JPH0356863B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workpiece determination control device for a lathe that is suitable for use when loading and unloading workpieces from a plurality of pallets to a machine tool using a handling robot. .

(b) Background of the technology Recently, handling robots have been used to transport unprocessed workpieces placed on multiple pallets to machine tools, perform predetermined machining, and use the robot again to process the finished workpieces. Proposals have been made to process a large number of workpieces continuously without any manual intervention by returning the workpieces to a pallet.

When such a method is used, an operator may mistakenly prepare operation programs for machining and loading/unloading that are not used for the machining process at the stage of setting up unprocessed workpieces on a pallet. unprocessed workpieces (hereinafter referred to as “nonconforming workpieces”)
It is called. ) is placed, the problem is how to deal with it.

That is, when a handling robot is used to continuously process workpieces, the robot is unmanned during processing. Therefore, when a non-conforming workpiece is detected, if a control is performed to stop the robot's further loading/unloading operations to the machine tool, when all machining work by the machine tool is completed, that is, when the operator picks up the unprocessed workpiece, After a certain period of time after setting it on the palette,
Even when the operator returns to the machine tool, the loading and unloading of workpieces into and out of the machine is stopped when a non-conforming workpiece is detected, so a large number of unprocessed workpieces remain, and subsequent processing steps There is a risk of causing major problems.

In particular, when the same machine tool attempts to perform different types of machining on various unprocessed workpieces, the operator must identify which of the various unprocessed workpieces are nonconforming workpieces. It is extremely difficult to determine this at the setup stage.

Another option is to measure the dimensions of the workpiece and check for non-conforming workpieces that cannot be machined.
If a non-conforming work is confirmed and the work is continued without machining the work, unprocessed work and non-conforming work will be mixed on the pallet, making it difficult for the operator to identify which work is non-conforming. Unless it can be determined, it is impossible to replace the non-conforming work or load an operation program related to the non-conforming work, which causes many problems. Also, unless the control device is able to determine which workpieces on the pallet are unprocessed and which are non-conforming, it is also possible to re-measure the dimensions of the workpieces that have once become non-conforming. This causes an inconvenience that hinders the efficiency of machining operations.

(c) Purpose of the Invention In view of the above circumstances, the present invention not only makes it possible to continue the operation of a handling robot without stopping midway even if there is a non-conforming work, but also enables the handling robot to continue its operation without stopping the operation even if there is a non-conforming work. It is an object of the present invention to provide a workpiece determination control device for a lathe that can easily make a determination and improve the efficiency of machining operations.

(d) Structure of the Invention That is, the present invention comprises a program memory storing a plurality of operation programs corresponding to workpieces to be machined, a plurality of pallets on which workpieces can be mounted, and the pallet positioned at a predetermined workpiece gripping position. In the apparatus provided with a handling robot having a handling means for loading and unloading a workpiece onto a lathe, the first memory means stores a material diameter of a workpiece corresponding to an operation program stored in the program memory. and stores a flag indicating whether the workpiece mounted on the pallet is being processed or unprocessed, or whether the operation program corresponding to the workpiece is in a nonconforming state where it is not stored in the program memory. A second memory means is provided, and a workpiece diameter measurement calculation means is provided at the workpiece gripping position, and the workpiece diameter of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position calculated by the workpiece diameter measurement calculation means and the first
an operation program existence determination means for comparing the material diameters of the workpieces stored in the memory means and determining whether or not an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory;
Only when the operation program existence determination means determines that an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory, the operation program is moved to the workpiece gripping position based on the corresponding operation program for the handling robot. A robot control means for instructing the conveyance of the positioned workpiece to the lathe is provided, and the workpiece diameter is measured by the workpiece diameter measurement calculation means stored in the second memory means in accordance with the output from the operation program existence determination means. The present invention is constructed by providing a flag rewriting means for rewriting the flag corresponding to the work that has been changed so as to correspond to the current state of the work.

