Ring rolling machine and method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine

Abstract

Ring rolling machine (10) with a mandrel roll (40) and an associated radial roll (12), wherein the mandrel roll (40) is mounted in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing (21, 22), the upper mandrel roll bearing (21) is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing (23) and a thrust bearing (30), the thrust bearing (30) surrounds a mandrel roll head (41) of the mandrel roll (40) and supports it at the bottom, and the thrust bearing (30) is apparently designed via opening means (31), characterized in that the opening means (31) have locking elements (32) that prevent opening when the mandrel roll (40) is not supported, wherein the locking elements (32) act as a locking mechanism via a force-fit connection, and / or that the opening means (31) have locking elements (33) that prevent closing when no mandrel roll (40) is in the area of ​​the axial bearings (30) are present and have at least one pawl assembly (34),against which the mandrel roller (40) can come into contact and which can act on a pawl (36) of the locking elements (33) and / or on the locking elements (33) in order to release the locking.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll, wherein the mandrel roll is mounted in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, the upper mandrel roll bearing being designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing comprising both a radial bearing and a thrust bearing, the thrust bearing encompassing a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supporting it at the bottom, and the thrust bearing being designed to be opened by means of opening means. The invention also relates to a method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine designed in this way.

[0002] Corresponding ring rolling machines are well known in many respects, and for example also from WO 2009 / 147359 A1, DE 29 23 001 C2 or DE 10 2014 005 332 A1, from the prior art.

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide a ring rolling machine of the generic type and a generic method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine, in which the mandrel roll can be handled in a structurally simple and reliable manner.

[0004] The object of the invention is achieved by a ring rolling machine and a method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine with the features of the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments, possibly also independent of these, are found in the dependent claims and the following description.

[0005] The invention is based on the fundamental insight that reliable operation of the mandrel roller can be ensured in a structurally simple manner through mechanical measures applied to the mandrel roller or the assemblies interacting with it. With a suitable design, these mechanical measures can be implemented without the need for additional control lines and the like, which leads in particular to increased operational reliability.

[0006] In this way, the mandrel roll can be handled in a structurally simple and reliable manner if a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll, in which the mandrel roll is mounted in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, the upper mandrel roll bearing is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and an axial bearing, the axial bearing surrounds a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supports it at the bottom, and the axial bearing is designed to be opened via opening means, is characterized by the fact that the opening means have locking elements that prevent opening when the mandrel roll is not supported.Likewise, the mandrel roll can be handled in a structurally simple and reliable manner if a method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll, wherein the mandrel roll is supported in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, the upper mandrel roll bearing is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and an axial bearing, the axial bearing surrounds a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supports it at the bottom, and the axial bearing is designed to be opened via opening means, is characterized in that opening of the axial bearing is prevented when the mandrel roll is not supported.

[0007] The locking elements can, for example, have at least one pawl contact against which the mandrel roller comes into contact and which is operatively connected to a locking pawl. As long as the locking pawl or the locking elements are closed, opening of the axial bearing is effectively prevented.

[0008] The locking elements can be held in position in any effective way. This can be achieved, for example, by a positive locking mechanism, which locks the locking elements as long as the mandrel roller is not supported at the bottom. Such a positive locking mechanism can be ensured, for instance, between a groove on the underside of a mandrel roller head and corresponding projections on the locking elements that engage in the groove. When the mandrel roller is supported, the projections of the locking elements can be disengaged from the groove by slightly lifting the roller, thus releasing the locking mechanism. It is understood that the tongue and groove can also be reversed, so that the groove or corresponding recesses can be provided in the locking elements or the locking pawl, and corresponding projections can be provided in the mandrel roller head.Alternatively, and preferably, the locking elements can act via a frictional engagement. In this case, the frictional engagement can lock the locking elements when the opening means are to be actuated, whereby the frictional engagement can then be released by lifting or unloading the mandrel roller in such a way that the locking elements or the locking pawl are released and the opening means can be opened.

[0009] In this context, it should be emphasized that the lower mandrel roll bearing is generally selected as a floating bearing and preferably comprises only a radial bearing. This allows, as is already well known from the prior art, the mandrel roll to be aligned vertically in various operating positions, particularly to enable the ring rolling process to be carried out flexibly and with different vertical positions of the mandrel roll. For this purpose, the upper mandrel roll bearing is generally arranged in a bearing housing that is accordingly vertically displaceable within an operating range.

