Injection molding machine management device and injection molding machine management method

Abstract

A management device (20) of an injection molding machine includes a display unit (236). The display unit (236) associates a first figure (330) and a second figure (350) and displays the same on a screen (300) at the same time. The first figure (330) indicates the operating condition and operation history (112) of each of a plurality of injection molding machines (10), each having a die (80) mounted thereon. The second figure (350) indicates the arrival or approach of the maintenance period of the respective dies mounted on the plurality of injection molding machines.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device for an injection molding machine and a control method for an injection molding machine. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-164023 discloses a management support device that can collectively check the operating status of a plurality of injection molding machines. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-164023 merely discloses a management support device that can collectively check the operating status of multiple injection molding machines. Technology that can better manage multiple injection molding machines is desired.

[0004] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0005] A first aspect of the present invention is an injection molding machine management device comprising: a machine information acquisition unit that acquires machine information regarding the operating status and operating history of each of a plurality of injection molding machines equipped with a mold; a mold information acquisition unit that acquires mold information regarding the usage history of the mold equipped on each of the plurality of injection molding machines; a judgment unit that judges whether the maintenance time for the mold equipped on each of the plurality of injection molding machines has arrived or is approaching based on the machine information and the mold information; and a display unit that simultaneously displays on a screen a first graphic indicating the operating status of each of the plurality of injection molding machines and a second graphic indicating the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold equipped on each of the plurality of injection molding machines in correspondence with each other.

[0006] A second aspect of the present invention is a method for managing injection molding machines, comprising: a machine information acquisition step for acquiring machine information relating to the operating status and operating history of each of a plurality of injection molding machines equipped with molds; a mold information acquisition step for acquiring mold information relating to the usage history of the molds equipped on each of the plurality of injection molding machines; a determination step for determining whether the maintenance time for the molds equipped on each of the plurality of injection molding machines has arrived or is approaching based on the machine information and the mold information; and a display step for simultaneously displaying on a screen, in correspondence with each other, a first graphic indicating the operating status of each of the plurality of injection molding machines and a second graphic indicating the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the molds equipped on each of the plurality of injection molding machines.

[0007] According to the present invention, a plurality of injection molding machines can be effectively managed. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an injection molding machine management device according to one embodiment and a plurality of injection molding machines to be managed by the device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the mold. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the management device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating machine information and mold information acquired by the management device. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen of the display unit. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the management device. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure for determining whether the time for mold maintenance has arrived or is approaching. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a screen of the display unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a management device 20 for injection molding machines 10 and a plurality of injection molding machines 10 that are managed by the management device 20 in one embodiment. The management device 20 acquires machine information for each of the plurality of injection molding machines 10-#A1, 10-#A2, ..., 10-#AN via a connection line. When describing each injection molding machine 10 separately, the reference numerals 10-#A1, 10-#A2, ..., 10-#AN are used. When describing each injection molding machine 10 without distinguishing between them, the reference numeral 10 is used.

[0010] The injection molding machine 10 has a main body 30 and a control device 40. The main body 30 has a machine base 50, an injection drive unit 62, a hopper 64, a cylinder 66, a nozzle 68, a mold 80, a fixed platen 92, a movable platen 94, a rear platen 96, and a mold clamping drive unit 98. The injection drive unit 62, the hopper 64, the cylinder 66, the nozzle 68, the mold 80, the fixed platen 92, the movable platen 94, the rear platen 96, and the mold clamping drive unit 98 are mounted on the machine base 50.

[0011] The hopper 64 is installed on top of a cylinder 66. The cylinder 66 contains a screw (not shown). The injection drive unit 62 drives the cylinder 66 and the screw. The nozzle 68 is installed at the tip of the cylinder 66.

[0012] The mold 80 has a fixed mold 102 and a movable mold 104. The fixed platen 92 supports the fixed mold 102. The movable platen 94 supports the movable mold 104. The mold clamping drive unit 98 is disposed between the movable platen 94 and the rear platen 96. The mold clamping drive unit 98 clamps the mold 80 by moving the movable platen 94 toward the fixed platen 92. The mold clamping drive unit 98 opens the mold 80 by moving the movable platen 94 away from the fixed platen 92.

