Device and method for automated crimping of a wire

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device (1) for the automated crimping of a conductor with a crimping press (11) and several crimping tools (12) arranged on a tool carrier (13) for crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact dimension, wherein one of the several crimping tools (12) can be arranged in a pressing area of ​​the crimping press (11) for automated crimping, wherein the tool carrier (13) is arranged and / or mounted in a positionally modifiable manner with respect to the crimping press (11), in particular at least the pressing area of ​​the crimping press (11), for the arrangement of one of the crimping tools (12) in the press area.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method and a device for the automated crimping of a wire using a crimping press and several crimping tools arranged on a tool carrier for crimp contacts of a predetermined crimp contact size. The invention further relates to a method for the automated crimping of a wire using the device.

[0002] When developing solutions for the automated production of (zone) wiring harnesses, the problem arises of the difficult-to-reduce variety of contacts available for mating connections, for example, for control units and actuators. Even for small wiring harnesses, such as those for a seat or a bumper, this necessitates around 14 different contact systems that must be integrated into an automated process.

[0003] The resulting number of crimping tools, and therefore crimping presses, necessitates very long transfer lines, some of which are simply not feasible. These lines also have the disadvantage that, in the event of a malfunction at one crimping station, all previous crimping stations must be emptied and the wires discarded. With a robotic solution using crimping presses on a long axis, the changeover time to the next crimping press becomes inefficiently long.

[0004] Furthermore, very high costs arise from the number of crimping presses, each of which has crimp force monitoring and a strip feeder.

[0005] In current technology, only two tools are changed linearly, and even then only semi-automatically. Changing 14 tools in this way is either impossible or extremely difficult, as it would require a very long axis, resulting in very long changeover times and making it uneconomical for an automated process.

[0006] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and a device for the automated crimping of a wire in which a change between crimping tools for crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact size is optimized.

[0007] This problem is solved by the combination of features according to claim 1.

[0008] According to the invention, a device for the automated crimping of a wire is proposed, comprising a single crimping press and several crimping tools arranged on a tool carrier for crimp contacts of a predetermined crimp contact size / dimension. One of the multiple crimping tools can be positioned in a pressing area of ​​the crimping press for automated crimping. Furthermore, the tool carrier is positioned and / or mounted in a way that allows for the placement of one of the crimping tools in the pressing area relative to the crimping press, and in particular at least the pressing area of ​​the crimping press.

[0009] The advantage of this is that the average of up to 14 different crimp contacts, and thus 14 different crimping presses, in a small wire assembly (so-called self-contained) are replaced by just one crimping press with 14 crimping tools. This results in a shorter transfer line and eliminates the need for axes to transport multiple crimping presses to a robot station. Further advantages include a significantly smaller overall size and the elimination of many transfer stations, which translates to considerably less scrap in case of errors. A number of 14 crimping tools is preferred. This also results in a very compact design and enables automatic and rapid changeover between many different crimping tools. Since the wire only needs to be fed to one crimping area of ​​the press at a time, there is only one processing station instead of the 14 stations shown in the example above.In an advantageous embodiment, the crimping press also features crimp force monitoring.

[0010] In an advantageous embodiment, the tool carrier is a rotatably mounted annular or circular turntable or a linear support element. The tool carrier is mounted, in particular, on the crimping press. The preferred embodiment is a horizontally and rotatably mounted turntable; however, with more effort, the crimping presses can also be mounted vertically for rotation or moved only longitudinally or linearly. The disadvantage of this is that, beyond a certain number of crimping tools, this would lead to longer processing times and problems with the arrangement of a magazine. Preferably, the device is designed such that the crimping tools are arranged on the tool carrier at a constant and / or uniform and / or consistent distance from one another. In an embodiment as an annular or circular turntable, the crimping tools are distributed radially accordingly.

[0011] In one embodiment of the invention, the respective crimping tool has a fastening means for fixing it in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press. In particular, the fastening means is one or more conical pins for receiving and / or guiding them into a receptacle provided in the crimping press.

