CN217513050U

CN217513050U - Friction stir welding apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN217513050U
Application number: CN202123036280.6U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 砂田俊秀; 松浦聪司; 畑中敦博
Original assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-12-06
Filing date: 2021-12-06
Publication date: 2022-09-30
Anticipated expiration: 2031-12-06

Abstract

The problem of the present invention is to suppress labor and man-hours in friction stir welding, and to suppress the swing of a tool in the radial direction. In order to solve the above problem, the friction stir welding apparatus (50) of the present invention includes a tool (25) having a shoulder (25b) and a probe (25a), and friction stir welds workpieces (W1, W2) to each other using the probe (25 a). The friction stir welding device (50) further includes a positioning portion (22) and a plate (10). And a positioning part (22) which is provided on the outer side of the shoulder part (25b) in the radial direction independently of the rotation of the tool and at a position overlapping the shoulder part (25b) in the axial length direction, and which is displaced together with the tool (25) in the axial length direction and the radial direction. The plate (10) has an insertion hole (12) for inserting a tool (25) and a positioning portion (22) when the workpieces (W1, W2) are friction stir welded to each other by a probe (25 a).

Description

Friction stir welding apparatus

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a friction stir welding device for workpieces such as aluminum materials.

Background

The friction stir welding apparatus has a tool that is rotationally driven in most cases, and uses the tool to friction stir weld workpieces to each other.

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2004-337891

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

When a tool is brought into contact with a workpiece or the tool is separated from the workpiece during friction stir welding, the tool may be rotated and the rigidity of the friction stir welding apparatus may be insufficient, which may cause radial swinging of the tool and prevent proper welding. In this regard, some devices temporarily stop the rotation of the tool each time the abutment or disengagement is performed, thereby solving the problem of the tool swinging.

However, in this case, although the swing of the tool can be solved, the rotation of the tool needs to be temporarily stopped every time, and thus the labor and man-hours increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to suppress labor and man-hours, and suppress swinging of a tool in a radial direction.

The inventor of the utility model finds that, if set up location portion more to the radial outside than the instrument, location portion and instrument are together in the axial length direction and the radial displacement and allow for rotatory for the instrument to, under the state of inserting instrument and location portion through the plug-in hole of board, utilize the instrument to carry out the friction stir joint, just can solve above-mentioned problem, thereby accomplish the utility model discloses a. The present invention relates to the following friction stir welding apparatus (1) to (6).

(1) A friction stir welding apparatus including a tool having a shoulder portion that protrudes from a tip end of a head in an axial direction and is rotationally driven around an axis, and a probe that protrudes from the tip end of the shoulder portion in the axial direction and rotates around the axis together with the shoulder portion, the friction stir welding apparatus comprising:

a positioning portion provided on a radially outer side of the shoulder portion independently of rotation of the tool and overlapping the shoulder portion in the axial direction, the positioning portion being displaced in the axial direction and the radial direction together with the tool; and a (C) and (D) and,

and a plate having an insertion hole for inserting the tool and the positioning portion when the workpieces are friction stir welded to each other by the probe.

According to the utility model described in the above (1), when the workpieces are friction stir welded to each other by the probe, the positioning portion that is displaced in the radial direction together with the tool is inserted into the insertion hole, and the swing width of the tool in the radial direction can be restricted within the range of the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the positioning portion and the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole. In this case, the positioning portion prevents the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shoulder portion from coming into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole, thereby protecting the shoulder portion.

Further, when the tip of the probe is brought into contact with the workpiece or when the tip of the probe is separated from the workpiece, it is not necessary to stop the rotation of the tool every time, and therefore, labor and man-hours can be suppressed as compared with the case where the tool is stopped every time. As described above, according to the utility model of the above (1), it is possible to suppress labor and man-hours, and suppress the swing of the tool in the radial direction.

(2) The friction stir welding apparatus according to the above (1), wherein the positioning portion is a sleeve that protrudes in the axial direction from a position on the distal end surface of the head portion radially outward of the tool with a space therebetween.

According to the aspect (2), the sleeve can prevent the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shoulder portion from coming into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole, and suppress the tool from swinging in the radial direction.

