An integrated temperature sorting and automatic feeding hot forging raw material automation equipment and method

Abstract

This invention discloses an automated equipment and method for hot forging raw materials integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding, belonging to the field of hot forging automation technology. The equipment includes: a conveying device, a temperature detection device, a control device, a sorting and feeding robotic arm, and a raw material recovery device for materials with substandard temperatures. The temperature detection device is used for non-contact temperature measurement of the hot forging raw materials in the conveying device; the control device receives temperature data and compares it with a preset temperature threshold, triggering the robotic arm to perform corresponding actions based on the comparison result: when the raw material temperature is determined to be within the threshold, the robotic arm grabs it and directly feeds it into the hot forging forming equipment; when the raw material temperature is determined to be below the threshold, the robotic arm grabs it and transfers it to the raw material recovery device for materials with substandard temperatures. This invention achieves the integration of online temperature measurement, automatic sorting, and automatic feeding, improving production efficiency, reducing labor costs, and ensuring the quality of hot forging processing.

Description

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of hot forging automation technology, specifically relating to an automated equipment and method for hot forging raw materials that integrates temperature sorting and automatic feeding. Background Technology

[0002] In hot forging, the heating temperature of the raw material is a key factor determining the quality of the forging and the life of the die. Too low a temperature will lead to insufficient plasticity of the material and increased resistance to deformation, which will not only cause defects such as incomplete filling of the cavity in the forging, but may also damage equipment such as punch presses or hydraulic presses; too high a temperature will easily cause problems such as overheating and coarse grains, which will also affect the product performance.

[0003] Currently, most hot forging production lines in China still rely on manual methods for temperature detection and sorting of heated raw materials. Operators use handheld temperature measuring instruments to check the temperature of each piece of material as it exits the production line, and judge whether it can be sent to the next process based on experience. This method has obvious technical drawbacks: first, manual inspection is inefficient and difficult to match with high-speed automated production lines; second, manual judgment is greatly affected by subjective factors, and there are risks in ensuring accuracy and consistency; third, the high-temperature working environment is harsh, posing safety hazards, and labor costs continue to rise.

[0004] Although some equipment using robotic arms for material transfer has emerged on the market, most of them only have a single feeding function and cannot simultaneously handle temperature-controlled sorting, resulting in an additional sorting step in the production process. The few equipment pieces that do have sorting capabilities often require the host computer to temporarily generate motion trajectory instructions when defective products are detected, leading to poor real-time performance and complex programming, making them difficult to reliably and stably apply in high-temperature, high-interference forging environments.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for an automated device and method that can integrate automatic temperature detection, automatic sorting and automatic feeding, with simple and reliable control logic, and can flexibly adapt to different types of control hardware. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention aims to solve the problems existing in the prior art and provides an automated equipment and method for hot forging raw materials that integrates temperature sorting and automatic feeding. This equipment integrates online temperature detection, automatic sorting based on temperature results, and automatic feeding to the next process into a sorting and feeding robotic arm. It also employs a more reliable preset program-triggered control logic, and the implementation of this control logic does not depend on a specific type of control hardware.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: An automated equipment for hot forging raw materials integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding includes: a conveying device for conveying hot forging raw materials; a temperature detection device for non-contact temperature detection of the hot forging raw materials conveyed on the conveying device and generating temperature data; a control device electrically connected to the temperature detection device, the control device storing at least one set of preset sorting control programs, the control device being configured to: receive the temperature data, compare the temperature data with preset temperature thresholds, and trigger the corresponding sorting control program based on the comparison result; and a sorting and feeding robotic arm device connected to the control device. An electrical connection is provided to respond to the triggering of the sorting control program and execute sorting and automatic feeding actions; a raw material recovery device for materials with substandard temperature is also included; wherein, when it is determined that the raw material temperature meets the standard, the control device triggers the first sorting control program, and the sorting and feeding robotic arm grabs the hot forging raw material with the standard temperature from the conveying device and directly feeds it into the hot forging forming equipment; when it is determined that the raw material temperature does not meet the standard, the control device triggers the second sorting control program, and the sorting and feeding robotic arm grabs the hot forging raw material with the substandard temperature from the conveying device and transfers it to the raw material recovery device for materials with substandard temperature.

[0008] Furthermore, the temperature detection device is an infrared thermal imager or an infrared temperature sensor.

[0009] Furthermore, the control device includes at least one of the following controller types: programmable logic controller (PLC), industrial computer (IPC), embedded industrial computer, numerical control system (CNC), and microprocessor module with program storage and logic control functions.

[0010] Furthermore, when the control device is a PLC or IPC, the sorting control program is program logic that is pre-written and stored in the memory of the PLC or IPC; when the control device is a CNC system, the sorting control program is a macro program or subroutine integrated into the CNC firmware.