[0013] An outline of the injection molding process performed by the main body 30 will now be described. The molten material used for molding is supplied from a hopper 64 into the interior of a cylinder 66. When the injection drive unit 62 drives the cylinder 66, the nozzle 68 is inserted into a nozzle insertion hole (not shown) in the fixed platen 92 and comes into contact with the spool of the mold 80. When the injection drive unit 62 drives the screw, the molten material is injected and fills the cavity of the fixed mold 102. When a molded product is molded by clamping the mold 80, the mold 80 is opened and the molded product is removed.

[0014] The control device 40 controls the main body 30 to execute the above-mentioned injection molding process. The control device 40 determines the operating status of the injection molding machine 10. The operating status may be, for example, normal operation, preparation (including the state after molding is completed), or alarm occurrence. The control device 40 has a recording medium 110. The recording medium 110 stores an operating history 112 of the injection molding machine 10. The operating history 112 may be, for example, the number of alarms that occurred while the mold 80 mounted on the injection molding machine 10 was in use, and the defective rate of the molded products made by that mold 80. The operating status and operating history 112 are included in the above-mentioned machine information.

[0015] 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a mold 80. The management device 20 acquires mold information for each of a plurality of molds 80-#M1, 80-#M2, ..., 80-#MN mounted on a plurality of injection molding machines 10-#A1, 10-#A2, ..., 10-#AN. When describing each mold 80 separately, the reference numerals 80-#M1, 80-#M2, ..., 80-#MN are used. When describing each mold 80 without distinguishing them, the reference numeral 80 is used.

[0016] Each mold 80 has both a counter 120 and a timer 130. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which each mold 80 has both the counter 120 and the timer 130, but it is sufficient for each mold 80 to have at least one of the counter 120 and the timer 130. The counter 120 has a recording medium 150. A usage history 152 of the mold 80 is stored in the recording medium 150. The timer 130 has a recording medium 160. A usage history 162 of the mold 80 is stored in the recording medium 160.

[0017] Counter 120 counts the number of shots (number of moldings) of mold 80. The measurement value of counter 120 (number of shots of mold 80) is saved in recording medium 150 as usage history 152 of mold 80. Timer 130 measures the molding time using mold 80 and the time elapsed since mold 80 was attached. These measurement values ​​are saved in recording medium 160 as usage history 162 of mold 80. Usage history 152 and usage history 162 are included in the mold information described above. The molding time using mold 80 is the total time required for molding.

[0018] 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of management device 20. Management device 20 includes a processing circuit 200 and a storage unit 210 that stores programs and the like. Management device 20 of this embodiment is realized by processing circuit 200 of management device 20 executing the programs.

[0019] The processing circuit 200 includes a processor such as a CPU. The processing circuit 200 of the management device 20 executes a program to realize a machine information acquisition unit 230, a mold information acquisition unit 232, a determination unit 234, and a display unit 236. At least some of the machine information acquisition unit 230, the mold information acquisition unit 232, the determination unit 234, and the display unit 236 may be realized by an ASIC, an FPGA, or other integrated circuit.

[0020] The storage unit 210 includes a volatile memory such as a RAM, and a non-volatile memory such as a ROM, a flash memory, etc. The storage unit 210 stores machine information for each injection molding machine 10. The storage unit 210 also stores mold information for the mold 80 mounted on each injection molding machine 10.

[0021] The machine information acquisition unit 230 acquires machine information from the control device 40 and stores it in the memory unit 210. The stored machine information includes information about the operating status and operation history 112 of each injection molding machine 10 in which each mold 80 is mounted.

