Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D5/00—Bending sheet metal along straight lines, e.g. to form simple curves
  • B21D5/04—Bending sheet metal along straight lines, e.g. to form simple curves on brakes making use of clamping means on one side of the work
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D43/00—Feeding, positioning or storing devices combined with, or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, apparatus for working or processing sheet metal, metal tubes or metal profiles; Associations therewith of cutting devices
  • B21D43/003—Positioning devices
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D43/00—Feeding, positioning or storing devices combined with, or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, apparatus for working or processing sheet metal, metal tubes or metal profiles; Associations therewith of cutting devices
  • B21D43/02—Advancing work in relation to the stroke of the die or tool
  • B21D43/04—Advancing work in relation to the stroke of the die or tool by means in mechanical engagement with the work
  • B21D43/10—Advancing work in relation to the stroke of the die or tool by means in mechanical engagement with the work by grippers
  • B21D43/105—Manipulators, i.e. mechanical arms carrying a gripper element having several degrees of freedom
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D43/00—Feeding, positioning or storing devices combined with, or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, apparatus for working or processing sheet metal, metal tubes or metal profiles; Associations therewith of cutting devices
  • B21D43/02—Advancing work in relation to the stroke of the die or tool
  • B21D43/04—Advancing work in relation to the stroke of the die or tool by means in mechanical engagement with the work
  • B21D43/10—Advancing work in relation to the stroke of the die or tool by means in mechanical engagement with the work by grippers
  • B21D43/11—Advancing work in relation to the stroke of the die or tool by means in mechanical engagement with the work by grippers for feeding sheet or strip material
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D43/00—Feeding, positioning or storing devices combined with, or arranged in, or specially adapted for use in connection with, apparatus for working or processing sheet metal, metal tubes or metal profiles; Associations therewith of cutting devices
  • B21D43/26—Stops
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B21—MECHANICAL METAL-WORKING WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D—WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL
  • B21D5/00—Bending sheet metal along straight lines, e.g. to form simple curves
  • B21D5/002—Positioning devices

Definitions

• the invention relates to a folding machine for the automated or semi-automated forming of sheet metal workpieces that are planar in the initial state.
• a disadvantage of the designs known from the prior art is that small-format workpieces can only be fed to the central section of the workpiece holding unit with relatively great effort by an operator in the case of support tables with a large surface area.
• the folding machines known from the prior art have the disadvantage that feeding small-format workpieces is not very ergonomic for an operator and proper positioning and exact referencing of a workpiece to be machined can be difficult for an operator.
• the object of the present invention was to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art and to provide technical means by means of which even small-format workpieces can be fed in and positioned exactly without any particular effort for an operator.
• the swivel bending machine according to the invention includes
• a workpiece holding unit connected to the machine frame with a first clamping tool and an adjustable second clamping tool cooperating with this for fixing a workpiece in a horizontal working plane in such a way that a workpiece section to be bent can protrude in relation to the workpiece holding unit;
• a bending beam which is adjustably mounted on the machine frame and is connected to an adjusting drive, for bending the workpiece section;
• the bending beam has an approximately C-shaped beam cross-section and two bending tools which are opposite one another with respect to a horizontal central plane and face one another and run in the longitudinal direction of the bending beam, between which a workpiece section of a workpiece to be bent can be inserted;
• a workpiece manipulator which is set up to pick up workpieces to be bent starting from at least one of the table end regions and bring them parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bending beam into a section in the region of the longitudinal center of the workpiece holding unit, the workpiece manipulator having a first clamping tongs and one in the longitudinal direction of the bending beam second clamping tongs spaced therefrom for establishing a clamping connection with respect to a workpiece, and wherein at least the first clamping tongs have a first stop surface for referencing a workpiece in relation to the longitudinal direction of the bending beam and a second stop surface for referencing this workpiece in relation to the depth direction of the folding machine.
• a referencing of the workpiece is to be understood as meaning the positioning or alignment of the workpiece in relation to a zero or reference point provided by the operating control of the folding machine.