(e) Examples of the invention Examples of the invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a handling robot to which the present invention is installed on a numerically controlled lathe, FIG. 2 is a front view of the conveyor unit of the handling robot shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the handling robot shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the handling robot 1, a main body 3, which constitutes a handling means together with a main arm 5, a sub-arm 6, and a hand 7, which will be described later, is attached to the front of a numerically controlled lathe 2, which is a machine tool, in the direction of arrows A and B. The main arm 5 is provided on the main body 3 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows E and F and extendable and retractable in the directions of arrows C and D. A sub-arm 6 is provided on the main arm 5 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows G and H, and a hand 7 is provided on the sub-arm 6 so as to be detachable and replaceable.

On the other hand, a conveyor unit 9 constituting the handling robot 1 is installed on the left side of the main body 3 in FIG. 1, and the conveyor unit 9 has a body 9b movably supported by wheels 9c. .
As shown in FIG. 2, on the main body 9b, a large number of endlessly connected pallets 9a are provided so as to be movable in the directions of arrows I and J. It has a unique palette number PANO. Further, a workpiece measuring device 10 is provided at the robot gripping position X of the conveyor unit 9, and the measuring device 10 has contacts 11 and 12, as shown in FIG. The contact 11 is provided so as to be movable in the directions of arrows M and N, and the contact 12 is provided so as to be movable in the directions of arrows P and Q. In addition, the contacts 11, 1
Racks 13 and 15 are formed on the shafts 1 and 2 of the variable resistors 16 and 17, respectively.
Pinion gear 1 attached to the tips of 6a and 17a
6b and 17b are engaged. variable resistor 16,
A/D converters 19 and 20 are connected to 17,
A work length calculation circuit 21 is connected to the A/D converter 19, and a work diameter calculation circuit 22 is connected to the converter 20. A workpiece determination section 23 is connected to the workpiece length calculation circuit 21 and the workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22.
A main control unit 26 is connected to the workpiece determination unit 23 via a path line 25, and a program memory 27, a program memory 27,
Work pallet memory 29, conveyor control section 3
0, a hand control section 31, a keyboard 33, etc. are connected.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the numerically controlled lathe 2 is provided with a chuck 2a that is rotatably driven and attached to the main shaft, and a door 2b that is attached to the machine body.
It is provided so as to be openable and closable in the directions of arrows K and L by an air cylinder 2e provided above d.

Since the handling robot 1 etc. has the above configuration, the workpiece 3 is
When loading and unloading the workpiece 2, first, a cylindrical unprocessed workpiece 32 to be processed is placed on the pallet 9a of the conveyor unit 9, as shown in FIG. Next, the main controller 26 is instructed to start carrying the work 32 into and out of the lathe 2 via the keyboard 33 . Then, the main control section 26 drives the conveyor control section 30 to perform a positioning operation for sequentially moving and positioning the pallets 9a to the robot grasping position X.

In this way, when the pallet 9a carrying the workpiece 32 to be processed first is positioned at the gripping position X,
The contact 12 of the workpiece measuring device 10 is moved in the direction of the arrow Q, with the tip 12a contacting the side surface 32a of the workpiece 32, and the workpiece 32 is further pressed and moved by the contactor 12, and is provided on the opposite side of the contactor 12. It protrudes until it comes into contact with the abutment guide 14. When the contact guide 14 prevents further protrusion in the Q direction, the contact 11 starts descending in the N direction, comes into contact with the upper surface 32b of the workpiece 32, and stops. When the contacts 11 and 12 move in the N and Q directions, the variable resistors 16 and 17 are moved through the racks 13 and 15 and the pinion gears 16b and 17b.
The shafts 16a, 17a rotate by an angular amount corresponding to the amount of movement of each contactor 11, 12, and the resistors 16,
The output voltages V _OUT2 and V _OUT1 of 17 change accordingly. That is, the output voltage V _OUT2 of the resistors 16 and 17,
V _OUT1 is the distance L1 between the abutment guide 14 of the workpiece 32 and the contact tip 12a, and therefore the diameter D of the workpiece 32, the distance L2 between the workpiece mounting surface 9d of the pallet 9a and the contact tip 11a, and the distance L2 between the workpiece mounting surface 9d of the pallet 9a and the contact tip 11a. Therefore, the length LH of the workpiece 32 changes here.

Output voltages V _OUT2 and V _OUT1 are A/D converters 19 and 20
The output voltage converted into a digital value is output to the workpiece length calculation circuit 21 and the workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22, and the circuits 21 and 22 output the output voltage converted into a digital value.
Distance L corresponding to the relevant voltage value from V _OUT1 and V _OUT2
1 and L2 are calculated and output to the workpiece determination section 23. The workpiece determination unit 23 determines the input distance L.
1, L2, that is, the diameter D and length LH of the workpiece 32
The program memory 27 is searched based on.

In the program memory 27, all operation programs PRO executed by the handling robot 1 and the lathe 2 are stored in program numbers for each type of workpiece.
Each operation program PRO contains the length LHW of the unprocessed workpiece 32 to be processed by the program PRO.
Diameter DW etc. are set and stored respectively. Therefore, the workpiece determination unit 23 uses the length LHW and diameter DW in each program PRO and the workpiece measuring device 10.
The length LH and diameter D of the unprocessed workpiece 32 on the pallet 9a measured by
If there is a program in 7 that matches these, the program number of the program PRO
Notify the main control unit 26 of the PNO.

In response to this, the main control unit 26 stores the program PRO corresponding to the program number PNO in the memory 2.
7 and instructs the hand control unit 31 to execute the loading/unloading operation of the workpiece 32 to the lathe 2 based on the program PRO, and further reads out the measured unprocessed workpiece 32 in the workpiece pallet memory 29.
Pallet number of pallet 9a equipped with
At the address corresponding to PANO, a flag FLG (displayed as "M" in the figure) indicating that processing is in progress is set, and a flag FLG (displayed as "U" in the figure) indicating unprocessed is set.

To carry the workpiece 32 into the lathe 2, as shown in FIG. 1, the body 3 of the handling robot 1 is rotated in the A direction, the hand 7 is positioned at the gripping position X, and the main arm 5 is moved in the C direction. Then, the hand 7 grasps the workpiece 32 measured by the workpiece measuring device 10 on the pallet 9a, and the arm 5 is returned to the D direction, and the main body 3 is rotated to the B direction. In addition, when operating hand 7,
Since the contacts 11, 12 and abutting guide 14 of the workpiece measuring device 10 are retracted to a position where they do not interfere with the hand 7, the hand 7 can smoothly grip the unprocessed workpiece on the pallet 9a.

When the main body 3 rotates in the B direction, the main arm 5 is rotated in the E direction, and the hand 7 is moved to the workpiece 3.
2, the workpiece 3 is introduced into the lathe through the door 2b which is opened by the cylinder 2e, and the workpiece 3
2 and chuck 2a face each other. In this state, the main arm 5 is moved in the C direction to hold the workpiece 32 held by the hand 7 on the chuck 2a. When the chuck 2a holds the workpiece 32, the main arm 5 moves in the D direction,
The hand 7 is rotated in the direction F and the hand 7 is retracted from the body of the lathe 2. Then, the air cylinder 2e is driven to close the door 2b in the K direction, and a predetermined machining operation is performed on the workpiece 32 held by the chuck 2a.

When the machining is completed, the door 2b opens, the main arm 5 rotates in the E direction, and the sub arm 6
rotates 180° in the G direction, and main arm 5 further rotates in the C direction.
move in the direction. At this time, the hand 7 picks up the workpiece 3 that has been processed on the opposite side from when the workpiece was brought in.
, and return the machined workpiece 32 to the pallet 9a on which the workpiece 32 was mounted before carrying it in, in the reverse order of the carrying-in procedure. When the workpiece 32 is returned onto the pallet 9a, the hand control section 31 outputs a machining completion signal FS to the main control section 26, and in response to this, the main control section 26 stores the workpiece pallet memory 29.
The flag FLG of the address corresponding to the pallet number PANO of the pallet 9a on which the workpiece 32 that has been processed has been loaded is set to "M" which is being processed.
The display is changed from "F" to "F" indicating processing completion.

By the way, if the program PRO storing the length LHW and diameter D that match the length LH and diameter D of the raw workpiece 32 measured by the workpiece measuring device 10 does not exist in the program memory 27, , the workpiece determination unit 23 selects the pallet 9
The workpiece 32 on a is set to the corresponding program PRO.
It is determined that the non-conforming work does not exist, and outputs a non-conforming determination signal JS to the main control unit 26. Then, the main control unit 26 immediately sets a flag FLG to the address corresponding to the pallet number PANO of the pallet 9a on which the nonconforming workpiece is mounted in the pallet memory 29.
, put up an "X" to indicate non-conforming work.

When the flag FLG "X" indicating a nonconforming work is set, the main control unit 26 thereafter controls the hand control unit 31 and the conveyor control unit in a manner that ignores the pallet 9a corresponding to the pallet number PANO on which the flag FLG is set. 30, the nonconforming workpiece on the pallet 9a is sent as it is in the I or J direction without being carried into the lathe 2 by the hand 7, and the workpiece measuring device 10 immediately measures the unprocessed workpiece on the next pallet 9a. Measurement for 32 is started. The flag FLG "X" of the pallet 9a on which the non-conforming work is loaded will not be cleared until all workpieces other than the non-conforming work on the conveyor unit 9 have been processed and a series of machining operations has been completed. Even if the nonconforming workpiece on the pallet 9a passes through the gripping position X again, it will not be positioned at the position X, and therefore no measurement will be performed by the workpiece measuring device 10.

Note that the above embodiment is based on the operation program PRO.
In , we described the case where the dimensions such as length LHW and diameter DW of the unprocessed workpiece targeted by the operation program PRO are stored.
As long as the dimensions of DW, etc. correspond to the operation program PRO, they do not necessarily need to be stored in the operation program PRO, and of course may be stored separately (therefore, in a separate memory). It is.

(f) Effect of the Invention As explained above, according to the present invention, the program memory 27 storing a plurality of operation programs PRO corresponding to the workpiece 32 to be machined, the plurality of pallets 9a on which the workpieces can be mounted, and A handling robot 1 is provided, which has handling means such as a main body 3, a main arm 5, a sub-arm 6, and a hand 7, for loading and unloading a workpiece on the pallet positioned at a predetermined workpiece gripping position X into and out of a lathe 2. In the device, the operation program PRO stored in the program memory 27
A first memory means such as a program memory 27 storing the material diameter of the workpiece, such as the diameter DW of the unprocessed workpiece, corresponding to the workpiece, is provided, and the workpiece mounted on the pallet is being processed or unprocessed. or "M", "U", or "X" indicating whether the operation program PRO corresponding to the work is in a nonconforming state where it is not stored in the program memory 27.
A second memory means such as a work pallet memory 29 storing flags FLG such as
Workpiece diameter measurement calculation means such as a variable resistor 17, an A/D converter 20, and a workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22 are provided,
The workpiece diameter D of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position X calculated by the workpiece diameter measurement calculation means is compared with the workpiece material diameter stored in the first memory means, and the program memory a workpiece determination unit 2 that determines whether an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is stored therein;
A motion program existence determination means such as No. 3 is provided, and the motion program existence determination means responds to the handling robot only when the motion program existence determination means determines that a motion program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory. Robot control means such as a main control section 26 and a hand control section 31 are provided for instructing the loading of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position into the lathe based on the operation program, and the output from the operation program existence determination means is Accordingly, the main control unit 26 or the like rewrites the flag corresponding to the workpiece measured by the workpiece diameter measurement calculation means stored in the second memory means so as to correspond to the current state of the workpiece. Since we have set up and configured the means,
Even if the operator accidentally places a nonconforming workpiece on the pallet 9a, the handling robot will not carry out the operation of carrying the workpiece into the lathe for the workpiece for which the operation program is not stored, and the corresponding flag in the second memory means will be saved. Since the operation program PRO is rewritten to correspond to the current state of the work, the operator does not have to judge whether each work is a non-conforming work when placing the work on the pallet 9a. Since only the existing workpieces are carried into the lathe, it is possible to quickly load the workpieces onto the pallet. In addition, in subsequent control, the handling robot can be controlled based on the flag in the second memory means, which eliminates unnecessary operations such as remeasuring nonconforming workpieces or transporting them into the lathe. can be prevented from occurring. Therefore, it is not only possible to continue machining with the nonconforming workpiece excluded, but also the nonconforming workpiece can be immediately identified by the flag stored in the second memory means, and the corresponding operation program can be loaded accurately. It becomes possible to do so.

