Injection molding system and injection molding method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10730217-B2
Application number	US-201815946020-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 5, 2018
Priority date	Apr 7, 2017
Publication date	Aug 4, 2020
Grant date	Aug 4, 2020

Abstract

A numerical controller instructs a robot or an automated machine (external device), in relation to a main task for which a retrying operation thereof has occurred, to execute, instead of or in addition to the main task, a sorting task to distinguish an exception molded product, which was produced from a time when a determination result became successful, and until a physical quantity to be measured lies within a management range, or until a stand-by time elapses, from a normal molded product produced before the occurrence of the retrying operation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An injection molding system comprising:
an injection molding machine having a function of producing a molded product for each of respective molding cycles by injection molding, and having a sensor that measures a physical quantity to be managed;
a robot capable of carrying out at least one main task involved in operation of the injection molding machine during the molding cycles; and
a controller that comprises a processing device programmed to instruct the robot to carry out a determination in relation to success or failure of the main task executed by the robot, and to retry, when a determination result is a failure, the main task until the determination result becomes successful;
wherein the processing device is further programmed to determine that a sorting task is needed that distinguishes a molded product produced from a time when the determination result with respect to the main task that the robot has been instructed to retry became successful until the physical quantity lies within a management range, or from said time until a predetermined stand-by time elapses, from molded products produced before the occurrence of the retrying operation,
wherein the processing device is further programmed to instruct the robot to execute any one of a task of releasing, at a different sorting location compared to the molded products produced before the occurrence of the retrying operation, the molded product for which it is determined that the sorting task is needed, a task of marking, or a task of discarding.

2. The injection molding system according to claim 1 , wherein, as the main task, the robot executes at least one of a task of taking out and releasing the molded product, and a task of inserting an insert component.

3. The injection molding system according to claim 1 , wherein the controller instructs that different sorting tasks be executed depending on an amount of divergence between the measured physical quantity and the management range.

4. The injection molding system according to claim 1 , wherein the injection molding machine is equipped with a function of measuring the physical quantity which relates to product quality of the molded product.

5. The injection molding system according to claim 1 , wherein the injection molding machine comprises a mold in which a plurality of cavities are formed.

6. An injection molding method in which there is used an injection molding system configured to include an injection molding machine having a function of producing a molded product for each of respective molding cycles by injection molding, and having a sensor that measures a physical quantity to be managed, and a robot capable of carrying out at least one main task involved in operation of the injection molding machine during the molding cycles, the injection molding method of each of the injection molding cycles comprising:
a determining step of determining success or failure of the main task executed by the robot;
a retrying step of executing, in the case that a determination result is a failure, a retrying operation of the main task by the robot until the determination result becomes successful; and
an executing determining step in which it is determined that a sorting task is needed that distinguishes a molded product produced from a time when the determination result with respect to the main task that the robot has been instructed to retry became successful until the physical quantity lies within a management range, or from said time until a predetermined stand-by time elapses, from molded products produced before the occurrence of the retrying operation,
a step of the robot executing any one of a task of releasing, at a different sorting location compared to the molded products produced before the occurrence of the retrying operation, the molded product for which it is determined that the sorting task is needed, a task of marking, or a task of discarding,
wherein, during at least one of the injection molding cycles, the determining step determines failure of the main task executed by the robot.

Assignees

• Fanuc Corp

Inventors

• Oono Hajime
• Seki Naoaki
• Mori Ryousuke

Classifications

• B29C2945/76899

  Removing or handling ejected articles · CPC title

• B29C45/7626 Primary

  the ejection or removal of moulded articles · CPC title

• B29C2945/76769

  Moulded articles · CPC title

• B29C2945/7624

  Ejection unit · CPC title

• B29C2945/76421

  Removing or handling ejected articles · CPC title