A fully automatic flexible bending center and bending processing method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a fully automatic flexible bending center and a bending processing method in the technical field of bending processing production equipment. The fully automatic flexible bending center includes: an incoming material conveyor line, an outgoing material conveyor line, a material shifting device and a loading and unloading device. The loading and unloading device includes two loading and unloading mechanisms respectively used for loading and unloading. In the fully automatic flexible bending center of the present invention, the material shifting device and the two loading and unloading mechanisms can realize the rapid exchange of materials between the bending machine and the incoming material conveyor line and the outgoing material conveyor line, thereby realizing the automatic loading and unloading of the bending process. The bending processing method of the present invention realizes alternating loading and unloading of the left and right sides of the bending machine through two loading and unloading devices and a material shifting device, which greatly improves the loading and unloading efficiency of the bending process and fully releases the processing performance of the bending machine.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of bending processing production equipment, and in particular to a full-automatic flexible bending center and a bending processing method. Background Art

[0002] The flexible bending center, also known as the multilateral bending center, can bend various complex shapes and easily achieve complex sheet metal bending requirements such as arcs, pressed edges, circular shapes, closed shapes, etc. It is an important equipment for metal forming processing.

[0003] The intelligent flexible bending center can achieve a speed of 0.2 seconds per tool during the bending process, greatly reducing the processing time of multi-sided and multi-pass bending, which is more than three times the speed of traditional CNC bending machines. The more edges there are and the more complex the workpiece is, the greater the speed advantage. Taking the invention patent application CN115958095A as an example, the flexible bending center can drive the bending material to rotate and move quickly on the feeding platform through the pressure arm, thereby cooperating with the bending pressure knife to achieve rapid bending processing.

[0004] Compared with the rapid processing of the flexible bending center, the traditional production method of manual material placement is inefficient, which often leads to a long waiting time for the flexible bending center, which greatly restricts the production efficiency of the intelligent flexible bending center. In addition, manual material placement also has problems such as high labor intensity and low safety. Therefore, for high-performance intelligent flexible bending centers, the existing technology needs to further improve the degree of automation in the process of bending material placement to release the efficient bending performance of the flexible bending center. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fully automatic flexible bending center to solve one or more technical problems existing in the prior art and at least provide a beneficial choice or create conditions.

[0006] The technical solutions adopted to solve the above technical problems are:

[0007] A fully automatic flexible bending center, comprising a bending machine, the bending machine having a processing conveying platform, a bending device is provided at the front end of the processing conveying platform, and a bending feeding device is provided at the rear of the bending device for driving the bending material to move relative to the bending device; characterized in that it also comprises: an incoming material conveying line, an outgoing material conveying line, a material moving device and a loading and unloading device;

[0008] The downstream end of the incoming material conveying line and the upstream end of the outgoing material conveying line are arranged beside the processing conveying platform, and the processing conveying platform is provided with a loading station and an unloading station;

[0009] The loading and unloading device comprises two loading and unloading mechanisms, one of which is used to transfer the materials from the incoming material conveying line to the loading station, and the other loading and unloading mechanism is used to transfer the materials from the unloading station to the outgoing material conveying line;

[0010] The material moving device includes a material moving mechanism, and the material moving mechanism includes: a material moving swing frame, a material moving claw, a lifting drive component and a swing drive component. The material moving swing frame has a hinged end and a working end. The swing drive component is used to drive the material moving swing frame to rotate around the hinged end relative to the bending machine. The material moving claw is arranged above the processing conveying table, the material moving claw is connected to the working end, and the lifting drive component is used to drive the material moving claw to move up and down relative to the material moving swing frame.

[0011] The fully automatic flexible bending center provided by the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects: the incoming material conveying line conveys the material to be bent to the downstream end, and the loading and unloading mechanism transfers the material to be bent to the loading station. The material shifting claw of the material shifting device contacts the upper side of the material to be bent under the drive of the lifting drive component. When the swing drive component mobilizes the material shifting swing frame to rotate, the material to be bent can move with the material shifting claw and be transferred between the bending device and the bending feeding device. The bending machine performs bending processing on the plate through the cooperation of the bending device and the bending feeding device. The material that has completed the bending processing is transferred to the unloading station through the material shifting device, and is transported to the unloading conveying line through another loading and unloading mechanism. The material shifting device and the two loading and unloading mechanisms can realize the material exchange between the bending machine and the incoming material conveying line and the unloading conveying line, thereby realizing the automatic loading and unloading of the bending process, greatly improving the loading and unloading efficiency of the bending process, and fully releasing the processing performance of the bending machine.

[0012] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the material moving claw is rotatably installed on the working end, the rotation axes of the material moving claw and the material moving swing frame extend in the up and down directions, and the material moving claw and the material moving swing frame rotate synchronously in opposite directions around their own rotation axes.

[0013] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the material moving device also includes a material moving drive mechanism, the material moving swing frame includes a first frame and a second frame, the hinged end and the working end are respectively arranged on the first frame and the second frame, and the material moving drive mechanism is used to drive the first frame and the second frame to slide relative to each other along the radial direction of the hinged end.

[0014] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the incoming material conveying line and the outgoing material conveying line are provided on both the left and right sides of the processing and conveying table. The loading station and the unloading station are provided on both the left and right parts of the processing and conveying table. The loading and unloading device and the material transfer device are arranged in pairs on the left and right.

[0015] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the loading station and the unloading station coincide with each other. The loading station and the unloading station that coincide with each other are used as the material picking and placing station. The distance between the downstream end of the incoming material conveying line and the upstream end of the outgoing material conveying line and the material picking and placing station is the same.

