摘要

In order to improve the reliability of changing tool for ATC (automatic tool changer), a horizontal tool changer of machining center is chosen as the example to study the dynamic characteristics in the condition of changing a heavy tool. This paper analyzes the structure and properties of the tool changer by simulation and experiment, and the space trajectory equations of the manipulator and tool are derived. The maximum force is calculated in the processing of changing tool. A virtual platform for the automatic tool changer is built to simulate and verify the dynamic performance of the tool changer; the simulation results show an obvious vibration in the process of changing tool, which increases the probability of failure for changing tool. Moreover, in order to find out the device's vibration reasons, a professional experiment platform is built to test the dynamic characteristics. Based on the testing results for a horizontal tool changer, it is known that the unstable vibration is mainly caused by the collision of the tool. Finally, an optimization method for the manipulator is proposed to reduce this vibration and improve the reliability of the tool changer. The final simulation and experiment results show that the optimized manipulator can grasp the heavy tool stably, and the vibration amplitude is significantly reduced in the process of changing tool.