GB1449232A - Wire moving apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

1449232 Welding by fusion SOONER PRODUCTS CO 29 Oct 1973 [9 July 1973] 50125/73 Heading B3R [Also in Division F2] In gas-shielded, consumable electrode, arc welding apparatus, wherein the electrode wire 12 is pushed by a roller device 14 through a flexible cable 16 to a gun 20, the cable comprises an outer, non-rotary casing 94, a wire path flexible liner 98 and a sheath 96 which is preferably of flexible wound wire and is rotated to vibrate the cable to reduce wire/cable friction losses. The drive for the pushing device is taken from the sheath rotating drive. A wire pulling device 18 (and in Fig. 5, not shown) at the gun, and an intermediate wire feed device (fig. 8, not shown) may be provided if required, both driven from the sheath rotating drive. As shown, the pushing device 14 comprises grooved drive and spring-loaded backing rollers 34, 38, the roller 34 being driven from a hollow shaft 56 through gears 62, 54, 52, 44. The sheath 96 is driven by a motor 74 through a pulley 82, a belt 84 and a pulley 72<SP>1</SP>, the latter being fast with the sheath or a hollow shaft 68 secured thereto. The sheath 96 or hollow shaft 68 are connected to the roller drive shaft 56 by a coupling 86 providing for a drive lag at the pushing device 14 matching that which arises at the pulling device due to wind-up through the length of the sheath 96. The coupling 86 comprises driving and driven halves 156, 162 connected by a helical spring 168 seated in peripheral helical grooves 160, 166 in the halves and clamped to the latter by brackets 170, 172. Lost rotary motion between the halves 156, 162 is limited by mutual axial engagement thereof due to spring wind-up contraction. Drive lag provided by the coupling may be adjusted by substituting different springs or, to vary the spacing therebetween, different length halves. The cable outer casing 94 is such as to remain of substantially round cross-section when in a bent condition. The liner 98 is of plastics, is longitudinally slidable within the sheath 96, is proportioned to allow the wire 12 to be movable both longitudinally and transversely thereof, and is provided with a wire entry funnel 102 which also serves to prevent the liner from slipping through the hollow shaft 56. The pulling device 18 has the gun 20 fast with a housing thereof, is of similar construction to the device 14, and is driven by the sheath 96 without the interposition of the drive lag coupling.