[0012] Furthermore, a design is advantageous in which a crimp contact magazine is provided for supplying crimp contacts of the respective predetermined crimp contact size. In this design, a corresponding crimp contact coil is provided in the crimp contact magazine for each predetermined crimp contact size. The advantage of this is that the crimp contact magazine switches between the crimp contact coils accordingly, and the crimp contacts are pre-loaded. This also avoids the problem of limited installation space due to a large number of crimp contact coils on the tool carrier. The crimp contact magazine is preferably arranged laterally to or behind the tool carrier containing the crimping tools, comprises all, for example, 14, contact coils, switches between them, and dispenses a defined strip of crimp contacts.This contact strip can now be fed to one of the crimping tools that are not currently in use, for example, if it has run out of contacts.

[0013] In a further advantageous embodiment, the invention provides that the corresponding crimp contact coil comprises crimp contact strips with crimp contacts of the respective predetermined crimp contact size, wherein in particular the crimp contact strips each have 20 to 30 crimp contacts.

[0014] The device according to the invention is configured in one embodiment such that the crimp contact magazine has at least one strip feeder for feeding crimp contacts of a predetermined crimp contact size to the corresponding crimping tool. Preferably, the at least one strip feeder is arranged at a distance from the pressing area.

[0015] It is further advantageous if the tool holder is arranged parallel to at least one strip feed of the crimping press. Alternatively, the tool holder is arranged parallel to a crimping plane in the press area.

[0016] In an alternative embodiment of the present device, it is further provided that the crimp contact magazine comprises a contact punch for punching the crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact size from the crimp contact strip of a corresponding crimp contact coil.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one linear axis system and / or rotary axis system and / or at least one handling device is provided for feeding the crimp contacts to a corresponding crimping tool and / or for removing crimp contacts from a corresponding crimping tool and / or for arranging the conductor in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press and / or for removing the conductor from the pressing area of ​​the crimping press. The handling device is, for example, an industrial robot and / or a 6-axis robot. Preferably, two or three handling devices are provided. In this way, for example, several crimp contacts and / or conductors can be fed and / or removed in parallel. Furthermore, the crimp contact strips can also be reloaded simultaneously on several crimping tools not currently in operation, preferably with different contact strips.

[0018] In an advantageous embodiment, an electric motor is provided for driving and / or positioning the tool holder.

[0019] In one embodiment, at least one control unit is provided for controlling and / or regulating the device, in particular the tool holder and / or the electric motor and / or the crimping press and / or the handling device and / or the linear axis system and / or rotary axis system and / or the crimp contact magazine. Furthermore, the crimp height and / or crimp force of the crimping press can be controlled and / or regulated by means of the control unit. The control unit contains, in particular, data for controlling and / or regulating the device, in particular the tool holder and / or the electric motor and / or the crimping press and / or the handling device and / or the linear axis system and / or rotary axis system and / or the crimp contact magazine.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, sensors, particularly optical sensors, are provided, especially on the crimping press and / or the at least one handling device, for measuring the wire and / or the crimp contacts and / or for determining the position of the wire and / or crimp contacts and / or the tool holder and / or the crimping tools. The acquired sensor data are processed, in particular, by the control unit and used for controlling and / or regulating the device.

[0021] The invention further proposes a method for the automated crimping of a wire using a device as described above, in which one of the crimping tools with crimp contacts of a predetermined crimp contact size is positioned in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press by means of the tool holder. This positioning is achieved by changing the position of the tool holder relative to the crimping press. Furthermore, the wire, in particular a free end of the wire intended for the crimp contact, is positioned in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press, particularly by means of the at least one handling device. Finally, the crimp contact with the predetermined crimp contact size is crimped onto the wire by means of the crimping press.

