JP2002062130A - Method and apparatus for measurement of groove - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the reliability of measured data on a measuring sensor. SOLUTION: The measuring sensor which is attached to an articulated robot arm is arranged on a dot-sequential measuring line which is created on the basis of design data on a material to be welded. The shape of a groove which is changed at every lamination of a bead to the groove formed on the material to be wedled is measured. The expected value of the shape of a groove in a layer to be measured is calculated on the basis of the design data on the material to be wedled and on the basis of the measured data on a layer which is lower by one layer. The measured data is compared with the expected value, and the validity of the measured data is judged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to measurement of the shape of a groove measured for each layer of beads when a groove formed on a material to be welded and changing in a complicated manner in the length direction is automatically welded by multi-layer welding. It belongs to the technical field related to improvement of data reliability and welding quality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a groove measurement technique, for example, a technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-58139 is known.

This conventional groove measurement technique measures the shape of a groove that has changed with each lamination of a bead on a groove formed on a material to be welded attached to the robot arm and an articulated robot arm. Comprising a device with a measurement sensor,
A measurement sensor attached to an articulated robot arm is arranged on a point-sequential measurement line (welding line) created based on the design data (ideal value) of the workpiece to be formed on the workpiece. The shape of the groove changed for each layer of the bead on the groove is measured.

[0004] The measurement data of the measurement sensor is used for correcting a welding line on which a welding torch attached to the robot arm is actually welded.

[0005]

According to the conventional groove measuring method described above, when the shape of the groove changes in a complicated manner, such as a material to be welded in which a pipe is inclined with a plate material, the measurement sensor is used. There is a problem that the measurement data tends to include a measurement error and the reliability of the measurement data is lowered.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and includes a groove measuring method for improving the reliability of measurement data of a measuring sensor, and a groove suitable for implementing the groove measuring method. An object of the present invention is to provide a measurement device ahead.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a groove measuring method according to the present invention employs the following means.

That is, as described in claim 1, a measurement sensor attached to an articulated robot arm is arranged on a point-like measurement line created based on the design data of the material to be welded. In a groove measuring method for measuring a shape of a groove changed for each lamination of a bead on a groove formed in a welding material, the opening of a layer to be measured from design data of a material to be welded and measurement data of one layer below. The method is characterized in that the expected value of the shape is calculated in advance, and the measured data is compared with the expected value to determine the validity of the measured data.

In this means, the validity of the measured data is determined by comparing the measured data with the expected value calculated from the design data as the ideal value and the measured data in the lower layer, so that the reliability of the measured data is increased. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a measurement sensor attached to an articulated robot arm is arranged on a point-sequential measurement line created based on the design data of the material to be welded. In a groove measurement method that measures the shape of a groove that changes every time a bead is stacked on a groove formed in a welding material, measured measurement data, measurement data of one layer below, and measurement of a point before a measurement line It is characterized in that the validity of the measurement data is determined by comparing the data with the data.

According to this means, the validity of the measured data is determined by comparing the measured data of the lower layer with the actually measured value of the point before the measurement line of the layer, so that the reliability of the measured data is high. Become.

Further, as described in claim 3, claim 1
The determination of the validity of the measurement data in the groove measurement method of the present invention and the determination of the validity of the measurement data in the groove measurement method of the second aspect are executed.

In this means, the above-described two-system determination of claims 1 and 2 is executed.

Further, as described in claim 4, claim 1
In any of the groove measurement methods of any one of (1) to (3), when it is determined that the measurement data is not valid, the shape of the groove is measured again at that point on the measurement line.

In this means, when it is determined that the measurement data is not valid, another measurement is performed to obtain accurate measurement data.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when the validity of the measurement data is determined to be invalid by at least one re-measurement, the measurement sensor is arranged at a position different from the original measurement line. The shape of the groove is measured again.

In this means, the arrangement of the measurement sensor is changed and the measurement is performed again.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the groove measuring device according to the present invention employs the following means.

That is, as described in claim 6, an articulated robot arm and a groove shape changed for each lamination of a bead on a groove formed on a material to be welded attached to the robot arm. In a groove measuring device equipped with a measuring sensor to measure, it controls the operation of the robot arm and calculates the expected value of the shape of the groove in the upper layer from the input design data of the material to be welded and the measurement data of the measuring sensor. And a measurement sensor controller that controls the operation of the measurement sensor and compares the expected value transmitted from the robot controller with the measurement data of the measurement sensor to determine the validity of the measurement data.

