Mold maintenance equipment

Abstract

To provide a mold maintenance facility which can be entirely unmanned and can shorten repair time. [Solution] A transport device 55 is provided that moves the mold 10 between the mold identification device 31, groove device 35, stacking device 40, and finishing device 45. A mold management device 60 is provided that controls the transport device 55 and stores groove data, stacking data, and finishing data for the mold. A control device 62 provides the groove data to the groove device 35, the stacking data to the stacking device 40, and the finishing data to the finishing device 45.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a die maintenance facility for maintaining dies used in plastic working and cutting of metal plates. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Various types of molds are in practical use, such as injection molds for manufacturing plastic products, casting molds for manufacturing castings, die-casting molds for manufacturing die-cast products, and press molds for setting in press machines.

[0003] The present invention relates to a press die, particularly to a die used for plastic working and cutting of metal sheets. Plastic working includes drawing and bending. Cutting includes shearing and punching. Press dies are divided into areas that come into direct contact with the metal plate and areas that do not (other areas). The areas that come into direct contact with the metal plate are made of a harder material than the other areas, but they still suffer wear and damage such as cracks.

[0004] To continue using a mold for a long period of time, maintenance to repair damage is necessary. Therefore, various maintenance techniques have been put into practical use (for example, see Patent Document 1 (Fig. 6)).

[0005] Patent Document 1 will be explained with reference to the following figure. FIG. 10 is a flow chart illustrating a conventional mold repair method. In step number (hereinafter abbreviated as S) 201, the mold is set in the groove processing machine, and in S204, CAM data for the groove processing is automatically created, the groove processing is performed based on this CAM data (S205), overlay welding is performed on the processed groove (S206), and the overlay is finished (S207) to complete the repair.

[0006] In Patent Document 1, CAM data is automatically created, groove processing is automatically performed using a groove processing machine based on the created CAM data, buildup welding is automatically performed using a laser welding machine, and finishing processing is automatically performed using a finishing processing machine, so a large portion of the process is automated, which has the advantage of enabling effective mold repair.

[0007] However, the technology of Patent Document 1 has the following drawbacks. Although not explicitly stated in Patent Document 1, an operator sets a die in a groove preparation machine. After groove preparation is complete, the operator moves the die from the groove preparation machine to a laser welding machine. After welding is complete, the operator moves the die from the laser welding machine to a finishing machine. In many cases, the mold is moved using a jig operated by an operator, and the operator must remain near the mold during the movement. Therefore, the technology in Patent Document 1 is only partially unmanned. While there is a demand for further labor reduction, total automation is desired.

[0008] In addition, in Patent Document 1, CAM data for groove preparation is automatically created in S204 for a mold set in a groove preparation machine. However, the degree of damage (for example, crack depth) varies from mold to mold. Therefore, in Patent Document 1, CAM data is automatically created for each mold. As a result, there is an advantage that repairs can be made according to the degree of damage. On the other hand, automatic creation of CAM data takes a certain amount of time, and the longer it takes to create this data, the longer it takes to repair the part. While there is a demand for more efficient maintenance, it is desirable to shorten repair times. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-207884 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0010] An object of the present invention is to provide a mold maintenance facility that can be entirely unmanned and that can shorten repair time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] The present invention is a die maintenance facility for maintaining dies consisting of first to Nth dies used for plastic working and cutting of metal plates, The mold maintenance equipment includes a mold identification device that identifies the type of the mold, a groove device that cuts the portion of the mold to be repaired to form a groove, a lamination device that laminates repair material on the groove to form a cladding portion, and a finishing device that shapes the cladding portion. A conveying device that moves the mold between the mold identification device, the groove device, the stacking device, and the finishing device; A mold management device that controls the conveying device and stores groove data, stacking data, and finishing data of the first mold to the Nth mold; A mold maintenance facility is provided, which is characterized by comprising: a control device that, when the mold identified by the mold identification device is the Mth mold among the 1st to Nth molds, acquires the groove data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device and controls the groove device based on this groove data, acquires the stacking data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device and controls the stacking device based on this stacking data, and acquires the finishing data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device and controls the finishing device based on this finishing data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] In the present invention, the transfer of dies between the die identification device, groove device, lamination device, and finishing device is left to the transport device, so there is no need for an operator to stay at the maintenance facility. In addition, since the various data stored in the mold management device is used, there is no need to create data for the received molds after they are received. Since data is not created for each mold individually, repair time can be shortened. As a result, the present invention provides a mold maintenance facility that can be entirely automated and can reduce repair time. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] (a) is a cross-sectional view of the mold, (b) is a cross-sectional view of the damaged mold, (c) and (d) are diagrams explaining the repair work, and (e) is a cross-sectional view of the mold after repair. [Figure 2] (a) to (e) are diagrams for explaining a wire frame, and (f) and (g) are diagrams for explaining a ruled surface. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram illustrating the basic configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a table and a horizontal axis. [Figure 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the basic configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to a first modified example of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the basic configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to a second modified example of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the basic configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to a third modified example of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the basic configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to a fourth modified example of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a conventional mold repair method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Example]

[0015] [Mold] The die 10 is a die used for plastic working of a metal plate, such as a drawing die, or a shearing die used for cutting a metal plate. Shearing dies include hole-making dies consisting of a die and a punch.

