Metal deforming – By use of tool acting during relative rotation between tool... – During rotation of work
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-19
2003-07-15
Tolan, Ed (Department: 3725)
Metal deforming
By use of tool acting during relative rotation between tool...
During rotation of work
C072S010100, C072S013400, C072S020100, C072S105000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06591651
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a sheet metal forming machine, comprising a machine frame, a first roller tool mounted on the machine frame for rotation about a first roller axis, a second roller tool which is rotatable about a second roller axis and interacts with the first roller tool and which is mounted for rotation in a feed bearing which, for its part, can be moved and fixed in position in relation to the machine frame transversely to the first roller axis by means of a feed drive so that a feed position of the second roller tool relative to the first roller tool can be adjusted, and a roller drive for at least one of the roller axes.
Sheet metal forming machines of this type are known from the state of the art; in these cases, a manual actuation of the feed drive and a manual adjustment of the roller drive are, for example, provided.
An object underlying the invention is therefore to improve a sheet metal forming machine of the generic type in such a manner that this can be operated as simply as possible.
A further object underlying the invention is therefore to improve a sheet metal forming machine in such a manner that the top end section can be designed more advantageously and more simply from a constructional point of view.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This object is accomplished in accordance with the invention, in a sheet metal forming machine of the type described at the outset, in that the feed drive is designed as a feed drive which can be controlled as to its position by a control and by means of which the second roller tool can be moved into feed positions which are predeterminable in a defined manner, that the roller drive is designed as a controllable roller drive and that roller axis positions of the roller axes can be recorded and roller axis positions and feed positions linked to one another by the control.
The advantage of the inventive solution is to be seen in the fact that with it a simplified operation of the sheet metal forming machine is possible since the advancing of the second roller tool towards the first roller tool can be brought about by the control due to the linking of feed positions and roller axis positions.
In this respect, the linking of roller axis positions and feed positions can be brought about, in principle, in any optional manner, for example, in the manner such as that known for numerically controlled machines.
A particularly advantageous and simple solution for the operation of such a sheet metal forming machine provides for the control to allocate feed positions to the roller axis positions and store these in a memory as sets of data.
Such an allocation of feed positions to roller axis positions makes it possible in a simple manner, when approaching the individual roller axis positions, to have the feed positions associated with them approached in a manner automatically controlled by the control.
With respect to the design of the memory, it is particularly advantageous when the memory stores sets of data for at least one forming cycle of a workpiece.
It is, however, also conceivable to design the memory such that this is in a position to store several different forming cycles for different workpieces and creates the possibility of calling up the forming cycle suitable for the respective workpiece to be formed.
With respect to the manner in which the sets of data are recorded by the control, the most varied of possibilities are conceivable. It is, for example, conceivable to specify the sets of data to the control via numerical data and have these stored in the memory by the control.
Another possibility is to determine the sets of data via a computer simulation and have these stored in the memory by the control.
A particularly favorable and, above all, simple solution for the user of the sheet metal forming machine provides for the control to record an allocation of feed positions to roller axis positions in a learning mode.
In such a learning mode, actual roller axis positions and feed positions could, for example, be specifiable to the control and then be recordable as a result by the control in the learning mode.
A particularly convenient and, in particular, user-friendly solution provides for the sets of data to be recordable by the control during the course of a manually controlled forming cycle actually carried out on a workpiece with the sheet metal forming machine.
This solution has the advantage that the user of the sheet metal forming machine can form a first workpiece conventionally by way of manual adjustment of the roller axis positions and the feed positions and, at the same time, can store the association of feed positions and roller axis positions during the forming of the workpiece via the learning mode so that during subsequent formings of workpieces of the same type the forming can then be carried out in a controlled a manner by the control.
A particularly advantageous solution provides for a controlled forming of a workpiece to be carried out with the control in a forming mode, during which the control, by reading the stored data, automatically realizes the stored allocation of the feed positions to the roller axis positions by activating the feed drive.
With respect to the specification of the roller axis movement, the most varied of possibilities are conceivable. It would, for example, be conceivable in a convenient solution to also have the roller axis movement carried out in a manner automatically controlled by the control, wherein, in this case, data concerning the course of the roller axis movement during the forming cycle must also be specified to the control.
It has, however, proven to be particularly expedient, in particular, with respect to a simple operability of the sheet metal forming machine, when the maximum speed of the roller axis movement in the forming mode can be predetermined manually during the forming.
This means that the user of the sheet metal forming machine always has the possibility of stopping it, for example, when he recognizes problems during the machining of the workpiece.
Furthermore, the user can predetermine the maximum speed in a simple manner, observe the machining of the workpiece and can thus always control the forming process visually while the control automatically allocates the feed positions to the individual roller axis positions.
In order to exclude, during the manual specification of the maximum speed, unsuitable forming processes which can, for example, result due to the fact that the specified maximum speed of the roller axis movement impairs the precision of the forming, it is provided for the control to have a speed limiting mode, in which with the control in the forming mode the maximum possible speed of the roller axis movement can be adjusted so as to deviate from the manually predeterminable speed of the roller axis movement.
This means that in the speed limiting mode the control can automatically and actively influence the roller axis movement and reduce the speed of the roller axis movement.
The transfer into such a speed limiting mode can, for example, always take place when a feed movement is intended to be brought about by the feed drive.
A particularly advantageous form of realization of such a speed limiting mode provides for the control to adapt the maximum possible speed of the roller axis movement to the maximum possible speed of the feed movement such that the association of feed position and roller axis position is maintained.
In conjunction with the preceding explanations concerning the individual embodiments of the inventive sheet metal forming machine, it has not been specified in greater detail to what extent information exceeding the allocation of feed positions to roller axis positions is stored by the control. It has, in this respect, proven to be particularly advantageous when information concerning the roller axis movement can be stored with the control.
In this respect, it is particularly favorable when the information concerning the roller axis movement is allocated to the roller axis positions.
The allocation cou
Jaeger Franz
Kutschker Wolfgang
Lipsitz Barry R.
McAllister Douglas M.
Reinhardt Maschinenbau GmbH
Tolan Ed
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