Determination method and determination system

Abstract

To provide technology that can improve the yield of blank material manufacturing. [Solution] A determination method for determining the width of a steel plate to be processed for manufacturing a blank material, and the position and angle of the blank material on the steel plate, based on the shape of the blank material to be manufactured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a technique for determining the size of a steel material for cutting out a blank material.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in the production of blank materials used for mass production press forming and the like typified by automotive parts and home appliances and building materials, blanking is continuously performed on a steel strip using a press device and a mold (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In recent years, blanking using a laser has also been performed instead of a press device and a mold.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Conventionally, a steel manufacturer supplies a steel plate to a blank material manufacturer, and the blank material manufacturer cuts out a blank material from the steel plate purchased from the steel material manufacturer. However, the blank material manufacturer cannot always purchase a steel plate with an appropriate width for the ordered blank material. Therefore, there is room for improvement in the yield of blank material production.

[0005] One aspect of the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a technique capable of increasing the yield of blank material production.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the present invention is a determination method for determining the width of a steel plate to be processed for manufacturing a blank material, and the position and angle of the blank material on the steel plate, based on the shape of the blank material to be manufactured.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is the above determination method, wherein the yield when cutting the blank material from the steel plate is calculated, and the width of the steel plate and the position and angle of the blank material are determined in order to optimize the cost index value based on the yield cost based on the yield and the steel plate cost based on the width of the steel plate.

[0008] One aspect of the present invention is the above determination method, wherein the width of the steel plate and the placement position and angle of the blank material are determined such that the yield cost is less than a first threshold and the steel plate cost is less than a second threshold.

[0009] One aspect of the present invention is the above determination method, wherein the cost index value is a yield loss cost obtained by multiplying the yield loss amount, which is determined based on the width of the steel plate and the placement position and angle of the blank material, by the cost per unit weight of the steel plate corresponding to the width of the steel plate.

[0010] One aspect of the present invention is a determination system comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires shape data relating to the shape of a blank material to be manufactured; and a determination unit that determines, based on the shape data, the width of a steel plate to be processed for the manufacture of the blank material, and the position and angle of the blank material on the steel plate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to one aspect of the present invention, the yield of blank material manufacturing can be increased. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This figure shows a schematic diagram of the manufacturing process for blank materials in this embodiment. [Figure 2]This diagram illustrates laser blanking using a laser blanking device. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of the system configuration of the blank condition determination system 1 of the embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example of blank information 21. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of steel plate information 22. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example of steel materials managed by steel plate information 22. [Figure 7] This flowchart shows an example of the process flow for determining the blank condition by the blank condition determination system 1 of the embodiment. [Figure 8] This diagram illustrates the cost of yield loss. [Figure 9] This figure shows an example of steel plate costs. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] The blank condition determination system 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0014] [1. Overview] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the schematic of the blank material manufacturing process in this embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the blank material manufacturing process is broadly divided into three stages: the first stage, the second stage, and the third stage. The first stage is the process in which the steel manufacturer determines the conditions for cutting the blank material from the steel plate (hereinafter referred to as "blanking conditions") based on the shape data of the blank material provided by the blank material ordering company. The blanking conditions include the width of the steel plate from which the blank material is cut, and the position and angle of placement of the blank material on the steel plate. Here, "angle" refers to the amount of rotation when the blank material is rotated in the plane of the steel plate to determine the orientation of placement, and can be any angle, such as the angle of the blank product with respect to the longitudinal direction or width direction of the steel plate, or the rotation angle with respect to the center of gravity of the blank product. Depending on the steel plate and blank product shape used, it is possible to appropriately determine which angle to use. The "width" of the steel plate refers to the coil width when the steel plate is processed into a coil shape by rolling. The information indicating the placement position and angle of the blank material determined here is supplied to the third stage as blanking data.

[0015] The second process is the manufacturing of steel plates of the width determined in the first process by the steel manufacturer. More specifically, the second process involves rolling the rolled material (also called a slab) for steel plates, which is produced by refining pig iron, to manufacture steel plates. Steel plates are generally stored and managed in a coiled state for easier storage, transportation, and processing. The width of the steel plates to be manufactured is determined according to the rolling mill used to roll the rolled material. Steel manufacturers can arbitrarily change the width of the steel plates they manufacture within the range of their rolling mills.

