JP2017170540A - Profiling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a profiling device which can realize a work with high accuracy by enhancement of profiling accuracy.SOLUTION: A device 1, which causes profiling movement of a working unit 20 along a work place of an object, comprises: an arm part 2 on which the working unit is provided; a sensor part 5 which is provided near the working unit in the arm part 2 and detects a work place; and a position adjustment part 10 which so holds the working unit 20 as to be movable with respect to the arm part 2. The position adjustment part 10 moves the working unit 20 along three directions which are orthogonal to one another. When the arm part 2 is moved on the basis of a signal from the sensor part 5, profiling movement of the working unit 10 along the work place of the object can be performed. Even if the working unit and the work place are positionally deviated by vibration of the arm part 2 or the like, such a positional deviation can be corrected by the position adjustment part 10. Consequently, the working unit can be positionally aligned with respect to the work place with a good accuracy, whereby high accurate profiling work can be performed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a copying apparatus. More specifically, the present invention relates to a copying apparatus that moves a work implement so that work can be performed along a work target in work such as welding and cutting.

  Automation of the welding process by the robot is adopted in production sites such as heavy machinery and automobiles, and contributes to improvement of productivity and uniform welding quality. In welding by such a robot, for example, a welding tool is provided at the tip of a multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm, and the welding operation is performed by operating the multi-degree-of-freedom robot arm and placing the welding tool at a welding position.

  When welding a plate material or the like by such a robot, the welding instrument is moved along a welding location (welding line). Usually, a welding line is stored in a robot before welding work, and welding is performed by moving a welding instrument along the stored welding line.

  For example, in the technique of Patent Document 1, a welding position is detected by a laser sensor provided on an arm, and a positional relationship between a torch suitable for welding and a welding position is stored. In actual welding, the positional relationship between the torch and the welding position is calculated based on the welding position measured by the laser sensor so that the calculated positional relationship matches the stored positional relationship. The arm is activated.

JP-A-9-76065

If the arm is moved under the condition that the arm exhibits sufficient rigidity, it is considered that the calculated positional relationship and the stored positional relationship can be matched with a certain degree of accuracy even by the method described above.
However, when a long arm is used, or when the welding position is away from the base end of the arm, the torch is fixed to the welding position due to the influence of arm bending or vibration. There is a possibility that it cannot be arranged so as to be in the positional relationship. That is, the copying accuracy of the torch with respect to the welding position may be reduced. Then, there is a possibility that problems such as inability to weld the predetermined position and deterioration of the welding quality may occur.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a copying apparatus capable of improving the copying accuracy and realizing a highly accurate operation.

A copying apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a device that moves a working unit along a working position of an object, and is provided near an arm part provided with the working part and the working part in the arm part. In addition, a sensor unit that detects the working position and a position adjusting unit that holds the working unit movably with respect to the arm unit, the position adjusting unit along three orthogonal directions The working unit is moved.
The copying apparatus according to a second aspect is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the position adjusting unit is an XYZ-axis slide table.
A copying apparatus according to a third invention is characterized in that, in the first or second invention, the working section is a laser welding apparatus or a laser hybrid welding apparatus.

According to the first invention, if the arm portion is moved based on the signal from the sensor portion, the working portion can be moved along the work position of the object. Moreover, the position of the working unit with respect to the working position can be finely adjusted by the position adjusting unit. Then, even if the position of the working portion and the working position is shifted due to vibration of the arm portion or the like, the positional deviation can be corrected by the position adjusting portion. Therefore, the working unit can be accurately positioned with respect to the working position, so that high-precision copying can be performed.
According to the second aspect of the invention, since the working part can be moved stably, the positioning accuracy of the working part can be increased.
The third invention can realize welding with higher accuracy. In addition, it is possible to eliminate melt-down due to the displacement of the welding line scanning position, lack of penetration, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a copying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, where (A) is a side view and (B) is a plan view. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a copying apparatus 1 according to an embodiment.

  The copying apparatus of the present invention is a copying apparatus that performs work along a work target, and is characterized in that the copying work can be performed with high accuracy.

  The copying apparatus of the present invention can be applied to various copying work that performs work along a work target. For example, operations such as welding and cutting such as laser welding and laser hybrid welding can be given. Below, the case where the welding line (for example, the part which faced the steel plate) of work object is laser-welded is demonstrated as a representative.

(Copying apparatus 1 of this embodiment)
In FIG. 1, symbols SP1 and SP2 indicate a pair of steel plates that are welded by the copying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. A portion where the end faces of the pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2 are abutted becomes a welding line WL welded by the copying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment.

  As described above, the copying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can weld the pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2 while moving the welding portion 20 along the welding line WL of the pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2. . In addition, a pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2 correspond to the work object referred to in the claims, and the welding line WL corresponds to the work position referred to in the claims.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the copying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has an arm portion 2. The arm unit 2 is formed by connecting a plurality of arm members 3 (two in FIG. 1) by joints 4 such as an articulated robot arm.

