and removes the work. The H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46 of the storage device 40 are driven to move the table 43, and the work W to be taken out of the works W stored in the work storage body 48 is moved to the robot side take-out position. The hand 36 is moved to a position directly below the positioned hand 36 (this position is referred to as a work-side take-out position) (see FIG. 3). At this time, it is assumed that the hand 36 is in an open state. Further, it is assumed that the horizontal arm 34 is in the original position set between the machine tool 10 and the workpiece storage device 40 before starting the operation.

The robot-side pick-up position is a reference position of the hand 36 (the center position of the work W when the work W is gripped) set in the coordinate system of the robot 30 (robot coordinate system). recognized by Further, the work-side take-out position is a position corresponding to the robot-side take-out position in the H-axis-G-axis coordinate system of the work accommodating device 40, and is similarly set in advance and recognized by the control device 60. The robot-side take-out position and work-side take-out position can be set by a so-called teaching operation.

Next, the control device 60 lowers the horizontal arm 34 along the E-axis to position the hand 36 at a position where it can grip the work W positioned at the work-side take-out position. The work W is gripped by the hand 36 (see FIG. 4). Next, the control device 60 lifts the horizontal arm 34 along the E-axis to remove the work W from the work container 48 (see FIG. 5), and then drives the H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46. to move the table 43 to position the intersection of the imaging optical axis of the camera 52 of the posture detecting device 50 and the imaging optical axis of the camera 53 at the workpiece side extraction position (see FIG. 6).

Next, the control device 60 drives the camera 52 and the camera 53 to capture an image of the workpiece W at the take-out position, analyze the obtained image, and detect the inclination (orientation) of the workpiece W. 7A shows an image 52a captured by the camera 52, and FIG. 7B shows an image 53a captured by the camera 53. The control device 60 selects the workpiece W from the obtained

images

52a and 53a. are detected to detect the inclinations θ ₁ and θ ₂ of the workpiece W with respect to the vertical axis. Then, when the inclinations θ ₁ and θ ₂ of the workpiece W are within the allowable range, the control device 60 drives the H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46 to return the table 43 to the original position, and then to execute the import operation.

On the other hand, when the inclinations θ ₁ and θ ₂ of the work W are not within the allowable range, the control device 60 drives the H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46 so that the taken-out work W is accommodated. After the workpiece storage hole 48a is positioned at the workpiece side extraction position, the horizontal arm 34 of the robot 30 is lowered to return the gripped workpiece W to the original workpiece storage hole 48a. After the workpiece W is gripped by 36, the workpiece W is taken out (FIG. 5), the posture of the workpiece W is detected (FIG. 6), and a series of redoing operations (retry operations) are executed. Then, when the tilts θ ₁ and θ ₂ of the work W fall within the allowable range, the control device 60 returns the table 43 to the original position, executes the next loading operation, and the tilt θ ₁ of the work W. , θ2 do not fall within the allowable range, the above _- mentioned redo operation is repeated a predetermined number of _times , and the tilts θ1 and θ2 of the workpiece W do not fall within the allowable range even after the predetermined _number of redo operations are performed. If not, the control device 60 outputs an alarm and stops subsequent operations.

[Mounting operation]
After completing the above-described take-out operation, the control device 60 next rotates the turntable 32 of the robot 30 in the direction of arrow F to position the hand 36 at the carry-in position in the machine tool 10 . By driving the X-axis feed mechanism 20 and the Y-axis feed mechanism 18, the camera 24 arranged on the table 14 is moved to a position ( position detection position) (loading operation) (see FIG. 8).

The carry-in position is a position set in the robot coordinate system. ). The carry-in position and the position detection position can be set by, for example, a so-called teaching operation performed by actually operating the robot 30 and the machine tool 10. In this example, the central position of the imaging element group of the camera 24 and the workpiece The camera 24 and the workpiece W are relatively moved so that the center axis of W coincides with the carry-in position in the robot coordinate system and the position detection position in the machine tool coordinate system.

Next, the control device 60 captures an image of the work W with the camera 24, analyzes the obtained image 24a, and detects the positioning error (position information) of the work W with respect to the carry-in position. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the captured image 24a of the camera 24 is analyzed to detect the center position of the work W, and the center position of the work W with respect to the center position (position detection position) of the captured image 24a. Positional deviations ΔX and ΔY are calculated as positioning errors.

