阅读说明：本技术 圆柱状工件的开孔装置及其开孔方法、圆柱状产品的制造方法以及圆柱状工件的检查方法 (Punching device and punching method for cylindrical workpiece, manufacturing method for cylindrical product, and inspection method for cylindrical workpiece ) 是由 福井俊宏 伊藤英彬 于 2020-02-24 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种圆柱状工件的开孔装置,其针对孔的深度和位置能够以高精度进行开孔加工而无需利用加工中心的探测器实施对工件的尺寸测定。一种圆柱状工件的开孔装置,其具备：承载台,其具有从一端到另一端沿水平的一个方向延伸的槽部；止动件,其设置于槽部的一端；钻机,其配置于槽部的铅垂上方、且至少能够沿铅垂方向移动,并具有沿铅垂方向延伸的钻头；以及卡盘,其具有一对对置的把持部,这一对把持部能够以相对于钻头的旋转轴对称、且在与槽部延伸的方向垂直的水平方向上彼此接近的方式移动,并且,各把持部具有上下张开的上下对称的一对倾斜面。(The invention provides a drilling device for a cylindrical workpiece, which can perform drilling processing with high precision according to the depth and the position of a hole without measuring the size of the workpiece by a probe of a processing center. A device for drilling a cylindrical workpiece, comprising: a stage having a groove portion extending in one horizontal direction from one end to the other end; a stopper provided at one end of the groove portion; a drilling machine which is disposed vertically above the groove portion, is movable at least in the vertical direction, and has a drill extending in the vertical direction; and a chuck having a pair of opposed gripping portions which are movable so as to be symmetrical with respect to a rotation axis of the drill and to approach each other in a horizontal direction perpendicular to a direction in which the groove portion extends, and each of the gripping portions has a pair of inclined surfaces which are vertically symmetrical and open upward and downward.)

1. A device for forming a hole in a cylindrical workpiece,

the hole forming device is provided with:

a stage having a groove portion extending in one horizontal direction from one end to the other end;

a stopper provided at one end of the groove portion;

a drilling machine which is disposed vertically above the groove portion, is movable at least in the vertical direction, and has a drill extending in the vertical direction; and

and a chuck having a pair of opposed gripping portions which are movable so as to be symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis of the drill and to approach each other in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the groove portion extends, and each of the gripping portions having a pair of inclined surfaces which are vertically symmetrical and open upward and downward.

2. The tapping device of claim 1 wherein,

the stopper has a wall surface perpendicular to a direction in which the groove portion extends.

3. The tapping device according to claim 1 or 2,

the drill is movable in a direction in which the slot portion extends.

4. The tapping device according to any one of claims 1-3 wherein,

the hole forming device is provided with: a detector capable of detecting a timing at which the drill comes into contact with the workpiece from a change in a spindle load of the drill; and a control device capable of issuing an instruction for drilling with a predetermined depth to the drilling machine when the drilling machine contacts the workpiece.

5. The tapping device according to any one of claims 1-4 wherein,

when viewed from the direction in which the groove portion extends, the contour shape of the groove portion is a V-shape, a U-shape, an arc shape, or a part of any of these shapes.

6. The tapping device according to any one of claims 1-5 wherein,

the pair of inclined surfaces of each gripping part is V-shaped when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the groove part.

7. The tapping device according to any one of claims 1-6 wherein,

the platform is divided into two parts with the groove part therebetween, and each part of the platform is fixed to each of the pair of holding parts.

8. A hole forming method for forming a hole in a side surface of a cylindrical workpiece, wherein,

the hole opening method comprises the following steps:

preparing the hole forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 7;

a first positioning step of fitting the workpiece into the groove portion such that a central axis direction of the workpiece coincides with a direction in which the groove portion extends and one end of the workpiece in the central axis direction abuts against the stopper;

a second positioning step of moving the pair of gripping portions of the chuck symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the drill and so as to approach each other in a horizontal direction perpendicular to a direction in which the groove portion extends, thereby clamping the opposing side surfaces while raising the workpiece in the vertical direction; and

and a step of moving the drilling machine vertically downward to drill a hole on the side surface of the workpiece by the drilling machine.

9. The tapping method as claimed in claim 8 wherein,

the drill can move along the length direction of the groove part,

in the drilling step, the drill moves vertically downward after moving in the longitudinal direction of the groove portion by a predetermined distance.

10. The tapping method of claim 8 or 9 wherein,

the hole forming device is provided with: a detector capable of detecting a timing at which the drill comes into contact with the workpiece based on a spindle load of the drill; and a control device capable of issuing an instruction to the drill for drilling with a predetermined depth when the drill comes into contact with the workpiece, wherein in the drilling step, the drill performs drilling with the predetermined depth based on the instruction from the control device with reference to the height position at the time of contact with the workpiece.

11. A method of manufacturing a cylindrical product, wherein,

the manufacturing method of the cylindrical product comprises the following steps: carrying out the method of opening a hole as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 10.

