Molded product manufacturing system

Abstract

To provide a molded product manufacturing system that allows an operator to confirm that a molding machine is ready to start or resume operation even when a person in charge of a work is not on site, and that gives priority to a determination of the person in charge of the work when the person in charge of the work is on site.SOLUTION: If a communication device 14 of a molded product take-out machine 10 receives molding machine temperature information from an injection molding machine 20 before a controller 12 of the molded product take-out machine 10 starts a control operation, it sends the molding machine temperature information to an external server 50 before the control operation is started. A person in charge of a work can use the information from the external server 50 to confirm that the injection molding machine 20 is ready to start operation, even if he or she is not on site.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a molded product manufacturing system in which a molded product remover is provided with a control device and a communication device that transmits internal data to an external server via a communication network. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-44838 discloses a conventional molded product manufacturing system including an injection molding machine, a molded product removal machine equipped with a communication unit that transmits internal data to an external server via a communication network, and one or more peripheral devices that are arranged around the molded product removal machine and operate together during operation of the molded product removal machine. In this molded product manufacturing system, a communication device installed in the molded product removal machine transmits external data output from the one or more peripheral devices to the external server together with mold information.

[0003] In addition, some existing molded product removal machines are equipped with a control device and a communication device that transmits internal data to an external server via a communication network and the control device has the function of receiving molding machine temperature information transmitted from the molding machine. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-44838 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In conventional molding manufacturing systems, before starting the operation of the molding manufacturing system or when replacing the mold, the molding machine, the molded product removal machine, and the peripheral devices are turned on, and then an operator at the site where the molding machine is installed checks whether each part of the molding machine (including the mold) has risen to the desired temperature and is ready to operate, i.e., whether the molding machine is ready. Therefore, in the past, there was a problem that the operator had to wait at the site until the operator confirmed that the molding machine was ready or that the mold replacement was completed and molding work could be resumed, or that the operator had to wait a suitable time and then go to the site to check. In addition, when the operator is at the site, it is desirable to be able to smoothly start the operation of the system at the operator's discretion, as in the past, by observing the actual situation.

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a molded product manufacturing system that allows a worker in charge of operations to check the status of the molding machine even when he or she is not on-site by transmitting molding machine temperature information from the molding machine to an external server using the communication network of the molded product removal machine, and that allows the worker's judgment to take priority when the worker in charge of operations is on-site. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is directed to a molded product manufacturing system that includes a molding machine, a molded product removal machine, and one or more peripheral devices that are arranged around the molded product removal machine and operate together during the operation of the molded product removal machine, and the molded product removal machine includes a control device and a communication device that transmits internal data to an external server via a communication network, and the control device has a function of receiving molding machine temperature information transmitted from the molding machine. In the molded product manufacturing system of the present invention, when the control device of the molded product removal machine receives molding machine temperature information from the molding machine before starting a control operation, the communication device of the molded product removal machine has a function of transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server before starting the control operation of the molded product removal machine. Therefore, according to the present invention, a situation can be created in which a person in charge of work who is not at the site can check temperature information that can confirm that the preparation of the molding machine is complete. In particular, in the present invention, the molding machine temperature information is transmitted to the external server by the communication device under the first condition that the control device of the molded product removal machine receives molding machine temperature information from the molding machine before starting the control operation, and the second condition that the control device of the molded product removal machine has not started the control operation. Therefore, when an operator who has the authority to decide to start the operation of the molded product manufacturing system is present at the site, and even when the operator is not present at the site, the operator can confirm that the preparation to start the operation or the preparation to resume the operation after the mold replacement are completed or are about to be completed by using the information on the external server. Also, in the present invention, when the operator is present at the site and has started the control operation of the molded product removal machine at the operator's discretion (when the second condition is not satisfied), the operator's discretion is respected while observing the situation at the site, and the molding machine temperature information is not transmitted to the external server from the molded product removal machine. As a result, according to the present invention, when the operator is present at the site, the operator's discretion is given priority, and when the operator is not present at the site, a system is created in which the operator can confirm that the preparation of the molding machine is completed, so that the operation start-up work of the system can be carried out smoothly.

[0008] In addition, in the case of a molding machine that does not have the function of transmitting molding machine temperature information to the outside, it is of course possible to improve the molding machine by attaching a temperature sensor unit that collects molding machine temperature information, and to utilize the temperature information from the temperature sensor unit.

[0009] The communication device may transmit the molding machine temperature information to the external server before the control operation is started when a transmission execution condition for transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server is set in the communication device (third condition). In this way, when the operator can check the preparation status of the molding machine on-site, the operator's judgment on-site can be prioritized. As a result, in the present invention, the same confirmation work as in the past can be performed depending on whether the transmission execution condition is set in the communication device, so that the judgment skill of the operator can be respected.