[0010] Accordingly, it may be sufficient if the upper mandrel roller bearing is designed as a fixed bearing and has a thrust bearing that only supports the mandrel roller at the bottom, provided that the mandrel roller is ultimately sufficiently axially fixed by gravity. Preferably, the upper mandrel roller bearing is designed as a fixed bearing and has a thrust bearing that supports the mandrel roller at both the top and bottom in order to reliably absorb the operating forces occurring during operation in both directions.

[0011] Reliable operation of the mandrel roll can also be ensured in a structurally simple manner in a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll if the mandrel roll is supported in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, the upper mandrel roll bearing is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and a thrust bearing, the thrust bearing surrounds a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supports it at the bottom, and the thrust bearing is designed to be opened via opening means, and if the ring rolling machine is characterized by the fact that the opening means have locking elements that prevent closing when no mandrel roll is present in the area of ​​the thrust bearing.Similarly, the mandrel roll can be handled in a structurally simple and reliable manner if a method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll is characterized by the following: the mandrel roll is supported in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, the upper mandrel roll bearing is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and a thrust bearing, the thrust bearing surrounds a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supports it from below, and the thrust bearing is designed to be opened by means of opening devices. The method is characterized by the fact that closing of the thrust bearing is prevented when no mandrel roll is present in the area of ​​the thrust bearing. In this way, the opening devices remain open until a mandrel roll is present in the area of ​​the thrust bearing, at which point the locking elements release the opening devices and allow the thrust bearing to close.

[0012] In this design, both the locking and latching elements can be designed as mechanical components. This allows for a particularly reliable design.

[0013] The locking elements can then be released, for example, by or through the mandrel roller itself, thus releasing the opening means.

[0014] The presence of locking elements makes it particularly easy to insert a mandrel roller into the axial bearing, for example after setup or maintenance work, such as when changing the mandrel roller. Because the locking elements prevent the opening mechanism from being used, inserting the mandrel roller into the axial bearing is significantly easier, which consequently increases operational reliability.

[0015] The locking elements have at least one pawl assembly against which the mandrel roller comes into contact and which is operatively connected to a pawl. Thus, when the mandrel roller comes into contact with the pawl assembly of the locking elements, it can act on a pawl or on the locking elements themselves and release the locking mechanism.

[0016] As already explained above, the locking elements can also have a pawl assembly against which the mandrel roller comes into contact and which is operatively connected to a locking pawl, whereby the pawl assembly is designed in such a way that the locking pawl is held in its locking position by the contact between the mandrel roller and the pawl assembly of the locking elements.

[0017] Preferably, the opening means also include an opening drive by means of which the axial bearing can be opened. In particular, a hydraulic or pneumatic drive or an electric motor can be used as the opening drive, acting on correspondingly openable and closable assemblies of the opening means. For example, a wedge can serve as an openable and closable assembly, acting on latches or clamps and interacting directly or indirectly, preferably via the latches or wedges, with the locking elements or the locking elements.

[0018] In particular, the opening means can include an opening drive that does not rotate with the mandrel roller and that can act on a drive plate which opens the axial bearing and rotates with the mandrel roller. With a suitable design, this eliminates the need for costly and failure-prone bushings. The drive plate is preferably arranged on the axis of rotation of the mandrel roller, so that it can rotate but its position in space remains fixed.

[0019] The axial bearing can thus be opened via an opening drive that does not rotate with the mandrel roll, which, with a suitable design, eliminates the need for costly and failure-prone bushings. Alternatively, or cumulatively, the axial bearing can be closed by inserting the mandrel roll, so that a separate drive for this purpose is not required. Therefore, the mandrel roll can also be opened cumulatively or alternatively, independently of the other features of the present invention, in a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll, in a structurally simple manner.Alternatively, reliable operation can be ensured if the mandrel roll is mounted in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, the upper mandrel roll bearing is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and an axial bearing, the axial bearing surrounds a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supports it at the bottom, and the axial bearing is designed to be opened via opening means, and the ring rolling machine is characterized by the fact that the axial bearing is opened via an opening drive that does not rotate with the mandrel roll and / or closed by inserting the mandrel roll into the axial bearing.

