DE20113428U1 - Bar side loading magazine without its own feed for multi-spindle automatic lathes with integrated feed - Google Patents

Description

Utility model application

Bar side loading magazine without its own feed for multi-spindle automatic lathes with integrated feed

Description

The invention relates to the field of loading systems for multi-spindle automatic lathes.
It is known that there are currently four main types of bar feeders: firstly, manual feeding (hand loading) of the bars into the guide tubes arranged behind the machine with manual pushing of the bars into the feed tongs arranged in the machine; secondly, the rear loader, which automates the manual feeding into the guide tubes and the manual pushing of the bars into the feed tongs; thirdly, the side loader with its own bar feed, in which the feed tongs in the machine are omitted and replaced by tongs in the loading magazine, which push the material bars into the work area electromechanically, hydraulically or pneumatically regardless of shape, length and weight; and fourthly, a side loader (patent EP 0 700 742 B1) without its own bar feed with longitudinally movable receiving boxes for pushing the bars into the feed tongs, which are integrated in the machine tool.

The main disadvantages of manually loading the guide tubes, which in itself requires a longer construction length of the multi-spindle automatic lathe, are the space required behind the guide tubes in accordance with the maximum length of the material bar to be processed and the requirement for the operating personnel to be ready to manually reload after processing a material bar, as well as the force required for this. With the automatic rear loader, manual loading is not necessary, but the additional space required remains a disadvantage. In addition, with these two types, changing the guide tubes when processing changing material diameters is very energy-intensive and time-consuming, which means that in practice it is carried out as rarely as possible, with the disadvantage that work is then carried out with increased guide play and with the resulting

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The resulting consequence is that the machining speeds are reduced in order to avoid the material bar swinging up.

The problem of the material bar swinging up also exists with a side loader with its own rear-engaging material feed, unless the necessary guide play for pushing the feed device through the material guide is eliminated by increased technical effort (e.g. EP 0574882 A1 or DE 19814557C1). In addition, the rear-engaging feed clamp with the pre-push rod means that the loading magazine has a large overall length. The general problem with a side loader with its own feed is that it cannot be retrofitted to existing systems with a material feed integrated in the lathe, or only with great effort. In addition, the side loader is, as described, a technically complex and expensive solution that can only be used sensibly if the disadvantages of the inactive feed tongs sliding over the material surface with the disadvantages of slipping, e.g. in the case of diameter fluctuations, and the wear of the feed tongs cannot be accepted, or the space requirement for the machine with bar guide is to be kept lower than with a rear loader, or frequently changing diameters are to be processed.

Patent EP 0 700 742 B1 addresses the disadvantages of the loading system with rear loader described above, but also has the following disadvantages of its own: 1. The technical effort is relatively high for a feeding system without its own feed. 2. The length of the guide system is not yet optimally solved due to the movable receiving boxes of the material guides. 3. The rotating guide system is very heavy and therefore not very dynamic. 4. Due to the design, the material bars protrude freely without a guide when entering the feed area of the machine according to the distance from the rear of the machine to the processing point, which can cause problems especially when feeding thinner bars because they sag. This partially negates the advantages described in the patent when pushing a new bar into the feed tongs.

The present invention presents a bar side loading magazine without its own material feed for multi-spindle automatic lathes with integrated feed, which, due to its simple structure and its design features, avoids the significant disadvantages of the systems described above and which can be used without any major effort.

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wall can be connected to existing feed systems integrated into the machine. For example, the length of the rotating guide system, which carries the axially movable guide channels, is only slightly longer than the maximum bar length minus the distance from the back of the machine to the processing position and is therefore very light and dynamic.

