Working machinery

Abstract

To provide a machine tool equipped with a fluid nozzle that can reliably discharge fluid over a wide area, while maintaining a compact and inexpensive configuration. [Solution] The machine tool (1) comprises a machining chamber for machining a workpiece (W) and a plurality of discharge holes (24a) for discharging fluid into the machining chamber, forming a plurality of fluid flows that extend vertically along the wall surface (9) of the machining chamber.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a machine tool provided with a fluid nozzle for discharging a fluid.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a fluid nozzle that is mounted on a machine tool or the like and discharges a fluid to a predetermined position for the purpose of removing chips generated during machining or cooling frictional heat is known.

[0003] In this type of fluid nozzle, various configurations have been proposed to supply the fluid over a wide range. For example, in the fluid nozzle shown in Patent Document 1, a slit-shaped discharge hole extending in the horizontal direction is formed in a coolant storage box, and the coolant (an example of a fluid) is discharged in a curtain shape from the discharge hole to be supplied over a wide range.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the fluid nozzle shown in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that a large coolant storage box is required, so the installation position is limited.

[0006] Furthermore, since the coolant storage box has slit-shaped discharge holes along its entire length, if the flow rate of coolant (fluid) supplied to the storage box is low, there is a problem in that the coolant discharged from the discharge holes cannot be properly diffused in a curtain-like manner. To avoid this problem, one could consider increasing the size of the pump that supplies coolant to the storage box to increase the coolant supply flow rate. However, in this case, a larger pump would be required, leading to increased costs.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to provide a fluid nozzle that is compact and inexpensive, and capable of reliably discharging fluid over a wide area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is, A fluid nozzle for discharging fluid, The fluid nozzle is constructed by stacking multiple plate materials in the thickness direction. The aforementioned multiple plate materials are A front plate material having a fluid supply hole that penetrates in the thickness direction, A back panel is placed on the back side of the front panel, The sheet includes a first intermediate sheet and a second intermediate sheet, which are arranged sequentially from the front side to the back side in the thickness direction between the front and back sheet, and which form a fluid passage. The second intermediate plate material has a plurality of discharge notches arranged along its outer edge at intervals from one another and opening towards the outer edge. The first intermediate plate material is formed to span the plurality of discharge notches formed in the second intermediate plate material when viewed in the thickness direction, and has an introduction opening that receives fluid supplied from the fluid supply hole and guides it to each of the discharge notches, and has a plurality of introduction notches connected to the outer edge of the introduction opening, which are concave when viewed in the thickness direction and open toward the introduction opening, and which overlap with a part of each of the plurality of discharge notches, The present invention relates to a fluid nozzle in which the introduction opening, the plurality of introduction notches, and the plurality of discharge notches constitute the fluid passage.

[0009] With this fluid nozzle, the fluid supplied from the fluid supply port formed in the front plate material is first introduced into an introduction opening formed in the first intermediate plate material and spreads throughout the entire introduction opening. Since this introduction opening is formed to span multiple discharge notches formed in the second intermediate plate material when viewed from the plate thickness direction, the fluid supplied into the introduction opening is supplied to each discharge notch and discharged to the outside from the open end of each discharge notch. Here, since the outer edge of the introduction opening has multiple introduction notches that are concave in shape and open toward the introduction opening side and overlap with a part of each of the discharge notches, the fluid is supplied smoothly from the introduction opening to each discharge notch, and consequently, a sufficient fluid discharge flow rate from each discharge notch can be ensured.

[0010] In other words, in a laminated fluid nozzle made by stacking plate materials as in the present invention, while the overall nozzle can be made thinner to improve space efficiency, the fluid passages inside the nozzle, i.e., the cross-sectional area of ​​the inlet opening and each discharge notch, become narrower, resulting in poor fluid flow. In particular, when fluid is supplied from the inlet opening to each discharge notch, the flow path area is rapidly narrowed, increasing pipeline resistance, and there is a risk that the amount of fluid supplied from the inlet opening to each discharge notch will be insufficient. In contrast, in the fluid nozzle of the present invention, by forming multiple inlet notches in the first intermediate plate material that overlap with a part of each discharge notch when viewed from the plate thickness direction, it is possible to secure an extra cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path when fluid flows from the inlet opening to each discharge notch by the thickness of the first intermediate plate material. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the pipeline resistance when fluid flows from the inlet opening to each discharge notch and ensure a sufficient fluid flow rate.

