JP3149657B2 - Production line information automatic creation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic production line information producing apparatus capable of automatically constructing a production line for a production object (processed / assembled work) in a CAD / CAM system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of computers and graphic displays and their peripheral technologies, CAD (computer-aided design) / CAM in which a designer or the like performs from design to production using a computer (computer) through graphic information. (Computer-assisted production) systems have been put into practical use and their application range is expanding.

[0003] As one application example, for example, a tooling C for machining equipment for examining machining processing steps.
There is an AD system. However, conventional touring CA
In the D system, a certain production target (processing / assembly work)
When considering the production process (machining and assembly) from the raw material to the final shape, there are many parts where the operator must examine the process while giving instructions.

[0004] Specifically, for example, a work similar to the target work is found, differences are examined, and how the line producing the similar work is changed can produce the target work. Considering whether or not there is, the necessary number of machines, the cost, etc. are calculated, and an equipment plan is created (see FIG. 13).

[0005]

However, in such a conventional method, since the target work and the similar work are still different, it is difficult to perform a detailed study in a design stage for a planning stage which is completed in a short time. The effect of the point is large, and the cost in the planning stage and the cost in the design stage are greatly different.

[0006] Further, if the number of production units (cycle time) differs between a target work and a similar work, the line configuration changes completely. For example, when mass production is performed, the number of machines is large, and the number processed by one machine is small.

Further, conventionally, when the shape of a workpiece is changed in the middle of planning, the process must be reexamined from the beginning again, which generally requires a lot of man-hours for process investigation, which is very troublesome. Take it.

In addition, since there are many parts that are determined and instructed by the operator, there is a difference in the line configuration depending on the skill and ability of the operator who examines the process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is intended to automatically construct a production line for a production object while reducing the number of process study steps and improving the process study accuracy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a production line information automatic creation device.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a series of products for producing one product.
First storage means for storing, for each intermediate work process , work assignment information indicating the work contents assigned to each of the intermediate work processes obtained by dividing the work process , and work sequence data indicating the order of the work contents in the intermediate work process If, on the basis of a second storage means for storing step sequence data representing a sequence of intermediate work process itself, the input information relating to the production objects, the work assignment information and work order data stored in said first storage means Te extracts work for the production object, the extracted work content and the production object production information
From broadcast, only <br/> with dividing the production machines in each intermediate working step, determining a process sequence of the working contents in each intermediate working steps
A first allocating means for performing a cost calculation for each intermediate work process; and a processing result of the first allocating means, the processing result for the object to be produced is determined based on the process sequence data stored in the second storage means. Second allocation means for determining the order of all the work contents in the entire production line and calculating the cost of the entire production line .

[0011]

According to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the first storage means stores the production line of the object to be produced in advance.
Assigned to each of multiple intermediate work processes
Work assignment information indicating the work content and work within the intermediate work process
Work sequence data showing the sequence of business contents for each intermediate work process
And the second storage means stores the intermediate work process itself.
Step order data indicating the order is stored. Production object
To determine the sequence of all operations for the production of the production object
When constructing a line, the first allocation means
From the input information relating to the work stored in the first storage means.
Based on the work assignment information and work sequence data,
Extract the work contents for the object, and
Work assigned to each interim work process and assigned to each intermediate work process
Determine the order of the business content within its intermediate work process. Soshi
Then, the second allocating means, based on the processing result of the first allocating means,
2 Based on the process order data stored in the storage means
Production line for all work contents
Determine the order within the whole. In this way, the production line for the production target is automatically constructed. At that time,
Intermediate work process sequence data (process sequence data) and intermediate
The work sequence data in the work process
It is stored as if it has a hierarchical relationship,
Order) and lower order (in each process)
Doing so efficiently orders the entire production process.
You. Whether the intermediate work process has work assignment information
The special processing using a special machine
In that case, no process study is required, and the man-hour for process study is low.
Is reduced. In addition, the order should be set for each intermediate work process.
The cost of each process is kept within the upper limit,
Cost variation can be reduced,
And the accuracy of process examination is improved.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of one embodiment of an automatic production line information creating apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of registration work information, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of process division information;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of input work information, and FIG.
Is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of production information, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of device information, FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the concept, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an overall processing procedure,
10 is a flowchart showing the contents of the subroutine of FIG. 9, FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the contents of another subroutine of FIG. 9, and FIG. 12 is a flowchart continued from FIG.

