Flexible automatic honeycomb core processing unit and processing method
The flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit enables automated cutting and storage of honeycomb core materials, solving the problems of high processing difficulty, low efficiency, and high cost, achieving efficient production and consistent quality, and reducing production costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-09
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-31
AI Technical Summary
Existing honeycomb sandwich materials are difficult to process, prone to burrs during processing, cause serious dust pollution, have low production efficiency, poor quality consistency, high production costs, and are highly dependent on manual operation.
The flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit includes an automated storage and feeding system, high-precision automated processing equipment, and an automated unloading and storage system, which realizes the automated cutting and storage of honeycomb core materials, combined with the automated cutting and parts retrieval of the high-precision automated processing equipment.
It increased production efficiency by 5 times, improved the yield rate by 80%, reduced annual material costs by nearly 4 million yuan, and enabled high-quality and efficient production and rapid changeover of various specifications of honeycomb core parts.
Smart Images
Figure CN121756418A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention belongs to the fields of mechanical processing automation and intelligent manufacturing, and relates to a flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit and processing method. Background Technology
[0002] Honeycomb sandwich materials, as the matrix of honeycomb sandwich structures, have low lateral stiffness, poor machinability, and are difficult to process. They are prone to burrs and severe dust pollution during processing, making them typical difficult-to-machine materials. Under conventional production models, single-machine production is used, with manual loading, clamping, alignment, cutting of reference edges, unloading, and measurement. For each blank, if the initial processing time or processing interval exceeds one hour, re-alignment and re-cutting of reference edges are required. Manual clamping and alignment time accounts for approximately 40% of the total processing time. Before and after processing, operators must perform lengthy manual dust removal, and this work can only be done on the clamped surface of the workpiece. Each process is highly dependent on manual operation; clamping, alignment, tool setting, disassembly, and transfer between processes all require manual operation, resulting in low production efficiency and high production costs. When the number of parts reaches a certain level (ranging from tens to hundreds), the consistency of part processing quality, production capacity, and delivery cycle become major bottlenecks. Summary of the Invention
[0003] The technical problem solved by this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and propose a flexible and automated honeycomb core processing unit and processing method to overcome the problems of cumbersome pre-processing storage and material preparation, high labor intensity of personnel, poor quality consistency, low production efficiency and insufficient production balance under the existing production mode.
[0004] The solution of the present invention is:
[0005] A flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit includes an automated storage and loading system, a high-precision automated processing equipment, and an automated unloading and storage system;
[0006] The high-precision automatic processing equipment is located in the middle; the automatic storage and feeding system is horizontally set on one side of the high-precision automatic processing equipment; the automatic unloading storage system is horizontally set on the other side of the high-precision automatic processing equipment, forming a straight line layout; the automatic storage and feeding system stores the honeycomb core material to be cut, and at the same time automatically feeds the honeycomb core material to the high-precision automatic processing equipment for automatic cutting; the honeycomb core material after processing is automatically taken out by the automatic unloading storage system and stored in the automatic unloading storage system.
[0007] In the aforementioned flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit, the automatic storage and feeding system includes a feeding pusher plate, a feeding cylinder, a pushing motor, and a lifting hopper;
[0008] The feeding pusher plate and the feeding cylinder are placed side by side, and the feeding cylinder controls the horizontal movement of the feeding pusher plate; the pushing motor and the lifting hopper are placed side by side, and the pushing motor controls the vertical movement of the lifting hopper.
[0009] In the aforementioned flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit, the high-precision automatic processing equipment includes an automatic feeding door, an automatic discharging door, a workpiece clamping plate, a triple feed motor, a spindle box, a central control system, three left pressure plates, a single left pressure plate, three right pressure plates, a single right pressure plate, a marble worktable, a spindle motor, a vortex tube cooler, and a saw blade cover.
[0010] The automatic feeding gate and automatic discharging gate are located on both sides; the workpiece clamp is located above the three-way feed motor, both on the front side of the marble worktable; the three-way feed motor controls the movement of the workpiece clamp within the marble worktable; the central control system is installed on the front side of the marble worktable; the spindle box is located on the rear side of the marble worktable; the spindle motor is installed inside the spindle box; the vortex tube cooler is installed on the front side of the spindle box, with its output port located outside the saw blade cover; three left pressure plates and a single left pressure plate are installed on the marble worktable's side end face opposite to the spindle box; three right pressure plates and a single right pressure plate are installed on the marble worktable's side end face opposite to the central control system.
[0011] In the aforementioned flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit, the automatic unloading and storage system includes a long-pulling cylinder, a horizontal pushing mechanism, a flip plate, a discharge motor, a finished product bin, a waste product bin, a discharge conveyor belt, a translation cylinder, and a clamping gripper.
[0012] The system includes a long-pulling cylinder connected to a clamping gripper; the long-pulling cylinder controls the horizontal movement of the clamping gripper; a horizontal pushing mechanism connected to a horizontal shifting cylinder; the horizontal shifting cylinder controls the horizontal movement of the horizontal pushing mechanism; a discharge motor connected to a discharge conveyor belt; the discharge motor controls the rotation of the discharge conveyor belt; a flip plate located on one side of the discharge conveyor belt; a finished product bin located behind the flip plate; and a waste bin located below the flip plate and the finished product bin.
[0013] In the aforementioned flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit, the automatic storage and feeding system stores the honeycomb core panels to be cut. When cutting is required, the automatic storage and feeding system automatically feeds the honeycomb core panels into a high-precision automatic processing device for automatic cutting, and obtains parts after cutting. After one honeycomb core panel is cut, the automatic storage and feeding system automatically feeds the second honeycomb core panel from the storage position into the high-precision automatic processing device for automatic cutting, and obtains parts after cutting, until all honeycomb core panels in the automatic storage and feeding system have been cut.
