SPINDLE DEVICE OF MACHINE TOOL

• US 20100119320A1
• Filed: 03/27/2008
• Published: 05/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Inventors: Inoue, Atsushi, Yoshikawa, Mutsumi, Tauchi, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 8,579,561 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 409/233
• CPC Class Codes: B23B 31/261 clamping the end of the toolholder shank
• CPC Class Codes: B23C 2260/76 Sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 17/003 by measuring a position
• CPC Class Codes: B23Q 17/005 by measuring a force, a pressure or a deformation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 279/21 with measuring, indicating or control means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 409/309464 and draw bar

Abstract

A spindle device of machine tool includes a pressure sensor (31) that detects a pressing force to a rod (18) by a drive (25), a displacement sensor (32) that detects displacement of the rod (18), a tool clamping-force detector (33) that detects a clamping force to a tool (19) by a collet (20) based on the pressing force to the rod (18) and the displacement of the rod (18), and a spring-replacement-timing determining unit (36) that determines a replacement timing of disc springs (24) based on the tool clamping force and a preset biasing force characteristic value of the disc springs (24), thereby allowing highly accurate determination of a replacement timing of a biasing unit by appropriately detecting a tool clamping force.

Claims

1. A spindle device of machine tool comprising:

a spindle rotatably supported by a housing;

a rod movably supported along an axial direction in the spindle;

a collet that clamps and unclamps a tool by movement of the rod;

a biasing unit that biases the rod in a tool clamping direction by the collet;

a drive that presses the rod against a biasing force of the biasing unit to move the tool in an unclamping direction;

a rod-pressing-force detecting unit that detects a pressing force to the rod by the drive;

a rod-displacement detecting unit that detects displacement of the rod;

a tool-clamping-force detecting unit that detects a tool clamping force by the collet based on the pressing force to the rod detected by the rod-pressing-force detecting unit and the displacement of the rod detected by the rod-displacement detecting unit; and

a replacement-timing determining unit that determines a replacement timing of the biasing unit based on the tool clamping force detected by the tool-clamping-force detecting unit and a preset biasing force characteristic value of the biasing unit.

2. The spindle device of machine tool according to claim 1, wherein the replacement-timing determining unit presumes an actual biasing-force characteristic chart in the biasing unit from the tool clamping force detected by the tool-clamping-force detecting unit based on the biasing-force characteristic chart of the biasing unit, and determines the replacement timing of the biasing unit based on the actual biasing-force characteristic chart.

3. The spindle device of machine tool according to claim 2, wherein a display unit is provided, which displays the biasing-force characteristic chart of the biasing unit, indicating a change in the clamping force with respect to a tool clamping frequency by the collet.

7. The spindle device of machine tool according to claim 1, wherein the tool-clamping-force detecting unit detects a pressing force to the rod detected by the rod-pressing-force detecting unit as the tool clamping force by the collet, when the rod-displacement detecting unit detects the displacement of the rod.

8. The spindle device of machine tool according to claim 1, wherein a customer and a manager are connected with each other by a communication line, the pressing force to the rod detected by the rod-pressing-force detecting unit, the displacement of the rod detected by the rod-displacement detecting unit, or the replacement timing of the biasing unit determined by the replacement-timing determining unit is transmitted from the customer to the manager through the communication line, and the manager can caution the customer about the replacement timing of the biasing unit.

4. A spindle device of machine tool comprising;

a spindle rotatably supported by a housing;

a rod movably supported along an axial direction in the spindle;

a collet that clamps and unclamps a tool by movement of the rod;

a biasing unit that biases the rod in a tool clamping direction by the collet;

a drive that presses the rod against a biasing force of the biasing unit to move the tool in an unclamping direction;

a rod-pressing-force detecting unit that detects a pressing force to the rod by the drive;

a rod-displacement detecting unit that detects displacement of the rod;

a tool-clamping-force detecting unit that detects a tool clamping force by the collet based on the pressing force to the rod detected by the rod-pressing-force detecting unit and the displacement of the rod detected by the rod-displacement detecting unit; and

a replacement-timing determining unit that determines a replacement timing of the biasing unit based on a change in the tool clamping force with time detected by the tool-clamping-force detecting unit.

5. The spindle device of machine tool according to claim 4, wherein the replacement-timing determining unit presumes a biasing-force characteristic chart in the biasing unit based on the change in the tool clamping force with time detected by the tool-clamping-force detecting unit, and determines the replacement timing of the biasing unit based on the biasing-force characteristic chart.

6. The spindle device of machine tool according to claim 5, wherein a display unit is provided, which displays the biasing-force characteristic chart of the biasing unit, indicating a change in the clamping force with respect to a tool clamping frequency by the collet.