[0020] In a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll, the mandrel roll can be handled in a structurally simple, cumulative, or alternatively, operationally reliable manner if the mandrel roll is supported in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, the upper mandrel roll bearing is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and a thrust bearing, the thrust bearing surrounds a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supports it at the bottom, and the thrust bearing is designed to be opened via opening means, and if the ring rolling machine is characterized by the fact that the upper mandrel roll bearing is arranged on a lifting and lowering bearing body, which is guided vertically in a vertical operating range and by an unloading guide that leads the bearing body into a vertical unloading range.is guided. Likewise, a method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll, in which the mandrel roll is supported in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing, the upper mandrel roll bearing is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and a thrust bearing, the thrust bearing surrounds a mandrel roll head of the mandrel roll and supports it at the bottom, and the thrust bearing is designed to be openable via opening means, allows the mandrel roll to be handled reliably in a structurally simple manner, provided that the method is characterized by a bearing body on which the upper mandrel roll bearing is arranged, and which is guided vertically in a vertical operating area and by an unloading guide which guides the bearing body in a vertical unloading area,is guided and the guidance of the bearing body is transferred between the operating and unloading guidance when the bearing body leaves or re-enters the operating area.

[0021] The combination of the operating and unloading systems enables, for the first time, the mandrel roller to be moved between different vertical operating positions with sufficient stability without any additional structural modifications. Furthermore, the transition to the unloading system allows it to be moved into an unloading position where workpiece changes, mandrel roller changes, or other manipulations can be carried out easily and reliably. A mandrel roller change, in particular, can be performed by first lowering the mandrel roller to its lowest position in the operating system and supporting it from below. This allows the axial bearing to be opened, and then the upper mandrel roller bearing or bearing body to be lifted, providing access to the mandrel roller. Crucially, this eliminates the need for additional assemblies or even separate lifting devices such as cranes or specially modified forklifts.Ultimately, the lifting and lowering can be carried out with any existing lifting device that is otherwise used for lifting and lowering the upper mandrel roller bearing or the bearing body.

[0022] Preferably, the operating guide is designed with a tighter fit than the unloading guide. This ensures that the bearing body – and thus also the mandrel roller – is guided more precisely in the area of ​​the operating guide, in order to guarantee exact positioning of the mandrel roller in the operating area and especially when entering the lower mandrel roller bearing, while the unloading guide, due to its greater clearance, allows for easy and reliable raising and lowering of the mandrel roller, even over greater heights, if desired.

[0023] The guide rail can be designed, for example, as a plate guide or via sliding shoes, and may also include a clamping mechanism or clamping unit by means of which the bearing body, and thus also the mandrel roll, can be further secured in a desired position along the guide rail. This serves in particular to ensure reliable positioning of the mandrel roll within the guide rail during ring rolling, so that a lifting device, which may be intended for vertical displacement, does not need to be used.

[0024] A similar purpose is served by a guide system in which guidance is achieved via rollers or rolling elements, which enables even better guiding characteristics if a clamping mechanism separate from the actual guide is provided, for example, by clamping bodies and clamping elements. It is understood that, if necessary, assemblies of the guide system can also be used as clamping bodies or clamping elements.

[0025] Preferably, the bearing body, and thus also the mandrel roller, is clamped during operation. This allows for both stable and reliable mounting of the mandrel roller and quick release for repositioning along the guideway. With a suitable design of the guideway or the associated clamping elements, this clamping can be achieved within an operating range covered by the guideway, enabling different operating positions to be reached within this range. The operating range can, if necessary, correspond to the guideway length, preferably minus a transition area to the discharge guideway.

[0026] Accordingly, by means of a method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll, the mandrel roll of a ring rolling machine with a mandrel roll and an associated radial roll can be raised and lowered cumulatively in a structurally simple manner.Alternatively, it can be handled in a way that ensures operational reliability, in which the mandrel roller is mounted in an upper and a lower mandrel roller bearing, the upper mandrel roller bearing is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing and an axial bearing, the axial bearing surrounds a mandrel roller head of the mandrel roller and supports it at the bottom, and the axial bearing is designed to be openable via opening means, if the method is characterized by the fact that a bearing body, on which the upper mandrel roller bearing is arranged, and which is guided via a discharge guide that guides the bearing body in a vertical discharge area, is used, whereby the bearing body is clamped during operation.