[0010] If the transmission execution conditions can be set in a communication terminal device which receives information transmitted from an external server and displays it on a display means, the person in charge of work can select the task of confirming the completion of preparation of the molding machine, so that the will of the person in charge of work can be given priority.

[0011] In the case where a communication terminal device is further provided for receiving molding machine temperature information transmitted from an external server and displaying it on a display means, it is preferable that the communication terminal device can be set to reject reception of information from the external server. Even in this way, the operator's intention can be prioritized by setting the reception rejection.

[0012] The molding machine temperature information is information indicating that the temperature rise of the molding machine is complete or information indicating that the temperature fall of the molding machine is complete. Information indicating that the temperature rise is complete can be used in the preparation stage to decide when to start molding work, and information indicating that the temperature fall is complete can be used in the preparation stage to decide when to start mold replacement.

[0013] The communication device may further have a function of transmitting peripheral device temperature information output from one or more peripheral devices together with the molding machine temperature information to an external server. If the peripheral device is a temperature regulator, the peripheral device temperature information is the temperature information of the temperature regulator.

[0014] In this way, the person in charge of the work, who is not at the site, can also recognize the preparation status of the peripheral devices. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a molded product manufacturing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 2 is a flowchart showing a process flow in the molded product manufacturing system of FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on the screen of a communication terminal in the molded product manufacturing system of FIG. 1, indicating that the temperature increase of a molding machine has been completed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the molded product manufacturing system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the main configuration of the molded product manufacturing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] 1, the molded product manufacturing system of this embodiment includes a molded product remover 10, an injection molding machine 20, and peripheral equipment 30. The injection molding machine 20 forms the core of the molded product manufacturing system, and the other equipment assists the operation of the injection molding machine 20.

[0018] The molded product remover 10 is provided above or adjacent to the injection molding machine 20, and removes a molded product from the mold of the injection molding machine 20, performs gate cutting, and places it in a predetermined position. The operation of the molded product remover 10 is controlled by a control device 12.

[0019] In this embodiment, the molded product remover 10 is provided with a communication device 14 that supports IoT and transmits internal data to an external server 50 via a communication network 40. In this embodiment, the power supply of the communication device 14 is always on. The communication device 14 includes a transmission / reception unit 15 that transmits and receives internal data via the communication network 40, a data conversion unit 16 that converts the internal data into a form suitable for transmission, and a buffer 17 that temporarily stores the converted untransmitted internal data. The buffer 17 stores, as internal data, the operating status (including the removal sequence) of the molded product remover 10, the operating status (including the molding sequence) given by the injection molding machine 20, various data indicating information on the mold mounted on the injection molding machine 20, output data of various sensors mounted on the molded product remover 10, etc., and these data are output to the transmission / reception unit 15 according to a control program installed in a computer or processor of the control device 12. Of course, the computer or processor that executes this control program may be provided in the communication device 14.

[0020] Peripheral equipment 30 refers to equipment that is arranged around molded product remover 10 and operates together with molded product remover 10 during its operation. In this specification, peripheral equipment 30 particularly includes equipment that constitutes injection molding machine 20, such as pressure sensor 32 that measures the air pressure of an air cylinder that opens and closes the mold of injection molding machine 20, and temperature sensor 33 that detects the temperature of the mold and cylinder. Note that, in the case where injection molding machine 20 does not include temperature sensor 33 as in this embodiment, it goes without saying that a temperature sensor unit having a communication function may be retrofitted at a predetermined position on the molding machine.

[0021] An example of peripheral equipment independent of the molded product remover 10 and the injection molding machine 20 is a temperature regulator 34, which supplies a heat medium to the injection molding machine 20 to regulate the temperature of the mold of the injection molding machine 20. Examples of other peripheral equipment 38 include various actuators, image processing devices including imaging devices, weight scales, component analyzers, cutting machines, laser markers, ultrasonic welding machines, PLCs, FA personal computers, 6-axis robots, cylinders, paint (label) printers, and the like.

[0022] The communication device 14 of the molded product extracting machine 10 communicates with the injection molding machine 20, the peripheral devices 30, and the external server 50 via the communication network 40, and the communication device 14 is provided with a plurality of external device connection terminals 18 for communicating with a plurality of peripheral devices 30. When a transmission execution condition for transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 is set in the communication device 14 (third condition), the communication device 14 used in this embodiment transmits the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 before the control operation of the molded product extracting machine 10 is started. In this way, when the operator can check the preparation status of the molding machine on-site, the operator's judgment on-site can be prioritized. As a result, in the present invention, the same confirmation work as in the past can be performed depending on whether the transmission execution condition is set for the communication device 14, so that the judgment skill of the operator can be respected. In this embodiment, the transmission execution condition can be set not only by using a setting unit provided in the communication device 14, but also by a setting operation from a communication terminal device 39 described later.

[0023] The multiple peripheral devices 30 are respectively connected to the multiple external device connection terminals 18 via multiple communication cables 19. As a result, in terms of hardware, the IoT of the molded product manufacturing system including the peripheral devices 30 is realized simply by connecting the communication cables 19 between the external device connection terminals 18 and the peripheral devices 30.

[0024] The external server 50 receives internal data from the molded product removal machine 10 via a transceiver unit 51 constituting a part of the communication device, and optimizes the operation of the molded product removal machine 10, performs predictive maintenance, etc. The external server 50 transmits the internal data to the molded product removal machine 10 and the communication terminal unit 39 according to a built-in program, and also transmits the internal data to the molded product removal machine 10 and the communication terminal unit 39 in response to a request signal. In the external server 50, an operation analysis unit 52 analyzes the internal data, and a failure prediction unit 54 predicts the time and location of a failure based on the analysis result, or a productivity improvement unit 56 automatically updates the program and parameters of the molded product removal machine 10 to improve productivity.

[0025] The communication terminal 39 can receive various information from the transmitting / receiving unit 51 via the communication network 40 and display it on the screen. The communication terminal 39 used in this embodiment can be set to reject reception from the external server 50. Therefore, by setting the reception rejection, the intention of the worker can be prioritized. The communication terminal 39 may be any device that receives information transmitted from the external server 50 by wire or wirelessly and displays it on a display, and specifically, may be a smartphone, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or the like. As a specific method for receiving various information, the operation screen of the molded product extracting machine 10 can be opened, or an email addressed to each communication terminal 39 that is compatible with the IoT function built into the communication device 14 can be used.

[0026] The molded product removal machine 10 transmits data via the communication network 40 to external servers other than the external server 50 configured within the cloud server 70, such as an injection molding machine manufacturer external server 60, a temperature control machine manufacturer external server 62, and other peripheral device manufacturer external servers 64, etc.

[0027] In the molded product manufacturing system of this embodiment, before the control device 12 of the molded product removal machine 10 starts the control operation, injection When molding machine temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 33 is received from the molding machine 20, the communication device 14 of the molded product removal machine 10 transmits the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 before the control operation of the molded product removal machine 10 is started.

[0028] According to this embodiment, by using the existing function of the molded product removal machine or by using a temperature sensor unit, it is possible to realize a function that creates a situation in which a person in charge of operations who is not at the site can check temperature information that can confirm that the preparation of the molding machine is complete. injection Information indicating that the temperature rise of the molding machine 20 has been completed or injectionThis information indicates that the temperature drop of the molding machine 20 has been completed. Information indicating that the temperature increase has been completed can be used to determine the start of molding work in the preparation stage, and information indicating that the temperature drop has been completed can be used to determine the start time of mold replacement in the preparation stage when replacing a mold.

[0029] In this embodiment, a program for implementing the algorithm of the flowchart shown in Fig. 2 is installed in a data processor such as a microcomputer implemented in the communication device 14. As described above, this program may be implemented in the control device 12.

[0030] 2, the operation of starting and ending the operation of the molded product manufacturing system of this embodiment, which is determined by the judgment of the operator or not, will be described. First, when the operation of the molded product manufacturing system is started, it is determined whether or not the molding machine heating operation has started based on information input from the injection molding machine 20 (step S1). If the molding machine heating operation has started, it is determined whether or not a transmission execution condition has been input for transmitting molding machine temperature information to an external server (step S2), and if the transmission execution condition has been input, it is determined whether or not the removal operation has started based on information from the control device 12 (step S3).

[0031] In step S1, the determination as to whether the molding machine heating operation has started is based on the determination that the communication device 14 has received molding machine temperature information from the temperature sensor 33 of the injection molding machine 20 (first condition). If the molding machine heating operation has started in step S1, in this embodiment, in step S2, a determination is made as to whether the operation start / end sequence of the molded product manufacturing system of this embodiment is to be used, that is, whether the third condition is satisfied. That is, in step S2, it is determined whether a transmission execution condition for transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 has been input, and the communication device 14 transmits the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 before the control operation is started only when the transmission execution condition for transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 has been set (third condition).

[0032] In step S2, it is determined whether or not a transmission execution condition for transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 has been input. In other words, the communication device 14 transmits the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 before the control operation is started only when the transmission execution condition for transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server 50 is set (third condition). In this way, when the operator can check the preparation status of the molding machine on-site, the operator's judgment on-site can be prioritized. As a result, in this embodiment, the same confirmation work as in the past can be performed depending on whether the transmission execution condition is set, so that the judgment skill of the operator can be respected. The transmission execution condition can be set, for example, through the communication terminal device 39 operated by the operator. This allows the operator to select the work of checking the preparation completion of the molding machine, so that the operator's intention can be prioritized.

[0033] Even if the setting is made to execute transmission in step S2, when the operator at the site judges that the operation of the injection molding machine 20 can be started and operates it, and the removal operation of the molded product remover 10 is started (step S3), the operation start sequence in Fig. 2 ends. In step S3, if the operator is at the site and has started the control operation of the molded product remover 10 at the operator's discretion (i.e., if the second condition, that the control device 12 of the molded product remover 10 has not yet started its control operation, is not met), the judgment of the operator who is observing the situation at the site is respected, and the molding machine temperature information is not transmitted from the molded product remover 10 to the external server 50. As a result, according to this embodiment, when the operator is at the site, the judgment of the operator is given priority, and the setting is switched so that the third condition is met only when the operator is not at the site, and the injection molding machine temperature information is transmitted. 20 A system will be created that allows the person in charge of work to confirm from a remote location that preparations are complete, allowing the system start-up process to be carried out smoothly.

[0034] When the first, second and third conditions are satisfied, the communication device 14 transmits molding machine temperature information detected by the temperature sensor 33 to the external server 50. As a result, not only when an operator who has the authority to decide to start the operation of the molded product manufacturing system is present at the site, but also when he or she is not present at the site, the operator can confirm that preparations are complete by using the information from the external server 50.

[0035] Until the removal operation is started by the decision of the work manager, a decision is made in step S4 as to whether or not the temperature rise to a temperature at which the mold and cylinder of the injection molding machine 20 can start operation has been completed. If the temperature rise has not been completed, the decisions from step S2 to step S4 are repeated. When the temperature rise is completed, a notification that the preparation of the injection molding machine 20 has been completed is sent to the communication terminal 39 of the work manager, who may not be at the site.

[0036] Prior to the notification, in this embodiment, it is determined whether or not peripheral device temperature information has been input (step S5). The peripheral device is, for example, the temperature regulator 34, and the peripheral device temperature information is temperature information of the temperature regulator 34. Whether or not the peripheral device temperature information is input is a selectable and configurable condition. When the peripheral device temperature information is input and transmitted to the external server 50, the work manager who is not at the site can also recognize the preparation completion status of the peripheral device.

[0037] If peripheral device temperature information has been input, a temperature rise completion notification is sent to the external server 50 together with the peripheral device information (step S6), and if peripheral device temperature information has not been input, a temperature rise completion notification is sent directly to the external server 50 (step S7).

[0038] When the communication terminal 39 of the work manager who is not at the site receives the temperature rise completion notification via email, operation screen, etc., the work manager operates the communication terminal 39 to instruct an on-site worker to start up the molded product removal machine 10, or goes to the site himself to start up the machine.

[0039] Figure 3 shows a display screen showing an example of an email sent to the communication terminal 39 of the work manager. In Figure 3, the molded product removal machine 10 is identified by the "robot model name," i.e., the model name of the molded product removal machine 10, "FRA-1530," the currently running program, "teaching name: CASE445," and the serial number, "robot S / N," and below that, it displays the message, "2021 / 12 / 2 Molded product heating completed."

[0040] 2 is an operation process when changing dies in the molded product manufacturing system, and is similar to the operation start process from step S1 to step S5. As described above, in this embodiment, the power supply of the communication device 14 is always on, so that the communication device 14 can perform communication operations even after the control device 12 stops operating during die change.

[0041] The communication device 14 judges whether the molding machine cooling operation has started based on information from the injection molding machine 20 (step S8). If the molding machine cooling operation has started, it judges whether the transmission execution conditions have been input (step S9), and if the transmission execution conditions have been input, it judges whether the molded product removal machine has been instructed to end the removal operation (step S10). of If no instruction to end the process has been given, the process returns to step S1 on the assumption that the molding operation will continue. If an instruction to end the removal operation has been given before the temperature drop is complete, the process proceeds to step S1 on the assumption that the molding operation will end. If a temperature drop completion notice has been received from the molding machine, the process proceeds to step S12, and if no temperature drop completion notice has been received, the process returns to step S9. Then, in step S12, it is determined whether peripheral device temperature information has been input, and the process proceeds to step S 6 or S7 Then, a temperature reduction completion notification, which may or may not include peripheral device temperature information, is sent to the external server 50 (steps S11, S12, S6, S7), and a notification that the cooling operation has been completed (that the temperature of the mold has dropped to a temperature at which the replacement work can be performed) is sent to the communication terminal device 39 of the person in charge of the work.

