The present disclosure relates to a machine tool.
There is a known cable carrier that accommodates a movable wire body, such as a movable cable or a movable tube, for supplying power or supplying air or the like to a device mounted on a slider of a linear motion mechanism (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2003-244831). The cable carrier is disposed in a space adjacent to a moving space of the slider so as to be parallel to the moving direction of the slider, is folded back in a U-shape, and has one end fixed to a base and the other end fixed to the slider.
An aspect of the present disclosure is a machine tool including: a base; a slider that is supported so as to be linearly movable in a direction with respect to the base; a ball screw configured to cause the slider to linearly move with respect to the base; and a chain-like carrier used for wiring a movable wire body between the base and the slider, wherein the carrier is disposed between the base and the slider and curved in a U-shape around an axis extending in a direction in which the base and the slider are apart from each other, one end of the carrier is fixed to the slider and an other end of the carrier is fixed to the base, and a curved portion of the carrier, which is curved in the U-shape, is disposed at a position where the curved portion crosses an extension line of an axis of the ball screw.
In a horizontal linear motion mechanism, such as a stage of a machine tool, in a case in which a cable carrier is folded back in a U-shape in the horizontal direction to reduce the height dimension, it is necessary to avoid interference between a ball screw for driving a slider and the cable carrier. In this case, by placing the cable carrier below the slider so as to be adjacent thereto and by placing the ball screw below the cable carrier, it is possible to avoid interference between the ball screw and the cable carrier.
However, with this structure, the force point where the motive power is applied to the slider is significantly separated from a top surface of the slider, and this may increase vibration at the time of acceleration and deceleration of the slider.
Therefore, it is desired to reduce the height dimension of a linear motion mechanism of a machine tool, while effectively suppressing vibration at the time of acceleration and deceleration of a slider.
A machine tool 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in
The drive mechanism 4 causes the saddle 3 to linearly move from a position close to the column 5 to a position separated from the column 5. As shown in
In an example shown in
A nut 10 meshes with the ball screw 8. As shown in
Therefore, as shown in
In this embodiment, the motor 7 connected to the one end of the ball screw 8 is disposed on one end side of the bed 2, and the support bracket 9 that supports the other end of the ball screw 8 is disposed at a position close to the column 5.
In addition, the machine tool 1 according to this embodiment includes a chain-like carrier 11 for wiring a movable wire body 100, such as a movable cable or a movable tube, between the bed 2 and the saddle 3. The carrier 11 includes a plurality of pieces 12 that are connected to each other so as to be individually rotatable about a plurality of axes parallel to each other. The movable wire body 100 is inserted into an elongated internal space formed inside the plurality of connected pieces 12.
In this embodiment, the carrier 11 is disposed in the same accommodation space Y as the ball screw 8 and the guide rails 6. As shown in
In addition, the carrier 11 is folded back by being curved in a U-shape around an axis extending in a direction in which the bed 2 and the saddle 3 are spaced apart from each other, which is a vertical direction in this embodiment. The carrier 11 has a U-shaped curved portion 11a extending around the support bracket 9 on the other end side of the ball screw 8, and has the other end fixed to the bed 2, the other end extending parallel to the ball screw 8 in a space between the other guide rail 6 and the ball screw 8.
In other words, the curved portion 11a of the carrier 11, which is curved in a U-shape, is disposed at a position where the curved portion 11a crosses an extension line of the axis X of the ball screw 8. In addition, the other end of the ball screw 8 extends to a position close to the column 5 in order to move the saddle 3 to the position close to the column 5. Thus, the curved portion 11a of the carrier 11, which extends around the support bracket 9 on the other end side, is disposed in a space formed below the column 5.
As shown in
For example, the first seating surface 15 and the second seating surface 16 of the bed 2 are provided with screw holes (not shown), and the attachment surface 13a is provided with through-holes (not shown) at positions that coincide with the screw holes when the attachment surface 13a is placed on the first seating surface 15 or the second seating surface 16. The guide member 13 can be detachably fixed to the first seating surface 15 or the second seating surface 16 in a selective manner by fastening bolts penetrating through the through-holes into the screw holes.
