JPH0585304B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an automatic tool feeding method for changing tools using a workpiece conveyance line of an FMS (Flexible Manufacturing System), and in particular, to The present invention relates to an automatic tool supply method that can quickly respond to emergency changes by calling up tools from a tool stocker and automatically editing them on a tool palette.

[Prior art]

As factory automation progresses, we are entering the era of FMS, which does not rely on traditional mass production methods but instead responds to needs in a diverse and flexible manner in terms of quantity and type. It is not just a matter of simply focusing on the FMS line, but requires macroscopic and efficient operation that targets the entire FMS line. However, in the conventional tool supply method, each tool is supplied from a tool stocker to each machine tool, or
Alternatively, these tools are stored in an auxiliary magazine and transported to each machine tool, and the tools are exchanged from the auxiliary magazine to the main magazine of the machine tool. This is too inefficient for supplying tools for a large-scale production line.
Another disadvantage is that it lacks flexibility in responding to changes in the workpiece, expansion or modification of the production line, and the occurrence of damaged tools.

[Purpose of the invention]

In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic tool feeding method that achieves rational and efficient automation of tool feeding and combines quick tool exchange and flexibility in emergency processing. .

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention holds a plurality of required tools prepared in advance in a setup operation to be supplied to the machine in a tool cartridge in a setup station, and A procedure for storing a cartridge from the setup station in a tool stocker by a transfer device, extracting a tool cartridge with required tools from the tool stocker by a transfer device, and connecting the tool stocker to the machine side. A robot with multiple degrees of freedom selects and takes out the tools from the tool cartridge that is transferred to the intermediate station, and then the tools are sorted and taken out according to the tool installation direction of each single machine. a step of transferring the tool to a pallet having a shape that is conveyed to the machine side;
The pallet is transferred to an automatic guided vehicle running on the track and delivered to the pallet stocker located along the track and the machine, and upon receiving a tool change command, the desired tool is transferred to the pallet stocker closest to the standby position. The system consists of steps to prioritize and feed tools to distant machines, and the control units corresponding to those steps are connected to the CPU in a hierarchical structure to prepare tools with a long life and automatically edit tools to be used to feed tools. It is characterized by being carried out quickly over the shortest distance.

[Embodiments of the invention and their effects]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to examples and drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an FMS line suitable for implementing the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the system is roughly composed of a management department and a work department, and the management department includes a line management control section 500 and a general management control section 501. The line management control unit 500 flexibly manages the flow of each processing process during the system online according to the schedule, and the general management control unit 501 located above it provides preparation information. Tool station 5
19. The tool management data, NC data, machining schedule data, setup schedule data, etc. in the tool magazine 21 and tool room 520 of each NC machine 20 are comprehensively grasped and managed. Line management control unit 500 and comprehensive management control unit 5
01 is connected between CCUs (Communication Control Units) via modems (modems), and data is sent and received.

In the work department, the main controller 502 sequentially processes the data sent from the line management control unit 500.
A command is given to the NC device 21 of the NC machine 20. The main control device 502 and NC device 20 together with the line management control section 500 are linked to an optical data highway 505, and are adapted to take in necessary data as and when required via an NLU (Network Linkage Unit). The main controller 502 is also connected to a ground platform 510 that controls the unmanned truck 2 and stacker crane 509 that run on the track 1 and 507. Further connected are a tool station 519 for supplying tools, an operation panel 512 located at the setup station 511 that mainly controls manual setup operations, and a terminal 513 for inputting setup information and displaying setup instructions.

The worker outputs the setup schedule data and processing schedule data created by calculating the load by operating the terminal 513, and confirms the daily work schedule.

At the setup station 511, necessary workpieces and pallets are selected from the work storage 514 and pallet storage 515, and at the mounting station 516, the workpieces are attached to the pallets using necessary jigs and tools.