[0016] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the loading and unloading mechanism includes a rotating arm and a loading and unloading gripper. One end of the rotating arm has a rotating part, and the loading and unloading gripper is arranged at the other end of the rotating arm. The loading and unloading device includes: a rotating drive member and a lifting mechanism. The rotating drive member is used to drive the rotating arm to rotate around the rotating part, and the lifting mechanism is used to drive the loading and unloading gripper to move up and down.

[0017] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the rotating drive member includes a rotating drive unit and a drive shaft. The rotating drive unit is drivingly connected to the drive shaft, and the rotating parts of the two rotating arms are both drivingly connected to the drive shaft.

[0018] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the transmission ratios of the rotating parts of the two rotating arms to the drive shaft are inconsistent.

[0019] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, both the material transfer gripper and the loading and unloading gripper include a plurality of suction cups arranged downward. The loading and unloading gripper has an avoidance space for accommodating the material transfer gripper, and the suction cups of the loading and unloading gripper are arranged along the edge of the avoidance space.

[0020] As a further improvement of the above technical solution, the loading and unloading gripper includes a connecting plate. In the projection in the up and down direction, the connecting plate is in a "U" shape. The avoidance space is arranged in the middle of the connecting plate, and a plurality of the suction cups are arranged along the connecting plate.

[0021] The present invention also provides a bending processing method based on the above full-automatic flexible bending center, including:

[0022] Convey the material to be bent to both sides of the processing and conveying table through the incoming material conveying line;

[0023] Transfer the material to be bent to the loading station through the loading and unloading mechanism;

[0024] Transfer the material to be bent to the bending device through the material transfer device to perform bending processing on the material to be bent;

[0025] The bent materials are transferred to the unloading station through the material transfer device;

[0026] The bent materials are transferred from the unloading station to the unloading conveyor line for unloading through the loading and unloading mechanism;

[0027] After one of the material moving devices moves the bent material away from the bending device, the other material moving device transfers the material to be bent to the bending device for bending processing.

[0028] In the bending processing method of the present invention, the incoming material conveyor line, the outgoing material conveyor line, the material transfer device and the loading and unloading device are all arranged in pairs on the left and right sides of the bending machine, and the incoming material conveyor line and the outgoing material conveyor line on the left and right sides are used to feed the material to be bent and to discharge the material after the bending processing. The two loading and unloading devices are used to load and unload the raw and cooked materials on the left and right sides of the bending machine respectively, so that the two material transfer devices can alternately perform the feeding, unloading and transferring actions of the bending processing. The bending processing method of the present invention improves the degree of automation of the material picking and placing process, greatly speeds up the material transfer speed and rhythm at the bending processing position, and releases the efficient bending performance of the flexible bending center. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments;

[0030] Figure 1 It is a top view of an embodiment of the fully automatic flexible bending center provided by the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the process, wherein the arrow direction is the conveying direction of the processed material;

[0032] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an embodiment of the material transfer mechanism provided by the present invention;

[0033] Figure 4 The figure is a side cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the material transfer mechanism provided by the present invention.

[0034] Figure 5 It is a top view of another embodiment of the fully automatic flexible bending center provided by the present invention;

[0035] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the process, wherein the arrow direction is the conveying direction of the processed material;

[0036] Figure 7 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of another embodiment of the material transfer mechanism provided by the present invention in a retracted state;

[0037] Figure 8 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of another embodiment of the material transfer mechanism provided by the present invention in a retracted state;

[0038] Fig. 9 It is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of another embodiment of the material transfer mechanism provided by the present invention in an extended state;

[0039] Fig.10 is a side cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the material transfer mechanism provided by the present invention in an extended state;

[0040] Fig.11 It is a top view of another embodiment of the fully automatic flexible bending center provided by the present invention;

[0041] Fig.12 yes Fig.11 Schematic diagram of the process, wherein the arrow direction is the conveying direction of the processed material;

[0042] Fig.13 The figure is a side cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the loading and unloading device provided by the present invention.

[0043] In the figure:

[0044] 10. Bending machine; 101. Processing conveyor; 102. Bending device; 103. Bending feeding device; 104. Loading station; 105. Unloading station; 106. Pick-up and unloading station; 20. Incoming material conveyor line; 30. Outgoing material conveyor line;

[0045] 100, loading and unloading device; 110, loading and unloading mechanism; 111, connecting plate; 120, rotating arm; 130, rotating driving member; 131, rotating driving unit; 132, driving shaft; 133, driving gear; 134, driven gear; 140, lifting mechanism;

[0046] 200, material shifting device; 210, material shifting mechanism; 211, material shifting swing frame; 2111, first frame; 2112, second frame; 2113, material shifting drive mechanism; 212, material shifting claw; 213, lifting drive component; 2131, lifting seat; 2132, lifting drive unit; 214, swing drive component; 215, connecting shaft; 216, electromagnetic clutch; 220, transmission component; 221, synchronous belt; 222, synchronous pulley; 223, transmission belt; 224, first transmission wheel group; 2241, first movable wheel; 2242, second movable wheel; 225, second transmission wheel group; 2251, guide column; 2252, fixed wheel; 226, guide wheel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] This section will describe in detail the specific embodiments of the present invention. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings. The purpose of the accompanying drawings is to supplement the description of the text part of the specification with graphics, so that people can intuitively and vividly understand each technical feature and the overall technical solution of the present invention, but it cannot be understood as a limitation on the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0048] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that descriptions involving orientations, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., and orientations or positional relationships indicated are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0049] In the description of the present invention, if there are words such as "several", it means one or more, "more" means more than two, greater than, less than, exceed, etc. are understood as not including the number, and above, below, within, etc. are understood as including the number.

[0050] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific content of the technical solution.