12. The manufacturing method of a cylindrical product according to claim 11,

the manufacturing method of the cylindrical product comprises the following steps: the sensor is inserted into a hole opened in a side surface portion of the workpiece.

13. A method of inspecting a cylindrical workpiece, wherein,

the method for inspecting a cylindrical workpiece includes the steps of: after the hole forming method according to any one of claims 8 to 10 is performed, a camera having a telecentric lens is used to photograph a hole formed in a side surface of the workpiece.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a drilling device for a cylindrical workpiece, a drilling method for a cylindrical workpiece, a manufacturing method for a cylindrical product, and an inspection method for a cylindrical workpiece.

Background

Generally, an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine represented by an engine is provided with an exhaust gas purifying catalyst and an exhaust gas purifying filter. In a carrier for supporting an exhaust gas purifying catalyst and an exhaust gas purifying filter, there is a porous honeycomb structure having a hole into which a sensor is inserted. For example, the purification performance is monitored by inserting a sensor into a cylindrical honeycomb structure supporting a catalyst.

Jp 2009-172518 a describes a method for manufacturing a partially open-cell honeycomb structure in which a sensor or the like can be inserted into a honeycomb structure, the open-cell honeycomb structure having holes formed from the surface of the outer wall of the honeycomb structure, the holes penetrating through the outer wall and a part of the partition walls, the method being capable of effectively preventing the occurrence of sagging (chipping) when grinding the holes, and of manufacturing the open-cell honeycomb structure easily and inexpensively.

Disclosure of Invention

When a cylindrical workpiece such as a honeycomb structure is drilled, a predetermined tolerance is set with respect to the depth and position of the hole. The dimension of the workpiece is measured in advance by a probe of the machining center, and drilling can be performed to meet a predetermined tolerance. For example, the following methods can be mentioned: in order to satisfy the tolerance of the position of the hole, the positions of both side ends in the diameter direction of the workpiece are measured by a probe of the machining center, and the position of the hole is determined by calculation. Similarly, the tolerance for the depth of the hole may be achieved by measuring the height position of the workpiece by a probe of the machining center and determining the machining start point.

The tapping process using the machining center can be automatically performed and is accurate. However, the equipment investment cost of a machining center capable of performing measurement by a probe is high. Further, there is a problem that it takes a long time to repeatedly move to a plurality of measurement points and perform measurement in order to perform measurement by the probe. Further, professional knowledge is required to create an NC program for automatically performing the drilling.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a drilling device for a cylindrical workpiece, which can perform drilling with high accuracy with respect to the depth and position of a hole without performing dimension measurement of the workpiece by using a probe of a machining center. Another object of the present invention is to provide a drilling method for drilling a hole in a side surface of a columnar workpiece using the drilling device. Another object of another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a columnar product, including a step of performing the above-described hole forming method. Another object of another aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for inspecting a cylindrical workpiece, in which the above-described drilling method is performed.

Means for solving the problems

The present inventors have conducted intensive studies to solve the above problems, and as a result, have completed the following exemplary inventions.

[1] A drilling device for a cylindrical workpiece, comprising:

a stage having a groove portion extending in one horizontal direction from one end to the other end;

a stopper provided at one end of the groove portion;

a drilling machine which is disposed vertically above the groove portion, is movable at least in the vertical direction, and has a drill extending in the vertical direction; and

and a chuck having a pair of opposed gripping portions which are movable so as to be symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis of the drill and to approach each other in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the groove portion extends, and each of the gripping portions having a pair of inclined surfaces which are vertically symmetrical and open upward and downward.

[2] The hole opening device according to [1], wherein the stopper has a wall surface perpendicular to a direction in which the groove portion extends.

[3] The tapping device according to [1] or [2], wherein the drill is movable in a direction in which the groove portion extends.

[4] The hole forming device according to any one of [1] to [3], wherein the hole forming device includes: a detector capable of detecting a timing at which the drill comes into contact with the workpiece from a change in a spindle load of the drill; and a control device capable of issuing an instruction for drilling with a predetermined depth to the drilling machine when the drilling machine contacts the workpiece.

[5] The drilling device according to any one of [1] to [4], wherein the groove has a profile shape of a V shape, a U shape, an arc shape, or a part of any one of these shapes, as viewed from a direction in which the groove extends.

[6] The drilling device according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the pair of inclined surfaces of each of the gripping portions has a V-shape when viewed from a longitudinal direction of the groove portion.

[7] The drilling device according to any one of [1] to [6], wherein the platform is divided into two parts with the groove portion therebetween, and each part of the platform is fixed to each of the pair of holding parts.

