JPH0379145B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workpiece processing management device for a lathe, which is suitable for application when a workpiece is carried into a machine tool, processed, and carried out by a robot.

(b) Background of the technology Recently, robots have been used to transport unprocessed workpieces to machine tools, perform predetermined processing, and then transport the processed workpieces out of the machine tool, making it possible to create a wide variety of products without any human intervention. Proposals have been made to continuously process various workpieces.

In such a case, from various works supplied by a work supply means such as a conveyor unit,
The problem is how to select an operation program that corresponds to each workpiece, and it has been desired to develop a device that can make such a selection.

Additionally, in order to identify the workpieces randomly placed on a pallet by an operator, it is possible to identify the shape of the workpiece and read and execute an operation program corresponding to the shape of the workpiece. If the work is identified by moving the work to a specially provided work identification position, the work identification operation takes time, which not only increases the overall work processing time, but also
This requires a mechanism to move the workpiece between the normal transport position and the identification position, which has the drawback of increasing the size of the entire apparatus.

Furthermore, in the past, a dot and a limit switch driven by the dot have generally been used to identify the shape of a workpiece, but in this method, a set of dots is selected corresponding to a specific dimension to be identified. and a limit switch are required,
Although this is not a problem for a specialized machine that processes several types of workpieces, when applied to a general-purpose lathe that processes various types of workpieces with various diameters, the workpiece identification mechanism becomes unnecessarily complicated and is completely impractical. .

Moreover, many of the workpieces machined on general-purpose lathes are usually cylindrical, and simply measuring the material diameter of the workpiece using a limit switch, etc., not only makes it impossible to accurately measure the material diameter, but also makes it impossible to measure the material diameter accurately. Judgment is often difficult when there are workpieces with different lengths.

Furthermore, there are usually a variety of workpieces at the site where a general-purpose lathe is used, and workers may accidentally place workpieces on the pallet that are not intended to be machined. There was a desire to develop a workpiece management device for lathes that could handle this without interruption.

(c) Purpose of the Invention In view of the above circumstances, the present invention eliminates the need to move the workpieces to a special workpiece identification position when identifying the workpieces to be processed, and uses a simple identification mechanism to randomly place the workpieces on a pallet. It is an object of the present invention to provide a workpiece processing management device for a lathe that can discriminate various types of workpieces having various material dimensions and execute an operation program corresponding to the discriminated workpieces.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a workpiece processing management device for a lathe that is capable of accurately measuring the dimensions of a material and that can continue processing even if a nonconforming workpiece that cannot be machined is discovered. It is intended for a different purpose.

(d) Structure of the Invention That is, the present invention has a program memory storing a plurality of operation programs corresponding to the workpieces to be machined, a plurality of pallets on which the workpieces can be mounted, and a system for positioning the workpieces at a predetermined gripping position. a handling robot having a handling means for loading and unloading the workpieces on the pallet,
In an apparatus provided with a lathe for processing a workpiece carried in by the handling robot based on the operation program, a first lathe that stores a material diameter and a material length of the workpiece corresponding to the operation program stored in the program memory; A second memory is provided for storing the state of the workpieces on each pallet as state information, and the diameter of the workpiece while it is mounted on the pallet is detected at the workpiece gripping position. A workpiece diameter detection means that outputs an analog voltage corresponding to the workpiece diameter is provided at the workpiece gripping position to detect the length of the workpiece that is still mounted on the pallet and output an analog voltage corresponding to the workpiece length. A workpiece length detection means for outputting a voltage is provided, a workpiece diameter calculation circuit is provided for calculating the workpiece diameter of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position based on the analog voltage output from the workpiece diameter detection means, and the workpiece length is A workpiece length calculation circuit is provided to calculate the workpiece length of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position based on the analog voltage output from the detection means, and the workpiece diameter calculated by the workpiece diameter calculation circuit and the workpiece length calculation circuit The calculated workpiece length is compared with the workpiece material diameter and material length stored in the first memory means to determine whether or not an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory. A motion program existence determining means is provided, and when the motion program existence determining means determines that a motion program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory, the corresponding motion program is stored in the program memory. A robot control means is provided which instructs the handling robot to carry the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position into and out of the lathe based on the corresponding operation program; A lathe control means is provided for controlling machining of the carried-in workpiece based on the operation program, and the operation program existence determination means determines that the operation program corresponding to the workpiece is not stored in the program memory. is provided with state information storage means for storing the determination result in the second memory means as state information corresponding to the workpiece, and the state information of the plurality of pallets is determined based on the state information in the second memory means. A pallet control means is provided for controlling the positioning operation for the workpiece gripping position so as not to be performed for a workpiece for which it is determined that the operation program corresponding to the workpiece is not stored in the program memory.

