JP2000207007A - Welding robot specification system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To specify a welding robot for the position of a defect in welding which completed welding when the defect in welding is found by retrieving dotting data of a desired welding robot from a database by using coordinate data on a weld zone as a key and displaying the result. SOLUTION: A welding line A is provided with an A-line server 20a and a welding line B is provided with a B-line server 20b. To those line servers 20a and 20b, all welding robots 10a and 10b installed in the lines are connected through a network 30. Databases dedicated to the lines are stored in the line servers 20a and 20b while dotting data of the respective welding robots 10a and 10b installed in the corresponding lines A and B and coordinate data of respective weld zones where welding to a vehicle body is performed in the welding lines are made to correspond to each other. The dotting data of the welding robot 10a or 10b are retrieved from the database and the result is displayed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a welding robot identification system for identifying a welding robot which has welded a site when a welding defect is found.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In automotive manufacturing lines, welding quality checks are usually performed by the simplest reliable destructive inspection. In the destructive inspection, for example, a welded portion is broken (peeled) using a chisel and a hammer with respect to an inspection target item periodically extracted, and the welding state is confirmed. In this case, when a welding defect is found, the person in charge of the line specifies the welding robot that has welded the part, and more specifically, the installation line of the welding robot that has welded the part and the robot number. After specifying the spot number and the spot number, measures such as changing the robot program and the welding conditions are taken to ensure the perfect welding quality.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional specifying method, it is not possible to determine the welding robot (installation line, robot number, spot number) that has welded a defective welding position by using an automobile body. 300 welding points
Because it is 0 to 4000 points, it depends largely on the knowledge and experience of the person in charge, and it depends on the maintenance of drawings, so it takes time, and it takes a lot of time to find a welding defect. Become. In addition, the equipment cannot be used during that time, which affects production.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and when welding defects are found, it is easy, quick, and quick without the knowledge and experience of a person in charge. It is an object of the present invention to provide a welding robot identification system that can reliably identify a welding robot that has welded that part.

[0005]

The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

(1) A welding robot identification system according to the present invention is a welding robot identification system for identifying a welding robot that has welded a portion when a welding defect is found, and is installed in each welding line. A database that stores the welding point data of each welding robot and the coordinate data of each welding part with respect to the product itself in association with each other, and uses the coordinate data of the welding part as a key to select the welding point data of the desired welding robot from the database. Search means for searching;
Display means for displaying a result of the search means.

(2) The database is stored in an inspection process server installed in the inspection process.

[0008] (3) The line server installed in each welding line has the respective spot data of each welding robot installed in the corresponding welding line and the coordinates of each welding portion to be welded in the welding line with respect to the product itself. A line-dedicated database that stores data in association with data and welding conditions for each hit point are stored.

(4) Each line server transfers each record of the line-dedicated database held by the line server to the inspection process server at a predetermined timing and in a predetermined communication format via a network.

(5) The inspection process server creates the database by dividing the data received from each line server for each item and accumulating the data in a predetermined format.

(6) The welding point data of the welding robot is as follows:
It consists of an installation line, a robot number, and a spot number.

(7) The database is created for each vehicle type.

[0013]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained for each claim.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the coordinate data of all the hit points (all the welded portions) of the product is stored in the database, the coordinate data of the welded portion is simply input to weld the portion. The hit point data of the completed welding robot can be searched and displayed. Therefore, it is possible to perform the specific work of the welding robot at the time of finding a welding defect easily, quickly and reliably without any knowledge or experience, and it is possible to shorten a countermeasure time at the time of finding a welding defect, The impact on production due to equipment shutdown can be minimized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the database is centrally held in the inspection process server, the specific operation is automatically performed only by the inspector directly inputting coordinate data in the inspection process. It can be carried out.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since each line server stores a line-dedicated database and welding conditions for each hitting point, one or a plurality of welding robots installed on each line are stored. Necessary data on the operation can be centrally managed for each line.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, since the elements of the database held in the inspection process server are transferred from each line server, it is not necessary to separately input data necessary for creating the database in the inspection process. Absent.

According to the invention described in claim 5, since the inspection process server automatically creates a database based on the data received from each line server, the data necessary for creating the database is separately input in the inspection process. According to the invention as set forth in claim 6, since the welding point data of the welding robot includes the installation line, the robot number, and the point number (which line, which robot, which point), the coordinate data of the welding portion is provided. The data (items) on the welding robot side associated with are very simple.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the database is provided for each vehicle type, it is possible to easily cope with a multi-mix production system in which the product is an automobile.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a welding robot identification system according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the following, a description will be given of an example of an automobile production line.

