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AssigneeCarl Hurth Maschinen- und Zahnradfabrik GmbH & Co.
InventorsManfred Erhardt, Werner Fendt, Manfred Huber
Estimating the term…
A method and apparatus for effecting an automated exchange of a tool in hobbing machines. At least a pair of gripping devices are mounted on a shaft for relative sliding movement therealong and for selective locking engagement with the shaft so that a rotation of the shaft will effect a rotary movement of a selected one of the gripping devices. The rotary movement of the selected gripping device is between a storage position and a working position. The gripping device is capable of holding a tool which is to be exchanged for a worn out tool. The other gripping device is generally empty and is first moved into the working position to extract the worn out tool from the milling spindle. Thereafter, the gripping devices are shifted to bring the appropriate device having a new tool therein into a position so that it can be rotated with the shaft to bring the new tool into the working position and inserted onto the milling spindle.
A method for the automated tool exchange in hobbing machines having means facilitating an automatic sequence of operation for any desired number of workpieces, comprising the steps of moving only a first of said gripping devices at one point on the path of movement along the shaft into the region of a cutter which must be exchanged, a second of said gripping devices remaining stationary during the aforesaid movement of said first gripping device, gripping the cutter which must be exchanged with said first gripping device and removing the cutter from the cutting position, adding a new cutter at a loading point to said second one of said gripping devices which grips same therein, moving said first and second gripping devices together along the length of said shaft and thereafter moving only said second gripping device with said new cutter therein to said cutting position whereat said new cutter is released by said second gripping device, said first gripping device simultaneously carrying said cutter which must be exchanged to a location for removal thereof from said first gripping device, clamping said new cutter into said cutting position, and releasing the grip between said new cutter and said second gripping device to enable said new cutter to perform a certain number of working cycles.
An apparatus for the automated tool exchange in hobbing machines having a milling spindle and means facilitating an automatic sequence of operation for any desired number of workpieces, comprising at least two similar gripping devices axially spaced along a shaft which extends parallel with respect to said milling spindle and are each separately pivotal about the axis of said shaft at one point of the path of movement of said gripping devices in the region of the cutter which must be exchanged, a first of said two gripping devices including means for removing said cutter which must be exchanged and said second of said two gripping devices including means for supplying a new cutter, and wherein a loading and removing station is provided on the path of movement for facilitating an exchange of a used cutter for a new cutter.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.