Patent Application
20240280966
This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-026649 filed on Feb. 22, 2023, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an injection molding machine and a method of providing component replacement recommendation information for an injection molding machine that estimate a service life of a component and provide information on replacement of a component.
An injection molding machine includes a plurality of components, including a component that may deteriorate and fail after long-term operation. Examples of the component include a ball screw, a servo amplifier, a cooling fan, a relay, and the like. If the component fail, the injection molding machine cannot be operated until the component is replaced. When it is determined that a component is nearing the end of a service life thereof, a manager of the injection molding machine can order the component at an early stage so as to reduce a downtime in which the injection molding machine cannot operate. However, if a failure occurs due to overlooking of the deterioration, the injection molding machine cannot be operated until the component is received and replaced. In particular, when a component which takes a long time from ordering to receiving fails, long-term suspension of operation is unavoidable.
JP4276464B proposes an injection molding machine that calculates an accumulated usage time of each component constituting the injection molding machine and estimates and displays a service life. The injection molding machine also provides information on prices of the components.
The related-art injection molding machine disclosed in JP4276464B estimates the service life of the components and provides information, allowing a manager to order a component at an early stage. However, there is also a problem to be solved. Specifically, a time required to procure the component is not taken into account. Some components are easily available, such as a so-called general-purpose component, but for example, in the case of a component that is made to order or in the case of ordering from overseas, a long time is required from the order to acquisition. In the injection molding machine disclosed in JP4276464B, even if the service life is estimated and the manager is prompted to place an order before a component fails, if it takes time to acquire the component, there is a possibility that the component fails before the component is acquired and the injection molding machine is stopped for a long period of time.
Illustrative aspects of the present disclosure provide an injection molding machine that enables acquiring of a component nearing the end of a service life at an appropriate time and shortening a downtime.
Other problems and novel features will become apparent from description of the present description and the accompanying drawings.
An injection molding machine includes: a control device configured to estimate a service life for a plurality of managed components among components of an injection molding machine, with the plurality of managed components being management targets. The control device is configured to manage, for each of the managed components, a usage start date on which usage is started, an estimated service life date which is estimated to be a day on which the service life is reached, and an estimated lead time which is an estimation of a lead time required from order placement to completion of replacement. In a case where one or a plurality of the managed components reaches an advance notice date which is ahead of the estimated service life date by a predetermined number of days, the control device is configured to: take the managed component as a recommended replacement component; and provide component replacement recommendation information including information to prompt replacement and the estimated lead time for the recommended replacement component.
According to the present disclosure, information on estimated lead time can be utilized, so that a component that is nearing the end of service life can be grasped at an appropriate time, and downtime can be shortened.
Hereinafter, a specific illustrative embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following illustrative embodiment. In order to clarify the description, the following description and the drawings are simplified as appropriate. In the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof is omitted as necessary. In addition, hatching may be omitted to avoid complicating the drawings.
As shown in
The mold clamping device 2 includes a fixed platen 7, a movable platen 8, and a mold clamping housing 9. The fixed platen 7 is fixed to a bed B. The movable platen 8 is slidably provided on the bed B. The fixed platen 7 and the mold clamping housing 9 are coupled to each other by a plurality of tie bars 11, 11 . . . , and the movable platen 8 is slidable between the fixed platen 7 and the mold clamping housing 9. A mold clamping mechanism, that is, a toggle mechanism 13 in the present illustrative embodiment is provided between the mold clamping housing 9 and the movable platen 8. The toggle mechanism 13 is driven by a driving part including a ball screw 14. The fixed platen 7 and the movable platen 8 are provided with a fixed side mold 15 and a movable side mold 16, respectively. Therefore, the molds 15 and 16 are opened and closed when the toggle mechanism 13 is driven.
The injection device 3 includes a heating cylinder 19, a screw 20 provided in the heating cylinder 19, and a screw driving device 22. The heating cylinder 19 is supported by the screw driving device 22. The screw 20 is driven by the screw driving device 22 in a rotational direction and an axial direction. The heating cylinder 19 is provided with a hopper 23 and an injection nozzle 24. In such an injection device 3, the heating cylinder 19 is provided with heaters 25, 25, . . . , and temperature sensors 26, 26, . . . , which are thermocouples, are embedded therein.
In the injection device 3, the heating cylinder 19 is heated by the heaters 25, 25, . . . an injection material is supplied from the hopper 23, and the screw 20 is rotated. As a result, the injection material is melted and sent to a distal end of the heating cylinder 19, and the screw 20 is retracted. That is, metering is performed. The temperature of the injection material is monitored by the temperature sensors 26, 26, . . . , and the metering is continued while controlling the outputs of the heaters 25, 25, . . . . When the metering is completed, the screw 20 is driven in the axial direction. As a result, the injection material is injected.