• a zero or reference point for a workpiece to be machined can also be referred to as the starting point, which typically lies within the working plane.
• the swivel bending machine according to the invention offers the advantage that an operator can feed a workpiece to be machined to the workpiece manipulator from one of the two side areas of the support table and the workpiece can then be automatically transferred to the central section of the tool holding unit.
• This enables the operator to feed the workpieces ergonomically, both with small-format and relatively heavy workpieces.
• an operator can always feed a workpiece to the specified workpiece manipulator precisely and easily so that it can be checked, because the first and the second clamping tongs can be easily viewed and reached by an operator.
• the assumption of the planned reference position by the workpiece to be bent can be checked quickly and easily by the operator.
• the workpiece manipulator can be moved into and out of the inner region of the bending beam enclosed by the C-shaped beam cross-section by means of a guide arrangement running parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bending beam.
• a guide arrangement running parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bending beam.
• a simple adjustability of the workpiece manipulator in the vertical or height direction can be achieved by a movement coupling with the bending beam.
• the workpiece manipulator can be moved by means of the guide arrangement beyond at least one longitudinal end of the bending tools. This makes it easier for an operator to see the two clamps and in particular their stop surfaces.
• first and the second clamping tongs are each fastened on a translational adjusting axis and these adjusting axes are provided for the controlled positioning of the first and second clamping tongs along the depth direction of the folding machine.
• a workpiece to be bent can be positioned quickly and technically reliably in relation to the depth direction of the folding machine.
• first and the second clamping tongs each comprise a pneumatically actuable actuating cylinder for closing the respective clamping tongs.
• This enables the clamping effect to be activated in relation to a workpiece alternately or independently of one another. Accordingly, it is possible to use the clamping effect of only one of the two clamps. Pneumatic actuation of the clamping tongs offers a good compromise between technical simplicity, economy and functional availability.
• first and second clamping pliers each have a wedge-shaped tapering actuating section, and that an actuating piston that can be extended from the actuating cylinder and has a spreading effect can be inserted into the actuating portion.
• first and the second adjusting axis each have an electric motor and each to have a threaded spindle coupled to the electric motor for the translatory adjustment of the first and second clamping tongs.
• first or the second clamping tongs or the first and the second clamping tongs are set up to grip a side edge of a workpiece which runs parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bending beam and is arranged next to the bending beam.
• the rear boundary edge of a workpiece so to speak, in relation to the location of a user and in relation to the depth direction of the folding machine, is used for clamping and referencing. This favors the ergonomics and also the visibility towards the workpiece manipulator.
• an operator can achieve quick, uncomplicated and repeatable positioning and transfer processes in relation to the workpiece manipulator.
• the first stop surface which is provided for referencing or for referencing positioning of a workpiece in relation to the longitudinal direction of the bending beam, runs vertically and transversely to the longitudinal direction of the bending beam and outside of a clamping section of the first and second clamping tongs is positioned.
• the first and second stop faces for the planned positioning and alignment of a workpiece to be machined are formed directly on the first and second clamping tongs. It is expedient here if the first stop surfaces for the relative positioning of a workpiece in relation to the longitudinal direction of the bending beam are formed on the pivotably mounted clamping fingers of the first and second clamping tongs.
• the second stop surfaces for the relative positioning of a workpiece in the depth direction of the swivel bending machine are preferably formed on the support fingers of the first and second clamping tongs which are stationary in relation to the swiveling clamping fingers.
• the workpiece manipulator it is possible for the workpiece manipulator to be set up to use the first stop surface for referencing a workpiece in the longitudinal direction of the bending beam with only one of the two clamping tongs and only increase the clamping effect on this workpiece with the other of the two clamping tongs to use.
• one of the clamping tongs for example the first clamping tongs, ensures referencing with respect to the control-related zero point, and the other, for example the second clamping tongs, clamps or holds the workpiece.
