JP2786105B2 - Welding torch maintenance equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a welding torch maintenance apparatus capable of removing spatters attached to a nozzle of a welding torch and cutting off a tip portion of a welding wire.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It has been known that molten slag or spatter composed of molten metal adheres to a nozzle of a welding torch used for carbon dioxide arc welding or MIG welding. Especially,
When spatters attached to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle grow, it is difficult to form a stable arc and normal welding cannot be performed. For this reason, it is common to carry out welding work regularly or irregularly while removing spatters attached to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle.

[0003] Various devices have been proposed as devices for removing spatter adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle. For example, the technology disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. Sho 57-148181 (the specification attached to the application form of Japanese Utility Model Application No. Sho 56-28964) is a method in which a rotary tool having a cutting blade at its tip is fixed to a motor to rotate. It is to let. In this technique, a nozzle is inserted into and held by a torch holding finger, and a rotary tool is rotated to drive an air cylinder for ascending and descending to insert the tool into the nozzle. Can be removed.

A technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-46377 discloses a technique in which a rotating scraper is inserted into a nozzle that is positioned and fixed by clamping means, thereby removing spatter adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle. And a torch cleaning device for a welding robot. According to this technique, the nozzle can be positioned with high accuracy, so that the torch can be stably cleaned regardless of whether the position accuracy of the welding robot is good or not.

In the technique disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-11026, a cutter pin is arranged on the same axis as the clamped nozzle, and the cutter pin is rotated and converted into a self-propelled motion to reciprocate. The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing a sparter of an arc welding torch configured as described above. With this technology, the nozzle can be positioned with high accuracy by clamping the nozzle with a clamper,
Further, the cutter pin can be reciprocated without using any special driving means.

[0006]

When a series of welding operations are performed using the above-mentioned welding torch and the gas flow is cut off,
A spherical portion in which the droplet has solidified is formed at the tip of the welding wire. An oxide film is formed on the surface of the spherical portion, and has a diameter larger than the thickness of the welding wire. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes time to form a stable arc when starting a new welding operation.

Further, when exchanging the tip, it is necessary to cut off the spherical portion formed at the tip of the welding wire.
However, in each of the above techniques, there is no idea of cutting off the tip of the welding wire, and at present, the tip is cut off manually. As described above, when manual intervention is performed, the welding robot temporarily stops a series of teaching operations, which is not preferable.

An object of the present invention is to provide a welding torch maintenance device for performing a series of operations for removing spatters attached to a nozzle of a welding torch and cutting off the tip of a welding wire.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a welding torch maintenance apparatus according to the present invention provides a welding torch for feeding a welding wire and injecting a shielding gas around the welding wire to perform welding. An apparatus, comprising: a fixing member fixed to a frame and a moving member adjacent to the fixing member, wherein the moving member approaches the fixing member and holds and fixes the outer periphery of the nozzle of the welding torch; A removing member that is disposed to face the nozzle fixed by the holding means and removes spatter attached to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle, a motor that rotates the removing member, and the removing member that is disposed along the axis of the nozzle. It comprises a driving member to be moved, and a cutting means arranged adjacent to the holding means for cutting off the tip of the welding wire exposed from the nozzle of the welding torch. That.

[0010] In the above welding torch maintenance device, the cutting means comprises a fixed blade arranged adjacent to a fixing member constituting the holding means, and a sliding blade sliding along the fixed blade. It is preferable that the sliding blade slides along with the movement of the moving member constituting the holding means.

[0011]

[Action] The above-mentioned welding torch maintenance device (hereinafter referred to as “maintenance device”)
According to the above, the outer periphery of the nozzle of the welding torch is held and fixed by holding means constituted by a fixed member fixed to the frame and a moving member separated from and brought into contact with the fixed member. In this case, it is possible to guarantee the positioning accuracy of the nozzle when holding the position. Then, by moving the removing member along the axis of the nozzle by the driving member while rotating by the motor, spatter attached to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle can be removed. Further, the tip of the welding wire exposed from the nozzle can be cut off by the cutting means.

In the above-mentioned maintenance device, the cutting means is constituted by a fixed blade disposed adjacent to the fixing member of the holding means and a sliding blade sliding along the fixed blade with the movement of the moving member. Thus, the tip of the welding wire can be cut off by one operation of the moving member, and the nozzle can be fixed by another operation.

Accordingly, by teaching the welding robot, it is possible to carry out the cutting of the tip of the welding wire and the removal of spatter attached to the nozzle as a series of operations.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the maintenance device according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view of the maintenance device according to the first embodiment, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the cutting means, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a maintenance device according to a second embodiment.

First, the configuration of the maintenance device A according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. A clamp device 2 serving as holding means for the welding torch 3 is arranged on the upper surface member 1a of the frame 1.

The clamping device 2 comprises a fixed member 2a fixed to the upper surface member 1a and a moving member 2b which comes into contact with and separates from the fixed member 2a. An arc-shaped holding surface 2c having a size substantially equal to the outer diameter of 3a is formed.