In this means, the validity of the measurement data is determined by the measurement sensor controller.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an articulated robot arm, and the shape of the groove which is changed every time a bead is stacked on the groove formed on the material to be welded attached to the robot arm. In a groove measuring device provided with a measuring sensor for measuring, a measuring sensor controller for controlling the operation of the measuring sensor, and controlling the operation of the robot arm and measuring data transmitted from the measuring sensor controller and the lower layer transmitted earlier. And a robot controller that compares the measurement data of the point before the measurement line with the previously transmitted measurement data to determine the validity of the measurement data.

In this means, the validity of the measurement data is determined by the robot controller.

Also, as described in claim 8, claim 6
A combination of the measurement sensor controller and the robot controller in the groove measuring device of the present invention with the measurement sensor controller and the robot controller in the seventh aspect.

In this means, the validity of the measurement data is determined by both the measurement sensor controller and the robot controller.

[0025]

Embodiments of a groove measuring method and apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of an embodiment of a groove measuring device according to the present invention will be described.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
It is intended to weld the material A to be welded by inclining and joining an end plate Ab to the end surface of the cylinder Aa. Material A to be welded
In the groove B, a shape approximate to a trapezoid as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 changes in a complicated manner in the length direction. In addition, about this to-be-welded material A, it is laid on a floor surface etc.,
A welding process is performed in which the upper half welding portion C shown by the grid line in FIG. 5 is welded and then inverted and the lower half welding portion is welded.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, each part described later is mounted on a gate-shaped traveling body 1 straddling a workpiece A to be welded. The traveling body 1 has a leg 1b erected on a carriage 1a.
, And can run on a rail with a rack or the like.

An articulated robot arm 2 is supported on the girder 1c of the traveling body 1 so as to be movable in the vertical direction of the girder 1c and in the length direction of the girder 1c. Robot arm 2
Is provided with a welding torch 3, a measuring sensor 4, a slag removing tool 5, and a tool changer capable of replacing and mounting other tools at the tip.

The welding torch 3 is for welding the groove B of the material A to be welded. The neck 3b at the tip of the welding torch 3 is replaceable with respect to the torch body 3a. On the torch body 3a, a welding power source mounted on the carriage 1a of the traveling body 1, a cooling pump, and the robot arm 2 and the beam 1c of the traveling body 1 are integrally mounted on the carriage 1 for moving in the longitudinal direction. A welding torch drive unit 6 such as a filler wire supply unit is connected. The replacement neck 3b is stored in a neck rest 7 supported by the leg 1b of the traveling body 1.

The measuring sensor 4 measures the shape of the groove B of the material A to be welded, and is movable (oscillating) at the same position and posture.
A plurality of measurement points can be scanned by irradiating a laser beam of a spot with a mirror or the like. The measurement sensor 4 is connected to a measurement sensor controller 8 mounted on the girder 1 c of the traveling body 1 so as to be integrally movable in the length direction of the robot arm 2 and the girder 1 c.

The slag removing tool 5 removes slag of a bead formed by welding at the groove B of the material A to be welded, and wipes the slag with a slag that drives the slag by air pressure and air pressure. Nozzle. The slag removal tool 5 is connected to a slag removal tool drive unit 9 such as an air compressor mounted on the bogie unit 1 a of the traveling body 1.

The welding torch 3, the measuring sensor 4, and the slag removing tool 5 are an arm-shaped tool rest supported so as to be movable integrally with the robot arm 2 in the longitudinal direction of the girder 1c of the traveling body 1. 10 and are automatically replaced by the operation of the robot arm 2.

Further, a monitoring camera and an illuminating device for confirming the approximate position of the workpiece A are mounted on the girder 1c of the traveling body 1. In addition, the tool rest 10
A cleaning mechanism 11 that cuts the tip of the filler wire and cleans the nozzle of the neck 3b of the welding torch 3 is attached.

As shown in FIG. 3, the welding torch driving unit 6 and the slag removal tool driving unit 9
Is connected to a robot controller 12 that drives and controls Further, the above-described measurement sensor controller 8 is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), it is connected to the robot controller 12 via the main controller 13.

