Clamping and aligning system for ultra-large-diameter thin-wall cylinder type workpiece

Abstract

The invention discloses a clamping and aligning system for ultra-large-diameter thin-wall cylinder type workpieces, which is mounted on a rotary indexing table and comprises four groups of subsystems uniformly distributed on the table surface of the rotary indexing table, and any subsystem comprises an unloading mechanism for unloading the workpieces, a clamping device for roughly positioning and clamping the workpieces, a clamping mechanism for clamping the workpieces, and a clamping mechanism for clamping the workpieces, the supporting assembly is used for supporting a workpiece, and the hydraulic electric control device is used for driving the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting device. The supporting assembly comprises a first supporting device which is provided with a servo oil cylinder so as to accurately and horizontally adjust a workpiece. The device has the following technical advantages that 1, the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting device are integrated, and integrated operation such as clamping and leveling of various ultra-large-diameter thin-wall cylinder workpieces is achieved; and 2, closed-loop feedback control is realized by arranging various sensors and a hydraulic electric control device, so that the clamping alignment precision and the working efficiency are effectively improved, and the machining quality of the workpieces is further improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of machining, and in particular to a clamping and alignment system for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces. Background Art

[0002] At present, my country is entering a stage of high-quality development, and machine tools have increasingly higher requirements for the automation, intelligence, and unmanned degree of alignment of workpieces and fixtures during processing. Especially for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical parts, which are generally heavy and have different structural sizes, the traditional clamping and leveling process needs to be completed manually, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and there are safety hazards. For this reason, there is still a need for an automatic clamping and leveling technology with a high degree of automation that can adapt to the clamping and alignment requirements of large and ultra-large cylindrical workpieces with different diameters. Through the necessary probe / machine vision and clamping and leveling strategies, it can automatically and intelligently clamp and align ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, so as to greatly improve the clamping and alignment accuracy and clamping efficiency of large and ultra-large cylindrical workpieces. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to overcome the technical problems described in the above-mentioned prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a clamping and alignment system for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces.

[0004] The present invention provides a clamping and alignment system for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, which is installed on a rotary indexing worktable. The clamping and alignment system includes four groups of subsystems evenly distributed on the table surface of the rotary indexing worktable. Any of the subsystems includes:

[0005] An unloading device for unloading the workpiece;

[0006] A clamping device for roughly positioning and clamping the workpiece;

[0007] A support assembly for supporting the workpiece, including a first support device configured with a servo cylinder to accurately horizontally adjust the workpiece;

[0008] The hydraulic electric control device controls the actions of the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting assembly.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution, the unloading device is equipped with an unloading oil circuit, and the unloading oil circuit includes a first oil cylinder for realizing unloading, and a first pressure sensor for realizing workpiece unloading feedback.

[0010] As a preferred technical solution, the clamping device includes a screw and a hydraulic motor that drives the screw to move. The clamping device is evenly distributed on the surface of the rotary indexing worktable to drive the screw to tighten the workpiece; the hydraulic motor is equipped with a second pressure sensor to realize workpiece clamping feedback.

[0011] As a preferred technical solution, any of the subsystems includes at least two groups of the clamping devices.

[0012] As a preferred technical solution, the clamping and alignment system also includes a measuring system composed of a probe and / or machine vision; the output end of the servo cylinder of the first supporting device is provided with a wedge, and the servo cylinder is provided with a position feedback device; the horizontal state of the workpiece is measured by the measuring system and the adjustment amount is obtained, and after the unloading device is unloaded, the servo cylinder drives the wedge to rise by the corresponding adjustment amount and self-lock to support the workpiece.

[0013] As a preferred technical solution, the support assembly further includes a second support device capable of providing auxiliary support after the first support device is precisely horizontally adjusted.

[0014] As a preferred technical solution, the hydraulic electric control device can be connected to the numerical control system of a machine tool to achieve intelligent joint control with the machine tool.

[0015] As a preferred technical solution, the rotary indexing workbench table is equipped with a scale at any of the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting assembly.

[0016] As a preferred technical solution, any of the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting assembly can adjust the position on the rotary indexing worktable surface to adapt to workpieces of different sizes.

[0017] As a preferred technical solution, all of the first oil cylinders can bear 80%-90% of the weight of the workpiece, so as to reduce the load of the first supporting device when making precise horizontal adjustment on the workpiece.

