Gear cutting – milling – or planing – Milling – Including means to infeed rotary cutter toward work
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-02
2001-06-05
Bishop, Steven C. (Department: 3722)
Gear cutting, milling, or planing
Milling
Including means to infeed rotary cutter toward work
C409S144000, C409S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241436
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an adjustment and/or alignment arrangement for the positioning of a toolholder relative to a toolholder mounting in machine tools. More particularly, the present invention relates to such arrangement involving a pivotal movement, with an adjustment part which cooperates with a setting part.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Toolholders, such as spindleheads having drivable or rotatably processing tools, are constructed in the turrets of turning machines, lathes or drills, for example, to facilitate off-center machining of turning parts on a turning machine, such as a machine tool. The interface or cutting point for that processing is determined between spindleheads and tool disks of tool turrets by the DIN 69880-11 (publication September 1994, page 305ff) standard. With such spindleheads, in which the tool axis of the drivable or rotatable cutting tool is identical with the central axis of the mounting bore according to the aforementioned DIN standard, and the bore is aligned parallel to the normal or vertical axis of the turning machine, it is not necessary to adjust the cutting tool. An adjustment is necessary, however, in the case of spindleheads in which the tool axis is not identical with the central axis of the mounting bores as in the aforementioned DIN standard. In these cases, for precise machining, the tool point must be aligned first along the normal or vertical axis of the machine tool, especially of a turning machine. Similarly, with the so-called counter-rotation of the spindle, the central axes of the mounting bores are arranged in a star arrangement on the tool disk of the tool turret, whereby the interior processing tools are first to be aligned parallel to the rotary axis of the turning machine.
A toolholder, for example in the form of a spindlehead, can be centered with the aid of the mounting bore, as in the cited DIN standard. Although it can be centered in axial alignment, it cannot be aligned relative to another axis extending perpendicular to the bore central axis. In that case, there are other known adjustment and/or alignment arrangements. With a known adjustment and/or alignment arrangement, such as in DE 39 29 802 C1, the toolholder includes two set screws arranged opposite one another serving as setting members. The set screws work together on an adjustment part which is arranged on the toolholder mounting. This solution has the drawback that any toolholder with any arrangement in the associated toolholder mounting is to be adjusted in the selected setting by means of the setting or adjustment screws. Modifications of the adjustment and/or alignment arrangement occur with multiple removals and insertions of the toolholder, which lead to inaccuracies. Also, the adjustment process by means of manipulation of two set screws separately from one another is not simple and is correspondingly time-consuming.
To overcome the drawbacks of this state of the art, DE 195 48 151 A1 discloses providing associated adjustment parts as an adjustment and/or alignment arrangement on both the toolholder and the toolholder mounting. The adjustment parts, upon their interconnection as form-locking elements, engage in one another without play. However, the accurate and precise fitting in one another without play requires high manufacturing cost for production of the arrangement, so that this solution turns out to be very costly.
A toolholder insert disclosed DE 31 50 355 C2 is especially for drill rods or the like with a shaft-like toolholder for a cutting insert. An adjustment sheathing is screwed onto an exterior threading of the toolholder. The adjustment sheathing engages the tool holder with a flange on the one side of a stationary collar, and with a spring ring or the like mounted on the adjustment sheathing. The toolholder is supported on the one hand on the other side of the collar and on the other hand on a collar-like detent of the adjustment sheathing. Axial tightness between structural parts is produced by the spring ring. Relative positioning by pivoting the toolholder cannot be attained with the known axial adjustment mechanism. Furthermore, the known arrangement is complicated in set-up and is expensive in production because of the plurality of parts. It is also difficult to handle.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Objects of the present invention are to provide an adjustment and/or alignment arrangement which is of simple construction and consequently of low cost, while to a great extent facilitates the desired adjustment simply and operationally securely.
The foregoing objects are basically obtained by an adjustment arrangement for pivotally positioning a toolholder relative to a toolholder mounting in a machine tool, comprising an adjustment part and a setting part coupled to the adjustment part. The setting part has a mounting housing, a guiding part receiving the adjustment part and being guided for longitudinal sliding motion in the mounting housing, an accumulator biasing the guiding part in one longitudinal direction of the sliding motion of the guiding part, and an operation part controlling the guiding part in an opposite longitudinal direction of the sliding motion of the guiding part.
With a relatively few simple structural components according to the present invention, an operationally secure adjustment and/or alignment arrangement can be realized. Highly precise, costly adaptations between the adjustment part and the setting part can be dropped. Furthermore, the setting and adjustment procedure can be undertaken effectively by means of one single operation part, which remarkably simplifies manipulation of the adjustment and/or alignment arrangement, especially in subsequent operation on the processing machines.
With the adjustment and/or alignment arrangement according to the present invention in the same type and direction of operation, the pivot adjustment movement can be carried out for the relative positioning between the toolholder and the toolholder mounting in such a manner that precise adjustment of the driving axle with the machine tool main axle, for example, the normal or vertical axis, is possible.
In one preferred embodiment of the adjustment and/or arrangement according to the present invention, the adjustment part is mounted securely on the toolholder mounting and the setting part is securely mounted on the toolholder. Furthermore, the setting part can be configured as a sliding block having an engagement point for the adjustment part. Thus, the sliding block together with the adjustment part can assume a stationary position; and the setting part with the mounting housing is moved together with the toolholder around the relevant stationary structural group. The basic machine structural parts, such as spring-biased sliding blocks provided guided in housings, are described for a tool changing device described in De 33 18 603 A1, the subject matter of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Having the accumulator formed of at least one compression spring, particularly a disk spring, has been proven to be particularly operationally secure. The spring can engage on one side of the sliding block; and the operation part in the form of an operating screw can engage on its other side.
Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, disclose a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
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patent: 19
Sahm Detlef Dieter
Wezel Rolf
Bishop Steven C.
Roylance Abrams Berdo & Goodman L.L.P.
Sauter Feinmechanik GmbH
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