Under the control of each FMS control system in Figure 1,
The pallet P prepared in the setup-side pallet stocker 517 is temporarily held at a predetermined position in the machine-side pallet stocker 23 by the stacker crane 509. A desired pallet P is transported by an unmanned cart 2 according to a command from the main controller 502, and is transported, for example, to a process
It is carried into NC machine 20 of MC49. The processed pallet P is transferred to the next process by the unmanned cart 2 or placed on the machine side pallet stocker 23.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the automatic tool feeding system in the above-mentioned FMS. In Figure 2, along the longitudinal direction of the FMS line, trajectory 1
is arranged, and an unmanned trolley 2 is arranged on the track 1 so as to be movable. On one side along the track 1, a single machine 20 such as an NC machine is equipped with a tool magazine 21 for storing standard tools and other tools for the single machine, and an automatic pallet changer (APC) is installed on the track side. ) 22 are installed and one or more machines are installed in parallel, and on the other hand, on the opposite side facing these single machines across the track 1, workpieces, etc. to be processed by the single machines are placed. pallet stock 2
3 is installed. On the side of one end of the track 1, a tool station 519, which is a main part of an automatic tool feeding system to be described later, is cooperatively arranged.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing in detail the main part of the automatic tool feeding system (tool station 519) indicated by the arrow in FIG. In FIG. 3, a large number of wagons 3a are located at the farthest position from the track 1.
A tool stocker 3 in which tools are stacked in multiple stages is arranged so as to be able to travel in circulation by a drive device (not shown). In each wagon 3a of the tool stocker 3, various tools 11, such as special tools not included in the tool magazine 21 of each single machine 20, recycled tools or spare tools, are set in a tool cartridge 9. , is stored. A tool transfer device 4 is arranged on the track side of the tool stocker 3. Further on the track side of the tool transfer machine 4, the tool cartridge 9 is loaded by the tool transfer machine.
An intermediate station 6 where tools are transferred is installed, while a setup station 5 is placed on the side of the tool transfer machine 4. The setup station 5 is used to replenish necessary tools when there are no necessary tools in the tool cartridge 9 or to retire worn tools. Now, a tool supply station 8 is installed between the intermediate station 6 and the track 1, and its upper surface is configured to be rotatable, so that a plurality of tool pallets 10 can be placed in the linear arrangement described above. It's becoming like that. On the side thereof, there is a robot 7 equipped with an arm 7a that grips the tool 11.
are arranged in parallel so that the arms can move in three dimensions.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are a plan view and a side view showing an example of the tool cartridge. In the figure, the tool cartridge 9 has a rectangular plate shape as a whole, and has a horizontally elongated gripping portion on one side of which is provided with a recessed portion 9b for fitting the three tools 11 into each other. 9a is integrally erected. An engagement hole 9c is formed on the surface opposite to the gripping portion 9a, in which a claw provided on the tool transfer device 4 can be engaged. The head of the tool 11 that fits into the concave portion 9b of the tool cartridge 9 is formed into a tapered surface, and one end of the arm 7a of the robot 7 can be engaged with the tip of this tapered surface. The pull stud 11a becomes
are concentrically protruding. A disk-shaped engagement plate 11b that can be fitted into the recess 9b of the tool cartridge 9 is concentrically formed on the proximal end side of the tapered surface, and the engagement plate 11b and the recess 9b are connected to each other. Due to the engagement of the tool 11 with the tool cartridge 9
will be placed in

Figure 5 shows the automatic tool feeding system described above.
This is a flowchart showing the flow of tool exchange when FMS online processing is performed. In the figure, the actual processing of the exchange flow starts at the third stage, that is, when the previous machining is completed and the next workpiece is decided to be carried in. First, the presence or absence of damaged tools and end-of-life tools is examined, and if there are none, the tools that should be left in the tool magazine 21 are sorted into the tools that will be replaced. The replacement instruction tool is determined by comparing it with the predicted machining usage time. If the above-mentioned damaged tools, end-of-life tools, and replacement instruction tools are present, the following process will be performed before carrying in the workpiece. If there is a replacement tool in the tool stocker 3 and its remaining life time is longer than the expected usage time, an instruction to replace the replacement tool with the replacement tool is issued and the replacement process is performed between the tool stocker 3 and the tool magazine 21. . If there is no replacement tool in the tool stocker 3, or if there is not enough remaining life time even if there is a replacement tool, a separate replacement instruction will be given to search the tool room and use a spare tool, or to procure a new tool. The tools must be prepared in the tool stocker 3, and in any case, the setup involves manual work. In addition, in the case of new procurement, new registration information must also be entered in the data file.

Based on the tool exchange flow as described above, the automatic tool supply method according to the present invention includes the following steps. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an automatic tool feeding method according to the present invention. In FIG. 6, the tool automatic supply method includes a tool preset procedure 101 and a tool cartridge management procedure 102.
, a palette management procedure 103 , and a tool offset procedure 104 . Each step is
It is controlled by a control unit connected to the CPU (main control computer) in a hierarchical structure.

The tool preset procedure 101 is a stage up to the preparation of the tools 11 in the tool stocker 3, including the manual setup process, and normally procures and repairs tools in a tool room located adjacent to the tool stocker 3. Extra tools are stored in the tool storage area, and necessary tools are set in the tool cartridge 9. The set tool cartridge 9 is carried by the operator onto the setup station 5 in preparation for loading onto the tool stocker 3. From the stage when the tool cartridge 9 is loaded onto the tool stocker 3 by the loading device, the set tools 11 come under the control of the computer, and the process shifts to the tool cartridge management procedure 102.