[0011] It is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the open end of each discharge notch is a flared portion in which the dimension in the flow path width direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction increases as you move from the upstream side to the downstream side in the fluid discharge direction.

[0012] With this configuration, at the open end of each discharge notch, the fluid spreads along the inner wall surface of the flared section in the direction of the flow path width and is discharged in a film-like manner. Therefore, for example, compared to the case where the fluid is discharged linearly from each discharge notch, a wider fluid discharge range can be secured.

[0013] The front plate material, the back plate material, and the first intermediate plate material and the second intermediate plate material are arranged vertically, and each discharge notch is formed to open downwards, and the lower end position of each introduction notch may be at the same height as the upper end position of the flared end of each discharge notch, or above the upper end position.

[0014] With this configuration, by positioning the lower end of each inlet notch at the same height as or above the upper end of the flared end of each discharge notch, the fluid introduced into each inlet notch through the inlet opening can be supplied to the portion of each discharge notch above the flared end. Therefore, the fluid can be smoothly expanded without separation throughout the entire area from the upper end to the lower end of the flared end. Thus, the fluid expansion effect in the flared end can be reliably obtained.

[0015] A configuration can be adopted in which the portion from the base end of each discharge notch to the flared portion is a straight section consisting of a straight slit hole.

[0016] With this configuration, the fluid velocity can be sufficiently increased in the slit-shaped straight section before the fluid is introduced into the flared section. Therefore, sufficient fluid velocity can be ensured for the fluid flowing into the flared section, and consequently, the widening effect of the fluid in the flared section can be reliably obtained. [Effects of the Invention]

[0017] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and constitutes a fluid nozzle by laminating a front-side plate material, a back-side plate material, a first intermediate plate material and a second intermediate plate material located between the two plate materials. The second intermediate plate material is formed with a plurality of discharge cutouts arranged along its outer edge and opening to the outer edge side. The first intermediate plate material is formed across the plurality of discharge cutouts formed in the second intermediate plate material as viewed from the plate thickness direction, and has an introduction opening for receiving the fluid supplied from the fluid supply hole and guiding it to each discharge cutout, and a plurality of introduction cutouts connected to the outer edge of the introduction opening, having a concave shape opening to the introduction opening side as viewed from the plate thickness direction and overlapping with a part of each of the plurality of discharge cutouts. By this configuration, the fluid can be reliably discharged over a wide range with a compact and inexpensive structure.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] It is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a machine tool provided with a fluid nozzle according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a side view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is a side view of the fluid nozzle as viewed from the front side. [Figure 4] It is an exploded perspective view showing the fluid nozzle. [Figure 5] It is a perspective view as viewed from the back side showing the state where the back-side plate material of the fluid nozzle is removed. [Figure 6] It is an enlarged view showing an enlarged view of part VI in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] It is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 3. [Figure 8] It is an explanatory view for explaining the flow path of the coolant in the fluid nozzle. [Figure 9] It is a view equivalent to FIG. 7 showing a comparative example. [Figure 10] It is a schematic side view of the fluid nozzle as viewed from the front side showing an example of another embodiment. [Figure 11] It is a view equivalent to FIG. 10 showing another example of another embodiment.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0020] 《Embodiment》 Figures 1 and 2 show a machine tool 1 equipped with a fluid nozzle 20 according to an embodiment. This machine tool 1 is a horizontal machining center and includes a bed 2, a column 3, a spindle head 5, a spindle 6, a table 7, and a protective cover 9, etc. The fluid nozzle 20 discharges coolant along the protective cover 9 of the machine tool 1, as will be described later (see the dashed line in Figures 1 and 2). Note that in Figures 1 and 2, which show the entire machine tool 1, only the main components of this embodiment are illustrated.