[0011] Furthermore, the sorting and loading robotic arm device includes a multi-axis robotic arm and a gripping fixture disposed at the end of the multi-axis robotic arm.

[0012] Furthermore, the raw material recovery device for materials that do not meet the temperature standard is a collection container or conveying chute with a buffer receiving structure.

[0013] This invention also provides an automated method for hot forging raw materials integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding, applicable to the equipment described in any of the above claims, comprising the following steps: conveying hot forging raw materials via the conveying device; performing non-contact temperature detection on the conveying hot forging raw materials via the temperature detection device to obtain temperature data; receiving the temperature data via the control device and comparing the temperature data with a preset temperature threshold; when it is determined that the raw material temperature meets the standard, the control device triggers a first preset control program, driving the sorting and feeding robotic arm to grab the raw material with the standard temperature and directly send it to the processing equipment of the next process; when it is determined that the raw material temperature does not meet the standard, the control device triggers a second preset control program, driving the sorting and feeding robotic arm to grab the raw material with the substandard temperature and transfer it to the substandard raw material recycling device.

[0014] Furthermore, in the step of "grabbing the raw materials that have reached the specified temperature and directly feeding them into the processing equipment of the next process", the processing equipment of the next process is a hot forging forming equipment.

[0015] Furthermore, the preset temperature threshold is set according to the material of the hot forging raw material and the forming process requirements.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: Highly integrated and with optimized processes: The sorting and loading robotic arm device simultaneously completes two processes: temperature sorting and automatic loading, simplifying the equipment structure and shortening the cycle time.

[0017] Reliable control and rapid response: The control device has a pre-set sorting control program. In actual operation, it only needs to trigger the corresponding program according to the temperature comparison result. There is no need to calculate and send the motion trajectory in real time. The system responds faster and has stronger anti-interference ability, making it especially suitable for the harsh environment of the forging workshop.

[0018] Strong hardware compatibility and flexible deployment: The control logic is abstracted into a functional architecture of "stored program + comparison trigger", which can be flexibly implemented on various control hardware such as PLC, IPC, and CNC system. Regardless of the existing infrastructure of the factory, it can be integrated at low cost, which significantly reduces the application threshold.

[0019] High level of automation, cost reduction and efficiency improvement: It realizes unmanned operation of the entire process from temperature measurement, judgment, sorting to material loading, which greatly reduces labor costs, eliminates human error, and ensures the stability and consistency of hot forging processing quality.

[0020] Wide range of applications: It can adapt to various high-temperature raw materials through infrared non-contact temperature measurement; by modifying the preset temperature threshold in the control device, it can flexibly adapt to hot forging raw materials with different materials and process requirements. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an automated hot forging raw material equipment integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding according to the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the workflow of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this invention. Example

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides an automated equipment for hot forging raw materials that integrates temperature sorting and automatic feeding, mainly including: a conveying device 1, a temperature detection device 2, a control device 3, a sorting and feeding robotic arm device 4, a raw material recycling device for materials whose temperature does not meet the standard 5, and a feeding detection sensor 7.

[0025] The conveying device 1 is a high-temperature resistant slide rail used to transport and rotate the high-temperature hot forging raw material from the outlet of the heating furnace to a position where the robotic arm can grip it. Of course, the specific form of the conveying device 1 is not limited to this. Other devices capable of conveying high-temperature hot forging raw materials, such as chain conveyors and roller conveyors, can also be used as the conveying device 1 of this invention.

[0026] Temperature detection device 2 and feed detection sensor 7 are mounted on the side of conveyor device 1 via the same bracket. Temperature detection device 2 uses an infrared thermal imager or a high-precision infrared temperature sensor, and is always on. It can quickly and non-contactly measure the surface temperature of hot forging material arriving at its detection area and generate temperature data in real time, which is then sent to control device 3. Feed detection sensor 7 is a proximity switch or photoelectric sensor used to detect whether the hot forging material has reached the temperature detection position, and sends a feed arrival signal to control device 3 when the material is detected to be in place. The temperature measurement by temperature detection device 2 and the arrival detection by feed detection sensor 7 are independent of each other and occur in parallel, without any sequential triggering relationship.

[0027] Control device 3 is the core of the entire system. In specific implementations, control device 3 can flexibly select different types of controller hardware, as long as it can realize program storage and logic triggering functions. It is configured to receive temperature data and material feeding signal. After receiving the material feeding signal, it retrieves the current temperature data of the raw material, compares it with the temperature threshold range preset by the operator, and triggers the internally preset sorting control program based on the comparison result, thereby driving the robotic arm to perform the corresponding action. It should be noted that the control device 3 of the present invention includes a complete control chain in terms of logical function, including signal reception, temperature data retrieval, threshold comparison, and program triggering. In specific implementations, these functions can be integrated into the same controller hardware, or they can be distributed and deployed in two or more cooperating controllers. For example, an independent temperature acquisition controller can complete data reception and comparison, and send the trigger signal to the motion controller of the robotic arm to execute the sorting control program. Both of these forms are within the protection scope of control device 3 of the present invention.

