Workpiece vise and workpiece axial positioning device

Abstract

Provided is a workpiece vise for collectively or simultaneously processing a plurality of workpieces in a machining center.　The present invention enables a plurality of workpieces having different dimensions to be gripped in a workpiece gripping operation such that the processing centers of the workpieces are at the same height. One or a plurality of intermediate jaws 4 are mounted so as to be freely movable in the longitudinal direction (workpiece gripping direction) of a base 1 between main jaws 2a, 2b facing each other in the longitudinal direction.　Contact surfaces 7 of mouthpieces 5, 6 of the main jaws 2 and the intermediate jaws 4 that come into contact with the workpieces are shaped such that workpieces W are centered, that is, the processing center axes c of the workpieces are positioned at predetermined positions, by means of a movement operation in the workpiece gripping direction.　For example, a mouthpiece having a contact surface that is composed of two planar surfaces extending in the workpiece gripping direction, wherein the apex angle is 120 degrees and the intersection line 8 is parallel to the processing center axis of a workpiece W, has the highest versatility.

Description

Work vise and work axial positioning device

[0001] The present invention relates to a work vise that is attached directly or via a column or the like to a table of a machining center and is used to grip (clamp and fix) multiple workpieces, and to a workpiece axial positioning device used in the work vise.

[0002] 12, 13, and 14 are diagrams showing examples of workpieces machined using the work vise of the present invention. The workpiece Wa in FIG. 12 and the workpiece Wb in FIG. 13 each have a gripped portion 41 (41a, 41b) that is gripped by the jaws of the work vise. One end of the shaft has a large-diameter, bottomed hole 42 with a circumferential groove 43, and the other end has a threaded shaft 44. The gripped portion 41a of the workpiece Wa in FIG. 12 has a hexagonal cross-sectional shape, whereas the gripped portions 41b, 41c of the workpieces Wb, Wc in FIGS. 13 and 14 have circular cross-sectional shapes. The workpiece Wa in FIG. 12 also differs from the workpiece Wb in FIG. 13 in that one end of the gripped portion 41a has a circular flange 45 and small radial holes 46.

[0003] Conventionally, for workpieces Wa and Wb as shown in Figures 12 and 13, after machining the gripped portion 41, the screw shaft 44 was machined on a lathe, and the workpiece was then inverted and re-gripped to machine the bottomed hole 42 and circumferential groove 43, which took a long time to machine the large-diameter bottomed hole 42.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-29571 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-136567 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-1346

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a work vise that enables multiple workpieces Wa and Wb, such as those illustrated in Figures 12 and 13, to be machined together or simultaneously in a machining center, such as workpieces of shapes that have traditionally been machined one by one on a lathe or workpieces Wc that have traditionally been machined on a combined lathe, and to provide a means for positioning the workpiece in the axial direction for use with the work vise.

[0006] The work vise of this invention is a work vise used when batch machining or simultaneous machining of multiple workpieces in a machining center. The main vise base 1, which forms the base of the work vise of this invention, has a constant linear cross-sectional shape equipped with a linear guide 11. At both ends of the base 1 in the longitudinal direction (workpiece gripping direction), a pair of main jaws 2 (2a, 2b) are provided that move toward and away from each other to grip and release the workpiece, just like a normal vise. One or more intermediate jaws 4 are mounted between the opposing main jaws 2a, 2b, guided by the guide 11, so as to be freely movable in the longitudinal direction of the base 1.

[0007] The main jaw 2 and the intermediate jaw 4 are equipped with jaws 5 and 6 that grip the workpiece W (Wa, Wb, and Wc). The shape of the contact surfaces 7 of the jaws 5 and 6 that contact the workpiece W is such that when the opposing main jaws 2 move in the workpiece gripping direction, the workpiece W is centered by the movement, i.e., the workpiece's machining center axis c is positioned at a predetermined position. Specifically, the contact surfaces are made up of two flat surfaces that form a horizontal V-shape in side view that widens toward the workpiece to be gripped. Since the gripped portion 41 of many machined parts has a cylindrical or hexagonal cylindrical peripheral surface, jaws with contact surfaces that have an apex angle of 120 degrees and an intersection line 8 parallel to the workpiece W's machining center axis c are the most versatile.

[0008] The work vise of the present invention can be provided with a stopper 21 that determines the axial position of the work being gripped, and a pusher 23 that pushes the work toward the stopper. The stopper 21 and the pusher 23 are preferably provided on the intermediate jaw 4. When the work vise is not provided with a stopper or pusher, the axial positioning of the work can be performed by a positioning device 30 that is provided with a stopper plate 34 and a pusher 35.

