JP7765744B2 - Cutting device control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a cutting device. More specifically, it relates to a method for controlling a cutting device that cuts the edge surface of an anode used in electrolytic refining.

When producing electrolytic copper from copper concentrate, the electrolytic copper is produced by the following steps.
First, copper concentrate is melted in a flash furnace to produce matte, and this matte is then oxidized in a converter to produce blister copper. This blister copper is refined in a refining furnace and cast to form anodes, which are then electrolytically refined to produce electrolytic copper.

In electrolytic refining, anodes and cathodes are arranged alternately and immersed in a copper sulfate solution in a copper electrolytic cell, and the anodes and cathodes are suspended from electrodes (bus bars) that supply electricity to the anodes and cathodes.

However, as-cast anodes contain distortions and bends, making them unable to be suspended in an electrolytic cell as is. Therefore, the anodes are shaped in the anode press process (anode shaping machine) of the anode correction equipment. In this anode press process, the anode's verticality is corrected, and the underside of the anode's lug, which comes into contact with the busbar, is leveled using a cutting device, and any casting burrs on the lug are removed. Specifically, the underside of the anode's lug is cut and leveled using a milling cutter or similar tool on the cutting device (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The cutting device is also equipped with a milling cutter or similar tool that cuts the surface that intersects with the underside of the anode's lug (the surface located on the front or back side of the anode, sometimes referred to as the lug plane). This milling cutter or similar tool simultaneously cuts the underside of the anode's lug and the lug plane of the anode, removing any casting burrs.

During the anode pressing process, the thickness of the anode's ears is also measured, and the measured thickness may deviate from a preset thickness (hereinafter referred to as the normal thickness). For example, the thickness of the anode's ears may be thicker than the normal thickness. The milling cutter or other tool used to cut the anode's ear surface is adjusted to a predetermined depth of cut (i.e., the amount that allows for proper removal of casting burrs), assuming that the anode's ears are of normal thickness. Therefore, if the thickness of the anode's ears becomes thicker than the normal thickness, the contact condition of the milling cutter or other tool on the cutting device with the anode's ear surface may change, potentially increasing the cutting resistance when cutting the anode's ear surface. If the cutting resistance when cutting the anode's ear surface increases, an overload error may occur in the servo amplifier that supplies power to the motor of the milling cutter or other tool. This can lead to a rough cutting surface.

Therefore, when the thickness of the anode ear deviates from the normal thickness, the feed speed of the cutting device is slowed down to reduce cutting resistance in order to prevent an overload abnormality in the servo amplifier. Specifically, when a notification is received that the thickness of the anode ear deviates from the normal thickness, the operator operates a control panel or the like to switch the feed speed of the cutting device from the normal feed speed to a slower state.

On the other hand, in order to improve the operating rate of anode straightening equipment, it is desirable to speed up the cutting of the underside and flat surface of the anode's lug. In other words, it is desirable to perform cutting by setting the feed speed of the cutting device as fast as possible. However, when cutting the flat surface of the lug at a high feed speed, an overload error in the servo amplifier is likely to occur even if the thickness of the anode's lug is within the normal range. For this reason, in actual operation, in order to prevent an overload error in the servo amplifier, the feed speed is forcibly slowed down during cutting (forced low-speed operation) without using the feed speed switching control described above.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 60-134510

However, even when forced slow-speed operation is implemented, an overload error can occur in the servo amplifier depending on the thickness of the anode ear. If an overload error occurs in the servo amplifier during forced slow-speed operation, the cutting device will stop and the anode straightening equipment will immediately shut down. If the anode straightening equipment immediately shuts down, restarting automatic operation requires adjustment work, such as manually operating each device of the anode straightening equipment individually to move it to its origin, resulting in increased worker workload and repair costs. Furthermore, frequent shutdowns of automatic operation will reduce the availability of the anode straightening equipment, causing delays in operation.

In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide a cutting device control method that can prevent a decrease in the operating rate of anode straightening equipment.

