Fixtures and systems

Abstract

We provide technology to improve the durability of jigs. [Solution] A jig for placing a workpiece, wherein a portion of the jig is surface-treated by thermal spraying.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a jig and a system.

Background Art

[0002] Techniques for attaching a decorative film to a workpiece such as an automotive part and applying various decorations are known. When such a decorative film is attached to a workpiece, it is necessary to trim the excess portion.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses cutting an excess region by irradiating a laser along the outer contour line of a decorated region.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the end of the film is cut or a portion where the film is not attached to the jig holding the workpiece is cut, there is no influence of the laser on the jig, and it is not necessary to consider the durability of the jig. On the other hand, when the film is attached to both the workpiece and the jig, it is necessary to irradiate the laser on the jig for cutting, but irradiating the laser on the jig may affect the jig.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique for improving the durability of a jig.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] A jig according to an aspect of the present invention that achieves the above object is The system includes a first jig for holding a workpiece and a second jig for holding the first jig, and under laser irradiation, A jig for placing a workpiece, In a state in which the workpiece is placed on the first jig and the first jig is placed on the second jig, the exposed area on the first jig and a part of the exposed area on the second jig It is characterized by having a surface treatment applied by thermal spraying of metal. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the durability of the jig. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] A diagram showing the positional relationship between a decorative film, a workpiece, a workpiece holding jig, and a base jig according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram illustrating a laser apparatus and a metal coating applied by metal spraying according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an example of the metal spraying area on a base jig according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] A diagram showing an example of the metal spraying area on a workpiece holding jig according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of multiple holes on a workpiece holding jig according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] A figure showing an example of a gripping device for gripping a workpiece holding jig according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined in any way. Furthermore, identical or similar configurations will be given the same reference numeral, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0011] <Overall Structure> First, with reference to Figure 1, the relationship between the decorative film, workpiece, workpiece holding jig, and base jig according to one embodiment will be explained. In this embodiment, the jig is configured as a divided jig and includes a workpiece holding jig 102 and a base jig 103. In this embodiment, two divided jigs are used as an example for explanation, but it may be a single integrated jig instead of divided jigs, or it may be three or more divided jigs.

[0012] The base jig 103 is a large jig that serves as a base, and the workpiece holding jig 102 is placed on and fixed on the base jig 103. The base jig 103 has one or more recesses 1031 and one or more protrusions 1032 on its upper surface. On the other hand, the workpiece holding jig 102 has protrusions (not shown) and recesses (not shown) on its bottom surface that correspond to the recesses 1031 and protrusions 1032.

[0013] The recess 1031 of the base jig 103 engages with the protrusion on the bottom surface of the workpiece holding jig 102, and the protrusion 1032 of the base jig 103 engages with the recess on the bottom surface of the workpiece holding jig 102, thereby positioning and fixing each jig. Various workpiece holding jigs 102 can be placed on the base jig 103. A set of a workpiece holding jig 102 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the workpiece 101 to which the decorative film 100 is to be attached, and the workpiece 101 is prepared in advance. Then, by changing the set of workpiece 101 and the workpiece holding jig 102 specifically for that workpiece 101, the decorative film 100 can be easily attached to various workpieces 101 without changing the base jig 103.

[0014] The workpiece holding jig 102 has one or more recesses 1021 on its upper surface, which fit into the convex shape of the bottom surface (not shown) of the workpiece 101. This positions and fixes the workpiece 101 placed on the workpiece holding jig 102. The workpiece holding jig 102 may also have one or more convex parts (not shown) on its upper surface instead of one or more recesses 1021, in which case they may fit into the concave shape of the bottom surface (not shown) of the workpiece 101. Alternatively, the workpiece holding jig 102 may have one or more recesses 1021 and one or more convex parts, in which case they may fit into one or more convex shapes and one or more concave shapes of the bottom surface (not shown) of the workpiece 101, respectively.

[0015] Workpiece 101 is, for example, a vehicle body part, specifically a vehicle bumper. Note that in Figure 1, only the symmetrical halves of workpiece 101, workpiece holding jig 102, and base jig 103 are depicted; in reality, another half exists in the X direction.

[0016] A workpiece holding jig 102 is placed on the base jig 103, and a workpiece 101 is placed on the workpiece holding jig 102. With this position, a decorative film 100 is attached to the workpiece 101 using a vacuum attachment device (not shown). The decorative film 100 can be made up of various colors, patterns, etc., and the object can be easily decorated by vacuum attachment.

[0017] When performing such decoration, the decoration film 100 will also be attached to the periphery of the workpiece 101, that is, to the workpiece holding jig 102 and the base jig 103. An operation of removing unnecessary film is performed by trimming the periphery of the workpiece 101 with a trimming device (e.g., a laser irradiation device) not shown. At this time, if the unnecessary film is cut by laser irradiation, there is a possibility of damaging the workpiece holding jig 102 and / or the base jig 103 existing under the laser irradiation, which may affect the durability of these jigs. This is because the workpiece holding jig 102 and the base jig 103 are often formed of resin, and in that case, the jig may be damaged by being exposed to CO2 laser or UV light for curing the decoration film 100 attached to the workpiece 101.