[0014] In the aforementioned flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit, after the honeycomb core material is automatically fed in, the high-precision automatic processing equipment inputs the corresponding width and quantity into the central control system according to the actual required cutting width and quantity; the high-precision automatic processing equipment automatically cuts according to the input width and quantity until the entire honeycomb core material is completely cut.
[0015] In the aforementioned flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit, the automatic unloading and storage system automatically retrieves and stores each cut part after it is cut from the honeycomb core panel, until the entire honeycomb core panel is cut.
[0016] The processing method of the aforementioned flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit includes:
[0017] S1. The automatic storage and feeding system first returns to the first layer of the honeycomb core panel storage; the automatic feeding door opens automatically, and the feeding cylinder drives the feeding pusher to push the honeycomb core panels in the first layer into the high-precision automatic processing equipment, completing the pushing action; after completion, the feeding cylinder continues to drive the feeding pusher back to the initial position, preparing for the next pushing action; after the feeding pusher returns, the automatic feeding door closes automatically, completing the entire automatic feeding action;
[0018] S2. After all the honeycomb core panels of the first layer are cut, the pusher motor of the automatic storage and feeding system drives the lifting hopper to rise one layer. After the first layer of honeycomb core panels are cut, the automatic storage and feeding system repeats the action described in S1 to automatically push the second layer of honeycomb core panels into the high-precision automatic processing equipment for cutting. Until all the honeycomb core panels are cut, the pusher motor of the automatic storage and feeding system drives the lifting hopper back to the initial state of the first layer, ready for the next feeding action.
[0019] S3. The honeycomb core panel is pushed into the marble worktable, and the three-way feed motor moves forward synchronously, pushing the honeycomb core panel to the initial cutting position. The workpiece clamping plate on the three-way feed motor presses the honeycomb core panel. The three-way feed motor continues to push the honeycomb core panel to the cutting head position. The three left pressure plates, the single left pressure plate, the three right pressure plates, and the single right pressure plate descend to press the honeycomb core panel. The spindle motor and vortex tube cooler start. When the spindle motor reaches the cutting speed, the central control system drives the spindle box to move along the cutting direction and cut off the cutting head. After the cutting is completed, the spindle motor stops, and the central control system drives the spindle box back to the cutting start position to prepare for the next cut.
[0020] S4. The automatic discharge door opens automatically, the clamping gripper opens, the single left pressure plate lifts, and the long pull cylinder extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment. The clamping gripper locks and clamps the material head. The third left pressure plate lifts, and the long pull cylinder retracts to its initial position. Due to the relatively long length of the material head, the long pull cylinder needs to move twice to fully pull the material head out. The clamping gripper releases, and the material head falls onto the discharge conveyor belt. The long pull cylinder extends again to its original position, the discharge motor starts, and drives the discharge conveyor belt to carry the material head out to the designated position and then stops. The flip plate moves to the scrap position, and the flat push mechanism pushes the material head into the scrap bin of the automatic unloading storage system. The flat push mechanism resets, the flip plate moves to the finished product position, the long pull cylinder retracts to its initial position, and the automatic discharge door closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of the material head.
[0021] S5. Continuing with the pre-set cutting width in the central control system, the three right pressure plates and the single right pressure plate rise to their initial positions, and after ensuring that the three left pressure plates and the single left pressure plate have also risen to their initial positions, the three feed motors advance synchronously forward, pushing the honeycomb core material to the set cutting position; the three left pressure plates, the single left pressure plate, the three right pressure plates, and the single right pressure plate descend to press the honeycomb core material, the spindle motor and the vortex tube cooler start, and when the spindle motor reaches the cutting speed, the central control system drives the spindle box to move along the cutting direction. After the cutting is completed, the part is obtained, the spindle motor stops, and the central control system drives the spindle box back to the cutting start position to prepare for the next cutting;
[0022] S6. The automatic discharge door opens automatically, the clamping gripper opens, the single left pressure plate lifts, and the long pull cylinder extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment; the clamping gripper locks, clamping the freshly cut part; the triple left pressure plate lifts, and the long pull cylinder retracts to its initial position. Due to the relatively long length of the part, the long pull cylinder needs two movements to fully pull the part out; the clamping gripper releases, the part falls onto the discharge conveyor belt, the long pull cylinder extends again to its position, the discharge motor starts, driving the discharge conveyor belt to carry the part out to the designated position and then stops, the flip plate moves to the finished product position; the flat push mechanism pushes the material head into the finished product bin of the automatic unloading storage system; the flat push mechanism resets, the long pull cylinder retracts to its initial position, the automatic discharge door closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of the part;
[0023] S7. After all parts are processed, the tail material is removed; the automatic discharge door opens automatically, the clamping gripper opens, the single left pressure plate lifts, and the long pull cylinder extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment, the clamping gripper locks, and clamps the tail material; the triple left pressure plate lifts, and the long pull cylinder retracts to the initial position; due to the long length of the tail material, the long pull cylinder performs two actions to completely pull out the tail material; the clamping gripper releases, and the tail material falls onto the discharge conveyor belt; the long pull cylinder extends to the position again, the discharge motor starts, and drives the discharge conveyor belt to carry the tail material to the designated position and then stops; the flip plate moves to the scrap position, and the flat push mechanism pushes the tail material into the scrap bin of the automatic unloading storage system; the flat push mechanism resets, the flip plate moves to the finished product position, the long pull cylinder retracts to the initial position, and the automatic discharge door closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of the tail material.
[0024] In the above processing method, in step S2, the hopper of the automatic storage and feeding system stores four layers of honeycomb core panels. After one layer is cut, the next layer of honeycomb core panels is automatically pushed in until all four layers of honeycomb core panels are cut.
