Cutting Oil Supply Scheduling for Mixed Workpiece Machining

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for supplying cutting oil to machine tools do not adequately account for the varying quantities needed for different types of work pieces, leading to inefficiencies and potential machine tool stoppages due to insufficient oil supply.

Innovation Solution

A method is implemented where cutting times and oil quantities are set for each type of work piece, with a calculated quantity supplied to the tank to maintain a minimum level, ensuring continuous operation by preventing oil depletion, and optimizing oil flow to the cutting area based on past data and experiments.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If cutting oil is supplied continuously to the cutting-oil tank without considering work piece types, then the tank maintains sufficient oil level, but cutting oil is wasted and supply efficiency decreases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting oil supply reliabilityVSAvoidcutting oil consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting oil supply quantity is made dynamic by adjusting it according to the type of work piece being cut. The control unit calculates different supply quantities based on pre-stored data for different work piece types, allowing the system to adapt the oil supply to actual cutting needs rather than using a fixed continuous supply method.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Solution Approach 2:

The supply quantity parameter of cutting oil is changed based on work piece type. The system stores and retrieves different oil quantity parameters corresponding to different work piece types, and the control unit adjusts the supply quantity according to the current work piece type, optimizing oil usage for each specific cutting operation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Productivity

If cutting oil supply quantity is adjusted according to work piece types, then cutting oil usage is optimized, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting work efficiencyVSAvoidoil supply control complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The control unit serves multiple functions: it identifies the work piece type, retrieves the corresponding oil supply quantity from stored data, calculates the supply amount, and controls the supply mechanism. This multi-functional approach consolidates what could be multiple separate systems into a single integrated control unit, managing complexity while enabling optimized oil supply for different work piece types.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary action by pre-storing the cutting oil supply quantities for different work piece types in the control unit before actual cutting operations begin. This pre-programming of supply parameters eliminates the need for complex real-time calculations or manual adjustments during cutting, simplifying the control process while maintaining optimization.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Loss of energy

If cutting oil is not supplied sufficiently to the cutting-oil tank, then oil conservation is improved, but cutting work must be stopped causing decrease in work efficiency

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecutting oil consumptionVSAvoidwork efficiency
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of energyVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The system incorporates feedback by monitoring the current cutting oil quantity in the tank and comparing it against the supplied quantity calculated based on work piece type. The control unit adjusts the supply mechanism based on this feedback, ensuring that oil is supplied in precisely the right amount needed for each cutting operation without excessive consumption or insufficient supply that would cause stoppages.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentEP3747594B1Method for supplying cutting oil
Publication Date: 2021.11.10 MATSUURA MACHINERY CO LTD
  • EP3747594B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3747594B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3747594B1 patent drawing

AI summary

A method for supplying cutting oil which is able to attain the above object by adopting the following processes in a machine tool for cutting work pieces: setting of individual cutting times to each work piece and selection of cutting oil to be used; setting of a quantity of the cutting oil supplied per unit time to a cutting area where the cutting oil selected by the process a is used; supplying the cutting oil to a cutting-oil tank, with a state kept that the cutting oil remains in the cutting-oil tank; and supplying the cutting oil to the cutting area on cutting each of the work pieces by setting a quantity of the cutting oil as a quantity obtained by multiplying individual cutting times according to the process a with a cutting quantity per individual unit times according to the process b.