Tool information collection device and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

This tool information collection device identifies information related to processing that is instructed by a block of a processing program, identifies a tool number of a tool to be used in the processing, identifies information related to the tool to be used in the processing, and outputs at least one of the information related to the processing and the information related to the tool in association with the tool number.

Description

Tool information collection device and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a tool information collection device and a computer-readable storage medium.

[0002] The automatic tool changer changes tools according to instructions from a machining program. The tools are managed using tool management information, which manages information related to the tools, such as the tool number, tool image, tool type, tool diameter, tool length, rotation speed, and feed rate (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-222144).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-324262

[0004] The tool management information in Patent Document 1 includes detailed information such as tool images, tool types, tool diameters, and tool lengths. The number of items in the tool management information may be fewer than in the example in Patent Document 1. In many cases, the items are only tool numbers and offset data. When the tool management information only contains tool numbers and offset data, the operator may manage information such as tool types separately.

[0005] In the field of tool management, it is desirable to collect tool data.

[0006] The tool information collection device includes a machining identification unit that identifies information related to machining commanded in a block of a machining program, a tool number identification unit that identifies the tool number of a tool used in the machining, a tool information identification unit that identifies information related to the tool used in the machining, a tool information management unit that links at least one of the information related to the machining identified by the machining identification unit or the information related to the tool identified by the tool information identification unit to the tool number, and an output unit that outputs the information linked to the tool number.

[0007] It is a block diagram of a tool information collecting device. It is a diagram showing an example of a multi-edge tool. It is a diagram showing an example of a tool number and a correction amount. It is a flowchart explaining the operation of the tool information collecting device. It is a diagram showing an example of a machining program. It is a diagram showing the configuration of conventional tool management information. It is a hardware configuration diagram of the tool information collecting device.

[0008] First Embodiment A tool information collecting device according to a first embodiment will be described below. The tool information collecting device is realized by an information processing device such as a numerical control device or a PC (personal computer).

[0009] 1 is a block diagram of a tool information collecting device 100. The tool information collecting device 100 includes a machining specifying unit 1, a tool number specifying unit 2, a tool information specifying unit 3, a tool information managing unit 4, and an output unit 5.

[0010] The machining specification unit 1 specifies information related to machining commanded in blocks of the machining program. When specifying the information related to machining, the machining program and internal information of the numerical control device (hereinafter referred to as modal) are referenced. The information related to machining includes the type of command, the number of rotations of the spindle, and the direction of rotation. The types of commands include cycle commands and tool compensation commands. Cycle commands include tapping, boring, drilling, etc. The type of machining can be determined from the cycle command. The tool compensation command indicates the amount of compensation and the direction (geometric direction) in which the compensation is performed.

[0011] The machining specification unit 1 may specify information related to machining from comments in the machining program. A machining program may contain a comment such as, for example, "(ENDMILL T1 S2500 H1)." By analyzing the comment, it is possible to determine that the tool is an "end mill," the tool number is "1," the rotation speed is "2500," and the correction number is "1." The above-described comment is an example. The information written in the comment varies from comment to comment. For example, when only part of the information in the machining program is changed, it is possible to comment only on the changed information and not on the information that remains unchanged. Information not written in the comment is often commanded before the comment and stored as modal.

[0012] The information related to machining is associated with the blocks of the machining program. That is, the output of the machining specification unit 1 is information related to the machining executed by each block. The information related to machining includes the type of command, the number of rotations (rotation speed) of the spindle, the rotation direction, etc.

[0013] The tool number identification unit 2 identifies the tool number. To identify the tool number, the machining program and the modal of the numerical control device are referenced. The modal stores the tool number. The tool number is usually information that is uniquely named for each type of tool. The tool number may also indicate the position of the tool in an automatic tool changer. The automatic tool changer attaches the tool with the specified tool number to the machine tool.

[0014] The tool number identification unit 2 also identifies the tool number of a multi-edge tool. A multi-edge tool is a tool with multiple edges, as shown in Figure 2. When specifying a multi-edge tool, the edge is specified by writing the number (or name) after the normal tool number "T○○." For example, in "T1,3," the edge is specified by the "3" after the ",".

[0015] The tool number identification unit 2 also refers to comments in the machining program. As mentioned above, the machining program may contain comments such as "(ENDMILL T1 S2500 H1)." Analysis of the comments reveals that the tool number is "1."

[0016] The tool information identification unit 3 identifies information related to the tool. The information related to the tool includes geometric information of the tool. The geometric information of the tool includes the tool compensation amount, the thread cutting direction, the pitch of the tapping tool, and the mounting angle of the turning insert. The information related to the tool can also be identified from comments in the machining program. The tool compensation amount can be obtained from the machining program or modal, the thread cutting direction can be obtained from the rotation direction of the spindle, and the pitch of the tapping tool can be calculated from the feed rate and rotation speed of the spindle. The feed rate and rotation speed of the spindle can be obtained from the machining program or modal, and the mounting angle of the turning insert can be obtained from the machining program.

