JPS6044100B2 - automatic tool changer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic tool changer for a machine tool equipped with a tool storage magazine.

In the conventional automatic tool changer (ATC) for headstock sliding type horizontal boring and milling machines, the tool storage magazine (tool magazine) is mounted on the column base, the side of the column, or the back of the column, and the tool storage magazine is installed between the tool spindle and the tool magazine. To transport tools, a special transport device was required in addition to the tool exchange arm.

An example of an automatic tool changer is shown in FIG.

This device connects a tool magazine 101 to a column base 102.
In the drawing, 103 is a column, 104 is a saddle that moves up and down along the column 103, 105 is a headstock that moves horizontally along the saddle 104, and 106
is a tool exchange arm attached to the front of the saddle 104,
Reference numeral 107 represents a tool transport device, and 108 represents a tool transport pot that actually transports tools in the tool transport device 107. Tools 10 stored in the tool magazine 101
9 is carried to the lower end of the column 103 by the tool carrying pot 108. Meanwhile, the saddle 104 is lowered to the lower end of the column 103, and the headstock 105 is lowered to the lower end of the column 103.
04, and in this position, the tool exchange arm 106 rotates and the tool is exchanged. In such a device, the tool exchange arm 106 may be attached to the faceplate attachment surface of the headstock 105, but in any case, the tool exchange position is at one point within the stroke range of each axis (for example, between the lower end of the saddle 104 and the lower end of the saddle 104). The headstock 105 is fixed to the rearward end of the headstock 105). In the device shown in FIG. 2, the tool transfer pot 108a of the tool transfer device 107a can be moved up and down along the column 103. Although it is replaceable,
When the headstock 105 moves back and forth, the tool changing position is limited to its backward end.

As mentioned above, in conventional tool changers, the tool change position is fixed, so as the machine becomes larger, the tool change time (the time from completion of machining with the old tool to the start of machining with the new tool) increases proportionally. ) becomes extremely long.

The tool transport distance also becomes longer, resulting in higher costs, and if the machining cycle with one tool is short, idle time occurs while the new tool is being transported. Furthermore, since the tool changing arm is attached to the front surface of the saddle or to the face plate attachment surface of the headstock, the headstock has poor accessibility to the workpiece, making a portion of the headstock stroke unusable. Furthermore, if the tool changing arm is attached to the faceplate mounting surface of the headstock, it becomes impossible to attach the attachment to the headstock.
In order to improve the accessibility of the headstock to the workpiece and to make it possible to attach attachments to the headstock,
It is conceivable that the center of rotation of the tool exchange arm could simply be removed from the side of the headstock so that it could move forward and backward.
In this case, as shown in FIG.
Along the sides. The arm length of the tool exchange arm 106a that moves back and forth is extremely long compared to the tool exchange arm 106 when it is attached to the front surface of the saddle 104.
There was a problem that the moment of inertia when rotating 6a increased, so the rotation speed could not be increased.

In addition, when both the tool magazine and the tool exchange arm are attached to the headstock and the tool exchange arm is moved forward and backward, as shown in FIG.
There is a risk of interference between the tool exchange arm 106b and the tool magazine 101a, which makes it difficult to directly transfer tools between the tool magazine 101a and the tool exchange arm 106b. Is required.

The present invention was made in view of the various drawbacks mentioned above in the conventional automatic tool changer. The tool magazine can be placed near the tool spindle to eliminate idle time caused by transporting new tools and simplify the equipment. In addition, during machining of the workpiece, the tool change arm is removed from the front of the saddle or from the headstock face plate mounting surface to improve the tool spindle's accessibility to the workpiece, and the headstock faceplate is゛The purpose of this device is to provide an automatic tool changer that allows attachments to be attached to the slate mounting surface, and its configuration is as follows:
A tool storage magazine for storing a large number of tools is provided on the side surface of a headstock that is supported by a saddle that moves up and down along a column and moves back and forth along the saddle, and is positioned offset from the vertical center line of the tool storage magazine. The tool is rotated at the tool transfer position where the tool is rotated so that its axis is parallel to the axis of the headstock, and a rotatable tool exchange arm having a tool gripping portion at both ends is protruded from the front surface of the headstock. The headstock is provided on the side surface of the head stock so as to be movable back and forth between the side of the tool spindle and the tool transfer position, and in addition to this, the tool change arm is moved diagonally upward or downward from the center of the headstock toward the tool spindle. The tool changing arm is equipped with a mechanism for turning the tool changing arm by 90 degrees around the shifted position, and a mechanism for turning the tool changing arm, which has been turned by the mechanism by 90 degrees, by 180 degrees around the center. .

