JP2002160062A - Device for removing spatter from welding torch - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spatter removing device that needs no specially arranged equipment or drive power, and is simple in use, of low costs and capable of saving space. SOLUTION: In spatter removing operation, a welding torch 2 is traveled along the axis of a spatter removing device 20 to put the torch on it by driving each axis of T, B, R, U, L, S of a welding robot 10 in linking operation. Spatter adhered around an orifice edge of a nozzle 3 is removed by rotating the welding torch 2 as far as a predetermined angle by driving each axis of the welding robot 10 in linking operation while an absolute position and angle of the welding torch being held constant. The above provides a spatter removing system that needs no specially arranged equipment or drive power, and is simple in use, of low costs and capable of saving space. Also by teaching the robot 10 a series of spatter removing action, the maintenance work can be made very easy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a welding torch spatter removing apparatus for removing spatters adhered to the inside of a welding torch.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a welding line using a wire welding machine or the like, it is necessary to periodically clean the welding torch in order to remove spatter adhered to the inside of the welding torch. Conventionally, the cleaning work of the welding torch was performed by removing the welding torch by an operator.However, since the line in operation is stopped, there is a problem that the operation efficiency of the line is reduced and the man-hour is increased. Was.

To cope with this problem, Japanese Patent No. 2729018 is disclosed.
The publication discloses a device provided with a mechanism for holding a rotating brush, a mechanism for raising and lowering the brush holder, a brush rotating mechanism for rotating the rotating brush, a mechanism for rotating a nozzle portion removed from a welding torch, and the like. A technique has been disclosed in which a brush is rotated to clean the inner peripheral surface of a nozzle of a welding torch to remove spatter.

[0004]

However, the prior art requires special equipment and power to remove spatter, which not only limits the installation space, but also reduces spatter adhering inside the welding torch. For the simple purpose of removal, it has the disadvantage of being too complex and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is simple, low-cost, and space-saving, capable of removing spatter from a welding torch without requiring any special device or power for removing spatter. It is intended to provide a device.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reamer-shaped spatter remover which is installed non-rotatably, and a welding torch connected to the welding torch. A drive capable of performing a welding operation of performing welding by moving and a spatter removing operation of rotating the welding torch after moving the welding torch in the axial direction of the spatter removing tool and covering the spatter removing tool. And a mechanism.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the sputter removing tool has a plurality of external corners, and the plurality of corners form a reamer. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the driving mechanism is an articulated robot in which a plurality of axes cooperate.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the spatter remover is installed with a slight inclination or an axial movement. Features.

[0010] According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the spatter removing tool has a path for blowing air to the outside, and the air is supplied to the path. An on-off valve is provided in the supply passage.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the open / close valve is actuated by a command from the driving mechanism in conjunction with the spatter removing operation of the driving mechanism. .

That is, in the welding torch spatter removing apparatus according to the present invention, the reaming-shaped spatter removing tool is installed so as not to rotate, and when the welding operation is not performed by the driving mechanism connected to the welding torch, the welding torch is removed. The spatter is moved in the axial direction of the spatter remover and put on the spatter remover, and the welding torch is rotated to remove spatter.

[0013] At this time, the spatter removing tool has a plurality of corners outside and can form a reamer with the plurality of corners, and the driving mechanism is an articulated robot in which a plurality of axes cooperate. Desirably.

It is desirable that the spatter remover be installed so as to allow a slight inclination and axial movement. The spatter remover is provided with a path for blowing air to the outside, and the path is provided with an air. It is desirable that an opening / closing valve is provided in a passage for supplying the gas, and the opening / closing valve is operated in response to a command from the driving mechanism in conjunction with the spatter removing operation of the driving mechanism.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 relate to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall view showing a welding machine and a spatter remover, FIG. 2 is a front view of the spatter remover, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of another spatter removing tool, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a cap, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of an end piece.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a wire welding machine, in which a welding torch 2 is moved in a predetermined range by a welding robot 10 and is shown using a welding wire supplied from a tip 4 in a nozzle 3 of the welding torch 2. Do not arc weld workpieces. Welding robot 10 for moving welding torch 2
Is a vertical articulated robot having six degrees of freedom in the present embodiment, and a lower arm 13 coupled to a base 11 via a first joint 12 and a second arm Joint 1
4 has an upper arm 15 connected to the upper arm 15 and a wrist 16 connected to the upper arm 15, and the attachment 1 is attached to the wrist 16.
The welding torch 2 is attached via a.