[0027] From a structural perspective, this clamping can be achieved particularly simply by the operating guide itself, by further narrowing this already very tight operating guide via a clamping device or similar measures until sufficiently high clamping forces are generated. Preferably, however, a clamping mechanism is provided in addition to the operating guide, which can be clamped and released accordingly via a clamping drive. For this purpose, for example, suitable clamping elements and clamping bodies that can interact with each other can be provided.

[0028] The discharge guidance, in turn, can be achieved via a roller guide or a sliding guide, although cost and wear considerations must ultimately be taken into account. In this case, a correspondingly precise guide is generally not critical, as only minimal requirements are placed on the positioning of the mandrel roller or the bearing body within the discharge area, which preferably corresponds to the guide length of the discharge guide, possibly minus an overlap with the operating area.

[0029] Preferably, as already explained above, the guide lengths of the operating guide and the unloading guide overlap, ensuring adequate guidance of the bearing body in every position. In particular, a threading guide or threading device for the operating guide can be provided in the overlap area. This threading guide or threading device extends over a certain guide length of the operating guide, and within this extension, the operating guide becomes progressively narrower towards the operating guide. In this way, during the transition from the threading guide to the operating guide, the bearing body, along with its respective guide elements, is captured by the operating guide, while it is moved in the relatively wide unloading guide towards the operating guide. Upon exiting the operating guide, the bearing body is then smoothly transferred into the unloading guide.

[0030] Preferably, guide elements for both operational and unloading guidance are arranged on the bearing body, which may also be made up of multiple parts. This design is relatively simple, especially if the bearing body is essentially a single piece, and requires that the guide elements be in a fixed spatial relationship to each other.

[0031] The bearing body is advantageously low-profile if the guide bodies of the operating guide or their guide length overlap horizontally with the guide bodies of the unloading guide or their guide length, i.e., are arranged vertically at the same height, at least in some areas. This also means that the unloading guide must be built as low as possible above the rest of the ring rolling machine.

[0032] Due to the geometric design of the mandrel roll with a shaft that is ultimately intended to be vertically displaceable in the lower mandrel roll bearing, the guide rail is preferably arranged in a vertical guide rail plane that is aligned parallel to this shaft. In this way, the mandrel roll can be easily displaced along the guide rail, and a corresponding ring rolling process can be carried out in any position – apart from any threading area or any threading or threading device.

[0033] Since the mandrel roller leaves the lower mandrel roller bearing when it moves upwards above a certain vertical height, it is not strictly necessary for the discharge guide to lie in a completely vertical discharge guide plane, although this is very easy to implement structurally. In theory, once the mandrel roller has left the lower mandrel roller bearing or the operating guide (except for a threading area or an overlap), the guide path of the discharge guide can also follow an inclined or curved path.

[0034] Preferably, the operational control level and the unloading control area are spaced apart from each other, so that sufficient installation space remains for the assemblies belonging to the operational control and the unloading control, and that these do not obstruct each other.

[0035] The mandrel roll is preferably located in the operating guidance plane, ensuring that the guidance in the operating guidance area is relatively symmetrical to the mandrel roll, thus guaranteeing very stable guidance during ring rolling. This is not necessary for the unloading guidance, as only negligible forces are applied there.

[0036] Preferably, the ring rolling machine has a lifting device for the lifting and lowering bearing body, so that it can be easily moved along the operating guide and / or along the unloading guide. Depending on the specific embodiment, two lifting devices may be used, each effective only in the operating area (i.e., the area where the operating guide is the guiding element) or only in the unloading area (i.e., the area where only the unloading guide is the guiding element). However, this solution is relatively complex, as a corresponding transfer of the lifting device is then required when moving between the two guides. Therefore, preferably only one lifting device is provided.

[0037] The lifting device can include a lifting cylinder, which allows for the simple achievement of long travel distances and thus correspondingly long guide lengths. Other linear drives, in particular rack and pinion drives, cable pulleys, or other electromechanical drives, can also be used for this purpose.

[0038] Preferably, the lifting cylinder or lifting device is not located at the operating control level, which allows for greater structural flexibility and, in particular, provides sufficient installation space for any clamping devices or other clamping elements, as well as sufficient installation space for the operating control system. Depending on the specific implementation, this can also result in a lower profile design.

[0039] It is understood that the features of the solutions described above or in the claims can also be combined, if necessary, in order to implement the advantages cumulatively.