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the drawings.

Among the drawings showing embodiments, FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of an embodiment in which an automatic tool changer according to the present invention is attached to a headstock sliding type horizontal boring and milling machine, and FIG. 6 shows a view of the automatic tool changer according to the present invention. A side view is shown in FIG. 7, a front view is shown in FIG. 7, and a partially enlarged cross section is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The tip of a tool spindle 4 protrudes from the front surface of a headstock 3 that is supported by a saddle 2 that moves up and down along a column 1 and moves back and forth, and a tool is held there.

FIG. 5 shows how the old tool 5a that has finished machining work is being held. A tool storage magazine 6 is directly attached to the side surface of the head stock 3, and a tool exchange arm 7 is provided so as to be movable back and forth.

The entire tool magazine 6 is shown in FIG. 6, and details of its main parts are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

As shown in these figures, the tool magazine 6 includes a plurality of tool storage pots (tool pots) 8 for storing and supporting tools coupled to a drive chain 9. At the tool transfer position where a new tool is taken out from the tool pot 8 of the tool magazine 6 or a used old tool is inserted into the tool pot 5 8, a space below the tool transfer position is widened to prevent interference with the tool exchange arm 7. In order to avoid this, the tool pot 8 is set at a position shifted downward from the center in the vertical direction, and at this tool delivery position, the tool pot 8 is rotated 90 degrees in a horizontal plane and becomes in a state where tools can be taken in and taken out. . Regarding each part of the tool magazine 6, a worm wheel 11 is coaxially attached to one of the sprockets 10 around which the drive chain 9 is wound, and a parent-child motor attached to the head stock 3 is attached to the worm wheel 11. 1
The worms 14 provided on the rotating shafts 13 of 2 engage with each other, and the drive chain 9 rotates when the parent-child motor 12 is activated. Reference numeral 15 in FIG. 8 is an indexing position confirmation device for the tool pot 8, which connects the parent and child motor 12 via a spur gear 16 attached to the rotating shaft 13, an intermediate gear 17, a spur gear 18, and a reduction gear 19. Driven by.
A disc-shaped dock 2 built into this index position confirmation device 15
0 to 25, the reduction ratio is set so that the drive chain 9 rotates once during one turn, and the tool pot 8 containing the necessary tools is indexed by the limit switch 0N10FF by each disc-shaped dock 20 to 25. You can check the location. A large number of brackets 26 are attached to the drive chain 9, and a rotation shaft 27 is rotatably supported at the end of each bracket 26 near the headstock 3.
The rear part of a support 28 is integrally attached to 7, and the tool pot 8 is connected to this support 28.

The support 28 is supported diagonally with respect to the drive chain 9 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane at the tool transfer position. A moving helical gear 29 for rotation is integrally provided on the rotation shaft 27, which is integrated at the rear of the support 28. Further, a fixed helical gear 31 for rotation is provided on the support base 30 provided at the tool delivery position, and when the tool pot 8 comes to the tool delivery position, this fixed helical gear 31 is connected to the movable helical gear 29 for rotation.
It's starting to fit together. These rotating helical gears 29 and 31 are helical in order to engage with each other at a position offset from the vertical center of the tool pot 8, and are crowned to facilitate engagement. A helical rack 32 is provided in the support base 30 and meshes with the rotating fixed helical gear 31. A piston rod of a tool pot rotating cylinder 33 is connected to the helical rack 32. , the tool pot 8 together with the support 28 moves to the ninth position.
As shown by the arrow in the figure, the tool pot 8 is rotated 90 degrees in a horizontal plane to become ready for tool transfer (the axis of the tool pot 8 is parallel to the axis of the head stock 3). As shown in FIG. 9, a knock pin 34 is provided passing through the bracket 26,
Its tip is located in a knock pin hole 35 provided in the support 28, and its rear end is connected to a hydraulic cylinder 36.
The piston rods are connected. This dowel pin 3
Reference numeral 4 is for fixing the posture of the tool pot 8 while the tool pot 8 rotates together with the drive chain 9 at 7. When the necessary tool pot 8 is indexed to the tool delivery position, the hydraulic cylinder 36 is actuated. The knock pin 3
4 is pulled out from the dowel pin hole 35 of the support 28,
The support 28 can be rotated by 90 degrees. The tip of a confirmation rod 37 for checking whether or not a tool is stored is located at the position where the tool comes when the tool pot 8 is rotated 90 degrees.