[0022] The mold information acquisition unit 232 acquires mold information from the recording medium 150 via the control device 40 and stores it in the memory unit 210. The stored mold information includes information related to the usage history 152 of each mold 80. The mold information acquisition unit 232 acquires mold information from the recording medium 160 via the control device 40 and stores it in the memory unit 210. The stored mold information includes information related to the usage history 162 of each mold 80.

[0023] The use history 152 and the use history 162 may be stored in the recording medium 110 by the control device 40. In this case, the mold information acquisition unit 232 acquires the mold information from the recording medium 110 via the control device 40 and stores it in the storage unit 210. The stored mold information includes information related to the use history 152 and information related to the use history 162 of each mold 80.

[0024] The determination unit 234 determines the operating state of the injection molding machine 10 based on the machine information stored in the memory unit 210. The determination unit 234 further determines whether the time for maintenance of the mold 80 mounted on each injection molding machine 10 has arrived or whether the time for maintenance is approaching, based on the machine information and mold information stored in the memory unit 210.

[0025] Specifically, the determination unit 234 determines whether the maintenance time has arrived or is approaching based on whether the measurement values ​​of the items included in the machine information and the mold information satisfy predetermined conditions. Here, an example will be described in which such a determination is made based on the machine information and the mold information, but such a determination may also be made based on only at least one of the machine information and the mold information.

[0026] In this embodiment, the items included in the machine information among the items used to determine whether the maintenance time for the mold 80 has arrived or is approaching are the number of alarms and the defect rate. In this embodiment, the items included in the mold information among the items used to determine whether the maintenance time for the mold 80 has arrived or is approaching are the number of shots, molding time, and elapsed time.

[0027] A setting value is predetermined by the user for each item included in the machine information and mold information. The determination unit 234 compares the measurement value of any item with the setting value set for that item. If the comparison result shows that the measurement value is equal to or greater than the setting value, the determination unit 234 determines that the measurement value satisfies the predetermined condition. If the comparison result shows that the measurement value is less than the setting value, the determination unit 234 determines that the measurement value does not satisfy the predetermined condition.

[0028] The predetermined condition is a condition for determining whether the maintenance time has arrived or is approaching for the mold 80. If the measurement value satisfies the predetermined condition, the determination unit 234 determines that the maintenance time has arrived or is approaching. If the measurement value does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the determination unit 234 determines that the maintenance time has not arrived or is not approaching.

[0029] The display unit 236 simultaneously displays a first graphic and a second graphic on the screen in association with each other. The first graphic is a graphic such as an icon indicating the operating status of each of the multiple injection molding machines 10. The second graphic is a graphic such as an icon indicating the determination result regarding the arrival or approaching of the maintenance time for the mold 80 mounted on each injection molding machine 10. The display unit 236 changes the color of the first graphic according to the operating status of the injection molding machine 10. The display unit 236 further changes the color of the second graphic according to the determination result regarding the arrival or approaching of the maintenance time for the mold 80.

[0030] 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of machine information and mold information acquired by the management device 20. The machine information acquired by the machine information acquisition unit 230 and the mold information acquired by the mold information acquisition unit 232 are stored in the memory unit 210. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the operating states of the multiple injection molding machines 10-#A1, 10-#A2, ..., 10-#AN are associated with "normal operation," "preparation," and "alarm occurring," respectively.

[0031] Mold 80-#M1 is installed in injection molding machine 10-#A1. Mold 80-#M2 is installed in injection molding machine 10-#A2. Mold 80-#MN is installed in injection molding machine 10-#AN. The number of shots, molding time, and elapsed time are recorded as the usage history of each of molds 80-#M1, 80-#M2, ..., 80-#MN. The number of alarms and defect rate are recorded as the operation history of each of injection molding machine 10-#A1, injection molding machine 10-#A2, and injection molding machine 10-#AN.

[0032] The judgment process regarding the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold 80 will be described below. The judgment process is performed by the judgment unit 234. An example will be described in which the item used in the judgment process is the number of shots of the mold 80. The judgment process is performed by determining whether or not the measurement value of the item satisfies predetermined conditions (first predetermined condition, second predetermined condition). If the measurement value is equal to or greater than a set value (first threshold value) set according to the item, the measurement value is determined to satisfy the first predetermined condition.

