Injection molding system

Abstract

To provide an injection molding system capable of suppressing the incursion of a foreign object between a stationary die and a movable die caused by air blown out from a cleaner and suppressing reduction in molding accuracy of a molding caused by adhesion of the foreign object.SOLUTION: An injection molding system comprises: an injection molding device which includes an injection molding unit provided with a stationary part fixed by attaching a stationary die and a movable die thereto, and injects a material containing metal powder to a cavity to mold a molding, and a first movement unit that moves the movable die between a die closing position and a die opening position; a cleaner that blows air to clean the molding; and a control device. The control device does not cause the cleaner to blow air when the movable die is not located at the die closing position, and causes the cleaner to blow air when the movable die is located at the die closing position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to injection molding systems. [Background technology]

[0002] Research and development is being conducted into the technology of injection molding of molded products.

[0003] In this regard, there is known an injection molding system that automatically performs, in sequence, an injection molding step of injection molding a molded product and a step that follows the injection molding step (see Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2016-525712 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The injection molding system described in Patent Document 1 can also be applied to molding of molded products by injection molding using a material containing metal powder. In this case, the injection molding system performs a sintering process, which is a process performed after the injection molding process, in which the molded product after injection molding is sintered. For this reason, in this case, the injection molding system cannot perform a cleaning process in which the molded product is cleaned while immersing the molded product in an alkaline aqueous solution, since this would result in a decrease in the molding accuracy of the molded product. However, in the injection molding system, if the cleaning process is not performed, foreign matter may adhere to the molded product before the sintering process. This leads to a decrease in the molding accuracy of the molded product, which is not desirable. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the present disclosure is an injection molding system including an injection molding apparatus including: a fixed section to which a fixed mold and a movable mold that faces the fixed mold and is movable back and forth relative to the fixed mold are attached and fixed; an injection molding section that injects a material including a metal powder into a cavity formed between the fixed mold and the movable mold to mold a molded product; and a first moving section that moves the movable mold between a mold clamping position and a mold opening position; a cleaning device that cleans the molded product by blowing air onto the molded product removed from the injection molding apparatus; and a control device that controls the injection molding apparatus and the cleaning device, wherein the control device does not cause the cleaning device to blow air when the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed section and the movable mold is not located at the mold clamping position, and causes the cleaning device to blow air when the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed section and the movable mold is located at the mold clamping position. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of an injection molding system 1. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of the injection molding system 1 shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] 1 is a front view showing an example of a configuration of a cleaning device 40. The cleaning device 40 has a jetting port 41, a suction port 42, and a suction port 43. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control device 70. [Diagram 5] 1 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow for palletizing a plurality of molded products molded by an injection molding apparatus 10 onto a pallet PT. [Figure 6] 11 is a perspective view showing an example of the periphery of the cleaning device 40 when a partition plate BD is provided between the cleaning device 40 and a pallet PT. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] <Embodiment> Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0009] <Outline of injection molding system> First, an outline of an injection molding system according to an embodiment will be described.

[0010] An injection molding system according to an embodiment includes an injection molding device, a cleaning device, and a control device. The injection molding device includes an injection molding section and a first moving section. The injection molding section includes a fixed section to which a movable mold that faces the fixed mold and is reciprocally movable relative to the fixed mold is attached and fixed, and a molded product is molded by injecting a material containing metal powder into a cavity formed between the fixed mold and the movable mold. The first moving section moves the movable mold between a mold clamping position and a mold opening position. The cleaning device cleans the molded product by blowing air onto the molded product removed from the injection molding device. The control device controls the injection molding device and the cleaning device. Then, when the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed section and the movable mold is not located at the mold clamping position, the control device does not cause the cleaning device to blow air, and when the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed section and the movable mold is located at the mold clamping position, the control device causes the cleaning device to blow air. As a result, the injection molding system can prevent foreign matter from getting between the fixed mold and the movable mold due to the air blown out from the cleaning device, while also preventing a decrease in the molding accuracy of the molded product due to the adhesion of foreign matter.

[0011] The configuration of the injection molding system according to the embodiment and the processing of the control device provided in the injection molding system will be described in detail below.

[0012] <Injection molding system configuration> The configuration of the injection molding system according to the embodiment will be described below by taking the injection molding system 1 as an example.

[0013] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of an injection molding system 1. Fig. 2 is a top view of the injection molding system 1 shown in Fig. 1. However, in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, in order to clearly show the configuration of the injection molding system 1, a part of a housing of the injection molding system 1 is omitted. The part of the housing is, for example, a cover that constitutes at least a part of the outer surface of the injection molding system 1.

[0014] Here, the three-dimensional coordinate system TC is a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system that indicates the direction in the drawing in which the three-dimensional coordinate system TC is drawn. In the following, for convenience of explanation, the X-axis in the three-dimensional coordinate system TC will be simply referred to as the X-axis. In addition, in the following, for convenience of explanation, the Y-axis in the three-dimensional coordinate system TC will be simply referred to as the Y-axis. In addition, in the following, for convenience of explanation, the Z-axis in the three-dimensional coordinate system TC will be simply referred to as the Z-axis. In addition, in the following, as an example, a case will be described in which the negative direction of the Z-axis coincides with the direction of gravity. Therefore, in the following, for convenience of explanation, the positive direction of the Z-axis will be referred to as the upward or simply the upward, and the negative direction of the Z-axis will be referred to as the downward or simply the downward.

