Numerical control device

Abstract

Provided is a numerical control device for acquiring and correcting cam shape data in which the position of a slave axis is mapped with respect to the position of a master axis. This numerical control device comprises: a data acquisition unit that acquires the cam shape data; a manual operation unit allowing an operator to manually operate the master axis and / or the slave axis; a position acquisition unit that acquires the position of the master axis and / or the slave axis operated by means of the manual operation unit; and a data correction unit that corrects the cam shape data on the basis of the position acquired by the position acquisition unit.

Description

Numerical Control Device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a numerical control device.

[0002] An electronic cam is known that synchronizes and drives a master axis and a slave axis according to cam shape data that associates the position of the slave axis with the position (phase) of the master axis. In actual machining sites, an operator must adjust the cam shape data according to the machining conditions and the workpiece. As a technique for correcting the cam shape data, a device has been proposed that can correct the cam shape data by specifying a combination of the master axis position and the slave axis position so that the cam passes through a specified position (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP 2012-194664 A

[0004] In the technology of Patent Document 1, an operator inputs a combination of the master axis position and the slave axis position as a numerical value, and the cam shape data is corrected by adjusting the position of the slave axis relative to the master axis so that it passes through the input combination position. However, it is not easy to numerically express the appropriate combination of the master axis position and the slave axis position to be passed through, and repeated trial and error is required for cam shape adjustment and test runs, which takes time for adjustment. Furthermore, since the cam shape data forms a continuous trajectory, it is necessary to correct not only the points to be passed through but also the points before and after the points to be passed through. This makes it difficult for less skilled operators to adjust the cam shape data. For this reason, a technology that allows for intuitive and easy correction to the desired cam shape data is desired.

[0005] A numerical control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a numerical control device that acquires and corrects cam shape data that associates the position of a slave axis with the position of a master axis, and includes: a data acquisition unit that acquires the cam shape data; a manual operation unit that allows an operator to manually operate at least one of the master axis and the slave axis; a position acquisition unit that acquires the position of at least one of the master axis and the slave axis operated by the manual operation unit; and a data correction unit that corrects the cam shape data based on the position acquired by the position acquisition unit.

[0006] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a numerical control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a labeling device controlled by the numerical control device 1 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of correction of cam shape data in the labeling device of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of correction of cam shape data in the numerical control device of Fig. 1 that is different from Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of correction of cam shape data in the numerical control device of Fig. 1 that is different from Figs. 3 and 4. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of correction of cam shape data in the numerical control device of Fig. 1 that is different from Figs. 3 to 5.

[0007] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a characteristic part of a numerical control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0008] The numerical control device 1 controls a mechanism including a master axis and a slave axis. The numerical control device 1 controls the master axis and the slave axis in synchronization according to cam shape data that associates the position of the slave axis with the position (phase) of the master axis. Furthermore, as a feature of the present disclosure, the numerical control device 1 acquires and modifies the cam shape data that associates the position of the slave axis with the position of the master axis.

[0009] The numerical control device 1 includes a data acquisition unit 11, a manual operation unit 12, an automatic operation unit 13, a position acquisition unit 14, a data correction unit 15, and an adjustment information acquisition unit 16. The numerical control device 1 can be realized by one or more computer devices that include, for example, a memory, a processor, an input / output interface, etc. and execute appropriate control programs. The components of the numerical control device 1 described above are classifications of the functions of the numerical control device 1, and do not necessarily have to be clearly distinguishable in terms of physical configuration and program configuration.

[0010] The data acquisition unit 11 acquires cam shape data that associates the positions of the slave axes with the positions of the master axes. The cam shape data may be acquired from a storage device inside the numerical control device 1, or may be acquired externally via a storage medium, communication, or the like.

[0011] The manual operation unit 12 is configured to allow an operator to manually operate at least one of the master axis and the slave axis. The manual operation unit 12 may be configured to operate at least one of the master axis and the slave axis in response to an operator's input via, for example, an input device provided in the numerical control device 1, a manual pulse generator connected to the numerical control device 1, a jog console, or the like. The manual operation unit 12 may also be configured to displace at least one of the master axis and the slave axis in response to an external force applied to at least one of the master axis and the slave axis by the operator, for example, via a driven body driven by the master axis and the slave axis. Using the manual operation unit 12, the operator displaces at least one of the master axis and the slave axis so that the combination of the position of the master axis and the position of the slave axis is appropriate while checking the operation of the driven body driven by the electronic cam.

[0012] The manual operation unit 12 may be configured to interrupt the operation of the automatic operation unit 13, that is, to stop the operating master axis and slave axis, and change the position of at least one of the master axis and slave axis. The manual operation unit 12 may also be configured to allow the operator to confirm that the positions of the master axis and slave axis have been confirmed, for example, by operating a button.

