US 6,981,825 B2
Multispindle machine tool and method of optimizing lubricant mist flow for each spindle of multispindle machine tool
Shinsuke Sugata, Fukuyama (Japan); and Tadashi Makiyama, Onomichi (Japan)
Assigned to Horkos Corp., Fukuyama (Japan)
Appl. No. 10/486,551
PCT Filed Aug. 09, 2002, PCT No. PCT/JP02/08205
§ 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Feb. 10, 2004,
PCT Pub. No. WO03/013786, PCT Pub. Date Feb. 20, 2003.
Claims priority of application No. 2001-243222 (JP), filed on Aug. 10, 2001.
Prior Publication US 2004/0191012 A1, Sep. 30, 2004
Int. Cl. B23C 9/00 (2006.01); B23Q 11/10 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 409—136 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A multispindle machine tool comprising:
a spindle head (3) having a front and comprising a main frame body (3a) and a support frame (3b) provided behind the main frame body;
a plurality of spindles (2) rotatably arranged on the main frame body in a longitudinal direction;
supporting members (6) installed on the support frame correspondent to each of the spindles and supporting passage means (51), said passage means inserted into the centers of the spindles;
said passage means including outside cylindrical members (19) fixed to the support frame (3b) and inserted into center holes of the spindles;
mist generators (22) for generating lubricant mist in the spindles, located inside the outside cylindrical members; and
said passage means also including inside cylindrical members (20) fixed on the tips of the mist generators, and inside cylindrical members and mist generators being installed so as to be able to be withdrawn backward from the spindles while the outside cylindrical members are held in a fixed state in the spindles,
wherein under a state that the inside mist generators (22) are not withdrawn from the spindles, the mist generators (22) can generate the lubricant mist due to separately feeding compressed air and liquid lubricant from the outsides of the spindles (2) through the outside cylindrical members (19) and the inside cylindrical members (20), and said lubricant mist flows out from the tips of cutters (23) fixed on the tips of the spindles at the front of the spindle head,
and under a state that the mist generators (22) and the inside cylindrical members (20) are withdrawn from the outside cylindrical members (19) to the outsides of the spindles, externally generated lubricant mist is fed from the outsides of the spindles into the spindles (2) through the outside cylindrical members (19) to jet out the externally-generated lubricant mist from the tips of the cutters (23).