[0025] In the above processing method, after the automatic unloading of the parts is completed in S5, all parts are obtained in the sequence of S5-S6 according to the cutting width and quantity preset in the overall control system.
[0026] The advantages of this invention compared to the prior art are:
[0027] (1) This invention overcomes the problems of cumbersome pre-processing storage and batching, high labor intensity, poor quality consistency, low production efficiency and insufficient production balance under the existing production mode.
[0028] (2) This invention uses high-precision automatic processing equipment and automatic loading and unloading system to produce multiple specifications of honeycomb core parts simultaneously in an automated manner. Under the premise of ensuring product quality consistency, it achieves high-quality, high-efficiency and balanced production of multiple specifications of honeycomb core parts, and can realize rapid changeover of similar specifications of parts.
[0029] (3) This invention can realize automated and efficient processing of nine specifications of honeycomb panels, including 0.03×3, 0.03×4, 0.03×5, 0.04×2, 0.04×3, 0.05×2, 0.05×3, 0.08×2 and 0.08×3, with any width specification within the range of 10 to 49 mm and tolerance requirements within ±0.2 mm. By analyzing the production data, the processing efficiency of the flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit is increased by 5 times, the yield rate is increased by 80%, and the annual material cost is reduced by nearly 4 million yuan, which greatly reduces the production cost. Attached Figure Description
[0030] Figure 1 This is a layout diagram of the flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit of the present invention;
[0031] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the automated storage and feeding system of the present invention;
[0032] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the material inlet / outlet gate of the present invention;
[0033] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the high-precision automatic processing equipment of the present invention;
[0034] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the clamping mechanism of the high-precision automatic processing equipment of the present invention;
[0035] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the spindle mechanism of the high-precision automatic machining equipment of the present invention;
[0036] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic material unloading and storage system of the present invention;
[0037] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the material clamping and discharging mechanism of the automatic material feeding and storage system of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0038] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the embodiments.
[0039] This invention provides a flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit and processing method. It uses high-precision automatic processing equipment and an automatic loading and unloading system to produce multiple specifications of honeycomb core parts simultaneously in an automated manner. Under the premise of ensuring product quality consistency, it achieves high-quality, high-efficiency and balanced production of multiple specifications of honeycomb core parts, and enables rapid changeover of similar specifications of parts.
[0040] A flexible, automated honeycomb core processing unit, such as Figure 1 As shown, the system includes an automated storage and loading system 1, a high-precision automated processing equipment 2, and an automated unloading and storage system 3. The high-precision automated processing equipment 2 is located in the middle; the automated storage and loading system 1 is horizontally positioned on one side of the high-precision automated processing equipment 2; the automated unloading and storage system 3 is horizontally positioned on the other side of the high-precision automated processing equipment 2, forming a linear layout. The automated storage and loading system 1 stores the honeycomb core material to be cut and simultaneously automatically loads the honeycomb core material onto the high-precision automated processing equipment 2 for automatic cutting. After processing, the honeycomb core material is automatically retrieved by the automated unloading and storage system 3 and stored in the automated unloading and storage system 3.
[0041] like Figure 2As shown, the automatic storage and feeding system 1 includes a feeding pusher plate 4, a feeding cylinder 5, a pushing motor 6, and a lifting hopper 7. The feeding pusher plate 4 and the feeding cylinder 5 are placed side by side, and the feeding cylinder 5 controls the horizontal movement of the feeding pusher plate 4; the pushing motor 6 and the lifting hopper 7 are placed side by side, and the pushing motor 6 controls the vertical movement of the lifting hopper 7.
[0042] like Figure 4 As shown, the high-precision automatic machining equipment 2 includes an automatic feeding gate 9, an automatic discharging gate 10, a workpiece clamping plate 11, a triple feed motor 12, a spindle box 13, a central control system 14, three left pressure plates 15, a single left pressure plate 16, three right pressure plates 17, a single right pressure plate 18, a marble worktable 19, a spindle motor 20, a vortex tube cooler 21, and a saw blade cover 22. The automatic feeding gate 9 and the automatic discharging gate 10 are located on opposite sides, as shown... Figure 3 As shown. The workpiece clamping plate 11 is located above the triple feed motor 12, both on the front side of the marble worktable 19; the triple feed motor 12 controls the movement of the workpiece clamping plate 11 within the marble worktable 19; the central control system 14 is installed on the front side of the marble worktable 19; the spindle box 13 is located on the rear side of the marble worktable 19; the spindle motor 20 is installed inside the spindle box 13; the vortex tube cooler 21 is installed on the front side of the spindle box 13, with its output port located outside the saw blade cover 22; three left pressure plates 15 and a single left pressure plate 16 are installed on the side end face of the marble worktable 19 opposite to the spindle box 13; three right pressure plates 17 and a single right pressure plate 18 are installed on the side end face of the marble worktable 19 opposite to the central control system 14, as shown. Figure 5 As shown in Figures 7 and 8.
[0043] like Figure 7 As shown, the automatic material unloading and storage system 3 includes a long-pulling cylinder 23, a horizontal pushing mechanism 24, a tilting plate 25, a discharge motor 26, a finished product bin 27, a waste bin 28, a discharge conveyor belt 29, a translation cylinder 30, and a clamping gripper 31. The long-pulling cylinder 23 is connected to the clamping gripper 31; the long-pulling cylinder 23 controls the horizontal movement of the clamping gripper 31. The horizontal pushing mechanism 24 is connected to the translation cylinder 30; the translation cylinder 30 controls the horizontal movement of the horizontal pushing mechanism 24. The discharge motor 26 is connected to the discharge conveyor belt 29, and the discharge motor 26 controls the rotation of the discharge conveyor belt 29. The tilting plate 25 is located on one side of the discharge conveyor belt 29. The finished product bin 27 is located behind the tilting plate 25. The waste bin 28 is located below the tilting plate 25 and the finished product bin 27.