(3) The friction stir welding apparatus according to the above (1), comprising a bearing having an inner ring attached to the shoulder portion and an outer ring attached to the inner ring via a roller so as to be relatively rotatable around the axis,

the outer ring is the positioning part.

According to the aspect (3), the bearing can prevent the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shoulder portion from contacting the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole, and suppress the tool from swinging in the radial direction.

(4) The friction stir welding apparatus according to the above (2), wherein one of the shoulder portions protrudes further in the axial direction than the sleeve,

and a length of projection of the tool in the axial direction from a tip end of the sleeve is smaller than a thickness of the plate in the axial direction.

According to the utility model in (4) above, since one of the shoulder portions protrudes in the axial direction more than the sleeve, the one of the front ends of the shoulder portions is closer to the workpiece than the front end of the sleeve. Therefore, even if the burr is generated by the friction stir, the burr is pressed by the shoulder portion, and the interference of the burr with the sleeve or the intrusion of the burr between the shoulder portion and the sleeve to make the rotation of the tool unstable are suppressed. Further, since the protruding length of the tool from the distal end of the sleeve is smaller than the thickness of the plate, the distal end of the sleeve is inserted into the insertion hole before the distal end of the tool abuts against the workpiece. Therefore, the tool is protected by the sleeve from the contact with the workpiece and the separation of the tool from the workpiece, and the burr is pressed by the shoulder portion, so that the swing of the tool in the radial direction can be suppressed.

(5) The friction stir welding apparatus according to the above (2) or (4), wherein the sleeve has a tapered surface that is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side at the distal end portion, and has a tapered shape that is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side more gradually than the tapered surface and continues to the tapered surface at the base end side than the tapered surface.

According to the utility model of the above (5), the following effects can be obtained. When the tool and the sleeve are displaced from the insertion hole, or when the sleeve is thermally expanded in the radial direction, the sleeve may interfere with the peripheral portion of the insertion hole. In this case, the impact due to the interference can be dispersed and weakened in stages by the tapered surface and the tapered shape closer to the base end side than the tapered surface. Thus, the guide function is improved, the accuracy required when the sleeve is inserted into the insertion hole is relaxed, and the quality of joining the workpieces to each other is improved by suppressing damage and swing of the tool.

(6) The friction stir welding apparatus according to any one of the above (1) to (4), wherein the friction stir welding apparatus includes a multi-joint arm having a plurality of joints, and the head is mounted on a distal end portion of the multi-joint arm.

According to the utility model of the above (6), since the tool is mounted on the distal end portion of the articulated arm with the head interposed therebetween, the tool is more likely to swing in the radial direction than in the case where the tool is mounted on the distal end portion of the single-joint arm or the jointless moving body. Therefore, the effect of the positioning portion can be exerted more effectively to suppress the swing of the tool in the radial direction.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress labor and man-hours, and suppress the swing of the tool in the radial direction.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front sectional view showing a friction stir welding apparatus of a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front sectional view showing friction stir welding.

Fig. 4 is a front sectional view showing a friction stir welding apparatus of a second embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a front sectional view showing a friction stir welding apparatus of a third embodiment.

Reference numerals are as follows:

a plate 10; a through-hole 12; a head portion 21; a sleeve (positioning portion) 22; the tapered surfaces 22 a; a tapered shape 22 b; a bearing 23; an outer ring (positioning portion) 231; an inner ring 232; a roller 233; a tool 25; the probe 25 a; a shoulder 25 b; a multi-jointed arm 30; the friction stir welding apparatus 50.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope not departing from the gist of the present invention.

The first embodiment:

fig. 1 is a front sectional view showing a friction stir welding apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment. The Friction Stir Welding apparatus 50 is an apparatus for Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) workpieces W1, W2 to each other, and includes a robot, a tool (tool)25, a sleeve (sleeve)22, a stage 40, and a plate 10.

The robot includes a multi-joint arm 30 having a plurality of joints 31 to 33, a head 21 is attached to a distal end portion of the multi-joint arm 30, and a tool 25 and a socket 22 are attached to the head 21. The multi-joint arm 30 moves the tool 25 and the sleeve 22 in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction by moving the head.

