Turning – Lathe – Bed
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-09
2004-05-11
Wellington, A. L. (Department: 3722)
Turning
Lathe
Bed
C082S117000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06732618
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention concerns a machine tool, for example a lathe.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Machine tools such as lathes usually have a bed on which are arranged individual modules of the machine, for example one or more tool carrier systems, one or more workpiece carrier systems, measuring units, loading and unloading devices and so forth.
For that reason the bed must be designed to be as inherently strong and stable as possible as it is only in that way that it is possible to achieve high levels of machining accuracy on the workpieces produced on the machine tool.
In order to be able to displace the modules of the machine in the longitudinal direction of the bed, which is referred to generally and therefore also herein as the Z-direction, arranged on the bed are guide tracks on Which those modules of the machine run.
In this respect, different forms of bed are known, for example in the case of lathes the beds may be cradle beds, inclined beds, vertical beds and overhanging beds and so forth. The beds however generally stand flat on a base plate or on the foundation ground on which the machine tool is supported.
In that respect the different forms of bed serve on the one hand to achieve a good discharge flow of the cuttings and chips which are produced in the machining operation, while on the other hand serving to achieve the highest possible level of stability, in particular from dynamic points of view, for the bed.
A problem in that respect is also the supply of energy to the machine modules which are guided on the top side or at the front side of beds of that kind, the modules in turn having motors, for example for driven tools, for movement of the tool carrier unit, for example a tool turret, and so forth.
What is critical in that respect is in particular the energy supply to the machine modules which are disposed at a low level and which are below the machining position, as the energy feed means for same, which have to be flexible in design because of the longitudinal displaceability involved, are in the region into which the chips and turnings fall.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is to provide a machine tool which, in spite of the possibility of simple and inexpensive manufacture thereof, permits a highly variable layout and fitment of the machine tool with machine modules and which moreover in spite of a good discharge of chips and turnings permits a simple supply of energy with a low level of susceptibility to trouble, in particular to the lower machine modules.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved machine tool which affords structural strength in particular in respect of its bed and which is of a rational design configuration adapted to afford versatility in terms of fitting equipment items thereto.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine tool having a bed of enhanced rigidity while not impeding the fitment of and movement of operating units thereon and the movement of supply lines and conduits for same.
Those objects are attained by the invention set forth herein. Advantageous embodiments are set forth in the appendant claims.
By virtue of the bed being stood up to form a portal bed, in particular on only two feet at the ends of the bed, all kinds of energy feed means can be passed in virtually any amount transversely beneath the bed and displaced in the longitudinal direction together with the machine modules which they supply. That avoids limitations as to whether and which machine modules are used on the lower part of the bed, therefore in particular beneath the machining position.
Hitherto standing the bed up to form a portal bed in that way was faced with the prejudice that a machine tool achieves correspondingly better machining results, the more stable that the bed and the substructure carrying the bed is, in particular in relation to vibration and oscillations. For that reason hitherto beds were generally supported over the full surface area or on a large number of contact points, in relation to the foundation ground.
By virtue of the fact that the support feet of the machine tool of the invention are only of very small height, just sufficient for the energy supply lines such as electrical cables, hydraulic conduits, pneumatic hoses etc to be passed through beneath the bed, it is possible on the one hand to achieve a bed cross-section which is of a great height and which thus enjoys a high level of stiffness in relation to flexing without on the other hand the machining position, for example the turning center of a lathe, being disposed at an excessively great height for the operator who stands in front of the machine, even if the machining position is in the upper heightwise region of the bed, in particular in the upper half thereof, because a lower tool support is provided in the lower region.
Because the portal bed is of an approximately rectangular cross-section, or at any event has outsides, in particular for example the top side and the front side, which are at a right angle relative to each other and which carry the individual guide tracks, machining of the bed can be implemented easily and inexpensively. By virtue of guide tracks which extend thereon exclusively in the Z-direction and by virtue of using identical guide tracks, it is possible on the one hand to achieve a further reduction in cost, while on the other hand the individual machine modules can be fitted on different guide tracks. For that reason all guide tracks in both transverse directions (X-direction and Y-direction) with respect to the direction of displacement of the machine modules, being therefore the Z-direction, are of a positively locking configuration, in particular of such a configuration as to engage behind their components sliding thereon.
In addition the portal bed has through openings which are continuous in the longitudinal direction and which are open on both sides and which can also serve for the passage therethrough of lines and conduits, for example energy supply conduits, from one end of the machine to the other. When the structure is made of plastic material or a concrete-plastic mix, the through openings generally comprise two or three mutually superposed circular through openings, while when the portal bed is made from cast steel the through openings remain between the surrounding, peripherally extending outer shell and the ribs formed in one piece therewith, generally therefore being two or three large hollow chambers. The cross-section of the portal bed is preferably between 1.5 and 3 times as high and in particular between 1.8 and 2.2 times as high as the depth of the portal bed and guides are preferably arranged only on the top side and the front side, more specifically with a pair of guides on the top side and two pairs of guides at the front side.
In a preferred embodiment the pairs of guides at the front side are at different guide track spacings, but the pairs are relatively close together one above the other.
In another preferred embodiment of this structure the spacing of the guide tracks within the pairs is identical and the spacing of the pairs relative to each other likewise, so that overall only identically spaced guides and preferably four guide tracks are arranged at the front side.
Preferably, no guide tracks are arranged at the underside, in order not to increase the necessary height of the feet of the bed.
At best a guide track could also be arranged at the front edge of the underside, whereby however a machine module would only slightly engage around the lower front edge of the bed. Machine modules guided completely along the underside, that is to say by means of guide tracks arranged at the front and rear edges of the underside, would result in an increase in the support height and would involve the disadvantages that this entails. Provided between the individual guide tracks, also extending in the longitudinal direction and in particular being continuous, are channel-shaped recesses in the surface of the portal bed, which serve to receive the ball rolling sp
Horsky Anton
Ritz Otmar
Schreiber Leo
Boehringer Werkzeugmaschinen GmbH
Head Johnson & Kachigian
Walsh Brian D.
Wellington A. L.
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