DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING TRANSFORMER CORES

Abstract

The invention relates to a device and a method for producing transformer cores, the device comprising a cutting device (33) for cutting sheets of metal (16) from which a transformer core is constructed and comprising a reel system (32) having a reel (34, 35), the reel having reel heads (36, 38) each having steel-strip rolls (37, 39), at least one steel-strip roll being disposed so as to be able to be unwound in a production direction of the cutting device, a sheet-metal strip (42, 43) of the steel-strip roll being able to be supplied to the cutting device, the reel system comprising at least two reel heads each having a steel-strip roll disposed thereon, the steel-strip rolls being able to be unwound in the production direction of the cutting device and being disposed in a row relative to one another, the device having a supply system (46) by means of which sheet-metal ends of the sheet-metal strips of the steel-strip rolls being supplied to the cutting device in an automated manner.

Claims

1. A device (11) for producing transformer cores (12), the device comprising a cutting device (30, 33, 54) for cutting sheets of metal (16) from which a transformer core is constructed and comprising a reel system (32, 53) having a reel (34, 35, 55), the reel comprising reel heads (36, 38, 56) each having steel-strip rolls (37, 39, 57), at least one steel-strip roll being disposed so as to be able to be unwound in a production direction of the cutting device, a sheet-metal strip (42, 43, 65, 66) of the steel-strip roll being supplied to the cutting device, characterized in that the reel system comprises at least two reel heads each having a steel-strip roll disposed thereon, the steel-strip roll being disposed so as to be able to be unwound in the production direction of the cutting device and being disposed in a row relative to one another, the device comprising a supply system (46, 60) by means of which sheet-metal ends of the sheet-metal strips of the steel-strip rolls being supplied to the cutting device in an automated manner.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the supply system (60) comprises a multiaxial robot (61).

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the supply system (46) comprises a conveyor device (47) having a shunt (48).

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the reel system (32) has at least two reels (34, 35).

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the reel system (53) has a reel (55) having at least two reel heads (36, 38, 56) disposed in a row.

6. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the reel (34, 35, 55) is realized so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis (40, 41, 59) and has at least four reel heads (36, 38, 56) disposed at a 90° offset relative to one another in relation to the vertical axis.

7. A method for producing transformer cores (12) using a device (11), sheets of metal (16) from which a transformer core is constructed being cut using a cutting device (30, 33, 54) of the device, steel-strip rolls (37, 39, 57) being disposed on each reel head (36, 38, 56) of a reel (34, 35, 55) of a reel system (32, 53) of the device, at least one steel-strip roll being disposed and unwound in a production direction of the cutting device, a sheet-metal strip (42, 43, 65, 66) of the steel-strip roll being supplied to the cutting device, characterized in that steel-strip rolls are disposed on at least two reel heads of the reel system in each instance, the steel-strip rolls being able to be unwound in the production direction of the cutting device and being disposed in a row relative to one another, sheet-metal ends of the sheet-metal strips of the steel-strip rolls being supplied to the cutting device in an automated manner by means of a supply system (46, 60).

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the device comprises a control device (17) by means of which supplying and/or drawing the sheet-metal ends to and/or from the cutting device (30, 33, 54) is controlled as a function of a shape of the transformer core (12) to be produced.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that control commands are transmitted to the control device (17) from a control system (23) of an installation (10) for producing transformer cores (12) as a function of component data describing a transformer core.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the control system (23) is used to identify a positioning of threading bolts (20) and/or sheet-metal abutments on stacking tables (18); storage positions (31) adjacent to a positioning system (25) and intended for the respective sheets of metal (16); and/or a cutting sequence of the cutting device (30, 33, 54) for sheets of metal.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the reel (34, 35, 55) weighs the respective steel-strip rolls (37, 39, 57) using a weighing device and transmits weight data to the control system (23), the control system deriving a strip length from the weight data and determining a use of the respective steel-strip roll using the cutting device (30, 33, 54).

12. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the sheet-metal ends are threaded on and/or removed from the cutting device (30, 54) by means of a multiaxial robot (61) of the supply system (60).

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that after removing the sheet-metal end, the robot (61) resupplies the sheet-metal end to the respective steel-strip roll (57) during a winding of the steel-strip roll.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the robot (61) separates a sheet-metal end from the steel-strip roll (57), glues it to the steel-strip roll and/or affixes an identification to the steel-strip roll.

15. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the sheet-metal ends are threaded on the cutting device (30, 54) by means of a shunt (48) of a conveyor belt (49, 51) of a conveyor device (47) of the supply system (46).

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that while a sheet-metal end is supplied to the cutting device (30, 54) via the shunt (48) by unwinding the respective steel-strip roll (57), a further sheet-metal end is resupplied to the respective steel-strip roll by winding.

17. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the steel-strip rolls (37, 39, 57) each have a transponder, a transmitter-receiver unit of the reel system (32, 53) identifying the steel-strip rolls by means of the transponder.

Description

[0026] In the following different embodiments of the invention are further described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an installation for producing transformer cores;

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a top view of a first embodiment of a reel system;

[0029] FIG. 3 shows a lateral view of the reel system from FIG. 2 in a first operating position;

[0030] FIG. 4 shows a lateral view of the reel system from FIG. 2 in a second operating position;

[0031] FIG. 5 shows a top view of a second embodiment of a reel system;

[0032] FIG. 6 shows a lateral view of the reel system from FIG. 5.

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an installation 10 having a device 11 for producing transformer cores 12. Installation 10 comprises a control system 13 which serves for controlling installation 10. Component data 14 describing transformer cores 12 are processed using control system 13 by means of a so-called core configurator 15 so sheets of metal 16 from which transformer core 12 is constructed are calculated using their measurements. Control system 13 transmits control commands and/or data for producing transformer core 12 to a control device 17 which then initiates producing transformer core 12 using corresponding control commands.

[0034] Device 11 comprises among other elements a number of stacking tables 18 having a retaining system 19 for collecting sheets of metal 16. Retaining system 19 comprises at least two threading bolts 20 and, in this shown embodiment, substructions 21 for placing sheets of metal 16. Sheets of metal 16 are realized having bores not illustrated in this instance and are placed and/or inserted on threading bolts 20. Sheets of metal 16 are placed on threading bolts 20 or rather on stacking table 18 by means of a robot 22 of a robot system 23. Threading bolts 20 are also positioned on a positioning surface 26 of stacking table 18 by means of a robot 24 of a positioning system 25. Positioning surface 26 is flat so a free positioning and a location-independent fastening of threading bolts 20 on positioning surface 26 can be effected according to the specifications of control system 13. Threading bolts 20 are stored in a magazine 27 and are disposed on or removed from positioning surface 26 by means of robot 24. For this purpose, stacking table 18 is transported by means of a self-propelling cart 28. Cart 28 transports stacking table 18 to illustrated robot systems 23 at which stacking table 18 is equipped with sheets of metal 16 or rather sheets of metal 16 are stacked to construct transformer core 12. After transformer core 12 has been stacked, stacking table 18 is transported away from robot system 23 by cart 28.

[0035] A number of sheets of metal 16 is supplied to robot systems 23 from a cutting device 30 by means of a conveyor device 29 and are stacked adjacent to respective robot 22 in two storage positions 31 for different sheets of metal 16 in each instance. Robot 22 and/or storage position 31 is/are also controlled by means of control device 17. Robot 22 grapples sheets of metal 16 from respective storage positions 31 and positions them on threading bolts 20 on stacking table 18 until transformer core 12 is constructed. Robot 22 can be displaced above conveyor device 29 so that robot 22 can equip four stacking tables 18 with sheets of metal 16 simultaneously.

[0036] Only schematically illustrated cutting device 30 serves for cutting sheets of metal 16 and is controlled by control device 17. In cutting device 30, not-illustrated sheet-metal strips are cut such that sheets of metal 16 are yielded. Not-illustrated sheet-metal strips are supplied from steel-strip rolls to cutting device 30.

[0037] A synopsis of FIGS. 2 to 4 shows a reel system 32 on a cutting device 33. Reel system 32 comprises a first reel 34 and a second reel 35, first reel 34 comprising reel heads 36 having steel-strip rolls 37 and second reel 35 comprising reel heads 38 having steel-strip rolls 39. Reels 34 and 35 are each realized so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis 40 or 41, respectively, and the respective reel heads 36 and 38 are disposed at a 90° offset relative to one another on respective reel 34 or 35. Respective, only indicated sheet-metal strips 42 and 43 of reels 34 or 35, respectively, can be supplied to an introduction 44 of a not-illustrated feeder of cutting device 33 in a production direction marked by arrow 45. Steel-strip rolls 37 disposed in production direction are positioned in particular in a row relative to one another upstream of introduction 44. Below these steel-strip rolls 37 and 39 is a supply system 46 which is made up of a conveyor device 47 having a shunt 48. Conveyor device 47 comprises a conveyor belt 49 having a strip centering 55 via which sheet-metal strip 42 or 43 can be conveyed in the direction of introduction 44.

[0038] A first operating position of shunt 48 can be seen in FIG. 3, sheet-metal strip 43 being able to be supplied directly into introduction 44 via shunt 48. A same kind of supply can generally take place for strip 42 by means of shunt 48.

[0039] According to FIG. 4, shunt 48 which is also realized as a kind of conveyor belt 51 is positioned such in a first operating position that sheet-metal strip 43 passes through a horizontal shaft 52 in loops in order to eliminate bending stresses in sheet-metal strip 43.

[0040] Reel system 53 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is also disposed upstream of a cutting device 54 and realized solely from a reel 55. Reel 55 comprises a total of eight reel heads 56 each having different steel-strip rolls 57. At least two reel heads 56 are always disposed in a row relative to one another in a production direction of cutting device 54 indicated by arrow 58. In this instance, reel 55 or rather reel heads 56 can also be rotated around a vertical axis 59. A supply system 60 is realized by a multiaxial robot 61. Robot 61 comprises a robot arm 62 at whose end 63 a grappling device 64 is disposed for handling not-further-illustrated strip ends of sheet-metal strips 65 and 66 of steel-strip rolls 57. Robot 61 can grapple the respective strip ends on the sheet-metal strips 65 or 66 and supply them to an introduction 67 of cutting device 54. Furthermore, a sheet-metal end of a sheet-metal strip 65 or 66 can be resupplied to a steel-strip roll 57 using robot 61 if sheet-metal strip 65 or 66 is drawn from cutting device 54.