Injection molding machine system

Abstract

To provide a magnetic clamp operation screen with excellent operability.SOLUTION: A subject is a screen displayed on a controller (5) of an injection molding machine (1). A mold clamping device (2) of the target injection molding machine (1) is equipped with a magnetic clamp (7). The controller (5) of the injection molding machine (1) is provided with a magnet clamp operation screen (50) that controls the magnet clamp (7) to clamp / unclamp molds (31, 32).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3A

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to Equipped with an injection molding machine with a magnetic clamp. an injection molding machine system.

Background Art

[0002] Magnetic clamps are provided on the fixed platen and the movable platen of a mold clamping device as described in, for example, Patent Document 1. The magnetic clamp includes a magnetic clamp plate in contact with the mold, and a plurality of magnetic cores composed of permanent magnets, electro-permanent magnets, and coils are embedded in the magnetic clamp plate. When power is supplied to the coil, the magnetic poles of the electro-permanent magnet are reversed and the magnetic forces of the permanent magnet and the electro-permanent magnet cancel each other out. As a result, magnetic lines of force cannot emerge from the surface of the magnetic clamp plate. Since the mold does not receive the attracting force from the magnetic clamp plate, it can move freely. On the other hand, when the supply of power to the coil is stopped, the directions of the magnetic forces of the permanent magnet and the electro-permanent magnet coincide, the magnetic force is strengthened, and magnetic lines of force emerge from the surface of the magnetic clamp plate. Thereby, the mold can be clamped with a strong attracting force.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Magnetic clamps are excellent because they allow for easy clamping and unclamping, unclamping the mold by supplying power to a coil and clamping the mold by stopping the power supply. However, the operation of magnetic clamps is performed by a dedicated controller and cannot be performed from the injection molding machine. This means that the operator must stop the injection molding machine, ensure safety, and then operate the magnetic clamp using the dedicated controller. This is because it would be dangerous if the injection molding machine were to operate accidentally while the magnetic clamp is being operated. Similarly, if the operator is controlling the injection molding machine, they must first confirm that the magnetic clamp operation is complete. Thus, there is a problem in that the operator has to alternately operate the injection molding machine controller and the dedicated magnetic clamp controller while considering safety, which is cumbersome.

[0005] In this disclosure, an operation screen for a magnetic clamp with excellent operability is provided. Includes an injection molding machine equipped with We provide injection molding machine systems.

[0006] Other challenges and novel features will become apparent from the description and accompanying drawings in this specification. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] This disclosure is, The system is configured as an injection molding machine system comprising an injection molding machine and a mold changing device for changing molds. The injection molding machine consists of a mold clamping device for clamping the mold, an injection device for injecting the injection material, and a controller for controlling the mold clamping device and the injection device. The mold clamping device is equipped with a magnetic clamp, and the magnetic clamp is provided with a temperature sensor for detecting temperature and a magnetic field detection sensor for detecting magnetization force. The magnetic clamp and the injection molding machine are interlocked so that when the former is operated, the control of the latter is restricted, and when the latter is controlled, the operation of the former is restricted. The controller has an operation screen, which includes operation buttons for controlling the magnetic clamp to operate the clamping / unclamping of the mold, items related to the interlock, a display field that shows the temperature and magnetization force of the magnetic clamp, and an error status field that shows the error type when an error occurs in the magnetic clamp, and the error type includes at least abnormal temperature and abnormal magnetization force of the magnetic clamp. When an error occurs, selecting an item indicating the error type displays a pop-up window that shows an explanation of the corrective action to take for that error type. Furthermore, this pop-up window is configured to appear on the controller's monitor when an error occurs, even if the operation screen is not displayed. The mold changing device is installed adjacent to the clamping device and is configured to change the mold installed in the clamping device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] This disclosure enables the operation of a magnetic clamp using a controller that controls an injection molding machine, making operation easier. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a front view showing the injection molding machine according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This is a front view showing a part of the clamping device and the fixed-side magnetic clamp according to this embodiment. [Figure 3A]This is the operation screen for the magnetic clamp according to this embodiment. [Figure 3B] This is the operation screen for the magnetic clamp according to this embodiment. [Figure 4A] This is a pop-up screen for the operation screen of the magnetic clamp according to this embodiment. [Figure 4B] This is a pop-up screen for the operation screen of the magnetic clamp according to this embodiment. [Figure 5A] This is a top view showing the injection molding machine system according to the first embodiment of this implementation. [Figure 5B] This is a top view showing the injection molding machine system relating to the second form of this implementation. [Figure 6] This is a front view showing a vertical injection molding machine according to this embodiment. [Figure 7] This is the operation screen for the magnetic clamp according to this embodiment, which is installed in a vertical injection molding machine. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The following describes specific embodiments in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiments are not limited to those described below. For clarity, the following descriptions and drawings have been simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations have been omitted where necessary. Also, hatching has been omitted in some parts of the drawings to avoid clutter.

