Multi-functional measurement system
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring the operations of a machine for manufacturing bevel and hypoid gears, said machine being computer controlled and having a tool support with a spindle mounted in its front face for rotatably holding a tool for shaping teeth on a workpiece rotatably held in a work spindle mounted in the front face of a work support, said work support also having a side face and both said supports being movable relative to each other along a minimum number of operational axes, namely, three mutually orthogonal rectilinear axes and one pivot axis, said machine also having a plurality of encoder means associated with machine drive means for moving said supports, said encoder means providing respective measurement signals indicative of the positions of said supports relative to each other;
- said method comprising the steps ofmounting a contact probe on said tool support so that a sensitive tip associated with said contact probe is movable from a withdrawn position to an extended position in which the tip projects beyond the front face of the tool support and so that a contact trigger signal is produced whenever the surface of said tip contacts another surface;
positioning a plurality of locating points in predetermined locations on the side and front faces of said work support;
storing sets of predetermined position signals corresponding to the relative location of each of said locating points when said tool and work supports are in each of a plurality of predetermined relative orientations;
storing sets of instantaneous position signals provided by said encoder means and indicative of the relative location of said tool and work supports in respect to said axes whenever trigger signals are provided by said contact probe means upon contact with respective ones of said locating points;
comparing sets of said instantaneous and predetermined position signals for each of said plurality of orientations;
generating error signals based upon the difference between said respective signal sets; and
controlling the operation of said machine drive means for positioning said tool and work supports in accordance with said error signals.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-purpose probe module 82, comprising both a touch-trigger type contact probe 84 and a non-contact type probe 86, is used in method and apparatus for monitoring and adjusting the accuracy of a computer-controlled machine for manufacturing precision bevel and hypoid gears. The probe module is mounted on the machine'"'"'s tool support and is used in conjunction with locating points positioned on the machine'"'"'s work support to monitor and recalibrate the relative positions of the tool and work supports. The probe module is also used to monitor the flanks of the gear-shaped workpieces (a) for initial stock division, (b) for pre-machining accuracy, (c) for first-piece testing, (d) for in-process accuracy, and (e) for post-machining accuracy. The same probe module is used in combination with a sacrificial test wafer mounted on the work support for adjusting the position of the machine'"'"'s cup-shaped grinding wheel following each dressing of the latter'"'"'s working surfaces.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring the operations of a machine for manufacturing bevel and hypoid gears, said machine being computer controlled and having a tool support with a spindle mounted in its front face for rotatably holding a tool for shaping teeth on a workpiece rotatably held in a work spindle mounted in the front face of a work support, said work support also having a side face and both said supports being movable relative to each other along a minimum number of operational axes, namely, three mutually orthogonal rectilinear axes and one pivot axis, said machine also having a plurality of encoder means associated with machine drive means for moving said supports, said encoder means providing respective measurement signals indicative of the positions of said supports relative to each other;
- said method comprising the steps of
mounting a contact probe on said tool support so that a sensitive tip associated with said contact probe is movable from a withdrawn position to an extended position in which the tip projects beyond the front face of the tool support and so that a contact trigger signal is produced whenever the surface of said tip contacts another surface; positioning a plurality of locating points in predetermined locations on the side and front faces of said work support; storing sets of predetermined position signals corresponding to the relative location of each of said locating points when said tool and work supports are in each of a plurality of predetermined relative orientations; storing sets of instantaneous position signals provided by said encoder means and indicative of the relative location of said tool and work supports in respect to said axes whenever trigger signals are provided by said contact probe means upon contact with respective ones of said locating points; comparing sets of said instantaneous and predetermined position signals for each of said plurality of orientations; generating error signals based upon the difference between said respective signal sets; and controlling the operation of said machine drive means for positioning said tool and work supports in accordance with said error signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
- said method comprising the steps of