In the tool cartridge management procedure 102, the tools 11 are stored in the tool stocker 3 by the loading device of the tool cartridge 9, and the tools 11 are stored in the tool cartridge until the required tools are transferred to the tool pallet 10 according to instructions from the CPU. The control unit manages the tools while they are set on the tool 9. Data such as the tool number is registered in a file for each tool, and its movements are subsequently automated.
When a required tool is specified by the CPU, the tool cartridge 9 in which the tool is set is transferred to the tool stocker 3 by the tool transfer device 4 shown in FIG. 3 under the control of the control unit.
and placed on the intermediate station 6. Then, the robot 7 removes the tool 1 from the tool cartridge 9 on the intermediate station 6.
1 is taken out and transferred to the tool pallet 10.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing examples of the tool cartridge and tool palette described above. FIG. 7A shows a tool cartridge 9. It is sufficient to have one type of tool cartridge 9 equipped with the functions already explained in FIG. 4, but the tool palette 10 is generally Depending on whether the tool pallet is horizontal or vertical, it is divided into two types: a horizontal tool pallet 10A shown in FIG. 7B, and a vertical tool pallet 10B shown in FIG. 7C. It is used so that it can be supplied to a single machine.

8 and 9 are diagrams for explaining the transfer of tools to a tool pallet by a robot, and FIG. 8 is a rear view of a horizontal tool pallet.
FIG. 9 is a plan view of a vertical tool pallet. When the tool cartridge 9 is transferred onto the intermediate station 6, the robot 7 disposed on the side thereof is activated in coordination, and its arm 7a transfers the tool 11 from the tool cartridge 9.
are individually held and transferred to the tool pallet 10A or 10B placed on the tool supply station 8 on the track side. Here, automatic editing of tools, which is an important feature of the present invention, is performed on the tool palette. In other words, the robot 7 can freely move in the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions, and the arm 7a is configured to be rotatable through 90 degrees and 180 degrees, so the robot 7 grasps the pull stud at the tip of the tool 11, It can be freely transferred to either the horizontal tool pallet 10A shown in FIG. 8 or the vertical tool pallet 10B shown in FIG. Therefore, depending on whether the single machine is horizontal or vertical, a horizontal or vertical tool pallet is placed on standby at the tool supply station 8 adjacent to the robot 7, so that necessary tools can be easily and quickly edited. be able to.

In this way, the tool 11 is edited via the robot 7, and the horizontal tool palette 1 is
When the transfer of the necessary tools to 0A or the vertical tool pallet 10B is completed, the position of each tool on the pallet is notified to the CPU, and the memory data of the tools is used to control each single machine.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a tool exchange procedure between a tool cartridge and a tool pallet. In FIG. 10, the steps in the right column show the operation of transferring the tool cartridge from the tool stocker to the intermediate station by the transfer machine, and the steps in the left column show the operation of transferring tools between the tool cartridge and the tool pallet by the robot. It shows the action of exchanging. In the first stage, the robot takes out unnecessary tools from the tool pallet, waits at the standby position for the tool cartridge to come to the replacement position, and then stores the tools in the tool cartridge in the second stage. When a vacant tool cartridge is called in step □1, the transfer machine moves the tool cartridge to the exchange position in step □2, receives unnecessary tools, and then transfers it to step □3. Return to tool stock. When this operation is repeated the number of times commanded and a space becomes available on the tool pallet, the transfer machine and robot repeat the above operation in reverse to transfer the specified tool from the tool cartridge to the tool pallet, and then move the specified tool from the tool cartridge to the tool pallet. The tool cartridge management procedure 102 shown in FIG. 6 ends.

In the pallet management procedure 103, when exchanging tools in the previous stage, the control unit searches for a file in accordance with the instructions from the CPU, and arranges the tool pallet corresponding to each machine in the tool supply station, thereby changing the tool pallet to each machine. The next step is to use the control unit to manage the period during which tools are kept on standby in the tool palette. In the plan views of FIGS. 2 and 3, the tool pallet 10 on which editing of the tools 11 has been completed is rotated 180 degrees by the rotation of the tool supply station 8 at that position, and is transferred to the unmanned cart 2 on the track 1. Thereafter, it is delivered to a pallet stocker 23 disposed along the track 1 and kept on standby. This palette stocker 23 is
The closer the tool is placed to the corresponding single machine, the closer the replacement tool will be on standby, making it possible to replace the tool over the shortest distance, which is one of the features of the present invention. After receiving instructions for the necessary tools from the CPU,
The control unit searches for files under its control, and transfers the pallet 10 loaded with the tools from the pallet stocker 23 to the automatic pallet changer (APC) 2 of the single machine 20 using the unmanned cart 2.
Deliver to 2. Of course, the tool pallet 10 is delivered from the tool supply station 8 to the single machine 2.
It may be carried out directly to the 0 side, or if the necessary tool cannot be found at the pallet stage, prompt action can be taken by skipping the CPU instruction to the cartridge stage or earlier.

