MACHINE TOOL

Abstract

A machine tool includes at least first and second machining units being disposed adjacent each other in a first axial direction, movable independently of each other in second and third axial directions and disposed on a common machine bed. Stand units on both sides of the machining units are spaced apart from each other in the first axial direction. In order to provide high production flexibility and easy and cost-effective production and use, the machining units are guided by upper and lower guides and are movable independently of each other in the first, second and third axial direction, and/or the machine tool has a working width permitting at least one third machining unit to be provided and removed again in the first axial direction adjacent the first and/or the second machining unit. All of the machining units are structurally identical and/or have the same travel paths.

Claims

1-6. (canceled)

7. A machine tool, comprising: a machine bed; at least one first and one second machining unit being disposed adjacent each other in a first axial direction, being movable independently of each other in first, second and third axial directions and being disposed together above said machine bed; stand units being spaced apart in said first axial direction and disposed on both sides of said machining units, said stand units having upwardly facing and downwardly facing sides; upper and lower guides disposed on said upwardly facing and downwardly facing sides of said stand units for guiding said machining units; and at least one additional guiding element configured to be attached for extending said guides to increase a distance between at least two of said machining units.

8. The machine tool according to claim 7, wherein said stand units are movably guided on said upper and lower guides.

9. The machine tool according to claim 7, wherein at least two of said machining units are coupled or configured to be coupled and decoupled in at least one of said first, second or third axial directions.

10. The machine tool according to claim 7, wherein at least one of said machining units is configured to perform a swivel movement around at least one of said first or second axial directions.

11. The machine tool according to claim 10, wherein at least two of said machining units are coupled or configured to be coupled and decoupled in said swivel movement around at least one of said first or second axial directions.

12. The machine tool according to claim 7, which further comprises at least one control cabinet disposed in an upper half of the machine tool.

13. A machine tool, comprising: a machine bed; at least one first and one second machining unit being disposed adjacent each other in a first axial direction, being movable independently of each other in second and third axial directions and being disposed together above said machine bed; stand units disposed on both sides of said machining units, and said stand units being spaced apart in said first axial direction by a distance defining a fixed working width; at least one third machining unit configured to be provided and removed again in said first axial direction adjacent at least one of said first second machining units due to said working width; all of said machining units being at least one of structurally identical or having identical travel paths; and a bridge interconnecting said stand units and permitting said machining units to only be jointly movable in said first axial direction.

14. The machine tool according to claim 13, wherein said stand units are movably guided on said upper and lower guides.

15. The machine tool according to claim 13, wherein at least two of said machining units are coupled or configured to be coupled and decoupled in at least one of said first, second or third axial directions.

16. The machine tool according to claim 13, wherein at least one of said machining units is configured to perform a swivel movement around at least one of said first or second axial directions.

17. The machine tool according to claim 16, wherein at least two of said machining units are coupled or configured to be coupled and decoupled in said swivel movement around at least one of said first or second axial directions.

18. The machine tool according to claim 13, which further comprises at least one control cabinet disposed in an upper half of the machine tool.

Description

[0040] Preferred embodiments of the present invention, their structure, function and advantages are explained in more detail by the following figures, wherein

[0041] FIG. 1 schematically shows a possible embodiment of a machine tool according to the invention in a frontal view;

[0042] FIG. 2 schematically shows the machine tool from FIG. 1 in a perspective frontal view diagonally from above;

[0043] FIG. 3a schematically shows another embodiment of a machine tool according to the invention in a frontal view;

[0044] FIG. 3b schematically shows the machine tool shown in FIG. 3a with an additional machining unit in a frontal view; and

[0045] FIG. 4 schematically shows yet another embodiment of a machine tool according to the invention in a frontal view.

[0046] FIG. 1 schematically shows a possible embodiment of a machine tool 1 according to the invention in a frontal view.

[0047] In the shown embodiment, the machine tool 1 is a tooling machine with at least two machining units 2, 2 in form of spindles.

