Machining apparatus

• US 4,665,493 A
• Filed: 09/05/1984
• Issued: 05/12/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/1983
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Hattori, Shinichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ruggiero, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US06/647,460
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 364/474, 364/475, 364/167, 364/169, 364/170, 364/573, 318/600, 318/601, 318/603, 318/573, 318/569, 901/3, 901/5, 901/6
• US Class Current: 700/183
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4015 going to a reference at the beginning of machine cycle, e.g. for calibration
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/42 Recording and playback systems, i.e. in which the programme is recorded from a cycle of operations, e.g. the cycle of operations being manually controlled, after which this record is played back on the same machine

Abstract

This invention relates to a machining apparatus for repeating the position and the attitude of a desired point on a work, memorizing as a plurality of data in a memory device, and automatically operating a jig from the stored point to the stored point in accordance with calculated result of a calculator for calculating to interpolate between these points while a machining head remains stationary. The device comprises a detector for teaching the position and the attitude of the machining head with respect to the work independently from the machining head in case of forming teaching data. A calculator is provided for calculating the spatial position and attitude entirely in the same manner as the detector with respect to the work by the stored data under playback condition so that the machining head takes with respect to the work. Also, a control unit is provided for controlling the position and the attitude of the jig in accordance with the calculated result of the calculator, and a drive unit for driving the jig on the basis of a command from the control unit.

Claims

1. A machining tool including a control means for storing position and attitude of a stationary machining head relative to a workpiece head by a movable jig at a sequence of desired points of a machining program so that the jig may be automatically moved to locate the workpiece to follow the sequence of stored points and attitudes of the machining program, said machine tool comprising:

a movable detector having means for determining its position and attitude relative to the workpiece independently from the machining head at each of the desired points;

control means connected to said detector means and having;

memory means for storing a teaching program for moving the detector to each of the desired points of the machining program with an attitude at each point simulating the requisite relation between the machining head and the workpiece for a machining operations at that point; and

memory means connected to receive data from said detector position and attitude determining means and for storing such data representing the position and attitude of the detector at each of the desired points according to coordinates of a first three axis coordinate system;

said control means including means for converting the stored data of the coordinates of each of the points according to the first coordinate system to a second three axis coordinate system relating the machining head and the workpiece;

a memory storing a playback program for controlling the position and attitude of the jig such that the machining head and jig are moved relative to each other to the desired points of the machining program according to the coordinates of the second coordinate system with an attitude at each point determined during the teaching program so that the machining program may be executed in accordance with the stored data; and

a driving unit connected for driving the jig and operated by commands from the playback program in memory to execute the machining program.

2. A method for storing position and attitude of a stationary machining head relative to a workpiece held by a movable jig at a sequence of desired points of a machining program so that the jig may be automatically moved to locate the workpiece to follow the sequence of points and attitudes of the machining program comprising:

storing a teaching program for moving a detector to each of the desired points of the machining program with an attitude at each point simulating the requisite relation between the machining head and the workpiece for the machining operation at that point;

determining position and attitude of the detector relative to the workpiece independently from the machining head at each of the desired points;

receiving from the detector and storing in memory data representing its position according to coordinates of a first three axis coordinate system and its attitude at each of the desired points;

converting the stored data of the coordinates of each of the points according to the first coordinate system to a second three axis coordinate system relating the machining head and the workpiece;

storing a playback program in memory for controlling the position and attitude of the jig such that the machining head and jig are moved relative to each other to the desired points of the machining program with an attitude at each point determined by the detector during the teaching program so that the machining program may be executed in accordance with the stored data; and

driving the jig by commands from the playback program in memory to execute the machining program.