[0015] The injection molding system 1 is an apparatus that molds a plurality of molded products by metal powder injection molding (MIM). More specifically, the injection molding system 1 is an apparatus that automatically performs various processes within its own system, such as a molding process of molded products by MIM, a cleaning process after the molding process, a palletizing process after the cleaning process, and a sintering process after the palletizing process.

[0016] Here, the metal powder used in MIM is, for example, but not limited to, powder of an amorphous alloy, etc. The amorphous alloy is, for example, but not limited to, a Fe-Si-B alloy which is a high strength material, a Fe-Cr-PC alloy which is a highly corrosion resistant material, a Fe-Si-B compound which is a magnetic material, etc.

[0017] The injection molding system 1 includes, for example, an injection molding apparatus 10, a first robot 20, a placement mechanism 30, a cleaning device 40, a second robot 50, a sintering apparatus 60, and a control device 70. The injection molding system 1 may include other devices in addition to the injection molding apparatus 10, the first robot 20, the placement mechanism 30, the cleaning device 40, the second robot 50, the sintering apparatus 60, and the control device 70. The injection molding system 1 may not include the first robot 20. In this case, for example, another device having the function of the first robot 20 is connected to the injection molding system 1 from the outside. The injection molding system 1 may not include the placement mechanism 30. In this case, for example, another device having the function of the placement mechanism 30 is connected to the injection molding system 1 from the outside. The injection molding system 1 may not include the second robot 50. In this case, for example, another device having the function of the second robot 50 is connected to the injection molding system 1 from the outside. Furthermore, the injection molding system 1 may have a configuration that does not include the sintering device 60. In this case, the injection molding system 1 is connected to another device having the function of the sintering device 60 from the outside, for example.

[0018] The injection molding apparatus 10 may have any configuration as long as it is capable of molding one or more molded articles by MIM. In the following, as an example, a case where the injection molding apparatus 10 molds multiple molded articles by MIM will be described. In this case, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the injection molding apparatus 10 includes an injection molding unit 11 that molds multiple molded articles by MIM.

[0019] The injection molding unit 11 has, for example, a material supply nozzle and a fixed unit FX (not shown). The fixed unit FX is a member to which the fixed mold 12 connected to the material supply nozzle and the movable mold 13 fitted to the fixed mold 12 are attached, and which fixes the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13. That is, in the injection molding unit 11 in this example, the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 are each replaceable. Here, the material supply nozzle supplies the material, which is a mixture of metal powder and wax, from a supply device that supplies the material into a space formed between the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 by fitting the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 together. The space is sometimes referred to as a cavity. The injection molding system 1 may be configured to include the supply device, or may not include the supply device. The injection molding unit 11 may be configured to include at least one of the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13.

[0020] The fixed mold 12 is a mold fixed so as not to move with respect to a stand BS of the injection molding device 10. The configuration of the fixed mold 12 may be a known configuration or a configuration to be developed in the future. For this reason, in this embodiment, further detailed description of the fixed mold 12 is omitted. The stand BS may have any configuration as long as it is a stand that constitutes a part of the housing of the injection molding system 1. In the example shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the injection molding device 10, the first robot 20, and the placement mechanism 30 are each provided on the stand BS. In this example, the second robot 50 and the sintering device 60 are each provided on another stand (not shown) that is provided next to the stand BS.

[0021] The movable die 13 is a movable die that moves relative to the fixed die 12. In other words, the movable die 13 is a die that faces the fixed die 12 and can move back and forth relative to the fixed die 12. The configuration of the movable die 13 may be a known configuration or a configuration to be developed in the future. For this reason, in this embodiment, further detailed description of the movable die 13 is omitted. In the following, as an example, a case will be described in which the movable die 13 is configured to be movable between a first position that is predetermined as a position where the movable die 13 fits into the fixed die 12 and a second position that is predetermined as a position away from the fixed die 12. In the example shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the movable die 13 moves parallel to the Y axis relative to the fixed die 12. Note that the movable die 13 may be configured to move non-parallel to the Y axis relative to the fixed die 12. The first position is an example of a mold clamping position. The second position is an example of a single-open position. In addition, for convenience of explanation, the state in which the movable die 13 is located at the mold clamping position will be described as the fixed die 12 and the movable die 13 being engaged with each other. In addition, for convenience of explanation, the state in which the movable die 13 is not located at the mold clamping position will be described as the fixed die 12 and the movable die 13 not being engaged with each other. In addition, in the following, as an example, a case in which the fixed die 12 and the movable die 13 are attached to the fixed part FX will be described.

[0022] Moreover, the injection molding apparatus 10 further includes a first moving section 14 .

[0023] The first moving unit 14 may be any device that relatively moves the movable mold 13 between the first position and the second position. The first moving unit 14 moves the movable mold 13 toward the fixed mold 12 in parallel to the Y axis in response to control from the control device 70, and moves the movable mold 13 from the second position to the first position. As a result, the movable mold 13 fits into the fixed mold 12. Meanwhile, in this example, the first moving unit 14 moves the movable mold 13 away from the fixed mold 12 in parallel to the Y axis in response to control from the control device 70, and separates the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13. That is, in this example, the first moving unit 14 moves the movable mold 13 away from the fixed mold 12 in parallel to the Y axis in response to control from the control device 70, and moves the movable mold 13 from the first position to the second position.

[0024] Injection molding apparatus 10 molds a plurality of molded articles in one injection process using fixed mold 12 and movable mold 13. The method by which injection molding apparatus 10 molds a plurality of molded articles using fixed mold 12 and movable mold 13 in this manner may be a known method or a method to be developed in the future. For this reason, in this embodiment, further detailed description of the method will be omitted.

