JPH1147950A - Remote welding control equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable proper control and supervision on a welding condition without burdening the person in charge by connecting the device on the central side and the one on the welding machine side with a communication line and making the device on the machine side control the individual welding machines in accordance with the control conditions transmitted from the central side. SOLUTION: The status transmitter 221 of a weld control device 20 transmits to a personal computer 40 the information of each welding robot 10a-10c such as the operation status and abnormality. The status receiver 222 receives welding conditions transmitted from the personal computer 40 such as the welding current, current waveform and pressurizing force of each welding robot 10a-10c, storing such data in the condition storage 23. On the basis of the stored conditions, a welding controller 24 controls the welding current, energizing time, waveform, etc., of the welding robot 10a-10c. In supervising the welding condition, a monitor is arranged in place of the weld control device 20, and a supervisory controller is substituted for the welding controller 24.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote welding management apparatus, and more particularly to a method for managing welding in a process in which a number of welding robots and the like are arranged, such as an automobile body assembly line, that is, controlling welding conditions and controlling welding conditions. The present invention relates to a remote welding management device suitable for monitoring and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to maintain welding quality, for example, in a resistance welding, a current value and a conduction time are controlled. Conventional timers (welding control devices) and monitoring devices (welding monitoring devices) for this purpose are arranged in the vicinity of individual welding machines and welding robots. This is done via the control panel of the device. In the present application, values for performing welding (welding conditions) such as a current value and an energizing time, or values (monitoring conditions) for monitoring them such as upper and lower limits thereof are collectively referred to as “management conditions”. "

[0003] In welding, appropriate welding conditions differ depending on the material, thickness, surface condition and the like of a target workpiece. For this reason, for example, in the case of resistance welding of an automobile body, welding conditions such as welding current and energizing time are reset at the site every time the vehicle type changes, the material changes, and the monitoring conditions of the welding monitor are correspondingly changed. Is also reset. Also, for example, in laser welding, it is necessary to adjust the laser beam waveform and other welding conditions in accordance with the characteristics of the material. For example, regarding a metal plate, the plate thickness, the material, the surface state (plating, presence or absence of an oxide film, The waveform is adjusted according to its thickness).

The word “setting” is distinguished from “resetting” and “correction” in a narrow sense by defining a new value. Then, "setting" including "resetting", "correction", etc.
(There are exceptional places). Particularly in the claims, “setting” is used in this sense.

[0005] Setting these welding conditions is difficult. For example, in resistance welding, setting is generally performed using spatter as a guide. That is, at each of the hit points, the current value, the waveform, the energization time, and the like are set to such an extent that a slight amount of spatter occurs at the end of energization. In the case of laser welding, output waveforms are generally adjusted, and waveforms such as those shown in FIGS. 14A to 14D are selected according to the characteristics of the work.

[0006]

However, factories are generally large. For this reason, the task of frequently walking around, observing the welding condition of each welding machine, operating the control panel such as the welding control device and the monitor device, and adjusting and maintaining the welding conditions is quite difficult for the person in charge. Is a burden. Some devices have also been developed that can be connected to a LAN or the like.
However, this also merely displays the operation state in a graph or a table format, and there is no change in that the user has to go to each welding robot or the like.

For this reason, the values of the welding conditions and monitoring conditions are set in a direction in which no effort is required.
For example, the current value and the energizing time are set to a slightly over-atmosphere value so that welding can be reliably performed even if the tip end is worn. In addition, the fact that a little spatter appears at the end of energization has the highest welding strength, and it is difficult to distinguish from non-energization without spatter. As a result, when the tip of the chip is returned to the initial state in the next dressing, the current becomes excessively large and sometimes large spatter occurs.

In recent years, steel sheets whose surfaces have been chemically treated have been used for the purpose of preventing rust, damping, and the like. These are apt to be scratched on the surface by spattering at the time of welding, and in that case, many steps are required for post-processing. Because of this,
For these, more precise control of the current value and the energization time is required, and in order to meet this requirement, some apparatuses for suppressing spatter by adaptive control or the like have been proposed and put into practical use.