  Specifically, the base end of the first arm member 3a is coupled to the frame F (or the base of the equipment) of the copying apparatus 1 by a joint 4a so that the first arm member 3a can fall down and turn. The proximal end of the second arm member 3b is connected to the distal end of the first arm member 3a by a joint 4b. The second arm member 3b is connected by a joint 4b so as to be able to be bent and rotated with respect to the tip of the first arm member 3a.

  The first arm member 3a and the second arm member 3b are actuated (oscillated, bent, turned, rotated, etc.) by a known drive mechanism provided in the joints 4a, 4b. For example, it is actuated by a drive mechanism by a drive actuator such as a servo motor built in the joints 4a and 4b. The operation of these drive mechanisms is controlled by a control unit 30 described later.

  The sensor unit 5 and the welding instrument 20 are attached to the tip of the second arm member 3b via the position adjusting unit 10.

  The welding instrument 20 is, for example, a laser welding apparatus or a laser hybrid welding apparatus, and welds a pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2 by irradiating a laser to the welding line WL of the pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2. The operation of the welding instrument 20 is also controlled by the control unit 30 described later.

  The sensor unit 5 is provided in the vicinity of the welding instrument 20. The sensor unit 5 is provided to detect the position of the welding line WL, and information related to the position of the welding line WL detected by the sensor unit 5 is transmitted to the control unit 30. The information regarding the position of the welding line WL detected by the sensor unit 5 includes, for example, the distance from the sensor unit 5 to the welding line WL, the weld groove shape, and the like.

  The position adjusting unit 10 holds the welding instrument 20 and the sensor unit 5 movably with respect to the tip of the second arm member 3b. The position adjusting unit 10 is a known XYZ slide device, and holds the welding instrument 20 and the sensor unit 5 so as to be moved along three orthogonal directions. Specifically, the welding instrument 20 and the sensor unit 5 are fixed to a moving table of an XYZ slide device, and each of the welding tool 20 and the sensor unit 5 is operated by operating an X-axis direction moving mechanism, a Y-axis direction moving mechanism, and a Z-axis direction moving mechanism. It can be moved along the axial direction. Each moving mechanism is a known moving mechanism such as a ball screw mechanism, but the configuration is not particularly limited.

  The copying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes a control unit 30 that controls the operation of the apparatus. The control unit 30 has a storage function 31 and an operation control function 32.

  The storage function 31 has a function of storing a path (movement path) along which the welding instrument 20 has moved when a position detection operation described later is performed. That is, in the position detection operation, it has a function of storing a movement path that realizes movement of the welding tool 20 suitable for performing welding along the welding line WL.

  The operation control function 32 has a function of controlling the operation of the drive mechanism provided in the joints 4 a and 4 b and the operation of each moving mechanism of the position adjustment unit 10 based on the signal from the sensor unit 5. The operation control function 32 also has a position calculation function for calculating information (position information) on the relative positions of the welding instrument 20 and the welding line WL based on a signal from the sensor unit 5.

  Then, the operation control function 32 uses the position information calculated by the position calculation function when the welding tool 20 performs welding, and the welding tool 20 moves along the movement path stored in the storage function 31. Thus, it has a function of controlling the operation of each device.

  Specifically, the operation control function 32 moves the tip of the second arm member 3b (that is, the position of the welding tool 20) along the movement path based on the movement path information stored in the storage function 31. Thus, the operation of the drive mechanism of the joints 4a and 4b is controlled. At this time, based on the position information calculated by the position calculation function, the operation of the drive mechanism of the joints 4a and 4b is performed so as to reduce the displacement of the position of the welding tool 20 with respect to the movement path (for example, about ± 0.5 mm). To control. The operation control function 32 has such a function.

  In addition, when the operation control function 32 determines that the positional deviation of the welding tool 20 with respect to the movement path is small based on the position information calculated by the position calculation function, the operation control function 32 operates each movement mechanism of the position adjustment unit 10. The position of the welding instrument 20 is finely adjusted (for example, about ± 0.2 mm). The operation control function 32 also has such a function.

  As described above, in the copying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the position adjustment unit 10 is provided at the tip of the second arm member 3b, and the welding instrument 20 and the sensor unit 5 are provided in the position adjustment unit 10. For this reason, the position of the welding instrument 20 and the sensor unit 5 can be adjusted not only by the movement of the arm unit 2 but also by the position adjusting unit 10.

  Therefore, if the welding instrument 20 is moved along the movement path, welding by the welding instrument 20 can be performed following (along) the welding line WL. And if welding is implemented by the welding instrument 20 while detecting the position of the welding line WL by the sensor unit 5, when the welding instrument 20 deviates from the movement path, the deviation can be detected. Then, the position of the welding instrument 20 can be adjusted by the arm part 2 or the position adjusting part 10. In particular, since the position adjusting unit 10 is provided, the position of the welding instrument 20 can be finely adjusted, so that welding can be accurately performed along the welding line WL.