Next, the control device 60 determines the positioning errors ΔX and ΔY of the workpiece W detected by analyzing the image 24a captured by the camera 24, the central axis of the chuck 23 and the central axis of the camera 24 (imaging optical axis). The X-axis feed mechanism 20 and the Y-axis feed mechanism 18 are driven based on the positional relationship (that is, the distance X _L and the distance Y _L ) in the X-axis-Y-axis plane of the table 14. The chuck 23 held by the hand 36 is positioned at a position (holding position) immediately below the work W positioned at the carrying-in position (table positioning operation) (see FIG. 10).

This holding position is set as a position corresponding to the carrying-in position and the position detection position for control purposes, and when the central axis of the work W is at the carrying-in position, the chuck is held in the direction of the central axis. A position on the X-Y axis plane of the chuck 23 where the center position of the chuck 23 and the center axis of the work W coincide with each other, and is positioned immediately below the work W that is actually positioned at the carry-in position as the target position. , its position is corrected in consideration of the positioning errors .DELTA.X and .DELTA.Y. Thus, by correcting the holding position in this way, the center position of the chuck 23 and the center axis of the work W can be aligned with each other with high accuracy.

Next, the controller 60 lowers the horizontal arm 34 of the robot 30 along the E-axis to insert the workpiece W gripped by the hand 36 between the claws of the chuck 23 (see FIG. 11). While closing, the hand 36 is opened (mounting operation). Next, the control device 60 raises the horizontal arm 34 of the robot 30 along the E-axis (see FIG. 12), and then rotates the turntable 32 in the direction of the arrow F to move the horizontal arm 34 between the machine tool 10 and the workpiece. The mounting operation is completed by returning to the original position positioned between the device 40 and the device 40 . After that, the control device 60 drives the machine tool 10 to perform predetermined machining on the work.

[Unloading operation]
After completing the machining in the machine tool 10, the control device 60 subsequently executes the unloading operation. That is, the control device 60 rotates the turntable 32 of the robot 30 in the direction of arrow F to position the hand 36 at the carry-in position within the machine tool 10 , and moves the X-axis feed mechanism 20 and the Y-axis feed mechanism 20 of the machine tool 10 . The shaft feed mechanism 18 is driven to position the chuck 23 arranged on the table 14 at the holding position (see the state of FIG. 12). At this time, the hand 36 is in an open state.

Next, the controller 60 lowers the horizontal arm 34 of the robot 30 along the E-axis, closes the hand 36, grips the workpiece W with the hand 36, and opens the chuck 23 (see FIG. 11). state). Next, the controller 60 lifts the horizontal arm 34 of the robot 30 along the E axis to remove the workpiece W from the chuck 23 (see the state of FIG. 10), and then moves the turntable 32 in the arrow F direction. By rotating the hand 36, the hand 36 is moved to the robot-side pick-up position in the work accommodating device 40, and the next storing operation is executed.

[Storage operation]
In the storage operation, after rotating the turntable 32 of the robot 30 in the direction of arrow F to move the hand 36 to the robot-side pick-up position in the workpiece storage device 40 as described above, the controller 60 moves the workpiece. The H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46 of the storage device 40 are driven to move the table 43, and the empty work storage hole 48a for storing the work W gripped by the hand 36 is moved to the work side extraction position. (see state in FIG. 5).

Next, the controller 60 lowers the horizontal arm 34 along the E-axis to insert the workpiece W gripped by the hand 36 into the empty workpiece accommodation hole 48a (see the state of FIG. 4). is opened, and then the horizontal arm 34 is raised along the E axis (see the state of FIG. 3). Thereafter, the control device 60 may rotate the turntable 32 in the direction of arrow F to return the horizontal arm 34 to the original position located between the machine tool 10 and the workpiece storage device 40, or Operations after the take-out operation may be executed.