Generally, assembling of a vehicle body is performed by a plurality of welding lines, and each welding line is provided with one or a plurality of welding robots. For example, according to the example of FIG. 1, a plurality of lines A,
, And each welding line A, B,.
Alternatively, a plurality of welding robots 10 (for example, a plurality of welding robots 10a, 10b,... On line A) are provided.

Each welding robot 10 has a robot system 1
1 and a welding machine system 12. The robot system 11 comprises a robot body and a robot controller (both not shown), and the welding machine system 12 comprises a welding machine body and a welding timer (both not shown).
The welding machine body is attached to the robot body (usually the tip of the robot arm). The robot controller controls the operation of the robot body in accordance with the robot program taught in advance. is there. The robot controller and the welding timer are synchronized with each other, and the welding by the welding machine body is actually performed when the robot body is positioned at a predetermined work point (welding position).

A dedicated line server 20 is provided for each of the welding lines A, B,.... For example, the welding line A is provided with an A-line server 20a, and the welding line B is provided with a B-line server 20b. All the welding robots 10 installed in the line are connected to the line servers 20a, 20b,. Each of the line servers 20a, 20b,... Is composed of, for example, a normal computer system (personal computer) including a main body, a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like. (Inspection process server).

Each of the line servers 20a, 20b,.
Each of the welding points of the welding robots 10 installed on the corresponding welding lines A, B,... (For example, the robot number and the dot number) and the welding to be performed on the product (vehicle body) 1 itself by the welding line. A line-specific database that stores the coordinate data of
The welding conditions (current value, energizing time, pressing force) for each spot are stored. In other words, the line-dedicated database is to centrally manage the coordinate data of all the hit points (all the welding parts) to be welded on the line. The line-dedicated database is automatically created each time a robot program is changed or newly created using, for example, data of a CAD system (not shown). In addition, welding conditions for each spot are set and input by a person in charge.

Each of the line servers 20a, 20b,.
Are connected via a network 40 to an inspection process server 50 installed in the inspection process. The inspection process server 50 is also composed of, for example, a normal computer system (personal computer) including a main body, a display, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like.
b,...

In the inspection process server 50, the spot data (for example, installation line, robot number, and spot number) of each welding robot 10 installed at A, B,... A database is stored in which coordinate data of each welded part is associated with and stored with respect to itself. That is, this database stores the coordinate data of all the hit points (all the welding parts) of the product (vehicle body) 1. Therefore, in the inspection process, the operator simply inputs the coordinate data of the welded part directly, and searches for the spot data of the welding robot that has welded the part (specification).
Then, it can be displayed on the display. The database is automatically created based on data received from each of the line servers 20a, 20b,... As described later.

For example, an example of the structure of the database stored in the inspection process server 50 is as shown in FIG. This database has four items, specifically,
There are product coordinates, lines, robot numbers, and spot numbers. The product coordinates are the coordinates of the welding portion in the coordinate system set for the product (here, the vehicle body) 1 itself, the line is the welding line on which the welding robot 10 is installed, and the robot number is the line. Robot 10 inside
Is a number that is uniquely assigned to
This is a number indicating the order of the welding robot 10 to perform welding in the robot program. As is apparent from this structure, by simply inputting the product coordinates (x, y, z) of the welded portion, the data can be used as a key to easily set the spot data (line, robot number, spot number) of the welding robot 10, That is, it is possible to uniquely identify which line, which robot, and which hit point. For example, when the product coordinates (10, -20, 10) are input, the part to be welded is the welding robot 1 with the number 101 on the line A.
It is immediately specified that the first hit point is 0.

Preferably, the database as shown in FIG. 2 is created for each vehicle type. Usually, the design of the vehicle body is performed for each vehicle type, and naturally, the correspondence between the welding point data of the welding robot and the coordinate data of the welded portion differs for each vehicle type. By creating a database for each vehicle type in this way, it is possible to easily cope with a multi-mix production system widely used today.

Next, the operation of the welding robot identification system configured as described above will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing in the inspection process server 50 when a welding defect is found.