[0025] The first robot 20 is a robot that delivers a plurality of molded products molded by the injection molding apparatus 10 to the arrangement mechanism 30. The first robot 20 holds the plurality of molded products, for example, by air suction, and places each of the held molded products on a predetermined placement position. In this way, the first robot 20 delivers the plurality of molded products to the placement mechanism 30. The placement position is a position on the placement mechanism 30 that is predetermined as a position at which the plurality of molded products are placed. The first robot 20 may have any configuration as long as it is capable of placing each of the plurality of molded products on the placement position.

[0026] The placement mechanism 30 is a mechanism that receives a plurality of molded articles from the first robot 20 and delivers the received plurality of molded articles to the second robot 50.

[0027] The housing of the placement mechanism 30 is movable between a predetermined first transfer position and a predetermined second transfer position. The first transfer position is a position that is predetermined among the positions to which the housing of the placement mechanism 30 can be moved, where the multiple molded products are transferred from the first robot 20. The second transfer position is a position that is predetermined among the positions to which the housing of the placement mechanism 30 can be moved, where the multiple molded products are held by the second robot 50. In the example shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the housing of the placement mechanism 30 is movable parallel to the Y axis. Note that the housing of the placement mechanism 30 may be configured to be movable non-parallel to the Y axis.

[0028] Here, the placement mechanism 30 includes a second moving unit 31. The second moving unit 31 may have any configuration as long as it is capable of moving the housing of the placement mechanism 30 between the first delivery position and the second delivery position.

[0029] The arrangement mechanism 30 may be configured to change the arrangement of the multiple molded products placed on it. In this case, the arrangement mechanism 30 includes a base, an actuator, etc. as a member for changing the arrangement of the multiple molded products placed on it. The member included in the arrangement mechanism 30 may have any configuration as long as it is capable of changing the arrangement of the multiple molded products placed on it. When the arrangement mechanism 30 includes the member, the arrangement mechanism 30 changes the arrangement of the multiple molded products placed on it at the timing before transferring the multiple molded products to the second robot 50 at the second transfer position. This allows the arrangement mechanism 30 to arrange the multiple molded products in a desired arrangement.

[0030] The cleaning device 40 cleans the multiple molded products by blowing air onto the multiple molded products removed from the injection molding device 10 under the control of the control device 70. More specifically, the cleaning device 40 blows air onto the multiple molded products placed on the placement mechanism 30, for example. In this way, the cleaning device 40 cleans the multiple molded products placed on the placement mechanism 30.

[0031] 3 is a front view showing an example of the configuration of the cleaning device 40. The cleaning device 40 has a jetting port 41, a suction port 42, and a suction port 43.

[0032] The air outlet 41 is a hole through which the cleaning device 40 blows out air. In the cleaning device 40, the air blown out from the air outlet 41 is blown out from the air outlet 41 in the direction in which the air outlet 41 extends. The direction indicated by the arrow A1 shown in FIG. 3 is an example of the direction in which the air is blown out from the air outlet 41.

[0033] The suction port 42 and the suction port 43 are holes through which the cleaning device 40 sucks air. That is, the cleaning device 40 sucks air through the suction port 42 and the suction port 43. The suction port 42 and the suction port 43 are provided around the ejection port 41. This is to suck in foreign matter blown off from the multiple molded products by the air blown out from the ejection port 41 together with the air. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the suction port 42 and the suction port 43 are provided on both sides of the ejection port 41. More specifically, in this example, the ejection port 41, the suction port 42, and the suction port 43 are provided in the order of the suction port 42, the ejection port 41, and the suction port 43 in the positive direction of the Y axis. The arrow A2 shown in FIG. 3 shows an example of a state in which a part of the air blown out from the ejection port 41 is sucked in from the suction port 42. The arrow A3 shown in FIG. 3 shows an example of a state in which a part of the air blown out from the ejection port 41 is sucked in from the suction port 43. 3 indicates the direction in which air is sucked through the suction port 42. Moreover, arrow A5 shown in FIG.

[0034] Such a cleaning device 40 may be provided at any position as long as it can blow air from the nozzle 41 onto the multiple molded products placed on the moving arrangement mechanism 30. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning device 40 is provided above the path through which the arrangement mechanism 30 moves so as not to interfere with the moving arrangement mechanism 30. The cleaning device 40 is also provided above the path so that the direction in which air is blown out from the nozzle 41 faces downward. Therefore, the arrow A1 indicating the direction in which the cleaning device 40 blows out air in FIG. 3 points downward. When the multiple molded products placed on the arrangement mechanism 30 pass under the cleaning device 40, they are exposed to the air blown out from the cleaning device 40. As a result, the cleaning device 40 can blow off foreign matter attached to each of the multiple molded products placed on the arrangement mechanism 30 moving parallel to the Y axis with air. Here, the smaller the number of molded products before sintering is, or the more fragile the number of molded products before sintering is, the smaller the wind pressure of the air blown by the cleaning device 40 must be. This is to reduce the possibility that the molded products themselves will be blown away by the air and that the shape of the molded products will be deformed by the air. However, the smaller the wind pressure of the air blown to the molded products is, the more difficult it becomes for the air blown from the cleaning device 40 to blow away foreign matter attached to each of the molded products. In order to solve such a problem, the cleaning device 40 may be configured to blow, for example, ultrasonically vibrated air as the air blown to the molded products. In this case, the cleaning device 40 can easily blow away foreign matter attached to each of the molded products while reducing the wind pressure of the air blown to the molded products. In addition, the cleaning device 40 sucks in the foreign matter blown away by the air from each of the suction ports 42 and 43. This allows the cleaning device 40 to suppress the foreign matter blown away by the air from adhering again to the molded products.