[0018] <Metal spraying> Therefore, in this embodiment, surface treatment by metal spraying is performed on at least a part of the surface of the workpiece holding jig 102 and / or the base jig 103. Thereby, the durability of the jig can be improved. Metal spraying is a technique used to prevent corrosion of an object. By melting a metal such as zinc or aluminum and spraying its fine particles onto the surface of the object at high speed, a highly durable protective film can be formed.

[0019] In this embodiment, metal spraying using an aluminum-based alloy is performed. Generally, aluminum has a high reflectivity and most of the light is specularly reflected. Therefore, if only a film is formed of aluminum, the laser light reflected from the film surface may damage the decoration film 100 and the workpiece 101. Therefore, by using metal spraying as the method for forming the metal film, the metal is coated while creating irregularities on the surface. Due to these irregularities, the laser light is diffused on the surface of the metal film, preventing damage caused by the reflected light.

[0020] Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of the laser apparatus and the metal coating by metal spraying according to this embodiment. Figure 2 shows the process of cutting and trimming the decorative film 100 using laser light 202 irradiated from the laser apparatus 201. In Figure 2, a part of the surface of the base jig 103 is surface-processed by forming a metal coating 203 having an uneven shape on a part of the surface of the base jig 103 by metal spraying.

[0021] <Thermal spray range> Next, an example of the metal spraying range according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4.

[0022] Figure 3 shows an example of the metal spraying area on the base jig according to this embodiment. With the workpiece holding jig 102 placed on the base jig 103, a portion of the upper surface area 302 of the base jig 103 is sprayed with metal within a predetermined distance range from the boundary 301 of the two jigs (for example, within 30 mm from the boundary 301). This area 302 corresponds to a portion of the area on the base jig 103 that is exposed to the air when the workpiece holding jig 102 is placed on the base jig 103. Note that Figure 2 could be, for example, a cross-sectional view of the location of area 303 in Figure 3.

[0023] Figure 4 shows an example of the metal spraying area on the workpiece holding jig according to this embodiment. A portion of the side surface area 401 of the workpiece holding jig 102 is treated with metal spraying. This area 401 is the area exposed to the air when the workpiece holding jig 102 is placed on the base jig 103 and the workpiece 101 is placed on the workpiece holding jig 102. Area 401 may be, for example, a portion of the side surface of the workpiece holding jig 102 within a predetermined distance range from the boundary 301 between the base jig 103 and the workpiece holding jig 102.

[0024] This allows the areas that may be irradiated by laser light when trimming the decorative film 100 attached to the base jig 103 and / or the workpiece holding jig 102 to be covered with a metal coating having an uneven surface. Therefore, the risk of damaging the base jig 103 and / or the workpiece holding jig 102 can be reduced, and the durability of these jigs can be improved.

[0025] <Gripping System> Next, an example of a gripping system including a workpiece holding jig and gripping device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of multiple holes on a workpiece holding jig according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 5, multiple holes 501 to 504 are arranged on the side surface of the workpiece holding jig 102. Each hole may be, for example, a cylindrical hole with a bottom and a diameter of about 20 mm and a depth of about 50 mm. These holes may be provided in side surfaces other than the metal spraying area 401 shown in Figure 4 (i.e., the upper surface of the side surface).

[0026] Next, Figure 6 shows an example of a gripping device for gripping a workpiece holding jig according to this embodiment. The gripping device 601 is shown in Figure 1 as an external view of the gripping device 601 when viewed in the X-axis direction. The gripping device 601 is equipped with a first gripping part 603 and a second gripping part 605 on a rail 6021 provided by the support part 602. The first gripping part 603 is configured to slide in the Z direction on the rail 6021 along a bidirectional arrow 607. Similarly, the second gripping part 604 is configured to slide in the Z direction on the rail 6021 along a bidirectional arrow 608.

[0027] The first gripping portion 603 is provided with a gripping pin 605 at its end for gripping the workpiece holding jig 102. Similarly, the second gripping portion 604 is provided with a gripping pin 606 at its end for gripping the workpiece holding jig 102. Each pin can be, for example, a cylindrical pin with a diameter of about 8 to 18 mm. The control unit (not shown) of the gripping device 601 can control the first gripping portion 60 and the second gripping portion 604 to move in a direction parallel to the Z direction.

[0028] This allows the gripping pins 605 and 606 to be inserted into holes 503 and 501 of the workpiece holding jig 102 shown in Figure 5, respectively, to grip the workpiece holding jig 102. The control unit (not shown) of the gripping device 601 controls the lifting / lowering mechanism (not shown), which allows the workpiece holding jig 102 to be raised away from the base jig 103 or lowered and placed on the base jig 103.