However, even if such processes are executed, they are executed only under the set conditions. Therefore, if the condition setting itself is inappropriate, these suppressions may not always function effectively.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome such disadvantages of the prior art, and particularly to manage the welding condition in an environment where welding machines are distributed over a wide area, such as an automobile assembly line. That is, it is an object of the present invention to provide a remote welding management device suitable for performing control and monitoring more accurately without increasing the burden on a person in charge.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a central device and a welding machine device arranged near the welding machine for managing the welding machine. The central unit is connected to the welding device by a communication line, the central device is a display control means for displaying on the display means substantially the same configuration as the control panel of the welding device, and the displayed control panel A condition setting unit configured to set a management condition of the welding machine via a screen; and a condition transmitting unit configured to transmit the set management condition to the welding machine side device via the communication line. The apparatus includes condition receiving means for receiving management conditions transmitted via the communication line, and management means for managing the individual welding machines in accordance with the received management conditions (claim 1).

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail based on illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 schematically shows an overall image of a remote welding management device 100 according to an embodiment. In the drawing, welding robots 10a to 10c are provided with a welding gun 2, a welding transformer 3 and the like at the tip of an arm 1. The welding robot 10a does not have a basic part. In addition, in the following description, the suffixes a to c of the reference numeral 10 are omitted in principle. The same applies to other codes. The welding control device 20 includes a communication board 22, a condition holding unit 23, and a welding control unit 24. The welding control device 20 corresponds to a welding machine side device described in claims, and the welding control unit 24 also corresponds to a management unit.

The welding control device 20 includes a communication board 22, a condition holding unit 23, and a welding control unit 24. The communication board 22 includes a state transmitting unit 221 and a condition receiving unit 222.
It has. The state transmitting unit 221 transmits information indicating the operation state, the operation abnormality, and the operation state of each welding robot 10 to the personal computer 40. The condition receiving unit 222 receives the welding conditions of the individual welding robots 10 transmitted from the personal computer 40, for example, the welding current, the current waveform, the pressing force, and the like, and stores them in the condition holding unit 23. The condition receiving section 222 corresponds to a condition receiving means described in the claims.

In accordance with the stored conditions, the welding control unit 24 controls the welding current, the conduction time, the waveform and the like of the welding robot 10. When monitoring the welding state, a monitoring device is provided instead of the welding control device 20, and a monitoring control unit is provided instead of the welding control unit 24. In this case, the monitor device corresponds to the welder-side device described in the claims, and the monitoring control unit corresponds to the management means described in the claims. The communication line (network system) 30 is, for example, an IEEE
It is constructed in conformity with E802.3 (Ethernet). Each device is connected to an AUI (Attachment Interface Uni
t), connected to this communication line 30 via a MAU (Medium Attachment Unit).

The personal computer 40 includes a main body 4
1, a communication board 42 and a hard disk 43, a printer 44, a keyboard 46, a mouse 47, a display 48, and the like. This personal computer 40
Corresponds to the central device in the claims. Communication board 42
Includes a condition transmitting unit 421 and a state receiving unit 422. The condition transmitting unit 421 corresponds to a condition transmitting unit described in claims. The hard disk 43 has a condition setting program 45
1, a display control program 452, and other necessary programs. These perform setting and transmission of individual welding conditions described later, reception of current waveforms and other welding machine states, display display, and other processing. The display control program 452 corresponds to a display control unit described in claims.

While the factory is operating, the display 48
Displays a screen (line display screen) 55 as shown in FIG. This screen 55 displays the display control program 4
52, each welding robot of each production line is displayed in the form of a box. Here, the serial number DR1 for each line of the door, underbody and roof
DR5, UB1 to UB9, and RF1 to RF6 only.

