JPH08257B2 - Automatic mold changer - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automatic die changer for use in a box bending bender.

Conventional technology Conventional box bending vendors that bend sheet materials to form box-shaped products (products) have various molds prepared in advance according to the bending shape and bending dimensions. These molds are selected accordingly and mounted on the box bending bender.

However, conventionally, a die corresponding to this is selected according to the size of the product, then this die is manually attached to the box bending bender main body, and after the box bending is completed, it is manually removed again. The work of installing a new mold is repeated,
Since preparation, installation, removal, and post-cleaning of molds all depend on manual work, there are problems such as poor work efficiency.

In order to improve such a problem, for example, JP-A-60-2065
In Japanese Patent Publication No. 39, a "mold exchanging device for a bending machine" is proposed.

In the mold exchanging device of the above-mentioned publication, racks supporting plural stages of exchange dies having different lengths are arranged in parallel on one side of the bending machine, and the exchange dies of each rack are transferred to the bending machine. Since a mold transfer device for carrying in at the same time is provided, it has an effect that the downtime of the entire processing line can be saved and the problem of occupational accident can be avoided.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above-mentioned conventional mold exchanging device, when exchanging the molds, after disassembling the used molds after the work is completed and storing them in the racks, each rack is replaced. Because it moves and selects the mold to be used next and transfers it to the bending machine at the same time,
The bending machine is in a resting state until the used mold is disassembled and stored in the rack, and the mold to be used next is selected and loaded into the bending machine. Is low, resulting in poor productivity.

Further, when the number of times molds are exchanged is increased due to the progress of production of small quantities of various products as in recent years, the operating rate of the bending machine is further reduced in the above-mentioned conventional die exchanging device, which further deteriorates productivity. There is.

The present invention has been made in order to improve such a problem, and provides an automatic die changer capable of preparing a die to be used next while the box bending bender is in operation and disassembling and storing the used die. In addition, it is intended to improve the operating rate of the box bending vendor and improve the productivity accordingly.

Means and Actions for Solving Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a plurality of pallets respectively accommodating a plurality of sets of molds as one set, and storing these pallets in a plurality of stages, And means for sending the selected pallet to the pallet indexing device, and a pallet indexing device for indexing the molds housed on the pallet to the mold replacement position according to the selection order,
While the box bending bender is in operation, pull the molds indexed to the mold replacement position from the pallet and assemble them in the specified order.When the work of the box bending bender is completed, the molds are brought into the box bending bender.
In addition, a mold carry-in device that disassembles the molds that have been used and sent out from the box bending bender and stores them in the above pallet in a predetermined order, and a mold loader that loads the used molds from the box bending bender. By having a mold carry-out device for carrying out to the device,
The operating rate of the box bending vendor can be increased by preparing the next die to be used while the box bending vendor is in operation by the die loading device and disassembling the used die to store the pallet. The mold can be changed without lowering it, which greatly improves the productivity.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are overall views of the automatic die changer, 1
Indicates a pallet storage shelf. And pallet 2 which carries the mold 3 into the box bending vendor within 8 to be described later in this palette storage shelves 1, preparatory for pallet 2 ₂ and 3 of the protection palette 2 ₃
Individual pallets 2 can be stored. On each pallet 2, for example, the combination range is 494 to 2850 mm, 1 mm.
1 set 29 molds 3 ₁ to 3 that can be combined for each
_As shown in FIG. 3, a total of 30 sets of molds ₂₉ , ₂₉ and dummy molds 3 ₃₀ are mounted in the longitudinal direction of the pallet 2 with equal pitches.

Further, the pallet storage shelf 1 is provided with a lifter device 4 for vertically moving the pallet 2 stored in three stages in the vertical direction, so that one of the pallets 2 can be positioned at the carry-out position. The pallet 2 positioned at the carry-out position is pushed out to the pallet indexing device 6 by the pallet pushing device 5 installed behind the pallet storage rack 1. The pallet pushing device 5 has a guide rail 5b laid on a frame 5a so as to be parallel to the pushing direction, and a pushing member 5d movable forward and backward by a pushing cylinder 5c is placed on the guide rail 5b.