[0035] In the following, for convenience of explanation, the area where air is blown out from the nozzle 41 of the cleaning device 40 will be referred to as the cleaning area. In other words, the cleaning area is an area that includes a part of the path through which the arrangement mechanism 30 passes during movement.

[0036] The second robot 50 may have any configuration as long as it is capable of placing a plurality of molded products after cleaning by the cleaning device 40 from the placement mechanism 30 onto a pallet PT stored in the sintering device 60.

[0037] The second robot 50 is, for example, a SCARA robot. Note that the second robot 50 may be a single-arm multi-joint robot, a multi-arm multi-joint robot, or another type of robot, instead of a SCARA robot.

[0038] The second robot 50 comprises a support base (not shown) that supports the entire second robot 50, a first arm rotatably supported by the support base, a second arm rotatably supported by the first arm, a shaft that passes through the tip of the second arm parallel to the direction of gravity, and an end effector E provided at the tip of the shaft.

[0039] The end effector E may have any configuration as long as it is capable of holding a plurality of molded products placed on the placement mechanism 30 and placing the held molded products on a pallet PT stored in the sintering device 60. The end effector E holds a plurality of molded products by, for example, suctioning air. The end effector E may be configured to include a clamping portion that clamps each of the plurality of molded products.

[0040] Here, the pallet PT stored in the sintering device 60 is heated in the sintering device 60 together with the multiple molded products placed thereon. For this reason, the pallet PT is made of ceramic, for example. The pallet PT may have any configuration as long as it is capable of placing the multiple molded products thereon after cleaning by the cleaning device 40, and is capable of being heated in the sintering device 60 together with the multiple molded products placed thereon. However, when the pallet PT is made of ceramic as in this example, the simpler the structure, the cheaper it is, and this is desirable.

[0041] The end effector E of the second robot 50 may be configured to change the arrangement of the molded products after cleaning by the cleaning device 40, and place the molded products on the pallet PT after the arrangement of the molded products has been changed. In this case, however, the arrangement mechanism 30 does not include a member for changing the arrangement of the placed molded products. That is, in this case, the arrangement mechanism 30 does not change the arrangement of the placed molded products. In this case, the end effector E of the second robot 50 includes a base, an actuator, etc. as a member for changing the arrangement of the placed molded products. This allows the second robot 50 to arrange the molded products placed on the pallet PT in a desired arrangement, and as a result, the number of molded products that can be placed on the pallet PT can be increased.

[0042] Furthermore, when the arrangement mechanism 30 includes a member for changing the arrangement of the placed molded products, the end effector E of the second robot 50 may be configured to include a member for changing the spacing between the molded products after the arrangement has been changed by the arrangement mechanism 30. In this case, the second robot 50 places the molded products onto the pallet PT after the spacing has been changed by the end effector E. This enables the second robot 50 to increase the number of molded products that can be placed on the pallet PT.

[0043] The sintering device 60 stores a pallet PT together with the second robot 50, and heats the multiple molded products placed on the pallet PT by the second robot 50 together with the pallet PT, thereby sintering the multiple molded products. The sintering device 60 may be configured to include a device that automatically stores the pallet PT after palletization and supplies new pallets PT, or may be configured to manually replace the pallet PT.

[0044] The control device 70 controls the entire injection molding system 1. In FIG. 1, in order to simplify the drawing, the connection between the control device 70 and other devices included in the injection molding system 1 is omitted. The control device 70 may be located at any position in the injection molding system 1. Furthermore, the control device 70 may be configured separately from any of the other devices. Furthermore, the control device 70 may be configured integrally with some or all of the other devices.

[0045] The control device 70 is, for example, a workstation, a desktop PC (Personal Computer), a notebook PC, or the like, but is not limited to these.