The production line information automatic creation apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is for automating a part of a conventional tooling CAD system in which a machining process is examined while giving instructions to an operator. It has an input / output interface 10 for managing delivery.
The input / output interface 10 internally includes a work information registration processing unit 11, a work information input processing unit 12, a production information input processing unit 13, a device information registration processing unit 14, a work process allocation processing unit 15, And the related form creation processing unit 16 are connected to each other. The work information input processing unit 12 has a work condition allocating unit 17, the production information input processing unit 13 has a machine type selecting unit 18, and the work process allocation processing unit 1
5 includes a special work allocating unit 19, a remaining work allocating unit 20, and a cost calculating unit 21. The processing units 11 to 16 have dedicated files 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27.
Are connected to each other, and the input / output interface 10
It is possible to read out freely via the. On the other hand, an input device 28 such as a tablet or a keyboard, a display device 29 such as a high-resolution graphic display, and a printer 30 are connected to the outside of the input / output interface 10, respectively. The first storage means and the second storage means store the file 22
Thus, the first allocating means and the second allocating means are constituted by the work process allocation processing unit 15, respectively.

The work information registration processing unit 11 includes an input device 28
It has a function of setting various types of work information in advance for each production target (processing / assembly work) from input data or the like, and registering the information in the file 22. An example of the data structure of the work information to be registered is as shown in FIG. Here, the term "intermediate work process" refers to each process that can be performed by dividing a series of production processes for a certain work by an appropriate method. For example, taking the manufacture of a cylinder head as an example, as shown in FIG. It consists of several intermediate work processes such as material input process, machining standard machining process, upper and lower surface machining process, left and right front and rear surface machining process, left side hole machining process, valve hole machining process, final inspection process, unloading process, etc. I have. A name and a number are set for each intermediate work process. Also,
In FIG. 3, the order ((1) to (20)) assigned to each intermediate work step is the order of the intermediate work steps (this is called the intermediate work step procedure), and some patterns are prioritized in advance. Attach and register.

Further, taking a machining process as an example of an intermediate work process, for example, the number of machining holes, the name of the machining hole, the machining hole number, the machining process division data, the machining conditions, and the like are set and registered in advance for each machining process. I have. FIG. 4 shows an example of process division and processing information taking the front cover mounting hole as an example. In the process division method, several patterns with priorities are set, and the processing shape of each process after the division is defined by a variable (parametric shape). The processing information in FIG. 4 is a numerical value input later. Further, in the above example, the machining hole numbers are set in a certain range in consideration of the maximum value of the number of front cover mounting holes. For example, if the maximum number of front cover mounting holes is 10, the processing hole numbers are set in the range of 921 to 930. Here, the first digit “9” of the machining hole number is the number of the intermediate work step to which the work hole number belongs, and is associated with the intermediate work step. Also,
The machining conditions include a cutting condition and a special machining identification flag, and the cutting conditions are registered with priorities in consideration of tool specifications and the like. The special processing identification flag is information as to whether or not processing should be performed exclusively by a dedicated machine. Moreover,
For each processing step (intermediate operation step), the order of processing the processing holes (processing hole processing order) in the processing step is prioritized and several patterns are set and registered. For example, as one pattern, the order of mounting holes, guide holes, and water holes is set in the same processing step.