[0013] The automatic operation unit 13 operates the master axis and the slave axis in accordance with the cam shape data. The automatic operation unit 13 may be configured to operate the master axis and the slave axis at a slower speed so that an operator can easily check whether the cam shape data is appropriate and so that appropriate interruption by the manual operation unit 12 can be facilitated. The automatic operation unit 13 may also be configured to reverse the operation in accordance with the cam shape data, that is, to reverse the rotation of the master axis and operate the slave axis accordingly.

[0014] The position acquisition unit 14 acquires the position of at least one of the master axis and the slave axis (the axis operated by the manual operation unit 12) operated by the manual operation unit 12. The position acquisition unit 14 may identify the positions of the master axis and the slave axis based on a command signal output by the manual operation unit 12, or may identify the positions of the master axis and the slave axis based on feedback from the master axis and the slave axis.

[0015] The data correcting unit 15 corrects the cam shape data based on the positions acquired by the position acquiring unit 14. In other words, the data correcting unit 15 corrects the cam shape data based on the actual positions of the master axis and slave axis that the operator optimized while checking the operation of the driven body by the electronic cam using the manual operation unit 12. This allows the operator to appropriately change the cam shape data even if he or she is unable to quantify the appropriate positions of the master axis and slave axis.

[0016] The data correction unit 15 may correct the cam shape data according to adjustment information including the adjustment range of the cam shape data and an interpolation method for the cam shape data. This allows the operator to appropriately correct the cam shape data simply by specifying a combination of master axis and slave axis positions acquired through operation. The adjustment range of the cam shape data may be set as a range of the master axis or slave axis position relative to the position acquired by the position acquisition unit 14, or may be set as a range between adjacent command points (or characteristic points such as inflection points). Examples of cam shape data interpolation methods include linear interpolation, quadratic curve interpolation, sinusoidal curve interpolation, and spline curve interpolation. The adjustment information may include information regarding profile limitations of the cam shape data. Specifically, the adjustment information may include an allowable range for at least one of the position, velocity, acceleration, and jerk of the slave axis. The data correction unit 15 may interpret a case where the difference between the master axis value of the position specified by the manual operation unit 12 and the master axis value of the existing command point is equal to or less than a certain value as meaning that the existing command point is to be moved, and may interpret a case where the difference between the master axis value of the position specified by the manual operation unit 12 and the master axis value of the existing command point is greater than a certain value as meaning that a new command point is to be added.

[0017] As a non-limiting example, the correction of cam shape data by the data correction unit 15 will be described for the labeling device 100 shown in Fig. 2. The labeling device 100 includes a conveyor 110 that transports the workpieces W, and a label dispenser 120 that moves up and down relative to the conveyor 110 and affixes labels to the workpieces W on the conveyor 110. In the labeling device 100, the axis that drives the conveyor 110 is the master axis, and the axis that moves the label dispenser 120 up and down is the slave axis. The phase of the master axis is controlled such that the transport start position P1 of the workpiece W is 0° and the transport start / end position P2 of the workpiece W is 360°. As shown by the dashed-dotted line in Fig. 3, the label dispenser 120 moves up and down in a sinusoidal manner relative to the phase of the master axis, with the slave axis positioned at top dead center when the phase of the master axis is 0° (=360°) and the slave axis positioned at bottom dead center when the phase of the master axis is 180°, thereby applying a label to the workpiece W. In the labeling device 100, with the phase of the conveyor 110 set to 180°, the manual operation unit 12 manually adjusts the height position of the label dispenser 120 to a position corresponding to the height of the workpiece W, and specifies the adjusted height position. The position acquisition unit 14 acquires the specified adjusted height position. The data correction unit 15 corrects the cam shape data to a sinusoidal waveform that passes through the height position acquired by the position acquisition unit 14, as shown by the solid line in Fig. 3.

[0018] In the labeling device of FIG. 2 , the entire cam shape data is corrected. However, the data correction unit 15 may also correct only a portion of the cam shape data within the adjustment range set in accordance with the adjustment information. As a specific example, FIG. 4 shows an example of cam shape data correction when an adjustment range is specified in the adjustment information. In FIG. 4 , the original cam shape data is indicated by a dashed line, and the corrected portion of the cam shape data after correction is indicated by a solid line. In the example of FIG. 4 , the data correction unit 15 sets a fixed range for the master axis position and limits the acceleration to reduce discontinuity between the adjusted portion and outside the adjustment range. Furthermore, FIG. 5 shows an example of the same original cam shape data as FIG. 4 , but sets a fixed range for the slave axis position and limits the acceleration to reduce discontinuity between the adjusted portion and outside the adjustment range.