[0048] The machine tool 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a machine bed 3 on which two stand units 4, 4 are provided. The stand units 4, 4 are each guided by a horizontal lower guide 6, 6 provided on the machine bed 3 and by a horizontal upper guide 5, 5 along a first axial direction x. The shown stand units 4, 4 are movable independently from each other and can thus be moved towards, against and with each other. Such a movability of the stand units 4, 4 provides a high flexibility of the machine tool 1 as well as a high production accuracy. The movability of the stand units 4, 4, not only enables it to provide additional or alternative machining units 2, 2 in exchange for or in addition to the machining units 2, 2 already provided on the machine tool 1, and to process a multitude of different workpieces, but also serves for carrying out corrections on the processes during a processing procedure, in order to be able to avoid or compensate for problems from preceding procedures in subsequent processing procedures.

[0049] In further embodiments of the machine tool 1, the stand units 4, 4 can, however, also be coupled, for example in order to keep down the costs and the effort of programming and/or operating the machine tool 1. Thereby, the stand units 4, 4 can be decouplable again, since the flexibility of the machine tool is thus not unnecessarily limited.

[0050] In the embodiment of the machine tool 1 shown in FIG. 1, the machining units 2, 2 are attached to the stand units 4, 4. The machining units 2, 2 are movable on horizontal guides 11, 11, which are provided in form of slides provided on vertical guides 10, 10 attached to the stand units 4, 4.

[0051] In the shown embodiment, the vertical guides 10, 10 positioned on the stand units 4, 4 are provided on sides of the stand units 4, 4 opposing each other in the first axial direction x. The machining units 2, 2 are movable on the vertical guides 10, 10 along the second axial direction y.

[0052] The horizontal guides 11, 11 enable a movement of the machining units 2, 2 towards the third axial direction z.

[0053] A movement of the machining units 2, 2 along the first axial direction x is enabled by a guided movement of the stand units 4, 4 along the guides 5, 5, 6, 6. The movement of the stand units 4, 4 is preferably realized by means of linear motors 7, 7, can, however, also be enabled by a screw drive or another drive. Furthermore, the drive 7, 7 does not have to be attached to the ends of the guides 6, 6 as in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, but can be placed on any other position of the machine tool 1 or outside the machine tool 1. The dimensioning of the drives 7, 7 is also variable and can be adjusted to the operating conditions of the drive 7, 7. As described above, one drive 7, 7 can moreover also serve as a drive for several machining units 2, 2 and/or for a movement in several axial directions.

[0054] Just like the stand units 4, 4, the horizontal guides 11, 11 and the machining units 2, 2 are also movable by drives, not depicted here. The drives used for this purpose are also largely variable with regard to their dimensioning and arrangement on the machine tool 1. As described above, it is furthermore also possible for several components of the machine tool 1 to be driven by a common drive.

[0055] The working width B of the machine tool 1 is determined by the distance between the stand units 4, 4. By moving the stand units 4, 4 away from each other, the working width B of the machine tool 1 can be extended, and by moving the stand units 4, 4 towards each other, the working width B of the machine tool 1 can be reduced. The maximum operating width B is limited by the length of the upper and lower guides 5, 5, 6, 6, wherein the operating width B can be extended by attaching further guiding elements on the ends of the upper and lower guides 5, 5, 6, 6. Hereby, it is particularly preferable if the drive 7, 7 is flexible in such a way that its position can be easily changed. In addition, there is, however, also the possibility to replace the drive 7, 7 with a new drive when prolonging the guides 5, 5, 6, 6.

[0056] As described above, moving the stand units 4, 4 and thus varying the working width B, makes it possible to ideally process workpieces with different dimensions on the machine tool 1 and to be able to provide at least one additional machining unit 2 on the machine tool 1, whereby the output quantity of the machine tool 1 can be increased. The at least one additional machining unit 2 can for example be provided between the or also adjacent to one of the machining units 2, 2 and/or can be coupled mechanically with them or it. The additional machining unit 2 can be coupled with one or both adjacent machining units 2, 2 or can be provided entirely mechanically separate from the movement of the at least two machining units 2, 2 already existing on the machine tool 1.

