WORKING HEAD FOR CUTTING MACHINE OF SHEET MATERIALS

Abstract

A working head for a cutting machine having a frame, and a cutting disc assembly supported by the frame. The cutting disc assembly having a cutting disc and a first driver rotatably moving the cutting disc around an axis of rotation of the cutting disc. A milling cutter assembly is supported by the frame. The milling cutter assembly has a milling cutter and a second driver that rotatably moves the cutting disc around an axis of rotation of the cutter.

Claims

1. Working head for a cutting machine, comprising: a frame; a cutting disc assembly supported by said frame, said cutting disc assembly comprising a cutting disc and first driving means to drive said cutting disc into rotation around to an axis of rotation (Y) of the cutting disc; and a milling cutter assembly supported by said frame, said milling cutter assembly comprising a milling cutter and second driving means that drive said milling cutter into rotation around an axis of rotation (X) of the milling cutter.

2. The working head of claim 1, wherein said milling cutter assembly is slidably mounted with respect to the frame so that the milling cutter assembly can slide along a sliding axis (X1) parallel to the axis of rotation (X) of the milling cutter.

3. The working head of claim 2, comprising: guiding means connected to the frame; a slide connected to the milling cutter assembly and slidably mounted on the guiding means for sliding along the sliding axis; and at least one actuator connected to said frame and to the slide for moving the slide.

4. The working head of claim 3, wherein said guiding means are rotatably mounted on the frame, so that said guiding means can rotate around to a second tilt axis (Z1) in order to modify an inclination of the axis of rotation (X) of the milling cutter.

5. The working head of claim 4, comprising second rotating means mounted in the frame for rotating the guiding means.

6. The working head of claim 4, wherein said first driving means have a casing rotatably mounted in the frame so that said casing can rotate around a first tilt axis (Z) in order to modify the inclination of the cutting disc.

7. The working head of claim 6, comprising first rotating means mounted in the frame for rotating said casing of the first driving means.

8. The working head of claim 6, wherein said second tilt axis (Z1) of the milling cutter assembly coincides with the first tilt axis (Z) of the cutting disc assembly.

9. The working head of claim 6, wherein said frame is shaped like a U-shaped fork with two arms, said casing of the first driving means is arranged between the arms of the frame and said guiding means are mounted on an arm of said frame.

10. The working head of claim 1, wherein said milling cutter assembly has a diameter comprised in a range of 5-120 mm, said second driving means are configured so as to rotate the milling cutter assembly around its axis at a speed comprised between 6,000 and 10,000 rpm.

11. The working head of claim 1, wherein the cutting disc has a diameter comprised in the range of 350-900 mm, said first driving means are configured so as to rotate the cutting disc around its axis at a speed comprised in a range of 800-2,800 rpm.

12. The working head of claim 3, comprising a bellows element connected to said slide and to said guiding means.

13. Disc cutting machine comprising: a working head according to claim 1; a support surface suitable for supporting a sheet of material to be cut; supporting and driving means for supporting and driving said working head.

14. The disc cutting machine of claim 13, wherein said supporting and driving means are configured so as to move said working head along three axes orthogonal to each other.

15. The disc cutting machine of claim 14, wherein said supporting and driving means comprise a overhead crane comprising: two side frames; a beam slidably mounted on the side frames; a trolley slidably mounted on the beam; and a shaft supporting the frame of the working head and slidably mounted in vertical direction in the trolley.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] For the sake of explanatory clarity, the description of the working head according to the invention continues with reference to the appended drawings, which are for illustrative and non-limiting purposes only, wherein:

[0039] FIG. 1 is a top view of a kitchen countertop wherein a rectangular opening is cut out by a cutting disc;

[0040] FIGS. 1A and 1B are sectional views of the kitchen countertop taken along the planes A-A and B-B of FIG. 1;

[0041] FIGS. 2 and 3 are axonometric views of a working head according to the invention;

[0042] FIG. 4 is a view of a milling cutter assembly and of connection means used to connect the milling cutter assembly to a frame of the working head according to the invention;

[0043] FIG. 4A is an exploded view of the milling cutter assembly of FIG. 4;

[0044] FIG. 5A is 5B are views as FIG. 3, illustrating the milling cutter in idle position and in working position, respectively;

[0045] FIG. 6 is an axonometric view of a disc cutting machine provided with a working head according to the invention;

[0046] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the working head according to the invention with the milling cutter in idle position;

[0047] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the working head of FIG. 7 with the milling cutter in working position;

[0048] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the working head of FIG. 7, with the cutter in tilted position; and

[0049] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the working head of FIG. 7, with the cutting disc in tilted position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0050] With reference to FIGS. 2 to 10, a working head according to the invention is described, which is indicated collectively with reference numeral 100.

[0051] Now with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the working head (100) comprises: [0052] a frame (1), [0053] a cutting disc assembly (2) supported by the frame (1), and [0054] a milling cutter assembly (4) supported by the frame (1).

[0055] The cutting disc assembly (2) includes a cutting disc (20) and first driving means (3) operatively connected to the cutting disc (20) to rotate the cutting disc around an axis of rotation (Y) of the cutting disc.

[0056] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 4A, the milling cutter assembly (4) includes a milling cutter (40) and second driving means (5) operatively connected to the milling cutter (40) to rotate the milling cutter around an axis of rotation (X) of the milling cutter.

[0057] The milling cutter (40) has a diameter size comprised between 5 mm and 120 mm; whereas the cutting disc (20) has a diameter size comprised between 350 mm and 900 mm.

[0058] The expression “milling cutter” refers to a core bit comprising a shank and a tip whereon abrasive means are applied. By way of example, the commonly used abrasive media include a diamond powder.

[0059] The first driving means (3) are suitable for rotating the cutting disc (20) around its axis at a speed of 800 to 2800 rpm. The second driving means (5) are suitable for rotating the milling cutter (40) around its axis at a speed of 6000 to 10000 rpm.

[0060] The first driving means (3) include: [0061] a motor with a shaft, and [0062] a connection means connecting the shaft with the cutting disc (20).

[0063] The second driving means (5) include: [0064] a motor (50) with a shaft, and [0065] a connection means (51) connecting the shaft with the milling cutter (40).

[0066] The milling cutter assembly (4) is slidingly mounted relative to the frame (1) in order to slide or translate along a sliding axis (X1) parallel to the axis of rotation (X) of the milling cutter.

[0067] For this purpose, the working head (100) includes: [0068] guiding means (6) connected with the frame (1), [0069] a slide (7) connected to the milling cutter assembly (4) and slidingly mounted on the guiding means (6) to slide along the sliding axis (X1), and [0070] at least one actuator (8) connected to the frame (1) and to the slide (7) to move the slide (7).

[0071] The guiding means (6) include a plate (11) fixed to the frame (1) and rails (60) mounted on the plate (11).

[0072] The slide (7) supports the second driving means (5) that move the milling cutter (40) so that the axis of rotation (X) of the milling cutter (40) is parallel to the sliding axis (X1) of the guiding means (6) and parallel to the cutting disc (20).

[0073] The actuator (8) includes a cylinder (80) fixed to the plate (11) and a piston (81) fixed to the slide (7).

[0074] Also with reference to FIG. 4A, the milling cutter assembly (4) includes a casing (9), which covers the second driving means (5). A bellows element (10) is connected to the slide (7) and to the plate (11) of the frame (1). The function of the bellows element (10) is to protect the slide (7) and the guiding means (6) from any waste produced during the use of the working head (100).

[0075] Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, two actuators (8) move the slide (7) along the guiding means (6) in such a way that the milling cutter (40) moves from an idle position, wherein the milling cutter (40) does not protrude inferiorly with respect to the cutting disc (20), to a working position, wherein the milling cutter (40) protrudes inferiorly with respect to the cutting disc (20).

[0076] Although FIGS. 5A and 5B do not show the bellows element, when the milling cutter (40) is in idle position (FIG. 5A), the bellows element (10) is in contracted position; when the milling cutter (40) is in working position (FIG. 5B), the bellows element (10) is in elongated position.

[0077] FIG. 6 illustrates a disc cutting machine (M) comprising: [0078] a working head (100) according to the invention, [0079] supporting and driving means (21) that support and move the working head (100), and [0080] a support surface (200) disposed under the working head (100) and suitable for supporting a sheet of material to be cut.

[0081] The supporting and driving means (21) support the working head (100), allowing its movement in at least one direction orthogonal to the support surface (200), preferably in three axes orthogonal to each other. The supporting and driving means (21) comprise an overhead crane (22) including two side frames (23) and a beam (24) slidingly mounted on the side frames (23). The two ends of the beam (24) are slidingly mounted on the side frames (23).

[0082] The supporting and driving means (21) are provided with rails on the side frames (23) and slides at the ends of the beam (24); thus, the two slides can slide along the two rails so as to move the beam (24) on the side frames (23).

[0083] The supporting and driving means (21) also include a trolley (25) slidingly mounted on the beam (24) and a shaft (26) that supports the working head (100). The trolley (25) includes slides for sliding along a guide provided on the beam (24).

[0084] The shaft (26) is mounted in such a way to slide vertically in the trolley (25) and is moved up and down with respect to the trolley (25), thus moving the working head (100) along a vertical trajectory approaching and receding with respect to the support surface (200).

[0085] In a different embodiment of the machine (M), the supporting and driving means (21) may include a three-axis robot, or a mixed robot with linear and rotary axes, or an anthropomorphic robot.

[0086] Referring to FIG. 7, the frame (1) of the working head (100) is shaped like a U-shaped fork with two arms (14). The first driving means (3) include a casing (30) that contains the motor that rotates the cutting disc (20). The casing (30) is arranged between the two arms (14) of the frame (1). The casing (30) is rotatably mounted in the frame (1) so that it can rotate around a first tilt axis (Z) to vary the tilt of the cutting disc (20).

[0087] First rotating means (17) are mounted in the frame (1) to rotate the casing (30). The first rotating means (17) may be an electric motor having a drive shaft connected to the casing (30) directly or via a transmission.

[0088] The guiding means (6) of the milling cutter assembly are rotatably mounted on an arm (14) of the frame so as to rotate around a second tilt axis (Z1) to vary the tilt of the axis of rotation axis (X) of the milling cutter (40).

[0089] The second tilt axis (Z1) of the milling cutter assembly (4) may coincide with the first tilt axis (Z) of the cutting disc assembly or may be parallel to the first tilt axis (Z) of the cutting disc assembly.

[0090] Second rotating means (18) are mounted in the frame (1) to rotate the guiding means (6). The second rotating means (18) may be an electric motor having a drive shaft connected to the guiding means (6) directly or via a transmission.

[0091] FIG. 8 illustrates the situation where the milling cutter assembly (4) has translated downwards with respect to the guiding means (6), along the axis of translation (X1), in the direction of the arrow F1.

[0092] FIG. 9 illustrates the situation in which the guiding means (6) rotated relative to the frame (1), around the second tilt axis (Z1) in the direction of the arrow F2.

[0093] FIG. 10 illustrates the situation in which the casing (30) of the first driving means (3) rotated relative to the frame (1), around the first tilt axis (Z) in the direction of the arrow F3.

[0094] The advantages of the working head for a cutting machine according to the invention, which provides for cutting the kitchen countertop without having to dismount the cutting disc from the working head to mount the milling cutter, appear obvious.

[0095] Numerous variations and modifications of detail may be made to the present embodiments of the invention, which are within the reach of a person skilled in the art, but still within the scope of the invention as expressed by the appended claims.