Honing surface processing device

Abstract

A honing surface processing device that can suppress damage to the drill tip and grindstone due to collision. [Solution] The drill has a spindle 2 that is movable in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, a grinding wheel 3 for forming a honing surface that is disposed within the movement range of the spindle 2 and is movable in the Z-axis direction, a camera 5 that photographs the tip of the drill W attached to the spindle 2 and the grinding wheel 3, and control means 6. The camera 5 comprises an X-axis camera 5a that photographs the tip of the drill W and the grinding wheel 3 from the X-axis direction and a Y-axis camera 5b that photographs the tip of the drill W and the grinding wheel 3 from the Y-axis direction. The control means 6 calculates relative position information between the tip of the drill W and the grinding wheel 3 based on position information of the tip of the drill W and position information of the grinding wheel 3 acquired from the imaging information of the camera 5, and generates information for forming a honing on the tip of the drill W using the grinding wheel 3 based on the relative position information and shape information of the tip of the drill acquired by the camera 5, and outputs the information to the drive mechanism for the spindle 2 and the grinding wheel 3.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a honing surface processing device, and more particularly to a device that automatically performs honing processing on the tip of a drill. [Background technology]

[0002] In cutting tools such as drills, a honing process is performed to chamfer the sharp edges of the cutting edge to make them blunt (to form a honed surface) in order to increase the rigidity of the cutting edge and prevent chipping of the cutting edge.

[0003] Patent Document 1 shows a processing device that performs honing on the tip of a drill. The processing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is equipped with a spindle with a drill held at its tip, a grinding wheel that forms a honing surface on the tip of the drill held by the spindle, and a drive mechanism that moves the spindle and the grinding wheel in a predetermined direction. The processing device also includes a measurement probe that moves integrally with the spindle, a photographing camera that photographs the drill and measurement probe held by the spindle, and control means that acquires image information of the drill tip and measurement probe from the photographing camera and drive information from the drive mechanism, and based on this information, issues to the drive mechanism information for forming a honing surface on the tip of the drill with the grinding wheel. The control means is configured to calculate working position information that indicates the relative positions of the tip of the drill and the grinding wheel from position information of the drill tip acquired based on the image information from the photographing camera, and position information of the grinding wheel acquired by moving the measurement probe photographed by the photographing camera and bringing it into contact with the grinding wheel, and to issue information to the drive mechanism for forming a honing surface on the tip of the drill with the grinding wheel based on the working position information and shape information of the drill tip acquired by the photographing camera. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-213814 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the conventional processing device shown in Patent Document 1 has the following problems, and improvements thereto have been desired.

[0006] In other words, in conventional processing devices, a measurement probe that moves integrally with the spindle is used to obtain positional information of the grinding wheel, which means that the measurement probe, which is separate from the spindle, is attached to the spindle, which poses the problem of increasing the number of parts and complicating the device structure.

[0007] Furthermore, in conventional processing devices, the position information of the grindstone is calculated by the control means based on the image information obtained by bringing a measurement probe into contact with the grindstone and photographing the measurement probe with a photographing camera, so if the measurement probe is misaligned, for example, the position of the grindstone cannot be accurately calculated.If the position of the grindstone is not accurately calculated, the tip of the drill and the grindstone may collide when honing the tip of the drill, which could damage the tip of the drill and the grindstone.