(e) Examples of the invention Examples of the invention will be described below based on the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a numerically controlled lathe to which the present invention is applied; Fig. 2 is a front view of the conveyor unit of the robot shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a control of the robot shown in Fig. 1. It is a block diagram.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 1 has a main body 3, which constitutes a handling means together with a main arm 5, a sub-arm 6, and a hand 7, which will be described later, on the front side of a numerically controlled lathe 2, which is a machine tool, in the directions of arrows A and B. A main arm 5 is provided on the main body 3 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows E and F and extendable and retractable in the directions of arrows C and D.
A sub-arm 6 is provided on the main arm 5 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows G and H, and a hand 7 is provided on the sub-arm 6 in a detachable manner.

On the other hand, a conveyor unit 9 is installed on the left side of the main body 3 in FIG. have. As shown in FIG. 2, on the main body 9b, a large number of endlessly connected pallets 9a are provided so as to be movable in the directions of arrows I and J. It has a unique palette number PANO. Further, a workpiece measuring device 10 serving as a workpiece identifying means is provided at the robot gripping position X of the conveyor unit 9, and the measuring device 10 has contacts 11 and 12, as shown in FIG. . contact 1
1 is a workpiece 32 mounted on a pallet 9a.
The contactor 12 is provided movably in the directions of arrows M and N, which are the length directions, and the contactor 12 is moved in the directions of arrows P and N, which are the radial directions of the workpiece 32 mounted on the pallet 9a.
It is provided movably in the Q direction. Further, racks 13 and 15 are formed on the contacts 11 and 12, and variable resistors 16 and 15 are formed on the racks 13 and 15, respectively.
Pinion gears 16b and 17b attached to the tips of the 17 shafts 16a and 17a are in mesh with each other. A/D converters 19 and 20 are connected to the variable resistors 16 and 17, a work length calculation circuit 21 is connected to the A/D converter 19, and a work diameter calculation circuit 22 is connected to the converter 20.
is connected. A workpiece determination section 23 is connected to the workpiece length calculation circuit 21 and the workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22. A main control unit 26 is connected to the workpiece determination unit 23 via a bus line 25, and a program memory 2 is connected to the main control unit 26 via a bus line 25.
7. Work palette memory 29, lathe control section 4
0, a conveyor control section 30, a hand control section 31, a keyboard 33, etc. are connected.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the numerically controlled lathe 2 is provided with a chuck 2a that is rotatably driven and attached to the main shaft, and a door 2b that is attached to the machine body.
It is provided so as to be openable and closable in the directions of arrows K and L by an air cylinder 2e provided above d.

Since the robot 1 etc. has the above configuration, it is possible to carry the workpiece 32 to the numerically controlled lathe 2.
When carrying out the work, first, unprocessed workpieces 32 having an overall cylindrical shape to be processed are placed randomly on the pallet 9a of the conveyor unit 9 as shown in FIG. Next, the main controller 26 is instructed to start carrying the work 32 into and out of the lathe 2 via the keyboard 33 . Then, the main control section 26 drives the conveyor control section 30 and performs a positioning operation to sequentially move and position the pallets 9a to the robot gripping position X.