[0033] Suppose the user sets the number of shots to 10,000. When the measured value of the number of shots for mold 80-#M2 mounted on injection molding machine 10-#A2, 11,234, is compared with the user's set value of 10,000, the measured value is equal to or greater than the set value. In this case, the measured value of the number of shots for mold 80-#M2 satisfies the first predetermined condition.

[0034] The first predetermined condition is a condition for determining whether it is time for maintenance of the mold 80. If the measured value of the number of shots satisfies the first predetermined condition, the determination unit 234 determines that it is time for maintenance of the mold 80. If the measured value does not satisfy the first predetermined condition, the determination unit 234 determines that it is not time for maintenance of the mold 80. Since the measured value of the number of shots of the mold 80-#M2 satisfies the first predetermined condition, it is determined that it is time for maintenance of the mold 80-#M2.

[0035] When comparing the measured value of 9468 for the number of shots of mold 80-#MN mounted on injection molding machine 10-#AN with the user-set value of 10000 for the number of shots, the measured value is less than the set value. Therefore, the measured value of the number of shots of mold 80-#MN does not satisfy the first predetermined condition. The time for maintenance of mold 80-#MN has not yet arrived.

[0036] If the measured value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (second threshold) corresponding to the set value, the determination unit 234 determines that the measured value satisfies the second predetermined condition. When the determination process is performed using the number of shots, the predetermined value is, for example, but not limited to, a value obtained by subtracting 1000 from the set value. Since the set value of the number of shots is 10000, the predetermined value obtained by subtracting 1000 is 9000. If the measured value of the number of shots is equal to or greater than the predetermined value of 9000, the measured value of the number of shots is determined to satisfy the second predetermined condition.

[0037] The second predetermined condition is a condition for determining whether the time for maintenance of the mold 80 is approaching. If the measured value of the number of shots satisfies the second predetermined condition, the determination unit 234 determines that the time for maintenance of the mold 80 is approaching. If the measured value does not satisfy the second predetermined condition, the determination unit 234 determines that the time for maintenance of the mold 80 is not approaching. The measured value of the number of shots of the mold 80-#MN, 9468, is greater than or equal to the predetermined value of 9000. Since the measured value of the number of shots of the mold 80-#MN satisfies the second predetermined condition, it is determined that the time for maintenance of the mold 80-#MN is approaching.

[0038] When comparing the measured value of the number of shots of mold 80-#M1 mounted on injection molding machine 10-#A1, 7521, with the user-set value of 10,000, the measured value is less than the set value. Therefore, the measured value of the number of shots of mold 80-#M1 does not satisfy the first predetermined condition. The time for maintenance of mold 80-#M1 has not yet arrived.

[0039] The measured value of the number of shots for the mold 80-#M1, 7521, is less than the predetermined value of 9000. Therefore, the measured value of the number of shots does not satisfy the second predetermined condition either, and it is determined that the time for maintenance of the mold 80-#M1 is not approaching. Note that the user stores the setting values ​​corresponding to each of the above-mentioned items in the storage unit 210 in advance. Here, the case where the setting values ​​are set by the user has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The setting values ​​may also be set automatically.

[0040] In the above, an example has been described in which the number of shots is used to perform the determination process regarding the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold 80, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of the number of shots, the determination process may be performed using the molding time, elapsed time, number of alarms, or defect rate.

[0041] 5 is a diagram illustrating a screen 300 of the display unit 236. The screen 300 displays, in a list format, the operating status of each of the multiple injection molding machines 10-#A1, 10-#A2, ..., 10-#AN, as well as the determination results regarding the arrival or approaching of the maintenance period for each of the multiple molds 80-#M1, 80-#M2, ..., 80-#MN. The screen 300 includes multiple areas 310-#R1, 310-#R2, ..., 310-#RN.

