Machine tool with automatic tool changing
AssigneeRegie Nationale des Usines Renault
InventorsJean-Rene Pihery, Jean-Pierre Sanguiol, Michel Turlet
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A machine tool has a rotating head provided with a radially movable carriage. Transferrable tool holders are clamped to the carriage of the head by a releasable clamping mechanism. A plurality of tool holders are held on an indexable drum, the rotational axis of which lies perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the head. The tool holders are slidably transferred from the drum to the carriage of the head and vice versa by a changer which has a transfer rod and a mechanism for actuating the clamping mechanism.
Claims9
Machine tool apparatus with automatic tool changing, comprising,
- a head which during machining operations is rotated about an axis and carries a cutting tool movable transversely to said axis,
- an indexable rotatable drum for carrying a plurality of tool holders,
- a plurality of tool holders which are transferrable between the head and said drum, said tool holders including base plates which have dovetailed profiles,
- said head having a carriage which is radially movable thereon, said carriage being provided with dovetailed guide means for receiving the base plates of said tool holders,
- said drum having an axis of rotation which is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said head, said drum having circumferentially spaced dovetailed guide means for receiving the base plates of a plurality of said tool holders,
- transfer means for slidably transferring tool holders from the carriage to the drum and vice versa, said transfer means being operable to move the tool holders parallel to the axis of rotation of the drum,
- clamping means for clamping said tool holder to the carriage, said clamping means including a plurality of rods mounted in the carriage on one side of the dovetailed guide thereof, each of said rods having a trapezoidal notch with an inclined surface for bearing against the guide of the tool holder base plate, springs for urging the inclined surfaces of the notches into clamping engagement against the guide of the tool holder base plate, an axially movable shaft, said shaft and said rods having mutually contacting inclined surfaces which move said rods along their axes in response to movement of the shaft along its axis,
- and means for operating the clamping means to clamp and unclamp the tool holders to and from the carriage,
- said transfer means and said means for operating the clamping means being spaced from the drum to avoid interference with the rotational movement of the drum.
In a machine tool apparatus with automatic tool changing such as a numerically controlled boring-facing machine having a rotationally driven head, a carriage which is movable on said head radially to the axis of rotation of said head, said carriage having means for receiving a tool holder and means for clamping and unclamping the tool holder to the carriage, the improvement comprising,
- a guide on the carriage and comprising the means for receiving a tool holder on the carriage, said guide extending in the direction of movement of the carriage on the head,
- a tool holder including a plate which has a profile corresponding to that of said guide,
- a tool changer located at a stationary position beside the head, said tool changer being provided with an indexable drum having its axis of rotation perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said head, said drum having a plurality of circumferentially spaced guides for receiving a plurality of tool holder plates, said guides on the drum extending parallel to the axis of rotation of said drum and having the same profile as the guide on the carriage, said tool changer including a transfer mechanism and a clamp operating mechanism which are not rotatable with the drum, said transfer mechanism including means for slidably transferring a tool holder plate from the carriage to the drum and from the drum to the carriage in a direction which is parallel to the rotational axis of the drum and perpendicular to the rotational axis of the head, said clamp operating mechanism including means for actuating the means for clamping and unclamping the tool holder to the carriage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.