JP5037293B2 - Work processing system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece machining system that performs machining while continuously delivering a workpiece to a plurality of spindles.

  Conventionally, two spindles for machining workpieces are arranged side by side, a workpiece relay device is provided between the two spindles, and the relay device receives a workpiece from the workpiece supply / unload device, and receives the workpiece received from the workpiece receiving device. 2. Description of the Related Art A workpiece machining system that includes a delivery unit that delivers to a supply device and performs machining by continuously feeding one workpiece to two spindles is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Further, an unmachined workpiece is supplied to one of the two adjacent spindles, a workpiece supply / unloading device for unloading the workpiece after machining from the spindle, and a workpiece for machining to the other spindle. A workpiece processing system in which a workpiece supply device is separately movable is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Furthermore, a machining system in which a plurality of lathes are arranged side by side, and workpieces are sequentially transferred between the plurality of lathes while the workpieces are reversed by a reversing device is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 3).
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 7-98281 Japanese Patent No. 2993383 JP 2003-175442 A

  In the system of Patent Document 1, the workpiece (material) is supplied to the spindle chuck of one spindle (first spindle) with one loading device, the workpiece is unloaded from the spindle chuck, and the half-workpiece reversing device is connected. The workpiece is transferred, the workpiece is supplied from the half-workpiece reversing device to the spindle chuck of the other spindle (second spindle), and the workpiece is unloaded from the spindle chuck.

For this reason, the loading device supplies the material that has been processed on the first spindle side as a half-processed material to the half-worked material reversing device, and the half-worked material that has been reversed by the half-worked material reversing device. The semi-processed material inherited from the apparatus is supplied to the second spindle.
At this time, the loading device cannot pick up a new workpiece to be supplied to the first spindle until the half workpiece has been supplied to the second spindle after the half workpiece has been supplied to the half workpiece reversing device. Accordingly, when machining is performed by continuously supplying one workpiece to two spindles, there is a disadvantage that the workpiece supply efficiency to the first spindle is delayed and the machining efficiency of the workpiece is reduced.

  On the other hand, Patent Document 2 shows a workpiece machining system in which loading devices are respectively arranged on two main spindles arranged side by side. However, one workpiece is continuously supplied to two spindles for machining. It is not premised to do. For this reason, there is no description or suggestion of a problem of improving the machining efficiency of the workpiece by reducing the supply delay of the workpiece to the first spindle, and applying the sequence described in Patent Document 2 to two spindles. In the case of continuous supply to the workpiece, the machining efficiency of the workpiece cannot be improved.

Further, in the machining system described in Patent Document 3, since the workpiece is always held in a horizontal posture parallel to the main shaft, it is necessary to always hold the workpiece so that it does not fall. There is a drawback that the operation control and configuration of the reversing device become complicated, such as the necessity of strictly performing the opening and closing timing.
The present invention was made in view of the above problems, and in a workpiece machining system that performs machining continuously while delivering workpieces between a plurality of spindles, workpiece supply to each spindle can be performed without wasted time, In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece machining system that is superior in machining efficiency and cost efficiency, even when the workpiece is reversed.

In order to solve the above problems, a workpiece machining system according to the present invention is provided with a spindle provided with a chuck adjacent to a workpiece to be machined in a lateral orientation, and workpiece feeding and feeding with respect to the spindle. A device is provided corresponding to each spindle, and a relay device is provided between both spindles for receiving a workpiece that has been processed by one spindle from one of the workpiece transfer devices and delivering it to the other workpiece transfer device. in the work processing system, the relay apparatus includes a workpiece holding portion for exchanging the workpiece in the posture of the vertical between both the workpiece transfer apparatus, the workpiece transfer apparatus, posture and transverse to the workpiece vertical Two gripping parts gripping in the same posture, and posture changing means for simultaneously changing the postures of both workpieces so that the postures of the workpieces gripped by both gripping portions are interchanged with each other. One gripping part receives an unmachined workpiece in a vertical orientation and transports it to the spindle, and the other gripping part receives a machined workpiece from the spindle in a lateral orientation, and then changes the posture to make an unmachined workpiece Is transferred to the main shaft, and the processed workpiece which has been turned vertically by the posture change is conveyed and transferred in the vertical posture .
According to this configuration, since workpieces are processed, supplied to the spindle, and carried out by the individually provided workpiece transfer device, the workpieces can be supplied to each spindle without wasted time. In addition, since the relay device of the present invention exchanges workpieces with the workpiece transfer device in a vertical orientation , the chuck of the workpiece holding unit is opened at least when transferring workpieces with the workpiece transfer device. There is no need to set the opening / closing timing strictly. This simplifies the configuration and control of the relay device.

  The relay device includes a pair of workpiece holding portions on both sides of one of the two adjacent spindles and the other spindle side, and a workpiece that inverts the workpiece between the pair of workpiece holding portions. It is good also as a structure provided with the inversion means and the workpiece transfer means which enables transfer of the inverted workpiece | work between said pair of workpiece holding parts.

The work reversing means includes holding part rotating means for rotating the pair of work holding parts in a direction approaching and separating from each other, and the work transfer means relatively approaches the pair of work holding parts. A holding part advance / retreat means for moving forward / backward in a direction to move and a direction to separate,
The workpiece holding portion is rotated by the holding portion rotating means to change the posture of the workpiece between a vertical posture and a horizontal posture, and the workpiece holding portions are moved closer to each other by the holding portion advance / retreat moving means. You may comprise so that it may move relative to a direction and the said workpiece | work of a horizontal attitude | position may be exchanged between a pair of said workpiece holding parts.

The workpiece holding unit, the workpiece reversing unit, the workpiece exchanging unit, and the constituent members of the relay device may be provided on a substrate that can be attached to and detached from the workpiece processing system .

The present invention can be applied not only when a plurality of spindles are arranged in parallel on one machine tool but also when a plurality of machine tools are arranged in parallel.
And when machining workpieces sequentially with two adjacent spindles, when machining workpieces sequentially with two neighboring spindles,
(1) After the workpiece to be machined is transferred to the one spindle, the operation of one workpiece transfer device that prepares a workpiece to be machined next to the one spindle,
After the processed workpiece taken out from the one main spindle is transferred to the work holding portion of the relay device, the operation of one workpiece transfer device that prepares a workpiece to be processed next with respect to the one main spindle, or Operation of one workpiece transfer device that transfers the processed workpiece taken out from one spindle to the workpiece holding part of the relay device (2) After the workpiece to be processed is supplied by one workpiece transfer device, Operation of the one main spindle that performs machining (3) Operation of the other work conveying device that receives a work processed by the one main spindle from the relay device and transfers the work to the other main spindle, or the other main spindle (4) Operation of the other workpiece conveyance device that takes out the workpiece processed in step (b) from the other main spindle and conveys it to a predetermined position (4) The other workpiece conveyance device Therefore, the operation of the other spindle that processes the supplied workpiece (5) The operation of the relay device that prepares to transfer the workpiece received from one workpiece conveyance device to the other workpiece conveyance device is independently performed. By providing the control device to be performed, each operation can be performed independently and concurrently.
The operation (5) may include an operation for reversing the workpiece.
According to this configuration, the standby time is shortened in the workpiece transfer device and the spindle, and the workpiece machining efficiency can be increased.