A total of four different requirements and solutions are possible for inserting the material bar into the machining position: The multi-spindle lathe has a stop in the work area and active feed collets (version 1). The multi-spindle lathe has a stop in the work area and inactive feed collets (version 2). The multi-spindle lathe has no stop in the loading position in the work area and active feed collets (version 3). The multi-spindle lathe has no stop in the work area and inactive feed collets (version 4).
In version 1, a feed finger, which is attached to a stationary system in the feed area and which pushes the material bar through the open guide channel, gripping it at the back, pushes the material bar forwards to the stop in the work area. After the feed finger has moved back, the guide channel is closed and locked. However, if the material bar is too thin and could buckle in the guide channel, a gripper feed and/or a roller feed, as in version 2, type 2, must be used.

In version 2, the material bar is moved in the first design with a feed finger or in the second design with a pair of rollers, which can be combined with the collet feed if necessary, to a fixed position in front of or in the machine room of the multi-spindle automatic lathe, which is determined by a stop installed in front of or in the machine room or an optical or electrical or other sensor system that detects the bar's leading edge and is used as the base position for the further insertion process. If necessary, the closed collet feed itself can also serve as a stop.
In the second design, which enables a faster loading process, the bars must be aligned lengthwise roughly towards the machine side and placed as close as possible towards the lathe in the bar support or the belt trough of the loading magazine. After feeding a material bar into the opened and immediately closed guide channel of the bar side support,

demagazins, two rollers driven by fluid or electric motors are pressed against the bar, either fluidically or electrically, and transport the bar to the fixed base position of the bar's front edge in the machine room of the multi-spindle automatic lathe, as already mentioned. The arms on which the rollers are located are then lifted so that the rollers are no longer in engagement.
A technically standard collet feed is used as a feed device for pushing the material bar into the inactive feed collet at the loading position. This is pivoted or pushed in between the back of the multi-spindle automatic lathe and the guide channel that is pulled back a little and pushes the bars against the stop in the work area in multiple strokes if necessary. The collet feed opens after the end of the feed movement and is removed from the circulation area.

no of the guide channel drum is swung out or pulled as soon as the collet has closed.

In a favorable case, with a suitable material pairing between the material bar and the feed rollers and with feed collets that do not grip too tightly, it is possible that the feed rollers or the feed finger have enough power to push the material bar through the inactive feed collets against the stop in the work area of the multi-spindle automatic lathe. In this case, the collet feed can be omitted according to versions 2-4. The bar side loading magazine then corresponds to that of version 1. Only in the multi-spindle automatic lathe are there inactive instead of active collets.

In the third and fourth versions, the above-mentioned fixed base position in the machine room of the multi-spindle automatic lathe is approached as described in version 2, type 2. The further feed to the machining position in the work area takes place, regardless of whether active or inactive feed collets are used, as already described under version 2, with the difference that the feed path is monitored and controlled with a positioning system.

The guide channel at the loading position is closed in every version at the latest after the loading process has been completed, moved back to the front end position and secured there against displacement, and the upper half-shells are locked against opening. The system's normal working cycle now begins.

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The invention is explained in more detail below using two examples: Example I explains the versions with feed fingers. The sequence of movements during the loading process with a new material bar after the processing of a material bar already in the machine has been completed is described.

After machining of a material bar (1) has been completed, as soon as the loading position is reached, the guide channel (2) is retracted and opened by pivoting the upper half-shell (3) of the guide channel open by pivoting the hinge shaft (4). This is done by a pivot drive (8) in the loading position, which moves onto the hinge shaft (4) of the guide channel (2) which is currently in position and, after opening the lock(s) (5), rotates the hinge shaft (4) by a certain opening angle. The new material bar (6), which is located in a technically conventional feed device (15) (area or bundle magazine), is now fed into the opened guide channel (2) and a lower stationary half-shell (11). The lower stationary half-shell (11) is required to accommodate the new material bar in the loading position, since the actual guide channels, which are cycled by the lathe around a central axis coupled to the lathe, are shorter.

