Patent Application
20200016647
The present disclosure relates to devices and methods for removing an electrically conductive workpiece part from an electrically conductive remaining workpiece.
A device for the mutual separation of two workpiece parts of a plate-like workpiece, of which one is a removed part and the other a remaining part, is described in DE 10 2014 209 811 A1. The device includes a workpiece mount that defines a mounting plane. A lift-out device is on one side of the mounting plane, while a counterholder that can be switched between a fixing state and a release state is on the opposite side of the mounting plane. To separate the two workpiece parts, the removal part, which is impinged upon on one side by the lift-out device and is supported on the other side by the counterholder, can be moved by a removal movement in a lift-out direction perpendicular to the mounting plane relative to the remaining part by the lift-out device.
The manual and automated removal of a workpiece part generated during the separating processing of workpieces (such as when stamping or (laser) cutting metal sheets) from the remaining workpiece is difficult, since the workpiece and the remaining workpiece are usually positioned in a common workpiece plane defined by a workpiece support, and are only separated from one another by a narrow separating gap. The workpiece part can therefore become misaligned with respect to the remaining workpiece as it is discharged. The possible consequences are interruptions to production, as well as damage to both the workpiece part that is to be removed and possibly to the device employed for removing the workpiece part.
For the sake of process reliability during the automated removal of a workpiece part from a remaining workpiece, a check is performed as to whether, during the preceding cutting processing by a processing tool, the workpiece part has been fully separated from the remaining workpiece, or whether the workpiece part may still be in contact with the remaining workpiece. For example, this can be because it has become misaligned with respect to the remaining workpiece or is still connected to the remaining workpiece by a thin bridge. For the sake of process reliability during automated removal, a check is also performed as to whether the workpiece part, during the movement in the removal direction and the subsequent transport for the deposition of the workpiece part to a magazine or the like, is fixed to the holding apparatus that can, for example, include one or a plurality of suction grippers.
A device for detecting the material on the surface of flat objects on a stack, for example printing plates, which can be integrated into a lifting apparatus with suction equipment for printing plates, is described in DE 102 59 190 B3. The surface is contacted with sensor electrodes for this purpose, and a measuring current passed through the surface to determine the material of which the object surface consists based on the determined current. The material surfaces that can be distinguished in this way can, for example, be paper on a printing plate or a printing plate.
A device comprising a base block with at least two supporting means for handling cover slips for microscope slides is described in DE 101 44 048 A1. A sensor that determines the presence or the state of a cover slip that has been picked up can be provided in the base block between the two supporting means. The sensor can be a capacitive sensor.
A substrate holder for a wafer in which two capacitive thin-film sensors are embedded in a trench for holding the wafer is described in JPH04-293250A. A sheet for handling a semiconductor substrate into which at least one capacitive sensor is embedded is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,393.
In some embodiments, a holding apparatus can be moved in a removal direction, which can be switched between a fixing state for fixing the workpiece part to the holding apparatus and a release state for releasing the workpiece part from the holding apparatus. The holding apparatus has at least one electrically conductive first contact element for contacting the workpiece part at at least one first contact point (e.g., a plurality of electrically conductive first contact elements that are electrically conductively connected to one another) for contacting the workpiece part at a plurality of first contact points. The holding apparatus has at least one second electrically conductive contact element for contacting the workpiece part at at least one second contact point (e.g., a plurality of electrically conductive second contact elements that are electrically conductively connected to one another) for contacting the workpiece part at a plurality of second contact points. The disclosure also relates to an associated method for removing a workpiece part from a remaining workpiece. The workpiece from which the workpiece part and the remaining workpiece are formed is typically a plate-like electrically conductive component, for example a metal sheet.
Advantages include devices and methods that improve the process reliability during the removal of a workpiece part from a remaining workpiece. Devices include a sensor apparatus that makes use of the first and second contact elements to check in a first check state the complete separation of the workpiece part from the remaining workpiece, and to check in a second check state if the workpiece part is fixed to the holding apparatus while it is in the fixing state.
The sensor apparatus enables a check in a first check state as to whether the workpiece part has been fully separated from the remaining workpiece or whether it is still in contact with the remaining workpiece. In the latter case there is an electrically conductive connection between the (electrically conductive) workpiece part and the (electrically conductive) remaining workpiece. It is possible to check using the contact elements whether or not an electrical connection exists between the workpiece part and the remaining workpiece. The check as to whether the workpiece part has been fully separated from the remaining workpiece typically takes place when the workpiece part has moved in a removal movement in the removal direction far enough out of the workpiece plane that it is located above the surface of the remaining workpiece.