  According to the workpiece machining system of the present invention configured as described above, when a workpiece is continuously supplied to at least two adjacent spindles and machining is performed, After the work unloaded from the main spindle is transferred to the work holding part of the relay device, the work supply work to one main spindle is started in parallel with the work supply work to the other main spindle by the relay device and the work transfer device. Therefore, the waiting time of the work transfer device can be shortened.

  Also, at the end of machining the workpiece by the spindle or before the machining of the workpiece, the workpiece transfer device is made to wait in the vicinity of the spindle by transferring the workpiece to the vicinity of the spindle, and the workpiece from the spindle of the workpiece that has finished machining The removal and supply of the newly conveyed workpiece can be performed smoothly in a short time, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

  In particular, the workpiece transfer device is provided with processed workpiece gripping means for taking out the workpiece mounted on the spindle to the outside. After the workpiece transfer device supplies the workpiece received from the relay device side to the corresponding spindle, By adopting a structure that starts supplying work to the main spindle of another work in parallel with the work processing of the work, the waiting time of the work transfer device can be reduced, and at the end of processing of the work by the main spindle, or Before finishing the workpiece processing, the workpiece transfer device is positioned in the vicinity of the main shaft by the transfer operation to the vicinity of the main workpiece of the other workpiece, and the workpiece that has been processed is taken out from the main shaft and the newly transferred workpiece is supplied. It can be performed smoothly in a short time, and the processing efficiency can be improved.

In addition, the workpiece supply / conveyance device and the workpiece supply device can be made the same, cost reduction can be achieved, and the same machine tool having the same workpiece supply / conveyance device, for example, a plurality of lathes There is an advantage that the system can be configured easily and at low cost by using them in parallel.
In this case, the relay device is unitized so that it can be detachably attached to at least one frame of the adjacent lathe, so that the relay device can be easily attached and detached, and the system can be constructed more easily. However, even if the workpiece supply / conveyance device and the workpiece supply device are different devices, the relay device is unitized so that it can be detachably attached to at least one frame of a plurality of lathes arranged side by side and an adjacent lathe Thus, the present system can be constructed relatively easily and at low cost.

  In addition, by providing each of the workpiece supply and unloading device and the workpiece supply device with a supply chuck for supplying the workpiece and an unloading chuck for unloading the workpiece, the workpiece can be efficiently supplied and unloaded by both chucks. In addition, even when the workpiece diameter at the time of supply to the spindle is different from the workpiece diameter after processing, the workpiece can be gripped smoothly by both chucks.

  On the other hand, the adjacent spindles are to grip the workpiece so as to machine the end of each workpiece, and the receiving means and the delivery means in the relay device are connected to the end of the workpiece to be machined by the spindle on the workpiece receiving side. In addition, by performing the reversal of the workpiece so that the end portions of the workpiece processed by the main spindle on the workpiece delivery side are different from each other, the processing of the different end portions of the workpiece can be performed continuously and smoothly. There is also an advantage of being able to

  The receiving means and the delivering means of the relay device are constituted by separate chucks, and both chucks are provided with a workpiece transfer posture for transferring workpieces between the workpiece supply / unload device or the workpiece supply device, and between the chucks. By providing a workpiece relay posture for transferring workpieces so that the posture can be changed, the workpiece transfer mechanism can be easily configured.

  In addition, since it is not necessary to directly construct a mechanism for moving the workpiece by the workpiece supply / unloading device and the workpiece supply device, the workpiece supply / unloading device and the workpiece supply device are both a workpiece transfer / relay device and a relay device. What is necessary is just to comprise so that the workpiece | work may be exchanged between, and the structure of a workpiece | work supply carry-out apparatus and a workpiece | work supply apparatus can be simplified.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, as shown in the figure, the same direction as the main axis is the Z direction, and the direction orthogonal to the main axis is the X direction, both the Z direction and the X direction. The direction perpendicular to the Y direction is the Y direction, and the same direction as the Z direction is “front” or “rear”, the same direction as the X direction is “left” or “right”, and the same direction as the Y direction is “up”. Or it may be described as “below”.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a workpiece machining system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the workpiece machining system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the workpiece machining system of this embodiment is a relay device that is arranged between two NC lathes 1 and 2 that are arranged side by side, and both NC lathes 1 and 2. A reverse relay device 3 and work loaders 4 and 6 which are two work transfer devices provided corresponding to the NC lathes 1 and 2 are provided.

  The first NC lathe 1 on the left side when viewed from the front and the second NC lathe 2 on the right side when viewed from the front are each provided with a single spindle 1A, 2A that is movable back and forth in the Z direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1). This is a known NC lathe having the same configuration (however, a supply pallet 7 and a recovery pallet 8 described later are symmetrically arranged). The two NC lathes 1 and 2 hold the work on the collet chuck provided at the tip of the main spindles 1A and 2A and rotate the work together with the main spindles 1A and 2A, while processing the work and the cutter. The workpiece is automatically machined while moving the tool relative to the X and Z axes.

In the present embodiment, the first NC lathe 1 and the second NC lathe 2 are chucks in which the main axis 1A of the first NC lathe 1 and the main axis 2A of the second NC lathe are arranged in parallel in the same horizontal plane and grip a workpiece. The tip of the provided main shaft 1A and the tip of the main shaft 2A are positioned in the same line, and are arranged in parallel at regular intervals.
The first NC lathe 1 is provided with a supply pallet 7 in which an unmachined workpiece is accommodated. The supply pallet 7 accommodates a plurality of unmachined workpieces side by side in an inverted posture with the end of the spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 on the side gripped by the collet chuck facing down. Note that the supply pallet 7 is a conventionally known one, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  The second NC lathe 2 is provided with a storage pallet 8 on which the workpieces processed by the first NC lathe 1 and the second NC lathe 2 are placed and stored. In the storage pallet 8, workpieces after machining are stored side by side in an inverted posture with the end gripped by the collet chuck of the spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2 facing down. Since this accommodation pallet 8 is also a conventionally well-known thing, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

The unprocessed workpiece is supplied from the supply pallet 7 to the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 by the first work loader 4 provided above the first NC lathe 1, and the machining is completed from the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2. The work is taken out and transported to the storage pallet 8 by the second work loader 6 provided above the second NC lathe 2.
Further, the first work loader 4 takes out a work (referred to as a semi-worked work) processed by the first NC lathe 1 from the main shaft 1A and transfers it to the reverse relay device 3. The reversing device 3 reverses the received half-processed workpiece. Further, the second work loader 6 receives the half-worked workpiece reversed by the reverse relay device 3 from the reverse relay device 3 and transfers it to the collet chuck of the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2.
In this manner, both end portions of one workpiece are sequentially processed by the two NC lathes 1 and 2.