Display 48 is used for daily welding state management.
On the screen. The management of the welding state can be broadly divided into setting / adjustment of conditions and monitoring of the operating state. First, for setting / adjustment of the conditions, the mouse 47 is operated to move the cursor to a desired welding robot box on the line display screen 55 in FIG. 2, for example, the welding robot UB6 of the underbody welding line, and click the left button. . In addition, since it is redundant, "the mouse 47 is operated, ...
... The operation of "clicking the left button" is simply referred to as "clicking". This "click"
It also includes operations using the cursor keys of the keyboard 46 and other similar operations.

In response to the click, a menu window 73 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed. The display contents of the menu window 73 include “welding condition setting”, “waveform display”, and “measured value”.
“Abnormal recording”, “Current locus”, and “File”. The information to be displayed is not limited to this. Here, the "welding condition setting" 73a at the top is clicked. Condition setting program 4
In response to this, the welding robot 51 clicked,
For example, a control panel screen 80 (FIG. 4) having substantially the same configuration as the panel of the welding control device of the UB 6 is displayed. When the different boxes DR1 to DR5, UB1 to UB9, and RF1 to RF6 are clicked, the condition setting program 451 causes the robot's welding control device or the control panel of the monitor device,
For example, control panel screens 90, 140, 160, and 180 as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 are displayed.

For example, in the case of the control panel screen 80 (FIG. 4), first, each key of the numeric keypad display 81 is clicked to input a password. The entered password is displayed in the password entry box. If an error is made, the user clicks on the cancel key 82 and re-enters it. If the input is correct, the "OK" key 83 is clicked. The entered password is collated with the data held in the condition setting program 451. If the password does not match, a password mismatch message is displayed and the display returns to the original line display screen 55 (FIG. 2).

If the entered password is correct, the password input frame is deleted, and setting and changing of welding conditions on the control panel screen 80 of FIG. 4 become possible. First, the configuration of the control panel screen 80 is substantially the same as the control panel of the welding control device provided in the welding robot (welding machine) UB6.

The four waveforms below the indications of "process name" and "welding machine number" are transition models for four welding conditions of starting input, pressurizing output, welding current, and welding pressurizing. These are divided into sections by vertical broken lines, and each section is provided with a section symbol. The definition of the division symbol is displayed in the right frame. For example, ISQ is the initial pressurization time.
The symbol “CYC” on the right side indicates that the unit of the set time in each of these sections is a cycle.

The set time of each section is displayed in each display frame below the symbol. Here, for the sake of convenience, all are displayed as “99”. In addition, the first and second energizing currents and the percentages relative to the maximum current are displayed in two display frames below them, and below them, the welding transformer turns ratio, other welding conditions and monitoring conditions are displayed. I have. The numerical value in the display frame 84 above the section symbol indicates the number of times pulsation has been set.
The section indicated by the arrow at both ends of is repeatedly executed.

A plurality of sets of each welding condition can be set. This is to enable welding conditions to be changed according to the type of material, thickness, and other properties of the target workpiece.
Each set is represented by a “condition number”. Each time you click one of the display frames under the notation of "condition number", the condition number is incremented by one, and the set time of each section for the condition number displayed at that time and other welding conditions of that condition number Is displayed in each display frame.

When setting or changing a value, a display frame in which a target welding condition is displayed is clicked. Then, a value is input using the numeric keypad display 81, and the carriage return key 87 is clicked. For example, in the case of setting the welding current, the display frame of the first energizing current or the second energizing current display frame is clicked to set or change the value.

When the setting and adjustment are completed, an OK key 85 is clicked. The condition setting program 451 supplies the set or changed welding condition values to the condition transmitting unit 421.
The condition transmitting unit 421 and the condition receiving unit 222
It supports a communication protocol conforming to, for example, TCP / IP. The condition transmitting unit 421 supplies the set value to the welding control device of the corresponding welding robot 10, for example, the welding control device 20 of the welding robot UB6 of the underbody welding line.

On the welding control device 20 side, the transmitted data is received by the condition receiving unit 222 and stored in the condition holding unit 23. Then, based on the set value, the welding control unit 24
Controls the magnitude of the current, the energizing time, and the like. To cancel the setting or changing operation for some reason, the cancel key 86 is clicked. In this case, the screen returns to the original line display screen 55 (FIG. 2), and the condition transmission and the like are not performed.

The control panel screen 90 shown in FIG. 5 will be described. The screen 90 shown here displays substantially the same configuration as the panel of the welding control device for a laser welding machine, and is also controlled by the display control program 452 in FIG. The control panel screen 90 includes a setting unit 91 and a display unit 92. The setting unit 91 is, so to speak, an operation button, a menu selection button 93, cursor movement buttons 94 to 97, a set value increase / decrease button 98, and a confirm button 9.
9. It has a reset button 101 when a problem occurs.
In order to match the display contents with the control panel of the individual welding control device 20, cursor movement buttons 94 to 97 are also displayed, and the operation of the cursor 102 is enabled. This can be omitted because the operation can be performed.

The transition target value model line 111 of the display unit 92
Is composed of sections separated by broken lines at each bending point. The first is an up slope section, followed by a heat section, a down slope, and a cool section (H1 to C1). The same applies to the sections U2 to D2. The up slope sections U1 and U2 are sections where the laser output is increased from energy 0 to a set value, and the heat sections H1 and H2 are sections where the energy is maintained. Down slope D
1 and D2 are sections where the laser output is reduced from the set value to energy 0, and cool section C1 is a section where the energy is 0 until the next up slope.

In the display frames 112 and 113, the heat section H
The set value of the laser beam output maintained at 1, H2 is displayed. Also, the time setting values of each section are indicated by display frames 114 to 121.
Will be displayed. The laser output and the time are changed or set by the buttons 93 to 101 of the setting unit. That is, the cursor 102 is moved to desired setting value display frames 112 to 121 by operating the mouse or the cursor movement buttons 94 to 97. By operating the set value increase / decrease button 98, the cursor 102
Increase or decrease the set value of the display frame where is positioned. Table 1 shows examples of setting values. Energy is represented by the symbol En (n is the number of times). The time is represented by adding a D to the head of the code U to C in each section (DUn to DCn).

[0030]

[Table 1]

In the table, for example, the values in the horizontal direction of the row of n = 1 are set values of the times DU1 to DC1 and the energy E1. The unit of time is millisecond and the unit of energy is watt. 0 is inserted in the part not set.

After the set value is set or increased / decreased, the enter button 99 is clicked. The condition setting program 451
In response, the set or changed welding condition value is supplied to the condition transmitting unit 421, and the condition transmitting unit 421 is connected to the welding control device (not shown) of the corresponding laser welding machine (not shown).
Supply the set value. In the welding control device 20 of the laser welding machine, the transmitted data is received by the condition receiving unit 222 and stored in the condition holding unit 23. Based on the set values, the welding control unit 24 controls the output of laser light, time, and the like. When the laser welding machine is stopped due to charging abnormality, cooling water temperature abnormality or the like, the trouble reset button 101 is clicked and the apparatus is restarted.

The control panel screen 14 shown in FIGS.
0, 160, and 180 are also displayed by the same operation as the control panel screens 80 (FIG. 4) and 90 (FIG. 5). These also have substantially the same configuration as the control panel of the welding control device or the monitor device.
In the same way as described above, it is used for setting and changing welding conditions and monitoring conditions. The transmission and reception of welding conditions and monitoring conditions by the condition transmitting unit 42, the condition receiving unit 222, and the like are executed in the same manner as described above. 6 to 8, the configuration will be briefly described. Note that the content of the control panel screen is determined according to the configuration of the control panel of the welding machine or the monitor device, and is not limited to the examples illustrated in FIGS.

