GB1350151A - Rotary welding device - Google Patents

Abstract

1350151 Welding by fusion S PAULANGE 19 April 1971 [15 April 1970] 24949/71 Head- B3R In a rotary, non-consumable electrode, gasshielded, arc welder, particularly for welding tubes to heat exchanger plates, a plate 1, rotatable via a worm and wheel 3, 2, supports a torch 24, a tube-engaging centering member 8, and a filler wire storage spool and feed mechanism 26, 27, and, to enable the torch to make several successive revolutions, welding current, inert (e.g. argon) shielding gas, and cooling fluid are connected to the torch from a cable 15 and lines 16-18 by a rotary union 14, 19 comprising a spring-loaded carbon contact device 20 and channels 22 separated by sealing rings 23. The worm 3 is connected to a driving motor directly or via a flexible shaft. The torch is supported on the plate 1 by means of horizontal and vertical dovetail guides and is adjustable therealong manually or automatically. The torch is also slant adjustable. Successive torch lifts at successive passes are obtained automatically by a servomotor or, as shown, defined by a stepped chock 25. The centering member 8 has a coned end, to accommodate tubes of different diameter, or, as shown, a slotted spherical end 9, and is slidable between upper and lower positions in which it is retained by a spring-loaded detent 12. The filler wire feed mechanism 27 comprises milled rollers driven by a motor which is energized via contacts sliding on a slip ring on an insulating plate 28. Filler wire may be fed at a rate which is a function of welding rate. The plate 1 is rotatable in casing 5 having a spigot 6 by which it may be supported by the articulated means shown in Fig. 2. In the latter, an arm 37 journalling the spigot 6 is pivotable, in a vertical plane, on a bracket 32 connected, by a link 31, to a sleeve 30 vertically slidable on a column 29. A horizontal arm of the bracket 32 carries an electromagnet 33 serving to attach a circular shoe 34 at positions along an arm 35 rotatable about the column 29. Horizontal movement of the welder may be effected manually, electrically or mechanically. In operation, the sleeve 30 is adjusted and, by a stop 39, located on the column 29, the centering member 8 is, in its lower position, placed in the workpiece tube end, the electromagnet 33 is energized, and, by a lever 36, the arm 35 is rotationally locked. The centering member 8 is then raised to its upper position to allow lowering of the torch into its working position.