The second check state of the sensor apparatus is typically used when the workpiece part has moved in a removal movement in the removal direction out of the plane of the workpiece, and the check of the separation from the remaining workpiece has taken place. To check whether the workpiece part is fixed to the holding apparatus in a position of the workpiece part at a distance in the removal direction from the remaining workpiece, it is possible to check whether the at least one first and the at least one second contact element above the workpiece part are electrically connected to one another.
In some embodiments, the sensor apparatus is configured in the first check state to determine an electrical resistance between the at least one first and/or the at least one second contact element and a reference potential. The determination of the electrical resistance is performed by known measuring methods through connection of the contact elements to a source of current or voltage and a measurement of the current or of a voltage drop. The remaining workpiece can be held at a reference potential, for example by electrically conductive clamping jaws or of a workpiece support on which the workpiece part and the remaining workpiece are lying. The reference potential can be, for example, the ground potential of the device or of the processing machine in which the device is usually integrated. In the first check state in which a check is made as to whether the workpiece part has been fully separated from the remaining workpiece, either the first electrically conductive contact element or the second electrically conductive contact element, or both together, are connected electrically conductively to the ground potential of the device for workpiece removal or to the ground potential of the processing machine into which the device for workpiece removal is integrated. If the workpiece part is still in contact with the remaining workpiece, then when a voltage is applied between the contact elements and the ground potential a closed electrical circuit is formed, and a very low electrical resistance is measured between the contact elements and the ground potential. If the workpiece part has been fully released from the remaining workpiece, the flow of current to the remaining workpiece is interrupted, so that a high resistance is determined between the contact elements and the ground potential. The device can include both a plurality of first and of second contact elements, which are respectively connected conductively together in one group. The process reliability of the measurement can be increased in this way.
The sensor apparatus can be configured in the second check state to determine an electrical resistance between at least one first contact element and at least one second contact element. To check whether the workpiece part is fixed to the holding apparatus in a position of the workpiece part at a distance in the removal direction from the remaining workpiece, in a second check state a voltage is applied by the sensor apparatus between the first and the second contact element, and an electrical resistance is determined between the contact elements. If a plurality of both first and second contact elements are in each case present, then an electrical resistance is determined between the plurality of the electrically conductively interconnected first contact elements and the plurality of the electrically conductively interconnected second contact elements. If the workpiece part is fixed to the holding apparatus, then at least one first contact element contacts the workpiece part at a first contact point, and at least one second contact element contacts the workpiece part at a second contact point, so that the first and second contact elements are electrically conductively interconnected via the workpiece part. A lower electrical resistance is accordingly measured between the first and second contact elements when the workpiece part is fixed to the holding apparatus than is the case when the workpiece part is no longer fixed to the holding apparatus. In the latter case there is no electrical contact between the first and second contact elements, and the electrical resistance becomes practically infinite.
For the checks described above at least one first contact element comes into contact with the workpiece part at one of the first contact points, and at least one second contact element does so at one of the second contact points. To perform these checks even with comparatively small workpiece parts that are to be removed, the first and second contact point(s), or the corresponding first and second contact elements, should not be with too great a spacing from one another at the holding apparatus.
In some embodiments, the holding apparatus includes a plurality of holding elements for fixing the workpiece part, where the holding elements can be switched between a fixing state for fixing the workpiece part and a release state for releasing the workpiece part. The holding elements are at a distance from one another in the holding apparatus, the arrangement typically being regular, for example in a grid arrangement.
In some embodiments, the holding elements are suction grippers and the fixing state is achieved through applying a vacuum or through a negative pressure through which the workpiece part is held at the suction gripper. In the case of suction grippers with passive flow valves, the recognition of whether the workpiece part is fixed at the suction gripper by the vacuum or by a vacuum generator is not possible, since in such suction grippers the flow valves also close in the event that the workpiece part is not fixed at the suction gripper.
In some embodiments, the at least one first contact element and/or the at least one second contact element are at the holding elements. Individual or all holding elements (for example the suction gripper) is an electrically conductive material at least on one side that is brought into contact with the workpiece part or with the remaining workpiece. In this case, for example, folded suction collars of the suction gripper that are used for contacting the workpiece part or the remaining workpiece can be an electrically conductive plastic. The first or second contact points in this case are coincident with the fixing points of the holding elements. In this case, however, the problem arises that the two checks described further above are not possible in the case of workpieces or metal sheets covered with foil or rust, since the foil or rust layer applied to the surface is not usually electrically conductive.