[0042] Display unit 236 simultaneously displays icon 330 and icon 350 adjacent to each other in the same area 310-#R1 on screen 300. Icon 330 displayed in area 310-#R1 is a graphic indicating the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#A1. Icon 350 displayed in area 310-#R1 is a graphic indicating the determination result regarding the arrival or approaching of the maintenance time for mold 80-#M1.

[0043] In the example shown in Fig. 4, the operating status of the injection molding machine 10-#A1 is "operating normally." Therefore, the display unit 236 sets the color of the icon 330 of the injection molding machine 10-#A1 shown in Fig. 5 to, for example, blue. The maintenance period for the mold 80-#M1 is not approaching. Therefore, the display unit 236 sets the color of the icon 350 of the mold 80-#M1 shown in Fig. 5 to, for example, blue.

[0044] Display unit 236 simultaneously displays icon 330 and icon 350 adjacent to each other in the same area 310-#R2 on screen 300. Icon 330 displayed in area 310-#R2 is a graphic indicating the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#A2. Icon 350 displayed in area 310-#R2 is a graphic indicating that the time for maintenance of mold 80-#M2 has arrived or is approaching.

[0045] In the example shown in Fig. 4, the operating status of the injection molding machine 10-#A2 is "preparing." Therefore, the display unit 236 sets the color of the icon 330 of the injection molding machine 10-#A2 shown in Fig. 5 to, for example, yellow. The time for maintenance of the mold 80-#M2 has arrived. Therefore, the display unit 236 sets the color of the icon 350 of the mold 80-#M2 shown in Fig. 5 to, for example, red.

[0046] Display unit 236 simultaneously displays icon 330 and icon 350 adjacent to each other in the same area 310-#RN on screen 300. Icon 330 displayed in area 310-#RN is a graphic indicating the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#AN. Icon 350 displayed in area 310-#RN is a graphic indicating that the time for maintenance of mold 80-#MN has arrived or is approaching.

[0047] In the example shown in Fig. 4, the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#AN is "alarm active." Therefore, display unit 236 sets the color of icon 330 of injection molding machine 10-#AN shown in Fig. 5 to, for example, red. The time for maintenance of mold 80-#MN is approaching. Therefore, display unit 236 sets the color of icon 350 of mold 80-#MN shown in Fig. 5 to, for example, green.

[0048] 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure executed by the management device 20. This processing procedure is performed, for example, by the processing circuit 200 of the management device 20 executing a program. When this processing procedure starts, in step S100, the machine information acquisition unit 230 acquires machine information for each of the multiple injection molding machines 10 from the control device 40 of each injection molding machine 10. In step S110, the determination unit 234 determines the operating status of each injection molding machine 10 based on the machine information.

[0049] In step S120, the mold information acquisition unit 232 acquires the mold information of each injection molding machine 10 from the recording medium 150 and the recording medium 160 via the control device 40. In step S130, the determination unit 234 determines whether the maintenance time for each mold 80 has arrived or is approaching, based on the machine information and the mold information.

[0050] In step S140, the display unit 236 simultaneously displays on the screen, in association with each other, an icon 330 indicating the operating status of each injection molding machine 10 and an icon 350 indicating that the time for maintenance of the mold 80 mounted on each injection molding machine 10 has arrived or is approaching. When step S140 is completed, this processing procedure ends.

[0051] Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for determining whether the maintenance time for the mold 80 has arrived or is approaching. Fig. 7 shows the detailed processing content of step S130 shown in Fig. 6. In step S200, the determination unit 234 collects, from the storage unit 210, the measurement values ​​of each history item included in the operation history 112 of the injection molding machine 10, the use history 152 of the mold 80, and the use history 162 of the mold 80.

[0052] In step S210, the determination unit 234 collects the setting values ​​set by the user for each history item from the storage unit 210. In step S220, the determination unit 234 compares each measurement value with the corresponding setting value for each mold 80.

