A vertical knife loading machine

Abstract

The present invention discloses a vertical tool loader for calibrating a cutting tool for a spiral bevel gear, comprising a column and a workpiece spindle arranged on a bed, and also comprising a three-dimensional probe displaced along the Y-axis and the Z-axis relative to the column through a sliding assembly, wherein the rotary axis of the workpiece spindle is parallel to the Z-axis; a measuring rod of the three-dimensional probe extends from its body, and a height probe and a radial probe are arranged on the measuring rod, wherein the height probe is used to detect the height position of the cutting tip of the cutting tool to be measured, and the radial probe is used to detect the radial position of the cutting edge of the cutting tool to be measured; a tool pressing device is fixedly arranged on the body of the three-dimensional probe, wherein the tool pressing device has a tool pressing portion, and the tool pressing portion can press against the cutting tip of the cutting tool to be measured along the Z-axis. This scheme can effectively improve the adjustment accuracy and improve the operation efficiency through structural optimization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of mechanical processing, and in particular to a vertical tool loader for calibrating a spiral bevel gear cutting tool. Background Art

[0002] In the prior art, the horizontal adjustment method for spiral bevel gear cutting tools is limited by its own principle and has the problem of low tool installation efficiency. At the same time, this method detects the back face of the strip cutting edge and adjusts it accordingly. In actual application, due to the wear of the grinding wheel of the tool grinder, the back face changes greatly, and the part involved in cutting is the blade. There is a certain adjustment error in measuring the back face, which leads to a small number of workpieces processed and low efficiency.

[0003] In view of this, it is urgent to optimize the design of the correction equipment for spiral bevel gear cutting tools to overcome the above technical defects. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a vertical knife loading machine to effectively improve the operating efficiency through structural optimization.

[0005] The vertical tool loader provided by the present invention is used for calibrating the cutting tool of spiral bevel gears, and includes a column and a workpiece spindle arranged on a bed, and also includes a three-dimensional probe that is displaced along the Y-axis and the Z-axis relative to the column through a sliding component, and the rotary axis of the workpiece spindle is parallel to the Z-axis; a measuring rod of the three-dimensional probe extends from its body, and a height measuring needle and a radial measuring needle are arranged on the measuring rod, the height measuring needle is used to detect the height position of the tip of the cutting tool to be measured, and the radial measuring needle is used to detect the radial position of the blade of the cutting tool to be measured; a tool pressing device is fixedly arranged on the body of the three-dimensional probe, and the tool pressing device has a tool pressing part, and the tool pressing part can press against the tip of the cutting tool to be measured along the Z-axis.

[0006] Preferably, the radial measuring needle is located closer to the extended end side of the measuring rod relative to the height measuring needle.

[0007] Preferably, the measuring portion of the height measuring probe can be extended and retracted along the Z-axis relative to the height measuring probe body.

[0008] Preferably, the measuring portion of the radial measuring needle can be extended and retracted along the Z axis and the Y axis relative to the radial measuring needle body, and the measuring portion of the radial measuring needle is a sphere or a hemisphere.

[0009] Preferably, the tool pressing device includes a fixed rod and a tool pressing rod, the fixed rod is fixedly connected to the body of the three-dimensional probe, the tool pressing part is formed on the tool pressing rod, the tool pressing rod is connected to the fixed rod, and the position of the tool pressing rod relative to the fixed rod along the Z axis is adjustable.

[0010] Preferably, the knife pressing rod is located below the fixed rod, and one end of the knife pressing rod is fixedly connected to the fixed rod, and the other end is connected to the fixed rod through an adjusting member to adjust the position of the other end of the knife pressing rod relative to the fixed rod along the Z axis; the knife pressing part is located at the other end of the knife pressing rod.

[0011] Preferably, the adjusting member is a bolt; one of the knife pressing rod and the fixing rod is provided with a threaded hole adapted to the bolt, and the other has a pressing surface arranged opposite to the threaded hole.