Adjacent to the fixing member 2a, an excision means 5 for excision of the tip of the welding wire 4 is arranged. The cutting means 5 is fixed to the upper surface member 1a of the frame 1 adjacent to the fixed member 2a, and slides in contact with the fixed blade 5a and cooperates with the fixed blade 5a in the sliding process. It is constituted by a sliding blade 5b for cutting the welding wire 4 and an urging member 6 for urging the sliding blade 5b so as to always keep it at the initial position.

A welding wire 4 is provided at a predetermined position of the fixed blade 5a.
Is formed with a tapered guide hole 5c for guiding the tip of the torch 3 to the side of the sliding blade 5b disposed below the fixed blade 5a. The guide hole 5c positions the welding torch 3 by a welding robot (not shown). Even if the accuracy is poor,
It is possible to reliably guide the tip portion of the welding wire 4.

The sliding blade 5b is configured to be able to slide with a stroke larger than the small diameter of the taper of the guide hole 5c, and is urged by the urging member 6 so that the edge retreats from the hole on the small diameter side. It is held at the initial position. The sliding blade 5b is
When the blade 5b is at the initial position, the end face 5d is configured to protrude toward the moving member 2b constituting the clamp device 2 by a length corresponding to the stroke or more.

The biasing member 6 biases the sliding blade 5b to hold the sliding blade 5b at an initial position. The biasing member 6 has elasticity such as a spring or rubber, or absorbs an external force such as a shock absorber to absorb the external force. It is possible to use a member that can return to the original state when is removed. In this embodiment,
A spring is used as the urging member 6.

The moving member 2b of the clamp device 2 is configured to be driven by an air cylinder 7 fixed to the upper surface member 1a of the frame 1 so as to be able to be separated from and brought into contact with the fixed member 2a. A part of the moving member 2b is opposed to the end face 5d of the sliding blade 5b constituting the cutting means 5, and the opposed part forms the hitting portion 8.

That is, the moving member 2b is driven by the air cylinder 7 to press the fixing member 2a to fix the nozzle 3a of the welding torch 3, and to cut the welding wire 4 when sliding the cutting blade 5b. Has the function of sliding

A cutting tool 9 serving as a removing member is arranged below the upper surface member 1a and on an extension of the axis of the holding surface 2c formed on the fixing member 2a of the clamp device 2, and further drives the cutting tool 9 to rotate. An air cylinder 11 serving as a driving member for reciprocating the motor 10 and the blade 9 along the axis is disposed.

That is, the air cylinder 11 is fixed to the lower surface member 1 b of the frame 1, and the motor stage 12 is attached to the rod of the air cylinder 11. And the motor 10 is fixed to the motor stage 12,
Further, the blade 9 is fixed to the shaft of the motor 10.

A plurality of guide rods 13 are provided on the motor stage 12, and these guide rods 13 are fitted into guide bushes 14 attached to the upper surface member 1a, respectively, to drive the air cylinder 11. , The motor stage 12 can be moved up and down smoothly and linearly.

Upper surface member 1a and lower surface member 1b of frame 1
A control unit 15 including a timer circuit and a relay circuit is provided therebetween. In addition, on the fixing member 2a of the clamp device 2, a sensor 16a such as a proximity switch and the like, which is disposed to face a guide hole 5c formed in the fixing blade 5a constituting the cutting means 5, and the fixing member 2a are formed. A sensor 16b such as a proximity switch is provided to face the holding surface 2c.

Each of the sensors 16a and 16b has a guide hole 5
A signal is transmitted to the control unit 15 by detecting whether or not the nozzle 3a of the welding torch 3 is located at a position facing the c, or whether or not the nozzle 3a is located at a position facing the holding surface 2c.

In the maintenance device A configured as described above, the welding robot causes the welding torch 3 to approach the cutting means 5 according to the taught program, and inserts the tip of the welding wire 4 into the guide hole 5c. At this time, sensor 16
A signal indicating that the nozzle 3a of the welding torch 3 has been detected is generated from a and transmitted to the control unit 15.

The control unit 15 receives a signal from the sensor 16a, generates a signal for driving the air cylinder 7, drives an air switching valve (not shown), and connects the moving member 2b (the striking unit 8) to the fixed member 2a (the sliding blade). 5b). In this approaching process, the striking portion 8 comes into contact with the end face 5d of the sliding blade 5b, and the spring 6
And slides the sliding blade 5b. The welding wire 4 is cooperated with the sliding blade 5b and the fixed blade 5a.
Disconnect.

After a predetermined time has elapsed, when the air switching valve is driven to retract the striking portion 8, the sliding blade 5b is urged by the spring 6 to return to the initial position. After the welding torch 3 is once separated from the cutting means 5, it approaches the clamping device 2 and inserts the nozzle 3a between the fixed member 2a and the moving member 2b. At this time, a signal indicating that the nozzle 3a of the welding torch 3 has been detected is generated from the sensor 16b and transmitted to the control unit 15.

The controller 15 receives a signal from the sensor 16b, generates a signal for driving the air cylinder 7, drives an air switching valve (not shown), and connects the moving member 2b to the fixed member 2a.
Approach. In this approaching process, the nozzle 3 of the welding torch 3
a is formed on the fixed member 2a and the moving member 2b.
And simultaneously position the nozzle 3a.