A control panel screen 140 shown in FIG. 6 represents a control panel of a welding monitor (welding monitoring device) with substantially the same configuration, and includes a liquid crystal display device 141, a light emitting diode group 142, an operation button group 143, and the like. It has.

The control panel screen 160 shown in FIG. 7 is a representation of the control panel of the constant current welding control device with substantially the same configuration, and includes a condition number setting / display section 161 (upper display section, lower setting), Cycle setting / display unit 162, welding current setting / measured value / display unit 163, monitor setting / display unit 164,
Pressurization number setting / display section 165, data / counter setting /
Display section 166, state display section 167, welding on / off key 16
8, a reset key 169 and the like.

The control panel screen 180 shown in FIG.
The control panel of the AG laser welding device is represented by substantially the same configuration. The emergency stop switch 181 and the liquid crystal display 18
2. Laser start key 184, abnormal reset key 18
5, a cursor key 186, a value change key 187, a menu selection key 188, an enter key 189, and the like.

Next, monitoring of the operation state will be described. First, the required check interval varies depending on the processing object, the processing content, the tolerance for quality variation, and the like. Therefore, the specific check interval is empirically and experimentally determined at each site. For example, if the check is performed once every 15 minutes, the mouse 4
7, the user clicks a box of a desired welding robot on the line display screen 55 of FIG. 2, for example, the welding robot UB6 of the underbody welding line. In response to the click, the display control program 452 displays the menu window 73 as shown in FIG.

When the menu window 73 is displayed,
Click the item you want to check. For example, if you want to check the waveform in cycle units, use item 7 of “Waveform display”.
Click 3b. In response, the display control program 452 displays the waveform display menu window 74 (FIG. 9). Here, if you want to check the “cycle unit waveform”, click the item 75 and then click “O
"K" key 79 is clicked. Display control program 4
52 acquires data related to the cycle unit waveform from the welding control device 20 of the designated welding robot 10 via the communication substrate 22, the communication line 30, and the welding control device side communication substrate 42; The window 131 of the cycle unit waveform is displayed.

If the user wants to check the locus graph, the item 73 of "current locus" in the menu window 73 of FIG.
Click e. The display control program 452 similarly operates the menu window 76 for displaying the current locus shown in FIG.
Is displayed. At this point, the user clicks on the item 77 of "trajectory graph" and then clicks the "OK" key 79. The display control program 452 performs the same processing to acquire the data related to the locus graph from the welding control device 20 of the same welding robot 10 and, as indicated by the reference numeral 132 in FIG. Overlaid on.

If the user wishes to check the waveform during energization, he or she clicks on "waveform display" 73b in the menu window of FIG. The display control program 452 again displays the waveform display menu window 74 of FIG.
Here, the user clicks the item 78 of “waveform during energization”, and then clicks the “OK” key 79. The display control program 452 similarly acquires data on the waveform during energization from the welding control device 20 of the same welding robot 10,
As shown in FIG. 11, a window 133 of a waveform during energization is displayed over the locus graph 132.

When the "measured value" 73c in FIG. 3 is clicked, a measured value window 134 in FIG. 12 is displayed.
When the "abnormal recording" 73d is clicked, a window 135 in FIG. 13 is displayed. When a row of a desired abnormality record is clicked, an abnormality record detail window 136 is displayed. Various other data can be displayed. If you want to see the part that is hidden by overlaying,
Click the appropriate position in the window. In response to this, the display control program 452 displays the window in the foreground. To end the display, the user clicks the close button 137 on the left shoulder of each window. This clears the window.

It should be noted that each of the above data is checked by checking all the robots (DR1 to DR1) to be checked at that time.
DR5, some or all of UB1 to UB9 and RF1 to RF6). If a defect is found in the checking of the operating state, the setting value changing process described first is performed.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, the central device is connected to the welder-side device, which is located near the welder and manages the welder, by a communication line. At this time, a screen display with almost the same configuration as the control panel of the welding machine side device, that is, a visual display of each control panel in the center is performed, and on this screen display, management conditions of each welding machine are set and adjusted. Made it possible.