[8] A hole forming method for forming a hole in a side surface of a cylindrical workpiece, wherein the hole forming method comprises the steps of:

preparing the drilling device according to any one of [1] to [7 ];

a first positioning step of fitting the workpiece into the groove portion such that a central axis direction of the workpiece coincides with a direction in which the groove portion extends and one end of the workpiece in the central axis direction abuts against the stopper;

a second positioning step of moving the pair of gripping portions of the chuck symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the drill and so as to approach each other in a horizontal direction perpendicular to a direction in which the groove portion extends, thereby clamping the opposing side surfaces while raising the workpiece in the vertical direction; and

and a step of moving the drilling machine vertically downward to drill a hole on the side surface of the workpiece by the drilling machine.

[9] The method of opening a hole according to [8], wherein,

the drill can move along the length direction of the groove part,

in the drilling step, the drill moves vertically downward after moving in the longitudinal direction of the groove portion by a predetermined distance.

[10] The tapping method according to [8] or [9], wherein the tapping device comprises: a detector capable of detecting a timing at which the drill comes into contact with the workpiece based on a spindle load of the drill; and a control device capable of issuing an instruction to the drill for drilling with a predetermined depth when the drill comes into contact with the workpiece, wherein in the drilling step, the drill performs drilling with the predetermined depth based on the instruction from the control device with reference to the height position at the time of contact with the workpiece.

[11] A method for manufacturing a cylindrical product, comprising the steps of: the method of opening a hole according to any one of [8] to [10 ].

[12] The method for producing a cylindrical product according to [11], comprising the steps of: the sensor is inserted into a hole opened in a side surface portion of the workpiece.

[13] A method for inspecting a cylindrical workpiece, comprising the steps of: after the hole forming method according to any one of [8] to [10] is performed, a camera having a telecentric lens is used to capture an image of a hole formed in a side surface portion of the workpiece.

Effects of the invention

According to an embodiment of the apparatus for drilling a cylindrical workpiece according to the present invention, it is possible to drill a cylindrical workpiece with high accuracy with respect to the depth and position of a hole without measuring the size of the workpiece by using a probe of a machining center. In addition, according to an embodiment of the drilling device for a cylindrical workpiece according to the present invention, drilling can be performed on the cylindrical workpiece in a short time. Therefore, the apparatus for boring a cylindrical workpiece according to the present invention can be suitably used for manufacturing a bored cylindrical product such as a bored honeycomb structure.

According to one embodiment of the method for inspecting a cylindrical workpiece according to the present invention, the position of the hole formed in the side surface of the cylindrical workpiece can be accurately measured in a short time.

Drawings

Fig. 1(a) is a schematic front view (showing a drilling machine) of an embodiment of a hole-forming device for a cylindrical workpiece, and fig. 1(b) is a plan view (not showing the drilling machine).

Fig. 2(a) is a schematic front view (showing a drilling machine) of the drilling device when a cylindrical workpiece is placed on the groove portion and pressed against the stopper, and fig. 2(b) is a plan view (not showing the drilling machine).

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a sequence of drilling a hole in a side surface of a cylindrical workpiece mounted on a drilling device.

Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view of an example of a columnar workpiece after drilling.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of inspecting a hole formed in a side surface portion of a cylindrical workpiece by a camera having a telecentric lens.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of clarifying a positional reference of a hole of a cylindrical workpiece by using a camera having a telecentric lens.

Fig. 7 is a schematic plan view for explaining a method of clamping a cylindrical workpiece by a vice (vice).

Fig. 8 is a schematic front view for explaining a method of inspecting a hole position using a three-dimensional coordinate measuring machine.

Fig. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view (a state in which the chuck is opened) for explaining an example of the operation principle of the chuck.

Fig. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view (a state in which the chuck is closed) for explaining an example of the operation principle of the chuck.

Description of the reference numerals

1 cylindrical workpiece

2 side surface

3 partition wall

4 compartments

5 holes

100 perforating device

110 bearing table

111 reference plane

112 groove part

120 stop

122 bench clamp

130 drilling machine

132 bit

140 chuck

142a, 142b holding part

144a, 144b inclined surface

146 chuck body

147a, 147b fingers

148 end plate

149a piston

149b cam

150 control device

160 three-dimensional coordinate measuring instrument

161 contact probe

502 camera

504 monitor

506 is a line segment in the horizontal direction and/or the vertical direction

508 lifter

509 controller

Detailed Description

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and it is to be understood that changes, improvements, and the like in design can be appropriately made based on the common knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

<1. opening device >

Referring to fig. 1, a drilling device (100) for a cylindrical workpiece according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:

a carrier table (110) having a groove section (112) extending in one horizontal direction from one end to the other end;

a stopper (120) provided at one end of the groove (112);

a drilling machine (130) which is disposed vertically above the groove (112), is movable at least in the vertical direction, and has a drill (132) extending in the vertical direction; and

and a chuck (140) having a pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b), wherein the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) are movable so as to be symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis of the drill (132) and to approach each other in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the groove portion (112) extends, and wherein each of the gripping portions (142a, 142b) has a pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144b) that are vertically open and are vertically symmetrical.