The cutting device control method of the first invention is a method for controlling a cutting device that cuts an anode ear portion by comparing the measured thickness of the anode ear portion with a predetermined allowable value for the anode ear thickness, and setting the feed speed of the cutting device to a reference speed if the measured thickness of the anode ear portion is below the allowable value, and controlling the feed speed of the cutting device to a speed slower than the reference speed if the measured thickness of the anode ear portion exceeds the allowable value.The method has a normal operation mode in which the feed speed of the cutting device is switched between the reference speed and a low speed based on the measured thickness of the anode ear portion, and a forced low-speed operation mode in which the feed speed of the cutting device is forcibly operated at a low speed, and is characterized in that when in the forced low-speed operation mode, if the load applied to the cutting device exceeds a predetermined value, the feed speed of the cutting device is switched to a very slow speed slower than the low speed.
The control method for a cutting device of the second invention is characterized in that, in the first invention, when the measured value of the thickness of the anode ear portion exceeds a limit value greater than the allowable value in forced low-speed operation mode, the feed speed of the cutting device is switched from low speed to very slow speed.
A third aspect of the present invention is a method for controlling a cutting device according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, characterized in that the normal operation mode and the forced low-speed operation mode are switched in response to an external input from an external input means operated by an operator.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the operating state of the cutting device can be maintained in an appropriate state according to the operating state, so that the stopping of the cutting device due to overload can be effectively prevented, and therefore, a decrease in the availability rate of the anode straightening equipment due to the stopping of the cutting device can be prevented.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the speed is switched between slow and slow based on the measured thickness of the ear portion of the anode, so that the cutting device can be effectively prevented from stopping due to overload.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the operator can switch between the normal operation mode and the forced low-speed operation mode by operating the external input means, which makes it easier to prevent overloading of the cutting device.

FIG. 2 is a schematic control flow diagram of a control method for the cutting device of the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a cutting equipment 1. FIG. 3 is a view seen from the X direction in FIG. 2 .

The cutting device control method of this embodiment is a method for controlling a cutting device that cuts the ears of anodes used in copper electrolytic smelting, and is characterized by being able to maintain the appropriate operating state of the cutting device.

<About the anode press process>
First, before describing the cutting device control method of this embodiment, an example of cutting equipment 1 that performs an anode press process employing a cutting device 10 controlled by the cutting device control method of this embodiment will be described.

In Figures 2 and 3, the symbol C indicates a chain conveyor that transports anode A. This chain conveyor C has a pair of chains Ca, Ca, and anode A is transported with its pair of lugs r, r hooked onto the pair of chains Ca, Ca.

A cutting facility 1 is provided on the movement path of the chain conveyor C.
This cutting equipment 1 includes a clamping device 2 that clamps the anode A, a lifting device 3 that moves the anode A between the position of the clamping device 2 and a pair of chains Ca, Ca, a pair of cutting devices 10, 10 that cut the pair of ears r, r of the anode A held by the clamping device 2, and a pair of moving mechanisms 5, 5 that move the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 toward and away from the anode A.

The clamp device 2 has holding portions 2a, 2a that hold the anode A from the front and back. The anode A is held by moving the holding portions 2a, 2a closer to and farther apart using a cylinder mechanism or the like.

The lifting device 3 is equipped with holding bars 3a, 3a that hook onto and hold a pair of ears r, r of the anode A. By raising and lowering these holding bars 3a, 3a using a cylinder mechanism or the like, the anode A can be moved between the position of the clamping device 2 and the pair of chains Ca, Ca.

The pair of cutting devices 10, 10 cut the lugs r of the anode A held by the clamp device 2, and are provided on both sides of the clamp device 2 (see Figure 2). Specifically, the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 are equipped with a milling cutter 12 that cuts the underside of the pair of lugs r, r of the anode A, and a milling cutter (not shown) that cuts the lug plane of the anode A, allowing the underside of the pair of lugs r, r and the lug plane ra of the anode A to be cut simultaneously. The lug plane ra of the anode A here refers to the plane that intersects with the underside of the lug r of the anode A (the plane to the side of the front or back of the anode; the plane to the left or right of the lug r of the anode A in Figure 3).