[0022] In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, it is provided that crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact size are fed and / or removed to / from the corresponding crimping tool from / into the crimp contact magazine by means of the handling device, preferably via the strip feeder.

[0023] The features disclosed above can be combined in any way, provided that this is technically possible and they do not contradict each other.

[0024] Other advantageous embodiments of the invention are characterized in the dependent claims or are described in more detail below together with the description of the preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the figures. The figures show: Fig. 1 a perspective view of a device for automated crimping of a wire; Fig. 2 a side view of the device for automated crimping of a wire; Fig. 3 A top view of the device for automated crimping of a wire.

[0025] The figures are schematic examples. Identical reference symbols in the figures indicate identical functional and / or structural features.

[0026] In Fig. Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a device 1 for the automated crimping of a conductor with a crimping press 11 and several crimping tools 12 arranged on a tool carrier 13 for crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact size / dimension. Fig. Figure 2 shows a side view of the device 1 for automated crimping of a wire and Fig. Figure 3 shows a top view of the device 1 for automated crimping of a wire.

[0027] In the present device 1, twelve crimping tools 12 are arranged on the tool carrier 13. One of the crimping tools 12 can be positioned in a pressing area of ​​the crimping press 11 for automated crimping. The tool carrier 13 is positioned and / or mounted so that one of the crimping tools 12 can be moved relative to the crimping press 11, in particular at least the pressing area of ​​the crimping press 11, in order to position it in the pressing area. The tool carrier 13 is a rotatably mounted annular turntable which is mounted on the crimping press 11. In the present embodiment, the tool carrier 13 is mounted on the crimping press 11 via a frame 135 of the tool carrier 13. The crimping tools 12 are also arranged radially distributed on the tool carrier 13 at a constant and / or uniform and / or consistent distance from one another.Furthermore, an electric motor 19 is provided on the crimping press 11 for driving and / or positioning the tool carrier 13.

[0028] The respective crimping tool 12 has a fastening means 121 for fixing in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press 11, which is designed as one or more conical pins for receiving and / or guiding into a receptacle 111 provided in the crimping press 11.

[0029] Furthermore, a crimp contact magazine 15 is provided for supplying crimp contacts of the respective predetermined crimp contact size. For each predetermined crimp contact size, a corresponding crimp contact coil 151 is provided in the crimp contact magazine 15. In the present embodiment, the crimp contact magazine 15 comprises six crimp contact coils 151. Each crimp contact coil 151 also includes crimp contact strips with crimp contacts of the respective predetermined crimp contact size. The crimp contact strips each have 20 to 30 crimp contacts.

[0030] Furthermore, the crimp contact magazine 15 includes a strip feeder 14 for feeding crimp contacts of a predetermined crimp contact size to the corresponding crimping tool 12, which is arranged at a distance from the pressing area. The tool carrier 13 is also arranged parallel to a crimping plane in the pressing area, which in this embodiment is likewise arranged parallel to the strip feeder 14 of the crimping press 11. In addition, the crimp contact magazine 15 includes a contact punch 152 for punching the crimp contacts of a predetermined crimp contact size from the crimp contact strip of a corresponding crimp contact coil 151.

[0031] Furthermore, a handling device 17 is provided for feeding the crimp contacts to a corresponding crimping tool 12 and / or for removing crimp contacts from a corresponding crimping tool 12 and / or for arranging the wire in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press 11. Additionally, the device 1 has at least one control unit 16 for controlling and / or regulating the device 1, in particular the tool carrier 13 and / or the electric motor 19 and / or the crimping press 11 and / or handling device and / or the crimp contact magazine 15. Data for controlling and / or regulating the aforementioned components are stored in the control unit.

[0032] Furthermore, optical sensors 18 are provided on the crimping press 11 and the at least one handling device 17 for measuring the line and / or the crimp contacts and / or for determining the position of the line and / or crimp contacts and / or the tool carrier 13 and / or the crimping tools 12.

