tensioning rail

Abstract

Clamping rail (100; 103; 104) with a base body (110; 130; 140) which has at least one T-slot (111; 1311, 1321, 1331; 1411, 1421, 1431, 1441); wherein the T-slot (111; 1311, 1321, 1331; 1411, 1421, 1431, 1441) is partially covered at its outer end opposite a groove base (113), leaving a gap (123) by two cover rails (121, 122) which can be detachably connected to the base body (110; 130; 140), the base body (110; 130; 140) being made of a light metal and the cover rails (121, 122) being made of a steel material.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELDThe present invention relates to a clamping rail for fastening workpieces during machining.PRIOR ARTKnown clamping rails are manufactured in one piece from steel by machining. They are complicated to produce because of an undercut T-groove.Proceeding from this prior art, it is an object of the present invention to specify a clamping rail which can be produced more easily.DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIONThe object is achieved with a clamping rail according to claim 1.According to the invention, a clamping rail is characterized in that the T-groove, which forms in particular an inner side of the clamping rail, is partially covered at its outer end opposite a groove base by two cover rails which can be detachably connected to the base body. An elongate gap is formed between the two cover rails, which gap runs in particular parallel to the T-groove or to the longitudinal extent of the clamping rail. Due to the cover rails that are only added later, the T-groove can be produced open with a shaped milling cutter without an undercut.The multi-part construction with a base body and the cover rails advantageously also enables the use of a light metal for the base body, while the cover rails mainly claimed by the clamping processes can still consist of steel material. As a result, a relatively high weight saving is achieved compared with the known, one-piece clamping rails made of steel, which weight saving has a favourable effect in particular when using such a clamping rail on a robot.In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cover rails have bores for receiving fastening means for connection to the base body. Suitable fastening means are, in particular, Allen screws, the heads of which are completely accommodated by cylindrical depressions in the cover rails.Particularly preferably, the cover rails have on their outer side a toothing running transversely to the longitudinal extent of the clamping rail. This toothing serves for the fine-step engagement of clamping means which are mounted displaceably in the T-grooves by means of suitable slot nuts and are lockable with respect to the cover rails. The toothings are preferably designed as microtoothings with a tooth height of approximately 0.5 mm to 2 mm, particularly preferably with a tooth height of approximately 1 mm.It is furthermore advantageous that the base body has at least one milled-in portion running longitudinally parallel to the T-groove on its outer side. These milled recesses serve for the engagement of clamping means, by means of which the clamping rail can be fastened, for example, to a machine bed or to a handling robot.According to an alternative, it is provided that the base body has a plurality of longitudinal webs arranged uniformly distributed on the circumference, wherein each longitudinal web is provided with a T-groove. According to a first variant, three longitudinal webs are arranged offset to one another at an angle of 120°. According to a second variant, four longitudinal webs are arranged offset from one another at an angle of 90°. As a result, for a more rapid machining, one or more workpieces can be fastened to each T-groove, which workpieces can be machined one after the other by different tools by further turning at a machining station. For this purpose, it is advantageous if the base body has a receptacle on the end face on a central longitudinal axis, on which receptacle a corresponding rotational axis of a bearing or drive or a king pin can be arranged.When the receptacle is not used, it is expedient if the receptacle can be covered by means of a covering plate, which can be inserted into a face milling with an exact fit and can be fixed, for example, by means of a screw which can be fastened in the receptacle, in order to avoid soiling.In an embodiment with a plurality of longitudinal webs, the base body expediently has at least one through bore parallel to its longitudinal axis, which through bore, when a multi-web clamping rail is used vertically, serves for fastening to a base plate or for fixing lateral cover plates.The cover rails advantageously have bores on their outer sides for fastening stops.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFurther features, advantages and embodiments of the invention are evident from the following description of embodiments of a clamping rail on the basis of the figures. It shows: FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a clamping rail, FIG. 2 shows a front view of the first embodiment according to FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the first embodiment according to FIG. 1 , FIG. 4 is a side view of the first embodiment with a modified embodiment of the lateral milled recesses and a transversely extending recess on the underside, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V--V of the first embodiment of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of a clamping rail with three longitudinal webs arranged offset by 120°, FIG. 7 shows a front view of the second embodiment according to FIG. 6, FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a third embodiment of a clamping rail with four longitudinal webs arranged offset by 90°, FIG. 9 shows a front view of the third embodiment according to FIG. 8 ; FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a vertical use of the fourth embodiment on a base plate, FIG. 11 shows a perspective illustration of a connection of the fourth embodiment to end-face cover plates, FIG. 12 shows a perspective illustration of a use of the fourth embodiment in a horizontal mounting with a rotary drive, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a use of the first embodiment in attachment to a handling robot.EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTIONFIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of a clamping rail 100 according to the invention. The clamping rail 100 comprises an elongate base body 110 which is rectangular in cross section and into which a T-groove 111 having a rectangular groove base 113 and adjoining the latter at the top by two rectangular widenings 112 is worked. The base body 110 preferably consists of a light metal, in particular of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. A cover rail 121 or 122, respectively, extends over the widenings 112 and partially covers the widenings 112 from above, leaving a central gap 123 free.The cover rails 121 and 122, respectively, are preferably made of a steel material. Because the base body consists of light metal and the cover rails consist of steel material, a saving in weight is