• a support body of an additional manipulator protrudes in the vertical direction from a table level of the support table, which additional manipulator has a rotary punch that can be rotated about a vertical axis for rotating workpieces to be machined about the vertical axis, and that the support body is in the longitudinal center or in the Area of the longitudinal center of the support table towers vertically.
• workpieces on which bending edges running at an angle or at right angles to one another are to be produced can be automatically rotated around their vertical axis.
• the accessibility of the workpiece holding device, which is restricted by such an additional manipulator can be compensated for by the workpiece manipulator that can be positioned and loaded on one of the two longitudinal sides of the support table.
• FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a folding machine with a support table arranged on the front side for workpieces to be machined;
• FIG. 2 shows the support table, the workpiece holding unit and the bending beam of the swivel bending machine according to FIG. 1 in a schematic side view;
• FIG. 3 shows a detail of the folding machine according to FIG. 1 with the workpiece manipulator
• FIG. 4 shows an operator of the folding machine during the transfer of a sheet metal workpiece to the workpiece manipulator of the folding machine
• FIG. 5 shows the first and the second clamping tongs of the workpiece manipulator for a folding machine according to FIG. 1;
• FIG. 6 shows the left-hand clamping pliers from FIG. 5 in section along lines VI-VI in FIG. 5; 7 shows the left-hand clamping pliers from FIG. 5 in section according to the lines VII-VII in FIG. 5.
• FIGS. 1 to 4 show an exemplary embodiment of a swivel bending machine 1 for forming workpieces 2 made of sheet metal, with details of this swivel bending machine 1 being illustrated in FIGS.
• This machine comprises at least one machine frame, not shown in detail, in particular a support structure for the individual machine components or machine units.
• a workpiece holding unit 3 connected to the machine frame is provided for fixing or clamping a sheet metal workpiece 2 during its forming.
• Such a workpiece holding unit 3 comprises a first, usually stationary clamping tool 4 and a relatively adjustable second clamping tool 5 which interacts with the first clamping tool 4 for fixing a workpiece 2 in a horizontal working plane 6.
• a workpiece 2 to be machined is fixed or clamped in such a way that a workpiece portion 7 to be bent protrudes tongue-like with respect to the workpiece holding unit 3 .
• a bending beam 8 is also mounted on the machine frame, which is connected to a controllable adjustment drive 9 and is thus held adjustably relative to the machine frame.
• the bending beam 8 serves to bend the workpiece section 7 protruding in relation to the workpiece holding unit 3 in the vertical direction upwards and/or in the vertical direction downwards.
• the bending beam 8 has an approximately C-shaped beam cross-section 10 and two bending tools 13, 14 lying opposite and facing each other with respect to a horizontal central plane 11 and running in the longitudinal direction 12—FIG.
• a workpiece section 7 of a workpiece 2 to be bent can be inserted between the lower and the upper bending tool 13, 14.
• the respectively desired forming of the workpiece 2 can be achieved by bending the workpiece section 7 upwards or downwards.
• the swivel bending machine 1 also includes a support table 17 for workpieces 2 to be bent in an area in front of a front side 18 of the workpiece holding unit 3.
• the front side 18 of the workpiece holding unit 3 is the side of the workpiece holding unit 3 facing away from the bending beam 8. Accordingly, the supporting table 17 and the bending beam 8 arranged oppositely with respect to the workpiece holding unit 3 .
• the support table 17 has a table length 19 measured parallel to the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8 of more than 1.5 meters between its two table end regions 20, 21.
• the support table 17 has a table depth 22 measured parallel to the horizontal working plane 6 and perpendicular to the front side 17 of more than 1.0 meter.
• the depth direction 16 of the bending machine 1 is defined by the serial sequence of the support table 17, the workpiece holding unit 3 and the bending beam 8. Accordingly, the support table 17 has such a large horizontal surface area; that an operator can only reach the workpiece holding unit 7 or the edge of the support table 17 closest to the workpiece holding unit 7 with difficulty or see it relatively poorly.