Next, a drive signal for the motor 10 and a drive signal for the air cylinder 11 are generated from the control unit 15, and
The blade 9 rotates with the rotation of 10, and at the same time, the blade 9 starts to rise. The sputter adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle 3a is removed while the blade 9 rotates and rises. After a lapse of a predetermined time, the air switching valve is driven to lower the blade 9,
Thereafter, the motor 10 is stopped to return the blade 9 to its original position and wait.

As described above, it is possible to cut off the tip of the welding wire 4 and remove the spatter adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle 3a as a series of operations. Therefore, by teaching the operation to the welding robot in advance, the welding operation and the maintenance operation of the welding torch 3 can be performed continuously.

Next, the configuration of the blade 9 will be described with reference to FIG. The cutting portion of the blade 9 is formed in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter corresponding to the inner diameter of the nozzle 3a, and this cylinder is further divided into four to form four blades 9a. The thickness of each blade 9a is set to 2 mm to 3 mm.

Therefore, each blade 9a is formed in an arc shape and a cantilever shape. For this reason, even if the spatter adhered to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle 3a is strong, it can be removed without difficulty, and the blade 9a is not damaged or broken.

Next, the configuration of a maintenance device B according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The same portions and portions having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

The maintenance device B is configured such that the sliding blade 5b of the cutting means 5 is integrally fixed to the moving member 2b of the clamp device 2 so that the blade 5b can be directly driven by the air cylinder 7. It is. The maintenance device B is configured so that the tip of the welding wire 4 can be cut off while the nozzle 3a of the welding torch 3 is held horizontally.

Therefore, the fixed blade 5a of the cutting means 5 is fixed to the side surface of the fixed member 2a of the clamp device 2 so that the edge is vertical. A gap substantially equal to the thickness of the sliding blade 5b is formed between the fixed blade 5a and the side surface of the fixed member 2a, and the sliding blade 5b driven by the air cylinder 7 is formed.
Can be accepted smoothly.

Even with the maintenance device B configured as described above, the tip of the welding wire 4 is cut off and the nozzle 3a is cut in accordance with a program previously taught by the welding robot.
Can be removed.

In each of the above embodiments, when cutting off the distal end of the welding wire 4 by the cutting means 5, an offset load acts on the moving member 2b of the clamp device 2 and the air cylinder 7. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a guide (not shown) on the upper surface member 1a of the frame 1 to regulate the moving direction of the moving member 2b.

[0041]

As described in detail above, the maintenance device according to the present invention can remove spatters attached to the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle of the welding torch and cut off the tip of the welding wire.

For this reason, when a series of welding operations is completed, a portion where an oxide film is formed at the tip of the welding wire and a spherical portion are cut off to start a new welding operation and a stable arc can be obtained in a short time. Can be formed. Further, it is not necessary to cut off the spherical portion when exchanging the tip, and a smooth exchanging operation can be performed.

In particular, when welding is performed by using a welding robot, a new welding can be started within a stable time after removing spatters adhered to the nozzle, so that the reliability at the time of starting welding is reliable. Is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a maintenance device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the maintenance device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the cutting means.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a blade serving as a removing member.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a maintenance device according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

A, B Maintenance device 1 Frame 1a Upper surface member 1b Lower surface member 2 Clamping device 2a Fixed member 2b Moving member 2c Holding surface 3 Welding torch 3a Nozzle 4 Welding wire 5 Cutting means 5a Fixed blade 5b Sliding blade 5c Guide hole 5d End surface 6 Force member (spring) 7, 11 Air cylinder 8 Striking part 9 Blade 9a Blade 10 Motor 12 Motor stage 13 Guide rod 14 Guide bush 15 Control part 16a, 16b Sensor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B23K 9/32 B23D 15/00 B23K 9/12 310 B23K 9/12 331 B23K 9/29

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A welding torch maintenance device for feeding a welding wire and injecting a shielding gas around the welding wire to perform welding, comprising: a fixing member fixed to a frame; and a moving member adjacent to the fixing member. A holding member for holding and fixing the outer periphery of the nozzle of the welding torch by approaching the fixing member; and a moving member disposed opposite to the nozzle fixed by the holding member and attached to an inner peripheral surface of the nozzle. A removing member that removes spatter, a motor that rotates the removing member, a driving member that moves the removing member along the axis of the nozzle, and that is exposed from the nozzle of the welding torch disposed adjacent to the holding unit. And a cutting means for cutting off the tip of the welding wire. 2. The cutting means comprises a fixed blade disposed adjacent to a fixing member constituting the holding means, and a sliding blade sliding along the fixed blade. The welding torch maintenance apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is slid in accordance with the movement of the moving member. 3. A sliding blade constituting the cutting means is urged by an urging member to maintain an initial position with respect to the fixed blade, and slides with a movement of a moving member constituting the holding means. The maintenance device for a welding torch according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The maintenance device for a welding torch according to claim 2, wherein a sliding blade constituting said cutting means is integrally attached to a moving member constituting said holding means.