The work information input processing unit 12 has a function of inputting various kinds of work information relating to a production target (work) to be actually examined for a process and storing the work information in a file 23. Input of information is performed via the input device 28.
An example of the data structure of the input work information is as shown in FIG. 5. In the case of the processing step as an example, a processing hole name, processing hole information, and the like are input. The machined hole information includes the reference position and direction of the machined hole, the final machined shape size and accuracy, and the like. The input final processed shape dimensions / accuracy is provided for automatically setting the processed shape dimensions / accuracy (processing information) after the process division based on the final processed shape dimensions / accuracy (see FIG. 4). The work information input processing unit 1
The work condition allocating unit 17 in 2 has a function of automatically allocating processing conditions (cutting conditions) while looking up the registration file 22 from the input information. This allocation result is stored in a predetermined location in the file 23 (see FIG. 5).

The production information input processing unit 13 includes an input device 28
Has a function of inputting information relating to the production plan of the line via the. As shown in FIG. 6, the input production plan information includes information such as the number of units produced each month, cycle time, the upper limit of cost, and the site area. Also, the machine type selection unit 18 in the production information input processing unit 13 automatically selects the type of machine to be used (machining center, turret machine, dedicated machine) from the input information (for example, monthly production volume), It has a function of storing it in a predetermined location in the file 24 (see FIG. 6). The selection criteria for the machine type are, for example, a machining center if the monthly production volume is less than 3000 units, 30
Turret machine if 00 or more and less than 10000 units, 10
If the number is 000 or more, it is set in advance as a dedicated machine.

The device information registration processing unit 14 sets information on various devices constituting the production line,
5 has a function to register. This device information is set and registered in advance via the input device 28. As shown in FIG. 7, the device information to be registered includes machines, jigs and tools,
Cost information that registers the costs of incidental equipment etc. for each device, and device specification data that registers specification information such as machine type, number of control axes, stroke range, machining axis direction, machining axis arrangement area, feed speed, rotation speed, etc. There is. Here, the processing axis arrangement area is a frame when the processing axis is arranged on the processing head of the machine, and can be freely changed to some extent. For example, in FIG. 8, "W" indicates a workpiece (work),
"35" is a machining hole, "R" is a machining axis arrangement area, "G"
Is a subdivision group described later. As described later, the assignment processing is performed using the machining axis arrangement area R as one reference.

The work process allocation processing section 15 converts the input work information and production information into files 22 to 25.
It has a function of automatically extracting the contents of work while looking up various kinds of information therein, allocating the extracted work to machines or the like according to a preset logic, and determining the order of the work. Among them, special work allocating unit 1
Reference numeral 9 has a function of extracting a special work (special processing) from various works for the input target work, selecting and allocating a machine, and a remaining work allocating unit 20 includes a function other than the special work (special processing). And the cost calculation unit 21 has a function of automatically calculating cost for each machine, each intermediate work process, and the entire line. . Work process allocation processing unit 15
Is stored in the file 26.

The related form creation processing unit 16 automatically creates a related form (for example, a process chart, an operation chart, a tooling diagram, a cycle chart diagram, NC data, etc.) based on the allocation result, and stores it in the file 27. Has a function. Such a related form is output to the display device 29 or the printer 30 as needed.

Next, the outline of the operation of the present apparatus configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 taking the case of machining as an example.

First, when a machining hole name and machining hole information (see FIG. 5) are input to the work information input processing unit 12 via the input device 28 (S1), the work information input processing unit 12 looks up the registration file 22. Then, search for machining process information (for example, which intermediate work process belongs, what is the machining process division method, what is the machining order, and what are the machining conditions (cutting conditions)) (S2). , Automatically allocates the machining hole number, and displays the retrieved information on the display device 29.
Is displayed on the printer 30 (S3). If there is a correction or change in the displayed processing step information, the processing is performed (S4). The above processing is executed for all the processing holes (S5).

After the input of information on all the processed holes is completed, when the production plan information (see FIG. 6) such as the number of production units and the cycle time is input to the production information input processing unit 13 via the input device 28 (S6). The machine type selection unit 18
The type of machine is automatically selected based on the monthly production volume (S7). For example, as described above, a machining center if the monthly production volume is less than 3000 units, a turret machine if the monthly production volume is 3000 units or more and less than 10,000 units, and 10,000 units.
If more than one, select a dedicated machine.