• the support table 17 extends directly or essentially without a gap to the workpiece holding unit 3 . In particular, the supporting table 17 reaches so close to the workpiece holding unit 3 that it is not possible for an operator to find a space or enter therebetween.
• the table length 19 of the support table 17 preferably corresponds at least to the maximum length of the workpiece holding unit 3 that can be set up
• the description relates to a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8.
• the folding machine 1 also includes a workpiece manipulator 23 which is set up to pick up workpieces 2 to be bent, in particular sheet metal blanks with a flat surface, starting from at least one of the two end regions 20, 21 of the table, for example starting from the right-hand end region 21 of the table.
• the workpiece manipulator 23 is also set up or provided for the purpose of moving a picked up or gripped workpiece 2 parallel to the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8 into a section in the region a longitudinal center 24 - Fig. 1, 2 - to spend the workpiece holding unit 3 and the bending beam 8.
• Workpieces 2 to be machined are generally clamped in the area of the longitudinal center 24 of the workpiece holding unit 3 and then subjected to a forming force by at least one of the bending tools 13, 14.
• the workpiece manipulator 23 has at least a first clamping tongs 25 and a second clamping tongs 26 spaced apart therefrom in the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8 for establishing a clamping connection with respect to a workpiece 2 to be machined.
• the clamping function of the two clamping tongs 25, 26 with respect to a workpiece 2 to be transported is preferably used selectively, ie only by one of the two clamping tongs 25, 26, as can be seen in FIG. 4 by way of example. Accordingly, a workpiece to be transported is either clamped with the first clamping tongs 25 or, alternatively, clamped with the second clamping tongs 26 .
• At least the first clamping tongs 25, but preferably both clamping tongs 25, 26, have a first stop surface 27, 28 for referencing, in particular for referencing positioning, of a workpiece 2 to be machined in relation to the Longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8 on.
• at least the first clamping tongs 25, but preferably both clamping tongs 25, 26, have a second stop surface 29, 30 for referencing this workpiece 2 in relation to the depth direction 16 of the folding machine 1.
• the workpiece 2 By manually placing or hitting a workpiece 2 to be machined on at least three of the stop surfaces 27 or 28 and 29, 30, the workpiece 2 can be positioned exactly in relation to the zero point or reference point of a control device 31 of the folding machine 1 and in relation to a reference line or .Reference orientation must be precisely aligned (oriented). Subsequent manipulation processes in relation to the workpiece 2, in particular transport and bending processes, can then refer to this reference point or to the reference straight line. After the support plane for the workpiece 2 to be supplied is also predefined or known in the workpiece manipulator 23 , the alignment and position of the workpiece 2 to be machined in three-dimensional space is defined for the control device 31 .
• the subsequent manipulation processes in relation to the correspondingly aligned and positioned workpiece 2 are initiated or controlled by the control device 31 in a partially or fully automated manner.
• the workpiece manipulator 23 can be adjusted automatically or in a controlled manner by means of a guide arrangement 32 running parallel to the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8 into and out of the inner region 33 of the bending beam surrounded by the C-shaped beam cross section 10 8 moveable.
• the workpiece manipulator 23 with its two clamping tongs 25, 26 can be moved beyond at least one longitudinal end 34 of the first or second clamping tool 4, 5 or bending tool 13, 14 by means of the guide arrangement 32 and at least one adjusting drive, which is not shown in detail, as can be seen, for example, from 3, 4 can be seen.
• FIG. 1 An embodiment of the two clamping tongs 25, 26 of the workpiece manipulator 23 is shown in FIG.
• the first and second clamps 25, 26 are each attached to a translational adjustment axis 35, 36.
• These adjustment axes 35, 36 are provided for the controlled positioning of the first and second clamping tongs 25, 26 along the depth direction 16 of the bending machine 1.
• An adjusting movement or a positioning process of the adjusting axes 35, 36 can take place independently of one another or be decoupled from one another.
• a maximum available adjustment path of the adjustment axes 35, 36 can only be between 30 mm and 100 mm, in particular about 50 mm.