[0033] The invention is not limited in its implementation to the preferred embodiments specified above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable which make use of the solution presented even in fundamentally different designs.

Claims

[1] Device (1) for automated crimping of a cable with a crimping press (11) and several crimping tools (12) arranged on a tool carrier (13) for crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact dimension, wherein one of the several crimping tools (12) can be arranged in a pressing area of ​​the crimping press (11) for automated crimping, wherein the tool carrier (13) is arranged and / or mounted in a positionally modifiable manner with respect to the crimping press (11), in particular at least the pressing area of ​​the crimping press (11), for the arrangement of one of the crimping tools (12) in the press area. [2] Device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the tool carrier (13) is a rotatably mounted annular or circular turntable or a linear support element, wherein the tool carrier (13) is in particular mounted on the crimping press (11). [3] Device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the crimping tools (12) are arranged on the tool carrier (13) at a constant and / or uniform and / or uniform distance from each other. [4] Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the respective crimping tool (12) has a fastening means (121) for fixing in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press (11), wherein in particular the fastening means (121) is / are one or more conical pins for receiving and / or guiding into a receptacle (111) provided in the crimping press (11). [5] Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a crimp contact magazine (15) is provided for supplying the crimp contacts of the respective predetermined crimp contact size, wherein a corresponding crimp contact coil (151) is provided in the crimp contact magazine (15) for each predetermined crimp contact size. [6] Device (1) according to claim 5, wherein the corresponding crimp contact coil (151) comprises crimp contact strips with crimp contacts of the respective predetermined crimp contact size, wherein in particular the crimp contact strips each have 20 to 30 crimp contacts. [7] Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the crimp contact magazine (15) has at least one strip feeder (14) for feeding crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact size to the corresponding crimping tool (12), wherein preferably the at least one strip feeder (14) is arranged at a distance from the pressing area. [8] Device (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the tool carrier (13) is arranged parallel to the at least one strip feed (14) of the crimping press (11). [9] Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the crimp contact magazine (15) comprises a contact punch (152) for punching the crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact size from the crimp contact strip of a corresponding crimp contact coil (151). [10] Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least a linear axis system and / or rotary axis system and / or at least a handling device (17) for feeding the crimp contacts to a corresponding crimping tool (12) and / or for removing crimp contacts from a corresponding crimping tool (12) and / or for arranging the line in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press (11) is provided. [11] Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an electric motor (19) is provided for driving and / or positioning the tool carrier (13). [12] Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one control unit (16) is provided for controlling and / or regulating the device (1), in particular the tool carrier (13) and / or the electric motor (19) and / or the crimping press (11) and / or the at least one handling device (17) and / or the linear axis system and / or rotary axis system and / or the crimp contact magazine (15), wherein furthermore, in particular, a crimp height of the crimping press (11) and / or a crimping force of the crimping press (11) can be controlled and / or regulated by means of the control unit. [13] Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein, in particular on the crimping press (11) and / or the at least one handling device (17), a sensor (18), in particular an optical sensor, is provided for measuring the line and / or the crimp contacts and / or for determining the position of the line and / or crimp contacts and / or the tool carrier (13) and / or the crimping tools (12). [14] Method for automated crimping of a wire using a device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the steps: a. Arranging one of the crimping tools (12) with crimp contacts of a predetermined crimp contact size in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press (11) by means of the tool carrier (13), wherein the arrangement is effected by a change in position of the tool carrier (13) with respect to the crimping press (11); b. Arranging the conductor, in particular a free end of the conductor intended for the crimp contact, in the pressing area of ​​the crimping press (11), in particular by means of the at least one handling device (17); c. Crimping the crimp contact with the predetermined crimp contact size onto the line using the crimping press (11). [15] Method according to claim 14, wherein crimp contacts of a respective predetermined crimp contact size are fed and / or removed to / from the corresponding crimping tool (12) from / into the crimp contact magazine (15) by means of the at least one handling device (17), preferably via the strip feeder (14).

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