The first work loader 4 includes a lateral guide rail 9 parallel to the X direction orthogonal to the axial direction (Z direction) of the main shaft 1A of the first NC lathe 1 and parallel to the Y direction orthogonal to both the X direction and the Z direction. A longitudinal guide rail 11 and a chuck unit 12 including a chuck that is disposed so as to be always positioned forward of the main shaft 1A of the first NC lathe 1 and grips a workpiece are provided.
The lateral guide rail 9 is fixed to the frame of the first NC lathe 1 via a post or a bracket (not shown). The vertical guide rail 11 is attached to a slider that is movable in the X direction while being guided by the horizontal guide rail 9. The chuck unit 12 is attached to a slider that is movable (lifted / lowered) in the Y direction while being guided by the vertical guide rail 11.
As a result, the chuck unit 12 can move in the Y direction along the vertical guide rail 11 and in the X direction along the horizontal guide rail 9, respectively, in a direction orthogonal to the axis of the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of the chuck unit 12 in a side view.
In the following description, the machine front side of the NC lathes 1 and 2 in the Z direction is referred to as “front”, and the opposite side is referred to as “rear”.
The chuck unit 12 includes a frame 13 attached to the vertical guide rail 11 (see FIG. 1) side, a rotary cylinder 14 attached to the frame 13 side, a Z direction that is the same as the axis of the main shafts 1A and 2A, and Two chucks 16 and 17 as work chucks facing the Y direction which is the vertical direction perpendicular to each other, and the chucks 16 and 17 are supported by the chucks 16 and 17 and rotated by driving the rotary cylinder 14. And a support 18 that replaces the two.
The frame 13 includes a base frame 13a attached to a vertically movable slider of the vertical guide rail 11, a vertical moving frame 13b attached to the base frame 13a so as to be vertically slidable, and front and rear (Z direction) to the vertical moving frame 13b. ) It consists of a back and forth moving frame 13c that is slidably attached.

  The aforementioned rotary cylinder 14 is mounted on the forward / backward moving frame 13c. Between the base frame 13a and the longitudinal movement frame 13b, a spring 19 is interposed as an elastic member in the vertical direction. The spring 19 biases the longitudinal movement frame 13b, which moves upward with respect to the base frame 13a, to return to the initial position. Between the base frame 13a and the vertical movement frame 13b, vertical movement detection means 21 such as a proximity switch capable of detecting the movement amount of the vertical movement frame 13b is provided.

When the vertical movement frame 13b rises relative to the base frame 13a beyond a preset value, the vertical movement detection means 21 detects the movement and stops the lowering operation of the chuck unit 12. The signal is output.
A spring 22 is interposed in the front-rear direction as an elastic member between the vertical movement frame 13b and the front-rear movement frame 13c. The spring 22 biases the back and forth moving frame 13c moving forward with respect to the longitudinal moving frame 13b so as to return to the initial position. Between the back-and-forth moving frame 13c and the vertically-moving frame 13b, a back-and-forth movement detecting means 23 such as a proximity switch capable of detecting the amount of movement of the back-and-forth moving frame 13c is provided.
Then, when the forward / backward moving frame 13c exceeds a preset value and moves backward relative to the longitudinal moving frame 13b, the forward / backward movement detecting means 23 detects the movement, and the spindles 1A and 2A move forward. Outputs a signal to stop.

A support shaft 24 projects from the support 18 described above. The support shaft 24 is inclined by 45 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane and is rotatably supported on the front-rear moving frame 13c side. Sprockets 25 and 26 are respectively attached to the rotary shaft 14a and the support shaft 24 of the rotary cylinder 14 described above.
A timing belt 27 is interposed between the sprockets 25 and 26. The support 18 rotates the support shaft 24 around the axis thereof by the rotation of the rotating shaft 14 a driven by the rotary cylinder 14. The support 18 swings 180 degrees by driving the rotary cylinder 14.
Both chucks 16 and 17 have a grip portion 29 formed of a plurality of claws 28 that can be freely opened and closed on one end surface side. The gripping portions 29 of the chucks 16 and 17 are inserted into the open claw 28 in a state where the axes of the chucks 16 and 17 coincide with the axis of the workpiece, and by closing the claw 28 from this state, The workpiece inserted between the claws 28 is gripped.

Both chucks 16 and 17 chuck the workpiece by gripping the workpiece by the grip portion 29. Both chucks 16 and 17 release the grip (chuck) of the workpiece by opening the claw 28 of the grip portion 29.
The chucks 16 and 17 are mounted on the support 18 so that each gripping portion 29 faces outward and the directions are different from each other by 90 degrees. As a result, when the grip portion 29 of one chuck (for example, the chuck 17) is directed downward (Y direction), the grip portion 29 of the other chuck (the chuck 16) is directed backward. Then, the chucks 16 and 17 are interchanged in position with each other by the 180-degree swinging of the support 18 having the support shaft 24 as an axis.
The rotary cylinder 14 is provided with angle detection means 31 for detecting the rotation angle of the rotary shaft 14a and checking whether the chucks 16 and 17 are directed downward or backward. Further, on both chucks 16 and 17 side, an overstroke detecting means 32 for detecting the overstroke of each chuck 16 and 17 is provided so as to detect the presence or absence of a workpiece and whether or not the workpiece is normally gripped. ing.

The first work loader 4 is configured as described above, and the chuck unit 12 is arranged so that the downward chuck 16 is positioned almost directly above the unprocessed workpiece to be processed next placed on the supply pallet 7. Can be slid onto the supply pallet 7.
The chuck unit 12 can be moved only in the biaxial directions of the X direction and the Y direction as described above. Therefore, the supply pallet 7 is placed on a table movable in the Z direction, and the X direction rows of the unprocessed workpieces accommodated side by side are sequentially placed on the movement path in the X direction of the chuck unit 12 one by one. Can be done. In this way, the unprocessed workpiece to be taken out from the supply pallet 7 next can be positioned directly below the downward chuck 16.

The operation of the first work loader 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a process of removing a workpiece from a supply pallet, FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a process of supplying the workpiece to the main spindle of the first NC lathe, and FIG. 6 is a first NC lathe. It is a schematic side view showing a process of taking out a semi-worked workpiece from the main spindle.
As shown in FIG. 4 (A), the first work loader 4 starts from the state where the downwardly facing chuck 16 is positioned directly above the unprocessed workpiece NW, as shown in FIG. 4 (B). By moving the unit 12 downward and inserting the unprocessed workpiece NW into the gripping portion 29 of the downward chuck 16 as described above and closing the claw 28 in the open state, the upper end portion of the unprocessed workpiece NW is attached to the chuck 16. Can be gripped by.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4C, the first work loader 4 grips the unprocessed workpiece NW with the downward chuck 16 and then slides the chuck unit 12 upward to temporarily remove the workpiece NW from the supply pallet 7. The raw workpiece NW can be taken out.
The first work loader 4 takes the raw workpiece NW from the supply pallet 7 as described above, and then swings the support 18 by 180 degrees, as shown in FIG. By changing the position 17, the posture of the unprocessed workpiece NW gripped downward by the chuck 16 can be changed to a horizontal posture.

Since the spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 is positioned behind the first work loader 4 as described above, the axis of the unmachined workpiece NW is replaced with the spindle of the first NC lathe 1 by exchanging the positions of the chucks 16 and 17. It can be directed in the same direction as the axis of 1A.
The first work loader 4 moves the chuck unit 12 in the X direction and the Y direction so that the axis of the unprocessed workpiece NW in the horizontal orientation matches the axis of the main shaft 1A.
As a result, the first NC lathe 1 starts from the state in which the axis line of the unmachined workpiece NW and the axis line of the spindle 1A coincide with each other as shown in FIG. 5B, as shown in FIG. 1A is moved forward, the free end side of the unmachined workpiece NW is inserted into the workpiece insertion hole H of the spindle 1A (collet chuck 1B), and the collet chuck 1B of the spindle 1A is closed, thereby free end of the unmachined workpiece NW. Can be gripped.

