Patent Application
20200406414
The present invention is generally related to CNC machines. More particularly, the present invention is related to a method and system for automatic loading and unloading of jobs in a CNC machine.
CNC machines are widely used for manufacturing parts or components, since these machines automate the manufacturing process by implementing computer generated design and directives. The machines need raw jobs to be loaded and finished jobs to be unloaded from them to continue the process without any interruptions. Conventional methods for loading and unloading involve human operators for some CNC machines; while others involve robot or gantry systems for automate the loading and unloading process. Having human operators for loading systems are considered inefficient and also dangerous.
While present auto loading systems, which include robotic systems or gantry arms, are external to the machines and require an access for the robots to enter the machine enclosures for loading and unloading of jobs. Such accesses are, generally, doors positioned either in front or top of the machine and they open and close to allow the entry of robots or gantry arms. A usual way of loading system includes a robot unloading a finished job, loading a new job, coming out of the door and dropping the finished job at a designated point.
Such existing auto loading methods and systems use complex CNC controlled machines (Robot or Gantry), which are generally expensive and require a machine door to open every time a job needs to be unloaded and a raw job needs to be loaded in the machine. This is, in turn, a time and energy consuming method and also allows escape of a coolant mist when the door opens. This escaped coolant mist is a loss of money and also spreads dampness in the area around machine.
Therefore, there exists a need for auto loading and unloading systems in the CNC machines which is simpler, faster and efficient, and does not allow the coolant mist to escape, hence helps in saving money.
Hence, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an innovative and efficient way of unloading machined jobs, loading new jobs and removing machined jobs from the CNC machines.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an auto loading system and method for CNC machines that ensures entry of new jobs into machine enclosures and exit of finished jobs from the enclosure through small cavities/openings which eliminate necessity of having a door and its opening.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an auto loading system and method for CNC machines that exploits the CNC machine's cross slide movements only, to eliminate need for external machines like Robot or Gantry for loading & unloading, making the design of the system simpler.
It is a yet another objective of the present invention to design an auto loading system which eliminates opening of doors of the CNC machines and hence, does not allow the coolant mist to escape from the machine enclosure.
For a better understanding of the embodiments of the systems and methods described herein, and to show more clearly how they may be carried into effect, references will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals represent like elements/components throughout and wherein:
This patent describes the subject matter for patenting with specificity to meet statutory requirements. However, the description itself is not intended to limit the scope of this patent. The principles described herein may be embodied in many different forms.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the invention are shown. Indeed, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
The present invention provides an automatic loading and unloading system and method to be employed in CNC machines. For the purposes of clarity and simplicity, in the further description, the ‘automatic loading and unloading system and method’ of the present invention is referred to as ‘auto loading system’, without deviating from the meaning and scope of the present invention. The auto loading system uses the slide component of the CNC machine itself and exploits its sliding movements to perform four job handling operations, which are pick a raw job, unload the machined job, load the raw job and eject the machined job from a CNC machine enclosure. Using the sliding movements of the CNC machine itself, eliminates the need of having any external robotic/gantry arm. The system, further, comprises twin preset grippers.
The auto load system uses the twin grippers on the cross slide of the CNC machines to complete the above four job handling operations in only TWO actions; first simultaneously pick a new job from a pickup zone AND unload a finished job from a chuck of a spindle; and second, load the new job in the chuck and drop the finished job in a chute. This offers a simple and faster way of auto loading and unloading jobs from the CNC machines. It may be apparent to a person skilled in that the auto loading system may use a variety of suitable job handling tools, including the twin grippers, depending on the design and requirement of the CNC machine, without deviating from the meaning and scope of the present invention. It may also be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the present auto loading system may be applied to a variety of CNC machines, such as Lather, Milling, and others.
In a preferred embodiment as shown in the
In an embodiment, the CNC machine may be a double spindle machine having two spindles with two chucks. In such cases, the CNC machine will have two chutes leading to two chucks, and with two sets of twin grippers working together to load and unload jobs from the machine. Both the chucks work at the same time as raw jobs are being fed to them simultaneously.
Thereafter, as shown in
In the embodiment wherein the CNC machine is a double spindle machine, each spindle has a set of first and second grippers, where each set employed in the CNC machine works in the same fashion as described in the above
Further, the raw job is taken to the pick-up zone from where it is picked up by the first gripper 110, while simultaneously the second gripper 112 unloads a finished job from the chuck 118 of the CNC machine 100, when the first and the second grippers 110 and 112 are in the position 200 shown above in
For a single spindle CNC machine 100, a set of twin grippers is used: the first and the second grippers (110 and 112) which are placed on the Cross Slide of the CNC machine and their sliding movements together are controlled by the CNC. At step 508, the raw job reaches the pick-up zone, where it is picked up by the first gripper 110, while simultaneously the second gripper 112 unloads a finished job from the chuck of the CNC machine 100. The step 508 executes when the first and the second grippers 110 and 112 are positioned at the position 200 on the Cross Slide. Thereafter, the first and the second grippers 110 and 112 slide to the position 300 from the position 200 on the Cross Slide. Being at the position 300, the first gripper 110 loads the raw job on the chuck, while the second gripper 112 unloads and drops the finished job in the ejector chute 114 simultaneously, at step 510. The finished job slides through the ejector chute 114 and is dropped into the out-feed bin 116 for collection.
Advantageously, the present invention provides an auto loading system which is simpler in design and functions faster than the conventional systems. It eliminates the need for external machines like Robot or Gantry for loading & unloading, since the present auto loading system uses the Cross Slide component of the CNC machine itself. The slide components facilitate the movement of the first and the second grippers along X-axis for loading and unloading the jobs, simultaneously, in the CNC machine. Further, the CNC machine using the present auto loading system do not have any doors for allowing the entry of robots/gantry arms, which in turn eliminates the need for door opening. Hence, the CNC machine prevents the coolant mist to be escaped from the machine enclosure. Therefore, the present invention saves space due to its simple design; saves in cost since it prevents escape of coolant mist and also eliminates use of external robots/gantry arms and complex CNC controlling parts; is easy to set-up and has low operational cost over lifetime. The auto loading system works preferably for loading and unloading of small mass produced jobs like Rings, Gear Blanks & Valves/Pins. It, further, eliminates need for human loading and unloading which is a repetitive job.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Indeed, the novel methods, devices, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the methods, devices, and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure.
The drawings and the forgoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, orders of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed.
Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples.
Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 201811007024 | Feb 2018 | IN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IN2018/050698 | 10/30/2018 | WO | 00 |
