JP2006167747A - Welding apparatus and welding method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a welding apparatus and a welding method, by which apparatus and method, a floor space can be reduced, and a beneficial cost can be achieved, and the deterioration of a working efficiency can be prevented. <P>SOLUTION: A spot welding means 2 for joining workpieces by nipping them by means of the electrode tips 7, 8 of a movable gun arm 5 and a fixed gun arm 6, and a friction stir welding means 3 for joining the workpieces by pressing a rotary tool 21 against the workpieces are arranged on a common base stand 4. The opening and closing motion of the gun arms 5, 6 of the spot welding means 2 and the reciprocating motion of the rotary tool 21 of the friction stir welding means 3 are carried out by means of a common driving source. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a welding apparatus capable of switching between spot welding and friction stir welding and a processing method using the apparatus.

In an automobile production line, there are cases where dissimilar workpieces such as an iron trunk lid and an aluminum front hood are mixed and conveyed. The joining of iron workpieces is generally performed by spot welding, but friction stir welding with excellent joining properties is performed for aluminum workpieces (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP-A-11-245051 JP 2002-66763 A

  In such a production line, since a spot welding apparatus and a friction stir welding apparatus must be separately installed in one processing station, there is a problem that not only a large installation space is required, but also equipment costs increase.

  By the way, when spot welding multiple types of workpieces, a method has been proposed in which the articulated movable arm changes the spot welding gun depending on the type of workpiece, but it takes time to change the spot welding gun. There is a problem that the work efficiency decreases by the amount.

  In view of such circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a welding apparatus and a processing method that require a small installation space, are advantageous in cost, and can prevent a reduction in work efficiency.

  A first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is that a common base is composed of a spot welding means for sandwiching and joining a workpiece with electrode tips of a pair of gun arms and a friction stir welding means for joining a workpiece by pressing a rotary tool against the workpiece. It is installed on a table and is characterized in that a common driving source is used to open and close the gun arm of the spot welding means and to reciprocate the rotary tool of the friction stir welding means.

  According to this configuration, since the spot welding means and the friction stir welding means are installed on a common base, the installation space can be reduced, and the opening and closing of the gun arm of the spot welding means and the rotation tool of the friction stir welding means can be reduced. Since the reciprocating motion is performed by a common drive source, the equipment cost can be reduced.

  A second invention for solving the above-described problems uses a welding apparatus in which a spot welding means and a friction stir welding means are installed on a common base, and is a process common to a plurality of conveyance lines through which workpieces are conveyed. A station is provided, the welding apparatus is installed in the processing station, and the spot welding means or the friction stir welding means is switched and used in accordance with the material of the workpiece that has reached the processing station.

  According to the present invention, the installation space can be reduced, the equipment cost can be reduced, and the work efficiency can be prevented from being lowered.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a welding apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a right side view of FIG.

  In this welding apparatus 1, spot welding means 2 and friction stir welding means 3 are installed on a common base 4. The spot welding means 2 includes a movable gun arm 5 and a fixed gun arm 6, and electrode tips 7 and 8 are installed at the tips of these gun arms 5 and 6, respectively. Power is supplied to the movable and fixed gun arms 5 and 6 from the base 4 via the copper wires 9 and 10.

  The base end of the movable gun arm 5 is fixed to one end of the link rod 13 together with the bracket 12 with a bolt 11, while the bracket 12 is pivotally coupled to the intermediate portion of the C-type arm 15 with a pin 14 (see FIG. 2). A base end of the fixed gun arm 6 is fixed to an intermediate portion of the C-type arm 15 with a bolt 16. A line L connecting the center of the pin 14 and the contact point P of the electrode tips 7 and 8 is substantially horizontal.

  A bracket 17 extending upward is fixed to the upper end of the C-shaped arm 15, and a linear guide 18 is installed on the bracket 17. The friction stir welding means 3 moves up and down along the linear guide 18. That is, the housing 20 of the friction stir welding means 3 includes a lower housing 20a in which a motor for driving the rotary tool 21 is accommodated, and an upper housing 20b in which a motor for raising and lowering the lower housing 20a is accommodated. The lower housing 20 a is slidably assembled to the linear guide 18, and the upper housing 20 b is fixed to the bracket 17 via an L-shaped stay 22.

The bracket 17 is installed on the base 4 via the equalizing mechanism 23. The equalizing mechanism 23 supports the spot welding means 2 and the friction stir welding means 3 so as to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the base 4 (in a floating state). And a pair of springs for urging the movable portion in the vertical direction.
The other end of the link rod 13 is pivotally connected to one end of another link rod 25 by a pin 24. The other end of the link rod 25 is pivotally connected to the lower housing 20 a of the friction stir welding means 3 by a pin 26. A work support member 26 is provided at the lower end of the C-shaped arm 15.