[0011] This embodiment will be described. <Injection molding machine> As shown in Figure 1, the injection molding machine 1 according to this embodiment includes a clamping device 2 provided on the bed B, an injection device 3 also provided on the bed B, and a controller 5 that controls these.

[0012] <Mold clamping device> The mold clamping device 2 includes a fixed platen 10 fixed to the bed B, a mold clamping housing 11 slidably provided on the bed B, and a movable platen 12 slidably provided on the bed B between the fixed platen 10 and the mold clamping housing 11. The fixed platen 10 and the mold clamping housing 11 are connected by a plurality of, for example, four tie bars 14, 14, …, and the movable platen 12 is penetrated by the tie bars 14, 14, …. A mold clamping mechanism is provided between the mold clamping housing 11 and the movable platen 12. In this embodiment, the mold clamping mechanism is a toggle mechanism 16. Therefore, when the toggle mechanism 16 is driven, the movable platen 12 is driven in the approaching direction and the separating direction with respect to the fixed platen 10. The mold clamping device 2 according to this embodiment is provided with a magnet clamp 7 described below.

[0013] <Magnet Clamp> In this embodiment, the magnet clamp 7 is composed of a fixed-side magnet clamp 18 provided on the fixed platen 10 and a movable-side magnet clamp 19 provided on the movable platen 12. Since both the fixed-side magnet clamp 18 and the movable-side magnet clamp 19 are configured in the same manner, only the fixed-side magnet clamp 18 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0014] The fixed-side magnet clamp 18 includes a magnet clamp plate 21 having the same size as the fixed platen 10. A plurality of bolt holes 23, 23, … are formed in the magnet clamp plate 21, and the magnet clamp plate 21 is fixed to the fixed platen 10 by bolts. A through hole 22 is formed in the center of the magnet clamp plate 21 so that the injection nozzle 39 of the injection device 3 (see FIG. 1) described later can be inserted.

[0015] The magnet clamp plate 21 has a plurality of bottomed holes, that is, core holes 25, 25, …, formed on its back surface side, that is, the surface that contacts the fixed plate 10. Although not shown in the figure, a magnet core composed of a permanent magnet, an electromagnet, and a coil is inserted into each of these core holes 25, 25, …. A power supply unit 27 is provided on the back surface side of the magnet clamp plate 21, and a power supply wiring 28 extends from this power supply unit 27. A plurality of branch wirings 29, 29 branch from the power supply wiring 28 and are connected to the magnet cores inserted into the respective core holes 25, 25, ….

[0016] When a short-time current is supplied from the power supply unit 27, the coil of the magnet core is energized and the magnetic poles of the electromagnet are reversed. Then, the magnetic force lines of the permanent magnet and the electromagnet in the magnet core cancel each other out, and no magnetic force lines come out from the surface of the magnet clamp plate 21. Since the holding force is not generated, the mold can be unclamped. On the other hand, when the power supply from the power supply unit 27 is stopped, the magnetic poles of the electromagnet return to their original state. The magnetic force lines of the permanent magnet and the electromagnet in the magnet core are combined and strengthened, and magnetic force lines come out from the surface of the magnet clamp plate 21. A strong holding force acts on the mold, and the mold can be clamped.

[0017] The magnet clamp plate 21 is provided with a temperature sensor 30 for measuring its temperature. The magnet clamp plate 21 is also provided with a magnetic field detection sensor for detecting the strength of the magnetic field due to the magnetic force lines coming out from its surface. Although not shown in the figure, the magnetic field detection sensors are provided in each of the core holes 25, 25 and are adapted to detect the intensity of the magnetic field from each magnet core. The temperature detected by the temperature sensor 30 and the strength of the magnetic field detected by the magnetic field detection sensor are sent to the controller 5 (see FIG. 1). The controller 5 is adapted to calculate the holding force when clamping the mold based on the strength of the magnetic field.

