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US-12626074-B2 - Marking and readout methods to be carried out by means of a processing machine, processing method, processing machine and production line

US12626074B2US 12626074 B2US12626074 B2US 12626074B2US-12626074-B2

Abstract

To enable simple identification of a workpiece with little effort during machining of a workpiece on a processing machine, a marking method is provided which is to be carried out via the processing machine. The method includes a) providing a tool on a rotatable tool holder of the processing machine, b) relative linear movement of the tool holder and the workpiece along a line on the surface of the workpiece, and c) controlling the distance of tool holder and workpiece during the linear movement, so that a pattern of markings is produced along the line by machining with the tool to form the identification mark on the surface of the workpiece. Furthermore, a readout method, a machining method and a processing machine configured for carrying the method are provided.

Inventors

  • Benjamin Kormann

Assignees

  • GROB-WERKE GMBH & CO. KG

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20240313
Priority Date
20230316

Claims (13)

  1. 1 . A marking method to be performed by a processing machine for machining for marking a workpiece, the method comprising: a) providing a tool for machining on a rotatable tool holder of the processing machine, b) relatively linearly moving the rotating tool holder and the workpiece along a line on a surface of the workpiece, and c) controlling a distance of tool holder and workpiece during the linear movement so that the tool selectively assumes a processing position for machining the workpiece and a release position, in which the tool does not grip the workpiece, during the linear movement such that no oscillating movement is performed for marking, but rather the tool and the workpiece are moved relatively in a straight line, and only for omitting certain markings, a distance between the workpiece and the tool is adjusted from the engagement position, where markings are produced, to the release position, where markings are omitted, so that a pattern of markings with different spacings, or lengths or both, is produced along the line by machining with the tool to form a linear identification mark on the surface of the workpiece.
  2. 2 . The marking method according to claim 1 , wherein step a) comprises one or more of the steps: a1) selecting the tool from a group of tools comprising a cutting tool, a milling cutter, a single-edged tool, a multi-edged tool, a ball cutter, a single-edged ball cutter, a beveled milling cutter and combinations of the aforementioned tools, or a2) providing the tool on a spindle of the processing machine.
  3. 3 . The marking method according to claim 1 , wherein step b) comprises at least one or more of the following steps: b1) substantially uniform linear relative moving of the rotatable tool holder and the workpiece; b2) controlling a speed of the relative movement to produce a predetermined form of the markings; b3) moving at least one of the workpiece or moving the rotatable tool holder; or b4) rotating the tool holder at a substantially constant speed.
  4. 4 . The marking method according to claim 1 , wherein step c) comprises at least one or more of the following steps: c1) cyclically engaging and releasing the tool and the workpiece to remove a piece of material from the surface of the workpiece at predetermined locations to create a marking; c2) lifting the tool from the surface of the workpiece to skip points; c3) varying a distance of tool holder and workpiece at least one of to influence a size of the markings or to produce a grayscale marking; c4) introducing one or more dots, lines or indentations as markings into the workpiece, at least one of an arrangement or dimension of the workpiece containing readable data or information of the identification mark; c5) generating round markings; c6) generating parallelogram-shaped markings; or c7) generating rectangular or square markings.
  5. 5 . The marking method according to claim 1 , wherein steps b) and c) are repeated at spaced lines to produce a two-dimensional pattern of markings to create the identification mark.
  6. 6 . A read-out method to be performed by processing machine for machining for reading an identification mark which is obtainable or has been generated by a marking method according to claim 1 , comprising: d) contacting a surface of a workpiece provided with the identification mark via a touch probe of the processing machine; e) relative linear movement of the touch probe contacting the surface and the workpiece along a line of markings of the identification mark, and f) detecting deflections of the touch probe depending on a position in order to read out the identification mark.
  7. 7 . The read-out method according to claim 6 , comprising at least one or more of the steps: scanning the surface of the workpiece containing the marking with the touch probe; or using an indexing probe.
  8. 8 . A tool processing method for machining workpieces with a processing machine, comprising: g) performing a marking method according to claim 1 to provide the workpiece with an identification mark; h) identifying the workpiece by reading out the identification mark, via a readout method comprising: d) contacting a surface of a workpiece provided with the identification mark via a touch probe of the processing machine; e) relative linear movement of the touch probe contacting the surface and the workpiece along a line of markings of the identification mark, and f) detecting deflections of the touch probe depending on a position in order to read out the identification mark; and, i) carrying out processing of the workpiece as a function of the identification carried out in step h).
  9. 9 . The tool processing method according to claim 8 , wherein step g) is carried out during an execution of a first processing step for machining the workpiece, and wherein steps h) and i) are carried out during an execution of a second processing step to be carried out at least one of as a function of the first processing step or as a function of the type of workpiece.
  10. 10 . A processing machine for machining workpieces, comprising: a machining device with at least one tool provided on a tool holder for machining, a tool holder drive unit for driving the tool holder, a relative movement unit configured to relatively move the tool holder and the workpiece, a measuring device configured to detect a position of a surface region of the workpiece and a controller, wherein the processing machine is configured to carry out a method according to claim 1 .
  11. 11 . The processing machine according to claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to control the processing machine for carrying out the method.
  12. 12 . A production line comprising a plurality of processing machines according to claim 10 .
  13. 13 . A computer program comprising machine-readable instructions which cause a processing machine for machining workpieces, comprising a machining device with at least one tool provided on a tool holder for machining, a tool holder drive unit for driving the tool holder, a relative movement unit configured to relatively move the tool holder and the workpiece, and a measuring device configured to detect the position of a surface region of the workpiece, and a controller, to perform the method according to claim 1 .

