Robot teaching assistance device and plate material holding position setting method

Abstract

A robot teaching assistance device according to an aspect of the present disclosure is for teaching a robot how to hold a plate material in order to perform bending work by means of a press machine, the robot teaching assistance device comprising: a machining information acquisition unit that acquires shape information specifying the shape of the plate material and machining information specifying the positions and machining sequence of a plurality of machining lines along which to perform the bending work on the plate material; and a holding region determination unit that uses the relative positions of the plurality of machining lines as a basis for determining a holding region in which to set a holding position where the robot is to hold the plate material.

Description

Robot teaching support device and plate material holding position setting method

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot teaching support device and a method for setting a workpiece holding position.

[0002] A processing system is used in which a robot holds a plate material and positions the processing portion of the plate material between the die and punch of a press processing machine by the robot. It is also known to simulate the bending operation on a computer to check whether the plate material, the robot, and the press processing machine interfere with each other during processing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Special Publication No. 2001-515792

[0004] When bending the same plate material multiple times, if the robot does not hold the plate material in an appropriate position, the processing may not be performed properly or the processing error may become extremely large. Generally, the position at which the plate material is held by the robot is set by an operator, taking into consideration the shape of the plate material and the bending procedure. Patent Document 1 describes having a computer determine interference between the robot and other components, but does not mention an appropriate holding position when bending the same plate material multiple times. Therefore, a technology that can appropriately set the holding position of the plate material by the robot is desired.

[0005] A robot teaching support device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a robot teaching support device that teaches the operation of a robot that holds a plate material for bending processing using a press machine, and includes a processing information acquisition unit that acquires shape information that identifies the shape of the plate material and processing information that identifies the positions and processing order of multiple processing lines to bend the plate material, and a holding area determination unit that determines a holding area in which the robot should set a holding position to hold the plate material based on the positional relationship of the multiple processing lines.

[0006] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a bending system including a robot teaching support device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a plate material to be processed by the bending system of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing a procedure for setting a holding position in the robot teaching support device of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a divided area that is first imagined for the plate material of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a divided area that is imagined for the plate material of Fig. 2 after Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a divided area that is imagined for the plate material of Fig. 2 after Fig. 5.

[0007] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a bending system 1 including a robot teaching support device 30 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The bending system 1 includes a press machine 10, a robot 20, and the robot teaching support device 30. The bending system 1 bends a plate material W. The plate material W bent by the bending system 1 may be a metal plate, typically a steel plate.

[0008] The press machine 10 has a fixed die 11 and a punch 12 that is held so as to be able to move up and down. The die 11 has a processing groove on its upper surface that is V-shaped in cross section and linear in plan view. The tip of the punch 12 is inserted into the processing groove, has a mountain-shaped cross section that corresponds to the angle at which the sheet material W is to be bent, and extends parallel to the processing groove. The press machine 10 performs a bending process by sandwiching the sheet material W between the processing groove of the die 11 and the tip of the punch 12, thereby bending the sheet material W at an angle that follows the tip of the punch 12.

[0009] The robot 20 holds the workpiece W and performs the instructed operations to place a virtual processing line on the die 11 along which the workpiece W is to be bent. The robot 20 may include a robot main body 21, a holding head 22 provided at the end of the robot main body 21 and capable of holding the workpiece W, and a robot control device 23 for controlling the robot main body 21 and the holding head 22. The robot main body 21 may be a vertical articulated robot as shown in the figure, but is not limited thereto and may be, for example, a Cartesian coordinate robot, a SCARA robot, a parallel link robot, or the like. The configuration of the holding head 22 is not particularly limited and may include a configuration having a suction pad that vacuum-attracts the workpiece W as shown in the figure, an electromagnet that magnetically attracts the workpiece W, or gripping fingers that clamp the workpiece W. The robot control device 23 may be provided integrally with or separately from the robot main body 21. The robot control device 23 has a memory, a processor, an input / output interface, etc., and is realized by one or more computer devices that execute appropriate control programs, and controls the operation of each drive unit of the robot body 21 and the holding head 22 so as to perform pre-instructed operations.

