JPH08108331A - Automatic tool changer for machine tools - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] In an automatic tool changer for machine tools, the unclamping mechanism and the magazine are driven by a single drive system, so there is no need to confirm the timing of the two operations. It is possible to increase the operation speed of tool exchange, reduce the weight of the spindle head, and reduce the load on the vertical drive source. [Structure] The unclamp lever 12 is driven to unclamp the tool clamped to the spindle head 3, and the front / rear lever 24 is driven to move the magazine 15 back and forth to perform tool exchange. At this time, since the unclamp lever 12 and the front-rear lever 24 are driven by the integrated cam 13, it is not necessary to confirm the timing of the operation of both, and the operating speed can be increased.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic tool changer for a machine tool having a mechanism for unclamping a tool clamped on a spindle head and a magazine for changing the tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an automatic tool changer for machine tools, an unclamp mechanism for unclamping a tool clamped on a spindle head at the time of tool change,
There is a magazine provided with a magazine that moves back and forth with respect to the spindle head when exchanging tools to directly deliver the tools to and from the spindle head. Further, an air cylinder or the like is used to drive the unclamp mechanism, and a cam mechanism or an air cylinder is used to move the magazine back and forth. It was used as a drive system. Further, in particular, in a machine tool of a type that performs a machining operation on a workpiece in a horizontal direction (sideways), an unclamp mechanism is mounted on the spindle head side, and is linked with the vertical movement of the spindle head.

[0003]

However, in the conventional automatic tool changer as described above, the unclamping mechanism and the magazine are driven by different drive systems, so that it is necessary to set the timing of the operation of both. The operation is checked by sending and receiving a signal indicating the completion of the operation, and it takes time for that purpose, and as a result, the operation speed of the tool change is slow. Further, since the unclamp mechanism is mounted on the spindle head side, the weight of the spindle head becomes heavy and the load on the drive source becomes large, which is disadvantageous to the vertical movement. The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the unclamp mechanism and the magazine are driven by one drive system,
There is no need to confirm the operation timing of both,
An automatic tool for machine tools that can increase the operation speed of tool change, and also can attach an unclamp mechanism to the column side to reduce the weight of the spindle head and reduce the load on the vertical drive source. An object is to provide a switching device.

[0004]

In order to achieve this object, the invention of claim 1 is provided with a spindle head to which a tool is attached and a plurality of grips for holding the tool to be attached and exchanged to the spindle head. In an automatic tool changer for machine tools with a fixed magazine,
An unclamping mechanism including an unclamping drive lever for unclamping the tool clamped on the spindle head when changing the tool, and a front-back moving mechanism including a front-back moving lever for moving the magazine back and forth with respect to the spindle head when changing the tool. And a cam for operating the unclamp drive lever and a cam for operating the front-rear movement lever are provided in an integrated cam body. Further, the invention of claim 2 is an automatic tool changer for a machine tool having a spindle head to which a tool is attached and a magazine provided with a plurality of grips for gripping the tool to be attached and exchanged with the spindle head. In, the spindle head is provided so as to be movable up and down with respect to the column of the machine body, and the unclamp mechanism including the unclamp drive lever for unclamping the tool clamped on the spindle head is provided. The lever is supported on the column side. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the automatic tool changer for a machine tool according to the first or second aspect, when the tool is transferred from the spindle head to the magazine, the unclamping operation by the unclamping mechanism and the magazine by the forward / backward moving mechanism are performed. The forward movement of the magazine is continuously performed in succession, and when the tool is transferred from the magazine to the spindle head, the backward movement of the magazine by the forward / backward movement mechanism and the clamping operation by the unclamp mechanism are continuously performed. It is designed to be carried out in a regular manner.

[0005]

According to the automatic tool changer for machine tools having the above-mentioned structure, the unclamping drive lever is driven to unclamp the tool clamped by the spindle head and the longitudinal movement lever. Then, the tool is exchanged by moving the magazine back and forth with respect to the spindle head. At this time, since the unclamp drive lever and the front-rear movement lever are operated by the cams provided on the integrated cam body, it is not necessary to confirm the operation in order to set the timing of the operation of both and the operation speed can be increased. it can. Further, according to the automatic tool changer for a machine tool of claim 2, during the tool change, the spindle head is moved up and down with respect to the column of the machine body, and the unclamp drive lever is driven to clamp the tool to the spindle head. Unclamp. By this operation, the tool can be transferred between the spindle head and the magazine. Further, when the spindle head moves up and down, the unclamp drive lever is supported on the column side, so that the weight of the spindle head becomes light and the burden of vertical drive of the spindle head is reduced. According to the automatic tool changer for a machine tool of claim 3, the tool is delivered from the spindle head to the magazine by performing the unclamping operation and the forward movement operation of the magazine in tandem.
Further, the backward movement operation and the clamping operation of the magazine are performed in tandem, whereby the tool is transferred from the magazine to the spindle head. In each case, each operation can be performed successively before and after, so that the operation speed can be increased.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A machine tool equipped with an automatic tool changer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a side view showing the overall configuration, FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view showing a longitudinal movement mechanism of a magazine, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an unclamping mechanism. The machine tool 1 is for performing cutting and other work in a horizontal direction (left and right in the drawing) on a work (not shown), and a vertical direction with respect to a column 2 provided so as to be movable in the front-back and left-right directions. A spindle head 3 movably provided on the column 2
On the other hand, the magazine device 4 is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction and rotatable about its own axis for automatic tool change. The spindle head 3 is vertically driven by a ball screw (not shown) provided on the column 2 side. This spindle head 3 has a holder part 5 for holding and clamping a tool holder at its tip, which is driven to rotate, a spindle shaft (main shaft) 6, a spindle motor 7 which drives the spindle shaft 6 to rotate, and a tool clamp. It is provided with a part of the unclamping mechanism 8 for releasing.