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of the German Patent Application No. 102023106632.3, filed on Mar. 16, 2023, and of the European Patent Application No. 23177645.1 filed on Jun. 6, 2023, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by way of reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a marking method for marking a workpiece which is to be carried out by means of a processing machine for machining. The invention also relates to a readout method to be carried out by means of a processing machine for machining for reading an identification mark which is obtainable or has been generated by such a marking method. The invention also relates to a tool processing method for machining workpieces by means of a processing machine while carrying out such a marking and/or readout method. The invention further relates to a processing machine which is designed to carry out one or more of the aforementioned processes. Furthermore, the invention relates to a production line comprising several of such processing machines. Finally, the invention relates to a computer program with instructions for carrying out one or more such processes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With regard to the technological background and prior art, reference is made, in particular, to the following literature: [1] DE 29 29 673 A1[2] Werkzeugmachine—Wikipedia; retrieved on May 12, 2023 at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werkzeugmaschine[3] Bearbeitungszentrum—Wikipedia, retrieved on May 12, 2023 at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearbeitungszentrum[4] WO2013/120076A1[5] DE 11 2016 003 020 T5[6] US 2020/016 690 A1[7] CN 205970541 U[8] WO 2014/113 865 A1[9] US 2014/263 667 A1[10] GB 1 201 487 A[11] Website: https://www.grobgroup.com/produkte/produktbereiche/zerspanungstechnik/bearbe itungszentren/ The literature references [4] to [10] disclose different methods and devices for labeling or marking objects. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In references [1] to [3], various examples of numerically controlled processing machines for the machining of workpieces are known. Examples of processing machines for machining are, in particular, numerically controlled machine tools, see reference [2], for turning, milling and/or drilling. A particularly preferred form of machine tools in embodiments of the invention are machining centers, see references [3] and [11]. It is known from reference [1] that numerically controlled machine tools (as defined in reference [2]) or similar machine tools, in particular machining centers (see reference [3]), can include probes to detect the progress and/or quality of machining by probing the workpiece. Currently, in many production systems, each workpiece is marked individually as the first work step and identified in subsequent work sequences. Common methods of marking are: stickerslaseringneedle embossingscrew fixing an RFID tag after the first machining operationCommon methods of readout:scannerscamerasRFID readers The following points are reasons for marking and identifying workpieces: Identification of the Workpiece Type In order to carry out the appropriate subsequent operations, it is advantageous to identify the workpiece type. A workpiece that was processed as type A in the first operation should also be processed as type A in the next operation. Assignment of Workpieces to Batches If a problem is detected in a particular batch, the corresponding workpieces can be blocked and sorted out. For example, all workpieces that were processed on a specific machine on a specific day could be sorted out because a problem was detected with this machine during this period. Evaluation of Meta Data With the aid of workpiece identification, data such as the duration of a particular operation, throughput times, errors that have occurred, etc., can be determined. This allows post-calculations, error analysis, etc. to be carried out automatically. The disadvantage of existing workpiece marking and identification techniques is that special devices or additional hardware (laser, needle embossers, scanners, cameras, RFID readers) or consumables (stickers, RFID tags) are required for both marking and identification. There is also a risk of confusion when using hand-held scanners manually. The operator may want to scan workpiece A, but place workpiece B in the machine. It is an object of the invention to simplify the identification of workpieces in the course of machining. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to a first aspect of the invention, the invention provides a marking method for marking a workpiece to be carried out by means of a processing machine for machining, comprising: a) providing a tool for machining on a rotatable tool holder of the processing machine,b) relative linear movement of the rotating tool holder and the workpiece along a line on the surface of the workpiece,c) controlling the distance of tool holder and workpiece during the linear movement so that the tool sel