[0016] In addition, in the case of a large mold that is made up of an assembly of multiple molds, one separate mold becomes the mold 10. Furthermore, when an insert is detachably attached to the die body, the removed insert becomes the die 10. The die 10 shown in Figs. 1(a) to 1(e), which will be described later, is an insert block that is detachably attached to a drawing die. This insert block corresponds to the part of the drawing die that directly contacts the metal plate. Hereinafter, the die 10 will be described using a drawing die as an example.

[0017] 1(a), a drawing die (hereinafter referred to as a die) 10 is made up of a base material 11 and hard portions 12 attached to the corners of the base material 11. The hard portions 12 are made of a material harder than the base material 11.

[0018] During drawing, the metal plate slides along the outer peripheral surface of the hard portion 12 while strongly hitting the hard portion 12. Therefore, as the number of times of drawing increases, the surface of the hard portion 12 becomes rough due to wear, and in some cases cracks 13 occur, as shown in Figure 1(b). Roughness and cracks 13 are classified as damage.

[0019] If the degree of damage exceeds an acceptable level, the mold 10 is taken out of service and repaired for reuse. For repair, the hard portion 12 is cut off with a cutting tool such as an end mill, and a groove 14 is formed as shown in FIG. 1(c). In order to shorten the repair time, a fixed amount is removed across the board, rather than removing only the crack 13 portion.

[0020] Next, as shown in Fig. 1(d), a hard material is sprayed or laminated on the groove 14 to provide a cladding portion 15. The cladding portion 15 includes an excess cladding portion 16 on the outer periphery. Preferably, the end of the cladding portion 15 is a step portion 18 that projects to the general surface 17 of the mold 10 (more precisely, the base material 11).

[0021] When this excess material 16 is removed with a cutting tool such as an end mill, the repaired mold 10 shown in FIG. 1(e) is obtained.

[0022] In addition, in FIGS. 1(a) to 1(e), the molds 10 are distinguished as follows. The mold 10 shown in FIG. 1(a) is referred to as a new or reusable sound mold 10A. The mold 10 shown in FIG. 1(b) is called the mold 10B to be repaired. The die 10 shown in FIG. 1(c) is called a grooved die 10C. The die 10 shown in FIG. 1(d) is called a built-up die 10D. The mold 10 shown in Fig. 1(e) is referred to as a repaired mold 10E. The mold 10E is substantially the same as the mold 10A, but is distinguished from the mold 10A for convenience.

[0023] Incidentally, specifying or setting the groove 14 described in Figure 1(c) is important. For this specification or setting, it is recommended to use a wireframe created by CAD (computer-aided design). The technique for using a wireframe is described below.

[0024] Wireframe The wire frame will be explained based on Figs. 2(a) to (e), and the ruled surface corresponding to the groove will be explained based on (f) and (g). Note that a ruled surface is a CAD term and is written as "ruled surface" in English, and refers to a surface surrounded by a group of specific ridges (the definition of ridges will be explained later). Since ridges appear on the surface, a ruled surface is the same as a ruled surface.

[0025] 2(a) shows a vertex 21. This vertex 21 is a point set on a CAD screen. 2(b) shows a linear edge line 22. This edge line 22 is a line connecting two vertices 21 with a straight line. 2(c) shows a curved ridgeline 23. This ridgeline 23 is a line formed by connecting two vertices 21 with a curve. The curve is defined by a radius of curvature R.

[0026] 2(d) shows a wire 24. The wire 24 is a bent line or a meandering line in which straight ridge lines 22 are connected in series, or curved ridge lines 23 are connected in series, or a straight ridge line 22 and a curved ridge line 23 are connected in series. 2(e) shows the wire frame 25. The wire frame 25 is a skeleton structure in which a plurality of wires 24 are arranged in a lattice pattern.

[0027] [Rule surface] In FIG. 2(d), the vertical ridge line 22 is replaced with a linear ridge line 22v, and the horizontal ridge line 22 is replaced with a linear ridge line 22h. Then, the vertex 21 at the joint between the straight edge line 22v and the curved edge line 23 connected to this straight edge line 22v is determined as the first inflection point 26. Similarly, the vertex 21 at the joint between the straight edge line 22h and the curved edge line 23 connected to this straight edge line 22h is defined as a second inflection point 27.