In addition, since the determination as to whether or not an operation program is stored is made based on the material diameter of the workpiece, the material diameter, which is always required for the operation program during normal lathe machining, is used as determination data for the operation program existence determination means. It can be used as is, there is no need to input judgment data as judgment data, it is possible to perform judgment operations using conventional programs as is, it is highly versatile, and the time required to input judgment data is reduced. Since it is eliminated, setup time can also be shortened.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a handling robot to which the present invention is installed on a numerically controlled lathe, FIG. 2 is a front view of the conveyor unit of the handling robot shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the handling robot shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1...Handling robot, 2...Lathe, 3
...Handling means (main body), 5... Handling means (main arm), 6... Handling means (sub arm), 7... Handling means (hand), 9a... Pallet, 12... Work diameter measurement calculation means ( contactor), 14... Work diameter measurement calculation means (abutment guide), 17... Work diameter measurement calculation means (variable resistor), 20... Work diameter measurement calculation means (A/D converter), 22... Workpiece diameter measurement calculation means (workpiece diameter calculation circuit), 23...operation program existence determination means (workpiece determination section), 26
...Robot control means, flag rewriting means (main control section), 27...Program memory, first memory means, 29...Second memory means (work pallet memory), 31...Robot control means (hand control unit), X...work gripping position, DW...
Material diameter (diameter), FLG...Flag, PRO...Movement program.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A program memory storing a plurality of operation programs corresponding to workpieces to be machined, a plurality of pallets on which workpieces can be mounted, and a lathe that holds the workpieces on the pallets positioned at a predetermined workpiece gripping position. In an apparatus equipped with a handling robot having a handling means for carrying in and out of a pallet, a first memory means is provided that stores a material diameter of a workpiece corresponding to an operation program stored in the program memory, providing a second memory means storing a flag indicating whether the mounted workpiece is being processed, unprocessed, or is in a nonconforming state that is not stored in the operation program memory corresponding to the workpiece; A workpiece diameter measurement calculation means is provided at the workpiece gripping position, and the workpiece diameter measurement calculation means calculates the
The workpiece diameter of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position is compared with the material diameter of the workpiece stored in the first memory means, and an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory. A motion program existence determination means is provided for determining whether a motion program exists, and the motion program existence determination means determines that a motion program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory. robot control means for instructing the lathe to carry the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position based on the corresponding operation program; A workpiece determination control device for a lathe, comprising a flag rewriting means for rewriting the flag corresponding to the workpiece measured by the workpiece diameter measuring means and stored in the means so as to correspond to the current state of the workpiece.