Spring winding machine with an adjustable cutting device

Abstract

A spring winding machine that manufactures helical springs by spring winding includes a feed device that feeds wire to a shaping device, wherein the shaping device has a winding tool and a pitch die; a cutting device that separates a finished helical spring from the wire after termination of shaping, wherein the cutting device has a cutting tool which, by a drive system, can be moved along a predefinable closed trajectory; a control device that controls the feed device, the shaping device and the cutting device on the basis of an NC control program; and a programmable trajectory-setting system that sets the shape and/or position of the trajectory to be passed through by the cutting tool, wherein a trajectory which is mirror-symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry and has a predefinable ratio of height to width.

1 . A spring winding machine that manufactures helical springs by spring winding comprising:
 a feed device that feeds wire to a shaping device, wherein the shaping device has at least one winding tool and at least one pitch die;   a cutting device that separates a finished helical spring from the fed wire after termination of a shaping operation, wherein the cutting device has a cutting tool which, by a cutting tool drive system, can be moved along a predefinable closed trajectory;   a control device that controls the feed device, the shaping device and the cutting device on the basis of an NC control program; and   a programmable trajectory-setting system that sets the shape and/or position of the trajectory to be passed through by the cutting tool, wherein a linear trajectory, an elliptical or egg-shaped trajectory, which is mirror-symmetrical with respect to a plane of symmetry and has a predefinable ratio of height to width, or an asymmetrical trajectory with a non-mirror-symmetrical profile which deviates from an elliptical shape or egg shape can optionally be set.   
     
     
         2 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the cutting tool drive system has a first drive which can be actuated by the control device and generates a first movement of the cutting tool, and a second drive which can be activated by the control device independently of the first drive and generates a second movement of the cutting tool which is superimposed on the first movement. 
     
     
         3 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 2 , wherein the first drive generates a linear to-and-fro first movement of the cutting tool in a first direction running in the longitudinal direction of the cutting tool, and the second drive is an actuating drive which, during the linear to-and-fro movement of the cutting tool in the first direction, additionally generates a pivoting movement of the cutting tool, moved to and fro, about an axis running perpendicular to a working plane. 
     
     
         4 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 2 , wherein the cutting tool is attached to a carriage which can be moved linearly to and fro along a linear guide in a first direction, and the linear guide is attached to a pivoting element which can pivot about a pivoting axle running perpendicularly to the first direction, and the first drive is coupled to the carriage and the second drive is coupled to the pivoting element. 
     
     
         5 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the control device is configured for teach-in programming. 
     
     
         6 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 5 , wherein the control device is configured such that in a programming configuration, the cutting tool can be positioned manually at one or more positions in the region of a desired trajectory, coordinates of the positions can be stored in a memory of the control device, a trajectory can be calculated using the coordinates, and the cutting tool can be moved along the trajectory in an operating configuration under control of the control device. 
     
     
         7 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the trajectory-setting system is configured to permit at least three of the following settings independently of one another:
 (i) an ellipse width of the trajectory between a minimum value 0 for a straight cut and a maximum value relating to a maximum height of the ellipse;   (ii) horizontal shifting of the entire trajectory between a minimum value and a maximum value;   (iii) inclination of the trajectory between a value 0 for a vertically orientated trajectory, an inclination of the trajectory in the direction of the feed device and an inclination of the trajectory in the opposite direction;   (iv) shifting of the trajectory in its entirety in the vertical direction.   
     
     
         8 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 1 , wherein the feed device is configured to continuously feed the wire, and the cutting device has a cutting tool which can be driven in rotation, and the spring winding machine is configured such that the finished helical spring is separated from the feed wire by a rotating flying cut. 
     
     
         9 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 3 , wherein the cutting tool is attached to a carriage which can be moved linearly to and fro along a linear guide in a first direction, and the linear guide is attached to a pivoting element which can pivot about a pivoting axle running perpendicularly to the first direction, and the first drive is coupled to the carriage and the second drive is coupled to the pivoting element. 
     
     
         10 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 2 , wherein the control device is configured for teach-in programming. 
     
     
         11 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 3 , wherein the control device is configured for teach-in programming. 
     
     
         12 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 4 , wherein the control device is configured for teach-in programming. 
     
     
         13 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 2 , wherein the trajectory-setting system is configured to permit at least three of the following settings independently of one another:
 (i) an ellipse width of the trajectory between a minimum value  0  for a straight cut and a maximum value relating to a maximum height of the ellipse;   (ii) horizontal shifting of the entire trajectory between a minimum value and a maximum value;   (iii) inclination of the trajectory between a value  0  for a vertically orientated trajectory, an inclination of the trajectory in the direction of the feed device and an inclination of the trajectory in the opposite direction;   (iv) shifting of the trajectory in its entirety in the vertical direction.   
     
     
         14 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 3 , wherein the trajectory-setting system is configured to permit at least three of the following settings independently of one another:
 (i) an ellipse width of the trajectory between a minimum value 0 for a straight cut and a maximum value relating to a maximum height of the ellipse;   (ii) horizontal shifting of the entire trajectory between a minimum value and a maximum value;   (iii) inclination of the trajectory between a value 0 for a vertically orientated trajectory, an inclination of the trajectory in the direction of the feed device and an inclination of the trajectory in the opposite direction;   (iv) shifting of the trajectory in its entirety in the vertical direction.   
     
     
         15 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 4 , wherein the trajectory-setting system is configured to permit at least three of the following settings independently of one another:
 (i) an ellipse width of the trajectory between a minimum value 0 for a straight cut and a maximum value relating to a maximum height of the ellipse;   (ii) horizontal shifting of the entire trajectory between a minimum value and a maximum value;   (iii) inclination of the trajectory between a value 0 for a vertically orientated trajectory, an inclination of the trajectory in the direction of the feed device and an inclination of the trajectory in the opposite direction;   (iv) shifting of the trajectory in its entirety in the vertical direction.   
     
     
         16 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 5 , wherein the trajectory-setting system is configured to permit at least three of the following settings independently of one another:
 (i) an ellipse width of the trajectory between a minimum value 0 for a straight cut and a maximum value relating to a maximum height of the ellipse;   (ii) horizontal shifting of the entire trajectory between a minimum value and a maximum value;   (iii) inclination of the trajectory between a value  0  for a vertically orientated trajectory, an inclination of the trajectory in the direction of the feed device and an inclination of the trajectory in the opposite direction;   (iv) shifting of the trajectory in its entirety in the vertical direction.   
     
     
         17 . The spring winding machine according to  claim 6 , wherein the trajectory-setting system is configured to permit at least three of the following settings independently of one another:
 (i) an ellipse width of the trajectory between a minimum value  0  for a straight cut and a maximum value relating to a maximum height of the ellipse;   (ii) horizontal shifting of the entire trajectory between a minimum value and a maximum value;   (iii) inclination of the trajectory between a value  0  for a vertically orientated trajectory, an inclination of the trajectory in the direction of the feed device and an inclination of the trajectory in the opposite direction;   (iv) shifting of the trajectory in its entirety in the vertical direction.