[0028] The sorting and loading robotic arm device 4 is used to perform temperature-controlled sorting and automatic loading. In this embodiment, the sorting and loading robotic arm device 4 specifically employs two independent and cooperative industrial robotic arms: a loading robotic arm 4a and a unloading robotic arm 4b. The loading robotic arm 4a is mainly responsible for grabbing raw materials that meet the temperature requirements from the conveying device 1 and feeding them into the hot forging equipment 6, while simultaneously grabbing raw materials that do not meet the temperature requirements and transferring them to the unqualified raw material recycling device 5. The unloading robotic arm 4b is responsible for removing the forged parts that have been forged from the hot forging equipment 6. Both the loading robotic arm 4a and the unloading robotic arm 4b are equipped with high-temperature resistant gripper-type clamps at their ends. The working range of the loading robotic arm 4a covers the gripping point of the conveying device 1, the feed inlet of the hot forging equipment 6, and the inlet of the unqualified raw material recycling device 5; the working range of the unloading robotic arm 4b covers the mold area and the forging collection area of ​​the hot forging equipment 6.

[0029] It should be understood that the above-described structure using two independent robotic arms is merely a preferred embodiment of the sorting and loading robotic arm device 4 of the present invention. While fulfilling the core function of "performing sorting and automatic loading based on temperature comparison results," the sorting and loading robotic arm device 4 can also adopt other structural forms. For example, a single multi-axis robotic arm can alternately or simultaneously complete loading, unloading, and sorting tasks by switching grippers at the end effector or installing dual grippers; or it can be completed jointly by two or more multi-machine collaborative robotic arm systems. These alternative structures should all fall within the scope of protection of this invention.

[0030] The material recovery device 5 for materials whose temperature does not meet the standard is located on one side of the conveying device 1. It is a collection frame with a buffer slide. The inclined design of the slide can prevent high-temperature workpieces from falling directly and causing damage.

[0031] like Figure 2 As shown in the flowchart, the working method of this embodiment is as follows: Step 1: The hot forging raw material heated to the forging temperature range is placed on the conveyor device 1 and transported to the next process.

[0032] Step 2: Temperature detection device 2 remains on at all times. When the raw material reaches the detection position of temperature detection device 2, it automatically performs non-contact temperature measurement on the raw material, generates temperature data, and sends it to control device 3. Simultaneously, feed detection sensor 7 detects the raw material's arrival and sends a feed arrival signal to control device 3. Temperature measurement and arrival detection are independent and performed in parallel.

[0033] Step 3: After receiving the feed arrival signal, control device 3 retrieves the current temperature data of the raw material and compares it with a preset temperature threshold. This preset temperature threshold is set according to the material of the hot forging raw material and the specific forming process requirements.

[0034] Step 4: Based on the comparison results, the control device 3 triggers the corresponding sorting control program, drives the loading robotic arm 4a to perform the corresponding actions, and completes the integrated operation of sorting and automatic loading.

[0035] If the raw material temperature is determined to be within the standard range: the control device 3 triggers the first sorting control program, the loading robot arm 4a moves to the gripping position on the conveying device 1, grips the raw material with the standard temperature, and sends it directly into the mold cavity or designated feeding position of the hot forging forming equipment 6 (such as a punch press, hydraulic press, electric screw press, etc.) which is used as the next processing equipment, in accordance with the preset trajectory, thus completing the automatic loading.

[0036] If the raw material temperature is determined to be below standard: the control device 3 triggers the second sorting control program, the feeding robot arm 4a moves to the gripping position on the conveying device 1, grips the raw material with the below-standard temperature, and transfers and releases it to the raw material recycling device 5 with the below-standard temperature, thus completing the automatic sorting and rejection.

[0037] Throughout the entire cycle, the robotic arm seamlessly integrates sorting and loading tasks without human intervention, significantly improving the efficiency and product quality of the hot forging production line.

[0038] Regarding the specific hardware form and implementation method of control device 3, the following multiple implementation scenarios are provided: In a typical implementation scenario, control device 3 uses an industrial-grade PLC controller. The PLC controller has two complete motion control programs pre-written and stored, corresponding to sorting actions when the temperature meets or does not meet the standard. After the I / O module receives the temperature data and the material feeding signal, the PLC performs a threshold comparison internally and triggers the corresponding program output in real time, which has high real-time motion control and high reliability in industrial environments.