[0053] In step S230, the determination unit 234 determines for each mold 80 whether or not the measurement value of at least one item satisfies the first predetermined condition. If the result is YES in step S230, the process proceeds to step S240. If the result is NO in step S230, the process proceeds to step S300. In step S240, the determination unit 234 determines that the time for maintenance has arrived for the mold 80 for which the result is YES in step S230. When step S240 is completed, the process returns to the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 and proceeds to step S140.

[0054] In step S300, the determination unit 234 determines whether or not the measurement value of at least one item satisfies the second predetermined condition for each mold 80. If the result in step S300 is YES, the process proceeds to step S310. If the result in step S300 is NO, the process proceeds to step S330.

[0055] In step S310, the determination unit 234 determines that the maintenance time for the mold 80 determined as YES in step S300 is approaching. When step S310 is completed, the process returns to the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 and proceeds to step S140. In step S330, the determination unit 234 determines that the maintenance time for the mold 80 determined as NO in step S300 is not approaching. When step S330 is completed, the process returns to the processing of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 and proceeds to step S140.

[0056] [Variations] The above embodiment may be modified as follows.

[0057] In the above embodiment, the display unit 236 changes the color of the icon 330 in accordance with the operating status of the injection molding machine 10. The display unit 236 further changes the color of the icon 350 in accordance with the arrival or approaching of the maintenance period for the mold 80. However, the display unit 236 may change the shape of the icon 330 and the icon 350 instead of the color of the icon 330 and the icon 350.

[0058] 8 is a diagram illustrating a screen 300 of the display unit 236. The screen 300 displays, in a list format, the operating status of each of the multiple injection molding machines 10-#A1, 10-#A2, ..., 10-#AN, as well as the arrival or approaching maintenance period for each of the multiple molds 80-#M1, 80-#M2, ..., 80-#MN. The screen 300 includes multiple areas 310-#R1, 310-#R2, ..., 310-#RN.

[0059] Display unit 236 simultaneously displays icon 330 and icon 350 adjacent to each other in the same area 310-#R1 on screen 300. Icon 330 displayed in area 310-#R1 is a graphic indicating the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#A1. Icon 350 displayed in area 310-#R1 is a graphic indicating that the time for maintenance of mold 80-#M1 has arrived or is approaching.

[0060] In the example shown in Fig. 4, the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#A1 is "operating normally." Therefore, display unit 236 displays icon 330 of injection molding machine 10-#A1 shown in Fig. 8 in a normal state. The time for maintenance of mold 80-#M1 is not approaching. Therefore, display unit 236 displays icon 350 of mold 80-#M1 shown in Fig. 8 in a normal state.

[0061] Display unit 236 simultaneously displays icon 330 and icon 350 adjacent to each other in the same area 310-#R2 on screen 300. Icon 330 displayed in area 310-#R2 is a graphic indicating the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#A2. Icon 350 displayed in area 310-#R2 is a graphic indicating that the time for maintenance of mold 80-#M2 has arrived or is approaching.

[0062] In the example shown in Fig. 4, the operating status of the injection molding machine 10-#A2 is "preparing." Therefore, the display unit 236 changes the shape of the icon 330 of the injection molding machine 10-#A2 shown in Fig. 8, for example, to a mode in which a graphic that attracts the user's attention is superimposed. The time for maintenance of the mold 80-#M2 has arrived. Therefore, the display unit 236 changes the shape of the icon 350 of the mold 80-#M2 shown in Fig. 8, for example, to a mode in which a graphic that urges the user to take action is superimposed.

[0063] Display unit 236 simultaneously displays icon 330 and icon 350 adjacent to each other in the same area 310-#RN on screen 300. Icon 330 displayed in area 310-#RN is a graphic indicating the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#AN. Icon 350 displayed in area 310-#RN is a graphic indicating that the time for maintenance of mold 80-#MN has arrived or is approaching.