[0029] Note that each set of gripping parts in Figure 6 is positioned at a distance from each other in the X direction. The distance in the X direction between these sets of gripping parts can be freely adjusted by the control unit (not shown) of the gripping device 601. For example, each set of gripping parts may be configured to move freely along a rail arranged along the X direction. Then, the gripping pins of each of the other sets of gripping parts can be inserted into holes 504 and 502 of the workpiece holding jig 102 shown in Figure 5 to grip the workpiece holding jig 102.

[0030] By gripping the workpiece holding jig 102 at four points (actually, a total of eight points including the other four points extending in the X direction), it becomes possible to stably grip the workpiece holding jig 102. This gripping system allows the workpiece holding jig 102 to be freely placed on the base jig 103 or separated from the base jig 103. Therefore, various workpieces 101 and workpiece holding jigs 102 specifically for those workpieces can be placed on the base jig 103 and decorative films applied, making it possible to easily decorate various workpieces without having to replace the heavy base jig 103.

[0031] As described above, according to this embodiment, a portion of the jig for placing the workpiece is surface-treated by thermal spraying. This prevents the jig from being damaged by laser light when trimming the decorative film. Therefore, the durability of the jig can be improved. Furthermore, the laser light is scattered by the metal coating with irregularities formed by thermal spraying, thus attenuating the laser light. As a result, it is possible to prevent or suppress damage to the decorative film or workpiece from laser light reflected by the jig.

[0032] Furthermore, by limiting the area of ​​the jig to which metal spraying is applied to a portion of the area on the jig that is exposed to the air while the workpiece is placed on the jig, it is possible to apply metal spraying only to the areas that may be irradiated with laser light during trimming. Consequently, the material costs required for metal spraying can be reduced.

[0033] Furthermore, when the workpiece is placed on the jig, the metal spraying can be applied while avoiding the areas where the workpiece and the jig come into contact. This prevents the metal coating formed by the metal spraying from peeling off due to contact during placement. Similarly, if the jig is a segmented jig, applying the metal spraying while avoiding the areas where the jigs come into contact with each other prevents the metal coating formed by the metal spraying from peeling off due to contact between the jigs when the workpiece holding jig 102 is placed on the base jig 103.

[0034] [Differentiation] The embodiments described above describe a case where the jig consists of two divided jigs, but the invention is not limited to this example. The embodiments can also be applied when a workpiece is placed on a single, integrated jig and a decorative film is applied to the workpiece. That is, when a workpiece is placed on a single jig, a portion of the area on the jig that is exposed to the air (for example, an area on the jig within a predetermined distance range from the boundary between the workpiece and the jig (i.e., the end of the jig)) may be subjected to thermal spraying.

[0035] Furthermore, although the above-described embodiment explains an example in which a metal coating is formed on the surface of the jig by thermal spraying, it is not limited to thermal spraying. If it is possible to form an uneven surface on the jig to scatter the laser light and prevent the jig from being damaged by the laser light, a protective coating may be formed on the jig by a method other than thermal spraying.

[0036] <Other Embodiments> Furthermore, a program that implements one or more functions described in each embodiment is supplied to a system or device via a network or storage medium, and the control computer of the system or device can read and execute this program. The present invention can also be realized in this manner.

[0037] The invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0038] 100: Decorative film, 101: Workpiece, 102: Workpiece holding jig, 103: Base jig, 203: Metal coating, 501-504: Holes, 601: Gripping device, 605, 606: Gripping pins

Claims

1. A jig for placing a workpiece, comprising a first jig for holding a workpiece and a second jig for holding the first jig, wherein the workpiece is placed under laser irradiation. A jig characterized in that, when the workpiece is placed on the first jig and the first jig is placed on the second jig, a portion of the exposed area on the first jig and a portion of the exposed area on the second jig are subjected to surface treatment by thermal spraying.

2. The jig according to claim 1, characterized in that a portion of the area on the second jig is an area on the second jig within a predetermined distance range from the boundary between the first jig and the second jig when the first jig is placed on the second jig.

3. The jig according to claim 1, characterized in that the surface treatment is a metal coating treatment by metal spraying.

4. The jig according to claim 1, characterized in that the first jig is provided with a plurality of holes for inserting a plurality of gripping pins of a gripping device that grips the first jig.

5. The jig according to claim 4, characterized in that the plurality of holes are provided in an area on the first jig that has not been subjected to the metal spraying.

6. The jig according to claim 4, characterized in that the plurality of holes are provided in the side region of the first jig when the first jig is placed on the second jig.

7. A jig according to any one of claims 4 to 6, The gripping device and, A system characterized by comprising the following features.

8. The gripping device comprises the plurality of gripping pins, The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the gripping device grips the first jig by inserting the plurality of gripping pins into the plurality of holes of the first jig.

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