The present invention relates to a forging machine. More particularly this invention concerns manipulator for a forging machine.
A typical forge manipulator has ingot tongs that grip the workpiece for forging and rotates it by means of a drive in a manner dependent on the forging process. Such a forging manipulator, particularly for multiple-hammer forging machines, is known from EP 0 434 891 B1. Here several hammers work on the forging piece radially, and the manipulator has a central rotatably mounted axle. The central axle moves the workpiece according to the forging sequence rotationally. A motor running with a predetermined constant rotation rate serves as the rotary drive of the manipulator. This motor is acts directly on the central axle of the manipulator via a worm drive. The rotational movement of the central axle stopped by the hammers before the pressure contact phase, and maintained stopped during the pressure contact phase. The worm driven in the process is mounted to be movable axially.
According to the prior art, the rotational movement of the forging piece is stopped before the pressure contact phase, i.e. engagement of the forging tool with the workpiece, and maintained stopped during the pressure contact phase.
Such rotary drives for manipulators of forging machines are nevertheless quite complex and expensive. In addition, owing to the complexity of the construction, the rotary drive is susceptible to malfunction.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved manipulator for forging machine.
Another object is the provision of such an improved is manipulator for forging machine that overcomes the above-given disadvantages, in particular that is technically simpler and can be produced with less complexity, and also enables the main shaft of the manipulator at whose front end the ingot tongs are located to rotate precisely in defined angular steps such that the workpiece being forged receives a rectangular, square, polygonal or round profile. Despite this simplification, reliability should be increased.
A forging press has a workpiece manipulator having according to the invention a shaft centered on and rotatable about an axis, a grab for holding the workpiece in the press and rotationally fixed to the shaft, and a disk fixed angularly to the shaft and projecting radially outward therefrom. Two couplings are juxtaposed with the disk, rotatable relative to the shaft about the axis, and have respective clutches for locking onto the disk so that when locked onto the disk the couplings are rotationally fixed to the disk. Respective actuators connected to the couplings can angularly shift the disk and thereby rotate the shaft, the grab, and the workpiece held by the grab.
The rotary actuator that moves the grab, particularly ingot tongs, has a main shaft and the disk can be mounted in a conventional manner, for example by shrink fitting, welding, bolting, or a similar method on the shaft. Also according to the invention, the rotary actuator has a coupling mounted on the main shaft in a free floating manner and surrounding the coupling disk. It can be locked to the coupling disk, when required, for joint rotation of the coupling disk and the no longer free-floating coupler. Also, when the coupler is locked to the disk, movement of the coupler by its actuator(s) rotates the shaft and also the grab.
This configuration makes it possible that, when the grab is rotated in a desired manner at a predetermined angle about the longitudinal axis of the main shaft, and the coupler is engaged with the coupling disk, a rotational movement effected on the coupler by the coupling arrangement is entirely transmitted to the main shaft without any delay.
A preferred embodiment of the invention uses a hydraulic drive for the rotational movement of the main shaft about its longitudinal axis. The hydraulic drive very preferably has at least two hydraulic cylinders. Four hydraulic cylinders are provided in a more preferable configuration, connected at least indirectly to the main shaft. According to the invention, the indirect connection is implemented via the coupler and in a particularly preferable configuration, by the hydraulic drive, particularly the hydraulic cylinders, engaging with the free floating coupler.
According to one advantageous embodiment, the hydraulic cylinders can be positioned independently of each other, because this configuration supports, in a particularly advantageous manner, the degrees of freedom of the system and the possibilities associated with the hydraulically effected rotational movement of the grab main shaft. In an alternative embodiment of the invention, the hydraulic cylinders on one side of the shaft are synchronizing cylinders, in order to achieve an even application of the radial actuating force to each side of the main shaft via the cylinders.
In a particularly preferable configuration, the main shaft of the rotary actuator for the grab is designed as a tube shaft, thereby making it possible that the mass to be moved by the hydraulic drive can be optimally reduced without particularly influencing the rigidity and strength of the entire structure.
As already mentioned, the hydraulic cylinders engage with the couplers journaled on the shaft. This is particularly advantageously supported if there are at least two couplers flanking the coupling disk, whereby both a particularly secure construction of the overall coupling arrangement is achieved and also the possibility of having two actuators arranged on both sides of the main shaft for the rotational movement of the main shaft.
Particularly advantageously, the manipulator according to the invention can be part of a forging machine. In a most preferred embodiment of the invention, this forging machine is a so-called multiple-hammer forging machine.
The above and other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description, reference being made to the accompanying drawing in which:
a and 3b are small-scale end and sectional side views of the system of this invention;
a and 4b show pivoting operation of the system for forging a round, that is cylindrical workpiece;
a and 5b show the system forging a hexagonal-section workpiece;
a and 6b show the system forging a square or octagonal-section workpiece.
As seen in
a and 3b show how the actuator 2 has two pairs of hydraulic cylinders 5a and 5b pivoted about axes 5a′ and 5b′ above the shaft 3 on a fixed support 19 and that have piston rods pivoted at their lower ends on the respective coupling bodies 4b at axes 5a′ and 5b′. The axes 5a′ and 5b′ are all parallel to one another and to the axis 6.
Each of the cylinders 5a and 5b is a double-acting unit is with a piston rod projecting from each end so the opposite exposed piston faces are of identical surface area. This makes accurate bidirectional operation possible.
In contrast, in
Like
In contrast, in
a and 6b show rotary step control for forging a four- and/or eight-sided rod workpiece. In
In contrast, in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102009018353 | Apr 2009 | DE | national |
102009052141 | Nov 2009 | DE | national |
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Number | Date | Country |
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434891 | Jul 1991 | EP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20100269562 A1 | Oct 2010 | US |