[0008] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and its object is to provide a honing surface processing device that has a simple structure and can accurately measure the positions of the drill tip and grinding wheel, and that can prevent damage to the drill tip and grinding wheel due to collisions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, the honing surface processing device of the present invention is a honing surface processing device that forms a honing surface on the cutting edge of a drill that is detachably attached to the tip of a spindle, and includes a spindle that is configured to be movable in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, a grindstone for forming the honing surface that is arranged within the movement range of the spindle and is configured to be movable in the Z-axis direction, a drive mechanism that moves the spindle and the grindstone in predetermined directions, a photographing device that photographs the tip of the drill attached to the spindle and the grindstone, and obtains image information of the tip of the drill and the grindstone photographed by the photographing device and drive information from the drive mechanism, and based on that information, performs honing on the tip of the drill with the grindstone. and a control means for issuing information to the drive mechanism for forming a honing surface, wherein the photographing device has an X-axis camera for photographing the tip of the drill and the grinding wheel from the X-axis direction and a Y-axis camera for photographing from the Y-axis direction, and the control means calculates relative position information between the tip of the drill and the grinding wheel based on position information of the tip of the drill indicating the position of the tip of the drill obtained based on the imaging information from the photographing device and position information of the grinding wheel obtained based on the imaging information from the photographing device, and issues information to the drive mechanism for forming a honing on the tip of the drill with the grinding wheel based on the relative position information and shape information of the tip of the drill obtained by the photographing device.

[0010] The present invention has the following features as its preferred embodiments. (1) The camera is characterized by including a lighting device that is arranged at approximately the same height as the imaging device and is configured to be horizontally rotatable.

[0011] (2) The lighting device is characterized in that the light-emitting part is a flat lighting device configured with an upright flat surface.

[0012] (3) The grinding stone has a rough grinding stone for rough processing and a finishing grinding stone for finish processing, and is characterized in that the rough grinding stone and the finishing grinding stone are arranged in parallel with a shift in position in the Z-axis direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] According to the present invention, the tip of the drill held on the spindle and the grinding wheel that forms a honing surface on the tip of the drill are photographed with an X-axis camera and a Y-axis camera, respectively, and the relative position between the tip of the drill and the grinding wheel is calculated and the shape of the tip of the drill (shape information) is determined based on the photographed images (image information).This makes it possible to accurately measure the relative position between the tip of the drill and the grinding wheel and the shape of the tip of the drill without using a physical measuring tool (e.g., a measurement probe) that is prone to errors (without increasing the number of parts or complicating the device structure).By accurately measuring these, damage due to collision between the drill and the grinding wheel can be effectively prevented during the honing process. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing an example of a honing surface processing device according to the present invention. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a front view showing an example of the honing surface processing device. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a right side view showing the example of the honing surface processing device. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the functions of a control means of the honing surface processing device. [Figure 5] 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure for acquiring imaging information for acquiring position information of the tip of the drill in the honing surface processing device. [Figure 6] 10 is a flowchart showing a procedure for acquiring imaging information for acquiring positional information of a grindstone in the honing surface processing device. [Figure 7] 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams of the procedure for acquiring positional information on the tip of a drill in the honing surface processing device. Fig. 7A shows the state in which the drill is attached to the chuck device of the spindle, and Fig. 7B shows the state in which the drill attached to the spindle is positioned at the shooting position. [Figure 8]8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams of the procedure for acquiring positional information of the grinding wheel in the honing surface processing device, where Fig. 8(a) shows the rough grinding wheel at the photographing position as viewed from the Y-axis direction, and Fig. 8(b) shows the rough grinding wheel at the photographing position as viewed from the Z-axis direction. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the procedure of the honing process in the honing surface processing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a honing surface processing device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this specification and the drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

[0016] 1 to 4, the honing surface processing device 1 according to the present invention is a processing device for forming a honed surface on the cutting edge provided at the tip of a drill, and mainly comprises a spindle 2 having a drill W as a workpiece attached to its tip, a grindstone 3 for honing the drill W attached to the spindle 2, a drive mechanism 4 for the spindle 2 and grindstone 3, a photography device 5 for photographing the tip of the drill W attached to the spindle 2 and the grindstone 3, and control means 6 for controlling each part of the device. In addition to the above, the honing surface processing device 1 shown in this embodiment is also equipped with an illumination device 7 associated with the photography device 5.