[0021] The bed 2 consists of a straight first bed 2a and a similarly straight second bed 2b connected perpendicularly to the first bed 2a, and as a whole, it has a T-shape in plan view. The table 7 is positioned on the second bed 2b and is guided by a guide rail 8 to move forward and backward relative to the first bed 2a, that is, to move in the horizontal Z-axis direction indicated by the arrow.

[0022] The column 3 is positioned on the first bed 2a (see Figure 2) and is guided by the guide rail 4 to move in the direction of the X-axis (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in Figure 2), which is horizontal to and perpendicular to the Z-axis. The spindle head 5 rotatably supports the spindle 6 and is held on the column 3 so as to be movable in the vertical Y-axis direction, which is perpendicular to the X-axis and Z-axis. Thus, the spindle head 5 moves in the X-axis-Y-axis plane.

[0023] The protective cover 9 is constructed by connecting multiple cover bodies 9a (see Figure 1) with a pantograph mechanism (not shown) provided on its rear side. The protective cover 9 is attached to a frame-shaped sheet metal frame 15 erected on the first bed 2a, and is positioned to separate the base end portions of the column 3 and the spindle head 5 from the machining area (the area above the second bed 2b).

[0024] The fluid nozzle 20 is positioned on the front surface of the upper end of the sheet metal frame 15 with a small gap, and extends in the X-axis direction when viewed from the front of the machine tool 1. The fluid nozzle 20 is inclined at approximately 45° with respect to the vertical (Y-axis direction) such that, when viewed from the X-axis direction, its lower edge is located behind its upper edge. The fluid nozzle 20 is bolted to the sheet metal frame 15 via L-shaped brackets (not shown) provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The fluid nozzle 20 then circulates the coolant supplied from the coolant supply device 10 (see Figure 2), which is installed on the rear side of the machine tool 1, downward along the front surface of the protective cover 9. This washes away foreign matter such as chips adhering to the front surface of the protective cover 9 with the coolant. The coolant that reaches the lower end of the protective cover 9 flows downward from the upper surface of the second bed 2b, and then returns to the coolant tank 11 of the coolant supply device 10 through the return pipe 13. The coolant supply device 10 filters the recirculated coolant and, powered by the coolant pump 12, resupplies the filtered coolant from the supply pipe 14 to the fluid nozzle 20. In this way, the coolant flows along a series of circulation paths (see arrows in Figure 2) that pass through the coolant supply device 10 and the fluid nozzle 20.

[0025] [Fluid nozzle configuration] As shown in Figure 3, the fluid nozzle 20 has a flattened rectangular shape in overall view and is positioned vertically such that its thickness direction is horizontal (in this example, the Z-axis direction). A coolant supply hole 21a (corresponding to the fluid supply hole) is formed on the front surface of the fluid nozzle 20. The fluid nozzle 20 is positioned with this coolant supply hole 21a facing the rear side of the machine tool 1 (see Figure 1). The fluid nozzle 20 is configured to branch the coolant supplied from the coolant supply hole 21a into multiple streams and then discharge it from the lower end surface of the nozzle.

[0026] Specifically, as shown in Figure 4, the fluid nozzle 20 is constructed by stacking four plate materials 21 to 24 in the thickness direction. Each plate material 21 to 24 is rectangular in shape when viewed from the thickness direction and is made of a metal material such as aluminum, and the plates are joined together with adhesive. However, it is not always necessary to use adhesive to join the plates together; for example, bolt fastening alone may be used.

[0027] The four plate members 21-24 consist of a front plate member 21, a back plate member 22 positioned on the back side of the front plate member 21, and a first intermediate plate member 23 and a second intermediate plate member 24 positioned between the front plate member 21 and the back plate member 22. The first intermediate plate member 23 and the second intermediate plate member 24 are arranged in this order from the front side to the back side of the fluid nozzle 20.