[0018] In summary, the present invention has the following technical effects:

[0019] The present invention discloses a clamping and alignment system for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, which is installed on a rotary indexing worktable. The clamping and alignment system includes four groups of subsystems evenly distributed on the surface of the rotary indexing worktable. Any subsystem includes: a unloading device for unloading the workpiece, a clamping device for roughly positioning and clamping the workpiece, a supporting assembly for supporting the workpiece, and a hydraulic and electronic control device for driving the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting assembly; wherein the supporting assembly includes a first supporting device configured with a servo cylinder for accurately adjusting the workpiece horizontally. By adopting the above-mentioned clamping and alignment system, the present invention has the following technical advantages: 1. This clamping and alignment system integrates a unloading device, a clamping device and a supporting device, and can realize integrated operations such as clamping and leveling of various ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, such as cylindrical, cone and oblique cone types of workpieces; 2. This clamping and alignment system has strong adaptability, high automation and intelligence, and is configured with a variety of sensors and hydraulic electric control devices to achieve closed-loop feedback control. The alignment is accurate and the operation is simple. It can effectively improve the clamping and alignment accuracy and work efficiency of ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, thereby improving the processing quality of such workpieces. Therefore, compared with the existing clamping and leveling technology, the clamping and alignment system for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces provided by the present invention has obvious technical advantages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the present invention or the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 is a top view schematic diagram of a clamping and alignment system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an unloading device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a clamping device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 is a three-dimensional and side view schematic diagram of a first supporting device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] The meanings of the reference numerals are as follows:

[0026] 1- Rotary indexing table;

[0027] 2- Unloading device;

[0028] 3-clamping device, 31-screw;

[0029] 41-first supporting device, 411-servo cylinder, 412-wedge block;

[0030] 5-Hydraulic electronic control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings in this embodiment to clearly and completely describe the technical solution in this embodiment. The present embodiment described herein is only for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that various modifications and changes can be made to this embodiment without departing from the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0032] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more associated listed items. Unless otherwise specified or explained, the terms "connection", "fixed", etc. should be understood in a broad sense. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, an integral connection, an electrical connection, or a signal connection; "connection" can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0033] Further, in the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the directional words described in the present embodiment are described at the angles shown in the accompanying drawings and should not be understood as limiting the present embodiment. It should also be understood that in the context, when it is mentioned that an element or feature is connected to another element (one or more), it can not only be directly connected to the other (one or more) elements, but also indirectly connected to the other (one or more) elements through an intermediate element.

[0034] Before introducing the technical solution of the present invention, it is necessary to explain the creation background of the invention. It is common that as machine tools have higher and higher requirements for the automation, intelligence and unmanned degree of alignment of workpieces and fixtures during processing. Especially for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, their weight is generally large and their structural dimensions are different. The traditional clamping and leveling process needs to be completed manually, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and there are safety hazards. For this reason, there is still a need for an automatic clamping and leveling technology with a high degree of automation that can adapt to the clamping and alignment requirements of large and ultra-large cylindrical workpieces with different diameters. Through the necessary probe / machine vision and clamping and leveling strategies, it can automatically and intelligently clamp and align ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, so as to greatly improve the clamping and alignment accuracy and clamping efficiency of large and ultra-large cylindrical workpieces.

[0035] See also Figure 1, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a clamping and alignment system for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, which is installed on a rotary indexing table 1, and the clamping and alignment system includes four groups of subsystems evenly distributed on the surface of the rotary indexing table 1, and any subsystem includes: an unloading device 2 for unloading the workpiece, a clamping device 3 for roughly positioning and clamping the workpiece, a support assembly for supporting the workpiece, and a hydraulic and electronic control device 5 for driving the unloading device 2, the clamping device 3 and the support assembly; wherein the support assembly includes a first support device 41 configured with a servo cylinder 411 to accurately adjust the workpiece horizontally; the present invention integrates the unloading device 2, the clamping device 3 and the support device, and can realize the clamping and leveling process of the ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpiece to be processed. It should be noted that the present invention does not specifically limit the order of each device in a single subsystem, and it is only necessary to satisfy the consistency of the order of each device in the four groups of subsystems. The above-mentioned devices will be described in detail below:

[0036] Unloading device 2:

[0037] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the unloading device 2 is equipped with an unloading oil circuit, which includes a first oil cylinder for realizing unloading, and a first pressure sensor for realizing feedback of workpiece unloading. Specifically, the function of the unloading device 2 is to unload the workpiece before and during the alignment of the workpiece, wherein the first oil cylinder of the unloading device 2 is preferably a double-acting oil cylinder, and the first pressure sensor is used to detect the supporting contact between the unloading device 2 and the workpiece and feedback to the hydraulic electronic control device 5 to realize the pressure control of the first oil cylinder. It should be noted that initially, the position of the unloading device 2 on the table of the rotary indexing worktable 1 is manually adjusted according to the size of the workpiece; when the workpiece is hoisted, the first oil cylinder of the unloading device 2 is in the retracted position; during operation, oil is supplied to the first oil cylinder. In addition, all the first oil cylinders can bear 80%-90% of the weight of the workpiece when working, so as to reduce the load for the subsequent first support device 41 to accurately adjust the workpiece horizontally.