The pair of cutting devices 10 can be simultaneously moved toward and away from the anode A by a pair of moving mechanisms 5, 5 equipped with moving tables 5a on which each cutting device 10 is placed. The moving tables 5a of each moving mechanism 5 are movably mounted on rails or the like, and can be moved by a cylinder or the like mounted between the moving tables 5a and the equipment frame or the like.

With the above configuration, anode A operates as follows to cut the lower surfaces of the pair of ears r, r and the ear plane ra.

First, the anode A is suspended from a pair of chains Ca, Ca of the chain conveyor C with a fixed gap (L2 in Figure 3) between them, and is transported to the cutting equipment 1 by moving the pair of chains Ca, Ca.

When anode A reaches a predetermined position, the pair of chains Ca, Ca stop moving. The holding bars 3a, 3a of the lifting device 3 then rise, and anode A is lifted above the chain conveyor C with its pair of lugs r, r hooked onto the holding bars 3a, 3a.

When anode A eventually rises to the position of clamp device 2, it is held by holding portions 2a, 2a from the front and back. Once anode A is held by holding portions 2a, 2a of clamp device 2, holding bars 3a, 3a of lifting device 3 descend.

When the holding bars 3a, 3a of the lifting device 3 are lowered, the pair of moving mechanisms 5, 5 moves the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 toward the anode A, and the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 cuts the underside and the ear planes ra of the pair of ears r, r of the anode A, respectively. Note that the movement speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 by the pair of moving mechanisms 5, 5, i.e., the speed at which the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 approach the pair of ears r, r of the anode A, is the feed speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10. Hereinafter, the movement speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 by the pair of moving mechanisms 5, 5 will be simply referred to as the feed speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10.

When cutting of the underside and flat surface ra of the pair of ears r, r of anode A is complete, the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 are moved away from anode A by the pair of movement mechanisms 5, 5. The holding bars 3a, 3a of the lifting device 3 then rise to a position where they can hook onto the pair of ears r, r of anode A, and the clamping by the clamping device 2 is released.

When the clamping device 2 is released, the holding bars 3a, 3a of the lifting device 3 descend, and eventually the pair of lugs r, r of the anode A become caught on the pair of chains Ca, Ca of the chain conveyor C.

When the holding bars 3a, 3a of the lifting device 3 are further lowered and the anode A is suspended from the pair of chains Ca, Ca of the chain conveyor C, the pair of chains Ca, Ca of the chain conveyor C move, and the anode A is transported out of the cutting equipment 1.

<Control method of cutting device according to this embodiment>
Before being carried into the above-described cutting equipment 1, the anode A is shaped by an anode shaping machine, and during this process, the thickness of the pair of ears r, r of the anode A (the length in the left-right direction in FIG. 3 ) is measured. In the cutting equipment 1 employing the cutting device control method of this embodiment, the feed speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 is adjusted based on the measured value of the thickness of the pair of ears r, r of the anode A (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the measured value). In other words, information about the measured value is supplied to a control unit that controls the operation of the pair of moving mechanisms 5, 5, and the control unit has the function of controlling the operation of the pair of moving mechanisms 5, 5, i.e., the feed speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10, based on this measured value information.

In the anode pressing process, the thicknesses of the pair of ears r, r of the anode A are measured separately, so it is desirable to control the feed speed differently for each cutting device 10 that cuts each ear r. In other words, even for the same anode A, it is desirable to adjust the feed speed of each cutting device 10 depending on the thickness of each ear r. However, since the thicknesses of the pair of ears r, r are often roughly the same and the difference is slight, the feed speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 may be controlled using the average value of the measured thicknesses of the pair of ears r, r or one of the measured thicknesses of the pair of ears r, r as a representative value. In this case, the feed speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 will be the same.

In the following explanation, the "feed speed of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10" will be referred to simply as the "feed speed of the cutting device 10," assuming that the control unit controls the operation of the pair of movement mechanisms 5, 5 so that the feed speeds of the pair of cutting devices 10, 10 are the same.