[0012] Preferably, the knife pressing part is provided with a through opening, and the measuring part of the height measuring needle can be inserted into the through opening.

[0013] Preferably, the sliding assembly includes a matching Z-axis guide rail and a Z-axis slider, and a matching Y-axis guide rail and a Y-axis slider; wherein the Z-axis guide rail is fixedly set on the column, the Y-axis guide rail is fixedly set on the Z-axis slider, and the three-dimensional probe is fixedly set on the Y-axis slider.

[0014] Preferably, the Z-axis slider is driven by a Z-axis motor to displace relative to the Z-axis guide rail, and the Y-axis slider is driven by a Y-axis motor to displace relative to the Y-axis guide rail; a Z-axis sensor is provided on the column to detect the displacement of the Z-axis slider; a Y-axis sensor is provided on the Z-axis slider to detect the displacement of the Y-axis slider.

[0015] For spiral bevel gear cutting tools, this solution takes a different approach and proposes a vertical tool loader. Specifically, the blade error of the tool to be measured is calibrated and controlled by a three-dimensional probe. The three-dimensional probe can be displaced along the Y-axis and Z-axis relative to the column to adjust the working position of the three-dimensional probe according to the actual size of different tools to be measured. Among them, a height probe and a radial probe are provided on the measuring rod extending from the three-dimensional probe body. The height probe is used to detect the height position of the tip of the cutting tool to be measured to control the axial error of the blade, and the radial probe is used to detect the radial position of the blade of the cutting tool to be measured to adjust the radial runout error of the blade; at the same time, a tool pressing device is fixedly provided on the body of the three-dimensional probe, and the tool pressing part of the tool pressing device can press against the tip of the cutting tool to be measured along the Z-axis to quickly realize the positioning of each blade in the height direction. Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial technical effects:

[0016] First of all, the vertical tool loader provided by the present invention is convenient for the overall lifting operation of the tool, which can effectively improve the installation efficiency compared with the horizontal machine tool; at the same time, this solution does not require the tailstock center and other axis systems of the workpiece axis, the axis system is reduced and the equipment cost is reduced. On this basis, it has the characteristics of good installation axis rigidity and high adjustment accuracy.

[0017] Secondly, when applying this scheme for calibration operation, the knife pressing part of the knife pressing device can be used to press against the tip of the knife strip to automatically position each knife strip of the tool to be tested at the designed height. On this basis, the radial position of each knife strip can be adjusted to improve the calibration efficiency.

[0018] Third, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the measuring part of the height probe can be extended and retracted along the Z axis relative to the height probe body, and the measuring part of the radial probe can also be extended and retracted along the Z axis and the Y axis relative to the radial probe body. Therefore, the working height of the corresponding measuring part can be adjusted as needed during the adjustment process, so as to perform corresponding position detection one by one for each of the multiple circumferentially arranged knife strips on the knife disc, thereby meeting the functional requirements of rapid adjustment; in addition, it can be widely used in the adjustment of different types of tools.

[0019] Fourth, in another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fixed rod of the tool pressing device is fixedly connected to the body of the three-dimensional probe, and the tool pressing rod is connected to the fixed rod, and the position of the tool pressing rod relative to the fixed rod along the Z axis is adjustable, so that the height position of the tool pressing part formed on the tool pressing rod has an adjustable function; that is, the basic height position of the tool pressing part can be adjusted according to the specific tool size, thereby further improving the applicability of the vertical tool loading machine. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the vertical knife loading machine described in the specific implementation method;

[0021] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A partial enlarged view of the measuring end of the three-dimensional probe shown in FIG.

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the dimensional relationship of the cutter disc adjustment in a specific implementation manner is shown;

[0023] Figure 4 The schematic diagram shows the radial probe touching the measuring point of the inner blade edge;

[0024] Figure 5 Shown is a schematic diagram of the measuring point of the blade where the radial side needle touches the outer blade;

[0025] Figure 6 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of part A.