As soon as the new material bar (6) is in the open guide channel (2) and the collet (7) of the machine is open at the loading position and any other machine-related requirements, such as drive spindle shutdown, are met and if necessary the stop (9) in or in front of the machine room has been swung in, the new material bar (6) is fed into the machine via the feed finger (10) up to the stop (9) or the encoder system (16) for the bar's basic position. (Note: When using active feed collets according to version 1, the feed can take place up to the stop in the machining area. In this case the collet feed (14) can be omitted.) As soon as the stop (9) is approached by the material bar (6) or the encoder system (16) reports that the basic position has been reached, the collet feed (14), which was swung in or pushed in after the guide channel was retracted, is closed and if necessary the stop (9) is swung out of the circulation circuit. The feed finger (10) is now returned to its original position

retracted. Once the feed finger (10) is back in its starting position, the upper half shell (3) of the guide can be closed.

After the bar front edge has a fixed distance to the machining position, the material bar is pulled forward by the gripper feed to the stop in the machining area after swinging out this stop (9). (Note: The stop in the machining area is not available in versions 3 and 4.

no position-monitored.) The remaining piece of the old material bar (1) in the drive spindle is also pushed out into the work area by the new material bar (6). The remaining piece is usually transported into a remaining piece container via a chute installed in the work area. This material feed for pushing into the feed gripper can be carried out by cycling the gripper feed once or several times.

Once the loading process is complete, the collet (7) is closed and, if necessary, the collet of the collet feed (14) is opened. The collet feed (14) then moves back to its home position and swivels or moves out of the circumference of the guide drum (12). The guide channel (2) is advanced and locked in its home position to prevent it from moving. The upper half-shells of the guide are also locked to prevent it from opening. Processing can now continue. From now on, the feed collets integrated in the machine take over the further material feed until the material bar is processed. After that, the process just described begins again.

Example II explains the version with roller feed.

This example corresponds in process to that of Example I up to line 151. From then on, the following applies: The guide channel (2) can be closed immediately after the material bar (6) has been inserted. As soon as the new material bar (6) is in the guide channel and the collet (7) of the machine is open at the loading position and any other machine-related requirements, such as drive spindle shutdown, are met and if necessary the stop (9) in or in front of the machine room has been swiveled in, a pair of rollers (13), which may be coupled to a gripper feed (14), is pushed in or swiveled in and the new material bar (6) is pushed forward into the machine up to the stop (9) or the encoder system (16) for the bar's base position using this pair of rollers (13), which is then pressed against it. (Note: When using active feed grippers according to version 1, the feed can be stopped up to the stop.

impact in the machining area.) However, this requires that the material bars are placed roughly flush on the machine side and as far forward as possible in the belt trough or on the bar support. As soon as the stop (9) is approached by the material bar or the encoder system (16) reports that the home position has been reached, the gripper feed (14) is closed and, if necessary, the stop (9) is swung out of the circulation circuit. In addition, the levers with the rollers (13) are lifted. From here on, the process continues as in Example I from line 166.

Claims (14)