The tool 25 has a shoulder 25b and a probe 25 a. The shoulder 25b protrudes downward (in the axial direction) from a lower end surface (a distal end surface) of the head 21, and is rotationally driven around an upper line and a lower line (around an axis) by a driving device (not shown) such as a motor. The probe 25a is a portion for friction stir spot-joining the workpieces W1, W2 to each other, protrudes downward from the lower end surface of the shoulder 25b, and rotates together with the shoulder 25 b.

The sleeve 22 projects downward from the lower end surface of the head 21 at a position radially outward of the tool 25 with a space from the tool 25. That is, the sleeve 22 is provided at a position radially outward of the shoulder 25b and overlapping the shoulder 25b in the vertical direction, and is displaced in the axial direction (vertical direction) and the radial direction (horizontal direction) together with the shoulder 25b, allowing relative rotation of the shoulder 25b about the axial line (vertical and horizontal lines). The sleeve 22 constitutes a positioning portion. The material of the sleeve 22 may be, for example, resin, or a metal such as an iron material or an aluminum alloy.

The stage 40 is a table on which the workpieces W1, W2 are placed. The plate 10 is a member for pressing and fixing the works W1, W2 from above to the table 40, and extends in the horizontal direction. The plate 10 has insertion holes 12 penetrating in the vertical direction at each of the portions where friction stir spot welding is performed with respect to the works W1, W2. The insertion hole 12 is a hole into which the shoulder 25b and the sleeve 22 are inserted when the workpieces W1, W2 are friction stir spot-joined to each other by the probe 25 a. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the insertion hole 12 is a circular hole having an inner periphery slightly larger than an outer periphery of the sleeve 22 in a plan view.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a part of fig. 1. One of the shoulder portions 25b protrudes downward by a predetermined length L3 from the sleeve 22. That is, one of the lower ends of the sleeve 22 is located above the predetermined length L3, compared to the lower end of the sleeve shoulder 25 b. Thus, when burrs are generated by the friction stir of the probe 25a, the burrs are easily pressed by the shoulder 25b before reaching the sleeve 22.

The downward projecting length L2 of the tool 25 from the lower end of the sleeve 22 is smaller than the plate vertical thickness L1 (i.e., the length in the through-hole 12 penetrating direction). Thus, the lower end of the sleeve 22 is inserted into the insertion hole 12 before the lower end of the probe 25a abuts on the first workpiece W1, which is the upper workpiece.

Next, the friction stir spot welding performed by the friction stir welding apparatus 50 described above will be described. In the friction stir spot welding, the workpiece W1, W2 is placed on the table 40, the plate 10 is further placed thereon, and the robot moves the head 21 directly above the insertion hole 12 and then moves downward by the multi-joint arm 30 while the tool 25 is rotating. Thus, as shown in fig. 2, the tool 25 and the sleeve 22 are disposed inside the inner circumferential surface of the insertion hole 12.

Thereafter, the robot further moves the head 21 downward, and the tip of the probe 25a is brought into contact with the upper surface of the first workpiece W1. At this time, the tool 25 may be swung in the radial direction (horizontal direction) by a change in rotation of the tool 25 or a change in contact pressure between the probe 25a and the first workpiece W1. In this case, the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 22 abuts against the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12, and the tool 25 is prevented from swinging in the radial direction. That is, the radial swing of the tool 25 is restricted within the range of the clearance between the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 22 and the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12.

Thereafter, the robot moves the head 21 further downward, and as shown in fig. 3, the probe 25a is inserted through the first workpiece W1, and the first workpiece W1 is friction stir spot joined to the second workpiece W2 located therebelow. Thereby, a joint J spanning between the first workpiece W1 and the second workpiece W2 is formed.

Thereafter, the robot moves the tool 25 and the socket 22 upward to pull the probe 25a out of the first workpiece W1, and separates the tip of the probe 25a from the upper surface of the first workpiece W1. At this time, the tool 25 may be swung in the radial direction by a change in rotation of the tool 25 or a change in contact pressure between the probe 25a and the first workpiece W1. In this case, too, the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 22 abuts against the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12, and the tool 25 is prevented from swinging in the radial direction.