[0051] Reference Figures 1 to 13 The fully automatic flexible bending center of the present invention makes the following embodiments:

[0052] A fully automatic flexible bending center comprises: a bending machine 10, an incoming material conveying line 20, an outgoing material conveying line 30, a loading and unloading device 100 and a material moving device 200.

[0053] The bending machine 10 comprises: a processing and conveying platform 101, a bending device 102 and a bending and feeding device 103. The processing and conveying platform 101 has a processing and conveying surface for supporting foreign materials. The bending device 102 is arranged at the front end of the processing and conveying platform 101, and the bending and feeding device 103 can move forward and backward and is arranged behind the bending device 102.

[0054] The downstream end of the incoming material conveying line 20 and the upstream end of the outgoing material conveying line 30 are both arranged beside the processing conveying platform 101. The processing conveying platform 101 is provided with a loading station 104 and a unloading station 105.

[0055] The loading and unloading device 100 includes two loading and unloading mechanisms 110 , one of which is used to transfer materials from the incoming material conveying line 20 to the loading station 104 , and the other loading and unloading mechanism 110 is used to transfer materials from the unloading station 105 to the outgoing material conveying line 30 .

[0056] The material moving device 200 includes a material moving mechanism 210. The material moving mechanism 210 includes: a material moving swing frame 211, a material moving claw 212, a lifting drive component 213 and a swing drive component 214. The material moving swing frame 211 has a hinged end and a working end, the swing drive component 214 is used to drive the material moving swing frame 211 to rotate around the hinged end relative to the bending machine 10, the material moving claw 212 is arranged above the processing conveying table 101, the material moving claw 212 is connected to the working end, and the lifting drive component 213 is used to drive the material moving claw 212 to move up and down relative to the material moving swing frame 211.

[0057] In actual use, the incoming material conveyor line 20 conveys the material to be bent to the downstream end, and the loading and unloading mechanism 110 transfers the material to be bent to the loading station 104. The material moving claw 212 of the material moving device 200 contacts the upper side of the material to be bent under the drive of the lifting drive component 213. When the swing drive component 214 mobilizes the material moving swing frame 211 to rotate, the material to be bent can move with the material moving claw 212 and be transferred between the bending device 102 and the bending feeding device 103. The bending machine 10 performs bending processing on the plate through the cooperation of the bending device 102 and the bending feeding device 103. The material that has completed the bending processing is transferred to the unloading station 105 through the material moving device 200, and is transported to the discharge conveyor line 30 through another loading and unloading mechanism 110. The material transfer device 200 and the two loading and unloading mechanisms 110 can realize material exchange between the bending machine 10 and the incoming material conveyor line 20 and the outgoing material conveyor line 30, thereby realizing automatic loading and unloading of the bending process, greatly improving the loading and unloading efficiency of the bending process, and fully releasing the processing performance of the bending machine 10.

[0058] In the bending machine 10, the processing and conveying platform 101 includes a plurality of universal ball components. The universal ball components are flush with each other and evenly distributed to form the processing and conveying surface. The bending and feeding device 103 can drive the plate to move forward and backward or rotate relative to the bending device 102, thereby realizing complex bending processing. When the bending and feeding device 103 is in the rear limit position, a gap is formed between the bending device 102 and the bending and feeding device 103. The bending machine 10 can refer to the existing bending center, and the bending device 102, the processing and conveying platform 101 and the bending and feeding device 103 are all existing mechanisms, which will not be described in detail here.

[0059] The material moving device 200 is arranged at the front end of the processing conveyor table 101, and the hinged end of the material moving swing frame 211 is aligned with the gap. When the material moving swing frame 211 rotates to the left and right direction, the material moving claw 212 can face the gap, so that the material to be processed can be transferred between the bending device 102 and the bending feeding device 103, and the processed material can also be moved out from between the bending device 102 and the bending feeding device 103.

[0060] The lifting drive component 213 includes a lifting seat 2131 and a lifting drive unit 2132. The hinged end of the material transfer swing frame 211 is rotatably connected to the lifting seat 2131. The lifting drive unit 2132 has a lifting drive end that is transmission-connected to the lifting seat 2131 and enables the lifting seat 2131 to move up and down relative to the processing conveyor table 101. In this embodiment, the lifting drive unit 2132 is a linear drive module arranged up and down, and the servo motor drives the screw nut drive assembly to achieve the movement in the up and down directions. The swing drive component 214 is a rotary cylinder, and the cylinder body of the swing drive component 214 is fixedly installed on the lifting seat 2131, and the output end of the swing drive component 214 is connected to the hinged end of the material transfer swing frame 211.

[0061] In some other embodiments, the lifting drive unit 2132 may also be a linear drive member such as a cylinder, an electric push rod, a hydraulic push rod, etc. The swing drive member 214 may be a rotary drive element such as a servo motor, a stepper motor or a pneumatic motor.

[0062] Implementation method 1:

[0063] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 In the first embodiment, the incoming material conveyor line 20 and the outgoing material conveyor line 30 are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the bending machine 10. The loading station 104 and the unloading station 105 are respectively arranged on the left and right ends of the processing conveyor 101. The two loading and unloading mechanisms 110 are respectively arranged on the sides of the loading station 104 and the unloading station 105. The number of the material moving devices 200 is two and they are arranged symmetrically on the left and right sides.

[0064] Taking the case where the incoming material conveyor line 20 is arranged on the left side as an example: the material to be processed is conveyed to the downstream end through the incoming material conveyor line 20 , and the loading and unloading mechanism 110 arranged on the left side moves the material to be processed from the downstream end of the incoming material conveyor line 20 to the loading station 104 .