[0042] According to such an operation process for replacing a mold, it is possible to determine from the temperature drop information whether the molding operation has been completed and whether the temperature of the mold has dropped to a temperature at which the mold can be replaced. When replacing a mold, the operator often leaves the site until the temperature of the mold drops. Therefore, if the operator who has left the site can know the temperature drop information, the operator can return to the site smoothly without a significant time delay. If the temperature drop completion notification is not received even after a considerable amount of time has passed since the operator left the site, the operator can determine that some kind of trouble has occurred in the molding machine. Conversely, if the temperature drop completion notification is received even though the temperature drop process has not started, the operator can know that the operation of the molded product manufacturing system has been stopped against the operator's will, for example, because someone other than the operator erroneously performed an operation stop operation. As a result, it is possible to take a prompt response to the unintended operation stop. [Industrial Applicability]

[0043] According to the present invention, by transmitting information to an external server using the communication network of the molded product removal machine, it is possible to realize a molded product manufacturing system that allows an operator to confirm that the molding machine is ready when the work manager is not on-site, and that allows the work manager's judgment to take priority when the work manager is on-site. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 10 Molded product removal machine 12 Control device 14 Communication equipment 15 Transmitter / receiver 16 Data conversion section 17 Buffer 18 External device connection terminal 19 Communication Cables 20 injection molding machine 30 Peripheral Equipment 32 Pressure Sensor 33 Temperature Sensor 34 Temperature controller 36 Existing molding removal machine 38 Other Peripherals 39 Communication terminals 40 Communication Network 50 External Servers 51 Transmitter / receiver 52 Operation Analysis Department 54 Failure Prediction Department 56 Productivity Improvement Department 57 Reference Data Conversion Section 58 Conversion condition setting section 60 Injection molding machine manufacturer external server 62 Temperature controller manufacturer external server 64 Other peripheral device manufacturer external servers 70 Cloud Server

Claims

1. A molding machine, a molded product removing machine, and one or more peripheral devices arranged around the molded product removing machine and operating together with the molded product removing machine during operation of the molded product removing machine, A molded product manufacturing system, wherein the molded product removal machine includes a control device and a communication device that transmits internal data to an external server via a communication network and the control device, and the control device has a function of receiving molding machine temperature information transmitted from the molding machine, A molded product manufacturing system characterized in that the communication device has a function of receiving the molding machine temperature information from the molding machine before the control device starts a control operation, and transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server before the control operation is started.

2. The molded product manufacturing system described in claim 1, characterized in that the communication device transmits the molding machine temperature information to the external server when a transmission execution condition for transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server is set in the communication device.

3. The communication terminal further includes a communication terminal that receives information transmitted from the external server and displays the information on a display means, 3. The molded product manufacturing system according to claim 2, wherein the transmission execution conditions of the communication device can be set from the communication terminal.

4. The molding machine further includes a communication terminal that receives the molding machine temperature information transmitted from the external server and displays the information on the display means.

2. The molded product manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the communication terminal can be set to reject reception from the external server.

5. The molded product manufacturing system according to claim 1 , wherein the molding machine temperature information is information indicating that the temperature increase of the molding machine has been completed or information indicating that the temperature decrease of the molding machine has been completed.

6. A molding machine, a molded product removing machine, and one or more peripheral devices arranged around the molded product removing machine and operating together with the molded product removing machine during operation of the molded product removing machine, A molded product manufacturing system, wherein the molded product removal machine includes a control device and a communication device that transmits internal data to an external server via a communication network and the control device, and the control device has a function of receiving molding machine temperature information transmitted from the molding machine, the communication device has a function of receiving the molding machine temperature information from the molding machine before the control device starts a control operation, and transmitting the molding machine temperature information to the external server before the control operation starts; A molded product manufacturing system characterized in that the communication device further has a function of transmitting peripheral device temperature information output from the one or more peripheral devices to the external server together with the molding machine temperature information.

7. The peripheral device is a temperature controller, The molded product manufacturing system according to claim 6 , wherein the peripheral device temperature information is temperature information of the temperature regulator.

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