Tool Magazine Transport Scheduling for Downtime-Free Changeovers
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Solution Overview
Problem
The inefficiency in tool transport from the magazine to the spindle in machine tools, leading to waiting times and reduced production efficiency due to the need for frequent adjustments in tool magazine capacity when changing products, is addressed.
Innovation Solution
A method and device for optimizing tool reordering in a tool magazine using mixed-integer linear optimization, which assigns tool transports to available time intervals during machine tool operation, ensuring efficient tool transport without additional downtime.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the magazine capacity is increased to minimize waiting times for tool transport, then the productivity is improved, but the device complexity increases due to larger magazine size and reorganization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The magazine capacity is made dynamically adaptable through software-based optimization. The system automatically adjusts tool assignment and transport scheduling based on current production requirements, allowing the effective magazine capacity to be optimized without physically changing the magazine structure. This resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptable through control logic rather than fixed hardware configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of magazine utilization by optimizing tool assignment and transport timing. Through computer-aided optimization, the system adjusts how tools are assigned to magazine positions and schedules their transport, maximizing the utilization of existing magazine capacity without increasing its physical size, thereby improving productivity while avoiding increased device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the magazine capacity is adjusted when changing products, then the adaptability is improved, but the loss of time increases due to reorganization requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary optimization calculations for tool assignment and transport scheduling before product changes occur. By pre-calculating optimal configurations and preparing tool transport sequences in advance, the system minimizes the actual reorganization time when product changes are executed, thus improving adaptability while reducing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The optimization system operates continuously in the background, maintaining optimal tool assignments and transport schedules even during product changes. This ensures that the magazine reorganization process is streamlined and efficient, allowing quick adaptation to new products without significant downtime, thus maintaining continuous productive action.
3Productivity
If tool transports are performed during machine tool operation, then the productivity is improved by utilizing waiting times, but the reliability decreases due to potential interruptions in tool availability
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback control by continuously monitoring tool usage, magazine status, and machine tool operation state. Based on this real-time feedback, the optimization algorithm dynamically adjusts tool transport scheduling, ensuring that transports are performed only when they will not compromise tool availability. This allows productive use of waiting times while maintaining reliable tool supply through continuous monitoring and adaptive scheduling.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs periodic checking and scheduling of tool transports during machine operation. By dividing the operation into periodic intervals and planning transports in advance within these intervals, the system ensures that tool availability is maintained while utilizing waiting times effectively. The periodic nature of the optimization allows for reliable prediction and scheduling of tool transports without disrupting ongoing machining operations.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method and a device for the computer-aided optimization of tool transportation operations for at least one tool magazine that has a number of magazine spaces and is used or is able to be used for a machine tool that is used to produce one or more workpieces with the aid of the tools provided at a provision space by a magazine device. The input (IN) comprises the set of tools and the space requirement of each tool and a permissible starting magazine occupancy. In step 1, a set of available time intervals is determined. In a time interval, the respective movement period of one or more tool transportation operations amounts at most to the machining period in which the tool (spindle tool) provided at the provision space is used to machine a workpiece. In step 2, one or more tool transportation operations are assigned to a respective time interval under the condition that the movement period for the tool transportation operation is less than or equal to the length of the time interval. In step 3, one or more tool transportation operations are performed. This may take place while the machine tool for machining a workpiece during operation is in a standby state or in a machining state.