[0017] The spindle 2 is a shaft for driving the drill W to rotate, and is mounted horizontally on a device base 8. The spindle 2 includes a chuck device 10 that detachably holds the drill W at the tip of the spindle 2, and an A-axis motor 11 that drives the drill W attached to the chuck device 10 to rotate. The chuck device 10 is composed of a drill chuck that detachably holds the drill W, and in this embodiment, is configured to manually attach and detach the drill W. The A-axis motor 11 is connected to the spindle 2 via a drive linkage mechanism such as a gear (not shown), so that the spindle 2 is driven to rotate in conjunction with the A-axis motor 11. An electric motor such as an AC servo motor is used as the A-axis motor 11, and the electric motor is driven and controlled by a motor driver 44 provided in the control means 6 (see FIG. 4).

[0018] The spindle 2 is configured to be movable in the X-axis and Y-axis directions on the device base 8. Here, the X-axis direction refers to a direction parallel to the mounting axis A of the drill W, as shown in FIG. 1 , and the Y-axis direction refers to a direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction in a horizontal plane. To enable the spindle 2 to be movable in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, the honing surface processing device 1 according to this embodiment includes an X-axis stage 12 that moves in the X-axis direction on the device base 8, a Y-axis stage 13 that moves in the Y-axis direction on the X-axis stage 12, and a bearing (not shown) on the Y-axis stage 13. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 , a pair of X-axis linear guides 14, 14 are disposed on the device base 8 in the X-axis direction, the X-axis stage 12 is disposed on the carriage of the X-axis linear guides 14, 14, and a pair of Y-axis linear guides 15, 15 are disposed on the X-axis stage 12 in the Y-axis direction, and the Y-axis stage 13 is disposed on the carriage of the Y-axis linear guides 15, 15.

[0019] X-axis stage 12 is connected to X-axis motor 16 via a drive linkage mechanism such as a ball screw 18, and is capable of moving in the X-axis direction in conjunction with X-axis motor 16. Y-axis stage 13 is connected to Y-axis motor 17 via a drive linkage mechanism such as a ball screw (not shown), and is capable of moving in the Y-axis direction in conjunction with Y-axis motor 17. Electric motors such as AC servo motors are used for X-axis motor 16 and Y-axis motor 17, and are driven and controlled by motor drivers 41 and 42 provided in control means 6, respectively (see FIG. 4).

[0020] In the figure, reference numeral 19 denotes a bearing mechanism for preventing runout of the drill W. As shown in Fig. 2, the bearing mechanism for preventing runout 19 is fixedly provided on the Y-axis stage 13, and has a structure in which the tip of the drill W is loosely fitted into the inner ring of the bearing (see Fig. 3), thereby preventing the tip of the drill W from swinging significantly from the mounting axis A.

[0021] The grinding wheel 3 is used to form a honing surface on the cutting edge of the drill W and is positioned within the movement range of the spindle 2. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the grinding wheel 3 is mounted on a grinding wheel head 21 provided on the device base 8. In this embodiment, the grinding wheel 3 is composed of a rough grinding wheel 3a for rough processing and a finish grinding wheel 3b for finish processing, with the rough grinding wheel 3a and the finish grinding wheel 3b being arranged in parallel, one above the other, with their positions offset in the Z-axis direction. The rough grinding wheel 3a and the finish grinding wheel 3b are detachably attached to the ends of horizontally disposed grinding wheel spindles 22a and 22b, respectively. Each of the grinding wheel spindles 22a and 22b is drivingly connected to a grinding wheel spindle motor (not shown) and rotates in conjunction with the grinding wheel spindle motor. The rotation / stop of this grinding wheel spindle motor is controlled by a control means 6 (see FIG. 4).