The robot controller 12 controls the workpiece A
Of the material A to be welded consisting of three-dimensional CAD data of
The design data 14 of the shape, the shape of the groove B, and the measurement line (welding line) in the form of a point sequence is input, and after performing coordinate conversion between the actual coordinates of the material A to be welded, measurement using the measurement line is performed. The position and orientation of the sensor 4 are calculated. Therefore, work such as individual input teaching of a point-sequence-like measurement line at the welding site is omitted, and the measuring operation can be started immediately at the welding site. Also, this robot controller 1
Numeral 2 stores the input design data 14 and the measurement data transmitted from the measurement sensor controller 8 via the main controller 13 and calculates an expected value of the shape of the groove B measured from the measurement data of one lower layer. A function for determining the validity of the measurement data transmitted in comparison with the stored measurement data, and a position, posture, weaving angle, frequency, and the like of the welding torch 3 at the welding line based on the measurement data. And a function of calculating

The above-described measurement sensor controller 8
Stores the design data 14 transmitted from the robot controller 12 via the main controller 13 and the predicted value of the shape of the groove B to be measured, and judges the validity of the measured data by comparing the measured data with the measured data. It has the function to do.

Next, an embodiment of a groove measuring method according to the present invention will be described based on the operation and operation of the embodiment of the groove measuring apparatus according to the present invention.

First, the traveling body 1 is caused to travel and the workpiece A
The robot arm 2 to which the measurement sensor 4 is attached is moved to a position closest to the welding point C.
Therefore, the appropriate support position of the robot arm 2 can be adjusted according to the size and shape of the workpiece A and the position of the groove B, so that the robot arm 2 can be operated efficiently.

Subsequently, by driving the robot arm 2, the shape of the groove B of the material A to be welded is measured by the measuring sensor 4 at a predetermined position and posture along a dotted line of measuring lines. In this measurement, the most suitable position and posture for the measurement are determined in advance from the design data 14 of the groove B of the material A to be welded.
Even if the shape changes complicatedly in the longitudinal direction, it is executed accurately. In this measurement, five measurement points a, b, c, d, and e as shown in FIG. 6 can be considered. One measurement point a is
This is the outer end point of the end surface of the cylinder Aa of the workpiece A. Another one
One measurement point b is a boundary point between the end face of the cylinder Aa of the workpiece A and the bead D. The other one of the measurement points c is the point of the bead D that is most raised. Another measurement point d is a boundary point between the bead D and the end plate Ab of the workpiece A. The remaining one measurement point e is a welding target point on the end plate Ab of the workpiece A corresponding to the above-described measurement point a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the validity of the measurement data of the measurement sensor 4 is determined by comparing the design data 14 stored in the measurement sensor controller 8 with the expected value of the shape of the groove B to be measured. Is determined. The result of the determination is transmitted to the robot controller 12 via the main controller 13. When it is determined that the measurement data is not valid, the robot controller 12 instructs the measurement sensor controller 8 via the main controller 13 to perform measurement again. If it is determined that the measurement data is not valid even after performing the measurement several times again, the robot controller 12 drives the robot arm 2 and the measurement sensor 4
Change the position and orientation of and measure again. If it is determined that the validity of the measurement data is not valid even after several re-measurements in which the position and orientation of the measurement sensor 4 are changed, the measurement at that point on the measurement line is abandoned and the next point is used. Measurement. The shape of the groove B of the workpiece A at the point where measurement was impossible is calculated from the shapes of the groove B at the front and rear points.

If the slag removal tool 5 is attached to the robot arm 2 to remove the slag formed by the welding bead D prior to the above-described measurement, the measurement accuracy of the measurement sensor 4 can be increased. Can be.

The robot controller 12 to which the measurement data of the measurement sensor 4 has been transmitted compares the measurement data with the measurement data of the immediately lower layer and the measurement data of the point before the measurement line as shown in FIG. To determine the validity of the measurement data. If it is determined that the measurement data is not valid, the measurement is performed again as described above.

Thereafter, the robot controller 12
Welding torch 3 at the welding line (not necessarily coincident with the measurement line) based on the measurement data determined to be valid.
, The position, posture, weaving angle, frequency, etc. are calculated. Therefore, the welding torch 3 is controlled based on measurement data that does not include a measurement error or the like.