[0009] The positioning device 30 is detachably attached to the work vice, and is attached to the work vice when gripping the work to position the work, and is detached when the work vice with the work attached is loaded into the machining center. Such a work positioning device 30 can avoid the adverse effect of interference between the positioning device 30 and the tools of the machining center during work machining, and further, by providing multiple work vises, it is possible to prevent setup work time from becoming lost time for the machining machine.

[0010] By using the work vise of this invention, it is possible to machine multiple workpieces at once in a machining center, whereas previously workpieces were machined one by one mainly using a lathe, and it is particularly possible to efficiently machine relatively small workpieces in large lots that have areas on their peripheral surfaces that are difficult to machine using a normal lathe, such as keyways and flat surfaces.In addition, the same work vise can grip workpieces of various shapes, which has the effect of being highly versatile.

[0011] 1A side view of a work vise according to an embodiment; sectional view of part A in FIG. 1; sectional view of part B in FIG. 9; sectional view of part A in FIG. 1; sectional view of part B in FIG. 9; sectional view of part B in FIG. 9; sectional view of part C in FIG. 9; sectional view of part C in FIG. 9; sectional view of part D in FIG. 9; sectional view of part E in FIG. 9; sectional view of part F ...

[0012] Specific examples of the work vise and the positioning means in the direction of the central machining axis of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings showing the embodiments.

[0013] 1 is a side view of a work vise of a first embodiment, showing the work vise gripping four workpieces W. The work vise in the figure is composed of an elongated, linear base 1, a fixed jaw 2a fixed to one end of the base in the longitudinal direction (the direction in which the workpieces are gripped), and a movable table 3 and a movable jaw 2b mounted on the base 1 so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the base 1 while being guided by guides 11 provided on the side of the base 1. The base 1 has pin holes 13 formed at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction.

[0014] The movable table 3 has a through hole through which a fixed pin 12 passes, and the movable position is fixed by inserting the fixed pin 12 through the through hole into a desired one of pin holes 13 provided in the base. The movable jaw 2b advances and retreats toward the fixed jaw 2a while being guided by a guide 11 by a threaded rod 9 (only the head of which is shown in FIG. 1) in the longitudinal direction of the base 1 that is screwed onto the movable table 3. The movable table 3 and movable jaw 2b can be removed from the end of the base opposite the fixed jaw by removing the fixed pin 12. The base 1 of the work vise is attached to the machining center by bolting it to the table 51 of the machining center or to a column 52 attached to the table (see 2 and 3).

[0015] Between the opposing main jaws 2 (2a, 2b), one or more (three in the illustrated example) intermediate jaws 4 are mounted so as to be freely movable along guides 11. With the movable table 3 and movable jaw 2b removed from the base 1, the intermediate jaw 4 is inserted into or removed from the side of the base opposite the fixed jaw.

[0016] A main nozzle 5 is fixed to the opposing surface of the main jaw 2, and is provided with a horizontal V-shaped abutment surface 7 with an apex angle of 120 degrees in side view (perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1 ). An intermediate nozzle 6 is fixed to the intermediate jaw 4, and is provided with horizontal V-shaped abutment surfaces 7, 7 with an apex angle of 120 degrees in side view on both opposite sides, on the fixed jaw side and the movable jaw side. The main nozzles 5 and intermediate nozzles 6 all have the same width dimension (dimension perpendicular to the plane of the paper in FIG. 1 ), and are attached to the base 1 with the same positional relationship to the base 1 in that direction. Furthermore, the abutment surfaces 7 of these nozzles all have the same shape, and are attached so that the heights of the intersection lines 8 of the horizontal V-shaped abutment surfaces from the base 1 are exactly the same.

[0017] The shape of the contact surfaces 7 of the jaws 5, 6 with the workpiece is determined according to the outer circumferential shape of the gripped portion 41 of the workpiece W to be gripped. Since the outer circumferential shapes of machine parts are often hexagonal or circular, if the side shape of the contact surfaces 7 is a horizontal V-shape with an apex angle of 120 degrees, it is possible to grip workpieces whose outer circumferential shape of the gripped portion 41 is hexagonal tubular or cylindrical, and by the workpiece gripping operation of the main vise, i.e., by bringing the opposing main jaws 2a, 2b closer together, it is possible to grip multiple workpieces W with their machining central axes c at the same distance from the base 1 of the work vise. Furthermore, if the apex angle of the horizontal V-shape of the contact surfaces 7 is 90 degrees, it is possible to grip workpieces with gripped portions whose circumferential surfaces are square or circular in the above manner.

