Method and device for automatically preparing processing program

• US 20030023341A1
• Filed: 06/25/2002
• Published: 01/30/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Citizen Watch Co Limited (Citizen Electronics Company Limited)
• Inventors: Kanaya, Akihide, Sagawa, Takanobu
• Granted Patent: US 6,804,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/159
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4093 characterised by part programming, e.g. entry of geometrical information as taken from a technical drawing, combining this with machining and material information to obtain control information, named part programme, for the NC machine
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/36284 Use of database for machining parameters, material, cutting method, tools
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/45044 Cutting
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 483/138 including means to monitor and control, i.e., adaptive machining

Abstract

A method and apparatus able to quickly and accurately automatically produce machining programs for complicated shapes of products without being affected by the level of knowledge or experience of the operator. A cutting-condition determination processing unit (20) of an automatic programming apparatus (10) specifies required standard cutting condition data from the type of material and the types of processes designated by an input unit (12) in a cutting condition data table (24) stored in a storage unit (18), specifies the tool data corresponding to the types of tools designated by the input unit in the tool data table (26) stored in the storage unit, and determines the cutting conditions relating to the type of material and the tools from the standard cutting condition data and the tool data. A program-generation processing unit (22) specifies a program-generation algorithm corresponding to the designated process in an algorithm table (28) stored in the storage unit and generates machining programs based on the determined cutting conditions in accordance with the program-generation algorithm.

Claims

1. An automatic programming method for automatically producing a machining program to be executed in an NC machine tool, comprising:

previously setting and registering a plurality of standard cutting condition data relating to cutting conditions required in a plurality of types of cutting processes capable of being performed in an NC machine tool, said plurality of standard cutting condition data being prepared respectively for said plurality of types of cutting processes and individually corresponding to a plurality of kinds of material of workpieces;

previously registering a plurality of tool data relating to attributes of a plurality of types of tools capable of being used in said plurality of types of cutting processes;

previously setting and registering a plurality of program generating algorithms used for generating machining programs for executing said plurality of types of cutting processes, said plurality of program generating algorithms being prepared respectively for said plurality of types of cutting processes;

selecting and designating a kind of material of a workpiece, a type of at least one of said cutting processes performed for said workpiece, and a type of tool used in each of said at least one of said cutting processes;

specifying standard cutting condition data corresponding to each of said at least one of said cutting processes, among said plurality of standard cutting condition data as previously registered, on the basis of said kind of material of said workpiece as designated and said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated, specifying tool data corresponding to said type of said tool as designated, among said plurality of sets of tool data as previously registered, and determining a cutting condition required in association with said kind of material and said tool in each of said at least one of said cutting processes, on the basis of said standard cutting condition data as specified and said tool data as specified; and

specifying a program generating algorithm corresponding to each of said at least one of said cutting processes as designated, among said plurality of program generating algorithms as previously registered, and generating a machining program for each of said at least one of said cutting processes, on the basis of said cutting condition as determined, in accordance with said program generating algorithm as specified.

2. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, prior to the generating of said machining program, previously setting and registering a plurality of standard machining conditions required in said plurality of types of cutting processes, said plurality of standard machining conditions being prepared respectively for said plurality of types of cutting processes, and specifying a standard machining condition required in each of said at least one of said cutting processes, among said plurality of standard machining conditions as previously registered, on the basis of said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated;

wherein said machining program is generated by using said standard machining condition as specified.

3. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 2, wherein said standard machining condition is freely changeable.

4. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, prior to the generating of said machining program, registering, in response to a requirement, supplementary data individually required corresponding to said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated;

wherein said machining program is generated by using said supplementary data as registered.

5. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 4, wherein said supplementary data are registered by a drawing.

6. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, prior to the determining of said cutting condition, previously setting and registering a cutting condition calculating expression for calculating said cutting condition on the basis of said standard cutting condition data as specified and said tool data as specified, said cutting condition calculating expression being prepared respectively for said plurality of types of cutting processes;

wherein said cutting condition is determined in accordance with said cutting condition calculating expression as registered.

7. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, prior to the determining of said cutting condition, previously setting and registering a standard parameter for adjusting said standard cutting condition data correspondingly to an attribute of said tool, said standard parameter being prepared respectively for said attributes of tools and said plurality of kinds of material of workpieces;

wherein said cutting condition is determined by using said standard parameter as registered.

8. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 1, further comprising, as occasion demands, modifying said machining program as generated, by changing said cutting condition as determined.

9. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 8, further comprising, after the changing of said cutting condition, calculating a changing parameter for enabling said cutting condition as changed for modifying said machining program to be determined on the basis of said standard cutting condition data, and registering said changing parameter in such a manner as to be prepared respectively for said attributes of tools and said plurality of kinds of material of workpieces.

10. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 9, further comprising, prior to the determining of said cutting condition, previously setting and registering a standard parameter for adjusting said standard cutting condition data correspondingly to an attribute of said tool, said standard parameter being prepared respectively for said attributes of tools and said plurality of kinds of material of workpieces;

wherein said cutting condition is determined by using said standard parameter as registered; and

further comprising, in a case where said changing parameter, capable of being specified on the basis of said attribute of said tool and said kind of material of said workpiece as designated, is registered, determining said cutting condition by using said changing parameter instead of said standard parameter capable of being specified on the basis of a same attribute of said tool and a same kind of material of said workpiece, whenever said machining program is automatically produced.

11. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 10, wherein either one of said standard parameter and said changing parameter, which are capable of being specified on the basis of mutually identical attributes of said tool and mutually identical kinds of material of said workpiece, is selected to determine said cutting condition.

12. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 1, wherein said standard cutting condition data include data of relative cutting speed between a cut point on said workpiece and a nose of said tool as well as data of relative in-feed between said workpiece and said tool.

13. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 12, wherein, in a case where said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated is a turning process, said cutting condition includes a speed of a spindle for rotating said workpiece as well as a relative in-feed between said workpiece and said tool.

14. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 12, wherein, in a case where said kind of said tool as designated is a rotary tool, said cutting condition includes a speed of said rotary tool as well as a relative in-feed between said workpiece and said rotary tool.

15. An automatic programming apparatus for automatically producing a machining program to be executed in an NC machine tool, comprising:

a storage unit previously storing various tables including a cutting condition table into which a plurality of standard cutting condition data, relating to cutting conditions required in a plurality of types of cutting processes capable of being performed in an NC machine tool, are set and registered, said plurality of standard cutting condition data being prepared respectively for said plurality of types of cutting processes and individually corresponding to a plurality of kinds of material of workpieces, a tool data table into which a plurality of sets of tool data, relating to attributes of a plurality of types of tools capable of being used in said plurality of types of cutting processes, are registered, and an algorithm table into which a plurality of program generating algorithms, used for generating machining programs for executing said plurality of types of cutting processes, are set and registered, said plurality of program generating algorithms being prepared respectively for said plurality of types of cutting processes;

as well as various screens, associated with said various tables, including a material designation screen showing names of said plurality of kinds of material of workpieces, a process designation screen showing names of said plurality of types of cutting processes, and a tool designation screen showing names of said plurality of types of tools;

a display unit selectively displaying said various screens stored in said storage unit;

an input unit accepting, in relation to said various screens displayed in said display unit, designations of a kind of material of a workpiece, a type of at least one of said cutting processes performed for said workpiece, and a type of tool used in each of said at least one of said cutting processes;

a cutting condition determination processing unit specifying and reading standard cutting condition data required in each of said at least one of said cutting processes, from said cutting condition data table stored in said storage unit, on the basis of said kind of material of said workpiece as designated through said input unit and said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated therethrough, specifying and reading tool data corresponding to said type of said tool as designated through said input unit, from said tool data table stored in said storage unit, and determining a cutting condition associated with said kind of material and said tool, on the basis of said standard cutting condition data as read and said tool data as read; and

a program generation processing unit specifying and reading a program generating algorithm corresponding to each of said at least one of said cutting processes as designated through said input unit, from said algorithm table stored in said storage unit, and generating a machining program for each of said at least one of said cutting processes, on the basis of said cutting condition as determined in said cutting condition determination processing unit, in accordance with said program generating algorithm as read.

16. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein said storage unit previously stores a standard machining condition table into which a plurality of standard machining conditions, required in said plurality of types of cutting processes, are set and registered, said plurality of standard machining conditions being prepared respectively for said plurality of types of cutting processes;

and wherein said program generation processing unit specifies and reads a standard machining condition required in each of said at least one of said cutting processes, from said standard machining condition tables as previously stored in said storage unit, on the basis of said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated through said input unit, to generate said machining program by using said standard machining condition as read.

17. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein said standard machining condition in said standard machining condition table is freely changeable.

18. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein said input unit accepts, in response to a requirement, a registration of supplementary data individually required correspondingly to said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated;

and wherein said program generation processing unit generates said machining program by using said supplementary data as accepted in said input unit.

19. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 18, wherein said input unit accepts said registration of said supplementary data by a drawing.

20. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein said storage unit previously stores a cutting condition calculating expression table into which a plurality of cutting condition calculating expressions, for calculating said cutting condition on the basis of said standard cutting condition data and said tool data, are set and registered, said cutting condition calculating expressions being prepared respectively for said plurality of types of cutting processes;

and wherein said cutting condition determination processing unit specifies and reads a cutting condition calculating expression corresponding to each of said at least one of said cutting processes, from said cutting condition calculating expression table as stored in said storage unit, on the basis of said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated through said input unit, to determine said cutting condition in accordance with said cutting condition calculating expression as read.

21. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein said storage unit previously stores a standard parameter table into which a plurality of standard parameters, for adjusting said standard cutting condition data correspondingly to an attribute of said tool, are set and registered, said standard parameters being prepared respectively for said attributes of tools and said plurality of kinds of material of workpieces;

and wherein said cutting condition determination processing unit specifies and reads a standard parameter required in each of said at least one of said cutting processes as designated through said input unit, from said standard parameter table as stored in said storage unit, on the basis of said kind of material of said workpiece as designated through said input unit and said attribute of said tool as designated therethrough, to determine said cutting condition by using said standard parameter as read.

22. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein said input unit accepts, as occasion demands, a change of said cutting condition;

and wherein said program generation processing unit modifies said machining program as generated, in accordance with said change of said cutting condition as accepted in said input unit.

23. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 22, wherein said cutting condition determination processing unit calculates, after said cutting condition is changed, a changing parameter for enabling said cutting condition as changed for modifying said machining program to be determined on the basis of said standard cutting condition data;

and wherein said storage unit stores said changing parameter as calculated, in such a manner as to be prepared respectively for said attributes of tools and said plurality of kinds of material of workpieces.

24. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 23, wherein said storage unit previously stores a standard parameter table into which a plurality of standard parameters, for adjusting said standard cutting condition data correspondingly to an attribute of said tool, are set and registered, said standard parameters being prepared respectively for said attributes of tools and said plurality of kinds of material of workpieces;

wherein said cutting condition determination processing unit specifies and reads a standard parameter required in each of said at least one of said cutting processes as designated through said input unit, from said standard parameter table as stored in said storage unit, on the basis of said kind of material of said workpiece as designated through said input unit and said attribute of said tool as designated therethrough, to determine said cutting condition by using said standard parameter as read; and

wherein said cutting condition determination processing unit determines, in a case where said changing parameter, capable of being specified on the basis of said attribute of said tool and said kind of material of said workpiece as selected, is stored in said storage unit, said cutting condition by using said changing parameter instead of said standard parameter capable of being specified on the basis of a same attribute of said tool and a same kind of material of said workpiece, whenever said machining program is automatically produced.

25. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 24, wherein said cutting condition determination processing unit selects either one of said standard parameter and said changing parameter, which are capable of being specified on the basis of mutually identical attributes of said tool and mutually identical kinds of material of said workpiece, to determine said cutting condition.

26. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 15, wherein said standard cutting condition data include data of relative cutting speed between a cut point on said workpiece and a nose of said tool as well as data of relative in-feed between said workpiece and said tool.

27. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 26, wherein, in a case where said type of at least one of said cutting processes as designated through said input unit is a turning process, said cutting condition includes a speed of a spindle for rotating said workpiece as well as a relative in-feed between said workpiece and said tool.

28. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 26, wherein, in a case where said kind of said tool as designated through said input unit is a rotary tool, said cutting condition includes a speed of said rotary tool as well as a relative in-feed between said workpiece and said rotary tool.

29. An automatic programming method for automatically producing a multi-line control program executed in an NC machine tool provided with at least one spindle and at least one tool rest, both operable under control in a plurality of lines, comprising:

individually preparing and previously registering a plurality of programs for controlling a plurality of processes required to manufacture a machined product in said NC machine tool, without considering allocation of the programs to said plurality of lines;

previously registering tool data relating to attributes of a plurality of types of tools capable of being used in a plurality of types of cutting processes capable of being performed in said NC machine tool;

previously registering tool mount data relating to positions, in said at least one tool rest, of a plurality of sets of tool mounts provided in said at least one tool rest;

previously registering a tool holder data relating to attributes of a plurality of types of tool holders capable of being installed onto said tool mounts;

previously setting and registering a tool management determining algorithm used for allocating mounting locations of a plurality of designated tools, designated in said plurality of programs, for said tool mounts, provided that some of said programs are executed simultaneously in at least two lines among said plurality of lines;

specifying a plurality of tool mounts, as said mounting locations of designated tools, allowing execution of a program associated with said designated tools, among said plurality of tool mounts, on the basis of said tool data and said tool mount data, and selecting a plurality of tool holders used for mounting said designated tools correspondingly onto said plurality of tool mounts as specified, on the basis of said tool data and said tool holder data, in accordance with said tool management determining algorithm; and

describing a command, designating said plurality of tool mounts as specified, into said plurality of programs, after the selecting of a plurality of tool holders is completed, and automatically allocating said plurality of programs to said plurality of lines.

30. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 29, further comprising, prior to the allocating of said plurality of programs to said plurality of lines, selecting either one of three allocation conditions such as a preset data priority of tool management, a cycle time reduction of a multi-line control program and an improvement of machining accuracy;

wherein said plurality of programs are automatically allocated to said plurality of lines under an allocation condition as selected.

31. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 29, further comprising, prior to the allocating of said plurality of programs to said plurality of lines, previously setting and registering a plurality of types of machining patterns for causing machining operations in a suitable combination of said at least one spindle and said at least one tool rest;

wherein said plurality of programs are automatically allocated to said plurality of lines on the basis of some machining patterns selected from said plurality of types of machining patterns.

32. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 29, wherein said tool holder data includes an offset value of a tool nose inherent in each of said plurality of types of tool holders;

and further comprising, after the selecting of said plurality of tool holders, describing a command of position compensation into said plurality of programs, on the basis of said offset value of tool nose of each of said tool holders as selected.

33. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 29, wherein said tool holder data includes numbers of said plurality of types of tool holders in stock, prepared respectively for the attributes of the holders;

and wherein said plurality of tool holders are selected under consideration of said numbers in stock.

40. A program display processing method as set forth in claim 39, wherein said multi-line control program is produced according to an automatic programming method as set forth in claim 29.

41. A program display processing method as set forth in claim 39, wherein said multi-line control program is produced according to an automatic programming method as set forth in claim 31;

and further comprising, after the displaying of said rectangular strips representing said processes, changing a combination of some machining patterns as selected.

42. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 41, wherein the changing of a combination of machining patterns includes selecting and designating a machining pattern after changed, on said graphic screen, among said plurality of types of machining patterns as registered, designating said rectangular strip representing said process changeable to said machining pattern as designated, and changing a machining pattern for performing said process corresponding to said rectangular strip as designated into said machining pattern as designated, to display the latter.

43. An automatic programming method as set forth in claim 42, further comprising, in a case where said machining pattern after changed is a machining pattern for a simultaneous machining, prior to the display of the machining pattern after changed, judging whether said process corresponding to said rectangular strip as designated is suitable for simultaneous machining;

wherein said machining pattern after changed is displayed only when it is judged to be suitable for simultaneous machining.

