JPS5924582A - Method and device for exchanging gas nozzle of automatic welding machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To change nozzles automatically without stopping the welding machine, by charging gas nozzles to a cartridge holder and shifting a welding torch to the holder after each lapse of specified welding time or number of times and changing the nozzles. CONSTITUTION:For instance, six gas nozzles 10 from which spatters are removed are charged in the container 11- of a cartridge holder 12, and the holder 12 is mounted to a specified position. When a controlling device is operated and execution of a program is started, the arm 3 of a robot body 1 turns to a specified position above a nozzle changing device 2, and lowers a welding torch 4 in which the nozzle is not charged. The tip of the torch is put through an endmost nozzle 10 in the holder 12, and raises the torch 4 to complete mounting of the nozzle. The arm 3 returns to the working position and performs welding. After specified number of times of welding, the arm 3 turns to the upper part of the device 2, and takes out the nozzle 10. The nozzle is inserted to the empty container 11 together with the torch, and the torch is raised to remove the nozzle. A pressing device 23 holds and releases the nozzle 10.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The original F! No. 11 relates to a method and apparatus for replacing a gas nozzle in an automatic welding machine in which the gas nozzle attached to the tip of a welding torch can be automatically replaced.

Recently, the introduction of robots in the field of welding machines has been remarkable.

This type of welding robot skillfully combines a conventional automatic arc welding machine with a robot device that operates according to a predetermined program procedure, thereby making welding work unmanned.

By the way, in conventional automatic arc welding, not limited to such welding robots, a gas nozzle for injecting shielding gas is provided at the tip of the welding torch, and the welding wire is continuously fed from the center 1f3 of this gas nozzle. Most of them are designed to protrude and perform welding work,
Spatter generated during welding adheres to the inner wall of the gas nozzle and blocks the shielding gas passage, resulting in uneven spraying of the shielding gas to the welding area, or making it difficult to spray the shielding gas itself, resulting in welding defects. There was a problem.

Therefore, in the past, workers had to stop welding work each time and remove it themselves, and the methods for doing this were to remove the gas nozzle from the welding torch and inject compressed gas, or use a cutter, wire brush, etc. At present, removal has been completely dependent on manual work, such as scraping or hitting the nozzle with a hammer or the like.

Therefore, even if this type of arc welding is applied to robot equipment without taking specific measures to remove the spatter that has adhered to the gas nozzle, it will not be possible to remove the spatter that has adhered to the gas nozzle. The operation of the K o hot is stopped each time, and the operator must remove it himself, which is a major impediment to the promotion of full automation of welding work, contrary to unmanned operation. Ta.

Furthermore, even if a used gas nozzle with spatter is replaced with a new gas nozzle each time, a worker is required for the replacement work, and the work conditions are also poor because the gas nozzle is heated to a high temperature. , and the replacement work requires time and effort, which is one of the major factors that lowers the operating rate of the device.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to enable gas nozzle replacement without bringing out a welding machine, and to automate the gas nozzle replacement work without requiring any workers. The present invention provides a gas nozzle replacement method in an automatic welding machine and an apparatus therefor.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by being configured as follows.

That is, a required number of gas nozzles that are removably attached to the tip of a welding torch are loaded into a cartridge holder disposed at a predetermined position, and the welding torch is turned on every time a predetermined welding time or a predetermined number of welding passes. Move the cartridge holder to the installation position, insert the used gas nozzle attached to the tip of the welding torch into the gas nozzle accommodating part of the cartridge holder together with the welding torch, and clamp the gas nozzle using the clamping mechanism provided on the cartridge holder side. While holding the welding torch, the welding torch is removed from the gas nozzle accommodating part, and the tip of the welding torch is inserted into the gas nozzle, which is completely loaded in the cartridge holder and from which spatter has been removed, to attach the gas nozzle to the welding torch. This makes it possible to automate gas nozzle replacement work, which previously relied on manual labor, and to dramatically improve equipment operating rates without interrupting welding work to replace gas nozzles. It is.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a welding robot will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the conveyance line (not shown) where the workpiece is conveyed.
Robot body part 1 of a welding robot installed on the side of
and a gas nozzle exchange device 2 disposed on the side of the robot main body l in a position that does not interfere with welding work.
In addition, a control device (not shown) for driving and controlling the robot body 1 and controlling the supply of welding current, shielding gas, welding wire, etc. is installed on the robot body 1. Located at the rear.