[0064] In the example shown in FIG. 4, the operating status of injection molding machine 10-#AN is "alarm active." Therefore, the display unit 236 changes the shape of icon 330 of injection molding machine 10-#AN shown in FIG. 8, for example, to a mode in which a graphic that urges the user to take action is superimposed. The time for maintenance of mold 80-#MN is approaching. Therefore, the display unit 236 changes the shape of icon 350 of mold 80-#MN shown in FIG. 8, for example, to a mode in which a graphic that attracts the user's attention is superimposed.

[0065] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and modifications, and various configurations can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0066] [Inventions Obtained from the Embodiments] The invention that can be understood from the above-described embodiment and modifications will be described below.

[0067] (1) A management device (20) for an injection molding machine (10) includes a machine information acquisition unit (230) that acquires machine information related to the operating status and operating history (112) of each of a plurality of injection molding machines equipped with a mold (80); a mold information acquisition unit (232) that acquires mold information related to the usage history (152, 162) of the mold equipped in each of the plurality of injection molding machines; a determination unit (234) that determines whether the maintenance time for the mold equipped in each of the plurality of injection molding machines has arrived or is approaching based on the machine information and the mold information; and a display unit (236) that simultaneously displays on a screen (300) a first graphic (330) indicating the operating status of each of the plurality of injection molding machines and a second graphic (350) indicating the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold equipped in each of the plurality of injection molding machines in association with each other. This makes it easy to check at a glance the operating status of multiple injection molding machines as well as the determination results regarding the arrival or approaching of the maintenance time for the molds mounted on each injection molding machine.

[0068] (2) The determination unit may determine whether the maintenance time for the mold has arrived or is approaching based on whether measurement values ​​of items included in the machine information and the mold information satisfy predetermined conditions. This makes it possible to uniformly define criteria for determining whether the maintenance time for the mold has arrived or is approaching.

[0069] (3) The determination unit may determine whether the measurement value satisfies the predetermined condition by comparing the measurement value with a set value set for the item, thereby enabling the determination criteria for the arrival or approach of maintenance time to be determined according to the user's circumstances.

[0070] (4) The items may be the number of shots of the mold, the molding time of the mold, the number of alarms that occurred while the mold was in use, the defective rate of molded products made by the mold, or the elapsed time since the mold was installed. This allows for accurate determination of whether or not the mold maintenance period has arrived or is approaching.

[0071] (5) The mold information may include at least one of the number of shots of the mold, the molding time of the mold, and the elapsed time, thereby enabling accurate determination of when or how soon mold maintenance is due.

[0072] (6) The mold information acquisition unit may acquire the mold information from a first recording medium (110) provided in the injection molding machine or a second recording medium (150, 160) provided in the mold. This ensures that the mold information can be acquired reliably.

[0073] (7) The mold may be provided with a counter (120) or a timer (130) having the second recording medium, and the measurement values ​​of the items included in the mold information may be measured by the counter or the timer. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether the mold maintenance time has arrived or is approaching, even if the injection molding machine on which the mold is mounted changes.

[0074] (8) The display unit may change the color or shape of the first graphic in accordance with the operating status of the injection molding machine, and change the color or shape of the second graphic in accordance with the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold, thereby improving visibility of the operating status of the injection molding machine and the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold.

[0075] (9) The display unit may display the first and second figures adjacent to each other on the screen, thereby making it easier to understand at a glance the correspondence between a plurality of injection molding machines and the molds mounted on each injection molding machine.

[0076] (10) A method for managing an injection molding machine (10) includes a machine information acquisition step for acquiring machine information relating to the operating status and operating history (112) of each of a plurality of injection molding machines equipped with a mold (80), a mold information acquisition step for acquiring mold information relating to the use history (152, 162) of the mold equipped in each of the plurality of injection molding machines, a determination step for determining whether the maintenance time for the mold equipped in each of the plurality of injection molding machines has arrived or is approaching based on the machine information and the mold information, and a display step for simultaneously displaying, on a screen (300), a first graphic (330) indicating the operating status of each of the plurality of injection molding machines and a second graphic (350) indicating the arrival or approaching of the maintenance time for the mold equipped in each of the plurality of injection molding machines in association with each other. This makes it easy to check at a glance the operating status of the plurality of injection molding machines as well as the arrival or approaching of the maintenance time for the mold equipped in each injection molding machine. [Explanation of symbols]