The columnar workpiece (1) can be placed on the stage (110) (see fig. 2 (a)). The stage (110) has a horizontal reference surface (111) and a groove (112) recessed below the reference surface (111). The groove (112) extends in one horizontal direction from one end to the other end. The cylindrical workpiece (1) is fitted into the groove (112) so that the direction of the central axis of the cylindrical workpiece (1) coincides with the direction in which the groove (112) extends, and therefore, when the drilling device (100) is viewed from the front, pre-positioning can be easily performed in the left-right direction (which is the horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the groove (112) extends) when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is placed on the stage (110).

In one embodiment, the susceptor (110) may be divided into two parts with the groove (112) therebetween. In this case, each part of the platform (110) may be fixed to each of the pair of holding parts (142a, 142 b).

In another embodiment, the carrier (110) can be formed in one piece. In this case, the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) may be configured to be movable relative to the platform (110). According to this embodiment, the advantage of a reduced number of components can be obtained.

The outline shape of the groove portion (112) may be, for example, a polygonal line shape, a curved line shape, or a combination of a line segment and a curved line when viewed from the direction in which the groove portion extends (see fig. 1 a). More specifically, the outline shape may be a V shape (one of broken lines), a U shape (a combination of a line segment and a curve), an arc shape (one of curved lines), or a part of any of the above shapes. Among them, the cylindrical workpiece (1) is preferably in the shape of an arc corresponding to the side surface shape of the cylindrical workpiece because the cylindrical workpiece can be stably positioned in the groove portion (112).

If the cylindrical workpiece (1) sinks excessively when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is fitted into the groove (112), then it becomes difficult to lift the cylindrical workpiece (1) from the groove (112) when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is thereafter clamped by the pair of gripping portions (142). Therefore, it is desirable to set the depth of the groove portion (112) as follows: the depth of sinking of the cylindrical workpiece (1) when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is fitted into the groove (112) is preferably 20% or less, more preferably 10% or less, and even more preferably 5% or less, relative to the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1). On the other hand, if the groove portion (112) becomes too shallow, the stability of the cylindrical workpiece (1) when it is fitted into the groove portion (112) is lowered. Therefore, it is desirable to set the depth of the groove portion (112) as follows: the depth of sinking of the cylindrical workpiece (1) when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is fitted into the groove (112) is preferably 0.5% or more, more preferably 1% or more, and still more preferably 1.5% or more, relative to the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1). Here, the sinking depth D of the cylindrical workpiece (1) means: the height of the reference surface (111) of the bearing table (110) is equal to the distance between the lowest point of the cylindrical workpiece (1) when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is fitted into the groove (112).

A stopper (120) is provided at one end of the groove (112). By bringing one end of the cylindrical workpiece (1) into contact with the stopper (120), the cylindrical workpiece (1) can be easily positioned in the axial direction when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is placed on the stage (110) without measuring the dimension of the workpiece by a probe (see fig. 2 (b)). The structure of the stopper (120) is not particularly limited as long as an effect of positioning the cylindrical workpiece (1) at a predetermined position in the central axis direction of the cylindrical workpiece (1) can be obtained. Thus, the stopper may have a structure such as a wall, a rod, a fence, a lattice, or the like, but preferably has a wall surface perpendicular to the direction in which the groove portion (112) extends. From the viewpoint of stable positioning, the wall surface is more preferably set to a size and a position that can be brought into contact with the entire bottom surface at one end of the columnar workpiece (1).

The drilling machine (130) is disposed vertically above the groove (112), typically vertically above the center of the groove (112) in the lateral direction, and is movable at least in the vertical direction. The drilling machine (130) has a drill (132) extending in the vertical direction. The drill 130 is lowered while the drill 132 is rotated, thereby making it possible to drill the upper portion of the side surface of the cylindrical workpiece 1. The drill (130) may be configured to be movable in a direction in which the groove (112) extends. Thus, the position of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the central axis direction can be changed with respect to a hole formed in the side surface of the cylindrical workpiece (1). Therefore, in one embodiment, the drilling machine (130) can perform the drilling process through a process of moving vertically downward after moving along the length direction of the groove portion by a predetermined distance.

The diameter, type, material, and rotational speed of the drill (132) may be appropriately selected and determined according to the material of the cylindrical workpiece, the size of the hole, and the like. For example, the diameter of the drill (132) may be set to 15mm Φ to 45mm Φ, and typically 25mm Φ to 35mm Φ. The type of the drill (132) may be electrodeposition (japanese), metal bonding (japanese メタルボンド), or the like. The material of the drill (132) may be cemented carbide, high-speed steel, or the like. The rotational speed of the drill (132) may be set to 1200 to 10000rpm, typically 4000 to 8000 rpm.

In one embodiment, the drilling device (100) is provided with a control device (150) and can drive the drilling machine (130) by moving the drilling machine according to a command from the control device (150). For example, the control device (150) may issue an indication that: the drill 130 is moved to a predetermined position based on the target diameter of the cylindrical workpiece 1, and a hole is drilled at a predetermined depth from the position in the vertical direction. The structure of such a drilling device can be realized by a servo mechanism of an NC machine tool, for example.