  For example, when welding a long structure such as a boom of a crane, a long member must be used for the arm member 3 of the arm portion 2. And the welding position will leave | separate from the base end (part fixed to the flame | frame F etc.) of the arm part 2. FIG. In such a case, even if the welding instrument 20 is moved along the movement path, the position of the welding instrument 20 may slightly vibrate or move due to the shaking or vibration of the arm unit 2.

  However, in the copying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the arm unit 2 is shaken or vibrated, the position adjusting unit 10 can absorb the displacement of the welding tool 20 caused by the shake or vibration. That is, even when the arm 2 is shaken or vibrated, the position adjusting unit 10 can be operated to place the position of the welding instrument 20 on a predetermined movement path.

  Therefore, in the copying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the welding tool 20 can be welded along the movement path, that is, following the welding line WL, even when the arm portion 2 is shaken or vibrated.

(Description of the copying operation by the copying apparatus 1 of the present embodiment)
Hereinafter, a copying operation by the copying apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

First, a position detection operation is performed before actual welding is performed.
In this position detection operation, welding is not performed, and the welding tool 20 is moved along the welding line WL of the pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2 to form a movement path. In the position detection operation, the operator may operate the control unit 30 to move the welding instrument 20 along the welding line WL, or automatically follow the welding line WL while detecting the welding line WL by the sensor unit 5. The welding tool 20 may be moved. In the latter case, it is desirable that an operator performs processing such as interpolation and averaging on the automatically formed movement route information to form an appropriate movement route.

  When the movement path is formed, welding by the welding tool 20 is performed. That is, since welding of the pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2 is performed while the welding instrument 20 moves along the movement path, welding along the welding line WL of the pair of steel plates SP1 and SP2 is performed.

  When carrying out the welding, the detection of the welding line WL by the sensor unit 5 is also carried out at the same time. Then, when the control unit 30 calculates position information based on the signal detected by the sensor unit 5 and determines that the welding tool 20 is displaced from the predetermined movement path, the control unit 30 determines the position of the welding tool 20. The position is adjusted.

Specifically, when the deviation is large, such as a positional deviation caused by thermal deformation during welding (for example, 3 to 10 mm), the control unit 30 moves the arm unit 2 to eliminate the positional deviation. In other words, the rough alignment of the welding instrument 20 with respect to the movement path is performed by the movement of the arm unit 2.

On the other hand, when the deviation is small, such as a positional deviation caused by vibration of the arm unit 2 (for example 0.1 to 3 mm), the control unit 30 moves the position adjusting unit 10 to eliminate the positional deviation. In other words, fine adjustment of the position of the welding instrument 20 with respect to the movement path is performed by the position adjustment unit 10.

  As described above, welding with the welding instrument 20 is performed along the welding line WL while eliminating the positional deviation of the welding instrument 20 with respect to the movement path (in other words, the positional deviation of the welding instrument 20 with respect to the welding line WL). Welding can be performed accurately along the line WL.

  In addition, rough positioning of the welding tool 20 with respect to the movement path and fine adjustment of the position of the welding tool 20 with respect to the movement path are performed by different mechanisms. Therefore, compared with the case where both are implemented by one mechanism, it becomes possible to position the welding instrument 20 quickly and more accurately.

(Position adjuster)
In the above example, the case where the XYZ slide device is employed as the position adjustment unit has been described. However, the position adjusting unit is not limited to the XYZ slide device, and may be any unit that can move the working unit 20 along three orthogonal directions. For example, a cylinder, a ball screw, a belt, etc. can be used. Even in this case, if the movement amount in the three orthogonal directions is adjusted, the position of the working unit 20 relative to the welding line WL can be freely adjusted. However, if the XYZ slide device is used, the movement of the working unit 20 becomes smooth, so that the fine adjustment of the position of the working unit 20 can be performed quickly and accurately.

  The copying apparatus of the present invention is suitable as an apparatus for moving a welding machine, a cutting machine, or the like provided at the tip of an arm or the like along a work target.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copy apparatus 2 Arm part 5 Sensor part 10 Position adjustment part 20 Welding instrument 30 Control part SP Steel plate WL Welding line

Claims (3)

An apparatus for moving the working unit along the work position of the object,
An arm portion provided with the working portion;
A sensor unit that detects the working position provided near the working unit in the arm unit, and a position adjustment unit that holds the working unit movably with respect to the arm unit;
The position adjustment unit
A copying apparatus that moves the working unit along three orthogonal directions. The position adjusting unit is
2. The copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the copying apparatus is an XYZ-axis slide table. The working unit is
3. The copying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the copying apparatus is a laser welding apparatus or a laser hybrid welding apparatus.

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