[0057] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the machining units 2, 2 comprise the same structure, can, however, also comprise different structures in alternative embodiments. Furthermore, the machining units 2, 2 also comprise the same travel paths in the example of FIG. 1, but can also have different travel paths.

[0058] The machine tool 1 shown in FIG. 1 comprises a casing enclosing it, which is not depicted for reasons of clarity.

[0059] FIG. 2 schematically shows the machine tool 1 of FIG. 1 in a frontal view diagonally from above. Thereby, the same reference signs as in FIG. 1 correspond to the same components, which is why it is being referred to the preceding description of these components.

[0060] In FIG. 2, the casing of the machine tool 1 is also not depicted for reasons of a better illustration of the machine tool 1 according to the invention.

[0061] In FIG. 2, the movability of the machining units 2, 2 by means of the horizontal guides 11, 11 in the third axial direction z is illustrated. The movement of the machining units 2, 2 in the second axial direction y along the vertical guides 10, 10 is also discernible from FIG. 2.

[0062] In the shown embodiment, the guides 6, 6, 10, 10, 11, 11 each comprise two guiding rails, can, however, also comprise only one guiding rail, as exemplified by the guides 5, 5. In general, all guides 5, 5, 6, 6, 10, 10, 11, 11 used on the machine tool 1, can be formed as desired and comprise any desired lengths. When determining the lengths of the guides 5, 5, 6, 6, it is only to be noted that the maximum working width B of the machine tool 1 is generally determined by the lengths of the guides 5, 5, 6, 6 and the distance between the guides 5, 5, 6, 6.

[0063] In contrast to FIG. 2, the machine tool 1 can also comprise a common upper and/or lower guide 5, 6 for the stand units 4, 4 and no separate guides 5, 5 and 6, 6 in another embodiment of the present invention not depicted here.

[0064] In FIG. 3a, another embodiment of the machine tool 1 according to the invention is schematically shown in a frontal view, wherein the same reference signs correspond to the same components as in FIGS. 1 and 2. Reference is hereby made to the above mentioned embodiments of these components.

[0065] In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3a, the stand units 4, 4 are only guided through a lower guide 6 and no upper guides 5, 5. In contrast to the variants of the machine tool 1 illustrated above, the stand units 4, 4 are also guided on a common guide 6 and not by two separate guides 6, 6 in FIG. 3a.

[0066] The stand units 4, 4 of the machine tool 1 depicted in FIG. 3a, are connected by means of a bridge 12, whereby the machining units 2, 2 can only be moved together in the first axial direction x. However, in the second axial direction y and the third axial direction z, the machining units 2, 2 can also be moved independently from each other in the machine tool 1. However, it is also possible to couple the movement of the machining units in the second axial direction y and in the third axial direction by means of mechanical coupling devices, not depicted here.

[0067] Furthermore, the machine tool 1 can be formed in such a way, that the stand units 4, 4 are guided completely separate from each other through at least one lower guide 6, 6, 6 without the stand units 4, 4 comprising an upper guide 5, 5 or a bridge 12, through which the stand units 4, 4 are connected to each other. Notwithstanding the lack of the at least one upper guide 5, 5, the stand units 4, 4 are movable independently from each other in the first axial direction x with such an embodiment of the machine unit 1.

[0068] In contrast to the embodiments of the machine tool 1, in which the stand units 4, 4 are movable, the working width B of the machine tool 1 depicted in FIG. 3a, is not variable. However, the working width B of the machine tool illustrated in FIG. 3a is formed so large that at least one additional machining unit 2 can be provided between the two machining units 2, 2. Hereby, the additionally provided machining unit 2 preferably comprises the same travel path and/or the same structure as the two already existing machining units 2, 2 of the machine tool 1.