[0038] Clamping device 3:

[0039] See also Figure 1 and Figure 3, the clamping device 3 includes a screw rod and a hydraulic motor driving the displacement of the screw rod. The clamping device 3 is evenly distributed on the rotary indexing worktable 1 to drive the screw rod to tighten the workpiece; the hydraulic motor is equipped with a second pressure sensor to realize the clamping feedback of the workpiece. Specifically, the function of the clamping device 3 is to perform rough positioning of the workpiece and clamp the workpiece after alignment. Initially, the position of the clamping device 3 on the rotary indexing worktable 1 is manually adjusted according to the size of the workpiece. When hoisting the workpiece, the top block of the clamping device 3 is used as the rough positioning. After the workpiece is adjusted horizontally in place, four groups of subsystems are evenly distributed on the rotary indexing worktable 1, that is, the locking mechanisms opposite to each other drive the screw rods to tighten the workpiece through the hydraulic motor, and at the same time, self-locking is realized through the screw rods; preferably, the diameter of the screw rod 31 is φ80mm and the lead is 10mm. The second pressure sensor is integrated in the hydraulic motor oil circuit to realize the clamping feedback of the workpiece. As a preferred technical solution, any of the subsystems includes at least two groups of the clamping devices 3.

[0040] Support components:

[0041] See also Figure 1 and Figure 4 The support assembly of the present invention includes a first support device 41 and a second support device. It should be noted that the clamping and alignment system also includes a measurement system composed of a probe and / or machine vision.

[0042] The first support device 41 is used for accurately adjusting the workpiece horizontally. The output end of the servo cylinder 411 of the first support device 41 is equipped with a wedge 412, and the servo cylinder 411 is equipped with a position feedback device. The specific working process of the first support device 41 is to measure the horizontal state of the workpiece through the measurement system and obtain the adjustment amount and feedback it to the hydraulic electronic control device 5. After the unloading device 2 is unloaded, the hydraulic electronic control device 5 accurately controls the servo cylinder 411 through the position feedback device to drive the wedge 412 to rise by the corresponding adjustment amount, and self-lock to support the workpiece, that is, to complete the horizontal adjustment process of the workpiece. Preferably, the slope of the wedge 412 is 1:10, and the position feedback device is preferably a magnetostrictive displacement sensor.

[0043] The second support device is used to assist in supporting the workpiece after precise horizontal adjustment. The second support device is composed of a second oil cylinder and a wedge block 412 installed at its output end. The difference between the second support device and the first support device 41 is that the second support device only needs to adjust the vertical height of the second support device through the wedge block 412, and the second oil cylinder can be an ordinary oil cylinder. It should be noted that the position of the support assembly on the rotary indexing table 1 is manually adjusted according to the size of the workpiece at the beginning, and both support devices are in the lowest position when hoisting the workpiece.

[0044] As a preferred technical solution, the hydraulic electronic control device 5 is composed of a pump station, a valve station, a control system, a measuring system, etc., which can realize clamping force control and compensation, dynamic monitoring, and real-time feedback data, and realize system adaptive adjustment during the clamping and alignment process. In some embodiments, the hydraulic electronic control device 5 can be connected to the machine tool CNC system to realize intelligent joint control with the machine tool.

[0045] Preferably, the rotary indexing worktable 1 is provided with a scale at any of the unloading device 2, the clamping device 3 and the supporting device. Its function is to use the scales on the rotary indexing worktable 1 to pre-adjust the positions of the unloading device 2, the clamping device 3 and the supporting assembly to adapt to the size of the pre-loaded workpiece.

[0046] As a preferred technical solution, any of the unloading device 2, the clamping device 3 and the supporting assembly can be adjusted in position on the surface of the rotary indexing worktable 1 to adapt to workpieces of different sizes.

[0047] The following will introduce a method for clamping and aligning a workpiece of a super-large diameter thin-walled cylinder using the above-mentioned clamping and aligning system, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0048] Device pre-adjustment: According to the size of the pre-installed workpiece and referring to the scale on the dividing worktable, pre-adjust the positions of the unloading device 2, the clamping device 3 and the supporting assembly, and ensure that the unloading device 2 and the supporting assembly are in the lowest posture and the clamping device 3 is in the retracted state.