[0022] The grindstones 3 (rough grindstone 3a and finish grindstone 3b) mounted on the wheel head 21 are configured to be movable in the Z-axis direction. Specifically, the wheel head 21 is provided with a Z-axis motor 23 that serves as a power source for moving the rough grindstone 3a and finish grindstone 3b in the Z direction. In the illustrated example, the Z-axis motor 23 is disposed above the wheel head 21 and is connected to the rough grindstone 3a and finish grindstone 3b via a drive linkage mechanism such as gears (not shown). The rough grindstone 3a and finish grindstone 3b move integrally in the Z-axis direction in conjunction with the Z-axis motor 23. The Z-axis motor 23 is an electric motor such as an AC servo motor, and is drive-controlled by a motor driver 43 provided in the control means 6 (see FIG. 4).

[0023] In the present invention, the Z-axis motor 23 and its motor driver 43, which enable the grinding wheel 3 to move in the Z-axis direction, the X-axis motor 16 and its motor driver 41, which enable the main spindle 2 to move in the X-axis direction, and the Y-axis motor and its motor driver 42, which enable the main spindle 2 to move in the Y-axis direction, constitute the drive mechanism 4, which moves the main spindle 2 and the grinding wheel 3 in their respective predetermined directions.

[0024] The photographing device 5 is a camera that photographs the tip of the drill W attached to the spindle 2 and the grinding wheel 3, and as shown in FIG. 1, is composed of an X-axis camera 5a that photographs the tip of the drill W and the grinding wheel 3 from the X-axis direction, and a Y-axis camera 5b that photographs the tip of the drill W and the grinding wheel 3 from the Y-axis direction. Both the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b are composed of digital cameras that can record photographed images as digital data. The X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b are each configured to be able to communicate with the control means 6, and the photographed digital data (imaging information) is transmitted to the control means 6. In this embodiment, the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b are wired to a USB port of the control PC 40 (described later) (see FIG. 4).

[0025] In terms of their planar positional relationship (in the X-axis and Y-axis directions), the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b are both positioned outside the movement range of the spindle 2, as shown in FIG. 1. In terms of their three-dimensional positional relationship (in the Z-axis direction), as shown in FIG. 2, both are positioned at approximately the same height as the spindle 2 (specifically, the drill W attached to the spindle 2). This allows the X-axis camera 5a to capture an image of the front of the drill W attached to the spindle 2, and the Y-axis camera 5b to capture an image of the side of the drill W. The X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b are positioned so that their focal points are aligned with an imaging position P1 of the drill W, which will be described later. In other words, by placing the drill W at imaging position P1, it is possible to capture an image of the drill W without moving the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b.

[0026] The X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b are attached to a camera support base 25 disposed on the device base 8. FIG. 2 illustrates the camera support base 25a for the X-axis camera 5a. As shown in this figure, the camera support base 25a includes a camera holding mechanism 26 that detachably holds the X-axis camera 5a, a camera position adjustment mechanism 27 that finely adjusts the position of the X-axis camera 5a held by the camera holding mechanism 26 in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions, and a sensor arm 28 that has a drill collision prevention sensor 29 located near the tip of the X-axis camera 5a. The drill collision prevention sensor 29 is composed of a proximity sensor that detects the approach of the drill W to the X-axis camera 5a, and a detection signal from this proximity sensor is sent to the control means 6. The camera support base 25b to which the Y-axis camera 5b is attached has a configuration similar to that of the camera support base 25a, and therefore a redundant description will be omitted.

[0027] The lighting device 7 provides illumination for photographing the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b, and is configured as a flat light with a light-emitting portion 31 that has a flat surface that stands upright. As will be described later, this lighting device 7 is rotatable along the circular track C, and by having such a configuration, one lighting device 7 can be used to illuminate two cameras (the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b). Therefore, the honing surface processing device 1 shown in this embodiment does not require a separate lighting device for each camera, and the cost required for arranging the lighting devices is kept low.