[0017] The type of tool can be identified from the type of command. For example, the command "G84" is a cycle command for "tapping," so it can be seen that a "tap tool" is to be used in the "G84" block. If the tool number of the tool used in the block commanding "G84" is "1," it can be seen that a "tap tool" is attached to "1." Similarly, the type of tool can be identified from the type of command, such as the tool used in the block commanding "G74" being a "reverse tapping tool," the tool used in the block commanding "G85" being a "boring tool," and so on.

[0018] The tool information management unit 4 links the information related to the machining identified by the machining identification unit 1 and the information related to the tool identified by the tool information identification unit 3 to a tool number. As shown in FIG. 3 , some tool management information consists only of a tool number and a tool offset amount. In such tool management information, tool-related information such as the tool type and tool geometric information may be prepared separately. The tool information collection device 100 of this embodiment can collect tool information and reduce the burden on the operator.

[0019] The tool information management unit 4 may link machining-related information and / or tool-related information to existing tool management information. Information for identifying tools, such as tool numbers and tool names, is often standardized within an organization, such as a factory or company. Tool numbers are often specified in machining programs. Therefore, by linking tool-related information using tool numbers and tool names as keys, tool management information that can be handled uniformly within an organization can be created.

[0020] The output unit 5 outputs the tool number and information about the tool linked to the tool number. The output means may be a display, a printout, a storage medium, or a file output. The output allows the operator to check the tool number and the type of tool attached to the tool. The output information includes at least one of the command type, tool type, spindle rotation speed, rotation direction, tool offset, tapping rotation direction, tap tool pitch, and turning insert attachment angle.

[0021] The output unit 5 may have a function for determining inconsistency between a tool and machining conditions. For example, if a tool compensation amount is set for a tool number but "tool compensation amount: none" is set in the command "G43 (tool length compensation)," the output unit 5 detects and outputs an inconsistency between the information related to the tool and the actual machining conditions.

[0022] The operation of the tool information collecting device 100 will be described in accordance with the flowchart of Fig. 4, using the machining program of Fig. 5 as an example. In the following description, the five blocks of sequence numbers "N1" to "N5" of the machining program of Fig. 5 will be described as an example.

[0023] The tool information collecting device 100 identifies a block for which machining is instructed (step S1). In Fig. 4, the block for which machining is instructed has a sequence number "N3" and a code "G84 X100.Y200.R50.Z-150.;".

[0024] The machining specifying unit 1 acquires information related to machining, such as the type of command, the number of rotations (rotation speed) of the spindle, and the direction of rotation. This information is acquired from the machining program and modal (step S2).

[0025] The tool number identification unit 2 identifies the tool number. The tool number can be identified from the machining program, modal, etc. (step S3).

[0026] The tool information identification unit 3 identifies information related to the tool. The information related to the tool includes the type of tool, the amount of tool correction, the tapping rotation direction, the pitch of the tapping tool, the mounting angle of the turning tip, etc. The information related to the tool can be identified from the machining program, modal, and comments of the machining program (step S4).

[0027] The tool information management unit 4 links the information related to the machining identified by the machining identification unit 1 and the information related to the tool identified by the tool information identification unit 3 to the tool number (step S5).

[0028] The output unit 5 acquires the tool number and information about the tool linked to the tool number. The output means may be display, print, storage medium, file output, etc. (Step S6). Fig. 6 is an example of a display of information related to a tool. In the example of Fig. 6, the tool number "1" and the tool type "tapping tool" are displayed. The tool type may be displayed as an image. Displaying an image makes it easier to identify the tool.

[0029] As described above, in the tool information collection device 100 of this embodiment, the tool number, information related to the machining using the tool with the tool number, and information related to the tool with the tool number are read from the machining program and modal, and linked to the tool number.

[0030] The information collected by the tool information collection device 100 assists the operator. Specifically, it can present the type of tool to the operator and determine inconsistencies between the tool and the machining. Furthermore, if an inconsistency between the tool and the machining is detected, it can alert the operator. It can also restrict the use of the tool.

[0031] The hardware configuration of the tool information collecting device 100 to which the present disclosure is applied will be described below. Fig. 7 is a hardware configuration diagram of the tool information collecting device 100. As shown in Fig. 7, the tool information collecting device 100 includes a CPU 111 that controls the entire tool information collecting device 100, a ROM 112 that records programs and data, and a RAM 113 for temporarily expanding data. The CPU 111 reads out a system program recorded in the ROM 112 via a bus and determines consistency between a block and a tool.