34. An automatic programming apparatus for automatically producing a multi-line control program to be executed in an NC machine tool provided with at least one spindle and at least one tool rest, both operable under control in a plurality of lines, comprising:

a storage unit previously storing a plurality of programs individually prepared for controlling a plurality of processes required to manufacture a machined product in said NC machine tool, without considering allocation of the programs to said plurality of lines;

tool data relating to attributes of a plurality of types of tools capable of being used in a plurality of types of cutting processes capable of being performed in said NC machine tool;

tool mount data relating to positions, in said at least one tool rest, of a plurality of tool mounts provided in said at least one tool rest;

tool holder data relating to attributes of a plurality of types of tool holders capable of being installed onto said tool mounts; and

a tool management determining algorithm used for allocating mounting locations of a plurality of designated tools, designated in said plurality of programs, for said tool mounts, provided that some of said programs are executed simultaneously in at least two lines among said plurality of lines;

a program allocation processing unit specifying a plurality of tool mounts, as said mounting locations of designated tools, allowing execution of a program associated with said designated tools, among said plurality of tool mounts, on the basis of said tool data and said tool mount data stored in said storage unit, and selecting a plurality of tool holders used for mounting said designated tools correspondingly onto said plurality of tool mounts as specified, on the basis of said tool data and said tool holder data stored in said storage unit, in accordance with said tool management determining algorithm;

said program allocation processing unit describing a command, designating said plurality of tool mounts as specified, into said plurality of programs, after the selecting of a plurality of tool holders is completed, and automatically allocating said plurality of programs to said plurality of lines.

35. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 34, further comprising an input unit accepting a designation for selecting either one of three allocation conditions such as a preset data priority of tool management, a cycle time reduction of multi-line control program, and an improvement of machining accuracy;

wherein said program allocation processing unit automatically allocates said plurality of programs to said plurality of lines under an allocation condition as selected through said input unit.

36. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 34, wherein said storage unit previously stores a plurality of types of machining patterns for causing machining operations in a suitable combination of said at least one spindle and said at least one tool rest;

and wherein said program allocation processing unit automatically allocates said plurality of programs to said plurality of lines on the basis of some machining patterns selected from said plurality of types of machining patterns stored in said storage unit.

37. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 34, wherein said tool holder data stored in said storage unit includes an offset value of a tool nose inherent in each of said plurality of types of tool holders;

and wherein said program allocation processing unit reads, after the selecting of said plurality of tool holders is completed, said offset value of tool nose in each of said tool holders as selected, from said tool holder data, and describes a command of position compensation into said plurality of programs, on the basis of said offset value of tool nose as read.

38. An automatic programming apparatus as set forth in claim 34, wherein said tool holder data stored in said storage unit includes numbers of said plurality of types of tool holders in stock, prepared respectively for the attributes of the holders;

and wherein said program allocation processing unit specifies said plurality of tool mounts and selects said plurality of tool holders, under consideration of said numbers in stock read from said tool holder data.

39. A program display processing method for displaying, in a graphic screen, a multi-line control program to be executed in an NC machine tool provided with at least one spindle and at least one tool rest, both operable under control in a plurality of lines, comprising:

allocating a plurality of programs, for controlling a plurality of processes required to manufacture a machined product in said NC machine tool, to said plurality of lines, to produce a multi-line control program;

calculating running times required in respective individual blocks in said multi-line control program;

investigating queuing positions of said programs between said lines in said multi-line control program;

individually calculating elapsed times from a program start-end to respective blocks in a series of said programs allocated to each of said plurality of lines;

comparing said elapsed times as calculated of said blocks at last stages of all of said lines, and defining a longest elapsed time as a cycle time of said multi-line control program;

calculating start times and machining times of respective said processes in each of said plurality of lines;

calculating intervals between time graduations in said graphic screen, on the basis of said cycle time as defined, so as to permit said multi-line control program to be entirely displayed in a displayable area of a program displaying screen as previously provided; and

respectively aligning rectangular strips, which respectively represent said processes in each of said plurality of lines, with said start times in corresponding lines, with reference to said time graduations as calculated, on the basis of said start times and said machining times as calculated, and displaying the rectangular strips in said graphic screen.