[0046] The control device 70 controls the injection molding device 10 to mold a plurality of molded products. After the injection molding device 10 has molded a plurality of molded products, the control device 70 controls the injection molding unit 11 to separate the movable mold 13 from the fixed mold 12. After the movable mold 13 has separated from the fixed mold 12, the control device 70 controls the first robot 20 to remove the plurality of molded products molded by the injection molding device 10 from the injection molding device 10. After the first robot 20 has removed the plurality of molded products from the injection molding device 10, the control device 70 controls the first robot 20 to place the plurality of molded products removed from the injection molding device 10 by the first robot 20 on the placement mechanism 30. After the plurality of molded products are placed on the placement mechanism 30, the control device 70 controls the injection molding unit 11 to fit the movable mold 13 into the fixed mold 12. After the movable die 13 is fitted to the fixed die 12, the control device 70 controls the cleaning device 40 to blow air toward the cleaning area. The control device 70 also causes the injection molding unit 11 to start molding a plurality of new molded products together with the blowing of air by the cleaning device 40. After the cleaning device 40 blows air, the control device 70 controls the arrangement mechanism 30 on which the plurality of molded products are placed, and causes the arrangement mechanism 30 to repeatedly pass through the cleaning area. Here, the number of times that the control device 70 causes the arrangement mechanism 30 to repeatedly pass through the cleaning area may be any number of times as long as it is one or more. In the following, as an example, a case will be described in which the control device 70 causes the arrangement mechanism 30 to repeatedly pass through the cleaning area until a predetermined cleaning end condition is satisfied. The cleaning end condition is, for example, the completion of pressure retention on the molded products in the space between the fixed die 12 and the movable die 13, but is not limited thereto. For example, when the control device 70 determines that the dwelling is completed, it controls the cleaning device 40 to have the cleaning device 40 stop blowing air into the cleaning area. After the air blowing is completed, the control device 70 controls the injection molding unit 11 to separate the movable mold 13 from the fixed mold 12. This allows the control device 70 to cause the first robot 20 to newly remove a plurality of molded products. Furthermore, after the air blowing is completed, the control device 70 controls the placement mechanism 30 to move the placement mechanism 30 to the second delivery position.After the placement mechanism 30 moves to the second delivery position, the control device 70 controls the second robot 50 to palletize the multiple molded products placed on the placement mechanism 30 onto the pallet PT. After the multiple molded products have been palletized onto the pallet PT, the control device 70 moves the placement mechanism 30 to the first delivery position and causes the first robot 20 to place new multiple molded products on the placement mechanism 30. The control device 70 repeats the process from molding to palletizing the multiple molded products to palletize a predetermined number of molded products onto the pallet PT. After the predetermined number of molded products have been palletized onto the pallet PT, the control device 70 controls the sintering device 60 to heat and sinter the number of molded products together with the pallet PT.

[0047] In this way, when the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 are not fitted together, the control device 70 does not cause the cleaning device 40 to blow air onto the multiple molded products. In other words, the control device 70 does not cause the cleaning device 40 to blow air onto the multiple molded products in this case. On the other hand, when the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 are fitted together, the control device 70 causes the cleaning device 40 to blow air onto the multiple molded products from the control device 70. In this way, the control device 70 can suppress the entry of foreign matter between the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 by the air blown out from the cleaning device 40, while suppressing the deterioration of the molding accuracy of the molded products due to the adhesion of foreign matter. Here, for example, when the cleaning device 40 blows out ultrasonic vibration air, the control device 70 can remove foreign matter attached to the multiple molded products while reducing the wind pressure of the ultrasonic vibration air blown onto the multiple molded products before sintering. As a result, the control device 70 can remove foreign matter adhering to the multiple molded products while preventing the multiple molded products from deforming, even if the multiple molded products are small or fragile before sintering.

[0048] The cleaning device 40 may be configured to include a third moving unit that moves the cleaning device 40 parallel to the movement path of the arrangement mechanism 30 above the movement path of the arrangement mechanism 30. In this case, the control device 70 controls at least one of the second moving unit 31 and the third moving unit to move the relative positions of the arrangement mechanism 30 on which the multiple molded products taken out of the injection molding device 10 are placed and the cleaning device 40. As a result, the control device 70 may be configured to cause the arrangement mechanism 30 to repeatedly pass through the cleaning area. That is, instead of a configuration in which the arrangement mechanism 30 is caused to repeatedly pass through the cleaning area by moving the arrangement mechanism 30 relative to the cleaning device 40, the control device 70 may be configured to cause the arrangement mechanism 30 to repeatedly pass through the cleaning area by moving the cleaning device 40 relative to the arrangement mechanism 30, or may be configured to cause the arrangement mechanism 30 to repeatedly pass through the cleaning area by moving both the arrangement mechanism 30 and the cleaning device 40.

[0049] <Control device configuration> The configuration of the control device 70 will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control device 70.

[0050] The control device 70 includes, for example, a control unit 71, a storage unit 72, an input reception unit 73, a communication unit 74, and a display unit 75. These components are connected to each other via a bus so that they can communicate with each other. The control device 70 also communicates with the injection molding device 10, the first robot 20, the placement mechanism 30, the cleaning device 40, the second robot 50, the sintering device 60, and the like via the communication unit 74.

[0051] The control unit 71 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The control unit 71 executes various programs stored in the storage unit 72. In this way, the control unit 71 controls the entire injection molding system 1.

[0052] The storage unit 72 is a storage device including, for example, a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), a read only memory (ROM), and a random access memory (RAM). The storage unit 72 may be an external storage device connected via a digital input / output port such as a universal serial bus (USB) instead of being built into the control device 70. The storage unit 72 stores various types of information, various images, and various programs processed by the control device 70.

[0053] The input reception unit 73 is an input device including a keyboard, a mouse, a touch pad, etc. The input reception unit 73 may be integrated with the display unit 75 as a touch panel.

[0054] The communication unit 74 is a communication device including, for example, a digital input / output port such as a USB, an Ethernet (registered trademark) port, an antenna for wireless communication, and the like.

[0055] The display unit 75 is a display device including a liquid crystal display or the like.

[0056] <Process of palletizing multiple molded products produced by an injection molding machine onto a pallet> Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 5, a process of palletizing a plurality of molded products molded by the injection molding apparatus 10 onto a pallet PT among the processes performed by the control device 70 will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a process flow of palletizing a plurality of molded products molded by the injection molding apparatus 10 onto a pallet PT. For example, when the control device 70 receives a molding start operation for causing the control device 70 to start a process of causing the injection molding system 1 to repeat molding of a plurality of molded products a predetermined number of times, the control device 70 starts a process of causing the injection molding apparatus 10 to repeat molding of a plurality of molded products the predetermined number of times and starts the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 5. However, in this embodiment, the process of causing the injection molding apparatus 10 to repeat molding of a plurality of molded products the predetermined number of times is a known process, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0057] After receiving the molding start operation, the control unit 71 waits until the injection molding apparatus 10 has completed molding of a plurality of molded products and the movable mold 13 has been separated from the fixed mold 12 (step S110). In Fig. 5, the process of step S110 is indicated by "Mold open?". The method by which the control unit 71 determines whether the movable mold 13 has been separated from the fixed mold 12 may be a known method or a method to be developed in the future.