[0028] Next, as shown in Fig. 2(f), the first inflection point 26 and the second inflection point 27 are connected by a line 28. This line 28 corresponds to the groove (Fig. 1, reference numeral 14). When the two-dimensional display of Figure 2(f) is converted into a three-dimensional display, it becomes Figure 2(g).

[0029] In FIG. 2(g), the surface enclosed by the line 28, the wires 24, 24 that are perpendicular to the line 28 (including those that are nearly perpendicular), and the line 28 at the back is the ruled surface 29. This ruled surface 29 corresponds to the groove 14. This groove 14 will remain the same at the next repair, and will be a groove that has been uniformly removed by a fixed amount.

[0030] As described above, the ruled surface 29 is shown by the CAD wireframe 25 and is determined by the line 28 connecting the first inflection point 26 and the second inflection point 27. As a result, the groove 14 is uniquely determined, leaving no room for personal differences or human error.

[0031] In the present invention, the repairs described with reference to FIGS. 1(c) and 1(d) are carried out by a mold maintenance facility 30 described below.

[0032] [Mold maintenance equipment] As shown in FIG. 3, the mold maintenance equipment 30 includes a mold identification device 31 that identifies the type of mold 10, a groove device 35 that cuts the portion of the mold 10 to be repaired to form the groove 14, a stacking device 40 that stacks repair material on the groove 14 to form the buildup portion 15, a finishing device 45 that shapes the buildup portion 15, a measuring device 50 that is placed next to the finishing device 45, a transport device 55 that transports the mold 10, a mold management device 60 that performs comprehensive management, and a control device 62 that receives information from the mold management device 60 and controls the groove device 35, the stacking device 40, and the finishing device 45.

[0033] Preferably, a PC (personal computer) 64 is attached to the mold management device 60, and this PC 64 is used to input and correct various data corresponding to the first mold to the Nth mold into the mold management device 60. Also, pass / fail judgment information and the like are displayed on a display attached to the PC 64. The detailed structure and function of each component will be explained below in order.

[0034] [Mold identification device] The mold identification device 31 includes an ID reader 33 that reads the ID information of a tag 32 attached to the mold 10 in a non-contact manner, and serves to send the ID information to the mold management device 60. The tag 32 is a one-dimensional code, a two-dimensional code, or an RFID tag. RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is the name of a system that uses radio waves to read and write data on an RFID tag without contact.

[0035] When there are multiple types of mold 10 with different sizes or uses, these will be referred to as mold 1 to mold N for convenience, and one of molds 1 to N will be referred to as mold M (where 1≦M≦N).

[0036] [Bevel device] The groove device 35 is preferably an NC cutting device that includes a cutting tool 36 such as an end mill and performs cutting based on groove data provided by the control device 62 .

[0037] [Lamination device] The lamination device 40 is preferably a thermal spraying machine that melts and sprays a hard material with plasma heat to form a laminate, or a metal three-dimensional printer known as a metal 3D printer. The metal three-dimensional printer preferably includes a table 41 on which the mold 10 is placed, as shown in Figure 4, and this table 41 is supported by a horizontal shaft 42, which is rotated by a servo motor 43 so that the groove 14 is horizontal (including almost horizontal). By making the table 41 horizontal, it is possible to prevent the hard material from flowing off during lamination. The table 41 and horizontal shaft 42 may also be applied to a thermal spraying machine. In FIG. 4, the mold 10 is placed directly on the table 41, but it may also be placed on a pallet and fixed to the table 41.

[0038] [Finishing equipment] The finishing device 45 shown in FIG. 3 is preferably an NC cutting device or NC grinding device that includes a cutting tool 46 such as an end mill or a grindstone and performs finishing based on finishing data provided by a control device 62 .

[0039] [Measuring equipment] The measuring device 50 is provided with a non-contact image sensor or a contact probe 51, and measures the shape and dimensions of the repaired portion. The measuring device 50 is additionally provided with a pass / fail determination unit 52.

[0040] [Pass / fail judgment section] The pass / fail determination unit 52 compares the pass / fail determination data provided by the mold management device 60 with the information obtained from the measurement device 50, and outputs pass or fail information.

[0041] [Transportation equipment] The transfer device 55 is controlled by the mold management device 60 (arrow (1) in FIG. 3), and moves (transfers) the mold 10 between the mold identification device 31, the groove device 35, the lamination device 40, and the finishing device 45. The transport device 55 may be a transport robot, but is preferably an unmanned transport vehicle 56 .