[0018] 12, which has a flange 45 at the end of the gripped portion 41, is inserted between the opposing jaws 5 and 6, the movable jaw 2b is advanced (moved toward the fixed jaw) to lightly grip the workpiece Wa, and the tip of the screw shaft 44 is pushed to bring the flange 45 into contact with the side of the jaws 5 and 6, and then the movable jaw 2b is urged toward the fixed jaw 2a with the threaded rod 9. As a result, multiple workpieces Wa between the fixed jaw 2a and the movable jaw 2b are gripped with the same axial position, height from the base 1, and posture.

[0019] 13 and 14, a workpiece having no flange on the gripped portion 41 for use in positioning in the workpiece axial direction can be positioned in the workpiece axial direction c by providing stoppers 20 and 21 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, or by using a positioning device 30 as shown in FIG.

[0020] 5 has a structure in which the stopper 20 is replaceably fixed with a bolt 19 to the side of a slider 18 which is mounted on the base 1 so as to be slidable along the guide 11. When the intermediate jaw 4 is mounted on the base 1, the slider 18 equipped with the stopper 20 is mounted between the main jaw 2 and the intermediate jaw 4 and between the intermediate jaws 4.

[0021] The positioning device 30 in Figure 6 has a structure in which a fixed clamp 32a is fixed to one end of a guide bar 31, a movable clamp 32b is provided on the other end which can slide along the guide bar 31 and can be fixed with a fixing screw 33, and multiple pressing devices 35 are attached to the guide bar 31.

[0022] The pusher 35 is a commonly available commercially available part that has a structure in which, when a knob 37 provided at the base end of a push rod 36, which is biased in the protruding direction by a built-in spring, is pulled and rotated, a protrusion on the push rod 36 engages with a protrusion on the case side of the pusher 35, fixing the push rod 36 in a retracted state, and when the knob 37 is rotated in the opposite direction, the push rod 36 advances due to the biasing force of the spring.

[0023] The positioning device 30 is attached so that the guide bar 31 is parallel to the base 1 of the work vice by clamping both sides (the front and rear sides of the paper in FIG. 1) of the main jaw 5 of the work vice with clamps 32 (32a, 32b) provided on the guide bar 31, and by turning the knob 37 of the pressing tool 35 for each work to unlock the built-in spring, the tip of the screw shaft 44 of the work W lightly gripped in the work vice is pushed in the axial direction with a constant force of the built-in spring until it abuts against the stopper 20 (shown in FIG. 5) attached to the work vice. By using such a positioning device 30, the axial positioning of multiple workpieces W gripped in the work vice can be performed quickly and accurately.

[0024] If the work vise is not provided with a stopper 20 as shown in FIG. 5, a stopper plate 34 shown by imaginary lines in FIG. 6 may be attached to the clamp 32 in the positioning device 30 on the side opposite the guide bar 31, as shown by imaginary lines in FIG.

[0025] After the screw shaft 44 of the workpieces Wa and Wb as shown in Figures 12 and 13 is machined on a lathe, they are mounted on the work vise of the present invention, and the work vise is held by a column 52 erected on a table 51 of a machining center as shown in Figure 3. Then, a bottomed hole 42 is machined with an end mill attached to the tool shaft of the machining center, a circumferential groove 43 is machined with a boring tool, and the table 51 is rotated 90 degrees to machine a small hole 46.

[0026] As shown in Figure 4, two work vises are mounted side by side on the sides of a column 52 erected on a table 51 of a machining center, and workpieces W similar to those shown in Figure 3 are held in the left and right work vises with their axial directions reversed. After machining the workpiece held by the right work vice, the table 51 is rotated 180 degrees to machine the workpiece on the left, thereby making it possible to continuously machine twice the number of workpieces W as in the case of Figure 3.

[0027] By carrying out machining in this manner, workpieces Wa and Wb having shapes such as those shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 can be machined efficiently.

[0028] Furthermore, by using the work vise of this invention, it is possible to perform machining operations in the direction perpendicular to the axis, such as keyway machining, and machining of inclined planes using a machining center, as well as to perform machining operations on multiple workpieces simultaneously or in a batch, which was previously performed one by one using a compound lathe equipped with a rotary tool axis on the tool post, making it possible to efficiently machine relatively small workpieces, especially those produced in large lots.

[0029] For example, when machining a keyway in a round bar, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, two workpieces Wc can be held between each jaw 5 and 6 and machined, thereby achieving a significant improvement in productivity and labor savings.