In some embodiments, the first contact element(s) and/or the second contact element(s) are located between the holding elements. Like the holding elements, the first or the second contact elements can also be at the holding apparatus in a regular arrangement or in a grid. Since holding elements in the form of suction grippers usually have an essentially circular geometry at least at the inlet side at which the fixing or the suction takes place, there is enough space as a rule between the suction grippers to arrange contact elements between the suction grippers.
In some embodiments, first contact elements alternate with second contact elements in at least one direction perpendicular to the removal direction. The holding apparatus or the holding elements are typically integrated into an essentially flat housing that extends in a plane perpendicular to the removal direction. The first and second contact elements alternate in at least one direction in this plane. If the holding elements are in a grid, a holding element can be in one or both directions of the grid between each first contact element and each second contact element. The contact elements do not necessarily have to alternate in more than one direction to carry out the checks described further above. The distance between the first and second contact elements or between the first and second contact points should not, however, be chosen to be too large, so that the checks described further above can also be carried out with small workpiece parts.
In embodiments, the first contact elements and/or the second contact elements include resilient contact pins for contacting the workpiece part or the remaining workpiece. DE 10 2014 209 811 A1 describes a holding apparatus that includes a rigid structure (e.g., a support surface) in which holes for receiving the holding elements (e.g., suction grippers) are made. The contact pins of the first or of the second contact elements are typically positioned with their free ends above the flat support surface and are pushed in when the workpiece part or the remaining workpiece is pushed against the flat support surface, and electrical contact is established. If resilient contact pins are used, then this makes it possible, with suitable dimensioning, in the case of sheets covered with foil or rust, for the foil or the layer of rust to be lightly scratched and an electrical contact to be established with the sheet lying underneath.
In some embodiments, the first contact elements and the second contact elements are each electrically conductively connected together through conductive tracks of the same circuit board. The conductive tracks that electrically conductively connect the first contact elements together, and the conductive tracks that electrically conductively connect the second contact elements together are not electrically conductively in contact with one another. In this case the contact elements are fastened to the circuit board, and can be with a comparatively small distance from one another.
In some embodiments, the first contact element(s) are attached or fastened to a first electrically conductive component, and the second contact element(s) are attached or fastened to a second electrically conductive component displaced in the removal direction with respect to the first. The first and second electrically conductive components are electrically insulated from one another. The two components can, for example, be electrically conductive perforated plates into which the contact element or elements are screwed. In this case, second contact elements that are fastened to the second perforated plate can be passed via an electrically insulating spacer through the first perforated plate.
In some embodiments, the device includes at least one lift-out device that is movable in the removal direction for removing the workpiece part from the remaining workpiece, where the workpiece part is held during at least part of the removal between the at least one lift-out device and the holding apparatus. The lift-out device engages the workpiece part on the side opposite to the holding apparatus, and is used to hold or support the workpiece part. The holding apparatus acts as a counterholder, and makes it possible for the workpiece part to be held perpendicularly to the workpiece plane during the movement in the removal direction between the lift-out device and in the holding apparatus, so that it does not catch on the remaining workpiece during the removal. The lift-out device(s) can, for example, be lift-out pins that can be actuated in a controlled manner independently of one another. The lift-out devices are actuated in such a way that the workpiece part is oriented parallel to the workpiece plane during the movement in the removal direction.
In some embodiments, a processing machine for the separating machining of plate-like, electrically conductive workpieces (metal sheets) by a machining tool, for example a laser cutting apparatus or a punching tool, further includes a device as described above for removing a workpiece part that is separated from the remaining workpiece during separating machining. A workpiece support that acts to support the workpiece during the separating machining can also form a workpiece support of the device for the removal of workpiece parts from the remaining workpiece. A workpiece transfer apparatus can be in the processing machine, by which the remaining workpiece can be moved together with the separated workpiece part from a machining position of the processing machine for separating machining of the workpiece to a discharge position of the apparatus for removal of the workpiece part.