[0042] As shown in FIG. 5, the unmanned guided vehicle 56 comprises a housing 58 equipped with steering wheels 57, and an arm 59 attached to the housing 58 so as to be able to move up and down and horizontally. The mold 10 is picked up by an arm 59, stored in a housing 58, moved, and lowered to a predetermined location. It is preferable that the mold 10 is transported on a pallet. The unmanned transport vehicle 56 may be an unmanned cart with a robot mounted thereon, or may be an unmanned forklift.

[0043] 3 is a transport robot installed on the floor, multiple transport robots would be required. On the other hand, if it is an unmanned guided vehicle 56, only one unit would suffice. However, the transport device 55 may be a combination of an unmanned guided vehicle 56 and a transport robot.

[0044] [Mold management device] The mold management device 60 has the functions shown in the dashed line frame in Fig. 3. That is, the mold management device 60 controls the transport device 55 and stores groove data, stacking data, and finish data of the first to Nth molds. In addition, the mold management device 60 stores pass / fail judgment data and provides this pass / fail judgment data to the pass / fail judgment unit 52.

[0045] [Control device] When the mold 10 identified by the mold identification device 31 is the Mth mold among the first mold to the Nth mold, the control device 62 acquires groove data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device 60 and controls the groove device 35 based on this groove data. In addition, the control device 62 acquires stacking data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device 60 and controls the stacking device 40 based on this stacking data. In addition, the control device 62 acquires the finishing data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device 60 and controls the finishing device 45 based on this finishing data.

[0046] The operation of the mold maintenance equipment 30 described above will now be described. 3, the mold 10B to be repaired is set in the mold identification device 31 by the transport device 55, and the mold 10B to be repaired is identified as any one of the first mold to the Nth mold by the mold identification device 31. In this example, the mold 10B to be repaired is identified as the Mth mold.

[0047] After this identification, the mold 10B to be repaired is transferred from the mold identification device 31 to the groove device 35 by the transport device 55. The groove device 35 performs groove processing in accordance with the groove data of the Mth mold provided from the control device 62.

[0048] The grooved die 10C is transferred from the groove device 35 to the lamination device 40 by the transfer device 55. The lamination device 40 performs build-up processing in accordance with lamination data for the Mth die provided from the control device 62.

[0049] The mold 10D that has been built up is transferred by the transfer device 55 from the laminating device 40 to the finishing device 45. The finishing device 45 performs finishing in accordance with the finishing data for the Mth mold provided by the control device 62. This completes the tentative repair.

[0050] The repaired mold 10E is transferred from the finishing device 45 to the measuring device 50 by the transfer device 55. The measuring device 50 may be disposed outside the finishing device 45, or may be attached to the finishing device 45. When attached, the mold 10E inside the finishing device 45 can be measured directly by the measuring device 50. The measuring device 50 checks the finish of the mold 10E. The pass / fail determination unit 52 performs pass / fail determination based on the pass / fail determination data for the Mth mold provided from the mold management device 60, and outputs pass / fail determination information.

[0051] The configuration and operation of the mold maintenance equipment 30 have been described above with reference to FIG. If the mold maintenance equipment 30 in Figure 3 is used as the basic form, this basic form can be modified. For example, the finishing device 45 may be the same equipment as the groove processing device 35. If the groove processing and the finishing processing are performed using the same equipment, there is no need to add additional equipment, but there is a concern that productivity may decrease. However, if the production volume can be covered, it is preferable that they be the same equipment.

[0052] Furthermore, with metal 3D printer devices, it is possible to install equipment that can perform groove processing, finishing processing, and lamination processing in the same device, which has the advantage of leading to load distribution for each process. Another advantage is that if you want to process a specific mold first, you can complete the processing of that specific mold in one go. Therefore, the system can be customized (expanded) according to production conditions. The configuration and operation of the mold maintenance equipment 30 according to the modified example will be described in order with reference to FIGS.

[0053] [First change example] Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to a first modified example. In Fig. 6, the same components as those in Fig. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals as in Fig. 3, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. That is, the mold maintenance equipment 30A according to the first modified example adds and stores the predetermined number of shots in the mold management device 60 shown in Fig. 3. In addition, the mold management device 60 is configured to acquire the number of shots for the first mold to the Nth mold from a host computer.

[0054] The predetermined number of shots refers to (m-α) when it is known from experience that for the Mth mold, quality assurance of drawing and other processes is possible up to m times, but this is no longer the case once m has been reached. The number of shots for the first to Nth dies refers to the actual number of times that new (or repaired) first to Nth dies are attached to a press machine and plastic working or the like is performed on a metal plate.