[0028] The lighting device 7 is mounted on the lighting device stand 32 so that the light-emitting unit 31 is positioned at approximately the same height as the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b. The lighting device stand 32 is configured to be rotatable along the circular track C indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, and the lighting device 7 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the lighting device stand 32. Specifically, the lighting device stand 32 is connected to and driven by a lighting motor 33 (not shown), and the lighting device stand 32 rotates along the circular track C in conjunction with the lighting motor 33. As a result, in the honing surface processing apparatus 1 shown in this embodiment, the lighting position of the lighting device 7 can be freely changed by rotating the lighting device stand 32. The lighting motor 33 is an electric motor such as an AC servo motor, and is driven and controlled by a motor driver 45 provided in the control means 6 (see FIG. 4).

[0029] The control means 6 is a control device that controls each part of the honing surface processing apparatus 1, and in this embodiment, is configured by a control computer (control PC) 40 equipped with an I / O port, a LAN port, a USB port, etc. (See FIG. 4.) The control PC 40 is configured by a known computer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and in a storage area such as the ROM, control programs for executing various controls, which will be described later, are stored, such as a program for controlling the drive of the X-axis motor 16, the Y-axis motor 17, the Z-axis motor 23, the A-axis motor 11, and the lighting motor 33, a program for controlling the lighting of the lighting device 7, a program for analyzing the image (imaging information) captured by the imaging device 5, and a program for controlling the grinding wheel spindle motor.

[0030] This control PC 40 then acquires the imaging information of the tip of the drill W and the grinding wheel 3 photographed by the photographing device 5, as well as the driving information from the driving mechanism 4, and based on this information, generates the information necessary to form a honing surface on the tip of the drill W using the grinding wheel 3 (honing process), and outputs the generated information to each part of the honing surface processing device 1, including the driving mechanism 4 (details will be described later).

[0031] Next, the procedure for acquiring position information of the tip of the drill W and position information of the grinding wheel 3 by the honing surface processing device 1 of the present invention, and the procedure for honing the tip of the drill W by the grinding wheel 3 will be explained with reference to Figures 5 to 9.

[0032] A: Acquisition of position information of the tip of the drill W The position information of the tip of the drill W is acquired by the control PC 40 in the following procedure. (1) In order to obtain position information of the tip of the drill W, as a preliminary preparation, the drill W is attached to the chuck device 10 of the spindle 2 (see step S1 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7(a)). The attachment of the drill W is performed manually or automatically. In the case of automatic attachment, a device compatible with automation, that is, a chuck device capable of chucking control by the control PC 40, is used as the chuck device 10.

[0033] (2) Once the attachment of the drill W is complete, the illumination position and brightness of the illumination device 7 are then adjusted (see step S2 in FIG. 5). These adjustments are made by the control PC 40. That is, the control PC 40 adjusts the illumination position by controlling the position of the illumination device stand 32 via drive control of the illumination motor 33. The control PC 40 also adjusts the brightness of the light-emitting unit 31 via a program for controlling the lighting of the illumination device 7. Note that the adjustment of the illumination device 7 here is made in preparation for photographing the side surface of the tip of the drill W, and the illumination device 7 is adjusted to a state suitable for photographing the side surface of the tip of the drill W.

[0034] (3) Once the adjustment of the lighting device 7 is complete, the drill W is then moved to the photographing position P1 on the side of the drill (see step S3 in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7(b)). The movement to the photographing position P1 is performed by the control PC 40. That is, the control PC 40 controls the drive of the Y-axis motor 17 to move the drill W so that the attachment axis A of the drill W faces the X-axis camera 5a. The control PC 40 also controls the drive of the X-axis motor 16 to move the tip of the drill W to a position in front of the Y-axis camera 5b. At this time, the control PC 40 monitors the Y-axis camera 5b, automatically detects when the tip of the drill W enters the screen of the Y-axis camera 5b, and stops the drive of the X-axis motor 16 when the tip of the drill W reaches the center of the screen. As a result, the drill W is positioned at the predetermined photographing position P1, and the tip of the drill W stops in front of the Y-axis camera 5b.