A dog 38 is provided at the rear end of the confirmation rod 37, and the dog 38 engages with a limit switch 39 as the rod 37 moves. In other words, when tools are stored in the rotated tool pot 8,
When the tool hits, the confirmation hand 37 is pushed down, and the limit switch 39 is set to ON by the dog 38, confirming that the tool is stored. This is a safety measure to prevent an old tool from being inserted into the tool pot 8 that already contains a tool, due to a programming error or when the operator accidentally inserts a tool into the tool pot 8 that is different from the program instructions. belongs to. As shown in FIG. 6, guide surfaces 40 and 41 are provided in the lower half of the side surface of the head stock 3 in the front and back direction, and a tool exchange arm mount (hereinafter referred to as an arm mount) is provided on the guide surfaces 40 and 41. )4
2 and a forward/backward drive mount (hereinafter abbreviated as the drive mount) 43 are provided.

A hydraulic motor 44 for driving forward and backward movement is attached to the drive frame 43, and a pinion attached to its output shaft meshes with a rack 45 bolted to the headstock 3 parallel to the guide surfaces 40, 41. The drive frame 43 is moved forward by activation of the forward and backward drive hydraulic motor 44. The tool exchange arm 7 is connected to the arm frame 42 by a coupling plate 46 with its rotation center shifted, and via a 90-degree rotation center shaft and a 180-degree rotation center shaft. Also arm mount 4
A hydraulic cylinder 47 is attached to 2, and the tip of the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder 47 is connected to the driving frame 43. By stopping the drive frame 43 on the tool spindle 4 side in the longitudinal direction and operating the hydraulic cylinder 47, the tool exchange arm 7 moves forward and backward together with the arm frame 42 to insert the tool into the tool spindle 4. Alternatively, an operation 5 for removing the tool from the tool spindle 4 is performed. In the drawing,
Reference numeral 48 is a storage box for a pinion rack mechanism that rotates the tool changing arm 7 90 degrees around the center near the tool spindle 4, and 49 is a storage box that rotates the tool changing arm 7 that has been rotated 90 degrees 180 degrees around the center. This is a storage box 4 with a pinion rack mechanism. In other words, as shown in FIG. 7, the 90-degree rotation center 01 of the tool change arm 7 is shifted upward and left toward the tool spindle 4, and the tool change arm 7 is rotated at this rotation center 01.
By rotating 90 degrees in one rotation, the center 02 of the tool change arm 7, which is the center of rotation of 180 degrees, becomes 0 near the tool spindle 4.
It moves to 2゛. Since the 180 degree rotation center moves closer to the tool spindle 4, the length of the tool change arm 7 can be shortened, and as a result, the 180 degree rotation center of the tool change arm 7 can be shortened.
This makes it possible to increase the rotation speed.

Next, a tool exchange operation using the embodiment apparatus described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 10A-1.

As shown in FIG. 10A, when the new tool 5a stored in the tool magazine 6 is indexed and carried to the tool delivery position, the new tool 5b is stored by the operation of the tool pot rotation cylinder 33. The current tool pot 8b is rotated 90 degrees, and the new tool 5b is gripped by one gripping portion 7a of the tool exchange arm 7, which has been on standby. The tool exchange arm 7 then waits until a tool exchange command is issued while holding the new tool 5b. As shown in FIG. 10B, in response to a tool exchange command, the forward/reverse driving hydraulic motor 44 is driven, pushes the arm mount 42, and the drive mount 43 moves forward and stops at the frontmost end.

The tool pot 8b in which the new tool 5b was stored is 9
The tool magazine 6 is rotated by 0 degrees to return to its original state, and the tool magazine 6 is now in a rotatable state. As shown in FIG. 10C, the tool exchange arm 7 rotates 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow around 01,
The old tool 5a, which is clamped to the tool spindle 4, is gripped by the empty gripping portion 7b. At this time, the tool pot 8a that stores the old tool 5a is indexed and brought to the tool delivery position. As shown in FIG. 10D, the tool exchange arm 7 is further advanced together with the arm mount 42 by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 47, and the old tool 5a is extracted from the tool spindle 4. The tool pot 8a for the old tool 5a is rotated 90 degrees and stands by in a state where it can receive the old tool 5a. As shown in FIG. 10E, the tool exchange arm 7 rotates 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow about 02'', and moves the new tool 5b to the front of the tool spindle 4.

As shown in FIG. 10F, the tool exchange arm 7 is moved backward together with the arm mount 42 by the operation of the hydraulic cylinder 47.
Insert the new tool 5b into the tool spindle 4.