[0058] When the control unit 71 determines that the movable mold 13 has moved away from the fixed mold 12 (step S110-YES), that is, when the position of the movable mold 13 has moved to the second position, it determines whether or not the position of the placement mechanism 30 is at the first delivery position (step S120). In FIG. 5, the process of step S120 is indicated by "first delivery position?". The method of determining whether or not the position of the placement mechanism 30 is at the first delivery position may be a known method or a method to be developed in the future.

[0059] When the control unit 71 determines that the position of the placement mechanism 30 is not the first delivery position (step S120-NO), the control unit 71 transitions to step S120 and determines again whether the position of the placement mechanism 30 is the first delivery position or not.

[0060] On the other hand, when the control unit 71 determines that the position of the placement mechanism 30 is the first transfer position (step S120-YES), it controls the first robot 20 to have the first robot 20 take out from the injection molding unit 11 the multiple molded articles molded by the injection molding unit 11. Then, the control unit 71 causes the first robot 20 to place the multiple molded articles taken out by the first robot 20 on the placement mechanism 30 (step S130). In FIG. 5, the process of step S130 is indicated by "Place on placement mechanism".

[0061] Next, the control unit 71 waits until the movable mold 13 fits into the fixed mold 12 for molding the next plurality of molded products in the process of causing the injection molding apparatus 10 to repeat molding of the plurality of molded products a predetermined number of times (step S140). In Fig. 5, the process of step S140 is indicated by "Mold closed?"

[0062] When the control unit 71 determines that the movable mold 13 is engaged with the fixed mold 12 (step S140-YES), it controls the cleaning device 40 to start blowing air (step S150). At this time, the control unit 71 also causes the cleaning device 40 to start suctioning air.

[0063] Next, the control unit 71 controls the placement mechanism 30 to start reciprocating the placement mechanism 30 along a path including the cleaning area (step S160). The path may be the path itself connecting the first and second transfer positions, or may be another path included in the path connecting the first and second transfer positions as long as it includes the cleaning area.

[0064] Next, the control unit 71 continues the reciprocating movement of the arrangement mechanism 30 started in step S160 until a cleaning end condition is satisfied (step S170). Here, the cleaning end condition may be, for example, the number of times the arrangement mechanism 30 passes through the cleaning area exceeds a predetermined number of passes, instead of the completion of dwelling pressure on the molded product in the space between the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13. However, in this case, the number of passes is a number that is predetermined as the number of times the reciprocating movement of the arrangement mechanism 30 ends within the period from when the movable mold 13 fits into the fixed mold 12 in step S140 to when the movable mold 13 separates from the fixed mold 12.

[0065] When it is determined that the cleaning end condition is satisfied (step S170-YES), the control unit 71 controls the cleaning device 40 to cause the cleaning device 40 to stop blowing air (step S180).

[0066] Next, the control unit 71 controls the placement mechanism 30 to move the placement mechanism 30 to the second delivery position (step S190). In Fig. 5, the process of step S190 is indicated by "move to second delivery position".

[0067] Next, the control unit 71 controls the second robot 50 to cause the second robot 50 to palletize the multiple molded products placed on the placement mechanism 30 located at the second delivery position onto the pallet PT (step S200).

[0068] Next, the control unit 71 controls the placement mechanism 30 to move the placement mechanism 30 to the first delivery position (step S210). In Fig. 5, the process of step S210 is indicated by "move to first delivery position".

[0069] Next, the control unit 71 determines whether or not molding of a predetermined number of molded products has been completed (step S220). For example, in step S220, if the injection molding unit 11 is not molding new molded products, the control unit 71 determines that molding of a predetermined number of molded products has been completed. On the other hand, for example, in step S220, if the injection molding unit 11 is molding new molded products, the control unit 71 determines that molding of a predetermined number of molded products has not been completed. Note that the control unit 71 may be configured to perform the determination in step S220 by another method.

[0070] When the control unit 71 determines that palletizing of the multiple molded products onto the pallet PT has not been completed (step S220-NO), the control unit 71 transitions to step S110 and waits again until the movable mold 13 is separated from the fixed mold 12. During this standby period, when molding of new multiple molded products by the injection molding unit 11 is completed, the control unit 71 controls the first moving unit 14 to separate the fixed mold 12 from the movable mold 13. As a result, the control unit 71 determines that the movable mold 13 has been separated from the fixed mold 12 in step S110 after the transition.

[0071] On the other hand, when the control unit 71 determines that palletizing of a plurality of molded products onto the pallet PT has been completed (step S220-YES), the control unit 71 ends the process of the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0072] As described above, the control device 70 does not cause the cleaning device 40 to blow air when the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 are not engaged, and causes the cleaning device 40 to blow air when the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 are engaged. In this way, the control device 70 can prevent foreign matter from entering between the fixed mold 12 and the movable mold 13 due to the air blown out from the cleaning device 40, while also preventing a decrease in the molding accuracy of the molded product due to the adhesion of foreign matter.

