Machining device and machining method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9902003-B2
Application number	US-201515116125-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 29, 2015
Priority date	Feb 3, 2014
Publication date	Feb 27, 2018
Grant date	Feb 27, 2018

Abstract

The present invention achieves a machining apparatus which can easily be composed and a machining method which can perform gear machining or splined shaft machining easily by using an existing lathe. More specifically, the invention achieves a machining apparatus 1 comprising: a cutter 11 which includes a blade part 20 formed in the shape of a ring around a peripheral surface thereof and which is driven to rotate about an axis thereof; a workpiece holder 13 which holds a workpiece W rotatably; and a cutter driver 12 which moves the cutter 11 and the workpiece W relative to each other along an axial direction, wherein a gear or a splined shaft is formed on the peripheral surface of the workpiece W by synchronizing the rotation of the workpiece W with the relative movement of the cutter 11 and the workpiece W and by rotating the cutter 11, and wherein a plurality of the blade parts 20 are disposed side by side along the axis, the cutter driver 12 drives the cutter 11 to rotate in one direction around the axis and to reciprocate relative to the workpiece W along the axis, the workpiece holder 13 rotates the workpiece W in a forward/reverse direction in accordance with reciprocation of the cutter 11, and cutting is performed on the workpiece W so as to form thereon an external shape of a gear or a splined shaft by placing each of the blade parts 20 of the cutter 11 in contact with the peripheral surface of the workpiece W.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A machining apparatus comprising:
a cutter which includes a plurality of blade parts that are disposed side by side along an axis, each of the blade parts being formed in the shape of a respective ring around a peripheral surface of the cutter, wherein the cutter is driven to rotate about the axis;
a workpiece holder which holds a workpiece rotatably;
a cutter driver which moves the cutter relative to the workpiece along an axial direction of the cutter along the axis; and
a controller, wherein
an external shape of a gear or a shaft having a gear-shaped cross-section is formed on the peripheral surface of the workpiece by synchronizing the rotation of the workpiece with the relative movement of the cutter and the workpiece and by pressing the cutter onto the workpiece while rotating the cutter,
the controller is configured to cause the cutter driver to drive the cutter to rotate in one direction around the axis and to reciprocate relative to the workpiece in two opposite directions along the axis, and
the controller is configured to cause the workpiece holder to rotate the workpiece in accordance with the reciprocation of the cutter such that the controller is configured to cause the workpiece holder to rotate in a forward direction when the cutter is moving in one of the directions along the axis, and is configured to cause the workpiece holder to rotate the workpiece in a reverse direction when the cutter is moving in the other direction along the axis, such that cutting is performed on the workpiece so as to form thereon the external shape of a gear or the shaft having a gear-shaped cross-section by placing each of the blade parts of the cutter in contact with the peripheral surface of the workpiece.

2. The machining apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cutting forms the shaft having a gear-shaped cross-section, wherein the shaft is composed of a splined shaft or a serrated shaft.

3. The machining apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the reciprocation of the cutter by the cutter driver and the forward and reverse rotation by the workpiece holder in such a manner that a direction and speed of reciprocation of the cutter and a direction and speed of rotation of the workpiece are synchronized with each other at.

4. The machining apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the blade parts is composed of a plurality of cutting blades disposed at prescribed spaced intervals around the peripheral surface of the cutter.

5. The machining apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the blade parts is composed of a cutting blade formed continuously so as to go around the axis.

6. A machining method comprising steps of:
rotating a cutter in one direction around an axis, the cutter having a plurality of blade parts disposed side by side along the axis, each blade part being formed in the shape of a respective ring around a peripheral surface of the cutter, as well as reciprocating the cutter relative to a workpiece in two opposite directions along the axis;
rotating the workpiece in a forward direction when the cutter is moving in one of the directions along the axis, and rotating the workpiece in a reverse direction when the cutter is moving in the other direction along the axis, in accordance with reciprocation of the cutter; and
cutting the workpiece so as to form thereon an external shape of a gear or a shaft having a gear-shaped cross-section by placing each of the blade parts of the cutter in contact with the peripheral surface of the workpiece.

7. The machining method according to claim 6 , wherein the cutting forms the shaft having a gear-shaped cross-section, wherein the shaft is composed of a splined shaft or a serrated shaft.

8. The machining method according to claim 6 , wherein the steps of rotating the workpiece in the forward and reverse directions in accordance with reciprocation of the cutter include the step of synchronizing a direction and speed of reciprocation of the cutter and a direction and speed of rotation of the workpiece.

9. The machining method according to claim 6 , wherein the each of blade parts is composed of a plurality of cutting blades disposed at prescribed spaced intervals around the peripheral surface of the cutter.

10. The machining apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein each of the blade parts is composed of a cutting blade formed continuously so as to go around the axis.

Assignees

• Citizen Watch Co Ltd
• Citizen Machinery Co Ltd

Inventors

• Takahashi Hikaru

Classifications

• Y10T409/101749

  Process · CPC title

• Y10T409/108586

  Plural rotary cutters · CPC title

• B23C2210/244

  Milling cutters comprised of disc-shaped modules or multiple disc-like cutters · CPC title

• B23C3/30

  Milling straight grooves, e.g. keyways · CPC title

• B23C5/10

  Shank-type cutters, i.e. with an integral shaft · CPC title