[0016] The third step is to cut out the blank material from the steel plate with a specified width manufactured in the second step based on the arrangement position and angle of the blank material determined in the first step. For cutting out the blank material, a blanking device of a press die that punches out the blank material from the steel plate using a die, a laser blanking device that cuts the blank material from the steel plate with a laser, etc. can be used. Since the laser blanking device can achieve nesting with a narrower interval than the blanking device of the press die, it is advantageous for improving the yield. In this embodiment, the case of using a laser blanking device is assumed. The steel manufacturer delivers the blank material cut out in the third step to the ordering company.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining laser blanking by a laser blanking device. Blanking of the steel plate is performed by, for example, a laser blanking device B shown in FIG. 2. The laser blanking device B includes an unloader B01, a fine leveler B02, a belt conveyor B03, a pair of first rails B04, a pair of first traveling bodies B05, a second rail B06, a second traveling body B07, a laser nozzle B08, and a control device B09.

[0018] The unloader B01 rotates the coil C and feeds out the steel plate to the fine leveler B02. The fine leveler B02 sandwiches the steel plate from above and below and corrects the shape of the steel plate. The belt conveyor B03 conveys the steel plate corrected by the fine leveler B02 from upstream to downstream.

[0019] The pair of first rails B04 are provided so as to sandwich the belt conveyor B03 in the width direction and extend along the conveyance direction of the belt conveyor B03. The pair of first traveling bodies B05 are each provided so as to be able to travel on the pair of first rails B04. The second rail B06 is supported by the pair of first traveling bodies B05 and is provided so as to cross above the belt conveyor B03. The second rail B06 extends in a direction orthogonal to the first rail B04.

[0020] The second running body B07 is mounted to be able to move along the second rail B06. The laser nozzle B08 is supported by the second running body B07. The laser nozzle B08 emits a laser downwards. As the laser nozzle B08 moves while emitting the laser onto the steel plate, the steel plate is cut.

[0021] The control device B09 cuts blank material M from a steel plate by moving the first traveling body B05 and the second traveling body B07 and controlling the output of the laser nozzle B08 based on blanking data. The blanking data represents the outline of the blank material. For example, if the outline is represented in vector format, the control device B09 can process the steel plate along the outline by moving the first traveling body B05 and the second traveling body B07 along the path representing the outline while irradiating the laser nozzle B08 with a laser. For example, if the outline is represented in raster format, the control device B09 can process the steel plate along the outline by scanning the first traveling body B05 and the second traveling body B07 and irradiating the laser nozzle B08 with a laser at the location where the outline exists.

[0022] Traditionally, blank materials were produced by press processing manufacturers and other businesses ordering steel plates from steel manufacturers, designing the nesting of the blank material from the steel plates procured from the steel manufacturers, and then cutting them out. In contrast, this embodiment assumes a case where the steel manufacturer produces the blank material and supplies it to the businesses. Therefore, in this embodiment, the steel manufacturer acquires shape data of the blank material to be manufactured along with the order for the blank material, and then performs the first to third processes based on this shape data before delivering the blank material to the customer.

[0023] According to the blank material manufacturing process of this embodiment, steel manufacturers can manufacture steel plates of a width suitable for their own manufacturing environment in relation to the specifications of the ordered blank material and cut out the blank material, thus enabling steel manufacturers to manufacture blank material under optimal conditions. Furthermore, according to the blank material manufacturing process of this embodiment, companies such as press processing manufacturers do not need to perform nesting or cutting of blank material themselves, so they can concentrate their management resources on press processing and improve efficiency.

[0024] Furthermore, the blank material manufacturing process of this embodiment not only improves the efficiency of press working manufacturers and the like, but also optimizes the upstream steel plate manufacturing process, thereby achieving optimization across the entire industry involved in the manufacturing, processing, and sales of blank materials. More specifically, the blank condition determination system 1 of this embodiment can reduce GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in blank material manufacturing. The configuration of the blank condition determination system 1 of this embodiment, which can achieve these effects, will be described in detail below.