As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit has two operating modes for the movement mechanism 5: a normal operation mode S1 and a forced low-speed operation mode S2. Switching between normal operation mode S1 and forced low-speed operation mode S2 can be performed by an operator operating a touch panel provided on the cutting equipment 1 to send a switching signal to the control unit. Switching between normal operation mode S1 and forced low-speed operation mode S2 may also be performed by the control unit based on the load factor of the cutting device 10.

First, normal operation mode S1 is a mode in which, when the measured value is equal to or less than a predetermined value (allowable value), the operation of the movement mechanism 5 is controlled so that the feed speed of the cutting device 10 is equal to the reference speed, and, when the measured value exceeds the allowable value, the operation of the movement mechanism 5 is controlled so that the feed speed of the cutting device 10 is slower than the reference speed.

On the other hand, forced low-speed operation mode S2 is a mode in which the operation of the movement mechanism 5 is controlled so that the feed speed of the cutting device 10 is kept low. In this forced low-speed operation mode S2, the feed speed of the cutting device 10 is maintained at a low speed even if the measured value is below the allowable value.

The control unit also has the function of controlling the operation of the movement mechanism 5 so that the feed speed of the cutting device 10 becomes slower than the low speed when the measured value exceeds a limit value greater than the allowable value while the movement mechanism 5 is operating in the forced low-speed operation mode S2. In other words, even when the movement mechanism 5 is operating in the forced low-speed operation mode S2, the control unit also has the function of switching the feed speed of the cutting device 10 between the low speed state and the slow speed state based on the measured value.

<Operation of the Cutting Device According to the Control Method of the Present Embodiment>
Since the control unit that controls the operation of the moving mechanism 5 has the above-mentioned functions, the feed rate of the cutting device 10 is controlled as follows: The feed rate control will be explained below based on the flow chart of FIG.

First, when operation begins, the operation of the moving mechanism 5 is normally controlled by normal operation mode S1. That is, if the measured thickness of the ear r of anode A measured during the anode pressing process is below the allowable value, the ear r of anode A is cut using the feed speed as the reference speed, and if the measured value exceeds the allowable value, the feed speed is switched from the reference speed to a low speed and the ear r of anode A is cut. Note that in normal operation mode S1, after the ear r of anode A is cut at a low feed speed, if the measured value falls below the allowable value, the feed speed is returned to the reference speed and the ear r of anode A is cut.

On the other hand, if the operator determines that the feed speed should be slowed based on the operating state of the cutting equipment 1 and the shape of the anode A to be processed, the operator operates the touch panel on the work table to switch the operation mode of the moving mechanism 5 from normal operation mode S1 to forced low-speed operation mode S2. Then, the operation of the moving mechanism 5 is controlled by forced low-speed operation mode S2. In other words, cutting of the ear portion r of the anode A is carried out at a slow feed speed, regardless of the measured thickness of the ear portion r of the anode A measured in the anode pressing process.
The operation mode may be switched so that the forced low-speed operation mode S2 is used from the start of operation.

When the operation of the moving mechanism 5 is controlled by the forced low-speed operation mode S2, if the measured value exceeds a limit value that is greater than the allowable value, the cutting device 10 may automatically stop even if the ear r of the anode A is cut at a low feed speed. Therefore, when the measured value exceeds the limit value, the feed speed of the moving mechanism 5 is controlled to switch from low speed to slow speed. This prevents the cutting device 10 from automatically stopping even when cutting the ear r of the anode A whose measured value exceeds the limit value. After cutting the ear r of the anode A at a slow feed speed, if the measured value falls below the limit value, the feed speed is returned to slow speed and the ear r of the anode A is cut.

Furthermore, if the operator determines that there will be no problems if the movement mechanism 5 is operated in normal operation mode S1 while the operation of the movement mechanism 5 is controlled by forced low-speed operation mode S2, the operator can switch the operation mode of the movement mechanism 5 from forced low-speed operation mode S2 to normal operation mode S1 by operating the touch panel on the work table.