[0035] (4) When the advancement of the drill W is stopped, the control PC 40 then executes an image capturing process of the tip side surface of the drill W using the Y-axis camera 5b (see step S4 in FIG. 5). After executing the image capturing process, the control PC 40 determines whether the image capturing by the Y-axis camera 5b was successful (see step S5 in FIG. 5). If the image capturing was not successful, the control PC 40 ends the procedure for acquiring position information of the tip of the drill W and starts the process again from the beginning. On the other hand, if the image capturing was successful, the control PC 40 stores the captured image (image capturing information) of the tip side surface of the drill W in a predetermined storage area (for example, a storage device such as an HDD or SSD) in the control PC 40 (see step S6 in FIG. 5).

[0036] (5) Once the image of the side surface of the tip of the drill W has been captured and reflected, the control PC 40 then begins photographing the front of the drill W. Specifically, the control PC 40 first adjusts the illumination position and brightness of the illumination device 7 (see step S7 in FIG. 5). This adjustment is also performed by the control PC 40 in the same manner as in step S2 in FIG. 5. That is, the control PC 40 adjusts the position of the illumination device stand 32 via drive control of the illumination motor 33 so as to create a state suitable for photographing the front of the drill W, and adjusts the brightness of the light-emitting unit 31 via a program for controlling the lighting of the illumination device 7.

[0037] (6) Once the adjustment of the lighting device 7 is complete, the control PC 40 then executes an image capturing process of the front of the drill W using the X-axis camera 5a (see step S8 in FIG. 5). After the image capturing process is executed, similar to the image capturing process of the side surface of the tip of the drill W, the control PC 40 determines whether the image capturing by the X-axis camera 5a was successful (see step S9 in FIG. 5). If the image capturing was not successful, the procedure for acquiring positional information of the tip of the drill W is terminated and the process is started again from the beginning. On the other hand, if the image capturing was successful, the captured image (image capturing information) of the front of the drill W is stored in a predetermined storage area in the control PC 40 (see step S10 in FIG. 5).

[0038] (7) When the image information of the side and front surfaces of the tip of the drill W is thus captured by the control PC 40, the control PC 40 analyzes the image information and obtains position information of the tip of the drill W.

[0039] B: Obtaining the position information of grinding wheel 3 The position information of the grindstone 3 is acquired by the control PC 40 in the following procedure. For convenience of explanation, the following description will be made on the acquisition of the position information of the rough grindstone 3a.

[0040] (1) When acquiring the position information of the grinding wheel 3, first, the lighting position and brightness of the lighting device 7 are adjusted (see step S1 in FIG. 6). These adjustments are made by the control PC 40. That is, the control PC 40 adjusts the lighting position through drive control of the lighting motor 33, and adjusts the brightness of the light-emitting unit 31 through a lighting control program. The adjustment of the lighting device 7 here is made in preparation for photographing the side of the rough grinding wheel 3a (the surface as seen from the Y-axis direction), and the lighting device 7 is adjusted to a state suitable for photographing the side of the rough grinding wheel 3a.

[0041] (2) Once the adjustment of the lighting device 7 is complete, the rough grindstone 3a is then moved to the side photographing position P2 (see step S2 in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8(a)). The movement of the rough grindstone 3a to the photographing position P2 is performed by the control PC 40. That is, the control PC 40 controls the drive of the Z-axis motor 23 to move the rough grindstone 3a so that the rough grindstone 3a is positioned directly in front of the Y-axis camera 5b. At this time, the control PC 40 monitors the Y-axis camera 5b, automatically detects when the rough grindstone 3a enters the screen of the Y-axis camera 5b, and stops the drive of the Z-axis motor 23 when the rough grindstone 3a reaches the center of the screen. As a result, the rough grindstone 3a is positioned at the photographing position P2, and the rough grindstone 3a stops directly in front of the Y-axis camera 5b.