[0073] In the injection molding system 1 described above, when the injection molding system 1 is viewed in the negative direction of the X-axis, the injection molding device 10, the cleaning device 40, and the pallet PT are arranged in the order of the injection molding device 10, the cleaning device 40, and the pallet PT in the positive direction of the Y-axis. Therefore, in the injection molding system 1, while the multiple molded products are being transferred from the placement mechanism 30 to the second robot 50, foreign matter such as dust generated on the stand BS may fall onto the pallet PT in the sintering device 60. This is not preferable because it may cause the foreign matter to adhere to the multiple molded products after cleaning by the cleaning device 40. Therefore, in the injection molding system 1, a partition plate BD may be provided between the cleaning device 40 and the pallet PT as shown in FIG. 6.

[0074] Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the periphery of the cleaning device 40 when a partition plate BD is provided between the cleaning device 40 and the pallet PT. In the example shown in Fig. 6, the partition plate BD is provided between the cleaning device 40 and the sintering device 60. An opening H is formed in the partition plate BD to allow the placement mechanism 30 to enter the sintering device 60.

[0075] In the example shown in FIG. 6, the arrangement mechanism 30 is passing through a cleaning area located below the cleaning device 40. The arrangement mechanism 30 reciprocates along the direction indicated by the arrow A6 shown in FIG. 6 by the process of step S160 shown in FIG. 5. As a result, the multiple molded products placed on the arrangement mechanism 30 are exposed to the air blown out from the cleaning device 40 every time the arrangement mechanism 30 passes through the cleaning area. As a result, foreign matter attached to the multiple molded products is blown off by the air and sucked up by the cleaning device 40. However, some of the foreign matter blown off by the air may fly into the sintering device 60 without being sucked up by the cleaning device 40. The partition plate BD can thus prevent the foreign matter flying toward the sintering device 60 from entering the sintering device 60.

[0076] The partition plate BD may be provided with a shutter for opening and closing the opening H, a door for opening and closing the opening H, or the like. In this case, the shutter, the door, or the like is controlled by the control device 70. The partition plate BD may also be movable, for example, up and down parallel to the Z axis. In this case, the control device 70 can move the partition plate BD up or down in response to the movement of the arrangement mechanism 30, so that the partition plate BD does not interfere with the movement of the arrangement mechanism 30.

[0077] Furthermore, when the injection molding system 1 is viewed in the negative direction of the X-axis, the injection molding device 10, the cleaning device 40, and the pallet PT may be arranged in a direction non-parallel to the Y-axis.

[0078] The above-described contents may be combined in any manner.

[0079] <Additional Notes> [1] an injection molding apparatus comprising: an injection molding unit that includes a fixed mold and a fixed part to which a movable mold that faces the fixed mold and is movable back and forth relative to the fixed mold is attached and fixed, the injection molding unit injecting a material including a metal powder into a cavity formed between the fixed mold and the movable mold to mold a molded product; and a first moving part that moves the movable mold between a mold clamping position and a mold opening position; a cleaning device that cleans the molded product by blowing air at the molded product removed from the injection molding apparatus; and a control device that controls the injection molding apparatus and the cleaning device, wherein the control device does not cause the cleaning device to blow air when the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed part and the movable mold is not located at the mold clamping position, and causes the cleaning device to blow air when the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed part and the movable mold is located at the mold clamping position. [2] The injection molding system according to [1], wherein the cleaning device blows ultrasonically vibrated air as the air onto the molded product. [3] The injection molding device, the cleaning device, and a pallet on which the molded product is placed after being cleaned by the cleaning device are arranged in a predetermined first direction in the order of the injection molding device, the cleaning device, and the pallet, and a partition plate is provided between the cleaning device and the pallet. 1. An injection molding system according to claim 1 or 2. [4] The injection molding system described in any one of [1] to [3] includes a second moving unit that moves the relative position of the molded product removed from the injection molding device and the cleaning device, and when the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed unit and the movable mold is located at the mold clamping position, the control unit controls the cleaning device and the second moving unit to blow the air onto the molded product. [5] The control device, when the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed part and the movable mold is located at the mold clamping position, controls the cleaning device and the second moving part to repeatedly blow the air onto the molded product, and after the blowing of the air onto the molded product is finished, controls the first moving part to move the movable mold to the mold opening position. [4] The injection molding system described in [6] The injection molding system described in any one of [1] to [5], wherein the injection molding section molds a plurality of the molded products, the injection molding system includes a positioning mechanism on which the plurality of the molded products removed from the injection molding device are placed and which changes the position of the plurality of the molded products placed, and the control device controls the cleaning device to clean the plurality of the molded products by blowing the air at the plurality of the molded products placed on the positioning mechanism. [7] The injection molding system described in [6] includes a robot that places the plurality of molded parts from the placement mechanism onto a pallet after cleaning by the cleaning device, and the control device controls the robot to change the spacing between the plurality of molded parts after their placement has been changed in the placement mechanism, and places the plurality of molded parts onto the pallet after the spacing between the plurality of molded parts has been changed. [8] The injection molding system according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the injection molding unit molds a plurality of the molded products in a single injection process, the injection molding system includes a placement mechanism on which the plurality of the molded products removed from the injection molding device are placed, and a robot that places the plurality of the molded products from the placement mechanism onto a pallet, the control device controls the cleaning device to clean the plurality of the molded products by blowing the air onto the plurality of the molded products placed on the placement mechanism, and the control device controls the robot to change the placement of the plurality of the molded products after cleaning by the cleaning device, and place the plurality of the molded products after the placement of the plurality of the molded products has been changed onto the pallet. [9] The injection molding system includes a placement mechanism on which the molded product removed from the injection molding device is placed, a second moving unit that moves the relative position of the placement mechanism and the cleaning device, and a robot that places the molded product from the placement mechanism onto a pallet, and the control device cleans the molded product with the air by moving the relative position of the placement mechanism on which the molded product is placed and the cleaning device, and then places the molded product after cleaning onto the pallet by the robot. The injection molding system described in any one of [1] to [5].