[0025] [2. System Configuration] Figure 3 shows an example of the system configuration of the blank condition determination system 1 of the embodiment. The blank condition determination system 1 includes a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) connected by a bus, memory, auxiliary storage devices, etc., and executes a program. By executing the program, the blank condition determination system 1 functions as a device comprising a blank information acquisition unit 10, a storage unit 20, and a blank condition determination unit 30. Note that all or part of each function of the blank condition determination system 1 may be implemented using hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Computer-readable recording media include, for example, portable media such as flexible disks, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, CD-ROMs, and storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. The program may be transmitted via a telecommunications line.

[0026] The blank condition determination system 1 may be composed of one computer or multiple computers. The computers comprising the blank condition determination system 1 may be physical computers or virtual computers. The blank condition determination system 1 may be configured as a so-called cloud computing system.

[0027] The blank information acquisition unit 10 registers blank information 21, which indicates the manufacturing conditions of the blank material, in the storage unit 20. For example, the blank information acquisition unit 10 extracts manufacturing conditions such as quantity, thickness, and shape from the blank material order information as blank information 21. For example, the blank information acquisition unit 10 may include a communication interface and receive blank information 21 from the ordering company's system.

[0028] Furthermore, for example, the blank information acquisition unit 10 may include a connection interface to an external storage device where the blank information 21 is stored, and may be configured to read the blank information 21 from the external storage device. The blank information acquisition unit 10 may also include an input device such as a keyboard or mouse, and may be configured to accept input operations for the blank information 21. The blank information acquisition unit 10 stores the acquired blank information 21 in the storage unit 20.

[0029] The storage unit 20 is configured using a storage device such as a magnetic hard disk drive or a semiconductor storage device. The storage unit 20 stores blank information 21 and steel plate information 22. The steel plate information 22 is information indicating the attributes of various steel plates used in the manufacture of blank materials.

[0030] Figure 4 shows an example of blank information 21. For example, the blank information 21 is stored in the storage unit 20 in the form of a blank information table 21T, where each record holds the manufacturing requirements for each blank material with different manufacturing requirements. Each record in the blank information table 21T has, for example, a blank ID, shape information, quantity, and thickness.

[0031] The blank ID is identification information used to identify individual blank materials of different types. The shape information defines the shape of the corresponding blank material. For example, the value of the shape information may be the corresponding shape data itself, or it may be reference information (such as a memory address or file path) to the area where the corresponding shape data is stored. For example, the shape data may be CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data.

[0032] Figures 5 and 6 show an example of steel plate information 22. For example, the steel plate information 22 is stored in the storage unit 20 in the form of a steel plate information table 22T (Figure 5), where each record holds attribute information for each steel plate with different attributes. Each record in the steel plate information table 22T has values ​​such as steel plate ID, material, width, and thickness. The steel plate ID is identification information for identifying each steel plate with different attributes. Figure 6 is an image diagram of steel plates managed by the steel plate information table 22T in Figure 5.

[0033] Returning to Figure 3, the blank condition determination unit 30 determines the blank conditions based on the blank information 21 and the steel plate information 22. More specifically, the blank condition determination unit 30 determines the width of the steel plate from which the blank material will be cut, and the position and angle of the blank material on the steel plate of that width. The blank condition determination unit 30 outputs the determined steel plate width for the second process and outputs the determined position and angle of the blank material for the third process.

[0034] [3. Determination process for blank conditions] Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the process flow for determining blank conditions by the blank condition determination system 1 of the embodiment. First, the blank information acquisition unit 10 acquires blank information 21 from blank material order information, etc., and registers it in the storage unit 20 (S10). Next, the blank condition determination unit 30 performs a determination process based on the blank information 21 registered in the storage unit 20 (S20). As a result, the blank condition determination system 1 can determine the blank conditions that optimize the cost based on the width of the steel plate used in manufacturing the blank material (hereinafter referred to as "steel plate cost") and the cost based on the yield of blank material manufacturing (hereinafter referred to as "yield cost"). The flow of the determination process will be described in detail below.

