One-Sided Rotary Table Mounting for Machining Center Accessibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Machining centers with a rotary swivel table unit aligned in the Y direction have limited accessibility for the machining head due to a voluminous supporting swivel joint, restricting the radius of action and requiring workpieces to be lifted over it during re-clamping, which hampers efficient machining of all six sides of a workpiece.
Innovation Solution
The rotary pivoting table unit is mounted on one side with a supporting swivel joint, freeing the opposite side and allowing unrestricted X-direction movement, with the clamping surfaces of the rotary and fixed tables lying in the same plane to minimize re-clamping obstacles and enhance accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the rotary swivel table unit is mounted on both sides with supporting swivel joints, then the stability and load-bearing capacity are improved, but the radius of action of the machining head is limited and workpieces must be lifted over the voluminous swivel joint during re-clamping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes one of the two supporting swivel joints from the rotary swivel table unit, extracting the obstructing element that limited the machining head's radius of action. This leaves a single supporting swivel joint on one side, freeing the opposite side to allow the machining head to approach workpieces without obstruction, while the remaining swivel joint continues to provide necessary stability and load-bearing capacity.
2Ease of operation
If the rotary swivel table unit is mounted on one side with a supporting swivel joint, then the radius of action of the machining head is improved and accessibility is enhanced, but the stability and load-bearing capacity may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a small support bearing as a supplementary element that copies or replicates the stabilizing function of the removed swivel joint. This small support bearing is positioned on the side opposite the main supporting swivel joint, providing additional stability and load-bearing capacity without obstructing the machining head's path, thus maintaining both accessibility and structural integrity.
3Ease of manufacture
If the clamping surfaces of the rotary table and fixed table unit are at different levels, then the structural design is simplified, but workpieces must be lifted higher during re-clamping operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the clamping surfaces of the rotary table and the fixed table unit to be at the same level, creating an equipotential surface for workpiece transfer. This eliminates the need to lift workpieces vertically during re-clamping operations, reducing the time and effort required for these operations while maintaining structural simplicity through the aligned surface design.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a machining center having a machine base (1), the horizontal longitudinal alignment thereof defining an X-axis (X-direction), the horizontal transverse alignment thereof defining a Y-axis (Y-direction, and the vertical alignment thereof defining a Z-axis (Z-direction), having a protective enclosure (2) attached to the machine base (1) having at least one loading opening (3) on a long side, a working space being formed within the protective enclosure (2), a workpiece positioning area (7) extending in the X-direction being disposed near the loading opening (3), and a traversing guide (8) extending parallel to the workpiece positioning area (7) being disposed behind the workpiece position area (7) as seen from the loading opening (3), a traversing stand (9) having at least one machining head (10) traversing on the traversing guide (8) in the X-direction, at least one workpiece clamping device in the form of a rotating/pivoting table unit (14) being disposed in the workpiece positioning area (7), the pivot axis thereof being aligned in the X-direction, and machining a workpiece clamped in the workpiece positioning area (7) being possible by means of the machining head (10) of the traversing stand (9) having a tool loaded therein. The invention is characterized in that the rotating/pivoting table unit (14) comprises a pivot joint (16) supporting the rotary table (15) only on one side.