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13. Monitoring apparatus for a machine for manufacturing bevel and hypoid gears, said machine being computer controlled and having a tool support with a spindle mounted in its front face for rotatably holding a tool for shaping teeth on a workpiece rotatably held in a work spindle mounted in the front face of a work support, said work support also having a side face and both said supports being movable relative to each other along a minimum number of operational axes, namely, three mutually orthogonal rectilinear axes and one pivot axis, said machine also having a plurality of encoder means associated with machine drive means for moving said supports, said encoder means providing respective measurement signals indicative of the positions of said supports relative to each other;
- said monitoring apparatus comprising;
contact probe means, mounted on said tool support and movable from a withdrawn position to an extended position in which a sensitive tip associated with said contact probe means projects beyond the front face of said tool support, said contact probe means providing a contact trigger signal whenever the surface of said tip contacts another surface; a plurality of locating points positioned in predetermined locations on the side and front faces of said work support and on said work spindle; sets of predetermined position signals corresponding to the relative location of each of said locating points when said tool and work columns are in each of a plurality of predetermined relative orientations; and sets of instantaneous position signals from said encoders indicative of the relative location of said tool and work supports in respect to said axes whenever trigger signals are provided by said contact probe means upon contact with respective ones of said locating points; said computer being programmable for comparing sets of said instantaneous and predetermined position signals for each of said plurality of orientations; generating error signals based upon the difference between said respective signal sets; and controlling the operation of said machine drive means for positioning said tool and work supports in accordance with said error signals. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
- said monitoring apparatus comprising;
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16. A method for measuring the tooth flanks of a gear-shaped workpiece rotatably mounted in the work spindle of a computer controlled machine having a tool support, said machine also having encoder means associated with drive means for rotating said spindle, said encoder means providing measurement signals indicative of the angular position of said spindle, said method comprising the steps of
mounting a non-contact probe on said tool support so that a sensitive face portion of said non-contact probe is positioned in proximity to the surface of said workpiece tooth flanks, said non-contact probe being adjusted to provide a non-contact trigger signal whenever the face of the probe is within some predetermined distance of said tooth flank surfaces; -
mounting a contact probe on said tool support so that a sensitive tip associated with said contact probe produces a contact trigger signal whenever the surface of said tip contacts a tooth flank surface of said workpiece; storing sets of predetermined work spindle position signals corresponding to the theoretically-correct relative position of the tooth flanks of said workpiece; storing sets of instantaneous work spindle position signals indicative of the position of said work spindle whenever trigger signals are provided by said non-contact and contact probe means, respectively, upon passage of said tooth flanks within said predetermined distance and upon contact with the surface of said tooth flanks; and programming said computer for comparing said sets of theoretical and instantaneous work spindle position signals corresponding to the tooth flanks of the workpiece, and generating error signals based upon differences between said tooth flank signals. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. Apparatus for measuring the tooth flanks of a gear-shaped workpiece rotatably mounted in the work spindle of a computer controlled machine having a tool support, said machine also having encoder means associated with drive means for rotating said spindle, said encoder means providing measurement signals indicative of the angular position of said spindle, said apparatus comprising
non-contact probe means mounted on said tool support and having a sensitive face portion positioned in proximity to the surface of said workpiece tooth flanks, said non-contact probe means providing a non-contact trigger signal whenever said face is within some predetermined distance from the surface of one of said workpiece tooth flanks; -
contact probe means, mounted on said tool support and movable to a position in which a sensitive tip associated with said contact probe means provides a contact trigger signal whenever the surface of said tip contacts the surface of one of said tooth flanks; storage means for receiving and storing sets of predetermined work spindle position signals corresponding to the theoretically-correct relative position of the tooth flanks of said gear-shaped workpiece; and sets of instantaneous work spindle position signals indicative of the position of said work spindle whenever trigger signals are provided by said non-contact and contact probe means, respectively, upon passage of said tooth flanks within said predetermined distance and upon contact with the surface of said tooth flanks; said computer being programmable for comparing said theoretical and instantaneous work spindle position signals corresponding to the tooth flanks of the workpiece, and generating error signals based upon differences between said tooth flank signals. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification