Toshiba Kikai Kabushiki Kaisha

Isao Morimoto

Tetsu Yoshida

A machining system includes machine tools each capable of performing, in a working area thereof, machining on a workpiece carried on a pallet, a pallet magazine including movable stations each capable of carrying and conveying a pallet and having pallet change positions each associated with each of the machine tools, pallet changers each associated with each of the machine tools and each capable of transferring a pallet between the working area of the associated machine tool and the associated pallet change position, numerical control devices each associated with each of the machine tools and each capable of storing part programs and of controlling the associated machine tool, and a system controller comprising first memory for storing, in relation to each of schedule numbers indicating order of machining, an indicium of a pallet carrying a workpiece to be machined in the related order and an indicium of a part program to be used for machining the related pallet, and second memory for storing, in relation to an indicium of each of the pallets, and indicium of the movable station carrying the related pallet.

Machining systems and control systems therefor

While machining a workpiece with a tool of a machine tool according to a numerically controlled machining program, when the tool breaks, the workpiece is removed from the machine tool and a new workpiece is substituted. A new program for the new workpiece is selected and a new tool for machining the new workpiece is selected and substituted for the broken tool. Now the new workpiece is machined in accordance with a new program. The workpieces removed from the machine tool are collected, fragments of the broken tools are removed therefrom, and then machined again. A tool magazine containing a plurality of tools is provided. Broken tools are removed from the machine tool and returned to the tool magazine. When all tools in the tool magazine are judged to be broken, new tools of the same type are supplemented. When the tools are worn out similar steps are executed.

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Numazu, Japan

Isao Morimoto