In some embodiments, a method for the removal of a workpiece part from the remaining workpiece by a device as is described above includes contacting the workpiece part at at least one first contact point by at least one first contact element, as well as contacting the workpiece part at at least one second contact point by at least one second contact element, where the first and second contact elements are formed at a holding apparatus and are connected to a sensor apparatus, moving the workpiece part in a removal direction, switching the holding apparatus into a fixing state for fixing the workpiece part to the holding apparatus, checking the complete separation of the workpiece part from the remaining workpiece in a first check state of the sensor apparatus and checking the fixing of the workpiece part to the holding apparatus in a second check state of the sensor apparatus.
It is irrelevant whether the movement of the workpiece part in the removal direction takes place first followed by the switching of the holding apparatus into the fixing state, or vice versa. The movement of the workpiece part in the removal direction can take place by the holding apparatus, by a lift-out device or by a combination of holding and lift-out devices. The sequence in which the full separation of the workpiece part from the remaining workpiece and the fixing of the workpiece part to the holding apparatus is checked is also irrelevant. Both checks can also be carried out a plurality of times in an alternating sequence.
In some embodiments, in the first check state an electrical voltage is applied between the at least one first and/or the at least one second contact element and a reference potential, and an electrical resistance between the at least one first and/or the at least one second contact element and the reference potential is determined. In the second check state, an electrical resistance between the first contact element and the second contact element is measured. In place of a single contact element, a plurality of first or second contact elements connected conductively together can alternatively be used.
As described above, it is possible to establish by a resistance measurement between the first and/or second contact elements and a reference potential (typically the ground potential) whether the workpiece part has or has not been completely separated from the remaining workpiece.
The fixing of the workpiece part to the holding apparatus can take place before or after the movement of the workpiece part in the removal direction. When the workpiece part is moved in the removal direction, for example with the aid of one or a plurality of lift-out devices, a fixing of the workpiece part to the holding apparatus only takes place after the removal movement. If the holding apparatus also serves for moving the workpiece in the removal direction, then the fixing of the workpiece takes place before the removal movement, and the fixed workpiece is lifted by the holding apparatus. To check the fixing, a voltage is applied in the second check state between the first and the second contact element, or between a first and a second plurality of contact elements. In the event that at least one of the first contact elements and at least one of the second contact elements contact the workpiece part, then a lower resistance will be measured in the resistance measurement in the second check state than would be in the case that the first and second contact elements are not electrically in contact with one another via the workpiece part, so that on the basis of the resistance measurement it is possible to check whether the workpiece part is fixed to the holding apparatus. Further advantages of the disclosure emerge from the description and the drawing.
Similarly, the features listed above and those explained further can each be used alone or as a plurality in any combinations. The embodiments shown and described are not to be understood as a final list, but rather have an exemplary character for the portrayal of the disclosure.
The guide structure 4 reaches over a two-piece workpiece table 9 on which a metal sheet 2 rests before, during and after the cutting machining. The metal sheet 2 is processed by cutting by the laser cutting head 6 of the processing machine 1. The metal sheet 2 rests on the workpiece table 9 at the time. Dross, dust, and smoke formed during the machining are sucked away by a purging device (e.g., a suction box, not illustrated) connected to a fan and located underneath the machining region between the two parts of the workpiece table 9. After the metal sheet has been processed, workpiece parts that have been cut free by the laser cutting head 6 are separated from a remaining workpiece that is also generated by machining the metal plate (e.g., the remaining grid), and are then carried away out of the immediate vicinity of the processing machine 1.
A metal sheet movement unit 10, illustrated in a highly schematic form in
The metal sheet 2 is positioned by the metal sheet movement unit 10 for being processed in the working region of the laser cutting head 6. The metal sheet 2 can be moved in the direction of the double arrow 12 by the metal sheet movement unit 10 during the machining. Additional movements transverse to the direction of the double arrow 12 are carried out by the laser cutting head 6 in the direction of the double arrow 7. The laser cutting head 6 moreover has an additional axis that permits short, highly dynamic movements of the laser cutting head 6 in the direction of the double arrow 8, and thus in the direction of movement of the metal sheet movement unit 10.