[0026] In the figure:

[0027] Bed 1, workpiece spindle 2, column 3, three-dimensional probe 4, measuring rod 41, body 42, height measuring needle 43, measuring part 431, radial measuring needle 44, measuring part 441, Z-axis guide rail 51, Z-axis slider 52, Z-axis grating ruler 53, Z-axis motor 54, Y-axis guide rail 61, Y-axis slider 62, Y-axis grating ruler 63, Y-axis motor 64, tool pressing device 7, fixing rod 71, threaded hole 711, tool pressing rod 72, tool pressing part 721, pressing surface 722, through port 723, bolt 73, balancing device 8;

[0028] Cutter disc 9, outer knife strip 91, inner knife strip 92, threaded fastener 93, knife groove 94. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solution of the present invention, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0030] See also Figure 1 , this figure is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the vertical knife loading machine described in this embodiment.

[0031] The vertical tool loader is used to calibrate the cutting tool of spiral bevel gears. As shown in the figure, the bed 1 is used as the basic structure of the machine tool, and a workpiece spindle 2 and a column 3 are arranged on it. The workpiece spindle 2 can rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow C to construct a single installation axis system, and its rotation axis centerline is parallel to the Z axis; the tool disc 9 of the tool to be tested can be installed on the workpiece spindle 2 and rotate around its rotation axis together with the workpiece spindle 2. In this solution, other main functional components are arranged on the column 3.

[0032] Among them, the three-dimensional probe 4 is displaced along the Y-axis and the Z-axis relative to the column 3 through a sliding assembly; here, the "Y-axis" and the "Z-axis" constitute two dimensions of the calibration coordinate system, as shown by the arrows in the figure, the "Y-axis" defines the left and right displacement direction, and the "Z-axis" defines the vertical displacement direction. It should be understood that the above-mentioned dimensional limitations are used to clearly describe the dynamic coordination relationship between the related components, and do not constitute a substantial restriction on the vertical tool loader for which protection is requested in this application.

[0033] In this solution, the three-dimensional probe 4 can simultaneously sense the change of the three-dimensional coordinates of the measured point, and the detection accuracy is high. It can be understood that the working mechanism of the three-dimensional probe 4 is not the core invention of this application, and those skilled in the art can implement it based on the existing technology, so it will not be repeated in this article.

[0034] Please also see Figure 2 , the figure is Figure 1The enlarged partial view of the measuring end of the three-dimensional probe 4 is shown in the figure. The measuring rod 41 of the three-dimensional probe 4 extends from its body 42 to drive the displacement of the height probe 43 and the radial probe 44 thereon according to the actual adjustment needs. Among them, the height probe 43 is used to detect the tip height position of each blade (91, 92) on the cutter head 9 of the cutting tool to be measured to control the axial error of the blade; the radial probe 44 is used to detect the radial position of the blade of each blade (91, 92) on the cutter head 9 to adjust the radial runout error of the blade. Based on this setting, the radial consistency and height consistency of each blade (91, 92) on the cutter head 9 of the cutting tool to be measured are determined. Please refer to Figure 3 , which shows a schematic diagram of the dimensional relationship of the cutter disc adjustment.

[0035] It should be noted that the cutting tool for the spiral bevel gear includes two sets of blades: an outer blade 91 and an inner blade 92. Figure 1 As shown, the outer blade 91 and the inner blade 92 are arranged in sequence along the circumferential direction. Figure 3 The inner blade strip 92 is used as an example to illustrate the radial and height dimension relationship of each blade strip. Each blade strip is inserted into the corresponding blade groove of the cutter disc 5 and is positioned and fixed by a threaded fastener 93.

[0036] In this solution, a tool pressing device 7 is fixedly arranged on the body 42 of the three-dimensional probe 4. Based on the sliding assembly, the tool pressing device 7 can be displaced along the Y axis and the Z axis synchronously with the three-dimensional probe 4. The tool pressing device 7 has a tool pressing portion 721, through which the tool pressing portion can press against the tip of each blade of the cutting tool to be measured along the Z axis.