The tool offset procedure 104 is a procedure for managing tool exchange between the tool pallet 10 and the single machine 20. When the unmanned cart 2 on the track 1 arrives at the position of the designated single machine 20, the tools 11 on the tool pallet 10 are transferred to the APC 2 of the single machine 20.
The tool is gripped by the APC arm etc. of No. 2 and transferred to the tool magazine 21, and at the same time the conveyance of the tool is completed.
Rewritten to CPU tool file. that time,
Unnecessary tools used in previous machining are stored in the tool pallet 10 on the unmanned trolley 2 at this position.
will be moved to Thereafter, the single machine 20 starts machining, and the unmanned cart 2 runs on the track 1 again and returns to the starting position, and then returns the unnecessary tools to the tool stocker 3 by performing the reverse procedure.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a tool exchange cycle in the above single machine. In FIG. 11, the tool change is performed on the spindle 22a and
This is done via the ATC arm, and progresses in the order shown in Figures I to C. First, Figure A shows the start state of tool exchange, in which used old tools (O tools) are loaded in the tool magazine 21 on the single machine side, and tool pallet 1 is loaded.
0 is loaded with a new tool (N tool) for replacement. Next, in FIG. 7B, the spindle 22a takes out the first replacement tool (N1) on the pallet, and as shown in FIG. and,
In Figure D, the first old tool (O1) on the spindle
is returned to an empty space on the pallet, completing the first stage of the cycle. Next, in Figure E, the spindle 22a
takes out the second new tool (N2) from the pallet, and at the same time the tool magazine 21 rotates to place the second old tool (O2) in the replacement position. In the figure, the ATC arm 22b is used to connect the old and new
The second stage of the cycle is completed when the replacement tool is replaced and the second old tool (O2) on the spindle is returned to the empty space on the pallet 10, as shown in the diagram. below,
When the above cycle is repeated a required number of times, the tool magazine 21 is equipped with the necessary new tools, and the pallet 10 is returned with the unnecessary old tools, resulting in the tool exchange completed state shown in FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an example of the above tool exchange control. Needless to say, the above tool exchange is performed under the control of the control unit, and each time a tool is exchanged between the tool pallet and the tool magazine, the tool number is exchanged between each file. = n+1, the number of times is added up, and when it is confirmed that the required number N has been replaced, the replacement operation ends.

With the above-mentioned four-step tool supply management procedure according to the present invention, when a tool reaches the end of its life, is damaged, or needs to be replaced due to a change in the process or specifications during machining of a workpiece, it is necessary to replace the tool. In such a case, the CPU searches for the tool number of the file from the step closest to the single machine among the steps shown in FIG. 6, and instructs the control unit to replace it. In other words, the process is first attempted in the tool magazine, then the pallet stocker is searched for a waiting pallet, and if the desired tool is found, the procedure is executed from that stage, but if it is not found, the procedure is executed hierarchically. The process goes back and searches for the tool cartridge, and if an emergency is required, the procedure from the setup station is carried out.

