In a machining center provided with a mechanized tool magazine and with at least one movable tool-holding spindle capable of accessing the tool magazine, the tool is picked up from the tool-holding spindle and transferred to a tool replacement area by means of a dedicated, automatic transfer device that is independent of the tool magazine. After the replacement of the tool with a new tool in the transfer device, the new tool is returned to the tool-holding spindle by means of the transfer device.

The invention relates to a machining device, in particular for machining workpieces consisting of wood, wood products, plastics or similar, said device comprising a workpiece holder for holding a workpiece during the machining, process, and a guide means for displaceably guiding a tool carriage for holding and driving a tool, the workpiece holder and/or the guide means being displaceable by displacement means in order to produce relative movement in a machining direction between the workpiece and the tool, for the machining of the workpiece. The workpiece carriage is displaceably arranged on one side of the guide means and the workpiece carriage supports two tools on one side of the guide means and in the machining direction of the workpiece, said tools being arranged next to one another.

The present invention relates to a machining center, and more specifically to a horizontal multi-spindle machining center, in which 2-axis (Y- and Z-axis) or 3-axis (X-, Y- and Z-axis) transfer drive units are disposed in the machining center installed to machine workpieces, in which a ram equipped with spindles is moved in the up-down, front-back, and/or left-right directions of the workpieces, in which the spindles are configured to include a plurality of spindles, i.e., 2 to 8 spindles, so that a plurality of workpieces may be machined simultaneously, and in which tool change is simultaneously performed for tools fastened to the plurality of spindles and configured to machine workpieces by using an auto tool changer (ATC), so that tool change speed may be improved and thus manufacturing efficiency may be improved.

The invention discloses a multiple-spindle full-automatic vertical machining center, which comprises an actuator, a lathe bed, a feeding area, a tooling area, a machining area and a tool changer area. The actuator comprises a ram, a saddle and a sliding table, the feeding area crosses the lathe bed, and the feeding area and the tool changer area are respectively located on two opposite sides of the machining area, the feeding area is located at a forefront end of the machining center, and the actuator moves above the feeding area, the tooling area, the machining area and the tool changer area. Compared with the prior art, a conveyor belt is arranged in front of the whole machine tool and crosses the machine tool, a length of the conveyor belt may be increased or decreased as required, and by increasing the length of the conveyor belt, more raw materials and finished parts may be stored, so labor is saved.

A drum-type tool magazine adaptive to a multi-axis machining center allows the machining center to use spindles to directly take and replace tool holders that hold machining tools. The drum-type tool magazine includes a driving member, a drum, and plural tool clamps. The drum is centrally provided with a rotating shaft and peripherally provided with plural separated mounts that are arranged circularly. The driving member drives the drum to rotate. Plural tool clamps are arranged abreast on each of the mount. Every tool clamp of the same mount has a tool-clamping jaw parallel to a tangential direction at a periphery of the drum and communicated with the tool clamp so that the machining tool when clamped is laid horizontal and located close to the periphery of the drum. This allows the volume of the tool magazine to be minimized.

A drum-type tool magazine adaptive to a multi-axis machining center allows the machining center to use spindles to directly take and replace tool holders that hold machining tools. The drum-type tool magazine includes a driving member, a drum, and plural tool clamps. The drum is centrally provided with a rotating shaft and peripherally provided with plural separated mounts that are arranged circularly. The driving member drives the drum to rotate. Plural tool clamps are arranged abreast on each of the mount. Every tool clamp of the same mount has a tool-clamping jaw parallel to a tangential direction at a periphery of the drum and communicated with the tool clamp so that the machining tool when clamped is laid horizontal and located close to the periphery of the drum. This allows the volume of the tool magazine to be minimized.

The present invention relates to a machining center, and more specifically to a horizontal multi-spindle machining center, in which 2-axis (Y- and Z-axis) or 3-axis (X-, Y- and Z-axis) transfer drive units are disposed in the machining center installed to machine workpieces, in which a ram equipped with spindles is moved in the up-down, front-back, and/or left-right directions of the workpieces, in which the spindles are configured to include a plurality of spindles, i.e., 2 to 8 spindles, so that a plurality of workpieces may be machined simultaneously, and in which tool change is simultaneously performed for tools fastened to the plurality of spindles and configured to machine workpieces by using an auto tool changer (ATC), so that tool change speed may be improved and thus manufacturing efficiency may be improved.

A machine tool for machining workpieces, wherein the machine tool has a first spindle assembly and at least one second spindle assembly each having at least two working spindles which are arranged in a common spindle housing and on which in each case a machining tool for workpiece machining is arrangeable, wherein the machine tool has a workpiece holding device for holding workpieces for the purpose of workpiece machining by way of the machining tools, wherein the machine tool has a guide arrangement for the relative positioning of the workpiece holding device holding the workpieces and the first and the at least one second spindle assembly for workpiece machining.

A method is proposed for controlling tool change operations on a machine tool, wherein a machining procedure on a workpiece includes a sequence of machining operations having in each case a particular tool and in each case a particular duration, and for a tool change, tools of a tool spindle are provided by a second storage device in communication with a first storage device, and wherein there is associated with the machining procedure a sequence of tool provision operations in which a tool provision operation has in each case a particular duration, wherein the method includes a determination stage wherein the durations of the machining operations and the tool provision operations are determined, and a control stage wherein the tool provision operations are temporally grouped in relation to the machining operations such that the tool provision operations bring about a minimized idle time in the machining procedure.

A machine tool for machining workpieces, wherein the machine tool has at least one first spindle assembly with at least one working spindle on which a machining tool for workpiece machining is arrangeable, wherein the machine tool has a workpiece holding device for holding workpieces for the purpose of workpiece machining by way of the machining tool, wherein the machine tool has a guide arrangement for the relative positioning of the workpiece holding device holding the workpieces and the first spindle assembly for workpiece machining, wherein the guide arrangement comprises a workpiece-holder guide for guiding the workpiece holding device so as to position a workpiece holder holding the workpieces relative to the first spindle assembly.