[0037] The following is a brief description of the specific operation process of the vertical knife loading machine described in this solution:

[0038] 1. Pre-install the blade.

[0039] First, install the inner blade 92 and the outer blade 91 into the blade groove 94 according to the designed position, and tighten the upper and lower threaded fasteners 93 on the side of the blade disc 9; then rotate them at a certain angle to ensure that each blade can slide freely in the corresponding blade groove without falling. The operator can push each blade by hand to check whether it can be pushed easily, and finally, raise each blade to about 5-10mm above the set height of the blade installation.

[0040] 2. Preparation for cutter disc adjustment.

[0041] The cutter disc 9 with pre-installed blades is installed on the workpiece spindle 2, and the parameters of the cutter disc and its blades are input into the machine tool to establish a cutter disc calibration model. Then, the Y axis and Z axis are moved manually, and the blade pressing part 721 of the blade pressing device 7 is used to press against the tip of the reference blade (outer blade or inner blade), as shown in FIG. Figure 2As shown, the reference blade moves down along the blade groove to a predetermined position, preferably, the EZ direction reading of the three-dimensional probe 4 is controlled to be about 0.4 mm. The system records the position data of the tool pressing of each axis at this time and uses it as the calibration reference value.

[0042] 3. Start the system calibration program.

[0043] First, start the tool installation program, and press the inner and outer blades automatically to the tool installation setting height in turn according to the tool disc adjustment model and the set tool pressing position. Figure 2 After the Y-axis errors of all blades are within the tolerance range of the specified height, tighten the upper and lower threaded fasteners 93 in turn according to the rated torque requirements. Then start the blade measurement program, and use the radial probe 44 to measure the radial errors of the blade measurement points of the inner and outer blades in turn according to the Y-axis and C-axis linkage mode. Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 ,in, Figure 4 The schematic diagram shown is a schematic diagram of the radial probe 44 touching the blade measuring point of the inner blade 92. Figure 5 The diagram shows a schematic diagram of the radial side needle 44 touching the blade measuring point of the outer blade 91 .

[0044] During the measurement of the radial error, if the blade exceeds the radial error range, the blade height and the screw tightening torque can be adjusted to make the radial error of the blade within the set tolerance range. Of course, if the blade cannot be adjusted to the set tolerance range through comprehensive adjustment, it needs to be replaced and adjusted accordingly until it is adjusted to the set tolerance range. Compared with the adjustment method of detecting the back face of the cutting edge of the strip blade, this solution can effectively reduce the adjustment error, and the number of workpieces that can be processed by the tool after adjustment can also be increased.

[0045] In order to reduce the influence of the knife pressing device on the radial error measurement operation space, as a preferred embodiment, the radial probe 44 is located on the extended end side close to the measuring rod 41 relative to the height probe 43. That is, the radial probe 44 is located on the extended end side of the measuring rod 41, and the height probe 43 is located on the side close to the body 42 of the measuring rod 41. After the knife pressing action is completed, the space for radial error measurement can be avoided.

[0046] In this solution, the measuring part 431 of the height measuring needle 43 can be extended and retracted along the Z axis relative to the height measuring needle 43 body. Similarly, the measuring part 441 of the radial measuring needle 44 can be extended and retracted along the Z axis and the Y axis relative to the radial measuring needle 44 body, and the posture change can meet the needs of tool detection. Therefore, the working height of the corresponding measuring part can be adjusted as needed during the calibration process, so as to perform corresponding position detection on each blade arranged on the tool disc in multiple circumferential directions one by one, meeting the functional needs of rapid calibration; in addition, it can be widely used in the calibration of different types of tools.

[0047] Preferably, the measuring portion 441 of the radial measuring needle 44 may be a sphere or a hemisphere so as to make point contact with the measuring point of the blade to improve the detection accuracy.