[0055] When the mold management device 60 receives information that the mold 10 recognized by the mold identification device 31 is, for example, mold No. M, it compares the number of shots for the Mth mold received from the host computer with the stored preset number of shots for the Mth mold. If the number of shots for the Mth mold is less than the preset number of shots for the Mth mold, the conveying device 55 conveys the mold 10 to the exit via the bypass path. In other words, the mold 10 is discharged outside the mold maintenance facility 30.

[0056] This first modified example exhibits the following unique effects. This has the advantage that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as repairs being made to a mold that does not need repairs.

[0057] [Second modification example] Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to a second modified example. In Fig. 7, the same components as those in Fig. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals as in Fig. 3, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. That is, the mold maintenance facility 30B according to the second modified example is obtained by adding a storage device 66 to the mold maintenance facility 30 shown in FIG.

[0058] This second modified example exhibits the following unique effects. It is possible to respond to interruptions. When a specific mold that is not included in the repair plan is damaged during normal repair work, this specific mold may be more important than the other molds, and a request may be made to repair it before the other molds. At this time, when a priority command is input to the mold management device 60 by the PC 64, the mold management device 60 moves all or part of the other molds (the molds 10B to 10E currently being repaired) to the storage device 66 by the transport device 55. The particular mold is then repaired. After the particular mold has been repaired, the other molds are returned from storage 66 to line 68.

[0059] [line] The line 68 is a flow line of the mold 10, and corresponds to a line connecting adjacent processing devices such as the mold identification device 31 and the groove device 35. The line 68 may be a straight line, a curved line, or a meandering line.

[0060] [Third change example] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to a third modified example. In Fig. 8, the same components as those in Fig. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals as in Fig. 3, and detailed descriptions thereof will be omitted. That is, the mold maintenance facility 30C according to the third modified example adds a transport device control unit 71 to the mold maintenance facility 30 shown in Fig. 3. Tolerance data of the first to Nth molds is added to and stored in the mold management device 60. Then, the transport device control unit 71 receives the pass / fail determination information from the pass / fail determination unit 52 and commands the transport device 55 to perform the following three types of control.

[0061] The transport device control unit 71 selects the tolerance of the Mth mold from the tolerances of the first to Nth molds provided by the mold management device 60, and compares it with the pass / fail information of the Mth mold provided by the pass / fail determination unit 52. If the pass / fail information indicates pass, the transfer device 55 transfers the mold 10 from the measuring device 50 to the exit as usual. If the pass / fail information indicates failure and the tolerance is positive, the transfer device 55 returns the mold 10 from the measuring device 50 to the finishing device 45 . If the pass / fail information indicates failure and the tolerance is negative, the transfer device 55 returns the mold 10 from the measuring device 50 to the groove device 35 .

[0062] In this third modified example, it is possible to eliminate unnecessary machining of the mold 10. As a result, it is possible to reduce machining costs while improving the efficiency of maintenance.

[0063] [Fourth change example] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a mold maintenance facility according to a fourth modified example. In Fig. 9, the same components as those in Fig. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals as in Fig. 3, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. That is, in the mold maintenance equipment 30D according to the fourth modified example, a first measuring device 73 is added between the mold identification device 31 and the groove device 35, and a best-fit processing unit 74 and a wear amount calculation unit 75 are attached to this first measuring device 73. With the addition of the first measuring device 73, the measuring device 50 in Fig. 3 is renamed a second measuring device 77. Furthermore, a function for storing solid model data and mold data for measurement data is added to the mold management device 60.

[0064] Here, the solid model data is data corresponding to the shape or contour of the new mold 10 . The measurement data mold data is data corresponding to the dimensions of the new hard portion 12. The solid model data and measurement data for the mold are separately measured and stored for molds that have been judged acceptable during mass production.

[0065] The invention described above can be summarized as follows. As shown in FIG. 3, a mold maintenance facility 30 for maintaining molds 10 consisting of first to Nth molds used for plastic working and cutting of metal plates, The mold maintenance equipment 30 includes a mold identification device 31 that identifies the type of the mold 10, a groove device 35 that cuts the portion to be repaired of the mold 10 to form a groove 14, a lamination device 40 that laminates a repair material on the groove 14 to form a buildup portion 15, and a finishing device 45 that shapes the buildup portion 15. A conveying device 55 that moves the mold 10 between the mold identification device 31, the groove device 35, the stacking device 40, and the finishing device 45; A mold management device 60 that controls the conveyance device 55 and stores groove data, stacking data, and finishing data of the first mold to the Nth mold; When the mold 10 identified by the mold identification device 31 is the Mth mold among the 1st to Nth molds, the control device 62 acquires the groove data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device 60 and controls the groove device 35 based on this groove data, acquires the stacking data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device 60 and controls the stacking device 40 based on this stacking data, and acquires the finishing data corresponding to the Mth mold from the mold management device 60 and controls the finishing device 45 based on this finishing data.