achieved. With a length of the clamping rail 100 of 300 mm, the total weight is about 5.5 kg compared to 12 kg with a one-piece clamping rail consisting overall of steel.Several bores 124 are worked into the cover rails 121 and 122, respectively, spaced uniformly from one another in the longitudinal direction. The bores 124 are provided in the upper part with cylindrical depressions which serve for receiving screw heads of fastening screws by means of which the cover rails 121 and 122, respectively, are detachably connected to the base body 110.For an exact arrangement of the bores 124 and the screw holes in the base body 110, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of locating pins 126 are arranged in the cover rails 121 and 122, respectively, and the base body 110 lying beneath them.The top rails 121 and 122, respectively, are provided on their top side with toothings 125 running transversely to the T-groove 111. Since these toothings are formed very finely with a tooth height of approximately 0.5 mm to 2 mm, preferably of approximately 1 mm, they make the upper sides of the cover rails 121 and 122, respectively, appear approximately as black in the drawings. The tooth arrangements 125 serve for a fine-stage positioning and latching of clamping means, not shown, which engage in the T-groove 111 by means of corresponding slot nuts, are displaceably guided there and can be fixed by means of a corresponding clamping, for example by means of screws, with respect to the cover rails and 121 or 122.In the T-grooves 111, at a distance from one another, a plurality of through-bores 127 are introduced, which also pass through the inner edges of the cover rails 121 and 122, respectively. These through-holes 127 serve to receive bolts 128 for a zero point clamping system.At regular intervals, further bores 129 are made in the side edges of the cover rails 121 and 122, which bores serve for the required fastening of stops, which are necessary, if necessary, for positioning and fixing a workpiece.Milled recesses 114 (FIG. 1 ) or 114 and 115 (FIG. 4 ) are introduced into the side surfaces of the base body 110, into which milled recesses lateral clamping claws can engage, by means of which the clamping rail 100 can be fastened on a machine bed or another carrier.As can be seen from FIG. 4, a transversely running rectangular cutout 116 is introduced in the middle of the base body 110, which cutout, in conjunction with holes 117 arranged above it, serve for attaching attachments 195 of a robot 190 which is illustrated in FIG. 13. For connection to a further front-side fastening 196, further bores can also be provided on the front side and body 110.The base body 110 can assume different heights depending on the intended application, as can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 5. Correspondingly differently, the milled recesses 114 and 115 can also be arranged centrally or open toward the end sides.FIGS. 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of a clamping rail 103, in which a base body 130 has three longitudinal webs 131, 132 and 133 offset by 120°. Each of the longitudinal webs 131, 132 and 133 has a T-groove 1311, 1321 and 1331, respectively, which corresponds in its shape to the T-groove 111 of the first exemplary embodiment. The three T-grooves 1311, 1321 and 1331 are again each partially covered by cover rails 121 and 122, respectively, leaving free a gap 123.The base body 130 has at its front sides, at the height of its central longitudinal axis, a receptacle 136 in the form of a bore. The receptacle 136 is surrounded by a square milled-out portion 135, into which a cover plate 137 can be inserted and fixed by means of a screw 138 which can be screwed into the receptacle 136.After the screws 138 and the cover plate 137 have been removed, the receptacle 136 serves to receive a bolt which, analogously to the illustration in FIG. 12, serves as a bearing 180 for a rotary bearing of the clamping rail 103. Opposite the bearing 180, a drive 185 can be connected to the receptacle 136. The cover plate 137 serves to protect against dirt when the receptacle 136 is not used.On the opposite end side, not shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the base body 130 has a hole pattern which corresponds approximately to the pattern shown in FIG. 8 with the bores 146 and 149 within the milled recess 145 there. The base body 130 with three longitudinal webs can thus also be arranged vertically on a base plate 160, as is shown in FIG. 10 for the base body 140 with four longitudinal webs.FIGS. 8 and 9 show a third embodiment of a clamping rail 104, in which a base body 140 has four longitudinal webs 141, 142, 143 and 144 offset by 90° in each case. Each of the longitudinal webs 141, 142, 143 and 144 has a T-groove 1411, 1421, 1431 and 1441, respectively, which corresponds in its shape to the T-groove 111 of the first exemplary embodiment.The base body 140 has at its front sides at the height of its central longitudinal axis a respective receptacle 146, which is surrounded by four through-holes 149. The receptacle 146 and the through-bores 149 lie in the region of a square milled-out portion 145 which serves to receive a covering sheet 147. The cover plate 147 can be fastened by means of a central screw 151 which can be screwed into the receptacle 146.The through holes 149 are provided with screws 150 received therein for securing the clamping rail 104 in a vertical arrangement to a base plate 160 as shown in FIG. 10.Further through-bores 148 arranged laterally with respect to the T-grooves 1411, 1421, 1431 and 1441 serve for fastening end-face cover plates 170 (see FIG. 11 ).LIST OF REFERENCE CHARACTERS100 Clamping rail 103 Clamping rail 104 Clamping rail 110 Base body 111 T-groove 112 Widening (from 111) 113 Groove base (from 111) 114 Milled-in (on the outside, in 110) 115 Milled-in (on the outside, in 110) 116 Cutout (for interface for fastening a robot 190) 117 Bore (for interface for fastening a robot 190) 121 Cover rail 122 Cover rail 123 Gap 124 Bore 125 Toothing (on 121, 122) 126 Dowel pin 127 Through bore 128 Bolt (in through bore 127, for fastening a zero point clamping system) 129 bore (fastening for stops) 130 base body (from 103) 131 (first) longitudinal web 1311 T-groove 132 (second) longitudinal web 1321 T-groove 133 (third) longitudinal web 1331 T-groove 135 milled-out (for cover plate) 136 receptacle (for centering bracket, tip bracket, bearing or drive) 137 cover plate 138 screw (for 137) 140 base body (from 103) 141 (first) longitudinal web 1411 T-groove 142 (second) longitudinal web 1421 T-groove 143 (third) longitudinal web 1431 T-groove 144 (fourth) longitudinal web 1441 T-groove 145 milled-out (for cover plate) 146 receptacle (for centering bracket, tip bracket, bearing, Drive or King Pin) 147 Cover plate 148 Through bore (fastening cover plate, see FIG. 11 ) 149 Through bore (for fastening to base plate in perpendicular use, see FIG. 10 ) 150 Screw (in 149) 151 Screw (for 147 in 146) 160 Base plate (see FIG. 10 ) 170 Cover plate (see FIG. 11 ) 180 Bearing (see FIG. 12 ) 185 Drive (see FIG. 12 ) 190 Robot (see FIG. 13 ) 195 Fastening (see FIG. 13 ) 196 Fastening (see FIG. 13 )