In this way, when the pallet 9a carrying the workpiece 32 to be processed first is positioned at the gripping position X,
The contact 12 of the workpiece measuring device 10 is moved in the direction of the arrow Q, with the tip 12a contacting the side surface 32a of the workpiece 32, and the workpiece 32 is further pressed and moved by the contactor 12, and is provided on the opposite side of the contactor 12. It protrudes until it comes into contact with the abutment guide 14. After the abutting guide 14 prevents further protrusion in the Q direction, the contact 11 starts descending in the N direction, comes into contact with the upper surface 32b of the workpiece 32, and stops. When the contacts 11 and 12 move in the N and Q directions, the variable resistors 16 and 17 are moved through the racks 13 and 15 and the pinion gears 16b and 17b.
The shafts 16a, 17a rotate by an angular amount corresponding to the amount of movement of each contactor 11, 12, and the resistors 16,
The output voltages V _OUT2 and V _OUT1 of No. 17 also change accordingly. That is, the output voltage of resistors 16 and 17
V _OUT2 and V _OUT1 are the butting guide 1 of the workpiece 32
4 and the contact tip 12a, hence the diameter D of the workpiece 32, and the distance L between the workpiece mounting surface 9d of the pallet 9a and the contact tip 11a.
2. Therefore, the length LH of the workpiece 32 changes here. Note that the diameter D and length LH of the workpiece are measured by variable resistors 16 and 17 using the analog output voltages V _OUT2 and V _OUT1 , so the measured values are continuous and cannot be measured using a dog or limit switch. As shown in the figure, the measured values are not intermittent, and even slight differences in workpiece dimensions can be detected in the form of fluctuations in the output voltages V _OUT2 and V _OUT1 , making extremely accurate measurements possible.

The output voltages V _OUT2 and V _OUT1 are output from the A/D converter 19,
20, the analog value is converted into a digital value, and the workpiece length calculation circuit 21 and workpiece diameter calculation circuit 2
The circuits 21 and 22 calculate and determine the distances L2 and L1 corresponding to the voltage values from the output voltages V _OUT2 and V _OUT1 converted into digital values, and output the distances L2 and L1 to the work determining section 23 . The workpiece determination unit 23
Based on the input distances L1 and L2, that is, the diameter D and length LH as discrimination data of the workpiece 32,
Search program memory 27.

In the program memory 27, all the operation programs PRO executed by the robot 1 and the lathe 2 are stored.
Each workpiece type is stored with a program number PNO, and each operation program PRO
Identification data IDT such as the length LHW and diameter DW of the unprocessed workpiece 32 to be processed by the program PRO are stored therein.
Therefore, the workpiece determination section 23 determines whether each program PRO
Identification data IDT such as inner length LHW and diameter DW
and the discrimination data such as the length LH and diameter D of the unprocessed workpiece 32 on the pallet 9a measured by the workpiece measuring device 10, and if there is a program in the memory 27 that matches them, then , notifies the main control unit 26 of the program number PNO of the program PRO.

In response to this, the main control unit 26 stores the program PRO corresponding to the program number PNO in the memory 2.
7 and instructs the hand control unit 31 to execute the loading/unloading operation of the workpiece 32 to the lathe 2 based on the program PRO, and further reads out the measured unprocessed workpiece 3 in the workpiece pallet memory 29.
Pallet number of pallet 9a loaded with 2
At the address corresponding to PANO, a flag FLG (displayed as "M" in the figure) indicating that processing is in progress is set, and a flag FLG (displayed as "U" in the figure) indicating unprocessed is set.

The work 32 is carried into the lathe 2 by rotating the main body 3 of the robot 1 in the direction A to position the hand 7 at the gripping position X, and moving the main arm 5 in the direction C, as shown in FIG. The workpiece 3 measured by the workpiece measuring device 10 on the pallet 9a
2 by the hand 7, and further move the arm 5 to D.
At the same time, the main body 3 is rotated in the B direction. Note that when the hand 7 is operated, the contacts 11 and 12 of the workpiece measuring device 10 and the abutting guide 1
Since the hand 4 is retracted to a position where it does not interfere with the hand 7, the hand 7 can smoothly grip the unprocessed work 32 on the pallet 9a.