[0040] Further advantages, objectives, and features of the present invention are explained with reference to the following description of exemplary embodiments, which are also illustrated in the accompanying drawing. The drawing shows: Fig. 1 a schematic side view of a ring rolling machine; Fig. 2 a detailed view of the operating and unloading management of the arrangement according to Fig. 1 with the mandrel roller lowered, in section parallel to the drawing plane according to Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3 a rear view of the in Fig. 2 arrangement shown; Fig. 4 the arrangement according Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 in perspective view; Fig. 5 the arrangement according Fig. 2 to Fig. 4 in schematic top view; Fig. 6 the arrangement according Fig. 2 to Fig. 5 with the mandrel roller raised into an unloading position, in a similar representation to Fig. 2 ; Fig. 7 the arrangement according Fig. 2 to Fig. 6 with the mandrel roller raised into an unloading position, in a similar representation to Fig. 3 ; Fig. 8 the arrangement according Fig. 2 to Fig. 7 with the mandrel roller raised into an unloading position, in a similar representation to Fig. 4 ; Fig. 9 a part of the axial bearing of the ring rolling machine to Fig. 1 to Fig. 8 in schematic sectional view with axial bearing open; Fig. 10 the arrangement according Fig. 9 without opening drive in a section perpendicular to the drawing plane after Fig. 9 Fig. 11 the order according Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 with closed axial bearing in one section identical to Fig. 9 Fig. 12 the arrangement according Fig. 9 to Fig. 11 in a perspective view; and Fig. 13 the order according Fig. 9 to Fig. 12 in a perspective view similar Fig. 12, partially broken.

[0041] The in Fig. 1 Ring rolling machine 10, shown schematically as a whole, has a mandrel roll 40 and an associated radial roll 12, which can interact with each other in a known manner for ring rolling.

[0042] Furthermore, two axial rollers 13 and 14 are provided on a carriage 15 of the ring rolling machine 10, wherein the carriage 15 can be adjusted along a guide 16 in relation to the radial roller 12.

[0043] For the various adjustment options, the ring rolling machine 10 has a large number of linear drives 17, which also include a lifting device 60 for the mandrel roller 40 or for a bearing body 24 supporting the mandrel roller 40.

[0044] The axial rollers 13 and 14 can, for example, be positioned relative to each other via one of the linear drives 17 by lowering and raising the upper axial roller 13. In this embodiment, the lower axial roller 14 remains in a vertical position 59, the height of which corresponds to a table 11 on which a ring to be rolled can slide.

[0045] As in particular the Fig. As can be seen from Figure 2, the ring rolling machine 10 has an upper mandrel roller bearing 21 and a lower mandrel roller bearing 22.

[0046] In this embodiment, the upper mandrel roller bearing 21 comprises both a radial bearing 23 and a thrust bearing 30, each of which is provided on the bearing body 24. In this respect, the upper mandrel roller bearing 21 serves as a fixed bearing in this embodiment. It is understood that in differing embodiments, a different configuration may be chosen.

[0047] The lower mandrel roller bearing 22 has only a radial bearing 23 and serves as a floating bearing, whereby in different embodiments components of an axial bearing may also be provided on the lower mandrel roller bearing 22.

[0048] In the present embodiment, the mandrel roller bearings 21, 22 are each designed as rolling bearings in which a bearing bushing 29 is initially mounted, which then radially surrounds the mandrel roller 40 with sufficient tightness. This allows, on the one hand, the mandrel roller 40 to be vertically displaceable along the bearing bushing 29 of the lower mandrel roller bearing 22, so that it can be mounted at different vertical heights in various operating positions. On the other hand, the mandrel roller 40 can then also be completely removed from the mandrel roller bearings 21, 22, which is correspondingly advantageous for setup work, maintenance work and the like, in particular for changing the mandrel roller.

[0049] The bearing body 24 can be displaced vertically 59 by means of the lifting device 60, which includes a lifting cylinder 61. In this embodiment, the lifting cylinder 61 is held on the rest of the ring rolling machine 10 via a cylinder frame 62 and drives a bearing body frame 63 vertically 59 via a lifting piston 64. The bearing body frame 63 is rigidly connected to the bearing body 24, so that vertical displacement 59 of the bearing body 24 is readily possible, as shown in Fig. 2 to Fig. Figure 8 is shown as an example. It is understood that in differing embodiments other lifting devices 60, for example by rope pulleys or by electric motor drives or similar, may also be provided.