[0039] In another implementation scenario, the control device 3 can be an industrial computer (IPC) or an embedded industrial control computer. It runs a soft PLC or self-developed control software, which implements the logic for temperature comparison and program triggering, and interacts with the robotic arm drive system via a fieldbus or hardware I / O module. This configuration facilitates the integration of more complex human-machine interfaces and data logging functions.

[0040] In another implementation scenario, if the hot forging equipment 6 is itself a servo-driven CNC press, then the functions of the control device 3 can be fully integrated into the CNC system of that equipment. The sorting control program is embedded in the CNC firmware in the form of a macro program or subroutine. The CNC obtains the temperature data from the temperature detection device 2 and the position signal from the feed detection sensor 7 through an external analog or digital interface. After comparing the data internally, it directly calls the corresponding sorting macro program to control the robotic arm 4 to perform the action. This deep integration method further simplifies the equipment configuration.

[0041] Furthermore, the control device 3 can also employ a dedicated controller based on a microprocessor or embedded platform to implement the above functions. Regardless of the hardware form, the underlying logic follows the core control logic of "retrieving the feed arrival signal, retrieving temperature data for comparison, and triggering a preset control program based on the comparison result." These alternative forms do not depart from the protection scope of this invention.

[0042] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the basic concept of the present invention, such as changing the specific structural form of the robotic arm or replacing different types of temperature sensors; these all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. An automated equipment for hot forging raw materials integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding, characterized in that, include: Conveying devices are used to transport hot forging raw materials; A temperature detection device is used to perform non-contact temperature detection on the hot forging raw material conveyed on the conveying device and generate temperature data. A control device is electrically connected to the temperature detection device. The control device stores at least one set of preset sorting control programs. The control device is configured to: receive the temperature data, compare the temperature data with a preset temperature threshold, and trigger the corresponding sorting control program based on the comparison result. The sorting and loading robotic arm device is electrically connected to the control device and is used to respond to the triggering of the sorting control program to perform sorting and automatic loading actions. Raw material recovery device with substandard temperature; Specifically, when the raw material temperature is determined to be within the acceptable range, the control device triggers the first sorting control program, and the sorting and feeding robotic arm grabs the hot forging raw material with the acceptable temperature from the conveying device and directly feeds it into the hot forging forming equipment; when the raw material temperature is determined to be below the acceptable range, the control device triggers the second sorting control program, and the sorting and feeding robotic arm grabs the hot forging raw material with the unacceptable temperature from the conveying device and transfers it to the unacceptable temperature raw material recycling device.

2. The automated hot forging raw material sorting and automatic feeding equipment integrating temperature control as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The temperature detection device is an infrared thermal imager or an infrared temperature sensor.

3. The automated hot forging raw material sorting and automatic feeding equipment integrating temperature control as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The control device includes at least one of the following controller types: programmable logic controller (PLC), industrial computer (IPC), embedded industrial computer, numerical control system (CNC), and microprocessor module with program storage and logic control functions.

4. The automated hot forging raw material equipment integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding according to claim 3, characterized in that, When the control device is a PLC or IPC, the sorting control program is program logic that is pre-written and stored in the memory of the PLC or IPC; when the control device is a CNC system, the sorting control program is a macro program or subroutine integrated into the CNC firmware.

5. The automated hot forging raw material sorting and automatic feeding equipment integrating temperature control as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The sorting and loading robotic arm device includes a multi-axis robotic arm and a gripping fixture located at the end of the multi-axis robotic arm.

6. The automated hot forging raw material sorting and automatic feeding equipment integrating temperature control as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The raw material recovery device for materials that do not meet the temperature standard is a collection container or conveying chute with a buffer receiving structure.

7. An automated method for hot forging raw materials integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding, applied to the equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Hot forging raw materials are conveyed through the conveying device; The temperature detection device performs non-contact temperature detection on the hot forging raw material during transmission to obtain temperature data. The control device receives the temperature data and compares the temperature data with a preset temperature threshold. When the temperature of the raw material is determined to be within the standard range, the control device triggers the first preset control program, driving the sorting and feeding robotic arm to grab the raw material with the standard temperature and send it directly into the processing equipment of the next process. When the temperature of the raw material is determined to be below standard, the control device triggers a second preset control program, driving the sorting and feeding robotic arm to grab the raw material with the below-standard temperature and transfer it to the raw material recycling device with the below-standard temperature.

8. The automated method for hot forging raw materials integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding according to claim 7, characterized in that, In the step of "grabbing the raw materials that have reached the specified temperature and directly feeding them into the processing equipment of the next process", the processing equipment of the next process is a hot forging forming equipment.

9. The automated method for hot forging raw materials integrating temperature sorting and automatic feeding according to claim 7, characterized in that, The preset temperature threshold is set according to the material of the hot forging raw material and the forming process requirements.

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