Development And Application Of Intelligent Machine Probe | CNCLATHING

Generally speaking, the functions of the machine probe system can be divided into workpiece positioning/coordinate setting, measuring workpiece, tool settings, tool wear/damage detection, workpiece identification / blank allowance allocation.

Workpiece positioning and coordinate setting: In the process of precision workpiece machining or large workpiece machining, workpiece positioning and coordinate setting are very important. The former has a great impact on the machining accuracy. The latter is difficult to adjust clamping. The use of machine probe system makes this process simple, fast, accurate and reliable. We only need to fix the workpiece, and then use the machine probe to measure the positioning datum (point, surface, hole, axis, step and angle), we can quickly determine and update the machining coordinates of the machine, and the whole process takes only tens of seconds. In the machining of aeroengine workpiece and aircraft workpiece, it has been widely used and depends on the machine probe system for positioning and coordinate setting, such as gearbox workpiece, landing gear structure and so on.

Measuring workpiece: In aerospace products, there are a large number of workpieces with expensive blank materials and long processing cycle. Once such workpieces are scrapped, they will suffer heavy losses. Therefore, it is very important to monitor in the machining process to eliminate the influence of various factors on dimensional accuracy. The machine probe system provides a convenient and reliable solution. It is not necessary to move the workpiece to the CMM many times in the processing process. Just call the corresponding measurement cycle and apply the machine probe system to measure the results. According to the different needs of workpiece measurement, you can use the standard measurement cycle derived from the code, the conversational measurement software based on PC, and the automatic measurement software OMV that directly imports the workpiece model from CAD. An application example shows that the correct use of the probe system of the machine may eliminate the phenomenon of out of tolerance and scrapping of the workpiece in machining.

Tool setting: Tool is very important for digital manufacturing. The acquisition of tool parameters often takes a lot of time, and the external tool setting equipment can not fully take into account the factors such as runout and thermal expansion of spindle. Using the tool setting probe of the machine to measure the tool length, tool diameter and contour under the state of tool rotation can quickly determine the tool parameters and input them into the controller for processing. Therefore, using the tool setting probe can greatly reduce the auxiliary time and improve the utilization rate of the machine.

Tool wear / damage detection: Timely acquisition and compensation of tool wear parameters in the machining process is an important means to maintain machining accuracy. Timely detection of tool damage can avoid workpiece scrapping or subsequent machining tool damage and prevent further loss. The tool measurement/compensation step can be set at an appropriate stage or check whether the tool is damaged according to the process requirements. The intelligent degree of processing automation is improved.

Workpiece identification / blank allowance allocation: In the automatic manufacturing process such as FMS or CIMS system, there are a large number of examples of intelligent use of machine probes, which can be used to detect workpiece characteristics, judge workpieces and call corresponding processing programs. In order to realize unmanned production, for some easily deformed and unstable blanks, The measurement results of the probe can be used to allocate cutting allowance or select different machining processes. In short, the machine probe system can quickly, accurately, reliably and effectively replace many manual processes in CNC machining, making digital manufacturing more intelligent.