As described above, in the processing system 1 of this example, after the robot 30 takes out the workpiece W stored in the workpiece storage device 40, the workpiece W is loaded into the loading position set in the machine tool 10, X-axis feed of a machine tool 10 capable of high-precision positioning by numerical control in consideration of the positioning error of the workpiece W positioned at the carry-in position by the camera 24, which is a position detection device, and taking into account the detected positioning error. Since the table 14 is moved by the mechanism 20 and the Y-axis feed mechanism 18 to position the chuck 23 with respect to the work W at the carry-in position, the chuck 23 can be positioned with high precision with respect to the work W. be able to.

Therefore, even if the clearance between the jaws of the chuck 23 and the workpiece W is set to be narrow, there is no need to use an expensive robot with high positioning accuracy for the hand 36 as in the conventional art, and the positioning accuracy is not so high. An inexpensive robot 30 can be used, thereby making the equipment cost of the processing system 1 inexpensive.

On the other hand, when the work W is taken out from the work container 40 by the robot 30, the positioning accuracy between the hand 36 and the work container 48 is sufficient for the hand 36 to properly grip the work W. , high positioning accuracy is not required. Therefore, from this point of view as well, an inexpensive robot can be applied to the robot 30 .

In addition, when the workpiece W is gripped by the hand 36 and taken out from the workpiece container 48 in the take-out operation and the attitude of the workpiece W is greatly inclined, the workpiece W is directly carried into the carry-in position. When trying to mount the workpiece W on the chuck 23, the workpiece W cannot be mounted on the chuck 23 in some cases.

According to the processing system 1 of this example, in the take-out operation, the posture of the work W after being taken out from the work container 48 is detected by the posture detection device 50, and when the detected posture of the work W is within the allowable range, Since the work W is mounted on the chuck 23 by shifting to the next operation, the work W can be securely mounted on the chuck 23 . As a result, the work W may be imperfectly attached to the chuck 23, causing problems in machining in the machine tool 10, or the work W and the chuck 23 may collide, causing the chuck 23, the work W, and the hand 36 to collide. It is possible to prevent inconvenience such as damage to

Further, when the posture of the work W is not within the allowable range, the rework operation is repeatedly executed until the posture of the work W is within the allowable range. When the posture of W does not fall within the allowable range, the subsequent operation is stopped and an alarm is output, so that the processing system 1 can be operated continuously without stopping as much as possible. rate can be improved.

Although the specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the specific aspects that the present invention can take are not limited to these.

For example, the work container 40 of the above example has a configuration in which the work container 48 can be moved within the H-axis-G-axis plane by the H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46. The configuration is not limited to this, but a configuration in which one of the H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46 is provided, so that the work container 48 can be moved in one of the H-axis and G-axis directions. Also good. In this case, the work W can be taken out from the work container 48 by a combined action of the action of the robot 30 and the action of the uniaxial feed mechanism. Alternatively, the work container 48 may be fixed without providing the H-axis feed mechanism 44 and the G-axis feed mechanism 46 . In this case, the work W can be taken out from the work container 48 by the action of the robot 30 that moves the hand 36 within the three-dimensional space.

In addition, in the work storage device 40 of the above example, the posture detection device 50 may not be provided if the take-out posture of the work does not pose a big problem.

In addition, in the processing system 1 of the above example, one control device 60 controls the machine tool 10, the robot 30, and the workpiece storage device 40 in an integrated manner. A control device for controlling the machine tool 10, a control device for controlling the robot 30, and a control device for controlling the workpiece storage device may be separately provided, and these may be communicated or linked by a higher-level control device. can.

Also, in the above example, a vertical machining center is used as the machine tool 10, but it is not limited to this, and a horizontal machining center can be applied.

In the above example, a cylindrical coordinate robot is used as the robot 30, but it is not limited to this. All conventionally known robots such as 5-axis, 6-axis or 7-axis vertical articulated robots and horizontal articulated robots can be applied. It does not preclude adoption.

Again, the above description of the embodiment is illustrative in all respects and is not restrictive. Modifications and modifications are possible for those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention is indicated by the claims rather than the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention includes modifications from the embodiments within the scope of claims and equivalents.