At the front part of the pushing member 5d, there are provided a locking pin 5e which is fitted into a pin hole (not shown) provided on the pallet 2 side, and a roller 5f which comes into contact with the side surface of the pallet 2 so that the pushing member 5d can be used to move to the unloading position. The positioned pallet 2 is pushed out to the pallet indexing device 6, and the used pallet 2 returned to the pallet indexing device 6 is locked by a locking pin 5e so as to be drawn into the pallet storage rack 1. ing.

On the other hand, the pallet indexing device 6 has an indexing member 6c which is moved by an NC-controlled indexing motor 6a via an endless belt 6b. Pin 6d is provided. The tip of the indexing pin 6d is adapted to be fitted into a pin hole (not shown) provided in the pallet 2, and the pallet 2 is laid on the mount 6e as the indexing member 6c moves. 6f is moved in the direction of arrow b, which is orthogonal to the pushing direction (arrow a) of the pallet 2.

And the pallet 2 which is moved through the indexing member 6c
One of the molds 3 placed on the pallet 2 is indexed to the mold replacement position A, and the mold loading device 7 provided between the pallet indexing device 6 and the box bending bender 8 is loaded. It is designed to be taken in.

The mold loading device 7 has a moving table 7c that is reciprocally moved in the direction of arrow c by a moving cylinder 7b on a gantry 7a, and two sets of rails 7d and 7e are parallel to each other on this moving table 7c. It is laid so that The rails 7d and 7e connect the pallet indexing device 6 and the box bending bender 8 and are laid in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction (arrow c) of the moving table 7c and above the rails 7d and 7e. With the gripper unit 7f provided, the die 3 indexed to the die exchange position A is drawn in. Rail
Reference numeral 7e is a return rail for returning the mold 3 which has been used up by the box bending bender 8 to the pallet 2 which stands by in the palette indexing device 6 via this rail 7e.

The grip unit 7f is movably suspended on a rail 7g that is laid horizontally above the moving table 7c.
7h reciprocates in the direction of arrow d via an endless belt 7i.

Further, the gripper unit 7f is provided with a gripper 7j for gripping the mold 3, and the gripper 7j grips the mold 3 indexed to the mold replacement position A and pulls it onto the rail 7d.

Then, the plurality of molds 3 drawn in the gripper unit 7f in a predetermined order are connected in the longitudinal direction on the rail 7d, and are then carried into the box bending bender 8 by the gripper unit 7f.

On the other hand, a positioning device 9 is installed on the loading / unloading port 8e side of the box bending bender 8.

The positioning device 9 is provided between the mold carry-in device 7 and the mold carry-out device 10 provided on the opposite side of the mold carry-in device 7.
The die 3 carried into the inside is positioned at a predetermined position, and a stopper member 9b movable in the loading / unloading direction of the die 3 by the stopper forward / backward movement cylinder 9a and the stopper member 9b together with the stopper forward / backward movement cylinder 9a are provided. It has a stopper vertical movement cylinder 9c that moves up and down.

Further, the mold carry-out device 10 has a mold carry-out rod 10a which can reciprocate in the direction of arrow e. The die carry-out rod 10a is formed to be longer than the entire length of the box bending bender 8, one end side of which is connected to an endless belt 10c rotated by a carry-out motor 10b, and reciprocated in the direction of arrow e through the endless belt 10c. It is becoming like this. On the other hand, the box bending bender 8 is shown in Figs.
As shown in the figure, the die 3 has an upper punch 8b which is vertically moved by an upper punch cylinder 8a and a lower punch 8d which is vertically moved by a lower punch cylinder 8c, and which is carried into a box bending bender 8. Between them, for example, box bending on the right long side is performed as follows.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 is a vendor control panel, 13 is a mold replacement operation panel, and 14 is a line general operation panel.

 Next, the operation will be described.