[0048] Furthermore, in order to improve the applicability of the vertical knife loading machine, the structure of the knife pressing device 7 can be optimized. Figure 2 As shown, the knife pressing device 7 includes a fixed rod 71 and a knife pressing rod 72, wherein the fixed rod 71 is fixedly connected to the body 42 of the three-dimensional probe 4, and a knife pressing portion 721 for pressing against the tip of the tool is formed on the knife pressing rod 72. In this solution, the knife pressing rod 72 of the knife pressing device 7 is connected to the fixed rod 71, and the position of the knife pressing rod 72 relative to the fixed rod 71 along the Z axis is adjustable. In this way, the height position of the knife pressing portion 721 formed on the knife pressing rod 72 has an adjustable function; that is, the basic height position of the knife pressing portion 721 can be adjusted according to the specific tool size.

[0049] It is understandable that the above-mentioned position adjustable function can be implemented in different ways. For example, but not limited to, the preferred example structure shown in the figure. As shown in the figure, the knife pressing rod 72 is located below the fixed rod 71, and one end of the knife pressing rod 72 is fixedly connected to the fixed rod 71, and the other end is connected to the fixed rod 71 through an adjusting member (73) to adjust the position of the other end of the knife pressing rod 72 relative to the fixed rod 71 along the Z axis; here, the knife pressing part 721 is located at the other end of the knife pressing rod 72. In other words, the height of the single-side end of the knife pressing rod 72 is adjustable. The material selection is specifically based on the actual adjustment range. As long as the functional requirement of the single-side end height adjustment is met, it is within the scope of protection requested in this application.

[0050] Specifically, the adjusting member is a bolt 73, and a threaded hole 711 adapted to the bolt is provided on the fixing rod 71, so that the bolt 73 can be rotated to adjust the extension length of the rod end as needed. Correspondingly, the knife pressing rod 72 has a pressing surface 722 arranged opposite to the threaded hole 711. Rotating the bolt 73 can push the knife pressing rod 72 to change the relative position relationship between it and the fixing rod 71. It has the characteristics of simple and reliable structure and easy operation.

[0051] Of course, in order to further improve the structural integration, the pressing blade portion 721 may be provided with a through hole 723, and the measuring portion 431 of the height measuring needle 43 may be inserted into the through hole 723. Figure 1 and Figure 6 ,in, Figure 6 for Figure 1 Thus, the measuring portion 431 of the height measuring needle 43 can realize its height detection function through the through hole 723, and at the same time, the knife pressing portion 721 having the through hole 723 can maintain its function of pressing against the knife tip.

[0052] In this solution, the sliding assembly for the three-dimensional probe 4 to move relative to the column 3 along the Y-axis and Z-axis includes two sets of guide rails and slider mechanisms. One set is a Z-axis guide rail 51 and a Z-axis slider 52 adapted for Z-axis displacement, and the other set is a Y-axis guide rail 61 and a Y-axis slider 62 adapted for Y-axis displacement; Figure 1 As shown, the Z-axis guide rail 51 is fixedly arranged on the column 3 , the Y-axis guide rail 61 is fixedly arranged on the Z-axis slider 52 , and the three-dimensional measuring head 4 is fixedly arranged on the Y-axis slider 62 .

[0053] Specifically, the Z-axis slider 52 is driven by the Z-axis motor 54 to displace relative to the Z-axis guide rail 51, and the Y-axis slider 62 is driven by the Y-axis motor 64 to displace relative to the Y-axis guide rail 61; here, the Z-axis motor 54 and the Y-axis motor 64 are both linear motors.

[0054] In addition, a Z-axis sensor (53) is provided on the column 3 to detect the displacement of the Z-axis slider 52, thereby forming a closed-loop control system with the Z-axis motor 54 providing power; a Y-axis sensor (63) is provided on the Z-axis slider 52 to detect the displacement of the Y-axis slider 62, thereby forming a closed-loop control system with the Y-axis motor 64 providing power. With such an arrangement, the measurement cycle can be fully automatically realized, and its precision measurement function can be realized through a high-precision scanning probe, thereby relying on a high-precision positioning device to realize the adjustment function of the blade installation accuracy. Preferably, the Z-axis sensor can adopt a Z-axis grating ruler 53, and the Y-axis sensor can adopt a Y-axis grating ruler 63.