[0065] The material transfer device 200 arranged on the left side transfers the material to be processed from the loading station 104 to the lower side of the front end of the bending and feeding device 103: the lifting and lowering driving component 213 drives the material transfer claw 212 to move downward, so that the material transfer claw 212 presses the material onto the processing conveying table 101; the swing driving component 214 drives the material transfer swing frame 211 to rotate, so that the material transfer claw 212 drives the material to be processed to swing between the bending device 102 and the bending and feeding device 103, and then drives the bending and feeding device 103 to perform bending processing.

[0066] The material transfer device 200 disposed on the right side transfers the bent material from between the bending device 102 and the bending feeding device 103 to the unloading station 105. The loading and unloading mechanism 110 disposed on the right side moves the bent material from the unloading station 105 to the upstream end of the unloading conveyor line 30.

[0067] During the swinging of the material shifting swing frame 211, the material shifting claw 212 needs to avoid collision and interference with the bending and feeding device 103. In the first embodiment, the material shifting device 200 is installed on the frame of the bending machine 10. The bending machine 10 is provided with a slide installed to slide along the left and right directions. The material shifting device 200 also includes a transverse driving component. The material shifting driving mechanism 2113 is used to drive the material shifting mechanism 210 to move left and right. The material shifting mechanism 210 is installed on the slide. The transverse driving component has a transverse driving end that is connected to the slide and causes the slide to slide left and right. The transverse driving component can adopt a linear driving component such as a cylinder, an electric push rod, a hydraulic push rod or a screw nut driving assembly.

[0068] The transverse driving member can drive the material moving mechanism 210 to move in the left-right direction, so as to move the material to be processed into between the bending device 102 and the bending feeding device 103 in the left-right direction, or move the bent material out of the bending device 102 and the bending feeding device 103 in the left-right direction. The material moving mechanism 210 is driven to move left-right by the transverse driving member, so that the swing range of the material moving action can avoid the bending feeding device 103, shortening the avoidance distance of the bending feeding device 103 and improving efficiency.

[0069] Implementation method 2:

[0070] In the first embodiment, the materials before and after the bending process are loaded and unloaded on the left and right sides of the bending machine 10 respectively. The cycle time of the bending process is short, and the cycle time of the loading and unloading process is relatively long. In order to avoid waiting waste, in the second embodiment, the left and right sides of the processing conveyor 101 are provided with the incoming material conveyor line 20 and the outgoing material conveyor line 30, and the left and right parts of the processing conveyor 101 are provided with the loading station 104 and the unloading station 105. The loading station 104 and the unloading station 105 are arranged front and back.

[0071] By setting the left and right sides to alternately load and unload materials, the waiting time of the bending process of the bending machine 10 is reduced. The cycle time of the loading and unloading process matches twice the cycle time of the bending process, thereby adapting to the production of products with fewer bending processes and shorter processing time.

[0072] In the second embodiment, the downstream end of the incoming material conveyor line 20 and the upstream end of the outgoing material conveyor line 30 are arranged in front and back, the loading station 104 is arranged beside the downstream end of the incoming material conveyor line 20, and the unloading station 105 is arranged beside the upstream end of the outgoing material conveyor line 30.

[0073] In order to enable the material moving device 200 to move the material from the loading station 104 to the rear side of the bending device 102 , and to move the material from the rear side of the bending device 102 to the unloading station 105 , the moving range of the material moving claw 212 of the material moving device 200 needs to cover the loading station 104 and the unloading station 105 .

[0074] In some embodiments, the material shifting device 200 includes a transverse driving member and a longitudinal driving member. The transverse driving member is arranged with reference to the first embodiment. The longitudinal driving member is used to drive the material shifting mechanism 210 to move forward and backward relative to the processing conveying table 101. The longitudinal driving member can be a linear driving member such as a cylinder, an electric push rod, a hydraulic push rod, or a screw nut driving assembly arranged in the front-to-back direction.

[0075] In this embodiment, the transverse driving member and the longitudinal driving member both adopt linear driving modules, and the transverse driving member and the longitudinal driving member are respectively arranged in the left-right direction and the front-back direction. The transverse driving member, the longitudinal driving member, the lifting driving member 213 and the swing driving member 214 constitute a four-axis driving module, which realizes the translation and horizontal rotation of the material moving swing frame 211 in the left-right direction, the front-back direction and the up-down direction.

[0076] Implementation method three:

[0077] The structures of the transverse driving member and the longitudinal driving member occupy a large space and are costly. Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the material moving swing frame 211 adopts a telescopic structure, and the material moving mechanism 210 includes a material moving drive mechanism 2113, and the material moving drive mechanism 2113 is used to drive the material moving swing frame 211 to be telescopic along the length direction, so that the distance between the hinged end and the working end can be changed as needed.

[0078] Specifically, the material transfer swing frame 211 includes: a first frame body 2111 and a second frame body 2112. The hinged end and the working end are respectively arranged on the first frame body 2111 and the second frame body 2112. The first frame body 2111 and the second frame body 2112 are slidably connected along the connecting line direction of the hinged end and the working end. The material transfer drive mechanism 2113 is used to drive the second frame body 2112 to slide relative to the first frame body 2111 along the radial direction of the hinged end. The material transfer drive mechanism 2113 can adopt a linear drive component such as a cylinder, an electric push rod, a hydraulic push rod or a screw nut drive assembly.

[0079] The material shifting swing frame 211 is driven to extend and retract by the material shifting driving mechanism 2113, and the working end can move away from or close to the hinged end. When the material shifting swing frame 211 swings to the front-back direction, the material shifting claw 212 can move to the loading station 104 and the unloading station 105 in the front-back direction; when the material shifting swing frame 211 swings to the left-right direction, the material shifting claw 212 can move left-right to realize the entry and exit of materials.

