Toyoda Koki Kabushiki Kaisha

Shiro Seki

Kunihiko Eto

Kaoru Owa

A contact detecting apparatus for detecting the contact of a workpiece and a tool which comprises a coil mounted on the periphery of a spindle head and connected to an AC power source for generating an induced current in a first looped secondary circuit formed by the workpiece, a work table, a machine bed, a column, a spindle head, a tool spindle and a tool in the tool spindle when the workpiece and the tool are moved relatively into contact with each other, and a second looped secondary circuit formed by a tool change device, the tool, the tool spindle and the spindle head when a tool change operation is performed. A detector is connected between the AC power source and the coil for detecting a change in an electrical signal caused by contact between the workpiece and the tool or contact between the tool change device and the tool to output a contact detecting signal. Another detector is provided to detect that a contact detecting signal is not generated, even if a tool change operation has been performed.

Growing community of inventors

Kariya, Japan

Shiro Seki