Patent ID: 6074329
Filing Date: 2000-06-13
Classification: G05B,Y02P,Y10T

Abstract:
A flexible manufacturing system comprising:at least one base serving as a machining line and extending along a transferred direction of a workpiece;a guideway formed on said base in a first horizontal direction parallel with a longitudinal direction of said base;plural spindle heads arranged at predetermined intervals in the first horizontal direction, said spindle head is so configured that a tool spindle is rotatably supported by a motor to a top end portion of which a tool is secured;plural workpiece transfer units movably guided on said guideway of said machining line at the same time in which the workpiece to be machined is supported, each of said workpiece transfer units comprising:a first feed mechanism for independently feeding each of said plural workpiece transfer units in the first horizontal direction;a traveling member provided in each of said plural workpiece transfer units and guided with said guideway, said traveling member being movable in the first horizontal direction by said first feed mechanism;a workpiece supporting device provided on each of said traveling members to hold the workpiece to be machined;a guide mechanism provided on each of said movable members to feed said workpiece supporting device in two other directions different from the first horizontal direction; andsecond and third feed mechanisms provided on each of said traveling members for feeding said workpiece supporting device in said two other directions along said guide mechanisms; anda control unit according to a control program stored therein for indexing each of said plural workpiece transfer units to the front of at least some of said spindle heads and for feeding at least one of said first, second and third feed mechanisms in at least one of said first horizontal direction and said two other directions, to machine the workpiece positioned at the front of said spindle head by moving said workpiece supporting device;wherein each of said workpiece transfer units is sequentially input from a starting end of said machining line and is sequentially output from a finishing end thereof so as to substantially move in one direction of said first horizontal direction.