As described above, if the control unit has the normal operation mode S1 and the forced low-speed operation mode S2 as the operating modes of the movement mechanism 5 and has the ability to switch between these modes, the operating state of the cutting device can be maintained in an appropriate state according to the operating conditions.

Furthermore, when the movement mechanism 5 is operating in forced low-speed operation mode S2, even if the measured thickness of the ear portion r of the anode A exceeds the limit value, the cutting device can be effectively prevented from stopping due to overload.

Furthermore, because operators can switch between normal operation mode S1 and forced low-speed operation mode S2 simply by inputting data from the touch panel on the control panel, it becomes easier to prevent overloading of the cutting device 10. Furthermore, because the mode can be changed without using a maintenance computer, on-site operators can easily change modes without requiring the work of a specially skilled engineer, improving the operability of the cutting device 10.

<About external input methods>
In the above example, a touch panel provided on the control panel is used as an example of the means by which the operator switches between the normal operation mode S1 and the forced low-speed operation mode S2. However, the external input means for switching modes is not particularly limited, and various known input means can be used.

<About the phenomenon that determines the mode change>
Furthermore, the phenomenon that serves as the criterion for switching the feed speed of the cutting device 10 between low and slow in the forced low-speed operation mode S2 is not limited to the measured thickness of the pair of ears r, r of the anode A. It is sufficient if the load on the cutting device 10 exceeds a predetermined value, that is, the cutting device 10 automatically stops. For example, the feed speed of the cutting device 10 in the forced low-speed operation mode S2 may be switched between low and slow based on the load current of the cutting device 10, etc. When a phenomenon such as an overload of the cutting device 10 occurs, the cutting device 10 cuts the ears r of the anode A at a slow feed speed, even if the measured thickness of the pair of ears r, r of the anode A does not exceed the above-mentioned limit value or allowable value.

It has been confirmed that the cutting device control method of the present invention can improve operational efficiency when controlling the cutting device to perform the anode press process.

When comparing the situation in which the cutting machine was controlled using a conventional control method to the situation in which automatic operation was stopped, it was found that when the cutting machine control method of the present invention was adopted, the monthly automatic operation stoppage time was reduced to approximately 14% or less on average over a three-month period.

These results confirm that controlling the cutting device using the cutting device control method of the present invention can significantly improve the operational efficiency of the anode press process.

The cutting device control method of the present invention is suitable as a method for controlling a device that cuts the ears of anodes used in copper electrolytic smelting.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Cutting equipment 2 Clamping device 3 Lifting device 5 Moving mechanism 10 Cutting device 12 Milling cutter A Anode r Ear portion ra Ear plane S1 Normal operation mode S2 Forced low-speed operation mode

Claims (3)

A method for controlling a cutting device for cutting an anode ear, comprising: comparing a measured thickness of an anode ear with a predetermined allowable thickness of the anode ear; setting the feed speed of the cutting device to a reference speed when the measured thickness of the anode ear is equal to or less than the allowable value; and setting the feed speed of the cutting device to a speed slower than the reference speed when the measured thickness of the anode ear exceeds the allowable value;
a normal operation mode in which the feed rate of the cutting device is switched between a standard rate and a slow rate based on the measured thickness of the anode ear;
a forced low-speed operation mode in which the feed rate of the cutting device is forced to be low;
A method for controlling a cutting device, characterized in that, when the load applied to the cutting device exceeds a predetermined value in a forced low-speed operation mode, the feed speed of the cutting device is switched to a very slow speed, which is slower than the low speed. In forced low speed operation mode,
2. The method for controlling a cutting device according to claim 1, wherein when the measured thickness of the ear portion of the anode exceeds a limit value that is greater than an allowable value, the feed speed of the cutting device is switched from a slow speed to a very slow speed. 3. The method for controlling a cutting device according to claim 1, wherein the normal operation mode and the forced low-speed operation mode are switched in response to an external input from an external input means operated by an operator.