Therefore, the contents displayed on the screen are the same as those of the respective welding machine-side devices, that is, visual.
The operation can be performed with the same feeling as going to the site and operating, and more accurate judgment and quick operation become possible. Since the screen display is the same as before, there is little risk of setting error and the advantage of remote control can be enjoyed without a new mental burden. By using a general-purpose communication line (general-purpose network system), the communication speed can be increased, and the current waveform of each welding machine can be viewed on the central side.

Further, general-purpose communication lines such as Ethernet
Hardware and software specifications for interconnection are published, and you can freely connect to it at any time.
Therefore, for example, even if a system according to the present invention is introduced into a factory, if a general-purpose communication line is already established in the factory, it can be used as it is, and system design, device manufacturing, and on-site assembly can be performed. Adjustment and others can be performed at low cost. Also, purchase a personal computer,
In the same way as the user or company assembling and installing software, these procedures can be performed only by the user without the assistance of the manufacturer.

Further, for example, welding conditions of a welding machine dispersed in a large factory can be centrally adjusted and managed at one place. For this reason, the number of times to go to the site is greatly reduced, and the labor of the person in charge can be reduced. In addition, the welding current and the like, which have been previously set to be slightly larger, can be adjusted slightly and constantly maintained at the optimum value.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a remote welding management device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a line display screen.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a menu screen.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a control panel screen (resistance welding control device).

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a control panel screen (laser welding machine).

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a control panel screen (resistance welding monitor).

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a control panel screen (resistance welding control device).

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a control panel screen (laser welding machine).

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a menu window for waveform display.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a menu screen for trajectory display.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing a window of a cycle unit waveform.

FIG. 12 is a front view showing a measurement value window.

FIG. 13 is a front view showing a window for abnormality recording.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing a waveform example of a laser beam.

[Explanation of symbols]

10a to 10c welding robot 20 welding control device 22 communication board 221 state transmission unit 222 condition reception unit 23 condition storage unit 24 welding control unit 30 communication line 40 personal computer 41 personal computer body 42 ... Communication substrate 421 ... Condition transmission unit 422 ... Status reception unit 451 ... Condition setting program 452 ... Display control program 48 ... Display 49 ... Welding tip 55 ... Line display screen 80 ... Control panel screen 90 ... Control panel screen 100 ... Remote welding Management device 140: Control panel screen 160: Control panel screen 180: Control panel screen AUI: Attachment Interface Unit MAU: Medium
Attachment Unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI G06F 17/60 G06F 15/21 R

Claims (6)

[Claims] A central device and a welder device arranged near the welder and managing the welder, wherein the central device and the welder device are connected by a communication line. A display control unit that displays substantially the same configuration as a control panel of the welder-side device on a display unit thereof, and sets the management conditions of the welder via the displayed control panel screen. Condition setting means, and condition transmitting means for transmitting the set management conditions to the welding machine-side device via the communication line, wherein the welding machine-side device is transmitted via the communication line. A remote welding management apparatus, comprising: condition receiving means for receiving the management condition; and management means for managing the individual welding machines in accordance with the received management condition. 2. The remote welding management device according to claim 1, wherein the welding device is a welding control device. 3. The remote welding management device according to claim 1, wherein the welding device is a welding monitoring device. 4. A control panel of the welding machine side device, which is displayed on the central device side, displays substantially the same configuration as that displayed during a management condition setting operation of the welding machine side device. The remote welding management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein 5. A control panel of the welding machine side device, which is displayed on the central device, displays substantially the same waveform as that displayed during a waveform displaying operation of the welding machine side device. The remote welding management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 6. The remote welding management device according to claim 5, wherein a waveform displayed on the central device is displayed in an overlapping manner.