[0018] As shown in Figure 1, the fixed-side mold 31 is clamped to the fixed-side magnet clamp 18, and the movable-side mold 32 is clamped to the movable-side magnet clamp 19.

[0019] <Injection device> The injection device 3 comprises a heating cylinder 34, a screw 35 located inside the heating cylinder 34, and a screw drive device 37 for driving the screw 35. A hopper 38 for feeding injection material is provided towards the rear of the heating cylinder 34. An injection nozzle 39 is provided in front of the heating cylinder 34.

[0020] <Controller> In this embodiment, the controller 5 controls not only the mold clamping device 2 and the injection device 3, but also the magnetic clamp 7. In other words, it provides integrated control of the injection molding machine 1, including the magnetic clamp 7. The controller 5 is equipped with a monitor 41, which displays various screens, such as the magnetic clamp operation screen, which will be described next. In this embodiment, the monitor 41 is a touch panel, allowing the user to select icons such as buttons and tabs displayed on the screen.

[0021] <Magnetic clamp operation screen> The magnet clamp operation screen 50 according to this embodiment is configured as shown in Figure 3A. First, this screen is provided with a clamper setting display tab 51 and a communication data display tab 52, which switch between a "clamper setting" display for operating the magnet clamp 7 (see Figure 1) and a "communication data" display that shows the status of the magnet clamp 7, such as normal / abnormal. Figure 3A shows the state when the clamper setting display tab 51 is selected and the display is switched to the "clamper setting" display. On the other hand, when the communication data display tab 52 is selected, the display switches to the "communication data" display as shown in Figure 3B.

[0022] When "Clamp Settings" is displayed, the magnetic clamp operation screen 50 consists of three sections, as shown in Figure 3A. Specifically, the top section is the interlock section 54, the middle section is the monitor section 55, and the bottom section is the manual operation section 56.

[0023] In this embodiment, the injection molding machine 1 is equipped with interlocks to prevent the magnetic clamp 7 from being operated while the injection molding machine 1 is running, and to prevent the injection molding machine 1 from being operated when the magnetic clamp 7 is being operated. The interlock column 54 displays the status of the mutual interlocks between the magnetic clamp 7 and the injection molding machine 1.

[0024] The clamper interlock release key field 58 indicates whether the interlock for the operation of the magnetic clamp 7 has been released. The clamper operation interlock field 59 indicates the operating status of the injection molding machine 1, such as whether the servo is activated or whether the ejector is retracted, by the color of the indicator icons 57, 57, ... located to the right of each item. If even one of these is in an operating state, an interlock is applied to the magnetic clamp 7 and it cannot be operated.

[0025] The movable plate clamp interlock column 60 and the movable plate release interlock column 61 display interlock information for clamp / unclamping operations at the movable side magnetic clamp 19 (see Figure 1), respectively. Similarly, the fixed plate clamp interlock column 63 and the fixed plate release interlock column 64 display interlock information for clamp / unclamping operations at the fixed side magnetic clamp 18 (see Figures 1 and 2), respectively.

[0026] The monitor panel 55 displays the contents of the signals communicated between the controller 5 (see Figure 1) of the injection molding machine 1 and the magnet clamp 7 when clamping / unclamping operations are performed on the magnet clamp 7. The molding machine >> clamper device panel 66 displays information about the signals sent from the controller 5 to the magnet clamp 7. The clamper device >> molding machine panel 67 displays information about the signals sent from the magnet clamp 7 to the controller 5. This monitor panel 55 also displays information such as screw position and mold clamping position.

[0027] The manual operation section 56 is for operating the magnetic clamp 7. The movable platen clamper section 69 is for operating the movable side magnetic clamp 19 (see Figure 1), and is provided with a release button 70 to select when unclamping the mold 32 and a clamp button 71 to select when clamping. The fixed platen clamper section 73 is for operating the fixed side magnetic clamp 18 (see Figures 1 and 2), and is provided with a release button 74 to select when unclamping the mold 31 and a clamp button 75 to select when clamping.

[0028] When the communication data display tab 52 is selected on the magnet clamp operation screen 50, the display switches to "communication data" as shown in Figure 3B. At this time, the magnet clamp operation screen 50 consists of three rows of columns. The top row is the communication status column 80, the middle row is the fixed side column 81, and the bottom row is the movable side column 82. The communication status column 80 displays the communication status between the controller 5 and the magnet clamp 7. The fixed side column 81 displays the clamp status column 84, which shows the clamping status of the fixed side magnet clamp 18 (see Figures 1 and 2), and the error status column 85, which shows the occurrence of errors. The fixed side column 81 also displays the magnetization force and temperature of the fixed side magnet clamp 18.

