Gear or profile grinding machine and method for the operation of such a machine

Abstract

A gear or profile grinding machine and a method for operating such a machine, especially for grinding of pre-geared or pre-profiled workpieces, wherein the machine includes at least one tool spindle which can receive at least one grinding tool, and at least one workpiece spindle which is movably arranged at a carrier element and which can be driven up to the tool spindle for an at least temporary cooperation of the workpiece with the grinding tool by at least one drive. To enhance the precision of the machine at growing workpieces with simple measures, at least one mass is arranged at or in the carrier element, which is arranged movable at or on a guiding element by a drive element, wherein the mass is permanently free from any contact with another machine part and/or workpiece part and/or tool part.

Claims

1. Gear or profile grinding machine, especially for grinding of pre-geared or pre-profiled workpieces, wherein the machine comprises at least one tool spindle which can receive at least one grinding tool and wherein the machine comprises at least one workpiece spindle which is movable arranged at a carrier element and which can be driven up to the tool spindle for an at least temporary cooperation of the workpiece with the grinding tool by means of at least one drive, wherein at or in the carrier element at least one mass is arranged, which is arranged movable at or on a guiding element by means of a drive element, wherein the mass is permanently free from any contact with another machine part and/or workpiece part and/or tool part.

2. The gear or profile grinding machine according to claim 1, wherein the mass is linear movable at or on the guiding element.

3. The gear or profile grinding machine according to claim 1, wherein the guiding element is designed as linear guide.

4. The gear or profile grinding machine according to claim 1, wherein the drive element is designed as servomotor.

5. The gear or profile grinding machine according to claim 1, wherein two workpiece spindles are arranged at one carrier element.

6. The gear or profile grinding machine according to claim 5, wherein the carrier element is designed as a tower which extends in vertical direction.

7. The gear or profile grinding machine according to claim 6, wherein the carrier element is arranged rotatable around the vertical.

8. The gear or profile grinding machine according to claim 5, wherein the at least one mass is movable arranged at or on the guiding element in horizontal direction.

9. A method for operating a gear or profile grinding machine according to claim 1, at which at least one workpiece spindle is moved in a displacement direction at or on a carrier element, wherein simultaneously with the displacement of the workpiece spindle at or on the carrier element at least one mass is displaced at or on a guiding element by means of a drive element, wherein the mass is permanently free from any contact with another machine part and/or workpiece part and/or tool part.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the displacement of the workpiece spindle takes place in vertical direction and the displacement of the mass takes place in horizontal direction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) In the drawing:

(2) FIG. 1 shows in a perspective view a gear grinding machine with a carrier element in the form of a vertical extending tower at which two workpiece spindles are arranged to move workpieces from a loading and unloading area to a grinding position and back,

(3) FIG. 2 shows the corresponding front view according to FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(4) In the figures a gear grinding machine 1 is shown which comprises a machine base 11. On the machine base 11 at first the usual elements are arranged to be able to carry out a gear grinding operation. Accordingly, the machine 1 has especially a tool spindle 3 with a grinding tool 4 (grinding disc or grinding worm, as the case may be also several grinding tools offset in axial direction, e.g. for roughing and finishing) which is arranged at a tool carrier, which tool spindle 3 is arranged on a respective movable guide so that it can carry out the required movements for the grinding process. In the figures the intended directions of movement are shown by double arrows, namely X, Y, Z, A, B. But those are not discussed here any further as those axes are usually provided.

(5) Furthermore, at the gear grinding machine 1 two workpiece spindles 5 and 6 are provided which are respectively designed for the reception of a workpiece 2 (see axes of rotation C1 and C2 in FIG. 1). Those two workpiece spindles 5, 6 are arranged at a carrier element 7 in the form of a tower in such a manner that they can be swivelled around a vertical axis, namely around the swivel axis CT. During swivelling around the axis CT a workpiece 2 which is clamped on one of the workpiece spindles 5, 6 can be moved from a grinding position I to a loading position II respectively reverse from the position II to the position I.

(6) In the loading position II a workpiece 2 can be loaded or unloaded by means of a not depicted tool supply. Thereby, the workpieces 2 can for example by means of a conveyor band be transported to or away from the machine. Of course, also any other kind of provision or transport of workpieces 2 away from the machine is possible, e.g. a loading cell.

(7) For the positioning of the workpiece 2 in vertical direction, i.e. in the direction of the vertical V, the workpiece spindle 5, 6 is moving in the direction WT.sub.1 and WT.sub.2 respectively. If the workpiece 2 has a respective high mass it results that significant mass forces arise at a quick movement in the direction WT.sub.1 and WT.sub.2 respectively. To prevent this and to counteract to this respectively it is provided that at or in the carrier element 7 a mass 8 is arranged which is movably arranged on a guiding element 9 by means of a drive element 10. The direction of movement of the mass 8 is denoted in FIG. 1 with XT.sub.1. The guiding element 9 is designed as screw jack in the present case. In the mass 8 a corresponding (not depicted) nut is arranged which cooperates with the screw jack. Accordingly the mass 8 moves at the rotation of the screw jack translational, wherein said rotation is effected by the drive element 10 in the form of a servomotor.

(8) Thereby, the mass 8 is permanently free from any contact with another machine part and/or workpiece part and/or tool part. Rather, the mass 8 acts as a body (i.e. as seismic mass) which acts onto the system only by its mass forces (transferred via the guiding element 9 on the tower 7) and—at a respective controlling of the drive element 10—acts balancing to the mass force which is created by the workpiece spindle 5, 6.

(9) Thus, if the workpiece spindle 5 is displaced in direction R.sub.1—see FIG. 2—the mass 8 can be moved specifically and simultaneously in direction R.sub.2 so that a compensating torque results due to the mass force of the mass 8 related to the base point at which the tower 7 stands on the machine base 11 and in total grants a more stable stand for the tower. As can be seen in FIG. 2 thus in this specific case said balance is created by the mass forces of the mass 8 so that to the movement of the workpiece spindle 5 in vertical direction V a contrariwise movement of the mass 8 in horizontal direction H is set.

(10) The tower 7 is presently arranged on a rotary table 12. Beside the machine the loading and unloading area 13 is arranged. Furthermore an alignment unit 14, a dressing unit 15, a changing station for tensioning means 16 (SPC (parts to be measured)/NIO (defective parts)—deposit), a tailstock 17 and a changing station for grinding tools 18 should be mentioned.

(11) For the alignment unit 14 the following should be noted: The unit comprises in the embodiment a setup-free alignment sensor which comprises preferably (at least) one NC axis by which it can be carry out (at least) one linear movement.

(12) While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.