Moreover, the robot main body 1 is the tip of the arm 3! '
A welding torch 4 is attached to fJl, and a gas nozzle 10 for injecting shielding gas is detachably attached to the tip of the welding torch 4.

In the figure, reference numerals 6.7.8 indicate supply cables for supplying welding current, welding wire, and shielding gas to the welding torch 4.

By the way, the number of gas nozzle exchange devices 2 described in "2" is the number required for a welding robot to operate at full capacity for 24 hours, for example.
A fixed holder 4 on which a cartridge holder 12 is placed on a support base 134H, which has a plurality of gas nozzle accommodating parts 12 arranged at equal intervals into which gas nozzles (6 in this embodiment) can be individually loaded. It is designed so that it can be removably loaded.

As shown in FIG. 2, the gas nozzle 10 of this embodiment is composed of a metal cylinder with a tapered tip, and the base end 10a has an appropriate number of notches spaced at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Groove 1.0
1) A groove is formed in the circumferential direction of the proximal end portion 10a, and a ring rod is fitted into the groove 10C.

The gas nozzle 10 can be inserted into the welding torch 4 by inserting the tip of the welding torch 4 into the gas nozzle 10, and then pinching the inner circumferential surface of the base end 10a of the gas nozzle 0 or the outer circumferential surface of the welding torch tip. The gas nozzle ] 0 is integrally attached to the welding torch 4 by the squeezing force.

In addition, each gas nozzle accommodating portion 1 provided in the cartridge holder 2 has a curved pressing surface 15a on the side.
A groove 16 is formed in which the pressing body 15 is accommodated and the suppressing body 15 is allowed to move in the front-rear direction;
The pressing surface 15a of the pressing body 15 [the recessed part forming the curved pressure receiving part 17'a having substantially the same curvature] 7 is formed in a space integral with the gas nozzle accommodating part. Each gas nozzle 10 accommodated in the pressure receiving portion 7a is sandwiched between the pressing surface 15a and the pressure receiving portion 7a.

quotient, the above-mentioned pressing surface 15a and the pressure-receiving part], and each curvature of 7a is set slightly larger than the curvature of the outer peripheral part of the gas nozzle 10,
When the gas nozzle IO is pressed toward the pressure receiving surface 17a by the pressing body 15, the outer peripheral surface of the gas nozzle 10 is pressed against the pressing surface 15a.
The gas nozzle 10 is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position in the gas nozzle accommodating part]l by abutting on the upper middle part of the pressure receiving part 17a. In other words, the clamping pressure i is generated by the pressing surface 15a and the pressure receiving portion 17a, and the center O of the gas nozzle 10 is located on a line connecting the centers of the pressing surface 15a and the pressure receiving portion 1'7a.

In addition, fangs 1 are provided on the anti-pressing side of each of the pressing bodies 15...
A through-hole 1.9.0 is provided with a projecting rod 18.
. . , and a pressure receiving plate 20 is attached to the tip of each lot'co-8. Further, a coil spring 21 . . . is wound around each rod 18 . . . and is inserted between each pressure receiving plate 20 and the cartridge holder 12, and each pressing body 15 . It is elastically biased toward the a side.

Further, each of the pressure receiving plates 20 is pressed down all at once by a long push-down plate 22, and the center of this push-down plate 22 is fixed to the piston rod 24 of the cylinder 2:') fixed to the fixed holder 4 side. Attached to the tip of the cylinder 23, the air pressure of the cylinder 23 or the oil fl+lI bait j is applied to each suppressor [5] to the pressure-receiving surface all at once against the biasing force of the coil spring 2]-...
-7a- side, so that the gas nozzles 10 loaded in the gas nozzle accommodating part are simultaneously held under pressure.

Also, guide rods l' 25.25 are provided at both ends of the suppression plate 22.
is provided protrudingly, and the guide rod 25.25 is fixed to the fixed holder 1.
4 (1111) is slidably inserted into the guide sleeve 26.26 provided at 1111.