[0080] Although an embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and may be changed, substituted, deleted, etc. without departing from the gist of this disclosure.

[0081] Also, a program for implementing the functions of any of the components in the above-described device may be recorded in a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be read and executed by a computer system. Here, the device in question is, for example, the control device 70. The term "computer system" here includes hardware such as an operating system (OS) and peripheral devices. The term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and compact disks (CDs)-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into a computer system. The term "computer-readable recording medium" also refers to storage devices that hold a program for a certain period of time, such as volatile memory in a computer system that serves as a server or client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line.

[0082] The above program may be transmitted from a computer system in which the program is stored in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by transmission waves in the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" that transmits the program refers to a medium that has a function of transmitting information, such as a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. The above program may be for implementing some of the above functions. Furthermore, the above program may be a so-called differential file or differential program that can implement the above functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...injection molding system, 10...injection molding apparatus, 11...injection molding section, 12...fixed mold, 13...movable mold, 14...first moving section, 20...first robot, 30...positioning mechanism, 31...second moving section, 40...cleaning device, 41...spout, 42...suction port, 43...suction port, 50...second robot, 60...sintering apparatus, 70...control device, 71...control section, 72...storage section, 73...input reception section, 74...communication section, 75...display section, BD...partition plate, BS...stand, E...end effector, H...opening, M...molded product, PT...pallet, TC...three-dimensional coordinate system

Claims

1. an injection molding device comprising: an injection molding section that includes a fixed mold and a fixed section that faces the fixed mold and to which a movable mold that is reciprocally movable relative to the fixed mold is attached and fixed, the injection molding section injecting a material that includes metal powder into a cavity formed between the fixed mold and the movable mold to mold a molded product; and a first moving section that moves the movable mold between a mold clamping position and a mold opening position; a cleaning device that cleans the molded product by blowing air onto the molded product removed from the injection molding device; a control device that controls the injection molding device and the cleaning device; Including, The control device includes: When the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed portion and the movable mold is not positioned at the mold clamping position, the cleaning device is not caused to blow out the air, When the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed portion and the movable mold is located at the mold clamping position, the cleaning device is caused to blow out the air. Injection molding system.

2. The cleaning device blows ultrasonically vibrated air onto the molded product as the air. The injection molding system of claim 1 .

3. the injection molding device, the cleaning device, and a pallet on which the molded product after being cleaned by the cleaning device is placed are arranged in a predetermined first direction in the order of the injection molding device, the cleaning device, and the pallet; A partition plate is provided between the cleaning device and the pallet. The injection molding system of claim 1 .

4. a second moving unit that moves a relative position between the molded product removed from the injection molding device and the cleaning device, When the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed part and the movable mold is located at the mold clamping position, the control device controls the cleaning device and the second moving part to blow the air onto the molded product. The injection molding system of claim 1 .

5. When the fixed mold and the movable mold are attached to the fixed part and the movable mold is located at the mold clamping position, the control device controls the cleaning device and the second moving part to repeatedly blow the air onto the molded product, and after the blowing of the air onto the molded product is completed, controls the first moving part to move the movable mold to the mold opening position.

5. The injection molding system of claim 4.

6. The injection molding unit molds a plurality of the molded products, the injection molding system includes a placement mechanism on which the plurality of molded articles removed from the injection molding apparatus are placed and which changes the placement of the plurality of molded articles placed thereon; The control device controls the cleaning device to blow the air onto the molded products placed on the arrangement mechanism, thereby cleaning the molded products. The injection molding system of claim 1 .

7. a robot that places the plurality of molded products, after cleaning by the cleaning device, from the arrangement mechanism onto a pallet; The control device controls the robot to change the intervals between the plurality of molded products after the arrangement has been changed in the arrangement mechanism, and places the plurality of molded products after the intervals between the plurality of molded products have been changed on the pallet.

7. The injection molding system of claim 6.

8. The injection molding unit molds a plurality of the molded products in a single injection process, The injection molding system comprises: a placement mechanism on which the plurality of molded products removed from the injection molding apparatus are placed; a robot that places the plurality of molded products from the placement mechanism onto a pallet; Including, The control device controls the cleaning device to blow the air onto the molded products placed on the arrangement mechanism, thereby cleaning the molded products; The control device controls the robot to change the arrangement of the plurality of molded products after cleaning by the cleaning device, and places the plurality of molded products after the arrangement of the plurality of molded products has been changed on the pallet. The injection molding system of claim 1 .

9. The injection molding system comprises: a placement mechanism on which the molded product removed from the injection molding apparatus is placed; a second moving unit that moves a relative position between the arrangement mechanism and the cleaning device; a robot that places the molded product from the placement mechanism onto a pallet; Including, The control device moves a relative position between the arrangement mechanism on which the molded product is placed and the cleaning device, thereby cleaning the molded product with the air, and then places the molded product after cleaning on the pallet by the robot. The injection molding system of claim 1 .

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