[0010] The robot teaching support device 30 supports the teaching of the operation of the robot 20 that holds the plate material W for bending by the press machine 10 described above. The robot teaching support device 30 may be realized by one or more computer devices that have a memory, a processor, an input / output interface, etc. and execute appropriate processing programs. The robot teaching support device 30 may be provided independently, but is preferably configured integrally with the robot control device 23, or configured as a device or part thereof that communicates with the robot control device 23. In other words, the robot teaching support device 30 does not have to be independent in terms of physical configuration and program configuration, and may be realized as a function of the robot control device 23, or as a function of a management computer, data server, etc. that communicates with the robot control device 23.

[0011] The robot teaching support device 30 includes a processing information acquisition unit 31 and a holding area determination unit 32. These components categorize the functions of the robot teaching support device 30, and do not necessarily have to be clearly distinguishable in terms of physical configuration and program configuration.

[0012] The processing information acquisition unit 31 acquires shape information for specifying the shape (contour shape) of the plate material W as illustrated in FIG. 2, as well as a plurality of processing lines L on which bending processing should be performed in the plate material W. １ , L ２ , ..., L ｎ (The subscript indicates the processing order, n indicates the number of processing lines, and n=3 in FIG. 2) positions (including the orientation in a plan view) and multiple processing lines L １ , L ２ , ..., L ｎ The processing information acquiring unit 31 may be configured to acquire the shape information and processing information from a management computer, a database, or the like connected via a network, or may be configured to provide a user interface that allows a user to input the shape information and processing information.

[0013] The holding area determination unit 32 determines the plurality of processing lines L １ , L ２ , ..., L ｎ Based on the positional relationship between the above, the holding area A is set to the holding position P where the robot 20 holds the plate material W. ｎ The holding position P is a position representative of the position where the holding head 22 of the robot 20 holds the workpiece W, and can typically be set to the center of the position where the holding head 22 abuts against the workpiece W.

[0014] Specifically, the holding area determination unit 32 determines the entire workpiece W as the initial area A of the holding area A. ０ Then, one processing line L １ , L ２ , ..., L ｎ Only one side of the new holding area A １ , A ２ , ..., A ｎ The process is repeated until the final processed line L ｎ The holding area is limited by ｎThe holding area A where the holding position P should be finally set is ｎ More specifically, the holding area determination unit 32 determines whether the i-th processing line L ｉ The (i-1)th holding area A （ｉ－１） Two divided regions Ar ｉ , As ｉ is assumed, and two divided areas Ar ｉ , As ｉ Among them, the processed line L to be processed later （ｉ＋１） ~L ｎ The divided area containing ｉ The above process is repeated, and finally, the bending processing line L ｎ The divided areas Ar on both sides of ｎ , As ｎ One of these is the final holding area A ｎ In addition, the divided area Ar ｉ , As ｉ is the previously bent processing line L １ ~L （ｉ－１） Of these, processed wire L ｉ or the area between the outer edge of the plate W.

[0015] The holding area determination unit 32 determines the final holding area A ｎ is presented to the user, and the user is presented with the final holding area A ｎ The holding position P may be set within the final holding area A ｎ The holding area determining unit 32 may be configured to automatically set the holding position P at a predetermined position such as the center of gravity or the intersection of the major axis and the minor axis. ｎ The divided areas Ar on both sides of ｎ , As ｎ Which of the following is held in region A? ｎ However, in order to enable stable holding, the larger area is set as holding area A. ｎ It is preferable to set the following.

[0016] The holding area determining unit 32 also determines the position of one processing line L ｉ The divided areas Ar on both sides of ｉ , As ｉ If both of the divided areas Ar and Ar contain one or more processing lines to be processed later, it may be notified that the processing order is inappropriate.ｉ , As ｉ If there are processing lines to be processed later in both the divided areas Ar ｉ , As ｉ The final holding area A ｎ Even if the above is set, a step of bending the processed line Lx (where i<x≦n) that is closer to the tip end than the processed line Li that was bent earlier as viewed from the holding head 22 is required, and an error in bending the previous processed line Li may prevent the processed line Lx to be bent later from being accurately positioned on the die 11. For this reason, in such a case, it is preferable to notify the user that there is a risk that the processing accuracy may not be guaranteed and to prompt the user to reset the processing order.