27 in the diagram is a through hole provided in the bottom 1η4 of each gas nozzle accommodating portion coat of the cartridge holder〕2, and the tip of the welding 1. When inserted into the cartridge holder, the welding wire W protruding from the tip of the welding 1-- and the tip of the welding 1. .

The cartridge holder 12 is configured to engage with engaging portions 28 and 28 provided at both ends of the fixed holder 14 to position it at a predetermined installation position. In addition to the program steps for performing normal welding work, the control device that controls the drive stores program steps for replacing the gas nozzle lO, and the gas nozzle is replaced every time a predetermined number of welds or a predetermined welding time elapses. The program steps for exchanging 10 are to be executed.

The program step for replacing the gas nozzle 10 also includes a program step for driving and controlling the cylinder 23 that constitutes the clamping mechanism, and synchronizes with the operation of the robot body 1 at a predetermined timing in the gas nozzle replacement process. / The cylinder 23 is energized.

Next, a gas nozzle replacement method in an automatic welding machine of the present invention will be specifically explained based on the apparatus shown in this embodiment.

First, before welding work, spatter is removed, e.g.
The gas nozzles 16 are respectively loaded into the gas nozzle accommodating portions 11 of the cartridge holder 12 as shown in FIG.

Next, when the control device is activated to start executing the program, the arm 3 of the robot main body 1 rotates to a predetermined position above the gas nozzle exchange device 2, and the welding torch 4, which is not attached to the gas nozzle IO, is rotated. The welding torch 4 is lowered and the tip of the torch is inserted into the endmost gas nozzle accommodating part loaded into the cartridge holder 12, and then the welding torch 4 is raised to complete the installation of the gas nozzle IO. When installing the gas nozzle 10, the cylinder 23 is operated to hold the gas nozzle]-0 under pressure between the pressing surface 15a and the pressure receiving surface 17a, as shown in FIG. 5, and the gas nozzle 10 is positioned at a predetermined position. The tip of the welding torch is connected to the gas nozzle 10 as shown in Figure 6.
It is something that confronts us. -! When the welding torch 4 is removed from the gas nozzle accommodating portion 11, the cylinder 23 is deenergized and the pressing body 15 is moved back as shown in FIG.

When the installation of the gas nozzle 1°0 is completed in this way, the arm 3 returns to the predetermined welding work position and performs the welding work.

By the way, when a predetermined number of welding or a predetermined welding time has elapsed, the program for gas nozzle replacement is automatically executed, and the arm 3 is moved to the predetermined position of the gas nozzle replacement device 2 again. As shown in Figure 8, the gas nozzle housing part p, 1 is in an empty state.
9, the welding torch 4 is lowered, and the gas nozzle IO is inserted into the gas nozzle accommodating portion ll together with the welding torch 4, as shown in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the cylinder 23 operates to hold the gas nozzle]0 under pressure between the pressing surface 15a and the pressure receiving surface 17aK, and in this state, the welding torch 4 rises, so that the used gas nozzle lO As shown in FIG. 11, the gas nozzle IO is left behind in the gas nozzle accommodating portion 1, and the removal of the gas nozzle IO is completed. Next, the arm 3 rotates horizontally at a predetermined pitch to move the welding torch 4 to a position above the gas nozzle 10 from which spatter has been removed, which is adjacent to the used gas nozzle 0, and at that position, the welding torch 4 is lowered. Then, the tip of the torch is inserted into the new gas nozzle 10, and the replacement work of the gas nozzle 10 is completed.

Then, the arm 3 is rotated again for a predetermined welding work time to continue the welding work.

Thereafter, the program for replacing the gas nozzle is similarly executed for the IU after a predetermined number of welding or a predetermined welding time has elapsed, and the replacement work for the gas nozzle]0 is automatically performed.

Therefore, the operator only needs to load the spatter-free gas nozzle 10 into the cartridge holder 12 before starting the welding work, and the gas nozzle 10 with spatter can be removed after the welding work is completed. It is sufficient to perform the spatter removal work all at once.

In addition, if the welding work time is long and the gas nozzle]O must be replaced frequently, it is sufficient to prepare a large number of cartridge holders 12 and replace the cartridge holder code 2 as necessary. Sunda gas nozzle 1
The spatter removal work of 0 can be carried out concurrently with the welding work, that is, without interrupting the welding work at all.