Subsequently, the robot arm 2 is driven to perform a welding operation. In addition, by replacing the neck portion 3b of the welding torch 3 in accordance with the depth of the groove B, etc., the welding torch 3 can be welded without interfering with the groove B and securing the shield of the welding portion. It can be carried out.

After the welding operation of one layer is completed, the above-described groove B is measured for welding the next upper layer.

[0047]

As described above, the groove measurement method and apparatus according to the present invention compares the measured data with the design data that is the ideal value and the expected value calculated from the lower layer measurement data, Alternatively, since the validity is determined by comparing the measured data of the lower layer with the actual measurement value of a point before the measurement line of the layer, the reliability of the measured data is increased, and the welding quality is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram showing an embodiment of a groove measuring method and apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing another example of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a control configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a groove measuring method and apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a mechanical configuration diagram of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a material to be welded as a measurement target in the embodiment of the groove measuring method and apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part (groove) of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Robot arm 4 Measurement sensor 8 Measurement sensor controller 12 Robot controller 14 Design data A Material to be welded B Groove C Welding point D Bead a, b, c, d, e Measurement point

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuyuki Haruta 118 Futatsuka Noda City, Chiba Prefecture Kawasaki Heavy Industries Noda Factory (72) Inventor Takashi Kuboyama 118 Futatsuka Noda City Chiba Prefecture Kawasaki Heavy Industries Noda Factory ( 72) Inventor Satoru Yamasumi 118 Futatsuka Noda-shi, Chiba Pref. Kawasaki Heavy Industries Noda Factory Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Ryosuke 118 Futatsuka Noda-shi Chiba Pref. DD16 DD30 GG04 GG07 GG39 GG62 GG72 GG74 JJ05 JJ26 MM04 3F059 AA05 BA03 DA03 DC07 DD11 DE03 DE08 FB12 FB16

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A measurement sensor attached to an articulated robot arm is arranged on a point-sequence-shaped measurement line created based on design data of a material to be welded, and the groove is formed on a groove formed on the material to be welded. In the groove measurement method for measuring the groove shape changed for each bead stack, an estimated value of the groove shape of the layer to be measured is calculated from the design data of the material to be welded and the measurement data of one layer below. In addition, a groove measurement method characterized in that measured data is compared with expected values to determine the validity of the measured data. 2. A measurement sensor attached to an articulated robot arm is arranged on a measurement line in a point sequence formed based on design data of a material to be welded, and the groove is formed on a groove formed on the material to be welded. In the groove measurement method that measures the shape of the groove that has changed for each bead stack, the measured data is compared with the measurement data of the next lower layer and the measurement data of the point before the measurement line, and the measurement data A groove measuring method characterized by determining validity. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein both the determination of the validity of the measurement data in the groove measurement method of claim 1 and the determination of the validity of the measurement data in the groove measurement method of claim 2 are performed. Destination measurement method. 4. The groove measuring method according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the measurement data is not valid, the shape of the groove is measured again at that point on the measurement line. A groove measuring method characterized in that: 5. The groove measuring method according to claim 4, wherein the measurement sensor is arranged at a position different from the original measurement line when the validity of the measurement data is determined to be invalid by at least one re-measurement. And measuring the shape of the groove again. 6. An opening provided with an articulated robot arm, and a measuring sensor for measuring a shape of a groove which is changed every time a bead is stacked on a groove formed on a material to be welded attached to the robot arm. The robot controller that controls the operation of the robot arm and calculates the expected value of the shape of the groove in the upper layer from the input design data of the workpiece and the measurement data of the measurement sensor, and the operation of the measurement sensor. And a measurement sensor controller for comparing the expected value transmitted from the robot controller with the measurement data of the measurement sensor to determine the validity of the measurement data. 7. An opening provided with an articulated robot arm, and a measurement sensor for measuring a shape of a groove which is changed every time a bead is stacked on a groove formed on a material to be welded attached to the robot arm. In the pre-measuring device, a measurement sensor controller that controls the operation of the measurement sensor, and controls the operation of the robot arm, and the measurement data transmitted from the measurement sensor controller and the measurement data of the lower layer transmitted earlier and the measurement data transmitted earlier A groove measuring device comprising: a robot controller that compares measured data at a point before a measuring line with the measured data to determine validity of the measured data. 8. A groove measuring device, wherein the measuring sensor controller and the robot controller in the groove measuring device according to claim 6 are combined with the measuring sensor controller and the robot controller according to claim 7.