Development of Measuring Technology of Machine Tool Probes

With the development of modern manufacturing technology, the continuous improvement of linear and geometric accuracy of CNC machine tools and the continuous enhancement of control ability, part of the control function of CMM can be replaced. Machine tool probes system using the machine itself. At the same time, the use of the function of the intelligent probe system has shortened the preparation time of the machine tool for manual workpiece positioning, cutting test and tool wear and damage detection by more than 90%.

In fact, the productivity of machine tools has been improved, the quality of parts has been controlled in the processing process, the degree of automation of processing is more intelligent, and the scrap rate is close to zero.

Generally speaking, the functions of the system of touch probes for CNC machines can be divided into: workpiece positioning/coordinate setting; Measuring workpiece; Knife setting; Tool wear/breakage detection; Workpiece identification/blank allowance allocation.

1. Positioning of machine tool probe parts and determination of coordinates

When machining precision parts or large parts, the positioning of parts and the determination of coordinates are very important. The former has a great impact on precision machining, and the latter is more difficult to solve. The use of machine tool probe system makes this process simple, fast and accurate.

Just fixing the parts and measuring the positioning marks (point, surface, hole, axis, step, angle) with the machine tool probes can quickly determine and update the machining coordinates of the machine tool in tens of seconds. In the processing of aeroengine and aircraft parts, it has been widely used, and the probe system of machine tool is used to locate and fix coordinates, such as parts for cartridge case and structural elements of landing gear.

2. Workpiece measurement of machine tool probe

In aerospace products, the blank materials of a large number of workpieces are expensive with long processing cycle. Once scrapped, the loss is great. Therefore, it is very important to control the manufacturing process and eliminate the influence of various factors on dimensional accuracy.

The machine tool probe system provides a practical and reliable solution: there is no need to move the workpiece many times on the three-point measuring machine in the machining process. Just activate the corresponding measurement and apply the measurement results of the machine tool probe system.

According to different part measurement requirements, the standard measurement cycle derived from the code or the measurement software based on conversational PC can be used. OMV (onma machine verification) probe automobile software can also be used to measure directly from the manual part model guided by CAD. The application example shows that the correct use of the probe system of the machine tool can eliminate the excessive derating of the machined parts.

3. Tool measurement of machine tool probes

Cutting tools are essential for digital manufacturing. The acquisition of tool parameters often takes a long time. For the external equipment of the tool, the factors such as well runout and thermal expansion are not fully considered. The length, diameter and contour of the tool are measured by the rotation of the machine tool probe, so that the parameters of the tool can be quickly determined and transmitted to the machine tool system. Therefore, the use of tool probe can greatly shorten the auxiliary time and improve the utilization rate of the machine.

4. Tool wear detection and tool damage detection of machine tool probe

It can obtain the tool wear parameters in time and compensate in the machining process, which is an important way to ensure the machining accuracy. Rapid broken tool detection for cnc machines help to prevent part scrapping or tool damage in subsequent operations to prevent the loss of forward steps. The measurement / compensation steps of the cutting machine can be carried out at an appropriate time according to the process needs, or check whether the cutting machine is damaged. The intelligence of manufacturing process automation can be improved.

5. Workpiece identification/allowance allocation of machine tool probe

In the automatic manufacturing process, such as FMS or CIMS system, there are a large number of intelligent use examples of machine tool probes, which can be used to detect characteristic workpieces, judge workpieces and trigger corresponding processing programs for unmanned production; For some workpieces with unstable deformation, the results measured by the probe can be used to allocate cutting allowance or select different machining procedures.

In a word, the advanced machine tool system can quickly, accurately, reliably and efficiently replace most of the manual labor in CNC machining, making digital manufacturing more intelligent.