As shown in
The second seating surface 16 is disposed at a position closer to the motor 7 than the first seating surface 15 is in the moving direction of the saddle 3, and also the second seating surface 16 is disposed at a position higher than the first seating surface 15. When the guide member 13 fixed to the first seating surface 15 is detached therefrom and fixed to the second seating surface 16, as shown in
By doing so, as shown in
The operation of the thus-configured machine tool 1 according to this embodiment will be described below.
With the machine tool 1 according to this embodiment, when the motor 7 is actuated to rotate the ball screw 8, the nut 10 meshing with the ball screw 8 moves along the axis X of the ball screw 8, and thus, it is possible to move the saddle 3 to which the nut 10 is fixed in the axis X direction of the ball screw 8.
Because the one end 11b of the carrier 11 is fixed to the saddle 3, the one end 11b of the carrier 11 is moved in accordance with the movement of the saddle 3. As a result, the carrier 11 changes the position of the curved portion 11a, and places the movable wire body 100 inserted in the interior thereof in a predetermined wiring path while protecting the movable wire body 100.
During the operation of the machine tool 1, the guide member 13 fixing the other end 11c of the carrier 11 is fixed to the first seating surface 15 of the bed 2.
By doing so, it is possible to place the curved portion 11a of the carrier 11 at the position where the curved portion 11a crosses the extension line of the axis X of the ball screw 8, and to suppress the height dimension of the accommodation space Y in which the ball screw 8 and the carrier 11 are arranged.
In other words, there is an advantage in that it is possible to place the ball screw 8 close to the saddle 3, and to improve the rigidity of the saddle 3 by bringing the force point where the driving force is input from the ball screw 8 to the saddle 3 close to the saddle 3, thereby suppressing vibration of the saddle 3 at the time of acceleration and deceleration thereof.
In addition, in this embodiment, the curved portion 11a of the carrier 11 is disposed in the space below the column 5, in which the ball screw 8 is not disposed, in order to arrange the ball screw 8 and the carrier 11 at the same height position. Therefore, as shown in
Accordingly, in this embodiment, the saddle 3 is moved to a position farthest from the column 5, for example, during maintenance of the movable wire body 100, and the guide member 13 is subsequently detached from the first seating surface 15 and, as shown in
By doing so, the curved portion 11a of the carrier 11, which has been accommodated in the space below the column 5, can be drawn to the outside from the space below the column 5 and disposed at a position above the ball screw 8. In other words, there is an advantage in that it is possible to expose the entire carrier 11 to the outside of the column 5, and thus to easily access the movable wire body 100 inside the carrier 11 for maintenance work, such as replacement of the movable wire body 100.
Note that, in this embodiment, the bed 2 is provided with the first seating surface 15 and the second seating surface 16 that are disposed at different positions in the moving direction of the saddle 3 and that have different heights, and the position where the common attachment surface 13a of the guide member 13 is attached is switched from the first seating surface 15 to the second seating surface 16. Alternatively, as shown in
In addition, the case in which the saddle 3 is moved in the horizontal direction has been illustrated as an example of the machine tool 1 according to this embodiment; however, the machine tool 1 is not limited thereto and may be applied to a case in which the saddle 3 is moved in another direction, such as a vertical direction.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2020-110304 | Jun 2020 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2021/023300 | 6/21/2021 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2021/261414 | 12/30/2021 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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5125140 | Sticht | Jun 1992 | A |
5468101 | Shoda | Nov 1995 | A |
5979038 | Nelson | Nov 1999 | A |
6066078 | Koelblin | May 2000 | A |
10293442 | Chen | May 2019 | B2 |
20160348757 | Jaeker | Dec 2016 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
111015252 | Apr 2020 | CN |
S60149794 | Oct 1985 | JP |
2002237695 | Aug 2002 | JP |
2003244831 | Aug 2003 | JP |
2003333738 | Nov 2003 | JP |
2006246639 | Sep 2006 | JP |
2011183403 | Sep 2011 | JP |
2018110463 | Jul 2018 | JP |
Entry |
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International Search Report dated Sep. 7, 2021, in International Application No. PCT/JP2021/023300, 9 pages. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20230226655 A1 | Jul 2023 | US |