From the state where the spindle 1A grips the free end of the workpiece NW as described above, as shown in FIG. 5C, the claw 28 of the chuck 16 of the first work loader 4 is opened and the spindle 1A is moved backward. By moving, the unmachined workpiece NW can be supplied from the first work loader 4 to the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1.
After delivering the unprocessed workpiece NW to the spindle 1A, the first work loader 4 holds the unprocessed workpiece NW on the claw 28 of the chuck 16 by repeating the same operation as described above, and at a position above the spindle 1A, The system waits until the machining of the unmachined workpiece NW previously transferred to the spindle 1A is completed. At this time, the first work loader 4 is in a state of gripping the unprocessed workpiece NW downward. Therefore, the empty chuck 17 that does not grip the unprocessed workpiece NW is in the front-rear direction (Z direction) as in FIG. Is facing.

Therefore, for example, after the first NC lathe 1 has processed the unmachined workpiece NW mounted on the spindle 1A (represented as a half-machined workpiece HW), as shown in FIG. When the chuck unit 12 of the first work loader 4 slides and moves so that the axis of the spindle 1A of the 1NC lathe 1 coincides, as shown in FIG. 6B, the spindle 1A moves forward, as shown in FIG. The half-worked workpiece HW after machining by the first NC lathe 1 can be inserted into the gripping portion 29 of the chuck 17.
By closing the claw 28 of the chuck 17 from the state in which the half-worked workpiece HW is inserted into the gripping portion 29 of the chuck 17 as described above, the first work loader 4 can grip the half-worked workpiece HW by the chuck 17. it can. After the half-work workpiece HW is gripped by the chuck 17 as described above, as shown in FIG. 6C, the collet chuck 1B of the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 is opened and the main spindle 1A is moved backward. Thus, the first work loader 4 can take out the half-worked workpiece HW from the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 by the chuck 17.

  The chuck 17 grips the end of the half-worked workpiece HW opposite to the side gripped by the main spindle 1A of the first lathe 1. When the positions of both chucks 16 and 17 are exchanged as described above from the state in which the half-worked workpiece HW is gripped by the chuck 17 of the first work loader 4, as shown in FIG. 17 faces downward. As a result, the first work loader 4 can carry out the half-worked workpiece HW taken out from the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 to a predetermined place in the left-right direction by the sliding movement of the chuck unit 12.

As described above, the first work loader 4 supplies the unmachined workpiece NW to the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 by one predetermined chuck 16 and halfway from the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 by the other chuck 17. Unload the workpiece HW. Hereinafter, the chuck 16 on the workpiece supply side is referred to as a supply chuck, and the chuck 17 on the workpiece unloading side is referred to as an unloading chuck.
As a result, even when the diameter of the chuck part of the unmachined workpiece NW and the diameter of the chuck part of the half-worked workpiece HW differ depending on the machining, the gripping diameter of the supply chuck 16 and the gripping diameter of the unloading chuck 17 are set separately. By doing so, both the unmachined workpiece NW and the half-machined workpiece HW can be reliably gripped.

The second work loader 6 has a point that is disposed above the second NC lathe 2, a point that the chuck unit is disposed in front of the main shaft 2A of the second NC lathe 2, and a horizontal guide rail that is a frame of the second NC lathe 2. Since it is the same structure as the said 1st work loader 4 except the point fixed integrally to the side, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.
The procedure for transferring the half-worked workpiece NW received by the second work loader 6 from the reversing relay device 3 to the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2 will be described later. First, machining is performed on the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2. A procedure for the second work loader 6 to carry out the finished processing completed workpiece FW will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a process of taking out a processed workpiece from the main spindle of the second NC lathe, and FIG. 8 is a schematic side view showing a process of storing the processed workpiece on a storage pallet.
As shown in FIG. 7A, the second work loader 6 is the same as the operation when the first work loader 4 takes out the half-worked workpiece by the empty chuck 37 facing the rear of the second work loader 6. By the operation, the processed workpiece FW that has been processed by the second NC lathe 2 is taken out from the spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, by exchanging the positions of the chuck 37 and the other chuck 39 by swinging the support 38 by 180 degrees, the work completed workpiece FW is moved downward together with the chuck 37, so that the chuck unit 36 , The processed workpiece FW is carried out to a predetermined place in the left-right direction.
As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the chuck unit 36 is slid and moved so that the storage portion of the processing completed workpiece FW in the storage pallet 8 is positioned directly below the processing completed workpiece FW taken out from the main spindle 2 </ b> A of the second NC lathe 2. Then, by the opposite operation when the first work loader 4 takes out the unprocessed work NW from the supply pallet 7, the second work loader 6 stores the processed work FW at a predetermined position on the storage pallet 8, and the second NC The processed workpiece FW can be carried out from the spindle 2A of the lathe 2 to the storage pallet 8.

  Since the chuck unit 36 of the second work loader 6 can be moved only in the X direction and the Y direction similarly to the first work loader 4, the storage pallet 8 is moved in the Z direction like the storage pallet 7. The position in the X direction, which is placed on a possible table and should accommodate the processed workpiece, can be positioned on the movement path in the X direction of the chuck unit 36 one by one in sequence. In this way, the empty storage portion of the storage pallet 8 can be positioned directly below the downward chuck 37, and the processed workpiece can be stored at a predetermined position on the storage pallet 8.

Further, the second work loader 6 immediately before the replacement of the positions of the chucks 37 and 39 as described above, the other chuck 39 faces downward as shown in FIG. The work arranged in the up and down direction by the chuck 39 can be taken out from the reverse relay device 3 by the same operation as that when the unprocessed work NW is taken out from the supply pallet 7 by the one work loader 4.
Further, the second work loader 6 is moved by the chuck 39 by the same operation as the operation of supplying the unmachined workpiece NW to the main shaft 1A of the first NC lathe 1 by the first work loader 4 and the first NC lathe 1 (main shaft 1A). The workpiece taken out from the reverse relay device 3 can be supplied to the spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2.

As described above, in the same manner as the first work loader 4, the second work loader 6 supplies the work to the main spindle 2 </ b> A of the second NC lathe 2 by one chuck 39 in accordance with a predetermined procedure, and the second NC 37 by the other chuck 37. The work completed workpiece FW is unloaded from the spindle 2A of the lathe 2. Hereinafter, in the second work loader 6, the workpiece supply side chuck 39 is referred to as a supply chuck, and the workpiece carry-out side chuck 37 is referred to as an unloading chuck 37. As a result, as in the case of the first work loader, the half-worked workpiece HW and the finished workpiece FW can be reliably gripped.
In the second work loader 6 and the second NC lathe 2, the chuck unit 36 of the second work loader 6 is connected to the chuck unit 12 of the first work loader, and the unloading chuck 37 of the second work loader 6 is connected to the first work loader 6. The unloading chuck 17, the supply chuck 39 of the second work loader 6, the supply chuck 16 of the first work loader 6, the support body 38 of the second work loader 6, and the support body 18 of the first work loader 6, The spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2 is the spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1, the collet chuck 2B of the second NC lathe 2 (spindle 2A) is the collet chuck 1B of the first NC lathe 1 (spindle 1A), and the workpiece FW is half Corresponding to each workpiece HW, the same operation as each first loader 4 and first NC lathe 1 is performed.