[0028] The front plate material 21 has the coolant supply hole 21a in the center of its longitudinal direction. The coolant supply hole 21a is circular in shape, and the screw-in type pipe fitting 25 is screwed into the coolant supply hole 21a. The supply pipe 14 is connected to the pipe fitting 25, and coolant from the coolant supply device 10 is supplied to the coolant supply hole 21a via this supply pipe 14.

[0029] The first and second intermediate plate materials 23 and 24 have fluid passages 26 through which coolant supplied from the coolant supply hole 21a flows.

[0030] This fluid passage 26 is composed of an introduction opening 23a and a plurality of introduction notches 23b formed in the first intermediate plate material 23, and a plurality of discharge notches 24a formed in the second intermediate plate material 24.

[0031] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the multiple discharge notches 24a are arranged at intervals from one another along the lower edge of the second intermediate plate material 24 and are positioned over substantially the entire longitudinal length along this lower edge. Each discharge notch 24a extends in the vertical direction (the vertical direction of the second intermediate plate material 24 in this example) and is formed to open to the lower side. More specifically, as shown in Figure 6, each discharge notch 24a consists of a slit-shaped straight section 24b extending in the vertical direction and a flared section 24c connected to the lower end of the straight section 24b. The flared section 24c is formed such that the flow path width (the dimension in the flow path width direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction) widens from the top to the bottom. In other words, the flared section 24c is formed such that the flow path width widens from the upstream side to the downstream side in the coolant discharge direction. The flow path width at the upper end of the flared section 24c is equal to the flow path width of the straight section 24b. The flaring angle θ of the flared portion 24c, as viewed from the plate thickness direction, is set, for example, to 120° or more and 150° or less.

[0032] As shown in Figure 5, the introduction opening 23a is a rectangular opening formed over the entire longitudinal direction of the first intermediate plate material 23. When viewed from the plate thickness direction, the introduction opening 23a is formed to span the plurality of discharge notches 24a. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the introduction opening 23a is formed such that its upper edge is located slightly above the upper end position of the straight portion 24b of the discharge notch 24a, and its lower edge is located above the lower end position of the straight portion 24b. Thus, when viewed from the plate thickness direction, the introduction opening 23a is formed to overlap with a portion of the upper end side of the straight portion 24b of each discharge notch 24a (in this example, approximately 2 / 3 of the upper end side of the straight portion 24b).

[0033] As shown in Figure 4, the multiple introduction notches 23b are arranged at intervals from one another along the lower edge of the introduction opening 23a. Each introduction notch 23b is formed in a U-shape (an example of a concave shape) that opens toward the introduction opening 23a side (upper side in this example). As shown in Figure 6, each introduction notch 23b is formed to overlap with a portion of each discharge notch 24a formed in the second intermediate plate material 24 when viewed from the plate thickness direction. More specifically, each introduction notch 23b is formed to overlap with the lower end of the straight portion 24b in each discharge notch 24a when viewed from the plate thickness direction. The widthwise edges of each introduction notch 23b coincide with the widthwise edges of each discharge notch 24a when viewed from the plate thickness direction. As shown in Figure 7, the lower end position of each introduction notch 23b coincides with the upper end position of the flared portion 24c in each discharge notch 24a.

[0034] Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the flow path of the coolant in the fluid nozzle 20. As shown by the solid arrows in the figure, the coolant supplied to the coolant supply hole 21a from the front side of the fluid nozzle 20 (the front side of the page in Figure 8) spreads out on both sides in the left-right direction of Figure 8 to fill the space within the introduction opening 23a formed in the first intermediate plate material 23. This spread coolant flows from the introduction opening 23a into each discharge notch 24a, and is then discharged in a film-like manner from the flared portion 24c at the lower end of each discharge notch 24a (see the dashed line in Figure 8).