[0044] The automated storage and feeding system 1 stores the honeycomb core panels to be cut. When cutting is required, the automated storage and feeding system 1 automatically feeds the honeycomb core panels into the high-precision automated processing equipment 2 for automatic cutting, and obtains the parts after cutting. After one honeycomb core panel is cut, the automated storage and feeding system 1 automatically feeds the second honeycomb core panel in the storage position into the high-precision automated processing equipment 2 for automatic cutting, and obtains the parts after cutting, until all the honeycomb core panels in the automated storage and feeding system 1 have been cut.
[0045] After the honeycomb core material is automatically fed in, the high-precision automatic processing equipment 2 inputs the corresponding width and quantity into the central control system 14 according to the actual required cutting width and quantity; the high-precision automatic processing equipment 2 automatically cuts according to the input width and quantity until the entire honeycomb core material is cut.
[0046] The automatic unloading and storage system 3 automatically retrieves and stores each cut part after it is completed, until the entire honeycomb core panel is cut.
[0047] The processing method for a flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit includes the following steps:
[0048] S1. The automatic storage and feeding system 1 first returns to the first layer of the honeycomb core panel storage; the automatic feeding door 9 opens automatically, and the feeding cylinder 5 drives the feeding push plate 4 to push the honeycomb core panels in the first layer into the high-precision automatic processing equipment 2 to complete the pushing action; after completion, the feeding cylinder 5 continues to drive the feeding push plate 4 back to the initial position to prepare for the next pushing action; after the feeding push plate 4 returns, the automatic feeding door 9 closes automatically, completing the entire automatic feeding action.
[0049] S2. After all the honeycomb core panels of the first layer are cut, the pusher motor 6 of the automatic storage and feeding system 1 drives the lifting hopper 7 to rise one layer. After the first layer of honeycomb core panels is cut, the automatic storage and feeding system 1 repeats the action described in S1, automatically pushing the second layer of honeycomb core panels into the high-precision automatic processing equipment 2 for cutting. Until all the honeycomb core panels are cut, the pusher motor 6 of the automatic storage and feeding system 1 drives the lifting hopper 7 back to the initial state of the first layer, ready for the next feeding action. The hopper of the automatic storage and feeding system 1 stores 4 layers of honeycomb core panels. After one layer is cut, the next layer of honeycomb core panels is automatically pushed in until all 4 layers of honeycomb core panels are cut.
[0050] S3. The honeycomb core panel is pushed into the marble worktable 19. The triple feed motor 12 moves forward synchronously, pushing the honeycomb core panel to the initial cutting position. The workpiece clamping plate 11 on the triple feed motor 12 presses the honeycomb core panel. The triple feed motor 12 continues to push the honeycomb core panel to the cutting head position. The three left pressure plates 15, the single left pressure plate 16, the three right pressure plates 17 and the single right pressure plate 18 descend to press the honeycomb core panel. The spindle motor 20 and the vortex tube cooler 21 start. When the spindle motor 20 reaches the cutting speed, the central control system 14 drives the spindle box 13 to move along the cutting direction and cut off the cutting head. After the cutting is completed, the spindle motor 20 stops, and the central control system 14 drives the spindle box 13 back to the cutting start position to prepare for the next cutting.
[0051] S4. The automatic discharge gate 10 opens automatically, the clamping gripper 31 opens, the single left pressure plate 16 lifts, and the long pull cylinder 23 extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment 2. The clamping gripper 31 locks in place, clamping the material head. The triple left pressure plate 15 lifts, and the long pull cylinder 23 retracts to its initial position. Due to the relatively long material head, the long pull cylinder 23 needs two movements to fully pull out the material head. The clamping gripper 31 releases, and the material head falls onto the discharge conveyor belt 29. The long pull cylinder 23 extends again to its original position, the discharge motor 26 starts, and the discharge conveyor belt 29 carries the material head to the designated position and stops. The flip plate 25 moves to the scrap position, and the flat push mechanism 24 pushes the material head into the scrap bin 28 of the automatic unloading storage system 3. The flat push mechanism 24 resets, the flip plate 25 moves to the finished product position, the long pull cylinder 23 retracts to its initial position, and the automatic discharge gate 10 closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of the material head. Figure 8 As shown.
[0052] S5. Continuing with the pre-set cutting width in the central control system 14, the three right pressure plates 17 and the single right pressure plate 18 rise to their initial positions, ensuring that the three left pressure plates 15 and the single left pressure plate 16 are also in their initial positions. Then, the three-pronged feed motor 12 advances synchronously, pushing the honeycomb core material to the set cutting position. The three left pressure plates 15, the single left pressure plate 16, the three right pressure plates 17, and the single right pressure plate 18 descend to press the honeycomb core material. The spindle motor 20 and the vortex tube cooler 21 start. When the spindle motor 20 reaches the cutting speed, the central control system 14 drives the spindle box 13 to move along the cutting direction. After cutting, the part is obtained, the spindle motor 20 stops, and the central control system 14 drives the spindle box 13 back to the cutting start position to prepare for the next cut. After the automatic unloading of the parts is completed, continue to obtain all parts in the sequence of S5-S6 according to the pre-set cutting width and quantity in the central control system 14.
[0053] S6. The automatic discharge door 10 opens automatically, the clamping gripper 31 opens, the single left pressure plate 16 lifts, and the long pull cylinder 23 extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment 2; the clamping gripper 31 locks, clamping the freshly cut part; the triple left pressure plate 15 lifts, and the long pull cylinder 23 retracts to its initial position. Due to the relatively long length of the part, the long pull cylinder 23 needs to perform two actions to fully pull the part out; the clamping gripper 31 releases, and the part falls onto the discharge conveyor belt 29. The long pull cylinder 23 extends again to its position, the discharge motor 26 starts, and drives the discharge conveyor belt 29 to carry the part out to the designated position and then stops. The flip plate 25 moves to the finished product position; the flat push mechanism 24 pushes the material head into the finished product bin 27 of the automatic unloading storage system 3; the flat push mechanism 24 resets, the long pull cylinder 23 retracts to its initial position, and the automatic discharge door 10 closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of the part.