[0077] 10…Injection molding machine 20…Management device 30...Main body 40...Control device 50...machine base 62...injection drive unit 64...Hopper 66...Cylinder 68...Nozzle 80...Mold 92...Fixed platen 94...Movable platen 96...Rear platen 98...Mold clamping drive unit 102...Fixed mold 104...Movable mold 110, 150, 160... Recording media 112... Operation history 120...Counter 130...Timer 152, 162... Usage history 200... Processing circuit 210...Storage unit 230...Machine information acquisition unit 232...Mold information acquisition unit 234...Determination unit 236...Display section 300...Screen 310...Area 330, 350...Icon

Claims

1. a machine information acquisition unit that acquires machine information relating to the operating status and operating history of each of a plurality of injection molding machines equipped with molds; a mold information acquisition unit that acquires mold information relating to the use history of the molds installed in each of the plurality of injection molding machines; a determination unit that determines whether or not a maintenance time for the mold mounted on each of the plurality of injection molding machines has arrived or is approaching based on the machine information and the mold information; a display unit that simultaneously displays on a screen, in association with each other, a first graphic that is an icon of the injection molding machine that indicates whether the operating status of each of the plurality of injection molding machines is "operating normally," "preparing," or "alarm occurring," and a second graphic that is an icon of the mold that is mounted on each of the plurality of injection molding machines that indicates the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold; Equipped with The display unit simultaneously displays the first graphic and the second graphic adjacent to each other in the same area on the screen.

2. 2. The control device for an injection molding machine according to claim 1, An injection molding machine management device in which the judgment unit judges whether the maintenance time for the mold has arrived or is approaching based on whether measurement values ​​of items included in the machine information and the mold information satisfy predetermined conditions.

3. 3. The control device for an injection molding machine according to claim 2, The determination unit determines whether the measurement value satisfies the predetermined condition by comparing the measurement value with a set value set according to the item.

4. 4. The control device for an injection molding machine according to claim 2 or 3, The item is the number of shots of the mold, the molding time using the mold, the number of alarms that occurred while the mold was in use, the defective rate of molded products using the mold, or the elapsed time since the mold was installed.

5. 5. The control device for an injection molding machine according to claim 4, The mold information includes at least one of the number of shots of the mold, the molding time by the mold, and the elapsed time.

6. The control device for an injection molding machine according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The mold information acquisition unit acquires the mold information from a first recording medium provided in the injection molding machine or a second recording medium provided in the mold.

7. 7. The control device for an injection molding machine according to claim 6, a counter or a timer having the second recording medium is provided in the mold; A management device for an injection molding machine, wherein the measurement values ​​of the items included in the mold information are measured by the counter or the timer.

8. The management device for an injection molding machine according to any one of claims 1 to 7, The display unit changes the color or shape of the first figure according to the operating status of the injection molding machine, and changes the color or shape of the second figure according to the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold.

9. a machine information acquisition step of acquiring machine information relating to the operating status and operating history of each of a plurality of injection molding machines equipped with molds; a mold information acquisition step of acquiring mold information relating to the use history of the molds mounted on each of the plurality of injection molding machines; a determination step of determining whether a maintenance time for the mold mounted on each of the plurality of injection molding machines has arrived or is approaching based on the machine information and the mold information; a display step of simultaneously displaying on a screen, in association with each other, a first graphic which is an icon of the injection molding machine indicating whether the operating status of each of the plurality of injection molding machines is "operating normally," "preparing," or "alarm occurring," and a second graphic which is an icon of the mold mounted on each of the plurality of injection molding machines indicating the arrival or approach of the maintenance time for the mold; Equipped with In the display step, the first graphic and the second graphic are simultaneously displayed adjacent to each other in the same area on the screen.

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