[0029] The movable side column 82 displays a clamping status column 87 that shows the clamping status of the movable side magnet clamp 19 (see Figure 1), and an error status column 88 that shows the error status. The movable side column 82 also displays the magnetization force and temperature of the movable side magnet clamp 19.

[0030] In the magnetic clamp 7 (see Figure 1), temperature control and magnetization force control are important. This is because the permanent magnets used in the magnetic clamp 7 lose their magnetic force with temperature, and a decrease in magnetization force can cause problems with clamping the molds 31 and 32. Therefore, as mentioned above, the temperature and magnetization force are displayed in the fixed side column 81 and the movable side column 82, respectively.

[0031] The error status columns 85 and 88 of the fixed side column 81 and the movable side column 82, respectively, display various types of errors, i.e., error categories. When an error occurs, selecting an item indicating the error category displays pop-up windows 90 and 91, as shown in Figures 4A and 4B. Pop-up windows 90 and 91 display the details of the error category and the corrective actions the operator should take for that error category.

[0032] In addition, errors may occur regarding the magnetic clamp 7 (see Figure 1) during the operation of the injection molding machine 1. In this case, even if another screen is displayed on the monitor 41, pop-up windows 90 and 91, as shown in Figures 4A and 4B, will be displayed, indicating the type of error and how to deal with it.

[0033] <Injection Molding Machine System> Figure 5A shows an injection molding machine system 100A according to the first embodiment of this embodiment, which includes an injection molding machine 1 according to this embodiment. The injection molding machine system 100A consists of an injection molding machine 1 and a mold changing device system 101A. In the first embodiment, the mold changing device system 101A consists of first and second mold changing devices 103 and 104 provided on the left and right sides of the mold clamping device 2, and a mold transport device 106 connected to the second mold changing device 104.

[0034] The first and second mold changing devices 103 and 104 load molds 110a, 110b, ... and transport them to the clamping device 2 of the injection molding machine 1, or transport mold 110c from the clamping device 2. The mold transport device 106 transports molds 110d, ... and can transport mold 110b from the second mold changing device 104 to an external automated mold warehouse (not shown), or move mold 110d, which is loaded on the mold transport device 106, to the second mold changing device 104. Thus, the mold changing device system 101A is composed of the first and second mold changing devices 103 and 104 and the mold transport device 106, so it can handle and change a relatively large number of molds 101a, 101b, ...

[0035] In this injection molding machine system 100A, the magnetic clamp 7 provided on the injection molding machine 1 is automatically controlled by a controller 5 (not shown). Therefore, when changing molds 110a, 110b, ..., they are automatically clamped / unclamped.

[0036] Figure 5B shows an injection molding machine system 100B according to the second embodiment of this invention. The mold changing device system 101B provided in the injection molding machine system 100B consists of a horizontally sliding movable table 112 and first and second mold changing devices 113 and 114 mounted on this movable table 112. Therefore, similar to the injection molding machine system 100A according to the first embodiment, molds 110a, 110b, ... can be automatically changed. Figure 5B also shows a molded product transport device 116 and a transport belt conveyor 117 for transporting molded products.

[0037] <Vertical injection molding machine> This embodiment can be modified in various ways. For example, although the injection molding machine 1 is horizontally positioned, it can also be implemented with the vertical injection molding machine 121 shown in Figure 6. The vertical injection molding machine 121 includes a mold clamping device 122, an injection device 123 located above the mold clamping device 122, and a controller 125 that controls these.

[0038] <Mold clamping device> The clamping device 122 comprises a fixed platen 129 fixed to the bed 127, an upper movable platen 130 provided above the fixed platen 129, and a lower movable platen (not shown) provided inside the bed 127. In this embodiment, the upper movable platen 130 and the lower movable platen are connected by three tie bars 132, 132, ..., and when a clamping mechanism (not shown) provided between the lower movable platen and the fixed platen 129 is driven, the upper movable platen 130 is driven up and down. In this embodiment, the clamping device 122 has a turntable 134 provided on the fixed platen 129. The turntable 134 rotates 180 degrees, or reverses, around a single tie bar 132 in the center.

