Tool changing – Including machine tool or component – Rotary spindle machine tool
Patent
1991-04-23
1992-07-28
Briggs, William
Tool changing
Including machine tool or component
Rotary spindle machine tool
414736, 483 37, 483 39, B23Q 3157
Patent
active
051331284
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an exchange arm drive control system to be used in a machine tool such as a vertical quadruple spindle type machining center and, more particularly, to an exchange arm drive control system which is enabled to exchange old and new tools quickly by causing only one reciprocation of the exchange arm between the main spindle and the tool magazine.
BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY
Of the machine tools, the machining center is a highly useful one because of its composite functions. Since, however, the single spindle type has a low machinability, the double spindle type has come into practical use since 1984, and the quadruple spindle type machining center has been developed and currently used in recent years.
As the number of spindles increases the more, the multi-spindle type machining center is required to have the more tool exchange devices and tool magazines so that it is complicated. As a result, this machining center is accompanied by defects that the tool exchange cannot be speeded up and that the machine structure is large-sized.
Of these, the vertical type machining center is required to perform its machining only in one direction. Thus, it is a remarkably important subject for the machining efficiency to shorten the time period required for the tool exchange.
In order to solve this problem, a machine tool equipped with a plurality of single spindle type automatic tool exchangers has been developed. In recent years, however, there has been developed a machine tool equipped with an automatic tool exchanger having two exchange arms which can be rotated on the axis of rotation and moved upward and downward, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-27940.
Despite of these developments, however, the former has to be equipped with the automatic tool exchangers and the tool magazines according to the number of spindles so that it is defective in that the whole machine structure is complicated and large-sized. In the latter, on the other hand, the exchange arms have to make two reciprocations between the main spindle and the tool magazine so as to exchange the old and new tools so that the tool exchange time cannot be shortened, as expected. In order to solve the problem under consideration, moreover, the standby position of the exchange arms is located where their clamp pawls and the main spindle are concentric. Thus, there arises another serious defect that the exchange arms are directly influenced by the chip resulting from the machining.
Therefore, the present invention contemplates to provide a small-sized highly efficient automatic tool exchanger and accordingly a vertical multi-spindle type machining center, which gives an exchange arm the functions to clamp a tool and to move a tool holder in a Z-axis, to rotate the tool holder by 180 degrees, to turn the exchange arm by 90 degrees and position the tool holder, and to move the exchange arm on a Y-axis so that the old and new tools can be exchanged by reciprocating the exchange arm once between the main spindle and a tool magazine.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, a vertical quadruple spindle type machining center is provided with an exchange arm drive control system comprising: tool clamping and Z-axis tool holder moving means including a tool holder having totally four tool fingers capable of clamping individually two old and new tools, and a lift cylinder disposed below the tool holder for moving said tool holder upward and downward on a Z-axis on a spline shaft when the exchange arms turn to a main spindle and a tool magazine; 180-degree tool holder rotating means housed in the exchange arms and including two rotating pulleys and one drive belt for transmitting the drive force of a first actuator to said spline shaft to rotate the tool holder by 180 degrees when said exchange arms are turned to the main spindle; 90-degree exchange arm turning and tool holder positioning means including a hollow shalf, two turning pulleys and one turning shaft for turning the exc
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patent: 4837919 (1989-06-01), Hoppe
patent: 4860429 (1989-08-01), Von Haas
Katayama Toshio
Kinoshita Noriaki
Briggs William
Dai-ichi Seiki Co., Ltd.
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