[0055] In addition, in order to make the up and down movement along the Z-axis more stable, a balancing device 8 may be added to balance the weight of the Z-axis slider 52, the Y-axis guide rail 51, etc.

[0056] It should be noted that in the above embodiments provided in this implementation mode, the functions of the motor, grating ruler, etc. are not the core invention points of this application. Those skilled in the art can realize them based on the existing technology, so they will not be elaborated in this article.

[0057] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be pointed out that, for ordinary technicians in this technical field, several improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the present invention. These improvements and modifications should also be regarded as the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vertical tool loader for calibrating a cutting tool for a spiral bevel gear, characterized in that: It includes a column and a workpiece spindle arranged on a bed, and also includes a three-dimensional probe that is displaced along the Y axis and the Z axis relative to the column through a sliding assembly, and the rotary axis of the workpiece spindle is parallel to the Z axis; The measuring rod of the three-dimensional probe extends from its body, and a height measuring needle and a radial measuring needle are arranged on the measuring rod, the height measuring needle is used to detect the height position of the cutting tip of the cutting tool to be measured, and the radial measuring needle is used to detect the radial position of the cutting edge of the cutting tool to be measured; A tool pressing device is fixedly arranged on the body of the three-dimensional measuring head. The tool pressing device has a tool pressing part. The tool pressing part can press against the tip of the cutting tool to be measured along the Z axis.

2. The vertical knife loading machine according to claim 1, characterized in that: The radial measuring needle is located closer to the extended end side of the measuring rod relative to the height measuring needle.

3. The vertical knife loader according to claim 1, characterized in that: The measuring portion of the height measuring needle can be extended and retracted along the Z axis relative to the height measuring needle body.

4. The vertical knife loader according to claim 1, characterized in that: The measuring portion of the radial measuring needle can be extended and retracted along the Z axis and the Y axis relative to the radial measuring needle body, and the measuring portion of the radial measuring needle is a sphere or a hemisphere.

5. The vertical knife loader according to claim 1, characterized in that: The tool pressing device includes a fixed rod and a tool pressing rod, the fixed rod is fixedly connected to the body of the three-dimensional probe, the tool pressing part is formed on the tool pressing rod, the tool pressing rod is connected to the fixed rod, and the position of the tool pressing rod relative to the fixed rod along the Z axis is adjustable.

6. The vertical knife loader according to claim 5, characterized in that: The knife pressing rod is located below the fixed rod, and one end of the knife pressing rod is fixedly connected to the fixed rod, and the other end is connected to the fixed rod through an adjusting member to adjust the position of the other end of the knife pressing rod relative to the fixed rod along the Z axis; The knife pressing portion is located at the other end of the knife pressing rod.

7. The vertical knife loader according to claim 6, characterized in that: The adjusting member is a bolt; one of the knife pressing rod and the fixing rod is provided with a threaded hole adapted to the bolt, and the other has a pressing surface arranged opposite to the threaded hole.

8. The vertical knife loader according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that: The press knife portion is provided with a through opening, and the measuring portion of the height measuring needle can be inserted into the through opening.

9. The vertical knife loader according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sliding assembly includes a matching Z-axis guide rail and a Z-axis slider, and a matching Y-axis guide rail and a Y-axis slider; wherein the Z-axis guide rail is fixedly arranged on the column, the Y-axis guide rail is fixedly arranged on the Z-axis slider, and the three-dimensional probe is fixedly arranged on the Y-axis slider.

10. The vertical knife loader according to claim 9, characterized in that: The Z-axis slider is driven by a Z-axis motor to displace relative to the Z-axis guide rail, and the Y-axis slider is driven by a Y-axis motor to displace relative to the Y-axis guide rail; a Z-axis sensor is arranged on the column to detect the displacement of the Z-axis slider; a Y-axis sensor is arranged on the Z-axis slider to detect the displacement of the Y-axis slider.

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