[0035] First, the blank condition determination unit 30 identifies the blank material to be placed based on the blank information 21 (S201). For example, the blank condition determination unit 30 identifies blank materials with the same thickness from among the blank materials included in the blank information 21 as the material to be placed.

[0036] Next, the blank condition determination unit 30 determines the initial values ​​for the blank material's placement position, angle, and steel plate width based on the blank material's shape data identified in S201 (S202). Here, the initial values ​​for the blank material's placement position, angle, and steel plate width may be determined arbitrarily as long as the following (1) to (3) are satisfied.

[0037] (1) The blank material to be manufactured must be able to be placed on the surface. (2) The steel plate width must be within the range that can actually be manufactured by the steel manufacturer.

[0038] For example, the blank condition determination unit 30 may recognize the minimum required steel plate width based on the shape data of the blank material and set that value as the initial value for the steel plate width, or it may set the maximum possible steel plate width as the initial value. Once the placement position and angle of the blank material are determined in S202, the length of the steel plate required for placing the blank material is determined.

[0039] Next, the blank condition determination unit 30 calculates the yield of the blank material based on the arrangement determined in S202 (S203). Subsequently, the blank condition determination unit 30 calculates an index value (hereinafter referred to as the "cost index value") for optimizing both the steel plate cost and the yield cost in blank material manufacturing, based on the steel plate width determined in S202 and the yield calculated in S203 (S204). In other words, optimizing the cost index value means minimizing the cost index value.

[0040] Here, if we denote the evaluation function that gives the cost index value as φ, then the evaluation function φ can be expressed by equation (1) below.

[0041]

number

[0042] Equation (1) calculates the cost due to the excess portion of the steel plate used for cutting blank material that is not used as blank material (yield loss) (yield loss cost). Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the yield loss cost. The left diagram shows an example of blank material arrangement when the steel plate width is narrow, and the right diagram shows an example of blank material arrangement when the steel plate width is wide. In Figure 8, the left diagram shows an example of steel plate width (a) and blank material arrangement when the amount of yield loss is small, and the right diagram shows an example of steel plate width (b) and blank material arrangement when the amount of yield loss is large.

[0043] In the example in Figure 8, if the material cost of the steel plate (steel plate cost) does not depend on the steel plate width, the yield loss cost will simply be higher for steel plate width b, which has a larger yield loss, than for steel plate width a. However, as mentioned above, the actual steel plate cost is a cost based on the steel plate width, and can vary not only by the amount of yield loss but also by the steel plate width. Figure 9 shows an example of steel plate cost.

[0044] For example, when manufacturing narrow steel plates using a rolling mill designed for wider steel plates, the production of narrow steel plates occupies the rolling mill without fully utilizing its production capacity, resulting in higher costs from a productivity standpoint. In this case, productivity increases as the steel plate width increases, and therefore the steel plate cost decreases. The example in Figure 9 shows that the cost of a steel plate with width a in Figure 8 is A, and as the width increases from there, the cost of the steel plate decreases, reaching its minimum cost B at width b.

[0045] On the other hand, rolling mills have a weight limit on the amount of steel sheets they can process, and the wider the steel sheet being manufactured, the shorter the length of steel sheet that can be manufactured at one time. Therefore, if the steel sheet width becomes too large, productivity decreases and costs increase. The example in Figure 9 shows that if the width exceeds the width b that takes place at the minimum steel sheet cost B, the steel sheet cost increases. In other words, the evaluation function φ given by equation (1) represents the cost incurred due to a yield loss that is determined according to the steel sheet width and the arrangement of blank materials. By selecting the steel sheet width and blank material arrangement that minimize this, it is possible to simultaneously minimize both yield cost and steel sheet cost and determine the optimal steel sheet width and blank material arrangement according to the specifications of the rolling mill.