When a welding defect of the product (vehicle body) 1 is found by a destructive inspection or the like in the inspection process, the inspector determines the coordinate value and the vehicle type of the defective welding point by using the inspection process server 50.
(S11). For the former coordinate value, more specifically, in consideration of an error, the product coordinates (x, y, z) and the search range (for example, a square of 10 cm square) of the defective welding position are designated and input. The given coordinate values have a certain width. In the case of an automobile body, the product coordinates of each weld (that is, the coordinates of the weld relative to the product itself)
Is usually described in the drawings in advance, and is used because it is clear.

When the product coordinates and the vehicle type are input, the inspection process server 50 stores the database (see FIG. 2).
From the group, the database corresponding to the input vehicle type is extracted, and using the input product coordinates as a key, the welding robot's hit point data corresponding to the product coordinates from the extracted database, that is, a line, A robot number and a point number (which line, which robot, which point) are searched (S12).

When the search process is completed, the inspection process server 50
Is the search result (line, robot number, dot number)
Is displayed on the display (S13). Looking at this, the person in charge actually specifies the welding robot (and its spot number) corresponding to the defective welding location.

In response to this result, the person in charge of the line takes measures such as changing the robot program and the welding conditions of the specified welding robot in order to secure the welding quality. Specifically, for example, the teaching work point (welding position) of the robot is corrected, and the welding conditions such as the current value, the conduction time, and the pressing force are corrected. The countermeasure process at this time is
This is performed by the corresponding line server 20.

The search result of the inspection process server 50 is as follows:
The data may be directly transferred to the line server 20 of the corresponding line via the network 40 and displayed on the display.

As described above, the database in the inspection process server 50 is automatically created based on the data received from each of the line servers 20a, 20b,... The data transmission process and the database creation process in the inspection process server 50 are performed as follows.

FIG. 4 shows each line server 20a, 20b,
7 is a flowchart showing data transmission processing in.

When the robot program (teaching data) of the installed welding robot 10 is changed or newly created (S21: YES), each line server 20 designs the product (vehicle body) 1 in the CAD system. , The product coordinates of the welded portion corresponding to the hit point of the welding robot 10 are calculated, and a record in the line-dedicated database is created (S22).

Then, the created record of the line-dedicated database is transferred to the network 40 in a predetermined communication format.
(Step S23). Communication format at this time (communication protocol from each line server 20 to inspection process server 50)
Has a structure as shown in FIG. 5, for example.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a database creation process in the inspection process server 50.

The inspection process server 50 receives data from any one or more line servers 20 (S31: Y
ES), the received data (see FIG. 5) is divided for each item, that is, for each line, robot number, hit number, vehicle type, and product coordinates (x, y, z) (S32).

Then, the data divided for each item is stored in a predetermined location as an element of the database (see FIG. 2) (S33).

Then, if necessary, the records of the database are rearranged for convenient retrieval later (S34). Here, for example, the product coordinates (particularly x
According to the coordinates, the records of the database are rearranged in ascending order of the coordinate values (see FIG. 2).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a welding robot identification system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing an example of the structure of a database held in an inspection process server.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process in an inspection process server when a welding defect is found.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a data transmission process in each line server.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a communication protocol from each line server to an inspection process server.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a database creation process in the inspection process server.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Auto body (product), 10 ... Welding robot, 11 ... Robot system, 12 ... Welder system, 20 ... Line server, 30,40 ... Network, 50 ... Inspection process server (database, search means, display means).

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A welding robot identification system for identifying a welding robot that has welded a site when a welding defect is found, the system comprising: A database that stores coordinate data of each welded part in association with each other; a search unit that searches for desired point data of the welding robot from the database using the coordinate data of the welded part as a key; a result of the search unit And a display unit for displaying a welding robot. 2. The welding robot identification system according to claim 1, wherein the database is held in an inspection process server installed in an inspection process. 3. A line server installed on each welding line has a point data of each welding robot installed on the corresponding welding line and a coordinate data of each welding portion to be welded on the welding line with respect to the product itself. 3. A line-dedicated database for storing and associating the welding conditions with each other and welding conditions for each of the hit points are stored.
The specified welding robot identification system. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each of the line servers transfers each record of the line-dedicated database held by the line server to the inspection process server at a predetermined timing and in a predetermined communication format via a network. The specified welding robot identification system. 5. The inspection process server creates the database by dividing data received from each of the line servers for each item and storing the divided data in a predetermined format. Welding robot identification system. 6. The welding robot identification system according to claim 1, wherein the welding point data of the welding robot includes an installation line, a robot number, and a point number. 7. The welding robot identification system according to claim 1, wherein the database is created for each vehicle type.