JP5670260B2 - Powder compacted body conveying device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder molded body conveying apparatus that can convey a powder molded body for sintered parts extruded from a press mold while suppressing deformation and breakage.

  Various sintered parts such as a sintered gear and a sintering cam for a variable valve timing mechanism are manufactured through a compacting process of raw material powder and a sintering process of sintering the obtained powder compact.

  Among these, in a compacting process, raw material powder is shape | molded with a press die, and the powder compact obtained here is transferred to a sintering furnace. For the transfer, for example, a transport device as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below is used.

  The conveying device disclosed in Patent Document 1 grasps a powder molded body pushed out from a cavity of a press machine with a pair of opposed chuck hands, and moves and grips the chuck hand by a conveying cylinder while guiding the chuck hands with a guide. Transport body to chute position. The chute is a chute having a downward slope, and the powder compact that has been released by the chuck hand slides down on the chute and transfers to the next conveyance line.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-252504

  As described above, conventionally, a powder molded body extruded from a press die of a molding machine is gripped by a chuck hand and conveyed to a chute position. However, in this method, the powder compact may be deformed by gripping with the chuck hand, and in an extreme case, the powder compact may be damaged.

  Although a protective rubber is attached to the grip surface of the chuck hand, the above-described deformation and breakage problems still occur.

  Note that the gripping force of the chuck hand is generated by the air cylinder. When we tried to reduce the gripping force by lowering the output of the air cylinder, it was possible to transport the heavy powder compact, and in particular, the gripping was stable. In the conveyance of a powder compact with difficult burrs or in a long conveyance distance, gripping with the chuck hand was insufficient and satisfactory conveyance was not possible.

  Here, as a device that can convey a workpiece without grasping it, a device that sucks the upper surface of the workpiece with a vacuum suction pad and suspends and conveys the workpiece in this state is known. It cannot be used for conveyance of uneven powder compacts or ring-shaped powder compacts having a narrow upper surface and a sufficient adsorption area.

  In the present invention, even a powder molded body that is heavy and cannot be sucked and held on the upper surface by a vacuum suction pad can be discharged from a press die by a transport device without causing deformation or breakage due to transport. The challenge is to do so.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, a pair of chuck hands that are arranged to face each other with a powder compact extruded from a press die, an open / close drive source that opens and closes the chuck hand, and the chuck hand And a vacuum suction device including a vacuum suction pad to be attached to each of the pair of chuck hands.

  This transport device combines a chuck hand and a vacuum suction device, and can hold a powder compact mainly composed of suction. Since the side surface of the powder compact is adsorbed by the vacuum suction pad, even if the upper surface of the powder compact has irregularities that impede adsorption, or the upper surface is in a situation where a sufficient adsorption area cannot be secured, it is possible to retain the adsorption. It can be carried out.

  In addition, since the vacuum suction pad is attached to the pair of chuck hands and the powder compact is sucked from the opposed position, the suction stability is also improved as compared with the one-side suction.

  By holding mainly the suction, the gripping force by the chuck hand can be reduced compared to the conventional device (depending on the size of the powder compact, it can be close to zero). Thereby, it becomes possible to suppress deformation and breakage of the powder compact.

Preferred forms of this transport device are listed below.
i) The chuck hand is closed to a position where the tip of the vacuum suction pad protruding from the workpiece gripping surface of the chuck hand contacts the side surface of the powder compact, and in this state, the powder compact with the vacuum suction pad at the opposite position And holding the powder compact with a force obtained by adding the clamping force of the chuck hand to the suction holding force and moving it from the press die to the dispensing portion. In addition, an outer peripheral surface is also contained in the side surface of the powder compact mentioned here.
ii) A plurality of the vacuum suction pads provided on each chuck hand.
iii) A powder feeding box moving mechanism provided in the powder molding machine for loading raw material powder is used as the transfer mechanism, and the chuck hand is moved to a position where the powder feeding box moves onto the cavity of the press mold. It is designed to reach the dispensing part of the powder compact.
iv) The chuck hand is provided with a sensor for detecting that the powder compact is in a position to be held and separated from the holding position, and the operation of the chuck hand is controlled based on a detection signal from the sensor. What

  Since the conveying device having the above configuration i) adsorbs the side surface of the powder molded body with the vacuum suction pad, the upper surface of the powder molded body has irregularities that inhibit the adsorption, or the upper surface cannot secure a sufficient adsorption area. Even if it becomes, adsorption | suction holding | maintenance can be performed.