When the main body 3 rotates in the B direction, the main arm 5 is rotated in the E direction, and the hand 7 is moved to the workpiece 3.
2, the workpiece 3 is introduced into the lathe through the door 2b which is opened by the cylinder 2e, and the workpiece 3
2 and chuck 2a face each other. In this state, the main arm 5 is moved in the C direction to hold the workpiece 26 held by the hand 7 on the chuck 2a. When the chuck 2a holds the workpiece 26, the main arm 5 moves in the D direction,
The hand 7 is rotated in the direction F and the hand 7 is retracted from the body of the lathe 2. Then, the air cylinder 2e is driven to close the door 2b in the K direction, and the main control section 26 performs machining work on the workpiece 26 held by the chuck 2a via the lathe control section 40 based on the operation program PRO. .

When the machining is completed, the door 2b opens, the main arm 5 rotates in the E direction, and the sub arm 6
rotates 180° in the G direction, and main arm 5 further rotates in the C direction.
move in the direction. At this time, the hand 7 picks up the workpiece 3 that has been processed on the opposite side from when the workpiece was brought in.
, and return the machined workpiece 32 to the pallet 9a on which the workpiece 32 was mounted before carrying it in, in the reverse order of the carrying-in procedure. When the workpiece 32 is returned onto the pallet 9a, a machining end signal FS is output from the hand control section 31 to the main control section 26, and in response to this, the main control section 26 stores the workpiece pallet memory 2.
9, the flag FLG of the address corresponding to the pallet number PANO of the pallet 9a on which the workpiece 32 that has been processed is loaded is set to "M" that is being processed.
The display changes from "F" to "F" which indicates processing is completed.

By the way, if the program PRO storing the identification data IDT that matches the discrimination data such as the length LH and diameter D of the raw workpiece 32 measured by the workpiece measuring device 10 does not exist in the program memory 27, In this case, the work determining section 23 determines that the work 32 on the pallet 9a is a non-conforming work for which there is no corresponding program PRO, and outputs a non-conforming determination signal JS to the main control section 26. Then, the main control section 26 immediately stores the palette memory 29.
"X" to display the non-conforming work as a flag FLG at the address corresponding to the pallet number PANO of pallet 9a on which the non-conforming work is loaded.
stand up.

When the flag FLG "X" indicating a nonconforming work is set, the main control unit 26 thereafter controls the hand control unit 31 and the conveyor control unit in a manner that ignores the pallet 9a corresponding to the pallet number PANO on which the flag FLG is set. 30, the nonconforming workpiece on the pallet 9a is sent as it is in the I or J direction without being carried into the lathe 2 by the hand 7, and the workpiece measuring device 10 immediately measures the unprocessed workpiece on the next pallet 9a. Measurement for 32 is started. The flag FLG "X" of the pallet 9a on which the non-conforming work is loaded indicates that all the machining of the work 32 other than the non-conforming work on the conveyor unit 9 has been completed, and
Since it is not cleared until a series of machining operations are completed, even if the non-conforming workpiece on the pallet 9a passes through the gripping position X again, it will not be positioned at the position Measurement by the measuring device 10 is also not performed.

Note that the above embodiment is based on the operation program PRO.
Among them, the target of the operation program PRO,
We have described the case where identification data IDT such as the length LHW and diameter DW of the raw workpiece are stored, but as long as the identification data IDT corresponds to the operation program PRO, it is not necessarily necessary to store it in the operation program PRO. Of course, it may be stored separately (therefore, in a separate memory) instead.