[0054] S7. After all parts are processed, the tail material is removed; the automatic discharge door 10 opens automatically, the clamping gripper 31 opens, the single left pressure plate 16 lifts, the long pull cylinder 23 extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment 2, the clamping gripper 31 locks, and clamps the tail material; the triple left pressure plate 15 lifts, and the long pull cylinder 23 retracts to the initial position; due to the long length of the tail material, the long pull cylinder 23 performs two actions to completely pull out the tail material; the clamping gripper 31 releases, and the tail material falls onto the discharge conveyor belt 29; the long pull cylinder 23 extends to the position again, the discharge motor 26 starts, and drives the discharge conveyor belt 29 to carry the tail material to the designated position and then stops; the flip plate 25 moves to the scrap position, and the flat push mechanism 24 pushes the tail material into the scrap bin 28 of the automatic unloading storage system 3; the flat push mechanism 24 resets, the flip plate 25 moves to the finished product position, the long pull cylinder 23 retracts to the initial position, and the automatic discharge door 10 closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of the tail material.
[0055] The unit control system uses Siemens PLCs and is integrated into the control cabinet. It is equipped with an HMI touchscreen for viewing equipment operating status and enabling human-machine interaction.
[0056] Operation flow of the flexible automated machining unit with milling and turning lines:
[0057] After the equipment has passed inspection, the material loading operation can begin. The loading mechanism currently has four layers of racks, each holding one honeycomb core board. To ensure cutting accuracy and smooth operation, the following points should be noted:
[0058] 1. Check the sheet material for defects, such as folded edges, missing parts, or excess adhesive. Defective sheet material may cause instability in subsequent cutting, resulting in substandard cutting accuracy.
[0059] 2. When loading the material, pay attention to the placement direction of the sheet, and make sure to load it along the direction of the folded edge.
[0060] 3. If large folds are found on the sheet material, electrical tape can be used to reshape the folds and then wrap and stick them to ensure that the folding will not affect the feeding and cutting process.
[0061] 4. Generally, sheet metal has one relatively straight side and one completely untreated side. When loading, the straight side should face outwards (towards the operator).
[0062] 5. Before the sheet material enters the feeding mechanism rack, the specific length and width of the sheet material need to be measured separately, and the corresponding data should be entered into the operation interface.
[0063] To ensure maximum cutting accuracy, the warm-up program in MDA should be run before starting the cutting process.
[0064] The automated storage and loading system first returns to the first layer of the honeycomb core panel storage. At this point, the automatic feeding door opens automatically, and the pusher motor drives the feeding plate to advance the honeycomb core panels from the first layer into the high-precision automated processing equipment. Because the honeycomb core panels are relatively long, after the pusher motor reaches its travel limit, the feeding cylinder continues to drive the feeding plate to completely deliver the honeycomb core panels onto the marble worktable of the high-precision automated processing equipment, completing the unloading action. After completion, the feeding cylinder continues to drive the feeding plate back to its initial position, and then the pusher motor drives the feeding plate back to its initial position, preparing for the next pushing action. After the pusher motor returns, the automatic feeding door closes automatically, completing the entire automated loading action. After all the honeycomb core panels in the first layer are cut, the lifting motor of the automated storage and loading system raises the lifting hopper to the next layer. When the first layer of honeycomb core panels is finished cutting, the automated storage and loading system repeats the action described in S1, automatically pushing the second layer of honeycomb core panels into the high-precision automated processing equipment for cutting. The hopper of the automatic storage and feeding system can store four layers of honeycomb core panels. After one layer is cut, the next layer of honeycomb core panels is automatically pushed in. After all four layers of honeycomb core panels are cut, the lifting motor of the automatic storage and feeding system drives the lifting hopper back to the initial state of the first layer, ready for the next feeding action.
[0065] The honeycomb core panel is pushed into the marble worktable, and the three-pronged feed motor advances synchronously, pushing the panel to the initial cutting position. The workpiece clamping plate on the three-pronged feed motor presses the panel firmly. The motor continues to push the panel to the cutting head position. Three left pressure plates, a single left pressure plate, three right pressure plates, and a single right pressure plate descend to further press the panel. The spindle motor and eddy current cooler start. Once the spindle motor reaches the cutting speed, the central control system drives the spindle box to move along the cutting direction and cut off the cutting head. After cutting, the spindle motor stops, and the central control system drives the spindle box back to the starting cutting position to prepare for the next cut.
[0066] The automatic discharge door opens automatically, the clamping grippers open, the single left pressure plate lifts, and the long-pulling cylinder extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment. The clamping grippers lock and clamp the material head. The third left pressure plate lifts, and the long-pulling cylinder retracts to its initial position. Due to the relatively long material head, the long-pulling cylinder needs two movements to fully pull it out. The clamping grippers release, and the material head falls onto the discharge conveyor belt. The long-pulling cylinder extends again, the discharge motor starts, and the discharge conveyor belt carries the material head to the designated position and stops. The flip plate moves to the scrap position, and the flat-push mechanism pushes the material head into the scrap bin of the automatic unloading storage system. The flat-push mechanism resets, the flip plate moves to the finished product position, the long-pulling cylinder retracts to its initial position, and the automatic discharge door closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of the material head.