However, in this embodiment, when a dimensional error occurs in the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1), a dimensional error in the depth of the hole occurs. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, the drilling device (100) is provided with a detector (152), and the detector (152) can detect the contact time with the cylindrical workpiece (1) according to the change of the main shaft load of the drill (132). In this case, the control device (150) may be configured to: an instruction for drilling with a predetermined depth is issued to a drill (130) when the drill (130) contacts a cylindrical workpiece (1). According to the embodiment, even if a dimensional error occurs in the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1), the advantage that the drilling at the target depth can be always achieved is obtained.

The chuck (140) has a pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b), and the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) are movable so as to be symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis of the drill (132) and to be close to each other in a horizontal direction (left-right direction) perpendicular to the direction in which the groove portion (112) extends. Examples of the chuck having such a mechanism include a parallel opening and closing type air chuck MHS2 series having a wedge cam mechanism manufactured by SMC corporation. Therefore, when the drilling device (100) is viewed from the front, the pair of gripping portions (142) are close to each other in the left-right direction around the rotation axis of the drill (132), and therefore, the rotation axis A of the drill (132) can be always disposed vertically above the central axis of the cylindrical workpiece (1) by only gripping the cylindrical workpiece (1) by the pair of gripping portions (142) regardless of the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1). That is, when only the cylindrical workpiece (1) is placed on the stage (110), it is difficult to align the center of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the left-right direction with the center axis of the drill with high accuracy, but according to the present embodiment, the workpiece can be positioned in the left-right direction with high accuracy without performing dimension measurement on the workpiece using a probe.

Fig. 9 and 10 are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining an example of the operation principle of horizontally moving the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) in bilateral symmetry by the wedge cam mechanism. The chuck (140) is provided with: a chuck body (146); a piston (149a) housed in the chuck body (146) and configured to be capable of reciprocating in the vertical direction; an end plate 148 that restricts movement of the piston (149 a); and a finger (147) that is linked to the piston (149a) and can be opened and closed horizontally in a bilaterally symmetrical manner.

In the present embodiment, the stage (110) is divided into two parts. Each part of the platform (110) is fixed to each gripping part of the pair of gripping parts (142a, 142 b). Further, each part of the platform (110) is fixed to each part of the pair of fingers (147a, 147b) and can move in conjunction with the pair of fingers (147a, 147 b).

The piston (149a) has a cam (149b) at the tip thereof, which can convert the vertical motion of the piston into the horizontal motion of a pair of fingers (147a, 147 b). The cam (149b) is formed in a wedge shape symmetrical with respect to the central axis of the piston (149a), and when the piston (147) is raised, the pair of fingers (147a, 147b) are opened in the horizontal direction with the central axis of the piston (149a) as the axis of symmetry (see fig. 9). When the piston (149a) is lowered, the pair of fingers (147a, 147b) are closed in the horizontal direction with the central axis of the piston as the axis of symmetry (see fig. 9). Therefore, the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) of the chuck (140) can be moved in the left-right direction symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the drill (132) by matching the center axis of the piston (149a) with the position of the rotation axis of the drill (132) in the left-right direction.

The pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) have a pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144b) that are vertically open and are vertically symmetrical, respectively. According to this configuration, when the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) are moved in the horizontal direction so as to approach each other and the cylindrical workpiece (1) is gripped by the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b), the cylindrical workpiece (1) gradually climbs up to the inclined surface (144a) on the lower side as the distance between the two decreases. When the pair of gripping portions (142) further approach each other, the operation of the cylindrical workpiece (1) is stopped at the point of contact with the upper inclined surface (144b), and is locked in a state of being sandwiched between the lower inclined surface (144a) and the upper inclined surface (144 b). At this time, the lower inclined surface (144a) and the upper inclined surface (144B) are configured to be vertically symmetrical, and therefore, the center of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the vertical direction is always disposed at the center (on the symmetry axis B) of the pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144B) in the vertical direction regardless of the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1). In addition, according to the structure, even if the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1) is deviated, only the dimension error corresponding to the radius is generated. Therefore, even if the hole is automatically controlled by a drilling machine to perform the drilling process at a predetermined depth from a predetermined position based on the target diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1), the deviation of the hole depth can be reduced by half compared with the case where the cylindrical workpiece (1) is placed on the stage.

The contour shape of a pair of vertically symmetrical inclined surfaces (144a, 144b) that open vertically can be a broken line shape, a curved line shape, or a combination of a line segment and a curved line in a cross section perpendicular to the direction in which the groove portion (112) extends. For example, the outline shape may be a V shape (a kind of a broken line shape), a U shape (a combination of a line segment and a curved line), an arc shape (a kind of a curved line shape), or a part of any of the above shapes. In the V-shape, the inclined surfaces (144a, 144b) are always in line contact or point contact with the cylindrical workpiece (1), and therefore, resistance to movement of the cylindrical workpiece (1) is small, and the pair of gripping portions can be easily produced.