[0030] 9 to 11 show a second embodiment of the work vise of the present invention, which is an example of a work vise provided with a positioning tool in the axial direction of the work. In the work vise of the second embodiment, a stopper 21 for axial positioning of the work Wc gripped by the jaws 5 and 6 is attached to one side of the intermediate jaw 4 described in the first embodiment with a bolt 22, and a pressing tool 23 is provided on the other side.

[0031] 11, the pressing tool 23 has a structure in which a pressing shaft 26 biased in a retracting direction by a spring 25 is inserted into a horizontal hole 24 formed in the intermediate jaw 4, and a pressing plate 27 is replaceably attached to the tip of the pressing shaft 26, and a guide pin 28 is provided adjacent to the horizontal hole 24, and a through hole 29 for inserting the guide pin is provided in the pressing plate 27, preventing the pressing plate 27 from rotating around the pressing shaft 26. The pressing plate 27 and the above-mentioned stopper 21 have a shape (see FIGS. 9 and 10) that protrudes from the intermediate jaw 6 by a length that does not reach the axis c of the workpiece gripped by the jaw 6 and abuts against the axial end of the workpiece.

[0032] 13 and 14, a workpiece Wc that does not have a flange or the like to serve as a machining reference in the axial direction is inserted between the jaws 5 and 6 with the stopper 21 attached to the intermediate jaw 4 and the push plate 27 pulled out. The inserted workpiece abuts against the stopper 21 due to the biasing force of the pusher 23, and if the movable jaw 2b is advanced in this state to grip the workpiece W, all of the workpieces inserted between the main jaw 2 and the intermediate jaw 4 and between the intermediate jaws 4 are fixed with the end abutting against the stopper 21 as the machining reference in the axial direction and the distance from the base 1 to the intersection 8 of the abutment surfaces 7, 7 as the machining reference.

[0033] In the second embodiment described above, two workpieces Wc are placed side by side and held between the main jaw 5 and the intermediate jaw 6, and between the intermediate jaws 6, 6, respectively, but it will be easily understood that positioning in the axial direction of the workpiece is possible even when one workpiece is held between each of these jaws. Also, the stopper 21 and the pushing tool 23 having the above structure can be provided on a sliding table 18 slidably provided on the guide 11 of the base between the main jaw 2 and the intermediate jaw 4 and between the intermediate jaws 4, 4, as shown in FIG.

[0034] The work device according to the present invention is capable of processing a plurality of workpieces at once or simultaneously, and is therefore expected to improve the productivity of processing machines.

[0035] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Base 2 Main jaw 2a Fixed jaw 2b Movable jaw 4 Intermediate jaw 5 Main jaw 6 Intermediate jaw 7 Contact surface with workpiece 8 Intersection line of contact surface 7 11 Guide provided on base 1 18 Slide table 20 Stopper 21 Stopper 23 Pressing tool 27 Pressing plate 30 Positioning device 34 Stopper plate 35 Pressing tool W (Wa, Wb, Wc) Workpiece

Claims

1. A work vice having one or more intermediate jaws arranged to be freely movable along a linear guide between opposing main jaws, at least one of which is movable along the linear guide of a base fixed to the table of a machining center or a column attached to the table, and which grips a workpiece between the main jaws and the intermediate jaws and between the intermediate jaws by moving the opposing jaws toward each other, wherein the abutment surfaces of the jaws attached to the main jaws and intermediate jaws have a horizontal V-shaped side shape that grips the central machining axis of the workpiece at the same height above the base by the gripping movement when gripping the workpiece, and further comprising a positioning means consisting of a stopper that determines the position of the gripped workpiece in the direction of the central machining axis, and a pusher opposing the stopper.

2. A work vice as described in claim 1, wherein the contact surface with the workpiece is made up of two planes with an apex angle of 120 degrees extending in the workpiece gripping direction, and the intersection line of the two planes is parallel to the central machining axis of the workpiece being gripped.

3. A work vice as claimed in claim 1, further comprising said stopper replaceably mounted on said intermediate jaw.

4. A work vice as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a stopper replaceably attached to said intermediate jaw; and a pressing device including a spring for urging each of a plurality of workpieces held in the work vice toward said stopper.

5. A work vice as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a sliding base movably mounted along said guide between said intermediate jaw and main jaw and between said intermediate jaws, and said stopper replaceably mounted on said sliding base.

6. An axial positioning device for a work vice comprising a guide bar, a pair of clamps at both longitudinal ends of the guide bar for gripping opposing main jaws of a work vice as described in claim 1, and a plurality of pushing tools attached to the guide bar between the pair of clamps, each pushing tool being biased by an internal spring in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the guide bar and having a knob for pulling out the tool in the direction opposite to the biasing direction.

Images