[Reverse repeater]
Details of the reverse relay device 3 of this embodiment are shown in FIGS.
9 is a plan view of the reversing relay device 3, FIG. 10 is a front view of the main shafts 1A and 1B and the reversing relay device 3, and FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a procedure for reversing the workpiece in the reversing relay device. FIG. 4B is a front view showing a lateral orientation of the reverse receiving chuck and the reverse passing chuck in the reverse relay device, and FIG. 5B is a front view of a main part showing a state where the reverse receiving chuck is close to the reverse passing chuck side.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the reverse relay device 3 is configured on a base plate 41 laid between the first NC lathe 1 and the second NC lathe 2. The base plate 41 is detachably attached to the frames 1F and 2F of both NC lathes 1 and 2 by means of bolts or the like via brackets 40A and 40B. Thus, the reverse relay device 3 is fixedly disposed as an integral unit at a position higher than the axis of the main shafts 1A and 2A and in front of the front ends of the main shafts 1A and 2A.
A rodless cylinder 42 is mounted on the base plate 41 in the left-right direction (X direction). A guide rail 43 is provided in front of the rodless cylinder 42. The guide rail 43 is disposed in parallel to the rodless cylinder 42. A block-shaped slide body 44 is slidably provided on the guide rail 43.

A block 47 is attached to the piston 46 of the rodless cylinder 42. From the left and right sides of the block 47, shafts 48L and 48R project in the X direction parallel to the rodless cylinder 42. The rear end sides of the arms 49L and 49R are inserted into the left and right shafts 48L and 48R so as to be slidable in the X direction.
Between one (left side) arm 49L and the block 47, a compression spring 51 externally fitted to the shaft 49L is interposed. The arm 49L is elastically pressed against a stopper 52 provided at the end of the shaft 48L. The front end portions of both arms 49L and 49R are connected by a connecting body 53.

The connecting body 53 is attached to the slide body 44. As a result, the slide body 44 and the block 47 are relatively movable in the X direction within the range of expansion and contraction of the compression spring 51. Proximity sensors 55 </ b> L and 55 </ b> R are attached to the upper surface side of the coupling body 53 at a predetermined distance from each other on the left and right.
On the other hand, sensing plates 60L and 60R for operating the proximity sensors 55L and 55R are attached to the block 47. The sensing plate 60 includes a detection protrusion 60L for the left proximity sensor 55L and a detection protrusion 60R for the right proximity sensor 55R.
The slide position of the slide body 44 relative to the block 47 can be detected by a combination of detection and non-detection of the detection protrusion 60L by the left proximity sensor 55L and detection and non-detection of the detection protrusion 60R by the right proximity sensor 55R. Both the proximity sensors 55L and 55R and the sensing plate 60 constitute position detecting means for detecting the slide position of the slide body 44. That is, when the rodless cylinder 42 is driven, the block 47 and the slide body 44 are moved to the left in FIG. 9 together with the piston 46. When the slide body 44 reaches the left end limit and its movement is restricted, the block 47 is slid. It moves relative to the body 44, the positional relationship between the detection protrusion 60L for the proximity sensor 55L and the detection protrusion 60R and the corresponding proximity sensors 55L and 55R changes, and the signal output of the proximity sensors 55L and 55R changes. Change. In response to this signal, it can be determined whether or not the workpiece has been normally transferred between the reverse receiving chuck 58 and the reverse transfer chuck 66 as a workpiece holding means described later.
For example, the signal output pattern of the proximity sensors 55L and 55R when the workpiece is normally transferred between the reverse receiving chuck 58 and the reverse passing chuck 66 is ON-OFF, and the same signal output pattern when there is no workpiece. The positional relationship between the detection protrusions 60L and 60R and the proximity sensors 55L and 55R is set in advance so that the same signal output pattern is turned ON and OFF when an insertion error occurs such as when the workpiece is turned off or off. By doing so, it can be determined whether or not the workpiece has been normally transferred between the reverse receiving chuck 58 and the reverse transfer chuck 66.

  A bracket 54 is attached to the slide body 44. The bracket 54 is provided with a plate 65 that is rotatable about an axis 65a in the Z direction. The plate 65 is provided with an arm 56 that connects the piston rod 57 a of the air cylinder 57 and the plate 65. Accordingly, when the piston rod 57a expands and contracts in the X direction by driving the air cylinder 57, the plate 65 rotates about the shaft 65a. The rotation range of the plate 65 can be determined, for example, by providing stoppers with which the plate 65 abuts at both ends of the rotation range. The stopper may be adjustable like an adjusting bolt 69 described later, or may be a block-like fixed one.

  A reverse receiving chuck 58 is attached to the right end of the plate 65. The reverse receiving chuck 58 includes a gripping portion 61 including a plurality of claws 59 that can be opened and closed in the radial direction, like the chucks 16, 17, 37, and 39. For this reason, the reverse receiving chuck 58 can hold the chuck (chuck) of the workpiece inserted into the gripping portion 61 and release the chuck by opening and closing the claw 59 as described above. In the initial state in which the piston rod 57a is extended, the axis of the reverse receiving chuck 58 faces upward. The reverse receiving chuck 58 is in a position where workpieces can be exchanged with the chuck unit 36 provided in the second work loader 6, and the work gripped by the reverse receiving chuck 58 in the initial state. The axis of this is aligned with the axis of the chuck unit 36.

A plate 62 is provided at the end of the base plate 41 opposite to the plate 65 so as to be rotatable about an axis 62a in the Z direction. The rotation range of the plate 62 can be determined, for example, by providing stoppers that come into contact with the plate 62 at both ends of the rotation range. The stopper may be adjustable like an adjusting bolt 69 described later, or may be a block-like fixed one.
An arm 63 is attached to the plate 62 side. The arm 63 is connected to a piston rod 64a which is extendable in the X direction of an air cylinder 64 whose base is attached to the base plate 41 so as to be swingable up and down. A reverse transfer chuck 66 is attached to the plate 62.

Similar to the reverse receiving chuck 58, the reverse transfer chuck 66 includes a gripping portion 68 including a claw 67 that can be opened and closed in the radial direction. For this reason, the reversing transfer chuck 66 can hold the chuck (chuck) of the workpiece inserted into the holding portion 68 and release the chuck by opening and closing the claw 67 as described above. In the initial state in which the piston rod 64a is extended, the axis of the reverse transfer chuck 66 faces upward. The reverse transfer chuck 66 is in a position where workpieces can be exchanged with the chuck unit 12 provided in the first work loader 4, and the axis of the reverse transfer chuck 66 in the initial state is the chuck line. The axis of the workpiece gripped by the unit 12 coincides with the axis.
The plate 62 is rotated around the axis 62a in the Z direction by driving the air cylinder 64 described above. Further, the plate 65 is rotated around the axis 65a in the Z direction by driving the air cylinder 57. Then, the direction of the half-processed workpiece HW is changed from the reverse transfer chuck 66 to the reverse receiving chuck 58.

  As shown in FIG. 10, both the air cylinders 57 and 64 are configured such that the reversing transfer chuck 66 or the reversing receiving chuck 58 has an upward posture Y in which the gripping portions 68 and 61 face upward, and FIGS. 11 (A) and 11 (B). As shown in FIG. 4, the telescopic rods 64a, 61 are moved by a stopper (not shown) provided on the bracket 54 or the base plate 41 so that the gripping portions 68, 61 are changed by 90 degrees to the horizontal posture X facing the horizontal direction. The expansion and contraction of 57a is limited. When both chucks 66 and 58 are in the lateral orientation X facing the X direction, the gripping portions 68 and 61 face each other on the same axis.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11B, the reverse receiving chuck 58 moves to the reverse passing chuck 66 when the slide body 44 moves together with the piston 46 to the reverse passing chuck 66 side by driving the rodless cylinder 42. Proximity at opposite positions.
In FIG. 10, reference numeral 69 denotes an adjustment bolt attached to the plate 65 in the Y direction. The tip of the adjustment bolt 69 protruding from the plate 65 comes into contact with the surface of the base plate 41, so that the piston rod of the air cylinder 57 The rotational angle position of the chuck 58 when the 57a is extended is determined.