[0069] Due to the connection of the stand units 4, 4 by means of the bridge 12, the machine tool 1 from FIG. 3a comprises a particularly high mechanical load capacity.

[0070] FIG. 3b schematically shows the machine tool 1 depicted in FIG. 3a with an additional machining unit 2 in a frontal view. Hereby, reference signs already used above refer to the same components, to whose preceding description is hereby referred.

[0071] In the shown embodiment, the machining unit 2 additionally provided between the machining units 2, 2, is mechanically coupled with the machining units 2, 2, so that all three machining units 2, 2, 2 perform the same movements, at least in the first axial direction x and the second axial direction y.

[0072] However, in other, not depicted embodiments of the present invention, the additional machining unit 2 can also be coupled with only one of the two machining units 2, 2 and/or be spaced apart from at least one of the two machining units 2, 2. Thus, not all machining units 2, 2, 2 have to perform the same movements; only the additionally included machining unit 2 and at least one machining unit 2 or 2 coupled thereto, herein perform the same movements. With such an embodiment, the machining unit 2 or 2 not coupled with the additional machining unit 2, is in contrast movable independently from the other two machining units 2 or 2 and 2.

[0073] In contrast to the embodiment of the machine tool 1 depicted in FIGS. 3a and 3b, the working width B of the machine tool can be formed so large that more than one additional machining unit 2 can be provided between the two machining units 2, 2. Hereby, it can be freely chosen, which machining units and movement directions are coupled. However, it is particularly recommendable to form couplings between the machining units of such a machine tool according to the invention to be detachable again.

[0074] FIG. 4 schematically shows a further embodiment of a machine tool 1 according to the invention in a frontal view, wherein here also the already used reference signs refer to the same components of the machine tool 1 as in the above described figures.

[0075] In FIG. 4, a casing 13 of the machine tool 1 is schematically depicted, wherein a control cabinet 8 is provided on the roof surface of the casing 13 pointing upwards. By arranging the control cabinet 8 on the roof of the machine tool 1, the machine tool 1 is freely accessible for its operator, whereby possible sources of error, maintenance or repair works can be carried out quickly and easily on the machine tool 1. Furthermore, providing the control cabinet 8 on the machine tool 1 offers the advantage that the space requirements of the entire machine tool 1 can be minimized and thus the total costs can be reduced.

[0076] In contrast to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the control cabinet 8 can also be provided in an upper area of a side wall of the casing 13 of the machine tool 1. This offers the advantage that the machine tool 1 remains accessible for its operator, just as well as when the control cabinet 8 is placed on the roof of the machine tool 1, and the control cabinet 8 is, in spite of everything, accessible for the operator of the machine tool 1.

[0077] At its simplest, the control cabinet 8 is connected to the casing 13 by means of screw or rivet connections. However, an additional device for holding the control cabinet 8 can also be provided on the casing 13 of the machine tool 1. For a possible assembly and/or disassembly of the machine tool 1, it is, however, useful to detachably connect the control cabinet 8 with the casing 13 of the machine tool 1.

[0078] If the machine tool 1 comprises several control cabinets 8, it is furthermore also possible to attach several control cabinets 8 spread on the roof and/or on the upper areas of the side walls of the machine tool 1. Correspondingly, the arrangement of the at least one control cabinet 8 can be chosen depending on the location of the machine tool 1.

[0079] FIG. 4 only shows an embodiment of a machine tool 1 according to the invention on whose casing 13, especially on its roof, a control cabinet 8 is provided. In other embodiments, the interior of the casing 13 of the machine tool 1 can, as described in the previous embodiments, also be formed differently. Contrary to the depiction in FIG. 4, the machine tool 1 can thus for example comprise continuous guides 5, 6 and no separate guides 5, 5, 6, 6. Furthermore, a different number of machining units 2, 2 can also be provided in the machine tool 1. The stand units 4, 4 can also only be guided below or can, if necessary, be connected by means of a bridge.