[0080] In some embodiments of the above-mentioned Embodiment 1, Embodiment 2 and Embodiment 3, the loading and unloading mechanism 110 can adopt an existing material handling mechanism: the loading and unloading mechanism 110 includes a loading and unloading frame. The loading and unloading frame is arranged between the processing conveyor table 101 and the incoming material conveyor line 20 or the outgoing material conveyor line 30. The loading and unloading gripper is driven to move left and right by a linear module installed on the loading and unloading frame, and is driven to move up and down by a lifting cylinder between the loading and unloading gripper and the linear module, so as to realize the lifting, moving and putting down of the material, thereby realizing the moving of the material. In order to avoid the material moving device 200 from taking and placing the material at the loading station 104 and the unloading station 105, the loading and unloading frame is suspended above the processing conveyor table 101 in the form of a cantilever.

[0081] Implementation method 4:

[0082] In the above-mentioned second and third embodiments, the loading station 104 and the unloading station 105 need to be staggered and avoid each other, which requires a large space. Fig.11 and 12As shown, the loading station 104 and the unloading station 105 are arranged to overlap each other. The loading station 104 and the unloading station 105 arranged to overlap each other are the material taking and unloading station 106, one of the loading and unloading mechanisms 110 transfers the materials of the incoming material conveying line 20 to the material taking and unloading station 106, and the other loading and unloading mechanism 110 transfers the materials of the material taking and unloading station 106 to the outgoing material conveying line 30.

[0083] In the fourth embodiment, since the two loading and unloading mechanisms 110 and the material moving device 200 both need to transfer materials to the material picking and unloading station 106, the loading and unloading device 100 uses a rotating manipulator structure to move the materials.

[0084] The loading and unloading device 100 includes two rotating arms 120 , a rotating driving component 130 and a lifting mechanism 140 .

[0085] One end of the rotating arm 120 has a rotating part, and the rotating driving member 130 is used to drive the rotating arm 120 to rotate around the rotating part. The loading and unloading mechanism 110 includes loading and unloading claws. Two loading and unloading claws are respectively arranged at one end of the two rotating arms 120 away from the rotating part. The lifting mechanism 140 is used to drive the loading and unloading claws to rise and fall.

[0086] The downstream end of the loading conveyor line and the upstream end of the discharging conveyor line 30 are both flush with the height of the material picking and unloading station 106. The lengths of the two rotating arms 120 are set according to the distances between the downstream end of the loading conveyor line and the upstream end of the discharging conveyor line 30 and the material picking and unloading station 106.

[0087] In actual use, the rotation driving member 130 synchronously drives the two rotating arms 120 to rotate in the same direction.

[0088] Taking the downstream end of the loading conveyor line and the upstream end of the discharging conveyor line 30 as an example, the two loading and unloading mechanisms 110 are arranged front and back above the loading conveyor line, the discharging conveyor line 30 and the processing conveyor table 101 .

[0089] When the rotating arm 120 provided at the front side drives the loading and unloading claw to move to the material picking and unloading station 106, the other rotating arm 120 drives the corresponding loading and unloading claw to move to the upstream end of the material discharging conveyor line 30. When the rotating arm 120 provided at the front side drives the loading and unloading claw to move to the downstream end of the material incoming conveyor line 20, the other rotating arm 120 drives the corresponding loading and unloading claw to move to the material picking and unloading station 106. In this way, the two loading and unloading devices 100 rotate synchronously, realizing the alternating loading of the material to be bent and the unloading of the bent material.

[0090] The lifting mechanism 140 is disposed between the loading and unloading claw and the rotating arm 120. The lifting mechanism 140 may be a cylinder disposed up and down. The cylinder body of the lifting mechanism 140 is fixedly connected to the rotating arm 120, and the piston rod of the lifting mechanism 140 is connected to the upper end of the loading and unloading claw.

[0091] In this embodiment, if Fig.13 As shown, the rotation driving member 130 includes: a rotation driving unit 131 and a driving shaft 132. The rotation driving unit 131 is drivingly connected to the driving shaft 132, and the rotating parts of the two rotating arms 120 are both drivingly connected to the driving shaft 132.

[0092] The rotation axes of the rotating arm 120 and the driving shaft 132 both extend in the up-down direction. The rotating part and the driving shaft 132 are synchronously connected by gear transmission. Specifically, the driving shaft 132 is coaxially fixed with two driving gears 133, and the two rotating parts are each provided with a driven gear 134. The two driven gears 134 are respectively meshed with the two driving gears 133 for transmission. When the driving shaft 132 rotates, the two rotating arms 120 rotate synchronously.

[0093] In some other embodiments, the two rotating arms 120 may also be connected in synchronous transmission by other transmission methods such as chain transmission, belt transmission or worm gear transmission.

[0094] Since the material to be bent is usually a large sheet metal, it occupies a large area, and the width of the incoming material conveyor line 20 is relatively large. After the material is bent, the conveying area is relatively small, and the width of the outgoing material conveyor line 30 is relatively small compared to the incoming material conveyor line 20. In a further embodiment, the transmission ratio of the rotating parts of the two rotating arms 120 and the driving shaft 132 is inconsistent. During the loading and unloading process, the rotation angle of the two rotating arms 120 can be set according to the width of the incoming material conveyor line 20 and the outgoing material conveyor line 30 to ensure that the material can be loaded and unloaded smoothly.

[0095] The driving gear 133 is detachably mounted on the driving shaft 132, and the driven gear 134 is detachably mounted on the rotating portion. When the transmission ratio between the rotating portion of the rotating arm 120 and the driving shaft 132 needs to be adjusted, it can be achieved by replacing the gear set.

[0096] In the fourth embodiment, both of the two loading and unloading mechanisms 110 and the material transfer mechanism 210 need to perform material transfer at the loading and unloading station 106. To avoid interference and collision between the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism 210 and the loading and unloading gripper, the loading and unloading gripper and the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism need to avoid each other.

[0097] The gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism and the loading and unloading gripper can be set with reference to the bending and feeding device 103 in the prior art. The materials processed by bending are generally sheet metal or metal plates, so the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism and the loading and unloading gripper generally adopt a suction cup structure. Both the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism and the loading and unloading gripper include a plurality of suction cups arranged downward.

[0098] In this embodiment, the loading and unloading gripper has an avoidance space that can accommodate the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism, and the avoidance space is open on the side facing the bending and feeding device 103.

[0099] Specifically, the loading and unloading gripper includes: a connecting plate 111 and loading and unloading suction cups. The connecting plate 111 is in an "L" shape or a "U" shape. A plurality of the loading and unloading suction cups are flush with each other and are fixedly arranged downward on the connecting plate 111. The plurality of loading and unloading suction cups are distributed along the connecting plate 111, and the connecting plate 111 can enclose the avoidance space, and the avoidance space has an opening facing the bending and feeding device 103.

[0100] Taking the loading and unloading device 100 and the material transfer device 200 provided on the left side of the processing and conveying table 101 as an example: the avoidance space of the loading and unloading gripper is open to the right. When the material transfer swing frame 211 drives the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism to rotate to the loading and unloading station 106, the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism can rotate inwards from the outside to the inside from the right side of the avoidance space. Conversely, when the material transfer swing frame 211 drives the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism to swing upwards, the gripper 212 of the material transfer mechanism can rotate outwards from the right side of the avoidance space.

[0101] Furthermore, the material transfer swing frame 211 and the rotating arm 120 are staggered in the up and down directions. In the projection plane in the front and back directions, the material transfer swing frame 211 is arranged above the rotating arm 120, so that the rotation actions of the material transfer mechanism 210 and the loading and unloading device 100 do not affect each other.

[0102] In order to prevent the material to be bent from swinging during the material transfer process, in a further embodiment, the material transfer claw 212 is rotatably mounted on the working end, the rotation axes of the material transfer claw 212 and the material transfer swing frame 211 are both extended in the up-down direction, and the material transfer claw 212 is synchronously connected to the hinged end. When the material transfer swing frame 211 rotates around the hinged end, the material transfer claw 212 also rotates at the same angle relative to the material transfer swing frame 211, so that the material to be bent can maintain the same posture when loading and unloading, which is convenient for positioning the material during the bending process.

[0103] The material moving device 200 includes a transmission member 220. The transmission member 220 has a retractable first transmission end and a second transmission end, and the first transmission end and the second transmission end are respectively connected to the hinge end of the material moving swing frame 211 and the material moving claw 212.

[0104] In the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the distance between the working end and the hinge end does not change. Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the material moving claw 212 can achieve synchronous rotation with the material moving swing frame 211 through various transmission methods such as belt drive, chain drive, gear drive or worm gear drive. Take belt drive as an example: the transmission component 220 includes a synchronous belt 221 and two synchronous pulleys 222. One of the synchronous pulleys 222 is coaxially fixedly connected to the material moving claw 212, and the other synchronous pulley 222 is coaxially arranged with the hinged end and fixedly connected to the lifting platform. The synchronous belt 221 is driven and wound around the two synchronous pulleys 222. When the material moving swing frame 211 rotates around the hinged end, the material moving claw 212 can rotate synchronously under the action of the transmission component 220, so that the angle will not change during the material movement process.

[0105] In the third embodiment, the material moving swing frame 211 adopts a telescopic structure. When the material moving drive mechanism 2113 drives the material moving swing frame 211 to be telescopic, the first frame body 2111 and the second frame body 2112 move relatively, and the distance between the working end and the hinged end will change.

[0106] See attached Figures 7 to 10, taking the case where the telescopic direction of the material transfer swing frame 211 extends in the front-to-back direction as an example: the transmission component 220 includes: a transmission belt 223, a first transmission wheel group 224 and a second transmission wheel group 225. The first transmission wheel group 224 includes a first movable wheel 2241 and a second movable wheel 2242 arranged in a front-to-back manner. The second transmission wheel group 225 includes a guide column 2251 and a fixed wheel 2252 arranged in a front-to-back manner. The first movable wheel 2241 and the second movable wheel 2242 are rotatably arranged at the front and back ends of the second frame 2112, respectively. The guide column 2251 and the fixed wheel 2252 are rotatably arranged at the front and back ends of the first frame 2111, respectively. Two sets of the second transmission wheel groups 225 are arranged on the left and right sides of the first transmission wheel group 224.

[0107] The transmission belt 223 is driven and wound around the first transmission wheel group 224 and the two second transmission wheel groups 225, so that the transmission belt 223 is wound around the side opposite to the first movable wheel 2241 and the second movable wheel 2242. In the front-to-back direction, the first movable wheel 2241, the guide column 2251, the second movable wheel 2242 and the fixed wheel 2252 are arranged in sequence from front to back. That is, in the left-right projection, the second movable wheel 2242 is arranged between the guide column 2251 and the fixed wheel 2252.

[0108] The material shifting driving mechanism 2113 drives the second frame 2112 to slide relative to the first frame 2111, so that the material shifting swing frame 211 can be extended and retracted. When the second frame 2112 moves backward relative to the first frame 2111, the distance between the first movable wheel 2241 and the fixed wheel 2252 is reduced, and the distance between the second movable wheel 2242 and the guide column 2251 is increased synchronously; when the second frame 2112 moves forward relative to the first frame 2111, the distance between the first movable wheel 2241 and the fixed wheel 2252 is increased, and the distance between the second movable wheel 2242 and the guide column 2251 is reduced synchronously.