The time required to replace the broken gas nozzle 10 is only a few seconds, and all other time can be allocated to welding work, which dramatically improves the operating rate of welding robots and , productivity will be significantly improved.

Since no gas nozzle has ever been replaced manually, there is no problem in replacing the gas nozzle.

In addition, in this embodiment, the pressing surface 5a and the pressure receiving surface 5a are both curved, and the radius of curvature of these is set larger than the radius of curvature of the outer circumference of the gas nozzle O.
When the gas nozzle], 0 is pinched by the pressing surface]-5a and the pressure receiving surface F a, the outer peripheral surface of the gas nozzle]0 comes into contact with the respective centers of the pressing surface 15a and the pressure receiving surface 17a, and the gas nozzle]0 is pressed. Center O is pressed i7i'i 15a and received pressure 1
777], 7, so that the gas nozzle can be attached and removed while the gas nozzle] and 0 are fixed in place, and the gas nozzle can be replaced smoothly. .

In this embodiment, the cartridge holder 12 loaded with the gas nozzle 0 is loaded in a predetermined position of the fixed holder 4,
By keeping the cartridge holder] 2 in a fixed state and changing the rotational position of the arm 3 of the robot main body 1 by a predetermined pitch, the work of replacing the gas nozzle lO is successively performed. Guide to the bottom 111 of 2 W930. 30, and these guide grooves 30°: 0 protrude toward the fixed holder 14 side.

3, and the cartridge holder 2 itself may be slid at a predetermined pitch. In this way, the program steps for controlling the robot body 1 can be saved, and the program itself can be simplified.

Broken gas nozzle 10. The shape of the welding torch 4 and the mounting structure for the welding torch 4 are not limited to those of this embodiment. The outer periphery 171 of the gas nozzle to be inserted may be held under pressure by retaining claws.

Also, the above embodiment is applied to a welding robot, and it is of course applicable not only to such a welding robot but also to a quasi-robotic automatic welding device that performs welding work by sequence control, for example. It is.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

[Figures 1] to 1]]-Figures show an embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the state of use, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the device of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a plan cutaway view of the unexploded 9F device, and Figs. 4 to 1T each show the method of the present invention. It is an explanatory diagram of operation shown in order. - Automatic welding machine main body (robot main body) 2 Gas nozzle exchange device 3 Arm 4 Welding torch 10 Gas nozzle 1 Gas nozzle accommodating section 2 Cartridge holder 15.23 Gripping machine +M: (/Linda) Patent applicant Osaka Electric Co., Ltd. Agent Patent Attorney Takashi Suzue - Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 8 Figure 10 Figure 11 n ba

Claims (1)

[Claims] f+) A required number of gas nozzles that are removably attached to the tip of a welding torch are loaded into a cartridge holder arranged at a predetermined position, and a predetermined welding time or a predetermined number of welding times has elapsed. Move the welding torch to the cartridge holder installation position each time, insert the used gas nozzle attached to the welding torch tip 1fl into the gas nozzle accommodating part of the cartridge holder together with the welding torch, and insert the gas nozzle into the cartridge holder. A clamping machine installed on the side [11η
Remove the welding torch from the gas nozzle accommodating part while holding it under pressure, and insert the welding torch tip into the gas nozzle from which spatter has been removed, which is loaded into the cartridge boulder, and attach the gas nozzle to the welding torch. A method for replacing a gas nozzle in an automatic welding machine, characterized in that: (2) Welding by equipping the tip of the arm with a welding torch,
an automatic welding machine main body in which the tip of the torch is inserted into a gas nozzle and the gas nozzle is attached to the welding torch;
a control device for driving and controlling the automatic welding machine main body according to a predetermined control procedure; a cartridge holder provided with a plurality of gas nozzle accommodating portions into which a predetermined number of gas nozzles to be attached to the welding torch of the automatic welding machine main body can be loaded; A clamping machine that holds the gas nozzle loaded in the gas nozzle housing part of the cartridge holder under pressure for a predetermined period in the gas nozzle replacement process? A gas nozzle changing device for an automatic welding machine, characterized in that the clamping mechanism is controlled in accordance with a control procedure set in the control device.