[0017] The robot teaching support device 30 automatically performs at least a part of the robot teaching method according to the present disclosure. The robot teaching method according to the present disclosure is a robot teaching method for teaching the operation of a robot 20 that holds a workpiece W to be bent by a press machine 10, and includes, as shown in Fig. 3, a step of specifying the shape of the workpiece W (step S01), a step of setting the positions and processing order of multiple processing lines to be bent in the workpiece W (step S02), a step of determining a holding area in which to set holding positions for the robot to hold the workpiece W based on the positional relationship of the multiple processing lines (steps S03 to S11), and a step of setting the holding positions within the holding area (step S12).

[0018] The process of determining the holding area in which the holding position should be set includes a process of initializing the loop parameter i (step S03) and a process of determining the (i-1)th holding area A （ｉ－１） the i-th processed line L ｉ Two divided regions Ar ｉ , As ｉ (Step S04) and the division area Ar ｉ , As ｉ The processing line L to be processed in （ｉ＋１） ~L ｎ a step of grouping (classifying by position) the two sets (step S05), a step of checking whether the two sets are both empty sets (step S06), and a step of classifying the two sets into the divided area Ar if the two sets are both empty sets. ｉ , Asｉ The larger area is the holding area A ｉ (Step S07), a step of checking whether both of the two sets contain an element (division line) (are not empty sets) (Step S08), a step of notifying an error that the processing order is inappropriate if both of the two sets contain an element (Step S09), and a step of notifying an error that the processing order is inappropriate if either of the two sets is an empty set. ｉ , As ｉ The one containing the element is held in area A. ｉ (Step S010), and a step of incrementing the loop parameter i by 1 (Step S11). In this process, if step S11 is executed, the process returns to step S04. Also, if step S07 is executed, step S12 is executed and then the process ends. Note that in this process procedure, when step S07 is executed, the divided area Ar ｉ , As ｉ In either of the above, there is no further processing line to be bent, and the loop parameter i at this point is necessarily n. When step S09 is executed, the process immediately ends.

[0019] The above-mentioned candidate area A ｎ The determination of the first holding area A, which is the entire plate, will be explained using the plate shown in Fig. 2 as an example. ０ The first processing line L to be processed １ Two divided areas Ar shown with different hatching １ , As １ is assumed, and the processing line L ２ , L ３ The divided area As on the right side of the figure includes １ is the next holding area A １ Next, as shown in FIG. １ The second processing line L to be processed ２ The two divided regions Ar ２ , As ２ is assumed, and the processing line L ３ The divided area Ar on the left side of the figure includes ２ is the next holding area A ２Furthermore, as shown in FIG. １ The final processed line L ３ The two divided regions Ar ３ , As ３ are assumed, and since neither of them includes a processing line, the divided area Ar on the left side of the figure, which has a large area, is ３ is the final holding area A ３ It is said that.

[0020] As described above, the robot teaching support device 30 according to the present disclosure and the robot teaching method according to the present disclosure that can be performed using the robot teaching support device 30 mechanically determine the holding area An in which the holding position P should be set within the plate material W without relying on the user's intuition or experience, and therefore the holding position of the plate material W by the robot 20 for bending processing by the press processing machine 10 can be appropriately set.

[0021] The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiments and modifications. (Supplementary Note 1) A robot teaching support device (30) according to the present disclosure is a robot teaching support device (30) that teaches the operation of a robot (20) that holds a plate material (W) for bending processing by a press machine (10), and includes shape information that specifies the shape of the plate material (W) and a plurality of processing lines (L) on which bending processing is to be performed in the plate material (W). ｉ ) () and a processing information acquisition unit (31) for acquiring processing information for specifying the position and processing order of a plurality of processing lines (L ｉ ) based on the positional relationship of the holding area (A ｎ and a holding area determination unit (32) for determining the holding area.