[0042] (3) When the movement of the rough grindstone 3a in the Z-axis direction stops, the control PC 40 then executes an image capturing process of the side of the rough grindstone 3a (the surface as viewed from the Y-axis direction) using the Y-axis camera 5b (see step S3 in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8(b)). After executing the image capturing process, the control PC 40 determines whether the image capturing by the Y-axis camera 5b was successful (see step S4 in FIG. 6). If the image capturing was not successful, the control PC 40 ends the procedure for acquiring the position information of the rough grindstone 3a and starts again from the beginning. On the other hand, if the image capturing was successful, the control PC 40 stores the captured image (image capturing information) of the side of the rough grindstone 3a in a predetermined memory area in the control PC 40 (see step S5 in FIG. 6).

[0043] (4) Once the image of the side surface of the rough grindstone 3a has been captured and reflected, the control PC 40 then begins photographing the front surface of the rough grindstone 3a (the surface as viewed from the X-axis direction). Specifically, the control PC 40 first adjusts the illumination position and brightness of the illumination device 7 (see step S6 in FIG. 6). This adjustment is also performed by the control PC 40 in the same manner as in step S1 in FIG. 6. That is, the control PC 40 controls the position of the illumination device stand 32 via drive control of the illumination motor 33 so as to create a state suitable for photographing the front surface of the rough grindstone 3a, and adjusts the brightness of the light-emitting part 31 via a program for controlling the lighting of the illumination device 7.

[0044] (5) Once the adjustment of the lighting device 7 is complete, the control PC 40 then executes the process of photographing the front of the rough grindstone 3a using the X-axis camera 5a (see step S7 in FIG. 6). After the photographing process is executed, as in the photographing process of the side of the rough grindstone 3a, the control PC 40 determines whether the photographing by the X-axis camera 5a was successful (see step S8 in FIG. 6). If the photographing was not successful, the procedure for acquiring the position information of the rough grindstone 3a is terminated and the process is started again from the beginning. On the other hand, if the photographing was successful, the photographed image of the front of the rough grindstone 3a (imaging information) is stored in a predetermined memory area in the control PC 40 (see step S9 in FIG. 6).

[0045] (6) When the image information of the side and front end of the rough grindstone 3a is thus captured by the control PC 40, the control PC 40 analyzes the image information and obtains the position information of the rough grindstone 3a.

[0046] C: Honing the tip of drill W with grinding wheel 3 When performing the honing process on the tip of the drill W, the control PC 40 controls the drive mechanism 4 in the following procedure.

[0047] (1) The control PC 40 calculates relative position information between the tip of the drill W and the rough grindstone 3a based on position information of the tip of the drill W, which indicates the position of the tip of the drill W, acquired based on imaging information from the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b, and position information of the grindstone 3 (rough grindstone 3a), acquired based on imaging information from the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 9, the control PC 40 calculates the relative distances between the drill W and the rough grindstone 3a in the Y-axis and Z-axis directions from the imaging information of the front of the drill W and the rough grindstone 3a captured by the X-axis camera 5a, and calculates the relative distance between the drill W and the rough grindstone 3a in the X-axis direction from the imaging information of the side of the drill W and the rough grindstone 3a captured by the Y-axis camera 5b.

[0048] (2) Furthermore, the control PC 40 analyzes the image information of the tip of the drill W captured by the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b, and obtains information about the shape of the tip of the drill W (shape information) from the analyzed information.

[0049] (3) Then, the control PC 40 calculates information for forming a honed surface on the tip of the drill W based on relative position information between the tip of the drill W and the rough grindstone 3a and shape information of the tip of the drill W, and outputs the information necessary for the honing process to the drive mechanism 4, etc. During the honing process, the control PC 40 sequentially acquires drive information for the X-axis motor 16, the Y-axis motor 17, and the Z-axis motor 23 through control of the motor drivers 41 to 43, and performs the honing process while updating current position information for the drill W and the rough grindstone 3a. As a result, under the control of the control PC 40, the rough grindstone 3a is rotated and moved appropriately in the Z-axis direction, and the spindle 2 holding the drill W moves in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, so that a honed surface is formed on the drill W.