When the contour shape of the pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144b) is V-shaped, if the internal angle theta of the V-shaped vertex is too large, it is difficult to lift the cylindrical workpiece (1) from the groove (112) when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is clamped by the pair of gripping portions (142). Therefore, the internal angle θ is preferably 170 ° or less, more preferably 150 ° or less, and further preferably 130 ° or less. However, as the interior angle θ decreases, the size of the punch device (100) tends to increase in the left-right direction in fig. 1 (a). Therefore, the internal angle θ is preferably 50 ° or more, more preferably 70 ° or more, and further preferably 90 ° or more.

In order to stably clamp the cylindrical workpiece (1), the length L of the pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144b) in the direction in which the groove (112) extends is preferably 10% or more, more preferably 20% or more, and even more preferably 30% or more, relative to the length of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the central axis direction. In addition, from the viewpoint of suppressing the manufacturing cost of the drilling device, the length of the pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144b) in the direction in which the groove portion (112) extends is preferably 100% or less, more preferably 80% or less, and even more preferably 60% or less, relative to the length of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the central axis direction.

Preferably, the axis of symmetry B of the pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144B) is set at a position higher than the center axis O of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in a state of being fitted in the groove portion (112), so that the cylindrical workpiece (1) can be easily lifted from the groove portion (112) when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is gripped by the pair of gripping portions (142).

Preferably, the lower end (145) of the lower inclined surface (144a) is set at a height position at which the cylindrical workpiece (1) fitted into the groove (112) is easily lifted when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is clamped by the pair of gripping portions (142). Specifically, the height position of the central axis of the cylindrical workpiece (1) is set to H_RAnd the height position of the lower end of the cylindrical workpiece (1) fitted into the groove (112) is preferably 0, and the height position H of the lower end of the lower inclined surface (144a)_LAbove the reference plane (111) of the susceptor (110), i.e. H_L＜H_RMore preferably H_L≤4/5H_RMore preferably H_L≤3/5H_RMost preferably H_L≤2/5H_R。

When the height H in the vertical direction of the pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144b) is too small, it becomes difficult to lift the cylindrical workpiece (1) from the groove (112) when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is gripped by the pair of gripping portions (142). Therefore, the lower limit of the height H is preferably 0.5 times or more, more preferably 0.7 times or more, and further preferably 0.9 times or more, with respect to the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1). This also improves the stability when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is gripped by the pair of gripping portions (142). On the other hand, if the height H is too large, the amount of lifting of the cylindrical workpiece (1) increases to a required level or more, and the hole forming device also unnecessarily increases in the vertical direction. Therefore, the upper limit of the height H is preferably 1.5 times or less, more preferably 1.2 times or less, and further preferably 1.0 times or less, with respect to the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1).

(2. cylindrical work)

The material and structure of the cylindrical workpiece (1) are not particularly limited. For example, a cylindrical workpiece (1) made of ceramic, plastic or metal can be used. The ceramic is not limited, and may be cordierite, mullite, zircon, aluminum titanate, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, zirconia, spinel, indian stone, sapphire, corundum, or titania. The metal is not limited, and examples thereof include copper, aluminum, iron, nickel, and silicon. The plastic is not limited, and examples thereof include thermoplastic resins such as vinyl resins, polystyrene resins, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyacetal, acrylic resins, polycarbonate, polyamide, polyethylene terephthalate, and fluorine resins, and thermosetting resins such as phenol resins, epoxy resins, melamine resins, urea resins, unsaturated polyester resins, alkyd resins, and polyurethane resins. One or a combination of two or more of the above substances may be mixed with the cylindrical workpiece (1), and one or more materials other than the above materials may be further suitably mixed.

Fig. 4 schematically shows a perspective view of an embodiment of a ceramic cylindrical workpiece (1) after drilling. The illustrated cylindrical workpiece (1) has a honeycomb structure including a side surface (2) and a plurality of cells (4), and the cells (4) are arranged inside the side surface (2) and form flow paths that pass from one bottom surface to the other. The plurality of compartments (4) can be partitioned by porous partition walls (3). A bottomed hole (5) opened toward the central axis is formed in the side surface (2).

The shape of the cells in a cross section orthogonal to the direction in which the cells extend (height direction) is not limited, and is preferably a quadrangle, a hexagon, an octagon, or a combination thereof. Among these shapes, a square shape and a hexagonal shape are preferable. By setting the cell shape in this manner, when the fired product of the honeycomb formed body is used as a catalyst carrier or a filter, the pressure loss at the time of flowing the exhaust gas is reduced, and the purification performance becomes excellent.

(3. method of opening hole)

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of forming a hole in a side of a cylindrical workpiece is provided.