[0066] The present invention provides a mold maintenance facility that can be entirely automated and can reduce repair time.

[0067] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 7, the mold maintenance facility 30B further includes a storage device 66 for storing the mold 10. When a priority command is received to give priority to maintenance of a specific mold 10 over the molds 10 present in the mold maintenance equipment 30B, the mold management device 60 causes the conveying device 55 to take steps to move all or some of the molds 10, excluding the specific mold 10, to the storage device 66.

[0068] As previously mentioned, the present invention allows for interrupt handling. In addition, if the type or size of the mold changes, the groove preparation time, lamination processing time, and finish processing time will change. In this case, an unavoidable time lag occurs, and maintenance productivity decreases. In this regard, according to the present invention, by transferring the relevant mold to a storage device as needed, the operating rate of the groove preparation device, lamination device, and finish device can be increased, and maintenance productivity can be improved.

[0069] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 9, the mold maintenance equipment 30D further includes at least one of a first measuring device 73 and a second measuring device 77, wherein the first measuring device 73 is arranged on a line 68 connecting the mold identification device 31 and the groove device 35, and the second measuring device 77 is arranged next to the finishing device 45.

[0070] The second measuring device 77 can be used to check the finish of the mold after repair. The first measuring device 73 can measure the shape, contour or hole of the mold before repair, and the obtained measurement information can be used for various purposes.

[0071] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 9, the mold management device 60 provides the solid model data to the first measuring device 73 and the 1 Measuring equipment 73 At least one of the mold data for measurement data to be provided to the is further stored.

[0072] The best fit processing unit 74 and the wear amount calculation unit 75 may be included in the first measuring device 73 . Then, when the solid model data is provided, the first measuring device 73 can create best-fit data from the measurement information and solid model data that it has acquired. Furthermore, when the measurement data mold data is provided, the first measuring device 73 can calculate the amount of wear of the hard portion from the measurement information it has acquired and the measurement data mold data.

[0073] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 9, the first measuring device 73 measures the shape or contour of the M die or a hole provided in the M die, acquires solid model data corresponding to the M die from the die management device 60, creates best-fit data from the solid model data of the M die and the measurement values ​​of the M die, and provides the best-fit data to the die management device 60, The mold management device 60 performs positioning of the groove data, the lamination data, and the finish data based on the provided best-fit data.

[0074] Generally, a reference pin is provided on a pallet on which a mold is placed, and the mold is positioned using this reference pin. The mold is also positioned during groove processing based on the position information of the reference pin, the mold is positioned during lamination processing based on the position information of the reference pin, and the mold is positioned during finish processing based on the position information of the reference pin. This increases the manufacturing cost of the reference pin and the labor cost of fitting the mold onto the reference pin. In contrast, according to the present invention, groove data, lamination data, and finishing data are positioned based on best-fit data, so reference pins are not required, which reduces manufacturing and operating costs related to pallets. In addition, there is an advantage that positioning based on best-fit data is more accurate than positioning based on reference pins.

[0075] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 9, the first measuring device 73 measures the shape or contour of the M die or a hole provided in the M die, acquires measurement data for the M die from the die management device 60, calculates the amount of wear from the measurement data for the M die and the measurement value of the M die, and provides the calculated amount of wear to the die management device 60, The mold management device 60 continues the maintenance when the provided wear amount exceeds a predetermined value.

[0076] According to the present invention, when the amount of wear is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the die is transported from the first measuring device 73 to the exit along the bypass line in Fig. 9. Since unnecessary maintenance is not performed, the productivity of the die maintenance equipment 30 can be improved.

[0077] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 6, the mold management device 60 receives information on the number of shots of the mold M, and continues maintenance when the number of shots exceeds a predetermined number.

[0078] According to the present invention, when the number of shots is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the mold is transported from the mold identification device 31 to the exit by the transport device 55 along the bypass line in Fig. 6. Since unnecessary maintenance is not performed, the productivity of the mold maintenance equipment can be improved.

[0079] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 1(d), the buildup portion 15 includes an excess portion 16 that is cut off by the finishing device, and this excess portion 16 includes a step portion 18 that extends to a general surface 17 of the mold adjacent to the groove 14.

[0080] If the buildup 15 is built up with the groove 14 as the bottom surface in order to save hard material, a V-shaped notch may be formed at the boundary between the buildup 15 and the general surface 17. Cracks are likely to form at the bottom of the buildup 15, starting from the notch. As a result, the life of the mold 10 is shortened. In this regard, according to the present invention, the step portion 18 can prevent the occurrence of a V-shaped notch portion, and the life of the mold 10 can be extended.