[0067] Continuing to advance synchronously according to the pre-set cutting width in the central control system, the three feed motors push the honeycomb core material to the set cutting position. The three left pressure plates, the single left pressure plate, the three right pressure plates, and the single right pressure plate descend to press the honeycomb core material. The spindle motor and the eddy current tube cooler start. When the spindle motor reaches the cutting speed, the central control system drives the spindle box to move along the cutting direction. After the cutting is completed, the part is obtained, the spindle motor stops, and the central control system drives the spindle box back to the cutting start position to prepare for the next cut.
[0068] The automatic discharge door opens automatically, the clamping grippers open, the single left pressure plate lifts, and the long pull cylinder extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment. The clamping grippers lock, clamping the freshly cut parts. The third left pressure plate lifts, and the long pull cylinder retracts to its initial position. Due to the relatively long length of the parts, the long pull cylinder needs two movements to fully pull the parts out. The clamping grippers release, and the parts fall onto the discharge conveyor belt. The long pull cylinder extends again, the discharge motor starts, and the discharge conveyor belt carries the parts to the designated position and stops. The flip plate moves to the finished product position, and the flat push mechanism pushes the material head into the finished product bin of the automatic unloading storage system. The flat push mechanism resets, the long pull cylinder retracts to its initial position, and the automatic discharge door closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of parts. The process continues according to the pre-set cutting width and quantity in the central control system, repeating the S4-S5 sequence to obtain all parts.
[0069] The automatic discharge door opens automatically, the gripping claws open, and the translation cylinder moves the gripping claws to the tail material position. The right pressure plate lifts, and the long-pull cylinder extends into the high-precision automatic processing equipment, locking the gripping claws and clamping the tail material. The third right pressure plate lifts, and the translation cylinder drives the gripping claws to move the tail material to the part discharge position. The long-pull cylinder retracts to its initial position. Due to the relatively long tail material, the long-pull cylinder needs two movements to completely pull it out. The gripping claws release, and the tail material falls onto the discharge conveyor belt. The long-pull cylinder extends again, the discharge motor starts, and the discharge conveyor belt carries the tail material to the designated position and stops. The flip plate moves to the scrap position, and the flat-push mechanism pushes the tail material into the scrap bin of the automatic unloading storage system. The flat-push mechanism resets, the long-pull cylinder retracts to its initial position, and the automatic discharge door closes automatically, completing the automatic discharge of the tail material.
[0070] Before cutting begins, the honeycomb core panels to be cut are manually placed layer by layer into the lifting hopper of the automatic storage and feeding system. The cutting width and quantity of each layer of honeycomb core panels are then entered into the touch screen interface of the central control system. Once completed, the flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit can automatically feed the materials, automatically cut the parts, automatically unload the materials, and automatically distribute them to different hoppers in the automatic unloading and storage system.
[0071] Based on the quantity of sheet material and product specifications, unit cutting modes are divided into fully automatic cutting mode and semi-automatic cutting mode.
[0072] If the entire sheet material consists of ≤4 different widths and can be cut into all products in one go (i.e., the number of products of the same width that can be cut is greater than or equal to the maximum number of products of that width that can be cut), use the fully automatic cutting mode. The specific operating steps are as follows:
[0073] (1) Load the materials as required and select the shelf layer where they are located.
[0074] (2) Correctly input the length and width of the sheet material into the feeding and pushing manual interface.
[0075] (3) On the automatic operation cycle interface, click the one-click start of full cycle operation.
[0076] (4) The processing unit will automatically feed, cut and unload the material, and restore the entire sheet to its pre-cut state after all the material has been cut.
[0077] After correctly setting the relevant parameters, click "One-click start for the entire cycle" to automatically perform the fully automated cutting operation, from automatic feeding to automatic cutting and then to automatic unloading.
[0078] Semi-automatic operation is used for small-quantity processing of multiple varieties (>4 types) on a single whole board.
[0079] The specific operating steps are as follows:
[0080] (1) Load the materials as required and select the shelf layer where they are located.
[0081] (2) Correctly input the length and width of the sheet material into the feeding and pushing manual interface.
[0082] (3) Enter the width value and required quantity of the first to fourth products in the feeding and pushing manual operation interface.
[0083] (4) Click “Semi-automatic start” on the semi-automatic operation interface.
[0084] (5) Once the required width of the product is cut, the cutting unit will stop and wait for the width and quantity of the subsequent products.
[0085] (6) Continue to input the width values and required quantities of the next four products in the feeding and pushing manual operation interface, and repeat the actions (4)-(6) until the whole plate is cut.
[0086] (7) If the processing task fails to cut the entire board, you can click the "Manual Uncut" button on the page. The equipment will automatically uncut the remaining board material, which can be manually removed from the workbench.
[0087] This invention overcomes the problems of cumbersome pre-processing warehousing and material preparation, high labor intensity, poor quality consistency, low production efficiency and insufficient production balance under the existing production mode.
[0088] This invention employs high-precision automatic processing equipment and an automatic loading and unloading system to simultaneously produce multiple specifications of honeycomb core parts in an automated manner. While ensuring product quality consistency, it achieves high-quality, high-efficiency, and balanced production of multiple specifications of honeycomb core parts, and enables rapid changeover of parts with similar specifications.
[0089] This invention enables automated and efficient processing of nine specifications of honeycomb panels (0.03×3, 0.03×4, 0.03×5, 0.04×2, 0.04×3, 0.05×2, 0.05×3, 0.08×2, and 0.08×3), any width within the 10-49mm range, and tolerance requirements within ±0.2mm. Through analysis of production data, the flexible automated honeycomb core processing unit improves processing efficiency by 5 times, yield by 80%, and reduces annual material costs by nearly 4 million yuan, significantly reducing production costs.
[0090] Although the present invention has been disclosed above with reference to preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art can make possible changes and modifications to the technical solutions of the present invention by utilizing the methods and techniques disclosed above without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, any simple modifications, equivalent changes and alterations made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the content of the technical solutions of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope of the technical solutions of the present invention.