With a subsequent separating cut, the laser cutting head 6 cuts a workpiece part 14 (shown in
The relationships illustrated in
A plate-like workpiece support 17 of the workpiece table 9 supports the remaining workpiece 15 and the workpiece part 14. The workpiece support 17 is provided with bristles or rollers on its upper side that enable movement of the metal sheet 2 being machined over the stationary workpiece support 17 without rubbing or causing scratches, as is known in the art. The support positions of the machined metal sheet 2 on the bristles or rollers of the workpiece support 17 define a workpiece plane 18 of the workpiece support 17 shown in
As can be seen from
The lift-out devices 22, 23 can be adjusted by a lift-out movement unit 26 parallel to the support plane 18 to any desired location underneath the workpiece support 17. For this purpose, the lift-out movement unit 26 includes a longitudinal rail 27, along which the lift-out devices 22, 23 can be moved by motors. A drive motor 28 of the lift-out devices 22, 23 can be seen in
The holding apparatus 24, 25 of the counterholder unit 21 can, in a corresponding manner, approach any desired location at the processed metal sheet 2 parallel to the support plane 18, and raised and lowered perpendicularly to the support plane 18. A holding apparatus movement unit 31 includes a longitudinal rail 32 along which the counterholder 24, 25 can be positioned by motors. Together with the counterholders 24, 25, the longitudinal rail 32 is movable by motors along a pair of cross-rails 33, 34 which for their part run perpendicular to the longitudinal rail 32 and can be raised and lowered in a vertical direction together with the longitudinal rail 32 and the holding apparatus 24, 25 that are guided on it.
All the primary functions of the processing machine 1, and thereby all the primary functions of the device 16, are numerically controlled. A numerical control unit 35 used for this purpose is illustrated in
A suction chamber (not illustrated) in the interior of each individual suction collar 40 can be connected to a vacuum generator via a switchable valve. The valves are open in
The first of the two lift-out devices 22, 23 has, as shown in
The piston-cylinder units in the interior of the lift-out housing 46 can be controlled separately, and can be connected, independently of one another, to a source of pressure. Through actuation of the piston-cylinder units, the lift-out pins 47 are extended in a vertical direction out of the lift-out housing 46 or retracted into the lift-out housing 46. The cross-section of the lift-out pins 47 corresponds to the cross-section of the through-holes 19 at the workpiece surface 17 (see
The removal process of the workpiece part 14 out of the remaining workpiece 15 is described below with reference to
The lift-out movement unit 26 underneath the workpiece support 17 is actuated under numerical control in such a way that the lift-out device 22 approaches a lift-out position underneath the workpiece part 14. Simultaneously with the positioning of the lift-out device 23, the holding apparatus 24 on the opposite side of the workpiece support 17 is moved through numerically controlled actuation of the holding apparatus movement unit 31 into a position above the workpiece part 14 that is located in the discharge position. The relationships of
The vacuum generator of the holding apparatus 24 is initially switched off; the suction grippers 39 at the holding apparatus 24 are at a distance from the workpiece part 14 and also from the remaining workpiece 15 that is also in a discharge position. The suction grippers 39 are accordingly in an out-of-function state, and the holding apparatus 24 in a release state. In this functional state, the holding apparatus 24 is lowered by an appropriate vertical movement of the holding apparatus movement unit 31, and placed on the metal sheet 2, or on the workpiece part 14 and the remaining workpiece 15. The suction collars 40 of the suction grippers 39 are thus compressed and consequently more strongly folded and pushed back into the interior of the holes 38 at the support plate 37 of the holding apparatus 24, until finally the support plate 37 of the holding apparatus 24 comes to lie on the surface of the metal sheet 2.
After this, those lift-out pins 47 of the lift-out device 22 that lie underneath the workpiece part 14, and for which the workpiece part 14 is accessible through the through-holes 19 of the workpiece support 17 are actuated. The other lift-out pins 47 of the lift-out device 23 retain their initial position. With the lift-out pins 47 extended out of the lift-out housing 46, the lift-out device 22 is raised through an appropriate lifting movement of the lift-out movement unit 26 into the position of
A control signal has the effect that the lift-out device 22 and the holding apparatus 24 are moved synchronously by the lift-out movement unit 26 and the holding apparatus movement unit 31 with a removal movement in the removal direction Z. The finished part 14, which was initially in the plane of the remaining workpiece 15, is lifted here out of the remaining workpiece 15 (
A value for the magnitude of the lifting movement is determined, for example by a displacement measuring system of the numerical control of the device 16. On this basis it is ensured that the suction grippers 39 next to the workpiece part 14 and protruding beyond the support plate 37 of the holding apparatus 24 also have a significant clearance from the surface of the remaining workpiece 15 remaining on the workpiece support 17. The vacuum generator of the holding apparatus 24 is switched on. As a result of this, those suction grippers 39 that abut the workpiece part 14 are switched from the out-of-function state into a functioning state. The holding apparatus 24 is thus transferred out of the release state into the fixing state in which the workpiece part 14 is held or fixed to the holding apparatus 24.