The injection molding machine 1 includes a plurality of components as described above, and some components deteriorate due to long-term operation and need to be replaced. The injection molding machine 1 according to the present illustrative embodiment estimates a service life of a predetermined component as a management target, and recommends replacement when the component reaches the end of the service life or nears the end of the service life. Such a component as the management target is referred to as a managed component in this description. In the present illustrative embodiment, the following types of managed components are targeted. That is, ball screws, a circuit board, the servo amplifier, the cooling fan, the thermocouples, and the relay.
The ball screws include not only the mold clamping ball screw 14 provided in the mold clamping device 2, but also those provided in the screw driving device 22, although not described, and other ball screws. Although not shown, the circuit board, the servo amplifier, and the relay are all accommodated in the bed B. The circuit board includes electronic circuits that control various devices. The servo amplifier supplies a three-phase AC voltage to servo motors that drive various devices. The relay connects a control circuit and various devices. The cooling fan is provided not only in the bed B but also in various devices to cool the devices. Any type of component may be taken as the managed component, and the component is not necessarily limited to the component adopted in the present illustrative embodiment.
In the injection molding machine 1 according to the present illustrative embodiment, a service life management function that estimates a service life of a managed component and recommends replacement of the component is provided in the control device 4.
The managed component purchase related information file 31 includes information to be referred to when newly purchasing a managed component. The following information is stored for each managed component.
Purchase price of a managed component. Not only Japanese yen but also currencies of other countries such as US dollars may be used.
Estimated period of the lead time required from order placement to completion of replacement.
Number of days for calculating an advance notice date which is ahead of an estimated service life date for a managed component. The advance notice date is a date on which a user is recommended to replace the managed component and is provided with the information. If zero is set, the advance notice date is the estimated service life date. The number of advance notice days may not be set for each managed component and may be set as a number of days common to all managed components.
Information that can be used as a reference in the determination of component purchase, such as used product prices.
The managed component replacement management file 32 includes information on managed components currently in use. The following information is stored for each managed component.
Date on which the managed component is started to be used. Replacement date if the managed component is replaced.
Period predetermined for each managed component, and is a period during which the managed component can be used when operated under normal load and frequency of use.
Only applies to a managed component whose failure can be detected by the control device 4. Information on whether or not the managed component fails.
The managed component replacement history file 33 includes a history of replacement of the managed components. The following information is stored.
Name and component number of the replaced managed component.
Date on which the managed component is replaced.
Purchase price of the managed component at the time of replacement. Not only Japanese yen but also currencies of other countries such as US dollars may be used.
The service life estimation process 35 is executed periodically, for example, every day. Further, the screen process 38 is also executed. When executed, the service life estimation process 35 estimates a service life for each managed component and calculates the estimated service life date. Specifically, for each managed component, the “usable period” is added to the “usage start date” stored in the managed component replacement management file 32 to calculate the estimated service life date. It is determined whether a current date and time has reached a date ahead of the calculated estimated service life date by the “number of advance notice days”, that is, whether the current date and time has reached the advance notice date.
The service life estimation process 35 can also modify the calculation method of the estimated service life date. This is because depending on the type of the managed component, the service life may be reached earlier due to the accumulation of loads during use. For example, in the case of a ball screw, it can be considered that the service life has been reached when a rotation number, which is the load, reaches a prescribed rotation number, that is, the service life rotation number. By obtaining the rotation number of the ball screw per molding cycle in advance and multiplying the rotation number by the number of molding cycles performed since the “usage start date”, a total rotation number, which is the cumulative load, can be obtained. By calculating a ratio of the total rotation number to the service life rotation number, it is possible to evaluate a degree of deterioration of the ball screw until the service life is reached, and it is possible to estimate the day when the service life is reached based on a period from the usage start date to the present. Therefore, the service life estimation process 35 can bring forward the estimated service life date if the date estimated to be the day when the service life is reached as described above is earlier than the estimated service life date calculated based on the “usable period”.
Even in the case of other managed components, by treating a computable index as a load as the rotation number in the case of the ball screw, it is possible to calculate a date when the service life is reached based on the cumulative load. When the service life estimation process 35 calculates a degree of reaching the service life based on such a cumulative load, information on the cumulative load regarding the managed components may be stored in the managed component replacement management file 32, and may be updated by the service life estimation process 35. When the calculation method of the estimated service life date is modified in this way, the service life estimation process 35 also determines whether the advance notice date, which is ahead of the calculated estimated service life date by the “number of advance notice days”, has been reached.
Some managed components can detect failures. For example, the servo amplifier, the relay, and the like. A failure can be detected when a voltage to be output is not detected. When the failure detection process 36 detects a failure in a managed component that can detect such a failure, “Yes” indicating a failure state is written in “Failure” of the managed component replacement management file 32, and the alarm process 37 is notified.
When the service life estimation process 35 determines that there is a managed component that has reached the advance notice date, when the estimated service life date is reached for the managed component, or when the failure detection process 36 detects a failure, an alarm that recommends replacement of the managed component is output. The alarm to be output is outputted as a screen displayed on the monitor 4a, that is, as alarm screens 87A, 87B, 87C (
Hereinafter, various screens achieving the service life management function in the injection molding machine 1 according to the present illustrative embodiment will be described.