[0032] The nonvolatile memory 114 is backed up by, for example, a battery (not shown), and the stored state is maintained even when the power of the tool information collecting device 100 is turned off. The nonvolatile memory 114 stores various data such as programs read from the external device 120 via the interfaces 115, 118, and 119 and operation inputs input via the input device 20. The nonvolatile memory 114 may store programs and data for executing the tool information collecting device 100 of this embodiment.

[0033] The interface 115 is an interface for connecting the tool information collecting device 100 to an external device 120 such as an adapter. Programs, various parameters, etc. are loaded from the external device 120. The interface 118 is an interface for connecting the tool information collecting device 100 to a display device 30 such as a liquid crystal display. The display device 30 displays various data loaded into the memory, data obtained as a result of executing programs, etc. The interface 119 is an interface for connecting the tool information collecting device 100 to an input device 20 such as a keyboard or a pointing device. The input device 20 passes commands, data, etc. based on operations by an operator to the CPU 111 via the interface 119.

[0034] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible in these embodiments without departing from the gist of the present disclosure or the gist of the present disclosure derived from the claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, these embodiments can also be implemented in combination. For example, 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.

[0035] The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiment and modified examples. (Supplementary Note 1) A tool information collection device (100) includes a machining specification unit (1) that specifies information related to machining commanded by a block of a machining program, a tool number specification unit (2) that specifies the tool number of a tool used in the machining, a tool information specification unit (3) that specifies information related to the tool used in the machining, a tool information management unit (4) that links at least one of the machining-related information specified by the machining specification unit (1) and the tool-related information specified by the tool information specification unit (3) to the tool number, and an output unit (5) that outputs the information linked to the tool number. (Supplementary Note 2) The machining specification unit (1) specifies information related to machining from at least one of a machining program and internal information of a numerical control device. (Supplementary Note 3) The tool number specification unit (2) specifies at least one of a tool number and a tool name from at least one of a machining program and internal information of a numerical control device. (Supplementary Note 4) The tool information identification unit (3) identifies information related to the tool from at least one of the machining program and internal information of the numerical control device. (Supplementary Note 5) The machining identification unit (1) identifies information related to the machining from comments in the machining program. (Supplementary Note 6) The tool related information includes at least the type of tool. (Supplementary Note 7) The tool related information includes geometric information of the tool. (Supplementary Note 8) The tool related information includes an image indicating the type of the tool. (Supplementary Note 9) The output unit (5) determines inconsistencies between the tool and the machining. (Supplementary Note 10) The tool information management unit (4) updates existing tool management information using the tool number as a key. (Supplementary Note 11) The computer-readable storage medium (112, 113, 114) stores instructions to cause one or more processors (111) to execute processing to identify information related to machining commanded in a block of a machining program, identify a tool number of a tool to be used in the machining, identify information related to the tool to be used in the machining, link at least one of the information related to the machining or the information related to the tool to the tool number, and output the information linked to the tool number.

[0036] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Tool information collection device 1 Machining identification unit 2 Tool number identification unit 3 Tool information identification unit 4 Tool information management unit 5 Output unit 111 CPU 112 ROM 113 RAM 114 Non-volatile memory

Claims

1. A tool information collection device comprising: a machining identification unit that identifies information related to machining commanded by a block of a machining program; a tool number identification unit that identifies the tool number of a tool used in the machining; a tool information identification unit that identifies information related to the tool used in the machining; a tool information management unit that links at least one of the information related to the machining identified by the machining identification unit or the information related to the tool identified by the tool information identification unit to the tool number; and an output unit that outputs the information linked to the tool number.

2. The tool information collecting device according to claim 1, wherein the machining specifying unit specifies information related to machining from at least one of a machining program and internal information of a numerical control device.

3. A tool information collecting device according to claim 1, wherein the tool number identifying section identifies at least one of a tool number and a tool name from at least one of a machining program and internal information of a numerical control device.

4. The tool information collecting device according to claim 1, wherein the tool information identifying unit identifies information relating to the tool from at least one of a machining program and internal information of a numerical control device.

5. The tool information collecting device according to claim 1, wherein the machining specifying unit specifies information related to machining from comments in a machining program.

6. The tool information collection device according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the tool includes at least the type of the tool.

7. The tool information collection device according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the tool includes geometric information of the tool.

8. The tool information collection device according to claim 1, wherein the information relating to the tool includes an image showing the type of the tool.

9. The tool information collection device according to claim 1, wherein the output unit determines mismatch between the tool and the machining.

10. The tool information collection device according to claim 1, wherein the tool information management unit updates existing tool management information using the tool number as a key.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing instructions to cause one or more processors to execute the following processes: identify information related to machining commanded in a block of a machining program; identify the tool number of a tool used in the machining; identify information related to the tool used in the machining; link at least one of the information related to the machining or the information related to the tool to the tool number; and output the information linked to the tool number.

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