  Further, when each chuck hand is provided with a plurality of vacuum suction pads, the holding force can be applied to a wide area on the side surface of the powder molded body, and the holding stability is increased.

  In addition, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated transfer mechanism when the transfer mechanism for the powder feeding machine of the powder molding machine is used as a transfer mechanism for moving the chuck hand. In addition, since the movement of the chuck hand and the movement of the powder feeding box are simultaneously performed, the tact time can be shortened.

  Further, when the chuck hand is provided with a sensor for detecting the presence of the powder compact, a so-called chucking error by the chuck hand does not occur, and damage of the powder compact due to so-called twice gripping is prevented.

  Since the conveying device of the present invention combines the chuck hand and the vacuum suction device, it is possible to hold the powder compact mainly based on suction and assist the holding by the chuck hand. As a result, even a powder molded body that is heavy and cannot hold the upper surface by suction can be discharged from the press die by the transport device without causing deformation or damage due to transport. become.

The top view which shows one form of the conveying apparatus of the powder compact of this invention 1 is a side view of the transfer device of FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a powder compact transport apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings. The illustrated transfer apparatus 1 includes a pair of opposed chuck hands 2, 2, an opening / closing drive source 3 that opens and closes the chuck hands 2, 2, and the chuck hands 2, 2 that are formed on a press die 10. The transfer mechanism 4 that moves from the first to the discharge portion E, the vacuum suction device 5 and the sensor 6 are combined.

  One of the chuck hands 2 and 2 is fixed to the movable frame of the transfer mechanism 4 and the other is driven by the opening / closing drive source 3, and the other chuck hand opens and closes with respect to one chuck hand by the drive. Showed things. Both of these chuck hands 2 and 2 may be driven.

  A vacuum suction pad 5 a to be included in the vacuum suction device 5 is attached to the chuck hands 2 and 2. In each chuck hand 2, 2, since the powder compact A to be conveyed is a cylindrical part, each workpiece gripping surface 2 a is an arc concave along the outer periphery of the powder compact A.

  Each of the chuck hands 2, 2 is provided with three vacuum suction pads 5 a each having a tip attached with a rubber pad protruding inward from the work gripping surface 2 a of each chuck hand 2, 2. The number of vacuum suction pads 5a provided in each chuck hand 2 and 2 may be at least one, but if the number is increased, a wide area on the surface of the powder compact A can be sucked.

  The sensor 6 is a combination of a light projecting portion provided in one chuck hand 2 and a light receiving portion provided in the other chuck hand 2, and the presence of the powder compact A is detected by the sensor 6 and the chuck hand 2. Is activated. In addition, the sensor 6 detects that the powder compact A after the release of release has been reliably released, and can prevent so-called twice gripping that causes damage to the compact.

  The open / close drive source 3 for operating the chuck hands 2 and 2 includes a slider 3a, a linear slide guide 3b for guiding the slider 3a, and an air cylinder 3c for moving the slider forward and backward. The other chuck hand 2 moves in parallel. Shown what opens and closes. However, it is not limited to this. The operation of the pair of chuck hands 2 and 2 may be such that at least one of the chuck hands is opened and closed by being driven in a double-spread state.

  The transfer mechanism 4 shown here is used in combination with a moving mechanism 12 of a powder feeding box 11 provided in the powder molding machine for charging raw material powder. The moving mechanism 12 includes a movable frame 14 that is pushed and pulled by an actuator 13 and moved along a guide (not shown). The movable frame 14 includes a powder feeding box 11 and a die (see FIG. A powder scraper 15 is attached to scrape the powder falling on the upper surface of the press mold into a cavity (not shown) of the press mold.

  The exemplary conveying apparatus 1 configured as described above receives the powder compact A extruded from the cavity of the press die in the take-out part S, and moves it to the dispensing part E.

  Molding of the powder is completed with the chuck hands 2 and 2 in the position shown in FIG. Then, the upper punch 10 a of the powder molding machine is raised, and the powder compact A is pushed out from the cavity of the press die 10 to the take-out part S.