[0050] For reliable vertical displacement, the bearing body 24 is guided in a guide. In the present embodiment, this guide has an operating guide 25 on one side and an unloading guide 26 on the other.

[0051] Both the operating guide 25 and the unloading guide 26 of the present ring rolling machine 10 each have guide elements 27 which are provided on the bearing body 24 and interact with guide bodies 28 fixedly arranged on the rest of the ring rolling machine 10. It is understood that the guide elements 27 may also be provided indirectly on the bearing body 24, which may also be designed in multiple parts if this appears necessary in different embodiments, as long as adequate guidance can be ensured.

[0052] In the present embodiment, the guide elements 27 of the operating guide 25 are designed as guide rails that interact with guide bodies 28 designed as rollers. It is understood that other guide elements 27 or guide bodies 28, such as sliding blocks, may also be used, provided that sufficiently stable guidance is ensured.

[0053] In addition to the guide elements 27 of the operating guide 25, which are designed as guide rails, clamping elements 65B are also provided, which can be displaced via clamping drives 65 such that the associated guide bodies 28 can be clamped as clamping bodies 65A. In this way, the bearing body 24 can be clamped in different operating positions along the operating guide 25 by means of the clamping drives 65, and thus the mandrel roller 50 can be operated at different vertical heights in operating positions.

[0054] The guide bodies 28 of the unloading guide 26 of the present ring rolling machine 10 are provided with unnumbered rolling elements which interact with guide elements 27 designed as guide rails, extending upwards parallel to the lifting cylinder 61 and to the cylinder and bearing body frames 62, 63. This design enables reliable lifting and lowering in a structurally simple manner, although in alternative embodiments a sliding guide or similar may also be provided.

[0055] As can be seen immediately, the operating guide 25 and the combination of clamping bodies 65A and clamping elements 65B enable vertical displacement of the bearing body 24 and thus of the mandrel roller 40 over an operating area 51, while the unloading guide 26 enables vertical displacement over an unloading area 52, with the guide lengths 53, 54 of the two operating and unloading areas 51, 52 overlapping. In the overlap, the guide width of the operating guide 25 widens from the operating area 51 towards the unloading area 52, so that the guide elements 27 of the operating guide 25 can be easily threaded into the guide bodies 28 of the operating guide 25.

[0056] Furthermore, the operating guide 25 is narrower outside the overlap area than the discharge guide 26, which in particular enables good threading of the mandrel roller 40 into the lower mandrel roller bearing 22 and stable guidance in the area of ​​the clamping bodies 65A and clamping elements 65B. The guide play can then be reduced to clamping via the clamping drives 65 by means of the clamping bodies 65A and clamping elements 65B.

[0057] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the operating control level 55 and the discharge control area 56, which is also designed as a plane, are arranged at a distance from each other, with the operating control level 55 intersecting the mandrel roller 40 in this embodiment. The latter results in particularly stable and symmetrical guidance of the bearing body 24 and thus also of the mandrel roller 40 in the operating area 51, which is ultimately not necessary in the discharge area 52. Because the operating control level 55 and the discharge control area 56 are spaced apart from each other, sufficient installation space remains for the respective assemblies of the operating control 25 and the discharge control 26.

[0058] The guide bodies 28 of the operating guide 25 on the one hand and the unloading guide 26 on the other hand can overlap horizontally 58, which accordingly saves installation space in the vertical 59 direction.

[0059] As in the Fig. 9 to Fig. As can be seen in Figure 13, the axial bearing 30 has opening means 31 by which the axial bearing 30 can be opened and closed. This makes it possible to replace the mandrel roller 40 quickly and reliably, wherein, in the present embodiment, the axial bearing 30 surrounds a mandrel roller head 41 of the mandrel roller 40 and axially supports it from below, and in the present embodiment also from above.

[0060] In this embodiment, the opening means 31 comprises locking elements 32, which are designed as locking pawls 35 that can be opened and closed via sliding jaws 37 against a spring pressure of springs 38, wherein the sliding jaws 37 can be pressed against the locking pawls 35 via a wedge 66, which can be displaced by means of an opening drive 67, so that the locking pawls 35 can be displaced outwards into an open position.

[0061] The locking pawls 35 carry wear plates 68, onto which an underside of the mandrel roller head 51 can come into contact, so that these wear plates 68 form pawl surfaces 34 of the locking pawls 35.