Claims
1. A flexible automated honeycomb core machining cell, characterized by: Automatic warehouse feeding system (1), high-precision automatic processing equipment (2), automatic unloading warehouse system (3) are included. The high-precision automatic processing equipment (2) is located in the middle; the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) is horizontally arranged on one side of the high-precision automatic processing equipment (2); the automatic unloading warehouse system (3) is horizontally arranged on the other side of the high-precision automatic processing equipment (2), and the automatic warehouse feeding system (1), the high-precision automatic processing equipment (2) and the automatic unloading warehouse system (3) are arranged in a straight line shape; the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) stores the honeycomb core material to be cut, and automatically feeds the honeycomb core material to the high-precision automatic processing equipment (2) for automatic cutting processing; the processed honeycomb core material is automatically taken out by the automatic unloading warehouse system (3) and stored in the automatic unloading warehouse system (3).
2. A flexible automated honeycomb core machining cell according to claim 1, wherein: The automatic warehouse feeding system (1) comprises a feeding push plate (4), a feeding cylinder (5), a pushing motor (6) and a lifting hopper (7). The feeding push plate (4) and the feeding cylinder (5) are arranged side by side, and the feeding push plate (4) is controlled to move horizontally by the feeding cylinder (5); the pushing motor (6) and the lifting hopper (7) are arranged side by side, and the lifting hopper (7) is controlled to move up and down by the pushing motor (6).
3. A flexible automated honeycomb core processing cell according to claim 2, wherein: The high-precision automatic processing equipment (2) comprises an automatic feeding door (9), an automatic discharging door (10), a workpiece clamping plate (11), a three-axle feeding motor (12), a main shaft box (13), a general control system (14), three left pressing plates (15), a single left pressing plate (16), three right pressing plates (17), a single right pressing plate (18), a marble workbench (19), a main shaft motor (20), an eddy current pipe cooler (21) and a saw blade saw cover (22). The automatic feeding door (9) and the automatic discharging door (10) are arranged on both sides; the workpiece clamping plate (11) is located above the three-axle feeding motor (12) and is located on the front side of the marble workbench (19); the workpiece clamping plate (11) is controlled to move in the marble workbench (19) by the three-axle feeding motor (12); the general control system (14) is installed on the front side of the marble workbench (19); the main shaft box (13) is located on the rear side of the marble workbench (19); the main shaft motor (20) is installed in the main shaft box (13); the eddy current pipe cooler (21) is installed on the front side of the main shaft box (13), and the output port is located on the outside of the saw blade saw cover (22); the three left pressing plates (15) and the single left pressing plate (16) are installed on the end face of the marble workbench (19) away from the main shaft box (13); the three right pressing plates (17) and the single right pressing plate (18) are installed on the end face of the marble workbench (19) away from the general control system (14).
4. A flexible automated honeycomb core machining cell according to claim 3, wherein: The automatic unloading warehouse system (3) comprises a long pulling cylinder (23), a flat pushing mechanism (24), a turning plate (25), a discharging motor (26), a finished product hopper (27), a waste product hopper (28), a discharging conveyor belt (29), a horizontal moving cylinder (30) and a clamping air claw (31). The long pulling air cylinder (23) is connected with the material clamping air claw (31); the long pulling air cylinder (23) controls the horizontal movement of the material clamping air claw (31); the horizontal pushing mechanism (24) is connected with the horizontal moving air cylinder (30); the horizontal moving air cylinder (30) controls the horizontal movement of the horizontal pushing mechanism (24); the discharging motor (26) is connected with the discharging conveying belt (29), and the discharging motor (26) controls the rotation of the discharging conveying belt (29); the turning plate (25) is located on one side of the discharging conveying belt (29); the finished product storage bin (27) is located at the rear side of the turning plate (25); and the waste product storage bin (28) is arranged below the turning plate (25) and the finished product storage bin (27).
5. A flexible automated honeycomb core processing cell unit according to claim 4, wherein: The automatic warehouse feeding system (1) realizes storage of the honeycomb core plate to be cut; when cutting is needed, the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) automatically sends the honeycomb core plate into the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2) for automatic cutting to obtain a part; after one honeycomb core plate is cut, the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) automatically sends the second honeycomb core plate in the storage position into the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2) for automatic cutting to obtain a part, until all the honeycomb core plates in the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) are cut.
6. A flexible automated honeycomb core processing cell unit according to claim 4, wherein: The high-precision automatic machining equipment (2) automatically sends the honeycomb core plate into the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2) according to the actual cutting width and quantity, and inputs the corresponding width and quantity in the general control system (14); the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2) automatically cuts according to the input width and quantity until the entire honeycomb core plate is completely cut.
7. A flexible automated honeycomb core processing cell unit according to claim 4, wherein: The automatic warehouse feeding system (1) realizes storage of the honeycomb core plate to be cut; when cutting is needed, the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) automatically sends the honeycomb core plate into the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2) for automatic cutting to obtain a part; after one honeycomb core plate is cut, the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) automatically sends the second honeycomb core plate in the storage position into the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2) for automatic cutting to obtain a part, until all the honeycomb core plates in the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) are cut.