A procedure for reversing and transferring a workpiece using the reversing relay device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 12A, the axis of the downward carry-out chuck 17 that chucks the half-worked workpiece HW and the axis of the reverse transfer chuck 66 in the inverted posture Y are matched. From this state, as shown in FIG. 12B, the first work loader 4 lowers the chuck unit 12, and the free end side of the half-worked workpiece HW is transferred to the holding portion 68 of the reverse transfer chuck 66 as described above. By inserting and closing the claw 67 of the reverse transfer chuck 66, the reverse transfer chuck 66 grips the free end side of the half-worked workpiece HW.
From the state where the reversing transfer chuck 66 grips the free end side of the half-worked workpiece HW as described above, the claw 28 of the unloading chuck 17 of the first work loader 4 is opened as shown in FIG. By sliding the unit 12 upward, the first work loader 4 carries out and supplies the half-worked workpiece HW taken out from the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 to the reverse relay device 3 as described above. 66 can be handed over.

At this time, the reverse transfer chuck 66 of the reverse relay device 3 receives the half-processed workpiece HW. The half workpiece HW is transferred (supplied) from the first work loader 4 to the reverse relay device 3, and the end opposite to the end held by the carry-out chuck 17 is held by the reverse transfer chuck 66.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13A, the reverse relay device 3 is shown in FIG. 13B from the state where one end side of the half-worked workpiece HW is held by the holding portion 68 of the reverse transfer chuck 66. As shown in FIG. 13C, the chucks 66 and 58 are changed to the horizontal posture X so as to face each other, and the reverse receiving chuck 58 is slid and moved closer to the reverse passing chuck 66 as shown in FIG. The free end of the half-worked workpiece HW can be inserted into the gripping portion 61 of the reverse receiving chuck 58. By closing the claw 59 of the reverse receiving chuck 58 in this state, the reverse receiving chuck 58 becomes free end of the half-worked workpiece HW. The side can be gripped.

As shown in FIG. 13D, the claw 67 of the reversing transfer chuck 66 is opened and the reversing receiving chuck 58 is reversed from the state in which the free end side of the half-worked workpiece HW is chucked by the reversing receiving chuck 58 as described above. By sliding and moving away from the transfer chuck 66, the half-worked workpiece HW is transferred from the reverse transfer chuck 66 to the reverse receiving chuck 58, and the half-worked workpiece HW between the reverse transfer chuck 66 and the reverse receiving chuck 58 is transferred. Is completed.
The reverse receiving chuck 58 returns to the initial position in the sliding direction when the transfer of the half-worked workpiece HW is completed. The half-worked workpiece HW is transferred from the reverse transfer chuck 66 to the reverse receiving chuck 58, and the end opposite to the end held by the reverse transfer chuck 66 is held by the unloading chuck 17 of the first work loader 4. The end on the other side is gripped by the reverse receiving chuck 58.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 13 (E), both chucks 66 and 58 are changed to an upward posture Y, and are in a state of preparing for workpiece transfer with the first work loader 4 or the second work loader 6. .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, the axis of the reverse receiving chuck 58 in the upward posture Y that has been returned to the initial position after the transfer of the half-worked workpiece HW is completed, and the supply chuck 39 that faces the second work loader 6 downward. When the second work loader 6 lowers the chuck unit 36 from the state where the axis coincides with the axis, the reversal receiving is performed by the operation opposite to the case of supplying the half-worked workpiece HW from the first work loader 4 to the reversing transfer chuck 66. The supply chuck 39 can take out the half-worked workpiece HW from the chuck 58 and can deliver the half-worked workpiece HW from the reverse relay device 3 to the second work loader 6.
The half-workpiece HW is transferred (supplied) from the reverse relay device 3 to the second work loader 6, and the end gripped by the reverse receiving chuck 58 (the side gripped by the unloading chuck 17 of the first work loader 4). The end opposite to the end) is gripped by the supply chuck 39. As described above, the reverse relay device 3 reverses and transfers the half-worked workpiece HW from the first work loader 4 to the second work loader 6.

  In this work machining system, the first work loader 4, the second work loader 6, the supply pallet 7, the storage pallet 8, the reverse relay device 3, the first NC lathe 1 and the second NC lathe 2 are related by a controller (not shown). Thus, the workpiece can be exchanged as described above. The above-described control can be executed by a linked operation of a plurality of controllers or a single controller (control device).

This workpiece machining system is configured as described above. And the workpiece | work processing by this workpiece | work processing system is performed based on each step shown by FIGS. 15-17 by the action | operation of the said controller.
In the first work loader 4, as shown in FIG. 15, the chuck unit 12 is slid onto the supply pallet 7 as described above in step S <b> 1, and the unprocessed workpiece is removed from the supply pallet 7 by the supply chuck 16 in step S <b> 2. Remove NW. Next, in step S3, the chuck unit 12 is moved in front of the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 as described above, and in step S4, the support 18 (see FIG. 3) is swung by 180 degrees to carry out with the supply chuck 16 The position of the chuck 17 is changed.

Next, in step S5, the unprocessed workpiece NW is supplied to the main spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 from the supply chuck 16 whose posture is rearwardly changed. After the supply is completed, the support 18 is swung by 180 degrees in step S6. 16 and the position of the carry-out chuck 17 are exchanged. Next, the chuck unit 12 is slid again on the supply pallet 7 as described above in step S7, and the unprocessed workpiece NW for next processing is taken out from the supply pallet 7 by the supply chuck 16 in step S8.
Next, in step S9, the chuck unit 12 is moved in front of the spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 as described above, and in step S10, the half-worked workpiece HW from the spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 by the unloading chuck 17 as described above. Take out. On the other hand, the first NC lathe 1 can start machining since the supply of the unmachined workpiece NW to the spindle 1A is completed at the start of step S6 (end of step S5).

  However, since the semi-worked workpiece HW is removed from the spindle 1A in step S10, the machining is performed from the start time of step S6 to the end time of step S9. Next, on the first work loader 4 side, the support 18 is swung 180 degrees as step S11, the positions of the supply chuck 16 and the carry-out chuck 17 are switched, and the posture is switched backward as described above as step S12. The unprocessed workpiece NW is supplied from the supplied supply chuck 16 to the spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1.

  Next, in step S13, the chuck unit 12 is moved onto the reverse relay device 3 as described above, and in step S14, the reverse chuck 66 of the reverse relay device 3 is semi-processed by the carry-out chuck 17 whose posture is changed downward. Deliver work HW. Next, in step S15, the support 18 is swung by 180 degrees, the positions of the supply chuck 16 and the carry-out chuck 17 are switched, and in step S16, the chuck unit 12 is slid onto the supply pallet 7 as described above.