As a member constituting the unclamp mechanism 8, a rod 9 is inserted into a hollow portion of the spindle shaft 6 so as to be movable in parallel with the shaft, and is urged by an unclamp spring (not shown), and the spindle shaft 6. An unclamp ring 10 fitted to the outer periphery of the rod 9 and connected by a pin at the rear end side of the rod 9 is provided on the spindle head 3 side. As other members constituting the unclamp mechanism 8, an unclamp drive lever 12 (referred to as an unclamp lever) rotatably supported by a fulcrum base 11 on the column 2 side and the unclamp lever 12 are rotated within a predetermined angle. A driving cam 13 is provided on the column 2 side. The upper end portion (dotted line portion) of the unclamp lever 12 is fitted into the unclamping cam groove 13a of the cam 13,
The rotation of the cam 13 causes the unclamp lever 12 to rotate. The lower end of the unclamp lever 12 faces the inside of the spindle head 3 through an opening 3a opened in the outer cover of the spindle head 3, and comes into contact with the side end surface of the unclamp ring 10 when the spindle head 3 moves up. By driving, the unclamp lever 12 rotates as shown by the chain double-dashed line, and the unclamp ring 10
It is possible to release the clamped state of the tool by pushing it forward.

The magazine device 4 has a disk-shaped magazine 15 having a grip 14 for radially holding a plurality of tools, and the magazine 15 is rotatably mounted on a magazine support portion 16 fixed to the column 2 side. It is held by a rotating shaft 17 that is supported, and is movable in the horizontal direction by a spline formed on this rotating shaft 17, so that it can rotate integrally with the shaft 17. The rotary shaft 17 has a reduction gear mechanism 18 and a drive shaft 19 and a magazine rotation motor 2
Connected to 0. A positioning pin 21a for stopping the magazine 15 at a predetermined rotation position is provided on the magazine support portion 16, and a positioning hole 21b is provided at a predetermined position of the magazine 15 so as to face the magazine support portion 16 so that the magazine 15 retracts. At this time, the positioning pin 21a is fitted into the positioning hole 21b and positioned. Further, a member 22 for unlocking the grip 14 at a predetermined rotation position of the magazine 15 is provided.

As a mechanism for moving the magazine 15 in the front-rear direction, a front-rear shaft shaft 23 movably supported in the front-rear direction by a cam base 16a to which a magazine support portion 16 is attached, and the front-rear shaft shaft 23 are reciprocally moved. Front-rear moving lever 24 (referred to as front-rear lever)
Have and. The front and rear levers 24 are provided on the cam base 16a.
A cam follower (not shown) rotatably supported by the top plate of the cam and fastened to one end of the top plate is a front and rear cam groove 13 of the cam 13.
A cam follower 24a fitted in b and fastened to the other end is engaged with a front and rear cam member 25 coupled to the front and rear shaft shaft 23. The cam followers 23a fastened to the front end portions of the front and rear shaft shafts 23 are engaged with the cam grooves 26 provided integrally with the magazine 15 to transmit the forward and backward movements of the shaft shafts 23 to the magazine 15. The integral cam 13 provided with the unclamping cam groove 13a and the front-rear cam groove 13b is connected to the cam drive motor 28 (FIGS. 2 and 3) via the coupling 27, and the cam 1
The rotation is controlled based on a signal from the cam sensor 29 that detects the rotational position of No. 3. The cam 15 drives the magazine 15 in the front-rear direction via the front-rear lever 24. The front-rear cam member 25 'indicated by a chain double-dashed line indicates the position when it moves forward.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of the two unclamping cam grooves 13a and the front and rear cam grooves 13b of the cam 13. When the cam rotates forward, the unclamping operation by the unclamping mechanism and the forward movement operation of the magazine by the forward-backward movement mechanism are performed successively in succession, and when the rotation is reversed, the reverse operation is performed. It has a simple cam groove configuration.

In the unclamp mechanism 8,
The lower end of the unclamp lever 12 has a bifurcated shape capable of straddling the unclamp ring 10, and a cam follower 12a (FIG. 3) made of a roller member is rotatably attached to the unclamp lever 12. The unclamp lever 12 has the cam follower 12a.
It is configured to come into contact with the side end surface of the unclamp ring 10 via. The unclamp ring 10 is fitted on the outer periphery of the spindle head 3, and is connected to the unclamp rod 9 by a pin that is inserted through an elongated hole of the spindle head 3.