[0109] The first movable wheel 2241 is connected to the material shifting claw 212. The lifting seat 2131 is provided with a connecting shaft 215 extending up and down. The upper end of the connecting shaft 215 is connected to the lifting seat 2131 through an electromagnetic clutch 216, and the lower end of the connecting shaft 215 is connected to one of the fixed wheels 2252. In this embodiment, the connecting shaft 215 and the fixed wheel 2252 are connected in a transmission mode of belt drive. In some other implementations, the connecting shaft 215 and the fixed wheel 2252 can be connected in other transmission modes such as chain drive, gear drive or worm gear drive.

[0110] The electromagnetic clutch 216 is an actuator that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to combine or separate two rotating parts in the mechanical transmission system without stopping the rotation of the active part. When the swing drive component 214 drives the material transfer swing frame 211 to rotate relative to the lifting seat 2131, the connecting shaft 215 is combined with the lifting seat 2131 through the electromagnetic clutch 216, and drives the material transfer claw 212 to rotate synchronously through the transmission component 220. When the material transfer drive mechanism 2113 drives the first frame 2111 and the second frame 2112 to slide relative to each other, the electromagnetic clutch 216 separates the connecting shaft 215 from the lifting seat 2131, and the connecting shaft 215 can rotate relative to the lifting seat 2131, thereby preventing the material transfer claw 212 from rotating during the extension and retraction process of the material transfer swing frame 211.

[0111] Furthermore, in order to prevent the transmission belt 223 from being worn during the telescopic process, a guide wheel 226 is further provided on the side of the guide column 2251 .

[0112] While the material shifting swing frame 211 can be extended and retracted by the transmission member 220, the material shifting claw 212 and the material shifting swing frame 211 can rotate synchronously to shift the material while maintaining the material posture. In this embodiment, the material shifting drive mechanism 2113 is a telescopic cylinder arranged along the front and rear.

[0113] In the fourth embodiment, the loading and unloading claws of the loading and unloading mechanism 110 can also achieve synchronous rotation with the rotating arm 120 through various transmission methods such as belt drive, chain drive, gear drive or worm gear drive. The specific structure can refer to the synchronous rotation structure of the material moving claw 212 and the material moving swing frame 211 in embodiments two and three, and no examples are given here.

[0114] The present invention also provides a bending processing method based on the above-mentioned fully automatic flexible bending center:

[0115] The material to be bent is conveyed to both sides of the processing conveying table 101 through the incoming material conveying line 20;

[0116] The material to be bent is transferred to the loading station 104 through the loading and unloading mechanism 110;

[0117] The material to be bent is transferred to the bending device 102 by the material transfer device 200 for bending processing;

[0118] The bent material is transferred to the unloading station 105 by the material transfer device 200;

[0119] The bent material is transferred from the unloading station 105 to the unloading conveyor line 30 for unloading by the loading and unloading mechanism 110;

[0120] After one of the material moving devices 200 moves the bent material away from the bending device 102 , the other material moving device 200 transfers the material to be bent to the bending device 102 for bending processing.

[0121] The bending processing method realizes the feeding of the material to be bent and the discharging of the material after bending processing through the incoming material conveyor line 20 and the outgoing material conveyor line 30 on the left and right sides. The two loading and unloading devices 100 respectively load and unload the material on the left and right sides of the bending machine 10, so that the two material moving devices 200 can alternately perform the feeding, unloading and moving actions of the bending processing.

[0122] The incoming material conveyor line 20, the outgoing material conveyor line 30, the material transfer device 200 and the loading and unloading device 100 in the bending processing method of the present invention are all arranged in pairs on the left and right sides of the bending machine 10. The loading and unloading device 100 is used to realize the loading and unloading of raw and cooked materials for bending processing, and then the two material transfer devices 200 are used to realize the alternating material transfer between the bending device 102 and the bending feeding device 103, which improves the degree of automation of the material picking and placing process, greatly accelerates the material transfer speed and rhythm at the bending processing position, and releases the efficient bending performance of the flexible bending center.

[0123] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiments", "examples", "specific examples", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representation of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner.