[0081] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 2(g), the groove data is a ruled surface 29 of a band-shaped plane separated by the boundary between the curved surface and the plane (first inflection point 26 and second inflection point 27 shown in FIG. 2(d)), the lamination data is the buildup portion (FIG. 1(d), symbol 15) to be built up on the ruled surface 29, and the finishing data is data excluding the excess buildup portion (FIG. 1(d), symbol 16) from the buildup portion.

[0082] The ruled surface 29 is shown by a CAD wireframe 25 and is determined by a line 28 connecting a first inflection point 26 and a second inflection point 27. As a result, the groove 14 is uniquely determined, leaving no room for personal differences or human error.

[0083] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 3, the mold identification device 31 includes an ID reader 33 that reads a tag 32 such as a one-dimensional code, a two-dimensional code, or an RFID tag attached to the mold 10.

[0084] The ID reader 33 can automatically identify the type of mold 10. One-dimensional and two-dimensional codes can cause reading errors if they become dirty. In contrast, RFID tags have the advantage of being resistant to dirt.

[0085] Preferably, the lamination device 40 is a metal three-dimensional printer, which, as shown in Figure 4, has a table 41 on which the mold 10 is placed, and this table 41 is rotatable around a horizontal axis 42, so that the groove 14 can be held horizontally.

[0086] If the groove 14 is horizontal, a metal three-dimensional printer can be used. The metal three-dimensional printer can easily form the buildup portion (FIG. 1, reference numeral 15).

[0087] Preferably, as shown in FIG. 8, the mold maintenance equipment 30C includes a measuring device 50 disposed next to the finishing device 45 for measuring the shape of the mold 10; an acceptance / rejection determination unit 52 that determines, based on acceptance / rejection determination data from the mold management device 60 and mold dimension information from the measurement device 50, acceptance information indicating that the mold dimension is within the tolerance, negative rejection information indicating that the mold dimension is out of the tolerance on the negative side, or positive rejection information indicating that the mold dimension is out of the tolerance on the positive side; The conveying device control unit 71 controls the conveying device 55 so that when the pass information is obtained, the mold 10 is conveyed from the measuring device 50 to the exit, when the negative side fail information is obtained, the mold 10 is conveyed from the measuring device 50 to the groove device 35, and when the positive side fail information is obtained, the mold 10 is conveyed from the measuring device 50 to the finishing device 45.

[0088] According to the present invention, the quality of the mold after repair can be maintained at a good level. Furthermore, the present invention provides the following effects. In FIG. 8, if all of the dies 10 that have been determined to be unacceptable are returned to the groove device 35, a process of re-grooving and re-stacking will be required, resulting in a significant consumption of hard material. In this regard, according to the present invention, if the tolerance is positive, the mold 10 is returned to the finishing device, which results in half the number of re-finishing and re-stacking steps, making it possible to save hard material.

[0089] The mold maintenance equipment 30 of the present invention may be used not only for repairing the mold 10 but also for producing a new mold 10.

[0090] The procedure for new production is as follows: The base material 11 shown in FIG. 1(a) is changed to one having a rectangular cross section without a hard portion 12. In FIG. 1(c), a groove 14 is made in a base material 11 having a rectangular cross section using a cutting tool. In FIG. 1( d ), a cladding portion 15 is laminated on the groove 14 . The excess metal portion 16 is removed to obtain the mold 10 shown in Fig. 1(e). In this way, a newly produced mold 10 is obtained.

[0091] Furthermore, for example, if the mold maintenance equipment 30D in FIG. 9 is in the mass production stage, various data can be created and saved based on the mold 10E that has been judged as pass by the pass / fail judgement unit 52. If groove data, layer data, finish data, mold solid model data, etc. stored in the mold management device 60 are created and stored based on measurements taken in advance of molds to be judged as pass / fail during mass production, it becomes possible to reflect fine adjustments made by workers and also to eliminate the influence of mold deflection, etc. The same applies to the mold maintenance equipment 30, 30A to 30C.

[0092] Furthermore, the mold is measured while placed on a pallet, positioned by best fit, transported together with the pallet, and positioned on the table of each processing machine, thereby enabling each processing to be carried out based on the groove data, stacking data, and finishing data. [Industrial Applicability]

[0093] The present invention is suitable for use in die maintenance equipment for repairing dies used in plastic working and cutting of metal plates. [Explanation of symbols]

[0094] 10...mold, 12...hard part, 14...groove, 15...buildup part, 16...excess part, 17...general surface, 18...step part, 29...ruled surface, 30, 30A-30D...mold maintenance equipment, 31...mold identification device, 32...tag, 33...ID reader, 35...groove device, 40...stacking device, 41...table, 42...horizontal axis, 45...finishing device, 50...measuring device, 51...probe, 55...conveying device, 60...mold management device, 62...control device, 66...storage device, 68...line, 73...first measuring device, 77...second measuring device.