During the above series of operations from the abutment to the disengagement of the tool 25 with respect to the workpieces W1, W2, the tool 25 is kept rotating and does not stop or restart the rotation.

The above series of operations are repeated at each friction stir spot joining portion. That is, this is repeated for each insertion hole 12. The friction stir spot welding may be performed sequentially by 1 tool 25 and the multi-joint arm 30, or may be performed simultaneously by a plurality of tools 25 and a plurality of joints of the multi-joint arm 30.

The effects of the present embodiment are summarized below. According to the present embodiment, by inserting the sleeve 22, which moves in the radial direction (horizontal direction) together with the tool 25, into the insertion hole 12 when the workpieces W1, W2 are friction stir spot-joined to each other by the probe 25a, the amplitude of the radial oscillation of the tool 25 can be limited within the range of the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the sleeve 22 and the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12. At this time, the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shoulder portion 25b is prevented from contacting the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12 by the sleeve 22, thereby protecting the shoulder portion 25 b.

Further, when the lower end of the probe 25a is brought into contact with the first workpiece W1 or when the lower end of the probe 25a is separated from the first workpiece W1, it is not necessary to temporarily stop the rotation of the tool 25 every time, and therefore, labor and man-hours can be suppressed as compared with the case where the rotation is stopped every time.

As shown in fig. 2, one of the shoulder portions 25b projects downward from the sleeve 22, and therefore one of the lower ends of the shoulder portions 25b is closer to the workpieces W1, W2 than the lower end of the sleeve 22. Therefore, even if burrs are generated due to friction stirring, the burrs are pressed by the shoulder portions 25 b. Further, when a part of the burr protrudes outside the shoulder portion 25b, the protruding burr is hard to reach the sleeve 22 because the lower end of the sleeve 22 is located above the lower end of the shoulder portion 25 b. Due to the above, the burr is suppressed from interfering with the sleeve 22, or the burr intrudes between the shoulder 25b and the sleeve 22 to make the rotation of the tool 25 unstable. Further, since the downward projecting length L2 of the tool 25 from the lower end of the sleeve 22 is smaller than the vertical thickness L1 of the plate 10, the lower end of the sleeve 22 is inserted into the insertion hole 12 before the lower end of the probe 25a abuts on the first workpiece W1. Therefore, the tool 25 is protected by the sleeve 22 from the contact of the probe 25a with the first workpiece W1 until the probe comes off, and the burr is pressed by the shoulder 25b, thereby suppressing the tool 25 from swinging in the radial direction.

Further, as shown in fig. 1, since the tool 25 is mounted on the distal end portion of the articulated arm 30, the tool 25 is more likely to swing in the radial direction than in the case where the tool 25 is mounted on the distal end portion of a single articulated arm or an articulated movable body. Therefore, the effect of the sleeve 22 suppressing the swing of the tool 25 in the radial direction can be exerted more effectively.

Second embodiment:

next, a second embodiment will be explained. The present embodiment will be described mainly in terms of differences from the first embodiment, and description of the same or similar aspects as those of the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

Fig. 4 is a front sectional view showing the friction stir welding apparatus 50 of the present embodiment. The sleeve 22 has a tapered surface 22a that is reduced in diameter downward at an outer edge portion of a lower end portion (tip end portion), and has a tapered shape 22b that is reduced in diameter downward more gradually than the tapered surface 22a and is continuous with the tapered surface 22a at a position above (on the base end side) the tapered surface 22 a. The plate 10 has a tapered surface 12a having an upward diameter at an upper end portion of the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12.