[0035] Here, when the coolant flows from the inlet opening 23a into each discharge notch 24a, the flow path cross-sectional area changes abruptly, increasing the pipeline resistance and potentially leading to insufficient flow rate of coolant into each discharge notch 24a. In response to this, in this embodiment, as described above, pipeline resistance is reduced by providing multiple inlet notches 23b in the first intermediate plate material 23 that overlap with each discharge notch 24a when viewed from the plate thickness direction.

[0036] The reason why this reduction in pipeline length is possible will be explained based on a comparison with the fluid nozzle 120 of the comparative example shown in Figure 9. The fluid nozzle 120 of the comparative example differs from that of this embodiment in that it does not have multiple inlet notches 23b, but the other configurations are the same as those of this embodiment. In Figure 9, components that are the same as those of the embodiment are indicated by adding 100 to the reference numerals used in the embodiment.

[0037] In the fluid nozzle 120 of this comparative example, only a flow path thickness tb equivalent to one plate thickness is secured in the lower flow path portion 124d of the discharge notch 124a, which is located below the inlet opening 123a (i.e., the portion of the discharge notch 124a to which the coolant from the inlet opening 123a is directed). In contrast, in the fluid nozzle 20 of this embodiment, as shown in Figure 7, in the lower flow path portion 24d, a flow path thickness ta equivalent to two plate thicknesses is secured by the communication between the inlet notch 23b formed in the first intermediate plate material 23 and the straight portion 24b of each discharge notch 24a. Therefore, in the fluid nozzle 20 of this embodiment, compared to the fluid nozzle 120 of the comparative example, sufficient flow path thickness is secured when the coolant flows from the inlet opening 23a into the lower flow path portion 24d of the discharge notch 24a, thereby reducing pipeline resistance. Therefore, it is possible to prevent insufficient coolant flow into the lower flow path portion 24d of the discharge notch 24a, and consequently, to reliably discharge coolant from the lower end of each discharge notch 24a at the desired flow rate and shape.

[0038] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the open end of each discharge notch 24a is a flared portion 24c in which the dimension in the flow path width increases as you move from the upstream side to the downstream side (from the top to the bottom side in Figure 6) in the fluid discharge direction.

[0039] According to this, the coolant that reaches the open end of each discharge notch 24a spreads along the inner wall surface of the flared portion 24c in the flow path width direction and is discharged in a film-like manner. Therefore, for example, the discharge range of the coolant can be widened over a wider area compared to the case where the coolant is discharged linearly from each discharge notch 24a (see Figure 8). Consequently, the cleaning effect of the protective cover 9 by the coolant can be increased as much as possible.

[0040] Furthermore, the lower end position of each inlet notch 23b is at the same height as the upper end position of the flared portion 24c of each discharge notch 24a (see Figures 6 and 7).

[0041] According to this, the coolant introduced into each inlet notch 23b through the inlet opening 23a can be supplied to the portion of each discharge notch 24a above the flared portion 24c. Therefore, the coolant can be smoothly spread without separation over the entire area from the upper end to the lower end of the flared portion 24c. Thus, the effect of spreading the coolant in the flared portion 24c can be reliably obtained.

[0042] The portion of each discharge notch 24a extending from its base end to its flared end 24c is a straight section 24b consisting of a straight slit hole.

[0043] According to this, the flow velocity of the coolant can be sufficiently increased in the slit-shaped straight section 24b, and then the coolant can be introduced into the flared section 24c. Therefore, the flow velocity of the coolant flowing into the flared section 24c can be sufficiently ensured, and consequently, the widening effect of the coolant in the flared section 24c can be reliably obtained.

[0044] Other embodiments In the above embodiment, the outer edge shape of the fluid nozzle 20 is rectangular, but it is not limited to this, and may be any shape, such as circular or triangular. As an example, Figure 10 shows a non-rectangular embodiment in which both ends of the lower edge of the fluid nozzle 20 are chamfered. Note that in Figure 10 and Figure 11, which will be described later, the same reference numerals are used for the same components as in the above embodiment.