If the workpiece part 14 is fixed to the holding apparatus 24, the lift-out pins 47 that previously impinged upon the workpiece part 14 are withdrawn into the lift-out housing 46 of the lift-out device 23. The lift-out device 23 is lowered through an appropriate lowering movement of the lift-out movement unit 26 into the position of
As can be seen in
Connecting contacts of the two perforated plates 42, 44 are detected by a sensor apparatus 45. A first resistance measuring device W1 and a second resistance measuring device W2 are in the sensor apparatus 45. The first resistance measuring device W1 is used in a first check state P1 of the sensor apparatus 45 to determine a resistance R1 between the first and second contact elements 41, 43 and a reference potential, which in the illustrated example is the ground potential M of the device 16, or of the processing machine 1. The second resistance measuring device W2 serves to determine a resistance R2 between the first contact elements 41 and the second contact elements 43 in a second check state P2 of the sensor apparatus 45. A first switch S1 is connected in parallel with the second resistance measuring device W2, and a second switch S2 is connected in series with the first resistance measuring device W1 and the first or second contact elements 41, 43.
The first contact element 41 and the second contact elements 43 include resilient contact pins 41a, 43a that abut each a first contact point K1 or second contact points K2 at the workpiece part 14 with their free ends.
The sensor apparatus 45 makes it possible to check whether the workpiece part 14 has been fully separated from the remaining workpiece 15, or whether an electrically conductive connection still exists between the workpiece part 14 and the remaining workpiece 15. For this purpose the sensor apparatus 45 is operated in a first check state P1 illustrated in
In the event that the workpiece part 14 and the remaining workpiece 15 still have contact to one another, current can flow from the workpiece part 14 through the remaining workpiece 15 to the ground potential of the processing machine 1. A very small electrical resistance R1 is measured in this case. If the workpiece part is fully separated from the remaining workpiece 15 and lifted out, a closed electrical circuit does not form, and a large resistance R1 is determined between the first and the second contact elements 41, 43 and the ground potential.
It is thus possible to recognize whether the workpiece part 14 has been fully separated from the remaining workpiece 15 on the basis of the value of the measured first resistance R1. In the case of a fault (the workpiece part 14 is still connected to the remaining workpiece 15), the lift-out process can be repeated, or a fault signal can be output. In the case in which the workpiece part 14 has been fully separated from the remaining workpiece 15, the removal of the workpiece part 14 can be continued.
The sensor apparatus 45 also makes possible a check as to whether the workpiece part 14 is in fact fixed to the holding apparatus 24 while it is in the fixing state. The sensor apparatus 45 is operated for this purpose in a second check state P2, in which the first switch S1 and the second switch S2 are open, as is illustrated in
As illustrated in
The way in which the removal device 16 functions was described above with reference to a processing machine 1 with a combined movement of the workpiece 2 and of the laser cutting head 6. The removal device can, however, also be employed in an analogous manner at a processing machine in which the workpiece is stationary during the machining and is, for example, on a bridge support that can be moved into the processing region of the machine and out of it with the aid of a pallet changer.
If the removal device 16 is used for the automation of such a flying optics machine, this is also possible without an additional lift-out device. To remove a workpiece part from the remaining workpiece, the holding apparatus 24 is in this case first placed on the surface of the workpiece part 14, after which the vacuum generator of the holding apparatus 24 is switched on. The holding apparatus 24 is thus transferred from the release state into the fixing state in which the workpiece part 14 is held or fixed on the holding apparatus 24. To prevent the remaining workpiece 15 being fixed to the holding apparatus 24, the holding elements 39 can, for example, be implemented as active suction units whose opening state can be changed by a controller. The holding apparatus 24 can alternatively be adapted to the shape of the workpiece parts 14 to be removed in such a way that holding elements 39 are only in the region of the workpiece part 14. A support plate 37 is not necessary in this example.
As an alternative to the example shown in
A number of embodiments of the invention have been described. Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102017205095.0 | Mar 2017 | DE | national |
This application is a continuation of and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 from PCT Application No. PCT/EP2018/056884 filed on Mar. 19, 2018, which claims priority from German Application No. DE 10 2017 205 095.0, filed on Mar. 27, 2017. The entire contents of each of these priority applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/EP2018/056884 | Mar 2018 | US |
| Child | 16585004 | US |