Then, the work process allocation processing section 15 looks up the registration file 25, inputs device specification data, and sets an appropriate specification (S8). Then, the special work allocating unit 19 and the remaining work allocating unit 20 automatically and sequentially perform the special processing allocation and the remaining processing allocation, respectively, to construct a processing line (S9, S10). Then, the cost of all the lines is calculated for each intermediate work process (S11). Then, if the calculated cost satisfies the cost condition (upper limit value) (S12), the related form creation processing unit 16 determines the related form (for example, process table, work table, tooling) based on the results of steps 9 and 10. (A diagram, a cycle chart, NC data, etc.) are automatically created and output from the display device 29 or the printer 30 (S13). On the other hand, if the cost condition is not satisfied as a result of the determination in step 12, the process returns to any one of step 4, step 6, step 8, and step 10 according to the instruction of the operator, for example, and the process is reviewed again.

The contents of the subroutine of step 9 are as shown in the flowchart of FIG. First, the special work allocating unit 19 looks up the registration file 22 and reads out an intermediate work process group corresponding to the work to be considered for the process (S14). In each intermediate work process, the special work identification flag is also set. Then, a machining hole (special machining hole) requiring special machining is extracted (S15), a machine for special machining is selected, and the special machining process is assigned to the intermediate machining process (S16). Thus, no special process is considered. This is possible because the special processing is performed by a predetermined dedicated machine, and the allocation thereof does not need to be examined again.

The contents of the subroutine of step 10 are as shown in the flowcharts of FIGS. First, the remaining work allocating unit 20 determines the registration file 25 based on the number of production units and the cycle time input in step 6.
After reading out machine specifications (for example, machine type, number of control axes, stroke range, machining axis arrangement area (changeable), feed speed range, rotation speed range, etc.) while looking up (S17), simultaneous machining is performed in terms of accuracy. The required holes are extracted and grouped (S18), and the same angle holes are extracted for each intermediate work process (S19), and the extracted same angle holes are grouped by hole name or by machining type ( S20) Further, the group is subdivided based on the machining axis arrangement area, the pitch between axes, the machining depth, and the like (see FIG. 8) (S21). Other examples of the subdivision items include a positional element (not too close) and a processing diameter.

Then, the feasibility of the multi-axis head is checked (S22). More specifically, for example, an inter-axis pitch check considering a bearing step, a cutting power calculation / multi-axis head feed speed (cutting condition) check, a cycle time calculation check, and the like are performed. However, for the machining center, only the cycle time is checked. Then, it is determined whether or not a multi-axis head is established based on the result of the check in step 22 (S23). If the multi-axis head is not established as a result of this determination, the cause is determined (S24). If the inter-pitch is not established, a corresponding flag is set for the axes for which the inter-axis pitch does not hold (S25), and the process returns to step 21 to re-divide the group. On the other hand, if the cause is an excess of cutting power, remove the axis from the group appropriately to satisfy the cutting power. After removing the axis having the long machining depth from the group (S26), the process returns to step 22 in both cases to check again whether the multi-axis head is established.

If a multi-axis head is established as a result of the determination in step 23, it is determined whether or not the allocation has been completed for all the groups (S27), and the processing in steps 21 to 25 is performed until the allocation has been completed for all the groups. repeat. When the allocation has been completed for all the groups, it is subsequently determined whether or not all the processing has been allocated (S28), and if not, it is further determined whether or not shift processing is possible (S28).
29). Whether or not shift processing is possible depends on the assumption that holes with the same shape and dimensions exist, for example, there are holes that can be processed by moving the relative positions of the holes as they are, or there are holes that do not exist but do not interfere If so, it is determined that shift processing is possible. If shift processing is possible as a result of the determination in step 29, the remaining processing steps (processing steps having the same processing type, processing diameter, and accuracy) are assigned to the multi-axis head taking the shift processing into consideration (S30), and the process returns to step 22. Then, the multi-axis head feasibility is checked again. On the other hand, if the shift processing cannot be performed, the remaining processing steps are grouped (S31), and the process returns to step 22 similarly.
Check the feasibility of the multi-axis head.