Figures 13, 14, and 15 are timing charts showing the various supply cycles described above, with Figure 13 showing normal replacement, Figure 14 showing life replacement, and Figure 15 showing damaged replacement. It shows.
In these figures, the horizontal direction shows the passage of time, and the vertical elements show the positional information of the workpiece pallet (= line) and the tool pallet (- line) _{. Four} ,
Washing machine position CM, table position MC of single machine, pallet stocker TPS, APC trolley side position of single machine
MCAPC, APC trolley side position of automatic tool feeder
Targets the TSAPC and the APC robot side position TS of the automatic tool feeder. The normal exchange shown in Fig. 13 is an example of a case in which three tool pallets are successively supplied, one of which is located on the single machine side,
The other two pieces start waiting in the pallet stocker. When the previously machined work leaves the machining table MC of the single machine and is transferred to the cleaning machine position CM, it immediately enters the aforementioned tool change cycle, and the three pieces are alternately changed, starting with the one on the single machine side. The tool pallet is exchanged at the table position MC via the cart side position MCAPC.
After the tool change cycle is completed, the next workpiece is carried to the table MC, and the three tool pallets are sequentially supplied with new tools from the tool stocker at the robot side position TS. Of the tool pallets that have been completely supplied, the first one is placed on the single machine side MCAPC, and the other two are on standby at the pallet stocker TPS.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the replacement of a tool with a limited lifespan. When a workpiece carried in from the outlet F1 is placed on the table position MC of a single machine for processing, Since the occurrence of tool damage is determined based on data based on life prediction,
The CPU issues a tool supply command and the pallet is stocked.
One of the tool pallets waiting in the TPS is transferred by an unmanned cart to the robot side position TS, where it receives a replacement tool, and the life tool replacement cycle is timed for the next workpiece replacement.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an automatic tool supply cycle when a tool is damaged, and shows, as an example, what to do when tool damage is detected while processing workpiece a. First, regarding the workpiece a, the processing is immediately interrupted, and the workpiece is carried out via the washing machine CM through the outlet F3 or F4, which is separate from the exit for the finished product. At the same time, the vacant machining table MC is placed on the trolley side of the single machine.
Transfer the next workpiece b waiting at MCAPC to prepare for the start of the next machining. On the other hand, in order to replenish replacement tools for damaged tools, unmanned trolleys are used to
The tool pallet is taken out from the pallet stocker TPS and transferred to the robot side position TS. If another automatic feeding cycle is being performed at the robot side position TS, it is interrupted and priority is given to feeding the broken tool. Actually, the automatic tool supply cycle at the robot side position TS ends in about 2 minutes, but the unmanned cart is used to transfer the workpiece a to the cleaning machine CM using the time period before and after. The tool pallet loaded with replacement tools for the damaged tools returns to the position MCAPC on the trolley side of the single machine, and after automatically replacing the damaged tools, machining of workpiece b is started.

As described above, in the automatic tool supply cycle according to the present invention, tools with limited lifespan or damaged tools are quickly replaced. However, in the examples shown in FIGS. Obviously, if discovered, the timing would be further reduced.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, preparation for long-life tools and measures against damaged tools are provided, tools used are automatically edited, and tool pallets with completed tool editing are placed on standby near each single machine. Provides an automatic tool feeding method suitable for FMS that enables quick and shortest distance replacement, and connects control units for each procedure to the CPU in a hierarchical structure to automate tool feeding rationally and efficiently. It is something to do.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a control system diagram of an example of FMS, and Figure 2 is a control system diagram of an example of FMS.
A plan view of the automatic tool feeding system of FMS, Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the main parts as seen from the arrow in Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a plan view and side view of the tool cartridge, and Fig. 5 is a plan view of the online tool exchange system. Flowchart, FIG. 6 is a procedural explanatory diagram of an automatic tool supply method according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tool cartridge and tool pallet, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are explanations of tool transfer by a robot. Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of the tool exchange procedure between the tool cartridge and tool pallet, Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram of the tool exchange cycle of a single machine, Figure 12 is the flowchart, Figures 13, 14, and FIG. 15 is a timing chart of various supply cycles. 1... Track, 2... Unmanned trolley, 3... Tool stocker, 4... Transfer machine, 5... Setup station, 6... Intermediate station, 7... Robot,
8... Tool supply station, 9... Tool cartridge, 10... Tool pallet, 11...
Tool, 20...Single machine, 21...Tool magazine,
22... Automatic pallet changer (APC), 23...
Palette stocker, 101...Tool preset procedure, 102...Tool cartridge management procedure,
103... Palette management procedure, 104... Tool offset procedure.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of machines are arranged, and between the machines,
Flexibly match work supply and tool supply
The FMS automatic tool supply system holds a plurality of required tools prepared in advance in a setup operation to be supplied to the machine in a tool cartridge at a setup station, and then removes the tool cartridge holding the tools. A procedure for storing a tool cartridge from the setup station by a transfer device, and extracting a tool cartridge in which necessary tools are set from the tool stocker by a transfer device, and installing the tool cartridge between the tool stocker and the machine side. A robot with multiple degrees of freedom sorts and takes out the tools from the tool cartridge that has been transferred to the intermediate station. A procedure for transferring the tools to a pallet that is carried to the machine side, and transferring the pallet to an automatic guided vehicle running on a track and delivering it to a pallet stocker arranged along the track and the machine. The control unit consists of two steps: a procedure for receiving a tool change command and supplying the desired tool from the pallet stocker to the machine closest to the standby position, giving priority to the machine, and the control units corresponding to each of these steps are connected to the CPU in a hierarchical structure. An automatic tool supply method in FMS characterized by supplying tools to each machine under CPU management and control.