Next, in step S17, the unprocessed workpiece NW for the next machining is taken out from the supply pallet 7 by the supply chuck 16, and the chuck unit 12 is moved forward of the spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 as described above in step S18. Thereafter, the process returns to step S10. While the unprocessed workpiece NW for the next machining is supplied to the main spindle 1A in step S12, the steps S10 to S18 are repeated until the unprocessed workpiece NW on the supply pallet 7 is finished.
On the other hand, the first NC lathe 1 can start machining since the supply of the unmachined workpiece NW to the spindle 1A is completed at the start of step S13 (end of step S12). However, since the semi-machined workpiece HW is taken out from the spindle 1A in step S10 that returns from step S18, machining is performed from the start time of step S13 to the end time of step S18.

As described above, the first work loader 4 becomes free after delivering the half-worked workpiece HW to the reverse relay device 3 in step S14. For this reason, after the half-worked workpiece HW has been delivered to the reversing relay device 3, the reversing relay device 3 delivers the half-worked workpiece to the second work loader 6, the unfinished workpiece NW machining work by the first NC lathe 1, or In parallel with the machining operation of the semi-machined workpiece HW by the second NC lathe 2, the supply operation of the semi-machined workpiece HW to the spindle 1A of the first NC lathe 1 such as taking out the unmachined workpiece NW for the next machining can be started. .
Note that the replacement work of the chucks 16 and 17 in steps S6 and S15 only needs to be completed before the unloading of the unprocessed workpiece NW in step S8 or S17 is started, and therefore, when step S6 and step S7 are interchanged, It is also conceivable that step S15 and step S16 are interchanged, or the chuck unit 12 is moved on the supply pallet 7 and the chucks 16 and 17 are exchanged.

On the other hand, on the reverse relay device 3 side, as shown in FIG. 16, at the end of the above-described step S14, the reverse transfer chuck 66 completes the reception of the half-worked workpiece HW as step S21, and the operation is started. In S22, both the reverse transfer chuck 66 and the reverse receiving chuck 58 are changed to the horizontal posture X.
Next, in step S23, the reverse receiving chuck 58 is slid as described above, and the half-work workpiece HW is transferred from the reverse passing chuck 66 to the reverse receiving chuck 58, and the workpiece between the reverse passing chuck 66 and the reverse receiving chuck 58 is transferred. Give and receive.
Next, in order to deliver the half-worked workpiece HW to the supply chuck 39 of the second work loader 6 as step S24, the reverse receiving chuck 58 is changed to the upward posture Y and the half-worked workpiece HW from the first work loader 4 is changed. For receiving, the reverse transfer chuck 66 is changed to the upward posture Y.

Thereafter, steps S21 to S24 are repeated until the delivery of the half-worked workpiece HW from the first workpiece loader 4 is completed. The reverse relay device 3 is set to execute steps S21 to S24 from the start time of step S14 in the operation of the first work loader 4 to the end time of step S13.
In the second work loader, the operation is started at the end of the posture change to the upward posture Y in the above-described step S24, particularly as shown in FIG. 17, and as shown in FIG. 36 is slid onto the reverse relay device 3, and the supply chuck 39 receives the half-worked workpiece HW from the reverse receiving chuck 58 of the reverse relay device 3 in step S32.
Next, in step S33, the chuck unit 36 is moved in front of the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2 as described above, and in step S34, the support 38 is swung by 180 degrees, and the positions of the supply chuck 39 and the carry-out chuck 37 are switched. .

Next, in step S35, the half-worked workpiece HW is supplied from the supply chuck 39 whose posture is changed backward to the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2, and after the supply is completed, the support 38 is swung by 180 degrees and supplied in step S36. The positions of the chuck 39 and the carry-out chuck 37 are exchanged.
In step S37, the chuck unit 36 is slid again on the reverse relay device 3 as described above. In step S38, the half-work workpiece HW is received from the reverse receiving chuck 58 of the reverse relay device 3 by the supply chuck 39.
Next, in step S39, the chuck unit 36 is moved in front of the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2 as described above, and in step S40, the machining completed work FW from the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2 by the discharge chuck 37 is performed as described above. Take out.

On the other hand, the second NC lathe 2 can start machining since the supply of the semi-machined workpiece HW to the spindle 2A has been completed at the start time of step S36 (end time of step S35). However, since the machining completed workpiece FW is taken out from the spindle 2A in step S40, machining is performed from the start time of step S36 to the end time of step S39.
Next, on the second work loader 6 side, the support 36 is rotated 180 degrees as step S41, the positions of the supply chuck 39 and the carry-out chuck 37 are switched, and the posture is switched backward as described above as step S42. The half-worked workpiece HW is supplied from the supply chuck 39 to the spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2.
Next, in step S43, the chuck unit 36 is moved onto the storage pallet 8 as described above, and in step S44, the processed workpiece FW is stored in the storage pallet 8 by the unloading chuck 37 whose posture is changed downward. Next, in step S45, the support 36 is swung by 180 degrees, the positions of the supply chuck 39 and the carry-out chuck 37 are switched, and in step S46, the chuck unit 36 is slid onto the reverse relay device 3 as described above.

Next, in step S47, the half-work workpiece HW for next machining is taken out from the reverse receiving chuck 58 of the reverse relay device 3 by the supply chuck 39, and in step S48, the chuck unit 36 is moved in front of the spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2 as described above. Move to. Thereafter, the process returns to step S40, and the steps S40 to S48 are performed until the supply of the half-worked workpiece HW from the reverse relay device 3 is completed while the half-worked workpiece HW for the next machining is supplied to the spindle 2A in step S42. repeat.
On the other hand, the second NC lathe 2 can start machining since the supply of the semi-machined workpiece HW to the spindle 2A is completed at the start time of step S43 (end time of step S42). However, since the machining completed workpiece FW is taken out from the main spindle 2A in step S40 returning from step S48, machining is performed from the start time of step S43 to the end time of step S48.

As described above, the second work loader 6 becomes free after delivering the half-worked workpiece HW to the spindle 2A in step S42. Therefore, in parallel with the machining operation of the semi-machined workpiece HW by the second NC lathe 2 after the semi-machined workpiece HW is supplied to the spindle 2A, the machining work FW is stored in the storage pallet 8 or the half for the next machining. The supply operation of the half-worked workpiece HW to the spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2 such as the removal of the workpiece HW can be started.
Note that the replacement work of the chucks 39 and 37 in steps S36 and S45 only needs to be completed before the removal of the half-worked workpiece HW in step S38 or S47 is started, and therefore, when step S36 and step S37 are interchanged, A case where step S45 and step S46 are interchanged, or a case where the chuck unit 36 is moved on the reverse relay device 3 and the chucks 39 and 37 are exchanged may be considered.

As described above, after the first workpiece loader 4 and the second workpiece loader 6 supply the half-worked workpiece HW to the reverse relay device 3 or after feeding the half-worked workpiece HW to the main spindle 2A of the second NC lathe 2, The supply work of the unmachined workpiece NW or the half-worked workpiece HW for machining to the spindle 1A or 2A is performed in parallel with other works.
For this reason, at the end of machining of the unmachined workpiece NW by the spindle 1A and at the end of machining of the half-worked workpiece HW by the spindle 2A, the workpiece for the next machining can be held in front of the spindle 1A and the spindle 2A and waited. As a result, the finished workpiece can be carried out in a short time and smoothly by the chuck units 12 and 36 waiting in front of the spindles 1A and 2A, and the workpiece for the next machining can be smoothly and quickly carried out in the spindle 1A. , 2A, thereby improving the processing efficiency.