That is, the welding robot 10 has an S-axis operation in which the first joint 12 rotates in a horizontal plane about a vertical center axis (S-axis) of the base 11, and the lower arm 13 moves the first joint 12. L-axis motion that swings in the vertical plane around the coupling axis (L-axis) with
The upper arm 15 is connected to a joint axis (U) of the second joint 14 and the lower arm 13.
U-axis operation that swings in a vertical plane around the axis), R-axis operation in which the upper arm 15 rotates around the connection axis (R-axis) with the second joint 14, wrist portion 16 connects with the upper arm 15 It is possible to simultaneously perform the six-axis operation of the B-axis operation swinging about the axis (B-axis) and the T-axis operation of rotating the wrist 16 about the longitudinal axis (T-axis).

On the other hand, reference numeral 20 denotes a reamer-shaped spatter removing tool for removing spatter adhering inside the nozzle 3 of the welding torch 2. This spatter remover 20
It is fixedly mounted at a specified position within the movable range of the welding robot 10 through an elastic material such as rubber, a slide table, etc., while allowing a slight inclination and axial movement. The spatter is removed by placing the second nozzle 3 on the spatter remover 20 and rotating the welding torch 2 side.

As shown in FIG.
Is a cylindrical base 21 provided with mounting bolts and the like.
And a reamer portion 22 extending from the base portion 21. The reamer portion 22 is mounted such that the longitudinal axis is substantially vertical with the reamer portion 22 facing upward. Reamer part 22
Has a tapered shape in which the tip is slightly smaller than the opening diameter of the nozzle 3 of the welding torch 2 and the base 21 side is slightly larger than the opening diameter of the nozzle 3 of the welding torch 2, and has a plurality of corners which are chamfered into a polygonal cross section to the outside. 22a, and the corner 2
2a acts as a reamer for removing spatter.

A hole 23 for receiving the tip 4 of the welding torch 2 is formed in the center of the reamer 22.
A lateral hole 24 that opens on the side surface of the reamer 22 communicates with the bottom of the hole 23 that faces the distal end opening. Due to the lateral holes 24, the spatters scraped off from the periphery of the chip 4 during the spatter removing operation and the corners 22 a of the reamer 22 are formed.
The spatter removed in the step can be discharged to the outside and cleaned.

In this case, the number of the corner portions 22a that perform the reamer function in the spatter remover 20 depends on the movable range of the welding robot 10, the mounting positional relationship of the welding torch 2 to the welding robot 10, and the arrangement position of the spatter remover 20. When the rotatable angle of the welding torch 2 is about ± 45 degrees, as shown in FIG.
(A square shape may be used), and four corner portions 22a function as reamers. When the rotatable angle of the welding torch 2 is about ± 60 degrees, the reamer 22 has, for example, a triangular cross-sectional shape (three corners) and ± 180 degrees.
When it is possible to rotate the welding torch 2 to a degree, the reamer 22 may be formed in a plate shape, for example, to have two corners.

Further, with respect to the above spatter removing tool 20,
A spatter remover 20A as shown in FIG. 4 may be employed. This spatter remover 20A is obtained by sandwiching and fixing a plurality of blades 30 forming a reamer between a cylindrical cap 31 and an end piece 32 obtained by processing a hexagonal nut. The outer diameter of the nozzle 30 of the welding torch 2 is slightly smaller than the opening diameter of the nozzle 3, and the outer diameter of the blade 30 on the end piece 32 side is slightly larger than the opening diameter of the nozzle 3 of the welding torch 2.

More specifically, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, a plurality of slits 31a are formed on the lower end face, and a plurality of vertical grooves 32a are formed on the side surface of the hexagon nut in the end piece 32, as shown in FIG. Have been. And the slit 31 at the lower end of the cap 31
a. The upper end of the blade 30 is inserted into the end piece 32 and fixed by spot welding or the like, and the lower end of the blade 30 is inserted into the vertical groove 32a on the outer surface of the end piece 32 and fixed by spot welding or the like, thereby removing spatter. Tool 20A
And the corners 30a on the outer periphery of the plurality of blades 30 function as reamers for removing spatter.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an example in which six blades 30 are assembled.
A configuration of three sheets may be used. Further, the blade 30 can more effectively remove spatter by forming the outer corner 30a at an acute angle.