1. A bar side loading magazine without its own material feed for multi-spindle automatic lathes with integrated material feed, characterized in that - it is equipped with simple guide channels corresponding to the number of working spindles of the multi-spindle automatic lathe, each consisting of half-shell-shaped upper and lower guide segments, in which the upper guide segments are pivoted up over the hinge shaft after the hinge shaft has been unlocked in order to reload a new bar of material and are locked to the hinge shaft via an anti-twisting device after closing. - the guide channels arranged around a guide drum are not moved in the axial direction when the material bar is fed towards the processing station and in which the guide channels have a length when viewed from the rear of the machine that corresponds approximately to the maximum possible bar length minus the distance from the rear of the machine to the processing position. - the material bars run in narrow, vibration-reducing guide channels adapted to the diameter, which are held in snap connections or quick-clamping devices, whereby the guide of the material bars is almost gap-free and without gaps, and where it is possible to change to a different diameter in a very short time, and where a higher speed is therefore permitted than with conventional bar side-loading magazines for multi-spindle automatic lathes. - the bar feeder is equipped with a technically standard surface or bundle magazine for bar storage. - the new material bar is fed up to a stop arranged in front of the work spindles in the material feed direction or a sensor system with a simple feed finger or a pair of rollers located only at the loading position. 2. Bar side loading magazine according to claim 1, characterized in that - the guide channel, which is arranged with the other guide channels in a guide channel drum which is rotatably mounted around the central axis common to the multi-spindle automatic lathe, can be pushed back at the loading position by a distance which corresponds approximately to the stroke plus the width of the collet feed and that - the new material bar is pushed into the inactive feed grippers of the machine using a gripper feed which, in the loading position, is pushed or swung into alignment with the material bar in the material feed direction in front of the guide channel which is pushed back in the loading position. - when using active feed tongs, the new material bar can also be pushed in using the feed finger or the feed rollers. 3. Bar side loading magazine according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripper feed according to claim 2 is not required if active feed grippers or inactive feed grippers with low preload are used when using material with low tolerances and a stop is present in the working area and the material feed can take place from the feed finger or the feed rollers up to this stop. 4. Bar side loading magazine according to claim 1 and 2 or 3, characterized in that no active mechanical elements, such as fluid cylinders or drive units, are directly assigned to the individual guide channels. 5. Bar side loading magazine according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that - the guide drum, which carries the guide channels, has bearings at both ends which connect the guide drum to a base frame which can be pushed back against the material feed direction or sideways in order to change the guide tubes arranged inside the multi-spindle automatic lathe. - the underframe of the guide drum rests on rolling elements which connect the underframe to the base frame and can be locked in the front and rear positions. 6. Bar side loading magazine according to claim 1 and 2, characterized in that 1. the gripper feed is arranged directly in front of or in the machine room and is operated via fluidic or electric linear drives or redirected rotary drives, and - the gripper feed is pivoted or pushed into the rotation diameter of the drum and bar guide to feed the material bar and performs a single or multiple stroke when pushing the material bar towards the working area of the machine. 7. Bar side loading magazine according to one or more of claims 1, 2, 4 and 5, characterized in that - the upper half-shells are pivoted open and closed in the loading position via a hinge shaft assigned to the guide channel by a drive located in this position. - the drive can be moved in the axial direction via a linear drive. 8. Bar side loading magazine according to one or more of claims 1, 2, 4 and 7, characterized in that - the rod guides with the guide channels consisting of half shells or only the hinge shaft itself perform an axial locking and unlocking stroke. - the locking and unlocking stroke is triggered by the axial displacement of the swivel cylinder and by a swiveling driver. 9. Bar side loading magazine according to one or more of claims 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8, characterized in that the locking elements do not include separately driven mechanical elements. 10. Bar side loading magazine according to one or more of claims 1-9, characterized in that the surface or bundle magazine with distribution device is designed to be slightly longer than the maximum possible bar length and can be arranged either to the left or to the right of the guide drum. 11. Bar side loading magazine according to one or more of claims 1-10, characterized in that the material bars only have to be aligned approximately flush with the front end in the feed direction if feed rollers according to claim 1 are used and otherwise the alignment in the longitudinal direction is irrelevant. 12. Bar side loading magazine according to one or more of claims 1-11, characterized in that at the rear area of the feed, instead of the shorter, rotating guide channels as material support in the loading position, a lower half shell is stationary attached as material support. 13. Bar side loading magazine according to one or more of claims 1-2, characterized in that the guide with the drive of the feed finger is attached to the base frame. 14. Bar side loading magazine according to one or more of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that - the stop or the encoder position is adjustable according to the machining length of the workpiece to ensure that the front edge of the material bar comes to a stop in the correct position in the working area for machining. - the stop in front of or in the machine room of the multi-spindle automatic lathe, if present, can be pulled out of the swing diameter of the material or swivelled. - an electrical, optical or other sensor system can be used instead of the stop.