Electricity: motive power systems – Positional servo systems – With protective or reliability increasing features
Patent
1985-07-31
1986-12-23
Dobeck, B.
Electricity: motive power systems
Positional servo systems
With protective or reliability increasing features
318569, 29568, 340680, G05B 2302
Patent
active
046314652
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION
1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a tool display system of an automatic tool changing apparatus in a machine tool controlled by a numerical control unit. More particularly, the invention relates to a tool display system of an automatic tool changing apparatus in which tools are changed by way of a random method.
2. Background Art
Numerically controlled machine tools in which a machine tool is controlled by a numerical control unit have come into wide use in recent years. These numerically controlled machine tools include ones equipped with an automatic tool changing apparatus (hereafter referred to as an ATC apparatus) for automatically changing tools mounted on a spindle. The ATC apparatus is equipped with a tool magazine accommodating a plurality of tools and is adapted to select a tool designated by the numerical control unit to automatically change the tool mounted on the spindle. Two methods of changing tools in an ATC apparatus are available. One method is a sequential method in which the tool magazine accommodates tools in the order used. The other method is a random method in which tools necessary for machining are accommodated in the tool magazine, the tool magazine is moved to index a tool, necessary for machining, to a tool change position and this tool is exchanged directly for the one on the spindle; or in which tools to be used are accommodated in a prescribed tool magazine. The tool magazine is moved to index a tool, necessary for machining, to a tool change position. This tool is mounted on the spindle and the tool from the spindle is received at its original position in the tool magazine. Many ATC apparatus of recent numerically controlled machine tools employ this random method. In a first type of the ATC apparatus that employs the random method, a tool withdrawn from the spindle is received in the tool magazine at a position left vacant by a tool extracted from the magazine in order to be mounted on the spindle. For this reason, the arrangement of the tools accommodated in the tool magazine changes each time a tool change is performed. Meanwhile, the changing tool position is stored in memory beforehand on the numerical control unit (hereafter referred to as an NC unit) side or programmable controller (hereafter referred to as a PC unit) side to avoid impeding the machine tool control operation. However, in cases where such activities as tool inspection and servicing are carried out, the operator is sometimes confused by the fact that a tool is not located at the position where it was initially set. Moreover, in order to ascertain the present position of a tool, the tools accommodated in the tool magazine must be visually identified. Though the other configuration of the ATC apparatus employing the random method does not possess the foregoing disadvantages, tools are not received in the magazine in the order in which they are used. This is a troublesome arrangement because the operator must visually confirm the tool accommodating position and the tool that is in use.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention has been devised to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art. An object is to provide a tool display system of an ATC apparatus wherein the positions of tool magazine pots for accommodating tools and the tool numbers of the tools accommodated in the pots are displayed on a display unit.
According to the present invention, there is provided a tool display system of an ATC apparatus in a numerically controlled machine tool having a machine tool equipped with the ATC apparatus, an NC unit for executing numerical control of the machine tool, and a programmable controller for executing sequential control of the machine tool on the basis of a control signal from the NC unit. The system is equipped with a memory for storing tool information relating to a plurality of pots provided in the tool magazine of the ATC apparatus and to a plurality of tools accommodated in the plurality of pots, and a display unit for displaying the tool inform
REFERENCES:
patent: 3576540 (1971-04-01), Fair et al.
patent: 4543636 (1985-09-01), Noda et al.
patent: 4549270 (1985-10-01), Fukumara et al.
Fukuyama Hiroomi
Hattori Kiyoshi
Nakashima Yoshihiro
Dobeck B.
Fanuc Ltd
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