[0050] As described above in detail, with the honing surface processing device 1 according to the present invention, the tip of the drill W held by the spindle 2 and the processing grindstone 3 that forms a honing surface on the tip of the drill W are photographed by the X-axis camera 5a and the Y-axis camera 5b, respectively, and based on the photographed images (imaging information), the relative position between the tip of the drill W and the grindstone 3 is calculated and the shape (shape information) of the tip of the drill W is grasped. Therefore, when measuring these, it is possible to accurately measure them without using physical measuring tools (for example, a measurement probe) that are prone to producing errors.

[0051] Furthermore, by accurately measuring the relative position between the tip of the drill W and the grinding wheel 3 and the shape of the tip of the drill W, damage to the drill W due to collision between the drill W and the grinding wheel 3 can be effectively prevented during the honing process.

[0052] The above-described embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these, and various design modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention.

[0053] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the spindle 2 is configured to move only in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, and the grinding wheel 3 is configured to move only in the Z-axis direction. However, it is also possible to configure the spindle 2 to be movable also in the Z-axis direction, and the grinding wheel 3 to be movable also in the X-axis and Y-axis directions.

[0054] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been shown in which a control PC 40 separate from the honing surface processing apparatus 1 is used as the control means 6 of the honing surface processing apparatus 1, but it is also possible to configure the control means 6 to be housed within the honing surface processing apparatus 1, for example, by housing the components that make up the control PC 40 inside the apparatus base 8. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1 Honing surface processing device 2 spindle 3. Whetstone 3a Rough whetstone 3b Finishing stone 4 Drive mechanism 5. Imaging equipment 5a X-axis camera 5b Y-axis camera 6. Control Measures 7. Lighting equipment 10. Chuck device 11 A-axis motor 12 X-axis stage 13 Y-axis stage 16 X-axis motor 17 Y-axis motor 19 Anti-vibration bearing mechanism 21 Whetstone head 22a, 22b Grinding wheel spindle 23 Z-axis motor 25 Camera support stand 29 Drill collision prevention sensor 31 Light-emitting part 32 Lighting device stand 33 Lighting motor 40 Control PC 41~45 Motor driver Double Drill P1, P2 shooting positions

Claims

1. A honing surface processing device that forms a honing surface on the cutting edge of a drill that is detachably attached to the tip of a spindle, a main shaft configured to be movable in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction; a grindstone for forming a honing surface, which is disposed within the range of movement of the spindle and is configured to be movable in the Z-axis direction; a drive mechanism for moving the spindle and the grindstone in predetermined directions; an imaging device for imaging the tip of the drill attached to the spindle and the grinding wheel; and a control means for acquiring image information of the tip of the drill and the grindstone photographed by the photographing device and drive information from the drive mechanism, and issuing information to the drive mechanism for forming a honing surface on the tip of the drill using the grindstone based on the information, the photographing device has an X-axis camera that photographs the tip of the drill and the grindstone from an X-axis direction and a Y-axis camera that photographs the tip of the drill and the grindstone from a Y-axis direction, The control means calculates relative position information between the tip of the drill and the grindstone based on position information of the tip of the drill, which is obtained based on the imaging information from the imaging device, and position information of the grindstone, which is obtained based on the imaging information from the imaging device, and issues information to the drive mechanism for forming a honing on the tip of the drill with the grindstone, based on the relative position information and shape information of the tip of the drill obtained by the imaging device. A honing surface processing device characterized by the above.

2. The lighting device is arranged at approximately the same height as the photographing device and is configured to be horizontally rotatable.

2. The honing surface processing device according to claim 1.

3. The lighting device is a flat lighting device in which the light-emitting part is configured as a flat surface that stands upright.

3. The honing surface processing device according to claim 2.

4. The grindstone comprises a rough grindstone for rough processing and a finishing grindstone for finishing processing, The rough grindstone and the finishing grindstone are arranged in parallel with each other, with their positions shifted in the Z-axis direction.

4. The honing surface processing device according to claim 3.

Images