• the first and second clamping tongs 25, 26 each have a pneumatically actuable actuating cylinder 37, 38 for closing the respective clamping tongs 25, 26.
• the adjusting cylinders 37, 38 can be designed as single-acting cylinders.
• the clamping tongs 25, 26 can each have a return spring 39, as can be seen from FIG.
• the first and second clamps 25, 26 each have an internal, wedge-shaped tapering actuation from section 40.
• One of the actuating cylinder 37, 38 extendable actuating piston 41 can be inserted with a spreading effect in the actuation from section 40 in order to activate the clamps 25, 26.
• Such an active clamping or closed position without a workpiece 2 is illustrated in FIG.
• the first and preferably also the second clamping tongs 25, 26 have a non-pivotable lower support finger 42, 43 and an upper clamping finger 44, 45.
• the upper clamping finger 44, 45 is pivotably mounted relative to the lower support finger 42, 43 about a horizontal pivot axis 46, 47.
• the first and the second adjusting axis 35, 36 each have an electric motor 48, 49 and a threaded spindle 50, 51 coupled to the electric motor 48, 49 for the translatory adjustment of the first and second clamping tongs 25, 26 along the depth direction 16 of the folding machine 1.
• the first and second clamping tongs 25, 26 are designed to grip the side edge 52 of a workpiece 2, which runs parallel to the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8 and is arranged closest to the bending beam 8.
• the first stop face 27 , 28 of the clamping tongs 25 , 26 is provided for referencing or for referencing positioning of a workpiece 2 in relation to the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8 .
• the first stop surface 27, 28 runs in the vertical direction and transversely to the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8.
• the first stop surface 27, 28 is preferably positioned outside a clamping section 53, 54 or outside the horizontally running clamping surface of the clamping tongs 25, 26.
• the first stop surface 27, 28 and the second stop surface 29, 30 can also be cambered or rounded.
• the workpiece manipulator 23 can be set up to use the first stop surface 27 or 28 for referencing a workpiece 2 in the longitudinal direction 12 of the bending beam 8 with only one of the two clamping tongs 25 or 26 and only to use the opposite clamping effect with the other of the two clamping tongs 26 or 25 this workpiece 2 to use. Accordingly, only one of the two clamping tongs 25, 26 ensures that the workpiece 2 is referenced in relation to the zero or starting point, while the other clamping tongs 25, 26 clamp or hold the workpiece 2 in such a way that it can be moved by the workpiece manipulator 23 along the longitudinal direction 12 and can be transported along the depth direction 16.
• a support body 56 of an additional manipulator 57 can protrude in the vertical direction from a horizontal table plane 55 of the support table 17 .
• This additional manipulator 57 has a rotary ram 58 that can be rotated about a vertical axis for rotating workpieces 2 to be machined about the vertical axis.
• the rotary stamp 58 is mounted on a support arm which runs essentially horizontally The support arm extends from the support body 56 in the direction of the workpiece holding unit 3 .
• the support body 56 protrudes vertically in the longitudinal center 24 or in the region of the longitudinal center 24 of the support table 17 . This makes it difficult to load the bending machine 1 with workpieces 2 from that longitudinal side of the support table 17 which faces away from the workpiece holding unit 3 or is furthest away. This can be remedied by the work piece manipulator 23 described above.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Bending Of Plates, Rods, And Pipes (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

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Citations (4)

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• 2021
  • 2021-10-22 AT ATA50844/2021A patent/AT525594B1/de active
• 2022
  • 2022-10-20 JP JP2024523636A patent/JP7813883B2/ja active Active
  • 2022-10-20 WO PCT/AT2022/060362 patent/WO2023064971A1/de not_active Ceased
  • 2022-10-20 CN CN202280070002.0A patent/CN118201723A/zh active Pending
  • 2022-10-20 EP EP22797629.7A patent/EP4419270B1/de active Active
  • 2022-10-20 US US18/702,886 patent/US20250242399A1/en active Pending

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