(f) Effect of the invention As explained above, according to the present invention, a plurality of operation programs corresponding to the workpiece 32 to be machined
It has a program memory 27 storing PRO,
A plurality of pallets 9a on which workpieces can be loaded are provided,
A handling robot 1 having handling means such as a main body 3, a main arm 5, a sub-arm 6, and a hand 7 for loading and unloading the workpieces on the pallet positioned at a predetermined workpiece gripping position is provided, and the handling robot 1 has handling means such as a main arm 5, a subarm 6, and a hand 7. In an apparatus equipped with a lathe 2 that processes a workpiece based on the operation program, the diameter and material of the workpiece, such as the diameter DW and length LHW of the unprocessed workpiece 32, correspond to the operation program stored in the program memory. A first memory means such as a program memory 27 for storing the length is provided, and a second memory such as a work pallet memory 29 is provided for storing the state of the work on each pallet as state information such as a flag FLG. , a workpiece diameter detection means is provided at the workpiece gripping position for detecting the diameter D of the workpiece still mounted on the pallet and outputting an analog voltage such as an output voltage V _OUT1 corresponding to the workpiece diameter; A workpiece length detection means is provided at the workpiece gripping position to detect the length LH of the workpiece still mounted on the pallet and output an analog voltage such as an output voltage V _OUT2 corresponding to the workpiece length. A workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22 is provided to calculate the workpiece diameter of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position based on the analog voltage output from the workpiece length detection means, and A workpiece length calculation circuit 21 is provided to calculate the workpiece length of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position, and the workpiece diameter calculated by the workpiece diameter calculation circuit, the workpiece length calculated by the workpiece length calculation circuit, and the first workpiece length calculation circuit 21 are provided. providing an operation program existence determination means for comparing the material diameter and material length of the workpiece stored in the memory means and determining whether or not an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory; When the operation program existence determining means determines that an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory, the operation program is read out from the program memory, and the operation program is adapted to the handling robot. A robot control means such as a hand control unit 31 is provided for commanding the loading and unloading of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position into and out of the lathe based on the operation program, and furthermore, the robot control means such as a hand control unit 31 is provided to command the loading and unloading of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position into the lathe, A lathe control means such as a lathe control unit 40 that controls machining of the workpiece based on the operation program is provided, and the operation program existence determination means determines that the operation program corresponding to the workpiece is not stored in the program memory. a state information storage means for storing the determination result as state information corresponding to the workpiece in the second memory means, and a state information storage means for storing the determination result as state information corresponding to the workpiece in the second memory means; A main control unit 26, a conveyor control unit 30, etc., which controls the positioning operation for the workpiece gripping position to not be performed for a workpiece for which it is determined that an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is not stored in the program memory. Since the pallet control means is provided, the various workpieces 32 mounted on the pallet 9a can be discriminated and the loading, processing, and unloading operations based on the corresponding operation program PRO can be carried out continuously without any manual intervention. This can contribute to the realization of completely unmanned work by robots. Furthermore, when setting the unprocessed workpieces 32 on the pallet, the operator can set them at random without paying any attention to the type of each workpiece and, therefore, the corresponding operation program, including its existence. Therefore, it can also contribute to a significant reduction in setup time.

In addition, the workpiece diameter detection means and workpiece length detection means can detect the diameter and workpiece length of the workpiece while it is mounted on the pallet at the workpiece gripping position. There is no need to move the workpiece to the desired position for measurement, and no mechanism for moving the workpiece is required, which not only makes it possible to easily downsize the entire device, but also shortens the cycle time of the entire process by the amount of time required for the movement. I can do it.

In addition, since the determination as to whether or not an operation program is stored is made based on two data, the material diameter and length of the workpiece, it is possible to determine the operation program for different workpieces with similar diameters or lengths. can be carried out reliably and without error. Furthermore, the material diameter and material length of the workpiece, which are normally required for the operation program during lathe machining, can be used as they are as judgment data for the operation program existence judgment means. There is no need to input special data as data, and it is possible to perform judgment operations using conventional lathe operation programs as they are.It is highly versatile, and the time required to enter judgment data is eliminated, which reduces setup time. It is also possible to shorten the time.

In addition, since the outputs of the workpiece diameter detection means and the workpiece length detection means are output as analog voltages, the measured values are continuous and not intermittent, unlike when using a dog or limit switch. , Even slight differences in workpiece dimensions can result in output voltage V _OUT2 ,
It can be detected in the form of fluctuations in V _OUT1 , and the diameter and length of different workpieces with almost the same workpiece diameter and workpiece length can be accurately measured, making it possible to accurately identify workpieces without making mistakes. It can be done.