8. The method of claim 4, wherein: It comprises: S1, the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) returns to the first layer of the honeycomb core plate storage first; The feeding automatic door (9) is automatically opened, the feeding air cylinder (5) drives the feeding push plate (4) to push the honeycomb core plate in the first layer into the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2), and the feeding action is completed; after completion, the feeding air cylinder (5) continues to drive the feeding push plate (4) to return to the initial position, preparing for the next feeding action; After the feeding push plate (4) returns, the feeding automatic door (9) is automatically closed, and the entire automatic feeding action is completed; S2, after the honeycomb core plates in the first layer are completely cut, the feeding motor (6) of the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) drives the lifting material bin (7) to rise by one layer; after the honeycomb core plates in the first layer are cut, the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) repeats the action described in S1 to automatically push the honeycomb core plates in the second layer into the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2) for cutting; until all the honeycomb core plates are completely cut, the feeding motor (6) of the automatic warehouse feeding system (1) drives the lifting material bin (7) to return to the initial state of the first layer, preparing for the next feeding action; S3, the honeycomb core board is pushed into the marble workbench (19), the three-way feed motor (12) synchronously pushes forward to push the honeycomb core board to the initial position of cutting, the workpiece clamping plate (11) on the three-way feed motor (12) presses the honeycomb core board, the three-way feed motor (12) continues to push the honeycomb core board to the position of cutting the material head, the three left pressing plates (15), the single left pressing plate (16), the three right pressing plates (17) and the single right pressing plate (18) are lowered to press the honeycomb core board, the main shaft motor (20) and the eddy current tube cooler (21) are started, when the main shaft motor (20) reaches the cutting speed, the total control system (14) drives the main shaft box (13) to move along the cutting direction, and the material head is cut off; after cutting is completed, the main shaft motor (20) is stopped, the total control system (14) drives the main shaft box (13) to return to the cutting starting position to prepare for the next cutting; S4, the automatic discharge door (10) is automatically opened, the material clamping air claw (31) is opened, the single left pressing plate (16) is lifted, the long pulling air cylinder (23) is stretched into the high-precision automatic machining equipment (2), the material clamping air claw (31) is locked, and the material head is clamped; the three left pressing plates (15) are lifted, the long pulling air cylinder (23) is retracted to the initial position, since the length of the material head is relatively long, the long pulling air cylinder (23) needs two actions to completely pull out the material head; the material clamping air claw (31) is unlocked, the material head falls on the discharge conveying belt (29), the long pulling air cylinder (23) is stretched to the position again, the discharge motor (26) is started, drives the discharge conveying belt (29) to take out the material head to the specified position and then stops, the flap (25) moves to the waste position, the flat pushing mechanism (24) pushes the material head into the waste material bin (28) of the automatic discharge storage system (3); the flat pushing mechanism (24) is reset, the flap (25) moves to the finished product position, the long pulling air cylinder (23) is retracted to the initial position, the automatic discharge door (10) is automatically closed, and the automatic discharge of the material head is completed; S5, continue to cut according to the cutting width preset in the total control system (14), after the three right pressing plates (17) and the single right pressing plate (18) are lifted to the initial position and it is ensured that the three left pressing plates (15) and the single left pressing plate (16) have been lifted to the initial position, the three-way feed motor (12) is synchronously pushed forward to push the honeycomb core board to the preset cutting position; the three left pressing plates (15), the single left pressing plate (16), the three right pressing plates (17) and the single right pressing plate (18) are lowered to press the honeycomb core board, the main shaft motor (20) and the eddy current tube cooler (21) are started, when the main shaft motor (20) reaches the cutting speed, the total control system (14) drives the main shaft box (13) to move along the cutting direction, after cutting is completed, the part is obtained, the main shaft motor (20) is stopped, the total control system (14) drives the main shaft box (13) to return to the cutting starting position to prepare for the next cutting; S6, the discharge automatic door (10) is automatically opened, the material clamping air claw (31) is opened, the single left pressing plate (16) is lifted, the long pulling air cylinder (23) is stretched into the high-precision automatic processing equipment (2), the material clamping air claw (31) is locked, and the just cut part is clamped tightly; the three left pressing plates (15) are lifted, and the long pulling air cylinder (23) is retracted to the initial position, since the length of the part is relatively long, the long pulling air cylinder (23) needs two actions to completely pull out the part; the material clamping air claw (31) is loosened, and the part falls on the discharge conveying belt (29); the long pulling air cylinder (23) is stretched again to the position, the discharge motor (26) is started, drives the discharge conveying belt (29) to take out the part to the specified position, and then stops; the flap (25) is moved to the finished product position; the flat pushing mechanism (24) pushes the material head into the finished product bin (27) of the automatic discharge storage system (3); the flat pushing mechanism (24) is reset, the long pulling air cylinder (23) is retracted to the initial position, the discharge automatic door (10) is automatically closed, and the automatic discharge of the part is completed; S7, after all the parts are processed, the tail material is taken out; the discharge automatic door (10) is automatically opened, the material clamping air claw (31) is opened, the single left pressing plate (16) is lifted, the long pulling air cylinder (23) is stretched into the high-precision automatic processing equipment (2), the material clamping air claw (31) is locked, and the tail material is clamped tightly; the three left pressing plates (15) are lifted, and the long pulling air cylinder (23) is retracted to the initial position; since the length of the tail material is long, the long pulling air cylinder (23) needs two actions to completely pull out the tail material; the material clamping air claw (31) is loosened, and the tail material falls on the discharge conveying belt (29); the long pulling air cylinder (23) is stretched again to the position, the discharge motor (26) is started, drives the discharge conveying belt (29) to take out the tail material to the specified position, and then stops; the flap (25) is moved to the waste position, the flat pushing mechanism (24) pushes the tail material into the waste bin (28) of the automatic discharge storage system (3); the flat pushing mechanism (24) is reset, the flap (25) is moved to the finished product position, the long pulling air cylinder (23) is retracted to the initial position, the discharge automatic door (10) is automatically closed, and the automatic discharge of the tail material is completed.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein: In the S2, the material bin of the automatic storage feeding system (1) stores 4 layers of honeycomb core plates, after the cutting of one layer is completed, the next layer of honeycomb core plates is automatically pushed in, until all the 4 layers of honeycomb core plates are completely cut.
10. The method of claim 8, wherein: In the S5, after the automatic discharge of the part is completed, the cutting width and the number preset in the total control system (14) are continued, and all the parts are obtained in sequence S5-S6.