[0019] The data correction unit 15 may be configured to display an error message if the curve passing through the combination of the master axis and slave axis positions specified by the operator using the manual operation unit 12 cannot be generated within the tolerance range of the adjustment information, or to generate cam shape data modified to satisfy the tolerance range of the adjustment information and display the result. When correcting the cam shape data to one that does not pass through the position specified by the manual operation unit 12, the position specified by the manual operation unit 12 and the corrected passing position may be displayed, as shown in FIG. 6 . Furthermore, even if the position specified by the user using the manual operation unit 12 or the position acquired by the position acquisition unit 14 is not strictly accurate, the cam shape data can be appropriately corrected by including operating conditions in the adjustment information. In other words, by having the data correction unit 15 refer to the operating conditions included in the position information, the position specified by the manual operation unit 12 or the position acquired by the position acquisition unit 14 can be used as a rough position.

[0020] The adjustment information acquisition unit 16 acquires adjustment information and provides it to the data correction unit 15. By providing the adjustment information acquisition unit 16, different adjustment information can be used each time depending on the cam shape data to be corrected, allowing the data correction unit 15 to perform more appropriate correction of the cam shape data. The adjustment information acquisition unit 16 may acquire the adjustment information from a storage device inside the numerical control device 1, or may acquire it from an external source via, for example, a storage medium or communication, or may acquire it by prompting an operator to input it (input of individual setting values, etc., or selection of one of multiple pieces of preset adjustment information).

[0021] In the numerical control device 1 having the above configuration, the data correction unit 15 corrects the cam shape data based on the positions of the master axis and slave axis specified by the operator while checking the positions of the driven bodies using the manual operation unit 12. This allows the operator to appropriately correct the cam shape data through intuitive operations. Because the numerical control device 1 can appropriately correct the cam shape data in this way, it is possible to reduce human error, such as making incorrect adjustments and causing the device to interfere with the workpiece.

[0022] The following supplementary note is further disclosed regarding the above embodiment and modified examples. (Supplementary Note 1) A numerical control device (1) acquires and corrects cam shape data that associates the position of a slave axis with the position of a master axis, and includes a data acquisition unit (11) that acquires the cam shape data, a manual operation unit (12) that allows an operator to manually operate at least one of the master axis and the slave axis, a position acquisition unit (14) that acquires the position of at least one of the master axis and the slave axis operated by the manual operation unit (12), and a data correction unit (15) that corrects the cam shape data based on the position acquired by the position acquisition unit (14).

[0023] (Supplementary Note 2) In the numerical control device (1) of Supplementary Note 1, the data correcting unit (15) may correct the cam shape data in accordance with adjustment information including an adjustment range of the cam shape data and an interpolation method for the cam shape data.

[0024] (Supplementary Note 3) In the numerical control device (1) of Supplementary Note 2, the adjustment range may be set as a width of the position of the master axis or the slave axis.

[0025] (Supplementary Note 4) In the numerical control device (1) of Supplementary Notes 2 and 3, the adjustment information may include an allowable range for at least one of the position, velocity, acceleration, and jerk of the slave axis.

[0026] (Supplementary Note 5) In the numerical control device (1) of Supplementary Note 4, the data correcting unit (15) may determine the corrected cam shape data so that the data falls within an allowable range.

[0027] (Supplementary Note 6) In the numerical control device (1) of Supplementary Notes 1 to 5, the manual operation unit (12) may displace at least one of the master axis and the slave axis in response to an external force applied by an operator to at least one of the master axis and the slave axis.

[0028] 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 in these embodiments without departing from the gist of the present disclosure or the spirit of the present disclosure derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. 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. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical expressions are used in the description of the above-described embodiments.

[0029] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Numerical control device 11 Data acquisition unit 12 Manual operation unit 13 Automatic operation unit 14 Position acquisition unit 15 Data correction unit 16 Adjustment information acquisition unit

Claims

1. A numerical control device that acquires and modifies cam shape data that associates the position of a slave axis with the position of a master axis, comprising: a data acquisition unit that acquires the cam shape data; a manual operation unit that allows an operator to manually operate at least one of the master axis and the slave axis; a position acquisition unit that acquires the position of at least one of the master axis and the slave axis operated by the manual operation unit; and a data modification unit that modifies the cam shape data based on the position acquired by the position acquisition unit.

2. The numerical control device according to claim 1, wherein said data correction unit corrects said cam shape data in accordance with adjustment information including an adjustment range for said cam shape data and an interpolation method for said cam shape data.

3. The numerical control device according to claim 2, wherein the adjustment range is set as a width of the position of the master axis or the slave axis.

4. A numerical control device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the adjustment information includes an allowable range for at least one of the position, velocity, acceleration, and jerk of the slave axis.

5. The numerical control device according to claim 4, wherein said data correcting section determines said cam shape data after correction so as to fall within said allowable range.

6. A numerical control device according to claim 1, wherein the manual operation unit displaces at least one of the master axis and the slave axis in response to an external force applied by the operator to at least one of the master axis and the slave axis.

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