As shown in FIG. 10G, the tool exchange arm 7 rotates 90 degrees in the direction of the arrow about 01, leaving the new tool 5b on the tool spindle 4.

As shown in FIG. 10H, the forward and backward drive motor 44
is activated, the arm mount 42 is pulled, the drive mount 43 is moved backward, and the old tool 5a held by the grip 7b of the tool exchange arm 7 is replaced with the old tool that was waiting at the tool delivery position. It is inserted into the pot 8a.

As shown in FIG. 10, the tool pot 8a rotates 90 degrees, and the tool magazine 6 begins to rotate in order to index the next new tool.

One cycle of automatic tool exchange is thus completed, and the state shown in FIG. 10A is reached again, and automatic tool exchange is repeated.

In the above embodiments, the automatic tool changer according to the present invention is attached to a horizontal boring and milling machine, but the automatic tool changer according to the present invention can also be applied to other machine tools, especially large machining centers, etc. I can do it.

As explained above, according to the automatic tool changer of the present invention, the tool change arm and the tool magazine are attached to the side surface (operation side) of the headstock, and the tool change arm is moved forward and backward, so that the headstock can be moved forward and backward, and the saddle can be adjusted. It is possible to change the tool at any position during vertical movement, and as a result, the time required to change a new tool (particularly the time from the end of machining with the old tool to the start of machining with the new tool) can be significantly reduced.

Since the tool exchange arm also has the function of a conveyance device, a special conveyance device is not required, resulting in a significant cost reduction. When machining a workpiece, the tool change arm is retracted toward the tool magazine, improving the tool spindle's accessibility to the workpiece and making it possible to install an attachment on the faceplate mounting surface of the headstock. . Further, since the tools are taken out from the tool magazine and inserted into the tool magazine at positions offset from the vertical center of the tool magazine, there is no possibility of interference between the tool exchange arm and the tool magazine. In addition]: The center of rotation of the tool exchange arm was shifted 90 degrees toward the tool spindle, and the tool exchange arm was rotated 90 degrees and rotated 180 degrees around the center closer to the tool spindle. By shortening the length 2, the speed of 180 degree rotation can be increased, and the tool exchange time can be further shortened.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of a conventional automatic tool changer installed on a machine tool, and Figure 3 shows the difference in length when the tool change arm is installed on the saddle and on the side of the headstock. 4 is a front view, FIG. 4 is a side view showing interference between the tool exchange arm and the tool magazine when the tool transfer position is at the center of the tool magazine, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of the automatic tool changer in FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a front view thereof, and FIGS. 8 and 9. 10 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the main part thereof, and FIG. 10A-1 is an operation diagram showing the order of tool exchange according to the embodiment. In the drawing, 3 is a head stock, 4 is a tool spindle, 5a is an old tool, 5b is a new tool, 6 is a tool storage magazine, 7 is a tool exchange arm, 8 is a tool storage pot, 42 is a mount for the tool exchange arm, 43 01 is the 90 degree rotation center of the tool exchange arm, 02'' is the 1st position of the tool exchange arm.
It is the center of rotation of 80 degrees.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tool storage magazine for storing a large number of tools is provided on the side of a headstock that is supported by a saddle that moves up and down along a column and moves back and forth along the saddle, and The tool is rotated at a tool transfer position determined offset from the direction center line so that the axis thereof is parallel to the axis of the headstock, and the tool exchange arm is rotatable and has a tool gripping portion at both ends. An automatic tool changer characterized in that the automatic tool changer is provided on a side surface of the headstock so as to be movable back and forth between the side of the tool spindle protruding from the front surface of the headstock and the tool delivery position. 2. A tool storage magazine for storing a large number of tools is provided on the side of the headstock that is supported by a saddle that moves up and down along the column and moves back and forth along the saddle, and a tool storage magazine that stores a large number of tools is provided at a position offset from the vertical center line of the tool storage magazine. The tool is rotated at a predetermined tool delivery position so that its axis is parallel to the axis of the headstock, and a tool change arm having tool grips at both ends is attached to a tool spindle that protrudes from the front surface of the headstock. a mechanism provided on the side surface of the headstock so as to be movable back and forth between the side and the tool transfer position, and for rotating the tool exchange arm 90 degrees around a position shifted diagonally above or below the tool spindle from its center; An automatic tool changer characterized in that the tool change arm is equipped with a mechanism for turning the tool change arm, which has been rotated 90 degrees by this mechanism, 180 degrees around its center.