[0039] <Magnetic Clamp> A magnetic clamp 135 is provided on this mold clamping device 122. Specifically, there is an upper magnetic clamp 136 provided on the upper movable platen 130 and lower magnetic clamps 137A and 137B provided on the turntable 134. In Figure 6, the lower magnetic clamp 137B is hidden as it overlaps with the lower magnetic clamp 137A in the foreground. When the turntable 134 is reversed, the lower magnetic clamp 137B comes to the front. The upper mold 140 is clamped to this upper magnetic clamp 136. The lower molds 141A and 141B are clamped to the lower magnetic clamps 137A and 137B, respectively.

[0040] <Injection device> The injection device 123 is mounted on the upper movable platen 130 of the clamping device 122, but its description will be omitted.

[0041] <Magnetic clamp operation screen> Figure 7 shows the magnet clamp operation screen 150 displayed on the controller 125 of the vertical injection molding machine 121 according to this embodiment. Since it is configured in a similar manner to the magnet clamp operation screen 50 (see Figures 3A and 3B) displayed on the controller 5 of the horizontal injection molding machine 1 (see Figure 1), a detailed explanation will be omitted, and only some differences will be explained in supplementary terms. In other words, in the vertical injection molding machine 121, as described above, the magnet clamp 135 consists of an upper magnet clamp 136 and lower magnet clamps 137A and 137B. These are indicated by reference numerals 151, 152, and 153 as "upper clamper," "lower clamper A," and "lower clamper B," respectively. The magnet clamp operation screen 150 according to this embodiment also allows for safe clamping / unclamping of the molds 140, 141A, and 141B (see Figure 6).

[0042] The present invention has been described in detail above based on embodiments, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments already described, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. The multiple examples described above can also be implemented in combination as appropriate. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 Injection molding machine 2 Mold clamping device 3. Injection device 5. Controller 7 Magnetic clamps 10 Fixing plates 11 Clamping housing 12 Movable plate 14 Tie bar 16 Toggle mechanism 18 Fixed-side magnetic clamp 19 Movable-side magnetic clamp 21 Magnetic clamp plate 22 Cutout hole 23 bolt holes 25 core holes 28 Power supply wiring 29 Branch wiring 31 Fixed mold 32 Movable mold 34 Heating cylinder 35 Screw 37 Screw drive mechanism 38 Hopper 39 Injection nozzle 41 Monitor 50 Magnetic clamp operation screen 90 Pop-up window 91 Pop-up window 100 Injection molding machine system 101 Mold changing device system 103 First mold changing device 104 Second mold changing device 106 Mold transport device 110 Mold 112 Mobile table 113 First mold changing device 114 Second mold changing device 116 Molded product conveying device 117 Conveyor belt for transporting goods 121 Vertical injection molding machine 122 Mold clamping device 123 Injection device 125 Controller 127 Bed 129 Fixing plate 130 Upper movable plate 132 Tie bar 134 Turntable 135 Magnetic Clamp 136 Upper magnetic clamp 137 Lower magnetic clamp 140 Upper mold 141 Lower mold 150 Magnetic Clamp Operation Screen

Claims

1. Injection molding machine and It includes a mold changing device for changing molds, The injection molding machine includes a mold clamping device for clamping the mold, An injection device for injecting injection material, It consists of a controller that controls the clamping device and the injection device, The clamping device includes a magnetic clamp, The aforementioned magnet clamp is equipped with a temperature sensor for detecting temperature and a magnetic field detection sensor for detecting magnetization force. The magnetic clamp and the injection molding machine are provided with an interlock that restricts the control of the latter when the former is being operated, and restricts the operation of the former when the latter is being controlled. The controller is equipped with a monitor on which an operation screen is displayed. The operation screen includes operation buttons for controlling the magnetic clamp to clamp / unclam the mold, an item related to the interlock, a display field for displaying the temperature and magnetization force of the magnetic clamp, and an error status field for displaying the error type when an error occurs in the magnetic clamp. At least the error types include abnormal temperature and abnormal magnetization force of the magnetic clamp. When an error occurs and an item indicating the error type is selected, a pop-up window is displayed showing the content of the error type and an explanation of the corrective action to be taken. The aforementioned pop-up window is displayed on the monitor when an error occurs, even if the operation screen is not displayed on the monitor. An injection molding machine system wherein the mold changing device is provided adjacent to the mold clamping device and is configured to change the mold provided in the mold clamping device.

2. The injection molding machine system according to claim 1 includes a transport device for transporting molds, An injection molding machine system wherein the transport device transports molds to the mold changing device and unloads molds from the mold changing device.

Images