1 Machining System 10 Machine Tool 11 Bed 12 Saddle 13 Column 14 Table 18 Y-axis Feed Mechanism 20 X-axis Feed Mechanism 22 Z-axis Feed Mechanism 23 Chuck 24 Camera 30 Robot 31 Base 32 Turntable 33 Post 34 Horizontal Arm 35 Moving Body 36 Hand 40 Work accommodating device 41 Base 42 Saddle 43 Table 44 H-axis feed mechanism 46 G-axis feed mechanism 48 Work container 50 Attitude detector W Work

Claims

A table on which a work holding portion for holding a work is disposed, a tool holding portion for holding a tool, a first axis and a second axial direction perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plane for the table and the tool holding portion; A machine tool having a feed mechanism for relatively moving in a third axis direction orthogonal to the first axis and the second axis;
a workpiece storage device including a storage body having a plurality of storage portions for storing workpieces;
a manipulator having a hand for gripping a workpiece, gripping the workpiece accommodated in the workpiece accommodating device with the hand and supplying the workpiece to the workpiece holding section of the machine tool;
A processing system comprising a control device that controls the operation of the feed mechanism and the manipulator,
The machine tool includes a position detection device that is disposed on the table and detects the position of the workpiece that has been loaded into the loading position set with respect to the table,
The control device is
a take-out operation of driving the manipulator to move the hand, grasping and taking out the work contained in the container with the hand;
a loading operation of driving the manipulator and the feed mechanism to relatively move the hand and the table, and loading and positioning the workpiece gripped by the hand to the loading position;
an operation of detecting the position of the workpiece positioned at the carry-in position by the position detection device;
Based on the positional information of the work detected by the position detection device, the table is moved by the feed mechanism to position the work holding unit at the holding position set with respect to the work at the carry-in position. action and
and a mounting operation of mounting the workpiece gripped by the hand on the workpiece holding section by driving the manipulator.
The workpiece storage device further comprises a movement mechanism for moving the storage body in at least a fourth axis direction,
The control device is further configured to control the moving mechanism, and to drive the manipulator and the moving mechanism to relatively move the hand and the container in the take-out operation. 2. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein:
The machine tool is configured such that the feed mechanism moves the table in the first and second axis directions,
3. The processing system according to claim 1, wherein said control device is configured to move said table in said first axis and second axis directions by said feed mechanism in said carrying-in operation.
The workpiece accommodation device includes an orientation detection device that detects the orientation of the workpiece gripped by the hand of the manipulator,
In the take-out operation, the control device drives the manipulator and the moving mechanism, grasps the work housed in the container with the hand and takes it out of the container, and then uses the posture detection device to Execute an operation to detect the posture of the work gripped by the hand. If the detected posture of the work is within the allowable range, proceed to the next operation. 4. The machining system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is configured to stop the operation of and output an alarm.
The workpiece accommodation device includes an orientation detection device that detects the orientation of the workpiece gripped by the hand of the manipulator,
In the take-out operation, the control device drives the manipulator and the moving mechanism, grasps the work housed in the container with the hand and takes it out of the container, and then uses the posture detection device to Execute an operation to detect the posture of the workpiece gripped by the hand, and when the detected posture of the workpiece is within the allowable range, move to the next operation, and when the posture of the workpiece is not within the allowable range, After returning the container to its original position, the container is gripped again by the hand and taken out, and then the attitude detection device performs a redoing operation for detecting the attitude, and the redoing operation is performed a predetermined number of times. When the posture of the work does not fall within the allowable range, the following operation is stopped and an alarm is output, or another work is taken out instead of the work. 4. The processing system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by:
In the workpiece storage device, the movement mechanism is configured to move the storage body in fourth and fifth axial directions perpendicular to each other in a horizontal plane,
6. The controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the control device is configured to move the container in the fourth and fifth axial directions by the moving mechanism in the take-out operation. A processing system according to paragraph.
The manipulator is configured to be able to move the hand in the direction of a sixth axis, which is a horizontal axis, and a seventh axis, which is a vertical axis, and to turn the hand around an eighth axis, which is a rotation axis in the vertical direction,
By turning the hand around the eighth axis, the machine tool, the manipulator, and the workpiece storage device can be positioned at the carry-in position and at a position where the workpiece in the storage body can be gripped. , are arranged respectively.