Furthermore, based on the state information in the second memory,
A pallet control means is provided that controls the positioning operation for the work gripping position of multiple pallets so that it is not performed for a workpiece for which it is determined that the operation program corresponding to the workpiece is not stored in the program memory. Even if a non-conforming workpiece that cannot be machined and for which no operation program is stored is detected, the pallet control means will control the workpiece so that it will no longer be positioned at the workpiece gripping position, so an alarm will be issued to stop the workpiece from being machined. can be continued without interruption, and even during unmanned machining, the operation of the lathe can be continued properly, making it possible to provide a highly reliable workpiece machining control device for lathes.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a numerically controlled lathe to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a front view of the conveyor unit section of the robot shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a control block diagram of the robot shown in Fig. 1. It is. 1...Handling robot, 2...Lathe, 3
...Handling means (main body), 5... Handling means (main arm), 6... Handling means (sub arm), 7... Handling means (hand), 9a... Pallet, 22... Work diameter calculation circuit, 23 . . . Operation program existence determination means (workpiece determination section), 27 . . . Program memory,
(first memory means), 31... robot control means (hand control section), 40... lathe control means (lathe control section), 32... workpiece, X... gripping position, DW
...Material diameter (diameter), V _OUT1 , V _OUT2 ...Output voltage,
PRO……Operation program.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A program memory storing a plurality of operation programs corresponding to workpieces to be machined, a plurality of pallets on which workpieces can be mounted, and a plurality of pallets positioned on a predetermined workpiece gripping position. A handling robot having a handling means for loading and unloading a workpiece, and a lathe for machining the workpiece carried in by the handling robot based on the operation program, the operation program stored in the program memory. A first memory means is provided for storing the material diameter and material length of the workpiece corresponding to the workpiece, and a second memory is provided for storing the state of the workpiece on each of the pallets as state information, and at the workpiece gripping position, Workpiece diameter detection means is provided for detecting the diameter of the workpiece that remains mounted on the pallet and outputs an analog voltage corresponding to the workpiece diameter, and the workpiece diameter detection means that detects the diameter of the workpiece that remains mounted on the pallet and outputs an analog voltage corresponding to the workpiece diameter is provided at the workpiece gripping position. A workpiece length detecting means for detecting the length of the workpiece in a state and outputting an analog voltage corresponding to the workpiece length is provided, and the workpiece is positioned at the workpiece gripping position based on the analog voltage output from the workpiece diameter detecting means. a workpiece diameter calculation circuit that calculates the workpiece diameter of the workpiece; a workpiece length calculation circuit that calculates the workpiece length of the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position based on the analog voltage output from the workpiece length detection means; The workpiece diameter calculated by the workpiece diameter calculation circuit and the workpiece length calculated by the workpiece length calculation circuit are compared with the material diameter and material length of the workpiece stored in the first memory means, and the program memory an operation program existence determination means for determining whether or not an operation program corresponding to the workpiece is stored in the program memory; If it is determined that the corresponding operation program is read out from the program memory, and the workpiece positioned at the workpiece gripping position is carried into/out of the lathe with respect to the handling robot based on the corresponding operation program. further provided is a lathe control means for controlling machining of the workpiece carried into the lathe by the handling robot based on the operation program, and the operation program existence determination means is configured to control the processing of the workpiece carried into the lathe by the handling robot. a status information storage means for storing the determination result in the second memory means as status information corresponding to the workpiece when it is determined that the operation program corresponding to the workpiece is not stored in the second memory means; Based on the state information in the memory means of No. 2, the positioning operation of the plurality of pallets with respect to the workpiece gripping position is performed for a workpiece for which it is determined that the operation program corresponding to the workpiece is not stored in the program memory. A workpiece processing management device for a lathe, which is configured with a pallet control means for controlling the processing so as not to perform pallet processing.