The hole opening method can comprise the following steps:

preparing the drilling device (100);

a first positioning step in which the cylindrical workpiece (1) is fitted into the groove (112) such that the direction of the central axis of the cylindrical workpiece (1) coincides with the direction in which the groove extends, and one end of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the direction of the central axis abuts against the stopper (120);

a second positioning step in which the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) of the chuck (140) are moved so as to be symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis of the drill (132) and to approach each other in the horizontal direction (i.e., the "left-right direction") perpendicular to the direction in which the groove portion (112) extends, thereby clamping the opposing side surfaces while raising the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the vertical direction; and

and a step of moving the drill (130) vertically downward and drilling a hole in the side surface of the cylindrical workpiece (1) by the drill (130).

By performing the first positioning step, the center axis of the cylindrical workpiece (1) can be easily positioned when the cylindrical workpiece is placed on the stage (110). In addition, there is an advantage that the prepositioning in the left-right direction can be easily performed. The embodiment of the hole forming device (100) for performing the first positioning step is not described here since it has already been described in the description of the hole forming device.

Fig. 2 shows a state after the completion of the first positioning process. The first positioning step may be performed manually or may be performed automatically by gripping the substrate with a robot arm (not shown). For example, the robot arm may be controlled by an NC apparatus, and may be configured to: the arm is movable in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction, and is rotatable about the axial direction of the arm as a rotation axis. In addition, the robot arm may be configured to: the gripping device includes a gripping claw, and can grip and release a columnar workpiece by opening and closing the gripping claw.

In the first positioning step, a step of rotating the cylindrical workpiece (1) around the central axis thereof may be additionally performed (see fig. 3 (1)). For example, the direction of the cross-sectional shape of the compartment can be adjusted to a predetermined direction by rotating the cylindrical workpiece (1) about the center axis thereof. For example, when the cross-sectional shape of the compartment is a square, the cylindrical workpiece may be rotated so that one side of the compartment is horizontal when the cylindrical workpiece is fitted into the groove portion. In this way, the direction of the cells is controlled in advance so that the direction of the cells is constant in the depth direction of the hole, and therefore, the drilling operation with excellent quality stability can be performed.

Fig. 3(2) shows a state after the second positioning step is completed. By performing the second positioning step, the workpiece can be positioned in the left-right direction with high accuracy without performing the dimension measurement of the workpiece by using a probe. In addition, regardless of the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1), the center of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the vertical direction can be always disposed at the center (on the symmetry axis B) of the pair of inclined surfaces (144a, 144B) in the vertical direction. The embodiment of the hole forming device (100) for performing the second positioning step is not described here since it has already been described in the description of the hole forming device.

After the second positioning step is completed, as shown in fig. 7, the two bottom surfaces of the cylindrical workpiece (1) may be additionally clamped by the vise (122) in the direction in which the groove portion extends (the direction of the arrow in the drawing). Thereby, the movement of the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the direction in which the groove portion extends is restricted, and therefore, the cylindrical workpiece (1) is firmly fixed. This makes it possible to more stably perform the hole forming step in the next step.

Fig. 3(3) shows a state in which the drill (130) is in contact with the cylindrical workpiece (1) in the step of vertically moving the drill (130) downward and drilling the side surface of the cylindrical workpiece (1) with the drill (130). In one embodiment, a hole forming device includes: a detector capable of detecting a timing at which the drill comes into contact with the cylindrical workpiece based on a spindle load of the drill; and a control device capable of issuing an instruction for drilling with a predetermined depth to the drilling machine when the drilling machine contacts the workpiece. In this case, in the step of drilling, the drilling machine may be configured to: the drilling process can be performed to a predetermined depth based on the position at the time of contact with the workpiece and an instruction from the control device. For example, the control device (150) may be configured to: when a signal indicating that the spindle load of the drill (132) has changed due to the drill (132) contacting the cylindrical workpiece is received from the detector (152), a signal indicating drilling at a predetermined depth is transmitted to the drill (130) with reference to the position at the time of contact with the cylindrical workpiece. According to the embodiment, even if a dimensional error occurs in the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece (1), the advantage that drilling at a predetermined depth can be always performed is obtained. The depth of the hole is not particularly limited, and may be generally equal to or smaller than the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece, and typically equal to or smaller than the radius of the cylindrical workpiece. Other embodiments of the hole forming device (100) for performing the hole forming process are already described in the description of the hole forming device, and thus are omitted here.

After the drilling step is performed on the side surface of the cylindrical workpiece (1), the drill (130) is moved vertically upward and pulled out from the cylindrical workpiece (1). Then, the pair of gripping portions (142a, 142b) of the chuck (140) is opened in the left-right direction, so that the cylindrical workpiece (1) slides down from the lower inclined surface (144a) and is fitted into the groove portion (112) again (see fig. 3 (4)). Then, the cylindrical workpiece (1) can be taken out from the drilling device (100).