The component service life estimation screen 40 is shown in
The estimated service life date is displayed for each type of managed component, and a service life reaching status from the “usage start date” to the estimated service life date is shown in a percentage graph. For example, for the ball screw, the estimated service life date is displayed as 2023/08, and the service life reaching status until the estimated service life date is 95%. In this graph, 0% corresponds to the “usage start date” and 100% corresponds to the estimated service life date. In this example, the estimated service life date is displayed in months. Alternatively, the estimated service life date may be displayed in days.
A warning mark 43 is displayed for the managed component relay. This indicates that it is necessary to consider replacement at an early stage for at least one relay among the plurality of relays provided. In this example, the relay has reached the estimated service life date and has exceeded 100%, satisfying a conditions for displaying the warning mark 43. The warning mark 43 is also displayed when there is a managed component whose “Failure” is “Yes” in the managed component replacement management file 32 (see
The component service life estimation screen 40 is provided with a component replacement management button 45 and a warning display ON/OFF button 46. When the component replacement management button 45 is selected, a component replacement management screen 55, which will be described in detail later with reference to
When the second and subsequent display switching buttons 42b, 42c, . . . are selected on the component service life estimation screen 40, information on the service life of the managed component of the selected type is displayed. For example, when the display switching button 42g of “relay” is selected, the screen display is switched to “relay” as shown in
At the bottom of the right field of the screen, managed component location information 50 is shown, and a location where the relay of the component number is provided in the injection molding machine 1 (see
The component replacement management screen 55 is shown in
The recommended replacement components displayed in a recommended replacement component field in an upper part of the component replacement management screen 55 include a managed component that has reached the advance notice date as predicted by the service life estimation process 35 and a managed component whose failure is detected by the failure detection process 36 (see
The user is able to determine whether or not to order the managed components by referring to the component price, and can consider when to order a managed component by referring to the estimated lead time. The component price may be displayed not only in Japanese yen but also in currencies of other countries. Buttons 57, 57, . . . are provided at the head of the recommended replacement components. When the buttons 57, 57, . . . are selected, the component detail information screen 70 (see
The recommended replacement component field is provided with a recommended replacement components total amount display field 59 for displaying a recommended replacement components total amount, which is a total of the component prices of the recommended replacement components, and an advice display field 60 for displaying advice as to whether to recommend replacement. The injection molding machine 1 (see
History of managed components replaced in the past is displayed in a replacement history field in a lower part of the component replacement management screen 55. In addition to the type and component number of the managed components, the “Replacement Date” and the “Component Price” recorded for each replaced managed component in the managed component replacement history file 33 (see
A cumulative replaced managed component price display field 64 displays a total amount of component prices of the replaced managed components displayed above. A total amount display field 65 displays an amount obtained by adding the amount displayed in the recommended replacement components total amount display field 59 to the total amount displayed in the cumulative replaced managed component price display field 64. That is, a total amount of a cumulative component price of the managed component replaced in the past and the component price of the managed component to be replaced from now is displayed. The replacement history field of this screen is provided with an injection molding machine main body price display field 67 and an advice display field 68. When the total amount displayed in the total amount display field 65 exceeds the injection molding machine main body price, advice on notification of the fact and considering purchasing a new injection molding machine is displayed in the advice display field 68. When the total amount does not exceed the injection molding machine main body price, an advice on notification of the fact and recommending the replacement of the recommended replacement component is displayed. Incidentally, when the total amount displayed in the total amount display field 65 exceeds a value obtained by multiplying the injection molding machine main body price by a predetermined ratio (for example, 0.6), advice on notification of the fact and considering purchasing a new injection molding machine is displayed. Further, when an amount displayed in the recommended replacement components total amount display field 59 exceeds a value obtained by multiplying the injection molding machine main body price by a predetermined ratio, advice on notification of the fact and considering purchasing a new injection molding machine is displayed.
The total amount displayed in the total amount display field 65 also receives another check. The user can set a cumulative upper limit price using a cumulative upper limit price setting field 93 of the user condition screen 91 shown in
When the component detail information button 54 is selected on the component service life estimation screen 40 (see
A reset button 78 is provided on this screen. The reset button 78 is operated when the managed component is replaced. When the reset button 78 is selected, the reset process screen 80 shown in
When the reset button 53 is selected on the component service life estimation screen 40 (see
The alarm screens 87A, 87B, and 87C shown in
A modification of the present illustrative embodiment will be described.
In the injection molding machine 1′ according to the modification of the present illustrative embodiment, a communication process 95 is provided in the service life management function. The communication process is not performed in the injection molding machine 1 (see
The present illustrative embodiment can be modified in other ways. For example, the component price and the like may be displayed not only in Japanese yen but also in currencies of other countries. This can be modified to display the component price in multiple currencies in parallel on the screen. The service life estimation process 35 (see
Although the invention made by the present inventors is specifically described based on the illustrative embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the illustrative embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. A plurality of examples described above may be implemented in combination as appropriate.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-026649 | Feb 2023 | JP | national |