[0124] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, a person skilled in the art may make various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention. These changes, modifications, equivalent variations or substitutions are all included in the scope defined by the claims of this application. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A fully automatic flexible bending center, comprising a bending machine, the bending machine having a processing and conveying platform, a bending device is provided at the front end of the processing and conveying platform, and a bending feeding device is provided at the rear of the bending device for driving the bending material to move relative to the bending device; characterized in that: Also includes: Incoming material conveyor line, outgoing material conveyor line, material transfer device and loading and unloading device; The incoming material conveying line and the outgoing material conveying line are arranged on both sides of the processing conveying platform, and the downstream end of the incoming material conveying line and the upstream end of the outgoing material conveying line are arranged beside the processing conveying platform; The left and right parts of the processing conveyor platform are both provided with a loading station and an unloading station, and the loading and unloading devices and the material moving devices are both arranged in pairs on the left and right; The loading and unloading device comprises two loading and unloading mechanisms, one of which is used to transfer the materials from the incoming material conveying line to the loading station, and the other loading and unloading mechanism is used to transfer the materials from the unloading station to the outgoing material conveying line; The loading station and unloading station on the same side overlap, and the loading station and unloading station that overlap each other are the loading and unloading stations. The downstream end of the incoming material conveyor line and the upstream end of the outgoing material conveyor line are at the same distance from the loading and unloading stations; the two loading and unloading devices are respectively used for loading and unloading materials on the left and right sides of the bending machine; The loading and unloading mechanism comprises a rotating arm and a loading and unloading claw, one end of the rotating arm has a rotating part, and the loading and unloading claw is arranged at the other end of the rotating arm; The loading and unloading device further comprises: a rotary drive component and a lifting mechanism; the rotary drive component is used to drive the rotating arm to rotate around the rotating part, and the lifting mechanism is used to drive the loading and unloading claw to rise and fall; the loading and unloading claw is connected to the rotating arm for synchronous rotation; the rotary drive component comprises a rotary drive unit and a driving shaft, the rotary drive unit is drivingly connected to the driving shaft, and the rotating parts of the two rotating arms of the same loading and unloading device are both drivingly connected to the driving shaft; The material moving device includes a material moving mechanism, and the material moving mechanism includes: a material moving swing frame, a material moving claw, a lifting drive component and a swing drive component, the material moving swing frame has a hinged end and a working end, the swing drive component is used to drive the material moving swing frame to rotate around the hinged end relative to the bending machine, the material moving claw is arranged above the processing and conveying table, the material moving claw is connected to the working end, and the lifting drive component is used to drive the material moving claw to move up and down; the lifting drive component includes a lifting seat and a lifting drive unit, the hinged end of the material moving swing frame is rotatably connected to the lifting seat, and the lifting drive unit has a lifting drive end that is transmission-connected to the lifting seat and enables the lifting seat to move up and down relative to the processing and conveying table; The material moving claw is rotatably mounted on the working end, the rotation axes of the material moving claw and the material moving swing frame extend in the up-down direction, and the material moving claw and the material moving swing frame rotate synchronously and oppositely around their own rotation axes respectively; The material transfer swing frame includes a first frame body and a second frame body, and the hinge end and the working end are respectively arranged on the first frame body and the second frame body; the material transfer device also includes a material transfer driving mechanism, and the material transfer driving mechanism is used to drive the second frame body to slide relative to the first frame body along the radial direction of the hinge end; The material transfer device includes a transmission member, and the transmission member includes: a transmission belt, a first transmission wheel set, and a second transmission wheel set; the first transmission wheel set includes a first movable wheel and a second movable wheel arranged front and back, and the second transmission wheel set includes a guide post and a fixed wheel arranged front and back. The first movable wheel and the second movable wheel are respectively rotatably arranged at the front and rear ends of the second frame body, and the guide post and the fixed wheel are respectively rotatably arranged at the front and rear ends of the first frame body. The two second transmission wheel sets are arranged left and right on the left and right sides of the first transmission wheel set. The transmission belt is wound around the first transmission wheel set and the two second transmission wheel sets in a transmission manner, so that the transmission belt is wound around the sides of the first movable wheel and the second movable wheel that are背离 each other; in the front-rear direction, the first movable wheel, the guide post, the second movable wheel, and the fixed wheel are arranged in sequence from front to back; when the second frame body moves backward relative to the first frame body, the distance between the first movable wheel and the fixed wheel decreases, and the distance between the second movable wheel and the guide post increases synchronously; when the second frame body moves forward relative to the first frame body, the distance between the first movable wheel and the fixed wheel increases, and the distance between the second movable wheel and the guide post decreases synchronously; the first movable wheel is connected to the material transfer gripper, and the lifting seat is provided with a connecting shaft extending vertically. The upper end of the connecting shaft is connected to the lifting seat through an electromagnetic clutch, and the lower end of the connecting shaft is in transmission connection with one of the fixed wheels. When the swing driving member drives the material transfer swing frame to rotate relative to the lifting seat, the connecting shaft is combined with the lifting seat through the electromagnetic clutch, and the transmission member drives the material transfer gripper to rotate synchronously; when the material transfer driving mechanism drives the first frame body and the second frame body to slide relative to each other, the electromagnetic clutch separates the connecting shaft from the lifting seat, and the connecting shaft can rotate relative to the lifting seat, avoiding the material transfer gripper from rotating during the telescopic process of the material transfer swing frame.

2. The fully automatic flexible bending center according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The transmission ratios of the rotating parts of the two rotating arms to the driving shaft are inconsistent.

3. The fully automatic flexible bending center according to claim 1 is characterized in that: Both the material transfer gripper and the loading and unloading gripper include a plurality of suction cups arranged downward. The loading and unloading gripper has an avoidance space that can accommodate the material transfer gripper, and the suction cups of the loading and unloading gripper are arranged along the edge of the avoidance space.

4. The fully automatic flexible bending center according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The loading and unloading gripper includes a connecting plate. In the projection in the up-down direction, the connecting plate is in a "凵" shape, the avoidance space is arranged in the middle of the connecting plate, and the plurality of suction cups are arranged along the connecting plate.

5. A bending method, characterized in that: Applicable to the full-automatic flexible bending center according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the bending processing method includes: Conveying the material to be bent to the left and right sides of the processing conveying table through the incoming material conveying line; Transferring the material to be bent to the loading station through the loading and unloading mechanism; Transferring the material to be bent to the bending device through the material transfer device to perform bending processing on the material to be bent; Transferring the material after bending to the unloading station through the material transfer device; Transferring the material after bending from the unloading station to the outgoing material conveying line for discharging through the loading and unloading mechanism; The feeding of materials to be bent and the discharging of materials after bending are realized through the incoming material conveyor lines and the outgoing material conveyor lines on the left and right sides of the processing conveyor table. The two loading and unloading devices respectively load and unload materials on the left and right sides of the bending machine. The two material moving devices alternately perform the feeding, unloading and material moving actions of the bending process. When one of the material moving devices moves the bent material away from the bending device, the other material moving device transfers the material to be bent to the bending device for bending processing.

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