[0022] (Supplementary Note 2) In the robot teaching support device (30) of Supplementary Note 1, the holding area determination unit (32) determines the entire plate material (W) as a holding area (A ｉ ) initial region (A ０ ), and one processing line (L ｉ ) to determine the retention area (A ｉ ) into two divided regions (Ar ｉ , As ｉ ) and divide it into two divided areas (Ar ｉ , As ｉ) among the processed wires (L （ｉ＋１） ~L ｎ ) is included in the divided area (Ar ｉ , As ｉ ) into a new holding area (A ｉ ) process is repeated, and finally, the bending processing line (L ｎ ) on both sides of the divided area (Ar ｎ , As ｎ ) to the final holding region (A ｎ ) can also be used.

[0023] (Supplementary Note 3) In the robot teaching support device (30) of Supplementary Note 2, the holding area determination unit (32) determines the last processing line (L ｎ ) on both sides of the divided area (Ar ｎ , As ｎ ), the one with the larger area is designated as the holding area (A ｎ ) can also be used.

[0024] (Supplementary Note 4) In the robot teaching support device (30) of Supplementary Note 2 or 3, the holding area determination unit (32) determines one processing line (L ｉ ) on both sides of the divided area (Ar ｉ , As ｉ ) and the processed line (L （ｉ＋１） ~L ｎ ) is included, a notification may be given that the processing order is inappropriate.

[0025] (Supplementary Note 5) The method for setting a workpiece holding position according to the present disclosure is a method for setting a position where a workpiece (W) should be held by a robot (20) in order to perform bending processing by a press machine (10), and includes a step of specifying the shape of the workpiece (W), a step of specifying a plurality of processing lines (L) in the workpiece (W) where bending processing should be performed, and a step of specifying the shape of the workpiece (W) in order to perform bending processing by a press machine (10). ｉ ) position and processing order setting; ｉ ) based on the positional relationship of the holding area (A ｎ ) and determining a retention area (A ｎ and setting a holding position within the

[0026] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible to these embodiments within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure, or within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the order of each operation and the order of each process are shown as examples and are not limited to these. For example, the plate material is not limited to a rectangular one, and the processing lines do not have to be parallel to each other.

[0027] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Machining system 10 Press machine 11 Die 12 Punch 20 Robot 21 Robot body 22 Holding head 23 Robot control device 30 Robot teaching support device 31 Machining information acquisition unit 32 Holding area determination unit A ｉ Holding area Ar ｉ , As ｉ Divided area L ｉ Processed wire W Plate material

Claims

1. A robot teaching support device for assisting the teaching of the operation of a robot that holds a plate material for bending by a press working machine, the device comprising: a processing information acquisition unit that acquires shape information for specifying the shape of the plate material and processing information for specifying the positions and processing order of a plurality of processing lines to be bent on the plate material; and a holding area determination unit that determines a holding area in which the robot should set a holding position for holding the plate material based on the positional relationship of the plurality of processing lines. A robot teaching support device.

2. The holding area determination unit: sets the entire plate material as an initial area of the holding area; virtualizes two divided areas obtained by dividing the holding area by one of the processing lines according to the processing order; repeatedly performs a process of setting, as the new holding area, the divided area that includes the processing line to be processed later among the two divided areas; and finally sets, as the final holding area, one of the divided areas on both sides of the processing line to be bent last. The robot teaching support device according to claim 1.

3. The holding area determination unit sets, as the holding area, the one with the larger area among the divided areas on both sides of the processing line to be processed last. The robot teaching support device according to claim 2.

4. When the processing lines to be processed later are included in both of the divided areas on both sides of the one processing line, the holding area determination unit notifies that the processing order is inappropriate. The robot teaching support device according to claim 2 or 3.

5. A method for setting a plate material holding position for setting a position where a robot should hold a plate material for bending by a press working machine, the method comprising: a step of specifying the shape of the plate material; a step of setting the positions and processing order of a plurality of processing lines to be bent on the plate material; a step of determining a holding area in which the robot should set a holding position for holding the plate material based on the positional relationship of the plurality of processing lines; and a step of setting the holding position within the holding area. A method for setting a plate material holding position.

Images