Claims

Clamping rail (100; 103; 104) having a main body (110; 130; 140) which has at least one T-groove (111; 1311, 1321, 1331; 1411, 1421, 1431, 1441); wherein the T-groove (111; 1311, 1321, 1331; 1411, 1421, 1431, 1441) is partially covered at its outer end opposite a groove base (113), leaving free a gap (123) between two cover rails (121, 122) which can be detachably connected to the main body (110; 130; 140), wherein the main body (110; 130; 140) is formed from a light metal and the cover rails (121, 122) are formed from a steel material.Clamping rail (100; 103; 104) according to claim 1, characterised in that the cover rails (121, 122) have bores (124) for receiving fastening means for connection to the base body (110; 130; 140).Clamping rail (100; 103; 104) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the outer side of the cover rails (121, 122) has a toothing (125) running transversely to the longitudinal extent of the clamping rail (100; 103; 104).Clamping rail (100; 103; 104) according to claim 3, characterised in that the toothing (125) has a tooth height of 0.5 mm to 2 mm, preferably approximately 1 mm.Clamping rail (100; 103; 104) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base body (110; 130; 140) has on its outer side at least one milled-in portion (114; 115) running longitudinally parallel to the T-groove (111; 1311, 1321, 1331; 1411, 1421, 1431, 1441).Clamping rail (103) according to at least one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the base body (130) has three longitudinal webs (131, 132, 133), which are arranged offset from one another at an angle of 120° and of which each longitudinal web (131, 132, 133) has a T-groove (1311, 1321, 1331).Clamping rail (104) according to at least one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the base body (140) has four longitudinal webs (141, 142, 143, 144) which are arranged offset with respect to one another at an angle of 90°, of which each longitudinal web (141, 142, 143, 144) has a T-groove (1411, 1421, 1431, 1441).Clamping rail (103; 104) according to either of Claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the base body (130; 140) has, on its end face, on a central longitudinal axis, a receptacle (136; 146) which can preferably be covered by means of a covering plate (137; 147).Clamping rail (103; 104) according to one of Claims 6 to 8, characterized in that the base body (130; 140) has at least one longitudinally running through bore (148; 149).Clamping rail (100; 103; 104) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cover rails (121, 122) have bores (129) laterally outwards for fastening a stop.

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