Next, operation | movement of this welding apparatus 1 is demonstrated.
When spot welding an iron workpiece (not shown), first, a motor (not shown) in the upper housing 20b is operated, and the lower housing 20a is lowered to a position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The movable gun arm 5 is opened. Next, the lower surface of the work is brought into contact with the fixed gun arm 6, the lower housing 20 a is raised to the position indicated by the solid line in the figure, the movable gun arm 5 is closed, and the work is sandwiched between the electrode chips 7 and 8.

  On the other hand, in the case of friction stir welding of an aluminum workpiece (not shown), the lower surface of the workpiece is brought into contact with the workpiece support member 26, and the rotary tool 21 is rotated by operating the motor in the lower housing 20a. Next, the lower housing 20a is lowered while rotating the rotary tool 21, and the tip of the rotary tool 21 is pressed against the workpiece.

  By the way, the workpiece pressure of the spot welding means 2 is 350 kgf, whereas the workpiece pressure of the friction stir welding means 3 is 600 kgf. In this welding apparatus 1, the friction stir welding means 3 that requires a large pressure is directly driven by a motor, and the output is adjusted to obtain the work pressure required for the friction stir welding. On the other hand, with respect to the spot welding means 2, the workpiece pressure required for spot welding is obtained by adjusting the output of the motor in consideration of the lever ratio between the movable gun arm 5 and the link rod 5.

  According to this welding apparatus 1, since the spot welding means 2 and the friction stir welding means 3 are installed on the common base 4, it is possible to reduce the installation space and to open and close the movable gun arm 5 of the spot welding means 2. Since the reciprocating motion of the rotary tool 21 of the friction stir welding means 3 is performed by a common drive source (motor in the upper housing 20b), the equipment cost can be reduced.

  Further, by providing an equalizing mechanism 23 between the bracket 17 and the base 4, the spot welding means 2 and the friction stir welding means 3 are supported in a floating state with respect to the base 4, so that the movable gun arm 5 The electrode tip 7 or the rotary tool 21 can absorb the impact hitting the workpiece, and a gap is formed between the workpiece and the electrode tip 8 of the fixed gun arm 6 or the workpiece support member 26 due to a teaching error when setting the workpiece. Even in this case, this gap can be absorbed and proper bonding can be performed.

  In addition, since the center of the pin 14 and the contact point P of the electrode tips 7 and 8 are arranged so that the line L connecting them is substantially horizontal, the electrode tips 7 and 8 are substantially perpendicular to the workpiece and are appropriate. It is possible to secure a sufficient pressing force.

  Next, the mode in the case of installing this welding apparatus 1 in the manufacturing line of a motor vehicle is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the transfer lines of the iron trunk lid 100 and the aluminum front hood 101 are arranged in parallel, an articulated movable arm device 102 is installed between the two transfer lines. Then, the welding apparatus 1 is attached to the tip of the movable arm 103, and the movable arm 103 is swung to process the workpieces on both conveying lines.

  Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, the transfer line of the iron trunk lid 200 and the aluminum front hood 201 is joined at the processing station 202 in the middle, and the articulated movable arm device 203 is installed on both sides of the processing station 202. Then, the welding apparatus 1 is attached to the tip of the movable arm 204. Then, spot welding or friction stir welding may be performed according to the material of the workpiece W that has reached the processing station 202.

  FIG. 5 shows a processing method using the turntable 300. A carriage 301 on which an iron trunk lid is placed and a carriage 302 on which an aluminum front hood is placed are conveyed on different conveyance lines. The workpieces W of these carriages 301 and 302 are transferred onto the turntable 300 by the worker 303. Two articulated movable arm devices 304 are installed around the turntable 300, and the welding device 1 is attached to the tip of the movable arm 305. The work table W is moved to the work area of the articulated movable arm device 304 by rotating the turntable 300, and welding according to the material of the work W is performed. The processed workpiece W is transferred to the transfer lines 307 and 308 according to the material by the transfer device 306.

The front view which shows the welding apparatus of this invention. The right view of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the usage condition of the welding apparatus of this invention. The figure which shows the modification of FIG. The figure which shows the other modification of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Welding device 2 Spot welding means 3 Friction stir welding means 4 Base 5 Movable gun arm 6 Fixed gun arm 7 Electrode tip 8 Electrode tip 13 Link rod 14 Pin 15 C type arm 17 Bracket 18 Linear guide 20 Housing 21 Rotating tool 23 Equalizer mechanism

Claims (2)

  Spot welding means for sandwiching and joining workpieces with electrode tips of a pair of gun arms and friction stir welding means for joining by pressing a rotary tool against the workpiece are installed on a common base, and opening and closing of the gun arms of spot welding means and friction A welding apparatus characterized in that a reciprocating motion of a rotary tool of a stir welding means is performed by a common drive source. Using a welding apparatus in which the spot welding means and the friction stir welding means are installed on a common base, a common processing station is provided in a plurality of transfer lines through which workpieces are transferred, and the welding apparatus is installed in the processing station. A processing method comprising: switching and using spot welding means or friction stir welding means according to the material of the workpiece that is installed and reaches the processing station.

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