Next, the operation of the automatic tool changer for machine tools constructed as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the automatic tool change operation is started, the spindle head 3 moves up, and the unclamp lever 12 comes into contact with the unclamp ring 10. At this time, the holder portion 5 at the tip of the spindle head 3 is moved.
The tool holder clamped at is transferred to the grip 14 of the magazine 15. Before and after the above operation,
The cam drive motor 28 is driven and the cam 13 is rotationally driven via the cam shaft 27 (S1), and the unclamp lever 1
The second cam follower 12a is the unclamping cam groove 13a.
The unclamp lever 12 moves to the fulcrum base 11
The cam follower 12a at the lower end pushes the side end surface of the unclamp ring 10, the rod 9 is moved against the bias of the unclamp spring, and unclamping is performed (S2). While the unclamp lever 12 makes an arc motion, the unclamp ring 10 makes a linear motion parallel to the spindle shaft 6, but the cam follower 12
Since it rolls through a, wear does not occur at the contact portion between the two.

Immediately before the unclamping is finished, the cam followers (not shown) of the front and rear levers 24 are tilted in the magazine front and rear cam grooves 13b, the front and rear levers 24 start moving, and the cam followers 24a push the front and rear cams 25, The front and rear shaft axes 23 move forward. As a result, the cam follower 23a at the tip of the front-rear shaft shaft 23 is moved to the cam groove 2
The magazine 15 is advanced through 6 (S3). The advancement of the magazine 15 is completed by stopping the cam drive motor 28 based on the detection signal from the cam sensor 29.
Then, the magazine rotation motor 20 rotates, the magazine 15 is rotated through the spline of the reduction gear mechanism 18 and the rotating shaft 17, and indexing is performed (S4). After indexing,
The cam 13 is reversed by rotating the cam drive motor 28 in the reverse direction (S5). As a result, the reverse operation is performed in the reverse order of the above operation. That is, the magazine 15 is retracted (S6), the tool holder is passed from the magazine 15 to the spindle head 3 side, and the clamping is performed (S7). The clamp operation is the same as when moving the magazine forward.
The operation is ended by stopping the cam drive motor 28 based on the detection signal of

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the unclamp mechanism 8
The unclamp ring 10 constituting the above is not limited to the ring shape, and may have any shape as long as it moves in the spindle axial direction to release the clamp.

[0015]

As described above, according to the automatic tool changer for a machine tool of the first aspect of the invention, the tool is unclamped / clamped to the spindle head, and the magazine is moved forward / backward for tool change. Since the operation is continuously performed one after another by the rotation of one integrated cam, it is not necessary to confirm the completion of the operation, speeding up the operation, and shortening the time required for the tool changing operation. it can. According to the machine tool automatic tool changer of the second aspect of the present invention, the drive lever for unclamping the tool clamped on the spindle head is supported not on the spindle head side but on the column side. So
The weight of the spindle head is reduced, and the load for driving the spindle head up and down is reduced. According to the machine tool automatic tool changer of the third aspect of the present invention,
In addition to the above effects, since the unclamping operation and the magazine back-and-forth movement operation are performed sequentially in time, it is possible to transfer the tool between the spindle head and the magazine in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a machine tool provided with an automatic tool changer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of a magazine front-back drive mechanism portion in the same apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of an unclamp mechanism in the same device.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram of a cam in the device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a tool changing operation of the apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 machine tool 2 column 3 spindle head 4 magazine device 8 unclamping mechanism 12 unclamping lever 13 cam 13 13a unclamping cam groove 13b front and rear cam groove 14 grip 15 magazine 24 front and rear lever

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An automatic tool changer for a machine tool, comprising: a spindle head to which a tool is attached; and a magazine provided with a plurality of grips for gripping the tool to be attached and exchanged to the spindle head. An unclamping mechanism including an unclamping drive lever for unclamping a tool clamped to the head when changing tools, and a front-rear moving mechanism including a front-rear moving lever for moving the magazine back and forth with respect to the spindle head when changing tools And a cam for operating the unclamp drive lever and a cam for operating the front-rear movement lever are provided in an integrated cam body. 2. An automatic tool changer for a machine tool, comprising: a spindle head to which a tool is attached; and a magazine provided with a plurality of grips for holding and exchanging the tool attached to the spindle head. A head is provided so as to be movable up and down with respect to a column of a machine body, and an unclamp mechanism including an unclamp drive lever for unclamping a tool clamped on the spindle head when exchanging the tool is provided. Is supported on the column side, an automatic tool changer for machine tools. 3. When the tool is transferred from the spindle head to the magazine, the unclamping operation by the unclamping mechanism and the forward moving operation of the magazine by the front-rear moving mechanism are sequentially performed successively, and the magazine is transferred to the spindle head. The tool according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when the tool is transferred, the backward movement operation of the magazine by the forward-backward movement mechanism and the clamping operation by the unclamping mechanism are performed successively in succession. Machine automatic tool changer.