[0046] Return to Figure 7. Next, the blank condition determination unit 30 changes the placement position, angle, or steel plate width of the blank material (S205). In addition to (1) and (2) above, the blank condition determination unit 30 may arbitrarily change the placement position, angle, or steel plate width of the blank material as long as the following (3) is satisfied. Since the yield loss cost can vary depending on the placement position and angle of the blank material, the blank condition determination unit 30 may also change the placement position and angle of the blank material in various patterns for the same steel plate width to search for a lower yield loss cost.

[0047] (3) The arrangement position, angle, and steel plate width combination of the blank material are different from combinations used in the past.

[0048] Next, the blank condition determination unit 30 calculates the yield of the blank material based on the placement position and angle determined in S205 (S206). Subsequently, the blank condition determination unit 30 calculates a cost index value based on the steel plate width determined in S205 and the yield calculated in S206 (S207).

[0049] Next, the blank condition determination unit 30 determines whether the termination condition for the determination process has been met (S208). If the blank condition determination unit 30 determines in S208 that the termination condition has been met, it outputs the combination of blank material placement position and angle and steel plate width that yielded the minimum value among the cost index values ​​calculated up to that point as the determination result (S209), and terminates the determination process. For example, the blank condition determination unit 30 can comprehensively optimize yield cost and steel plate cost by selecting a combination of placement position and angle and steel plate width that minimizes the cost index value (yield loss cost) calculated by the evaluation function φ of equation (1).

[0050] On the other hand, if the blank condition determination unit 30 determines in S208 that the termination conditions have not been met, it returns to processing in S205. As a result, the blank condition determination unit 30 repeatedly performs the changes to the placement position, angle, or width of the blank material and the calculation of the cost index value until it determines in S208 that the termination conditions have been met.

[0051] Here, for example, the termination condition may be that the number of repetitions of S208 exceeds a predetermined threshold. In this case, the more times S208 is repeated, the more patterns of combinations of blank material placement position and angle and steel plate width will be inspected. Therefore, the threshold in this case should be set to a larger number of repetitions within an acceptable range.

[0052] Alternatively, the termination condition may be, for example, that the cost indicator value falls below a predetermined threshold. In this case, since it is guaranteed that the predetermined target has been achieved with respect to the cost indicator value, the combination of the blank material placement position and angle and the steel plate width can be optimized with greater precision.

[0053] According to the blank condition determination system 1 of the embodiment described above, the yield of blank material manufacturing can be increased by determining the width of the steel plate to be processed for manufacturing the blank material, as well as the position and angle of the blank material relative to the steel plate, based on the shape of the blank material to be manufactured. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0054] 1. Blank Condition Determination System 10 Blank Information Acquisition Unit 20 Memory section 21 Blank Information 21T Blank Information Table 22 Steel plate information 22T Steel Plate Information Table 30 Blank condition determination unit

Claims

1. A determination method for determining the width of a steel plate to be processed for manufacturing a blank material, and the position and angle of the blank material on the steel plate, based on the shape of the blank material to be manufactured, The yield when cutting the blank material from the steel plate is calculated, The width of the steel plate and the placement position and angle of the blank material are determined in order to optimize the cost index value based on the yield cost based on the yield and the steel plate cost based on the width of the steel plate. The width of the steel plate and the placement position and angle of the blank material are determined such that the yield cost is less than a first threshold and the steel plate cost is less than a second threshold. Judgment method.

2. The aforementioned cost index value is the yield loss cost obtained by multiplying the yield loss amount, which is determined based on the width of the steel plate and the placement position and angle of the blank material, by the cost per unit weight of the steel plate corresponding to the width of the steel plate. The determination method according to claim 1.

3. An acquisition unit that acquires shape data related to the shape of the blank material to be manufactured, A determination unit determines, based on the shape data, the width of the steel plate to be processed for manufacturing the blank material, and the position and angle of the blank material on the steel plate. Equipped with, The determination unit, The yield when cutting the blank material from the steel plate is calculated, The width of the steel plate and the placement position and angle of the blank material are determined in order to optimize the cost index value based on the yield cost based on the yield and the steel plate cost based on the width of the steel plate. The width of the steel plate and the placement position and angle of the blank material are determined such that the yield cost is less than a first threshold and the steel plate cost is less than a second threshold. Judgment system.

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