Claims

1. A mold maintenance facility for maintaining molds consisting of first mold to Nth mold used for plastic processing and cutting of metal plates, The mold maintenance equipment includes a mold identification device that identifies the type of the mold, a groove device that cuts the portion of the mold to be repaired to form a groove, a lamination device that laminates repair material on the groove to form a cladding portion, and a finishing device that shapes the cladding portion. A conveying device that moves the mold between the mold identification device, the groove device, the stacking device, and the finishing device; A mold management device that controls the conveying device and stores groove data, stacking data, and finishing data of the first mold to the Nth mold; When the mold identified by the mold identification device is the Mth mold among the first mold to the Nth mold, the groove data corresponding to the Mth mold is acquired from the mold management device, and the groove device is controlled based on the groove data; the stacking data corresponding to the Mth mold is acquired from the mold management device, and the stacking device is controlled based on the stacking data; and the finishing data corresponding to the Mth mold is acquired from the mold management device, and the finishing device is controlled based on the finishing data.

2. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 1, The mold maintenance facility further includes a storage device for storing the mold; A mold maintenance facility characterized in that, when a priority command is received to give priority to maintenance of a specific mold over molds present within the mold maintenance facility, the mold management device causes the conveying device to take action to move all or some of the molds excluding the specific mold to the storage device.

3. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 1, The mold maintenance equipment further comprises at least one of a first measuring device that measures the shape or contour or hole of the mold before repair and a second measuring device that measures the finish of the mold after repair, wherein the first measuring device is arranged on a line connecting the mold identification device and the groove device, and the second measuring device is arranged next to the finishing device.

4. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 3, The mold maintenance facility is characterized in that the mold management device further stores at least one of solid model data to be provided to the first measuring device and mold data for measurement data to be provided to the first measuring device.

5. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 4, the first measuring device measures the shape or contour of the M die or a hole formed in the M die, acquires solid model data corresponding to the M die from the die management device, creates best-fit data from the solid model data of the M die and the measurement values ​​of the M die, and provides the best-fit data to the die management device; The mold maintenance equipment is characterized in that the mold management device positions the groove data, the stacking data, and the finishing data based on the provided best fit data.

6. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 4, the first measuring device measures the shape or contour of the M die or a hole provided in the M die, and also acquires measurement data for the M die from the die management device, calculates a wear amount from the measurement data for the M die and the measurement value of the M die, and provides the calculated wear amount to the die management device; The mold maintenance facility is characterized in that the mold management device continues maintenance when the provided wear amount exceeds a predetermined value.

7. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 1, The mold maintenance facility is characterized in that the mold management device receives information on the number of shots for the M mold, and continues maintenance when the number of shots exceeds a predetermined number.

8. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 1, The mold maintenance equipment is characterized in that the buildup portion includes an excess metal portion that is cut off by the finishing device, and this excess metal portion includes a step portion that protrudes toward the general surface of the mold adjacent to the groove.

9. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 1, The groove data is a ruled surface of a band-shaped plane separated by a boundary between a curved surface and a plane, the lamination data is the build-up portion to be built up on the ruled surface, The mold maintenance equipment is characterized in that the finishing data is data obtained by excluding excess padding from the padding portion.

10. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 1, The mold maintenance equipment is characterized in that the mold identification device is equipped with an ID reader that reads a one-dimensional code, a two-dimensional code, or an RFID tag attached to the mold.

11. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 1, the lamination device is a metal three-dimensional printer, This metal 3D printer is a mold maintenance equipment that is equipped with a table on which the mold is placed, and this table is rotatable around a horizontal axis, allowing the groove to be held horizontally.

12. The mold maintenance facility according to claim 1, The mold maintenance equipment includes a measuring device disposed next to the finishing device for measuring the shape of the mold; an acceptance / rejection determination unit that determines acceptance information in which the mold dimensions are within the tolerance, negative rejection information in which the mold dimensions deviate from the tolerance on the negative side, or positive rejection information in which the mold dimensions deviate from the tolerance on the positive side, based on acceptance / rejection determination data from the mold management device and mold dimension information from the measurement device; A mold maintenance facility characterized by further comprising a conveying device control unit that controls the conveying device so that when the pass information is obtained, the mold is transported from the measuring device to the exit, when the negative side fail information is obtained, the mold is transported from the measuring device to the groove device, and when the positive side fail information is obtained, the mold is transported from the measuring device to the finishing device.

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