Citizen Watch Company, Ltd.

Citizen Machinery Co., Ltd.

Shuichi Watabe

Hitoshi Matsumoto

A machine tool includes a plurality of modules, and a control means for controlling operation of the modules, wherein the plurality of modules include a fixed module and two movable modules. The control means includes a restriction means for restricting the movement of the two movable modules for allowing only one of the movable modules to be moved to a facing position facing the fixed module; and a determination means for determining the movable module to be moved to the facing position. The control means is configured to control the operation of the plurality of modules so that, when the operation under cooperation of the fixed module and one of the movable modules has been completed, the restriction means releases the restriction of the movement of the other movable module to the facing position.

Machine tool

A control device for a machine tool to efficiently and successively produce a plurality of different-shaped products is provided. In the control device, each driving shaft of modules is assigned to different control systems. The device includes a multi-system program storage part for storing a plurality of multi-system programs to machine a workpiece in different shapes, a multi-system program dividing part for dividing the multi-system programs into machining programs, a divided program storage part for storing the divided machining programs individually, a system-based program storage part for storing the machining programs each corresponding to each of the control systems, and a machining program selection part for selecting a predetermined machining program from the divided program storage part in accordance with the machining step to be performed and for alternately storing the selected machining programs in two program storage parts of the system-based program storage part for the respective control systems.

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Fujimino, Japan

Shuichi Watabe