[0049] Placing the workpiece: Before the pre-loaded workpiece is placed on this clamping and alignment system, the first support device 41 is raised by 5-10 mm, and the top block of the clamping device 3 is used for rough positioning to ensure that the four-side busbars of the workpiece fall on the first support device 41. After the workpiece is placed, the hydraulic and electronic control device 5 controls the upper surface of the first support device 41 to contact the workpiece, and then the second support device rises, and the clamping device 3 clamps the workpiece.

[0050] Position measurement: The measurement system measures the Y-axis coordinate value of the intersection of the four-part side generatrix and the upper and lower contour lines of the workpiece (cylinder, cone and oblique cone), and obtains the adjustment amount required for each first support device 41 through a preset algorithm. The purpose is to adjust the Y-axis coordinate value of the four intersection points of the four-part side generatrix and the contour lines to be consistent through the first support device 41.

[0051] Horizontal alignment: The unloading device 2 bears 80%-90% of the weight of the workpiece. After completing the above-mentioned position measurement, the hydraulic electronic control device 5 accurately controls the servo cylinder 411 through the position feedback device to drive the wedge block 412 to rise by a corresponding adjustment amount. After adjustment, the hydraulic electronic control device 5 locks the unloading cylinder and the servo cylinder 411 in the current position, and then the second supporting device rises into place to support the workpiece.

[0052] Workpiece clamping: The hydraulic electric control device 5 controls the clamping device 3 to clamp the workpiece.

[0053] Workpiece level review: The measurement system re-measures the workpiece to evaluate whether the workpiece level meets the processing requirements. If it does, processing begins; if it does not, the leveling process is performed again until the processing requirements are met.

[0054] In summary, the clamping and alignment system for super-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces of the present invention integrates an unloading device, a clamping device, and a supporting device, and can realize integrated operations such as clamping and leveling of various super-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, such as cylindrical, cone, and oblique cone types of workpieces; in addition, this clamping and alignment system has strong adaptability, high automation and intelligence, and is configured with a variety of sensors and hydraulic electric control devices to achieve closed-loop feedback control, accurate alignment, and simple operation. It can effectively improve the clamping and alignment accuracy and work efficiency of super-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, thereby improving the processing quality of such workpieces. Therefore, compared with the existing clamping and leveling technology, the clamping and alignment system for super-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces provided by the present invention has obvious technical advantages.

[0055] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A clamping and alignment system for ultra-large diameter thin-walled cylindrical workpieces, installed on a rotary indexing worktable, the clamping and alignment system includes four groups of subsystems evenly distributed on the rotary indexing worktable surface, characterized in that: Any of the subsystems includes: An unloading device for unloading the workpiece; A clamping device for roughly positioning and clamping the workpiece; A support assembly for supporting the workpiece, including a first support device configured with a servo cylinder for accurately horizontally adjusting the workpiece; The hydraulic electric control device controls the actions of the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting assembly.

2. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The unloading device is equipped with an unloading oil circuit, and the unloading oil circuit includes a first oil cylinder for realizing unloading, and a first pressure sensor for realizing workpiece unloading feedback.

3. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 1 is characterized in that The clamping device includes a screw and a hydraulic motor for driving the screw to move. The clamping device is evenly distributed on the rotary indexing worktable surface to drive the screw to clamp the workpiece. The hydraulic motor is equipped with a second pressure sensor for realizing workpiece clamping feedback.

4. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 3 is characterized in that: Any of the subsystems comprises at least two sets of the clamping devices.

5. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamping and alignment system also includes a measuring system composed of a probe and / or machine vision; the output end of the servo cylinder of the first supporting device is equipped with a wedge block, and the servo cylinder is equipped with a position feedback device; the horizontal state of the workpiece is measured by the measuring system and the adjustment amount is obtained, and after the unloading device is unloaded, the servo cylinder drives the wedge block to rise by the corresponding adjustment amount and self-lock to support the workpiece.

6. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The support assembly also includes a second support device capable of providing auxiliary support after the first support device is precisely adjusted horizontally.

7. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hydraulic electric control device can be connected to the numerical control system of a machine tool to realize intelligent joint control with the machine tool.

8. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotary indexing workbench table is provided with a scale at any of the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting assembly.

9. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Any of the unloading device, the clamping device and the supporting assembly can be adjusted in position on the rotary indexing worktable surface to accommodate workpieces of different sizes.

10. The clamping and alignment system according to claim 1, characterized in that: All of the first oil cylinders can bear 80%-90% of the weight of the workpiece, so as to reduce the load of the first supporting device when accurately adjusting the level of the workpiece.

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