If the result of the determination in step 28 is that all the work has been allocated, tooling interference is examined for each multi-axis head (S32), and it is determined whether or not there is interference (S33). If there is interference as a result of this determination, the tooling information (for example, tool protrusion length, holder / spindle, jig shape, etc.) is changed (S34).
Returning to step 32, the tooling interference is examined again.

On the other hand, if there is no interference, it is further determined whether or not shift processing is possible (S35). If shift processing is possible as a result of this determination, the processing type, processing diameter and precision are taken into consideration. Search for other multi-axis heads that can be processed by shift processing for each multi-axis head (S36).
If the shift processing is not possible, the combination of the multi-axis heads is examined (S37), and in either case, the feasibility of the multi-axis head is checked (S38). As described above, the cost is further reduced by pursuing the possibility of the shift processing and by increasing the number of axes of the multi-axis head as much as possible. When the examination of step 38 is completed, the order of the multi-axis head is set so that the process is not reversed, while looking up the machining hole machining order data and the intermediate work process routing data in the registration file 22 (S39). . Thus, a series of work processing line construction processing ends.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the assignment information and the sequence data thereof are set for each intermediate work process, and the sequence data between the intermediate work processes are also set. The process can be automatically assigned according to a predetermined logic, thereby improving system efficiency.

Further, in this embodiment, each intermediate work process is provided with allocation information, and the process is not considered when allocating special processing or the like. Can be reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, when examining the process for the remaining process, the assignment is performed using a precise assignment standard, the cost is calculated, and the assignment result is evaluated. And the accuracy of the process examination is improved.

Further, by the automatic assignment, it is possible to construct a line configuration which is not influenced by the skill and ability of the operator who performs the process examination.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, the production
The production line for the object can be automatically constructed,
At the same time, efficiently order the entire production process
Can be performed and special processing
Process is no longer necessary, and the number of process review steps can be reduced.
And the cost of each intermediate work step is within the upper limit
Or reduce the cost variation in each process,
Cost reduction and improvement of process examination accuracy can be achieved.
A production line information automatic creation device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an embodiment of an automatic production line information creating apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of registration work information.

FIG. 3 is a process chart showing an example of a procedure of a cylinder head.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of process division information.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of input work information.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of production information.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a data structure of device information.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the concept.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the entire processing procedure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the contents of a subroutine of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the contents of another subroutine of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart continued from FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a conventional facility plan creation procedure.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 input / output interface 11 work information registration processing unit 12 work information input processing unit 13 production information input processing unit 14 device information registration processing unit 15 work process allocation processing unit (first allocation means, second allocation means) 16 ... Related report creation processing section 17 ... Work condition allocating section 18 ... Machine type selecting section 19 ... Special work allocating section 20 ... Remaining work allocating section 21 ... Cost calculating section 22 ... File ( first storage means , second storage means) 23, 24, 25, 26, 27: File 28: Input device 29: Display device 30: Printer

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A series of processes for producing one production object.
First storage means for storing, for each intermediate work process , work assignment information indicating the work content assigned to each of the intermediate work processes obtained by dividing the work process , and work sequence data indicating the order of the work contents in the intermediate work process. If, on the basis of a second storage means for storing step sequence data representing a sequence of intermediate work process itself, the input information relating to the production objects, the work assignment information and work order data stored in said first storage means Te extracts work for the production object extracted work content and production information of the production object
From, assign production machines in each intermediate work process,
Determine the process order of the work content in each intermediate work process ,
A first allocating unit for performing a cost calculation for each intermediate work process; and a processing result of the first allocating unit, based on process order data stored in the second storage unit, for all of the objects to be produced. Determine the order of work content in the entire production line and calculate the cost of the entire production line .
An automatic production line information creating apparatus, comprising: allocating means.