(4. method for producing cylindrical product)

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing a columnar product including the step of performing the above-described hole forming method. The use of the cylindrical product is not particularly limited. For example, in the case where a cylindrical product has a honeycomb structure, it can be used as a heat exchanger, a catalyst carrier, and the like, in addition to filters such as a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) and a Gasoline Particulate Filter (GPF). In the case of using as a catalyst carrier, one or more catalysts such as a three-way catalyst, an SCR catalyst, and an oxidation catalyst may be supported on the cylindrical product. For example, the sensor may be inserted into a hole opened in a side surface portion of the columnar workpiece by performing a drilling method. The sensor is not limited, and examples thereof include an oxygen sensor, a NOx sensor, an air-fuel ratio sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, and a particulate matter sensor.

(5. method of inspecting cylindrical workpiece)

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of inspecting a cylindrical workpiece, including the steps of: after the above-described hole forming method is performed, a camera (typically, a digital video camera) having a telecentric lens is used to photograph a hole formed in the side surface portion of the cylindrical workpiece (1). According to this inspection method, distortion due to the three-dimensional shape of the cylindrical workpiece captured does not occur, and therefore, one or more inspection items such as the position, shape, and size of the hole can be accurately inspected by the monitor. The timing of the inspection is not particularly limited, and for example, after the hole is formed, when the cylindrical workpiece (1) is held by the chuck (140), a hole (5) opened in the side surface portion of the cylindrical workpiece (1) may be photographed from the vertical upper side by a camera (502) having a telecentric lens (see fig. 5). According to this embodiment, since the hole can be inspected when the hole is opened in the vertical direction from the uppermost portion of the side surface of the cylindrical workpiece, the positional reference of the hole is clear, and the inspection accuracy can be improved.

In this case, information such as the diameter and length of the cylindrical workpiece, the position, size, and length of the hole, and the like may be automatically calculated from the pixel position. Further, as for the calculation result, the side surface portion of the cylindrical workpiece including the hole, the position and size of the hole, and the diameter of the cylindrical workpiece can be displayed on the two-dimensional monitor so as to be overlapped with each other. This can shorten the inspection time.

In the case where the cylindrical workpiece is released from the chuck after the hole forming process, and then the hole of the cylindrical workpiece is inspected, it is preferable to adjust the orientation of the cell while imaging the orientation of the cell by a camera (typically, a digital video camera) (502) having a telecentric lens, so that the positional reference of the hole (5) is clarified in advance (see fig. 6). At this time, for convenience, a line segment (506) indicating the horizontal direction and/or the vertical direction is displayed on the monitor (504) so as to be superimposed on the compartment (4) that has been photographed. For example, the position of the hole (5) can be adjusted to be positioned at the uppermost portion of the side surface by rotating the cylindrical workpiece (1) while observing the orientation of the compartment (4) by means of the monitor (504). Distortion is eliminated by using a camera having a telecentric lens, and therefore, an advantage can be obtained in that the orientation of the compartment can be adjusted more accurately.

When the compartment of the cylindrical workpiece is photographed by a camera, it is preferable to photograph the compartment from a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the cylindrical workpiece in order to prevent distortion. Therefore, it is preferable that: when a camera (502) is used to photograph a cylindrical workpiece (1), a platform (110) is placed on a lifter (508) such as a jack and can move in the vertical direction, so that different parts can be photographed. Thus, different height positions of the cylindrical workpiece (1) can be imaged without moving the camera (502). The elevator (508) is preferably configured to: the displacement control can be performed by a controller (509), preferably a remote controller. After the positional reference of the hole (5) is clarified, the hole (5) opened in the side surface portion of the cylindrical workpiece (1) is imaged from the vertical upper side by a camera (502) having a telecentric lens, whereby a predetermined inspection item can be inspected.

As another inspection method of the cylindrical workpiece after the above-described hole opening method is performed, there is a method of inspecting the position of the hole by using a three-dimensional coordinate measuring machine provided with a contact probe. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a method of inspecting a hole position using the three-dimensional coordinate measuring machine (160). In the illustrated embodiment, the three-dimensional coordinate measuring apparatus (160) includes a contact probe (161) that can be controlled to move in an xyz direction (the x direction is a direction in which the groove extends, the y direction is a chuck movement direction, and the z direction is a vertical direction) at the tip, and can specify a three-dimensional coordinate position when the contact probe (161) is in contact with the object. By using the three-dimensional coordinate measuring machine (160), the depth of a hole (5) bored in the side surface of a cylindrical workpiece (1) can be measured, for example, by the following procedure. First, a contact probe (161) is brought into contact with a side surface of a cylindrical workpiece (1) which is slightly displaced in the x-axis direction with respect to the position of a hole of the cylindrical workpiece (1), and the coordinates of the position are recorded. Then, the contact probe (161) is brought into contact with the deepest central portion of the hole (5), and the coordinates of the position are recorded. The depth of the hole (5) can be checked by measuring the distance in the z-axis direction of the two coordinates.