The spatter removing tool 20 using the blade 30
A shows a plurality of blades 3 from the screw holes of the end piece 32.
In the path leading to the gap between zeros, a path for blowing air to the outside is formed, and air is supplied from the screw holes of the end piece 32 to blow air to the outside from between the blades 30, thereby adhering to the blades 30. Separation and discharge of spatter can be performed.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, the spatter remover 20A has an end piece 32 attached to a male screw of an air nipple 34 provided on a table 33 provided at a predetermined position within the movable range of the welding robot 10. It is screwed and installed like the spatter remover 20 with a slight inclination and axial movement allowed. Further, an opening / closing valve 36 is provided in a passage 35 for supplying compressed air via an air nipple 34, and during or after the spatter removing operation, according to a command from a control device (not shown) for controlling the welding robot 10. The opening / closing valve 36 is opened, and compressed air is supplied.

Next, an operation for removing spatters attached to the inside of the nozzle 3 of the welding torch 2 will be described. In the following description, the case where the spatter removing tool 20 is mainly used will be described, but it goes without saying that the spatter removing operation is the same for the spatter removing tool 20A.

During the spatter removal operation, the welding robot 1
The T, B, R, U, L, and S axes of 0 are linked to move the welding torch 2 on the axis of the spatter remover 20, and the tip 4 of the welding torch 2 is inserted into the hole 23 at the center of the reamer 22. Then, the welding torch 2 is lowered and the nozzle 3 is moved to the reaming section 22.
Cover. At this time, since the spatter remover 20 is allowed to slightly tilt or move in the axial direction, the welding torch 2
Even if there is a slight misalignment between the tool and the spatter remover 20, no stress is applied to the welding torch 2.

Then, while the nozzle 3 of the welding torch 2 is placed on the reamer 22 of the spatter remover 20, the respective axes of the welding robot 10 are linked while maintaining the absolute position and angle of the welding torch 2 to perform welding. The operation of rotating the torch 2 by a predetermined angle is repeated several times while changing the direction, and the reamer 22
Sputters attached to the vicinity of the opening end of the nozzle 3 at the corner 22a formed outside are removed.

In other words, the welding torch 2 is operated by the welding robot 10 only by disposing the spatter removing tool 20 at a fixed position within the operating range of the welding robot 10.
Since the side is rotated to remove spatter, a special device or power for removing spatter is not required, so that it is possible to achieve simple, low cost and space saving. Also,
By teaching the spatter removal operation to the welding robot 10, maintenance can be made extremely easy.

When the spatter removing tool 20A is used, in addition to the teaching operation of the welding robot 10, the opening / closing valve 36 is opened by a command from the welding robot 10 during or after the spattering work, and the spatter removing tool 20A is opened. It is possible to automatically clean the spatter removed by injecting air from the air, and it is possible to make maintenance free.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, no special device or power is required for removing spatter adhered to the inside of the welding torch, and a simple, low-cost and space-saving device can be achieved. The sputter can be effectively removed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing a welding machine and a spatter remover.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a spatter remover.

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of another spatter removing tool.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a cap.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of an end piece.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Welding torch 10 Welding robot 20, 20A Spatter remover 22a, 30a Corner 36 Opening / closing valve

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A welding operation in which a reamer-shaped spatter remover installed in a non-rotatable manner and a welding torch are connected to each other, and the welding torch is moved to perform welding. After moving in the axial direction and covering the spatter removal tool,
And a drive mechanism capable of performing a spatter removing operation for rotating the welding torch. 2. The apparatus for removing spatter from a welding torch according to claim 1, wherein said spatter removing tool has a plurality of corners outside and forms a reamer with said plurality of corners. 3. The apparatus for removing spatter from a welding torch according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism is an articulated robot in which a plurality of axes operate in a coordinated manner. 4. The spatter removing device for a welding torch according to claim 1, wherein the spatter removing device is installed with a slight inclination or axial movement allowed. . 5. The sputter remover according to claim 1, further comprising a path for blowing air to the outside, and an opening / closing valve disposed in a path for supplying air to the path. The apparatus for removing spatter from a welding torch according to any one of the preceding claims. 6. The apparatus for removing spatter from a welding torch according to claim 5, wherein said opening / closing valve is actuated by a command from said drive mechanism in conjunction with the spatter removal operation of said drive mechanism.