Abstract:
The method can include: assembling the part to be machined to a pallet into an assembly; measuring a centering of the part relative to the pallet; adjusting the centering of the part relative to the pallet based on said measuring; repeating the steps of measuring and adjusting until determining that the part is centered based on said measuring; and mounting the centered assembly to an automatic machining device and machining the part of the centered assembly with the automatic machining device.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The application relates generally to automatic machine tool (CNC machine) operations and, more particularly, to managing the production of a CNC machine having a lathe. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE ART 
     CNC machines often combine multiple tools (e.g. lathe and mill) into a single ‘cell’, and can be expensive pieces of equipment. There is thus a significant motivation to optimize yield of existing machines in a production plant prior to considering the acquisition of an additional machine. These machines are often operated on three shifts and efforts are made to limit the amount of downtime during each shift. 
     Apart from normal maintenance operations and repairs, downtime is also present during the step of removing the machined part from the machine and positioning a subsequent part thereon. To address this latter form of downtime, it was known to use specialized equipment referred to as ‘pallets’ which can be mounted and dismounted to the CNC machine faster than the amount of time it would take to correctly mount and dismount the part itself from the CNC machine. With more than one pallet made available for any given CNC machine, the operator can mount the next part in the production line to a corresponding pallet while a part is being machined by the CNC machine, and the pallets can then be interchanged as soon as the machining is completed. 
     This latter system reduced downtime and improved machining efficiency. However, in the case of CNC machines having a lathe, the operator still had to center the part on the automatic machine tool. There thus remained room for improvement. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one aspect, there is provided a method of machining a part, the method comprising: assembling the part to be machined to a pallet into an assembly; rotating the assembly; measuring a centering of the part relative to the pallet during said rotating; if required based on said measuring, adjusting the centering of the part relative to the pallet; and mounting the centered assembly to an automatic machine tool and machining the mounted part with the automatic machine tool. 
     In another aspect, there is provided a method of machining a part, the method comprising: assembling the part to be machined to a pallet into an assembly; measuring a centering of the part relative to the pallet; adjusting the centering of the part relative to the pallet based on said measuring; repeating the steps of measuring and adjusting until determining that the part is centered based on said measuring; and mounting the centered assembly to an automatic machining device and machining the part of the centered assembly with the automatic machining device. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Reference is now made to the accompanying FIGURES in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a side elevation view of a part to be machined mounted to a pallet. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an embodiment of a part  10  to be lathed with a high degree of precision in a CNC machine cell—a scenario which is common to a relatively high number of parts in the aerospace industry. 
     The part  10  to be machined is mounted to a pallet  12  which is specifically adapted to be rapidly mountable to the chuck of the lathe of the CNC machine (not shown). The chuck of the lathe of the CNC machine can automatically center the pallet  12  relative to the coordinate system of the CNC machine within a high degree of precision (e.g. within 0.0002″). However, the part  10  needs to be precisely centered relative to the pallet for this high degree of precision to be transferred over to the part. 
     Typically, pallets  12  have a permanent component  12   a  which are specific to a given CNC machine cell. However, to allow adaptability of the pallet  12  to different models of parts having different configurations and different sizes, an adapter  14  can be used. The adapter  14  is typically a component which is securely fastened against the permanent component  12   a  of the pallet on one face and which is specifically adapted to receive a given model of part  10  on the other face. In this embodiment, the adapter  14  can be changed to adapt the pallet  12  to a different model of part. 
     In this example, the mechanical interfaces between the adapter  14  and the permanent component  12   a  of the pallet  12 , and between the part  10  and the adapter  14 , can be sources of misalignment between the axis  16  of the part and the axis  18  of the pallet. Such misalignment can exceed the tight tolerances required. 
     The part  10  can be mounted to the adapter  14  by clamping in a manner to allow adjustments to be made to correct such misalignment. This can be done by measuring the centering of the part  10  relative to the coordinate system of the CNC machine while the part  10  is mounted to the chuck of the lathe. This can be done using a suitable indicator positioned at fixed coordinates in the coordinate system of the CNC machine and positioned against a locating diameter  20  of the part  10 , rotating the chuck, and measuring the deviation of the locating diameter  20  of the part  10  by monitoring the indicator during the rotation. The centering can then be done by partially unclamping the part from the adapter, providing a suitable impact on the part, and fully reclamping the part to the adapter. This process can be repeated until the part is measured to be satisfactorily centered relative to the coordinate system of the CNC machine. However, this process can be relatively time-consuming and corresponds to undesired down time of the CNC machine. 
     It was found that this latter source of down time can be mitigated by centering the part  10  relative to the pallet  12  separately from the chuck of the CNC machine, while the CNC machine is busy machining another part. Since the pallet  12  can be precisely and rapidly received into the chuck, the part to be machined will automatically be centered in the CNC machine coordinate system if it is precisely centered relative to the center line  18  of the pallet  12 . 
     In this embodiment, the pallet  12  is provided with a locating diameter  22  to this end. The locating diameter  22  can be internal or external, and can be satisfactorily provided by machining with the corresponding CNC machine beforehand, to name an example. 
     The assembly formed by the pallet  12  and part  10  (optionally including the adapter  14 ), can be mounted into a chuck and rotated in a set-up station  24  independently from the CNC machine operation. Rather than measuring the centering of the part  10  relative to the CNC machine coordinate system, the centering of the part  10  is measured relative to the pallet  12 . This can be achieved by using two dial indicators  26 ,  28 —one  26  applied to the locating diameter  20  of the part  10  and the other  28  applied to the locating diameter  22  of the pallet  12 —during said rotation and by monitoring the relative run-out (delta value) therebetween, or in any other suitable manner. The adjustments deemed necessary based on the measurement can then be performed at the set-up station  24  (typically in the form of suitable impacts onto the part while the clamp is half-released), and the process repeated until the relative run-out is measured to be within given tolerances, while the CNC machine is at work on another part. As soon as the other part machining operations are finished, the finished part and its pallet can be removed from the CNC machine and the part  10  and pallet  12  previously readied at the set-up station  24  can be mounted to the chuck in a relatively rapid, and pre-centered, manner. 
     Depending on the particular application, the degree of automation of the set-up station can vary from mainly manual operation to highly automated centering of the part. 
     The above description is meant to be exemplary only, and one skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made to the embodiments described without departing from the scope of the invention disclosed. For example, an interchangeable adapter is integrated with the pallet in the illustrated embodiment. Such an adapter is optional and can be omitted in alternate embodiments. Moreover, alternate ways to obtain an indication of relative centering between the part to be machined and the pallet than dial indicators can be used in alternate embodiments, such as using systems based on artificial vision or the like. Still other modifications which fall within the scope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, in light of a review of this disclosure, and such modifications are intended to fall within the appended claims.