[0062] However, the inclination angles of the wedges 66 and the sliding jaws 37, as well as the contact surfaces of the pawl receptacles 34 of the locking elements 32 and the contact surfaces of the locking elements 32 or the locking pawls 35 effective on the bearing bushing 29, are dimensioned such that the locking elements 32 are self-locking when the mandrel roller 40 rests on the pawl receptacles 34 of the locking elements 32 or the locking pawls 35. In this way, the opening drive 67 cannot open the opening means 31 or the locking pawls 35 and thus the axial bearing 30 when the mandrel roller 40 is suspended on the pawl receptacles 34 of the locking elements 32 or the locking pawls 35.

[0063] However, if the mandrel roller 40 is supported from below, the corresponding frictional engagement of the locking elements 32 or the locking pawls 35 opens, so that the sliding jaws 37 acted upon by the wedge 66 and the opening drive 67 can then open the locking pawls 35 and thus also the axial bearing 30.

[0064] The wedge 66 also incorporates pawls 36 as locking elements 33, which fall out of the wedge 66 when the sliding jaws 37 are open and prevent the locking pawls 35 and the sliding jaws 37 from closing by the springs 38. These pawls 36 have a pawl bearing 34 on an unnumbered guide rod, which, by means of an inserted mandrel roller 40, lifts the pawls 36 again, so that the locking pawls 35 or the locking elements 32 can be closed by the spring 38.

[0065] In the present embodiment, the locking elements 32 and the locking elements 33 are provided in a housing 70, which is mounted on the bearing bushing 29 and rotates with it. This enables a particularly wear-resistant axial locking of the mandrel roller 40. The housing is divided into two parts and comprises a frame-like lower housing part 71 and a shell-like, two-part upper housing part 72, which facilitates maintenance and assembly work.

[0066] The bearing bushing 29 of the upper mandrel roller bearing 21 is mounted both axially and radially fixed and rotatable in the bearing body 24. Thus, the mandrel roller 40 can be mounted radially and axially fixed via the bearing bushing 29. A similar mounting arrangement is also used for the bearing bushing 29 of the lower mandrel roller bearing 22, although the latter, lacking axial fixation of the mandrel roller 40, mounts the mandrel roller 40 axially as a floating bearing.

[0067] The opening drive 67 is attached to the bearing body 24 by means of an opening drive carrier 69 and therefore does not rotate with the housing 70 of the axial bearing 30 or with the mandrel roller 40. This allows the axial bearing 30 to be opened without complex bushings, in particular without hydraulic bushings. Sliding contacts may still be required, for example to electronically monitor the position of the pawls, but this does not require high currents and voltages and can also be done wirelessly, e.g., using RFID technology.

[0068] To open, the opening drive 67 acts on a drive plate 39, which in this embodiment is provided by the base of the wedge 66. Reference symbol list 10 ring rolling machine 11 Table 12 radial roller 13 upper axial roller 14 lower axial roller 15 cars 16 Leadership 17 Linear drive 21 upper mandrel roller bearing 22 lower mandrel roller bearing 23 radial bearings 24 bearing bodies 25 Business Management 26 Unloading guide 27 Guide element 28 guide bodies 29 Bearing bushing 30 axial bearings 31 opening devices 32 Locking element 33 Locking element 34 jack system 35 Locking latch 36 Locking pawl 37 sliding jaw 38 spring 39 Drive plate 40 mandrel roller 41 Mandrel roller head 42 mandrel roller foot 51 Operating area 52 Unloading area 53 Management length of the operational management 54 Guide length of the discharge guide 55 Operational Management Level 56 Unloading guidance area 58 horizontal 59 vertical 60 Lifting device 61 lifting cylinders 62 cylinder frame 63 Bearing frame 64 lifting pistons 65 Clamping drive 65A terminal blocks 65B clamping element 66 wedge 67 Opening drive 68 Wear plate 69 Opening drive carriers 70 cases 71 Lower housing part 72 Housing top