[0045] In the above embodiment, the fluid nozzle 20 is inclined at approximately 45° with respect to the vertical (Y-axis direction) such that its lower edge is located behind its upper edge when viewed from the X-axis direction, but it is not limited to this. That is, the inclination angle of the fluid nozzle 20 may be greater than 45° or less than 45°. Also, the fluid nozzle 20 may be positioned horizontally or vertically without inclination when viewed from the X-axis direction. Furthermore, for example, when supplying coolant to the surface of a workpiece W located within the machining area, the fluid nozzle 20 may be inclined so that its lower edge is located in front of its upper edge.

[0046] In the above embodiment, each introduction notch 23b formed in the first intermediate plate material 23 is formed in a U-shape that opens towards the introduction opening 23a, but it is not limited to this, and may be formed in a semicircular or triangular shape, for example.

[0047] In the above embodiment, each inlet notch 23b formed in the first intermediate plate material 23 is formed to overlap with the portion located below the inlet opening 23a in each discharge notch 24a when viewed from the plate thickness direction. However, it is not limited to this, and may be formed to overlap with the portion located above the inlet opening 23a in each discharge notch 24a, as shown in Figure 11, for example. In other words, each inlet notch 23b may be formed to overlap with a portion of each discharge notch 24a when viewed from the plate thickness direction. By adopting this configuration, the thickness of the flow path in the plate thickness direction when the coolant flows from the inlet opening 23a to each discharge notch 24a can be increased, and the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

[0048] In the above embodiment, each discharge notch 24a is formed at intervals along one end edge (lower end edge) of the second intermediate plate material 24, but it is not limited to this, and for example, they may be formed at intervals along the entire edge of the second intermediate plate material 24. This makes it possible to discharge fluid from the entire circumferential surface of the fluid nozzle 20, thereby expanding the applications of the fluid nozzle 20 in various ways.

[0049] In the above embodiment, the lower end position of the introduction notch 23b is at the same height as the upper end position of the flared portion 24c, but it is not limited to this, and may be located above the upper end position of the flared portion 24c. This allows the coolant to be smoothly widened without peeling over the entire area from the upper end to the lower end of the flared portion 24c, similar to the above embodiment.

[0050] In the above embodiment, coolant was given as an example of the fluid discharged from the fluid nozzle 20, but the fluid is not limited to this, and may be other liquids such as water, or gases such as air.

[0051] In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the fluid nozzle 20 is positioned near the upper end of the sheet metal frame 15 of the machine tool 1. However, it is not limited to this, and for example, it may be positioned at the shutter opening / closing part of a tool changing device provided on the machine tool 1. Furthermore, the fluid nozzle 20 can be used for a variety of purposes, not limited to cleaning chips and the like, but also for blocking dust with fluid, or for diffusing gases from air purifiers or air conditioners.

[0052] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. Modifications and alterations are readily possible for those skilled in the art. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the embodiments described above. Moreover, the scope of the present invention includes modifications from the claims and equivalent embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 20 Fluid Nozzles 21 Front plate material 21a Coolant supply port (fluid supply port) 22 Back panel 23 1st intermediate plate material 23a Introduction opening (fluid passage) 23b Inlet notch (fluid passage) 24 Second intermediate plate material 24a Each discharge notch (fluid passage) 24b Straight section 24c flared end 26 Fluid passage

Claims

1. A processing room for machining workpieces, It comprises a plurality of discharge holes for discharging fluid into the processing chamber, A machine tool that forms multiple fluid flows extending vertically along the wall surface of the aforementioned processing chamber.

2. The machine tool according to claim 1, wherein each fluid flow is formed at least at the upper end side, with a predetermined flow path width and arranged at equal intervals.

3. The machine tool according to claim 1, wherein the flow of each fluid is formed along the wall surface on which the main spindle of the machine tool is provided in the processing chamber.

4. The machine tool according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of discharge holes are arranged horizontally along the wall surface, and the direction of fluid discharge from them is directed toward the wall surface.

5. The machine tool according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of discharge holes are formed in a single flat plate-shaped fluid nozzle.

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