According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. When the tool 25 and the sleeve 22 are displaced from the insertion hole 12 or when the sleeve 22 is thermally expanded in the radial direction, the sleeve 22 may interfere with the peripheral portion of the insertion hole 12. In this case, first, the tapered surface 22a of the sleeve 22 slides on the tapered surface 12a of the insertion hole 12, so that the sleeve 22 is guided into the insertion hole 12. Thereafter, the tapered shape 22b of the sleeve 22 slides on the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12, whereby the sleeve 22 is further guided to the inside of the insertion hole 12. Thus, the impact due to the interference between the sleeve 22 and the peripheral portion of the insertion hole 12 can be dispersed and weakened in stages by the

tapered surfaces

12a,22a and the tapered shape 22 b. This improves the guiding function, alleviates the need for precision when the socket 22 is inserted into the insertion hole 12 by the articulated arm 30, and improves the joining quality of the workpieces W1, W2 by suppressing damage and wobbling of the tool 25.

The third embodiment:

next, a third embodiment will be explained. The present embodiment will be described mainly in terms of differences from the first embodiment, and description of the same or similar aspects as those of the first embodiment will be omitted as appropriate.

Fig. 5 is a front sectional view showing the friction stir welding apparatus 50 of the present embodiment. The friction stir welding apparatus 50 includes a bearing 23 instead of the sleeve 22 described in the first embodiment. The bearing 23 has an inner race 232 and an outer race 231. The inner race 232 is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the shoulder portion 25b and rotates together with the shoulder portion 25 b. The outer ring 231 is mounted on the inner ring 232 so as to be rotatable relative to the inner ring 232 about the axis (about the vertical axis) via a plurality of rollers 233 on the radially outer side of the inner ring 232. In the present embodiment, the outer ring 231 constitutes a positioning portion instead of the sleeve 22 described in the first embodiment.

According to the present embodiment, when the tool 25 swings in the radial direction when the tip of the probe 25a is brought into contact with the upper surface of the first workpiece W1 or when the tip of the probe 25a is separated from the upper surface of the first workpiece W1, the outer peripheral surface of the outer ring 231 comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12. Therefore, by the bearing 23, it is possible to prevent the contact of the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shoulder portion 25b with the inner peripheral surface of the insertion hole 12 and suppress the swing of the tool 25 in the radial direction.

Other embodiments are as follows:

the above-described embodiments may be modified as follows, for example. Instead of the friction stir spot welding, the insertion hole 12 may be a horizontally extending elongated hole instead of a circular hole in a plan view, and friction stir wire welding (wire welding by friction stir welding) may be performed in the longitudinal direction of the elongated hole. Further, instead of overlapping the works W1 and W2 with each other and then performing friction stir welding, the works W1 and W2 may be aligned in the horizontal direction and butted against each other, and the butted portion may be subjected to friction stir welding. In this case, if the two workpieces W1, W2 are displaced differently by the pressure of the tool 25, the tool 25 may oscillate in a different manner from the overlapping state, but the oscillation can be suppressed by the sleeve 22 or the bearing 23.

Claims

1. A friction stir welding apparatus includes a tool having a shoulder portion that protrudes in an axial direction from a distal end of a head portion and is rotationally driven around an axis, and a probe that protrudes in the axial direction from the distal end of the shoulder portion and rotates around the axis together with the shoulder portion, the tool being configured to perform friction stir welding of workpieces with the probe,

the friction stir welding apparatus is characterized by comprising:

a plate having an insertion hole for inserting the tool and the positioning portion when the workpieces are friction stir welded to each other by the probe.

2. The friction stir welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning portion is a sleeve that projects in the axial direction from a position on the distal end surface of the head portion radially outward of the tool with a space from the tool.

3. The friction stir welding apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a bearing having an inner ring attached to the shoulder portion and an outer ring attached to the inner ring so as to be relatively rotatable around the axis through a roller,

the outer ring is the positioning part.

4. The friction stir welding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one of said shoulder portions protrudes further in the axial direction than said sleeve,

5. The friction stir welding apparatus according to claim 2 or 4, wherein the sleeve has a tapered surface that is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side at the distal end portion, and has a tapered shape that is reduced in diameter toward the distal end side more gradually than the tapered surface and is continuous with the tapered surface at a base end side than the tapered surface.

6. The friction stir welding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a multi-joint arm having a plurality of joints, wherein the head is mounted on a distal end portion of the multi-joint arm.