The workpiece transfer between the first work loader 4 and the spindle 1A or the reverse transfer chuck 66 and the workpiece transfer between the second work loader 6 and the spindle 2A or the reverse receiving chuck 58 are the longitudinal movement detecting means 21. Further, it is checked by the position detection of the longitudinally moving frame 13b and the longitudinally moving frame 13c by the longitudinal movement detecting means 23, and the above-mentioned workpiece transfer mistake can be detected.
Also, the transfer of the half-worked workpiece HW between the reverse transfer chuck 66 and the reverse receiving chuck 58 in the reverse relay device 3 is checked by the position detecting means. For example, when the transfer of the half-worked workpiece HW is normally performed, By configuring so that only the right proximity sensor 55R detects the detection protrusion 60R, it is possible to easily detect an exchange error of the half-worked workpiece HW.

  In the present invention, since the reverse relay device 3 is unitized as described above, it can be easily mounted on the same NC lathe as the first NC lathe 1, and two or more NC lathes are arranged in parallel. By arranging the reversing relay device 3 between the NC lathes, a workpiece machining system in which two or more NC lathes are arranged side by side can be easily configured.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to the above description.
For example, it is possible to construct the present system by arranging the reverse relay device between adjacent spindles of a machine tool such as a multi-spindle type lathe in which a plurality of spindles are arranged in parallel. Thereby, space saving and cost reduction can be achieved.

  The present invention can be widely applied to a workpiece machining system for machining workpieces while delivering workpieces between a plurality of spindles. In addition to a workpiece machining system including a single workpiece machine having a plurality of spindles, a plurality of workpiece machining systems are provided. The present invention can also be applied to a work system including a work processing machine. The present invention is not limited to a workpiece processing system that performs plastic processing such as workpiece cutting, polishing, and drilling, but can also be applied to a workpiece processing system that performs other processing such as assembly processing.

It is a front view concerning one embodiment of a work processing system of the present invention. It is a top view concerning one embodiment of a work processing system of the present invention. It is a side surface schematic diagram of the chuck unit of the 1st work loader. It is the side surface schematic diagram which shows the taking-out process of the unprocessed workpiece | work from a supply pallet. It is a schematic side view showing a process of supplying an unmachined workpiece to the spindle of the first NC lathe. It is a schematic side view showing a process of taking out a semi-machined workpiece from the main spindle of the first NC lathe. It is a schematic side view showing a process of taking out a workpiece that has been machined from the spindle of a second NC lathe. It is the side schematic diagram which shows the accommodation process of the process completion workpiece | work to a storage pallet. It is a front view of a reverse relay apparatus part. It is a top view of a reverse relay apparatus. It is a figure explaining the procedure of the reversal delivery of the workpiece | work in a reversing relay apparatus, (A) is a front view which shows the horizontal attitude | position of a reversing receiving chuck and a reversing passing chuck in a reversing relay apparatus, (B) is a reversal receiving chuck reverse | reversing It is a principal part front view which shows the state which adjoined to the delivery chuck | zipper side. It is a schematic side view showing a process of supplying a half-worked workpiece to the reverse transfer chuck. It is a schematic side view showing a workpiece transfer process between the reverse receiving chuck and the reverse transfer chuck. It is a schematic side view showing the process of supplying a semi-machined work to the second work loader. It is a schematic diagram which shows the operation | movement flow of a 1st work loader. It is a schematic diagram which shows the operation | movement flow of a reverse relay apparatus. It is a schematic diagram which shows the operation | movement flow of a 2nd work loader.

Explanation of symbols

1 First NC lathe (lathe)
1A Spindle 2 2nd NC lathe (lathe)
2A Spindle 3 Reverse relay device (relay device)
4 First work loader (work feeding / unloading device)
6 Second work loader (work supply device)
16 Supply chuck 17 Unloading chuck 37 Unloading chuck 39 Supply chuck 58 Reverse receiving chuck (work holding means)
66 Reverse transfer chuck (work holding means)
NW Raw workpiece (work)
HW Semi-machined work (work)
FW Machining completed work (work)
X Upward posture (work transfer posture)
Y landscape orientation (relay posture)

Claims (6)

A spindle equipped with a chuck for gripping the workpiece to be machined in a horizontal orientation is provided adjacent to it, and a workpiece transfer device that feeds and unloads the workpiece with respect to this spindle is provided corresponding to each spindle. In addition, in a workpiece machining system provided with a relay device that receives a workpiece that has been machined on one spindle from one workpiece conveyance device and delivers it to the other workpiece conveyance device ,
The relay device includes a workpiece holding unit that exchanges the workpiece in a vertical orientation with both the workpiece transfer devices,
The workpiece transfer device is
Two gripping portions for gripping the workpiece in a vertical posture and a horizontal posture; and posture changing means for simultaneously changing the postures of both workpieces so that the postures of the workpieces gripped by both gripping portions are interchanged with each other,
One gripping part receives an unmachined workpiece in a vertical orientation and transports it to the spindle, and the other gripping part receives a machined workpiece from the spindle in a lateral orientation, and then changes the posture to make an unmachined workpiece Is transferred to the main spindle, and is configured to transfer and receive a processed workpiece that has been turned vertically by the posture change in a vertical posture,
A workpiece machining system characterized by   The relay device includes a pair of workpiece holding portions on both sides of one of the two adjacent spindles and the other spindle side, and a workpiece that inverts the workpiece between the pair of workpiece holding portions. The workpiece processing system according to claim 1, further comprising a reversing unit and a workpiece transfer unit that allows the reversed workpiece to be transferred between the pair of workpiece holding units. The work reversing means includes holding part rotating means for rotating the pair of work holding parts in a direction approaching and separating from each other, and the work transfer means relatively approaches the pair of work holding parts. A holding part advance / retreat means for moving forward / backward in a direction to move and a direction to separate,
The workpiece holding portion is rotated by the holding portion rotating means to change the posture of the workpiece between a vertical posture and a horizontal posture, and the workpiece holding portions are moved closer to each other by the holding portion advance / retreat moving means. Transferring the workpiece in a lateral orientation between the pair of workpiece holders;
The workpiece machining system according to claim 2, wherein:   The workpiece machining system according to claim 1, wherein the spindle is a spindle of a plurality of machine tools provided side by side. 5. The workpiece machining system according to claim 1, further comprising a control device that controls each of the following operations independently when machining workpieces sequentially with two adjacent spindles. 6.
(1) After delivering the workpiece to be machined to the one spindle, the operation of one workpiece transfer device that prepares the workpiece to be machined next to the one spindle, and machining that has been taken out from the one spindle After the workpiece is transferred to the workpiece holding portion of the relay device, the operation of one workpiece transfer device that prepares the workpiece to be processed next with respect to the one spindle, or the machining that has been taken out from the one spindle Operation of one workpiece transfer device that delivers the workpiece to the workpiece holding unit of the relay device (2) After the workpiece to be processed is supplied by one workpiece transfer device, the workpiece is processed by the one spindle Operation (3) The operation of the other workpiece transfer device that receives the workpiece processed by the one main spindle from the relay device and delivers the workpiece to the other main spindle, or the other The operation of the other work conveying device that takes out the work processed by the main spindle from the other main spindle and conveys it to a predetermined position (4) of the other main spindle that processes the work supplied by the other work conveying device Operation (5) Operation of the relay device that prepares to transfer the workpiece received from one workpiece transfer device to the other workpiece transfer device   6. The workpiece machining system according to claim 5, wherein the operation of the relay device of (5) includes an operation of inverting the workpiece.

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