Claims

[1] Ring rolling machine (10) with a mandrel roll (40) and an associated radial roll (12), wherein the mandrel roll (40) is supported in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing (21, 22), the upper mandrel roll bearing (21) is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing (23) and an axial bearing (30), the axial bearing (30) surrounds a mandrel roll head (41) of the mandrel roll (40) and supports it at the bottom, and the axial bearing (30) is apparently designed via opening means (31), characterized by, that the opening means (31) have locking elements (32) which prevent opening when the mandrel roller (40) is not supported, wherein the locking elements (32) act as locking elements via a force-fit connection and / or that the opening means (31) have locking elements (33) which prevent closing when no mandrel roller (40) is present in the area of ​​the axial bearing (30) and which have at least one pawl arrangement (34) against which the mandrel roller (40) can come into contact and which can act on a pawl (36) of the locking elements (33) and / or on the locking elements (33) in order to release the locking. [2] Ring rolling machine (10) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the opening means (31) comprise an opening drive (67) which does not rotate with the mandrel roller (40) and which can act on a drive plate (39) which opens the axial bearing (30) and rotates with the mandrel roller (40). [3] Ring rolling machine (10) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the upper mandrel roller bearing (21) is arranged on a lifting and lowering bearing body (24), which is guided by an operating guide (25) which guides the bearing body (24) vertically (59) in a vertical operating area (51) and by an unloading guide (26) which guides the bearing body (24) in a vertical unloading area (52). [4] Ring rolling machine (10) according to claim 3, characterized by , that the operational management (25) is more narrowly developed than the unloading management (26). [5] Ring rolling machine (10) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by , that the guide lengths of the operating guide (25) and the unloading guide (26) overlap. [6] Ring rolling machine (10) according to one of claims 3 to 5, characterized by , that guide bodies (28) are arranged on the bearing body (24) for both the operating guidance (25) and the unloading guidance (26). [7] Ring rolling machine (10) according to claim 6, characterized by, that the guide bodies (28) of the operating guide (25) overlap horizontally (58) with the guide bodies (28) of the unloading guide (26). [8] Ring rolling machine (10) according to one of claims 3 to 7, characterized by , that the operational control (25) is located in a vertical operational control level (55) and the unloading control (26) is located in an unloading control area (56). [9] Ring rolling machine (10) according to claim 8, characterized by , that the operational control level (55) and the unloading control area (56) are spaced apart from each other. [10] Ring rolling machine (10) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized by , that the mandrel roller (40) is located in the operating level (55). [11] Ring rolling machine (10) according to one of claims 8 to 10, characterized by , that a lifting device (60) for the lifting and lowering bearing body (24) comprises a lifting cylinder (61) which is preferably not arranged in the operating control plane (55). [12] Method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll (40) of a ring rolling machine (10) with a mandrel roll (40) and an associated radial roll (12), wherein the mandrel roll (40) is supported in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing (21, 22), the upper mandrel roll bearing (21) is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing (23) and an axial bearing (30), the axial bearing (30) surrounds a mandrel roll head (41) of the mandrel roll (40) and supports it at the bottom, and the axial bearing (30) is designed to be openable via opening means (31), wherein the mandrel roll (40) is moved for raising and lowering, characterized by , that opening of the axial bearing (30) is prevented by frictional locking if the mandrel roller (40) is not supported and / or that closing of the axial bearing (30) is prevented if there is no mandrel roller (40) in the area of ​​the axial bearing (30). [13] Lifting and lowering method according to claim 12, characterized by, that a bearing body (24) on which the upper mandrel roller bearing (21) is arranged and which is guided via an operating guide (25) which guides the bearing body (24) vertically (59) in a vertical operating area (51) and via an unloading guide (26) which guides the bearing body (24) in a vertical unloading area (52), wherein the guidance of the bearing body (24) is transferred between the operating and the unloading guide (25, 26) when the bearing body (24) leaves the operating area (51) or re-enters it. [14] Method for raising and lowering the mandrel roll (40) of a ring rolling machine (10) with a mandrel roll (40) and an associated radial roll (12), wherein the mandrel roll (40) is supported in an upper and a lower mandrel roll bearing (21, 22), the upper mandrel roll bearing (21) is designed as a fixed bearing, the fixed bearing has both a radial bearing (23) and an axial bearing (30), the axial bearing (30) surrounds a mandrel roll head (41) of the mandrel roll (40) and supports it at the bottom, and the axial bearing (30) is designed to be openable via opening means (31), wherein the mandrel roll (40) is moved for raising and lowering, characterized by , that a bearing body (24) on which the upper mandrel roller bearing (21) is arranged and which is guided by a discharge guide (26) which guides the bearing body (24) in a vertical discharge area (52), wherein the bearing body (24) is clamped during operation.

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