The mold replacement process can be roughly divided into the following three processes. First, a die 3 required for obtaining a product is selected, a die preparing step for assembling, and a used die 3 is carried out from inside the box bending bender 8 and a newly assembled die 3 is carried in. A mold replacement process and a mold disassembling process in which the carried-out mold 3 is disassembled and stored in the pallet 2 in a predetermined order, and the work procedure by the combination of these three processes is preliminarily stored in the memory of the control device. And memorize it,
The operator inputs the dimensions of the mold 3 and turns on an interlock switch (not shown) to automatically replace the mold 3.

In addition, all the equipment is designed to be operated by two pallets, _{one of which} is a pallet 21 that accommodates the dies 3 that are operating in the box bending bender 8 and the other of which is a pallet 2 ₂ for preparation. First, enter the length of the mold 3 to be set up on the operation panel 13 for exchanging the box bending bender 8 during operation, and then select the switch (not shown) to operate the box bending bender 8, for example, the right long side bender. No.) is switched to the interlocking mode to enter the operation state of the mold changer.

The mold preparation step, the lifter device 4 first is moved up and down the pallet 2, positions the specified pallet 2 ₁ or 2 ₂ to carry-out position, locked to the pallet 2 by dropping prevention pin not shown to the position After that, the lifter device 4 descends.

When the pallet 2 is fixed to the carry-out position, the pushing member 5d is moved to the pallet 2 side by the pushing cylinder 5c of the pallet pushing device 5, and the pallet 2 in the pallet storage rack 1 positioned at the carry-out position is indexed to the pallet. Extruded into device 6.

The pallet 2 extruded to the pallet indexing device 6 is moved in the direction of arrow b via the endless belt 6b by the indexing motor 6a, and the metal mold of the length to be used among the molds 3 placed on the pallet 2 is used. The molds 3 ₁ to 3 ₂₉ and the dummy mold 3 ₃₀ are sequentially positioned at the mold replacement position A.

The mold 3 positioned at the mold exchanging position A is gripped by the gripper unit 7f of the mold carry-in device 7 and pulled out to the rail 7d, and connected to the rail 7d at a predetermined length to be assembled.

Upon completion of the above-mentioned mold preparation process, the completion of the work of the box bending bender 8 is waited for, and the next mold replacement process starts.

In the mold exchanging process, the exchanging operation of the box bending bender 8 is started by the setup change command output when the work of the box bending bender 8 is completed, and the moving table 7c of the mold loading device 7 is started.
Is moved in the direction of arrow c by the moving cylinder 7b, and the rail 7d is switched to the rail 7e.

After that, the used mold 3 clamped in the box bending bender 8 is released, and the mold discharging rod 10a provided in the mold discharging device 10 advances toward the box bending bender 8 side to The mold 3 is unloaded onto the rail 7e of the mold loading device 7. At this time, the stopper member 9b and the stopper forward / backward movement cylinder 9a of the positioning device 9 are raised by the stopper vertical movement cylinder 9c to the position shown in FIG.

When the unloading of the mold 3 from the box bending bender 8 is completed, the mold unloading rod 10a retreats from the inside of the box bending bender 8 to the original position, and the moving table 7c of the mold loading device 7 is moved to move the rail again. Switched to 7d side.

Then, the process proceeds to the loading process of the mold 3 assembled on the rail 7d.

In the loading process of the mold 3, first, the dummy mold 3 ₃₀ of the mold 3 assembled on the rail 7d is gripped by the gripper unit 7f, and the rail 7d moves as the gripper unit 7f moves.
The entire mold 3 is moved to the box bending bender 8 side and the loading / unloading port
It is carried into the box bending vendor 8 from 8e.

After loading of the mold 3 is completed, the gripper unit 7f together with returning the dummy die 3 ₃₀ to the release after the original position, then the stopper member 9b of the positioning device 9 is lowered by the stopper elevating cylinder 9c, further stopper Front-rear cylinder
The stopper member 9b is advanced by the 9a, and the stopper member 9b
As a result, the mold 3 is pushed further into the box bending bender 8.

After that, the mold carry-out rod 10a of the mold carry-out device 10 advances,
The mold 3 carried into the box bending bender 8 is pushed back and pressed against the stopper member 3b to position the mold 3 at a predetermined position.