  The sensor 6 detects the powder compact A and the conveying device 1 is driven to close the chuck hands 2 and 2 to a position where the tip of the vacuum suction pad 5a contacts the side surface of the powder compact A. At this time, the gripping of the chuck hand is such that the movement end point of the slider 3a is set by a mechanical stopper (not shown) in the illustrated apparatus, and the gripping force by the chuck hand is adjusted by adjusting the position of the mechanical stopper. Can be adjusted.

  The vacuum suction pad 5a disposed oppositely holds the powder compact A at the position where the chuck hand is closed, and the clamping force by the chuck hands 2 and 2 (the force only needs to compensate for the shortage) The powder compact A is held with the added force.

  Thereafter, the held powder compact A is conveyed from the take-out part S to the discharge part E.

  When the movable frame 14 is driven by the actuator 13 and the powder feeding box 11 comes on the cavity of the press mold (position of the take-out part S), the chuck hands 2 and 2 of the transport device 1 move to the discharge part E. Then, the holding by the chuck hands 2 and 2 is released, and the powder compact A is moved to the next-stage transport line.

  The dispensing part E is provided with a chute 16 that is inclined forwardly downward, and the powder compact A that has been ungripped by the conveying device 1 slides down on the chute 16 and is conveyed to the next stage (not shown). Change to.

  In addition, in the exemplary transfer apparatus 1 that uses the moving mechanism 12 of the powder feeding box as the transfer mechanism 4, the discharged powder compact is discharged and the powder from the powder feeding box 11 is charged into the cavity in a simultaneous manner. It is. This structure is preferable because the drive source can be made common, but the movement of the chuck hand 2 holding the powder compact may be performed by providing a dedicated transfer mechanism independent of the movement mechanism 12 for the powder feeding box. I do not care.

  An example conveying device was prototyped, and a conveying test of a ring-shaped powder molded body having a diameter of about φ100 mm and a weight of about 360 g was performed. As a result, the roundness of the conveyed product (examined after sintering) is improved compared to when the powder compact is gripped and transported only by the gripping force of the work hand, and the powder compact may be broken. There wasn't.

  In addition, it tried to adsorb the powder compact only with the vacuum suction pad 5a of one chuck hand, but it could not hold stably, but the vacuum suction pad 5a was installed on both of the pair of chuck hands. Things were kept stable.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Conveying device 2 Chuck hand 2a Work holding surface 3 Opening / closing drive source 3a Slider 3b Slide guide 3c Air cylinder 4 Transfer mechanism 5 Vacuum suction device 5a Vacuum suction pad 6 Sensor 10 Press die 10a Upper punch 11 Powder supply box 12 Moving mechanism 13 Actuator 14 Movable frame 15 Falling scraper 16 Chute A Powder compact S Extracting part E Dispensing part

Claims (5)

  A pair of chuck hands (2, 2) arranged to face each other with the powder compact (A) extruded from the press die (10) in between, and an opening / closing drive source (3) for opening and closing the chuck hands (2, 2) ), A vacuum mechanism attached to each of the transfer mechanism (4) for moving the chuck hand (2, 2) from the press die (10) to the paying-out portion, and the pair of chuck hands (2, 2), respectively. A powder compact transporter having a vacuum suction device (5) including a pad (5a).   The chuck hand (2, 2) to a position where the tip of the vacuum suction pad (5a) protruded from the workpiece gripping surface (2a) of the chuck hand (2, 2) contacts the side surface of the powder compact (A). In this state, the powder compact (A) is sucked and held by the vacuum suction pad (5a) at the opposite position, and the force obtained by adding the clamping force by the chuck hand (2, 2) to the suction holding force The apparatus for conveying a powder molded body according to claim 1, wherein the powder molded body (A) is held and moved from a press die to a discharge portion.   The powder compacted article conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of the vacuum suction pads (5a) are provided in each chuck hand (2, 2).   A movement mechanism (12) of a powder feeding box (11) provided for raw material powder input in a powder molding machine is used in combination as the transfer mechanism (4), and the powder feeding box (11) of the press mold (10) is used. The conveying apparatus for a powder compact according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the chuck hand (2, 2) reaches a payout portion of the powder compact (A) at a position moved onto the cavity. .   The chuck hand (2, 2) is provided with a sensor (6) for detecting whether the powder compact (A) is in a position to be held and separated from the holding position, and based on a detection signal from the sensor. The apparatus for conveying a powder compact according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the operation of the chuck hand is controlled.

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