The positioned mold 3 is fixed by a clamp means (not shown), the mold carry-out rod 10a is retracted, the stopper member 9b is raised to the original position, and the replacement process of the mold 3 is completed, and the bender step is completed. When the replacement completion signal is input, the box bending bender 8 starts bending the work between the die 3 and the upper and lower punches 8b and 8d.

The above is the replacement process of the mold 3, but the mold 3 that has been used and carried out onto the rail 7e is stored on the pallet 2 in the next mold disassembly process.

When the loading of the mold 3 is completed and the box bending bender 8 starts the work, the moving table 7c is again moved in the direction of the arrow c and switched to the rail 7e side, and then the used mold 3 on the rail 7e is changed. Are sequentially conveyed to the pallet indexing device 6 side by the gripper unit 7f.

The pallet indexing device 6 indexes the pallet 2 in response to the index signal, and stores the molds 3 conveyed one by one by the gripper unit 7f at a predetermined position.

Then, while the box bending bender 8 is in operation, all the molds other than the mold to be used next are stored in the pallet 2, and the mold 3 to be used next is taken out from the pallet 2 to be used next. 3 is assembled.

If the next mold 3 is not used, all molds 3
After being stored on the pallet 2, it is transported to the pallet storage shelf 1 and stored on the pallet storage shelf 1.

The above operation is shown in a flowchart of FIG. 6 and FIG.

A control program for each device is created according to these flowcharts.

Further, although the box bending bender 8 is described as the right long side bender in the above embodiment, it is needless to say that it can be applied to the rear short side bender or the like.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described in detail above, the present invention makes it possible to adjust the bending width and length of a product to be bent next to the box by inputting the bending width and length of the product to be bent next from the operation panel while the box bending bender is operating. The molds are automatically selected from the pallet and assembled into a predetermined length, and after the work of the box bending bender is completed, they are loaded into the box bending bender, and the used molds are unloaded from the box bending bender. It is designed so that it can be disassembled afterwards and stored in a predetermined position on the pallet.Preparation of the mold to be used next and disassembling the used mold and storing it on the pallet are performed by the box bending vendor. Since it can be done automatically during operation, the down time of the box bending vendor can be significantly shortened compared to the one that performs these tasks by stopping the conventional bending machine, which increases the operating rate of the box bending vendor. , You can improve productivity.

In addition, as production of high-mix low-volume products has become more frequent in recent years, the number of times molds have to be changed increases.Therefore, shortening the downtime of the box bending vendor and increasing the operating rate will improve productivity. Especially effective. Furthermore, since a large number of molds can be arranged and stored on a pallet in an orderly manner, there is no loss of molds or damage due to dropping, etc., and safety is improved. It also becomes possible to reduce the occurrence of defects.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall plan view, FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a pallet containing a mold, and FIG. 4 is a box bending bender. Is a front view, FIG. 5 is a side view of the same, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are flow charts showing the operation. 2 is a pallet, 3 is a mold, 6 is a pallet indexing device, 7
Is a mold carry-in device, 8 is a box bending vendor, and 10 is a mold carry-out device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of pallets 2 respectively accommodating a plurality of sets of molds 3 as a set, and a plurality of pallets 2 stored in a plurality of stages, and a selected pallet 2 is stored in a pallet indexing device 6. A means for sending out, a pallet indexing device 6 for indexing the mold 3 housed on the pallet 2 to the mold replacement position A according to a selection order, and a mold for bending the mold 3 indexed at the mold replacement position A into a box bending bender. 8 is in operation while being pulled in from the pallet 2 and assembled in a predetermined order, and when the work of the box bending bender 8 is completed, it is carried into the box bending bender 8 and is also used and carried out from the box bending bender 8. A mold loading device 7 for disassembling the mold 3 and storing it in the pallet 2 in a predetermined order.
An automatic changer comprising a die carry-out device 10 for carrying out the used die 3 from the box bending bender 8 to the die carry-in device 7.