JP3534735B2 - Spot joining system and fixing device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a spot joining system for spot joining materials to be joined by friction stir welding and a fixing device used for the spot joining system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in spot welding using friction stir welding, an articulated robot having a C gun is used. Figure 9
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing such a gun type spot joining system 1.

The C gun 2 has a C-shaped arm and has an F-shaped upper portion.
It has a SW (Friction Stir Welding) head 3 and is attached to the arm tip of an articulated robot 4. The FSW head 3 rotates and raises / lowers the welding tool 5. The welding tool 5 has a cylindrical shape, and a pin projects downward from the tip. A backing plate 6 is provided below the C gun so as to face the lower end of the welding tool 5.

Two metal plate-like works W which are the materials to be joined
In order to join the workpieces, the robot 4 first positions the workpieces with the C gun 2 as shown in FIG. Next, the FSW head 3 lowers the welding tool while rotating it at high speed, and presses the tip of the welding tool to the welding point of the work. Then, the pressing portion softens due to the friction due to the rotation,
The pin is inserted. Further rotation causes the inserted pin to stir the vicinity of the joining point, causing plastic flow. After stirring for a predetermined time, when the welding tool is raised, the two workpieces W are spot-welded by the lap joint at the welding point.

By using the C gun 2 as described above, it is possible to construct the robot arm so that the rotational reaction force is not transmitted to the robot arm. However, in the method using the C gun 2,
The position that can be joined is limited to the C-arm of the C gun. That is, when spot welding is performed on a large work such as a vehicle body panel or a hull panel, the central portion of the work cannot be joined. For example, if the pocket of the C gun 2 is enlarged, it is possible to join the central portion of the work, but this is not practical.

In order to apply spot joining to such a large work, a spot joining system 8 for accessing from one side of the work can be considered as shown in FIG.
In this method, instead of using the C gun, the FSW head 3 is directly attached to the arm tip of the articulated robot. The work W is placed on the surface plate 7 installed on the floor and is held horizontally. Then, using the robot 4, the FS is performed on the surface plate 7.
The W head 3 is freely moved and joined. That is, FS
The W head 3 can access any position on the work W and can join any position on the work W.

[0007]

In spot FSW welding, since the welding tool is pressed into the work while being rotated at a high speed, the welding tool receives a moment reaction force due to the rotation. That is, the workpiece placed on the surface plate is accessed from one side by the articulated robot 4 and the spot FS of the overlap joint is accessed.
When W is performed, a problem occurs in that the welding tool is horizontally shaken and cannot be welded due to a moment reaction force received by the welding tool 5 rotating at a high speed.

An object of the present invention is to provide a spot welding system capable of preventing lateral blurring of a welding tool due to rotation when the spot FSW is accessed from one side.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in a spot welding system for pressing a tip of a rotating welding tool against a material to be welded and spot welding the material to be welded by friction stir welding, a holding means for holding the material to be welded is provided. A device and a moving device that moves the welding tool to an arbitrary position on one side of the materials to be welded,
By being connected to the welding tool and temporarily fixed to the material to be welded during welding, the fixing device that prevents shaking of the welding tool during welding and the moving device are controlled to move the welding tool to the welding position, The fixing device is temporarily fixed to the material to be welded, and has a controller that presses a rotating welding tool onto the material to be welded to perform spot welding.
The pressing part that holds the tool rotatably and the pressing part in the axial direction.
A pressing member that is movably mounted and a material to be joined during joining
The fixed member that comes into contact with and is integrally formed with the pressing member
The fixing member is interposed between the member and the pressing part,
When pressed, it compresses and pushes the fixing member against the materials to be joined.
Spot contact characterized by comprising a pressing means for pressing.
It is an integrated system.

According to the present invention, the welding tool is provided in a moving device such as an articulated robot, can access an arbitrary position of the members to be welded held by the holding device, and welds from one side. A fixing device is connected to the joining tool.
A fixing device is connected to the welding tool, and when the welding tool is moved to a welding position to weld the materials to be welded, the fixing device is temporarily fixed to the materials to be welded.

A fixing device is provided in the friction stir welding device
To fix the friction stir welding device and the material to be welded.
You can Also, the fixing device, by the pressing means,
The fixing member is pressed against the materials to be joined and integrated with the fixing member.
The pressing member and the material to be welded are fixed to each other. this
The pressing member is attached to the pressing portion that holds the welding tool.
This causes the welding tool to move sideways with respect to the workpiece.
Can be prevented.

The present invention also provides a tip of a rotating welding tool.
Is pressed against the material to be welded and the material is welded by friction stir welding.
Spot welding system
Hold the holding device and the welding tool on one side of the material to be joined.
The moving device that moves the
Be bonded and temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined during joining
Then, with a fixing device that prevents shaking of the welding tool at the time of welding,
Control the moving device to move the welding tool to the welding position.
With the fixing device temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined.
Spot welding by pressing the rotating welding tool against the materials to be welded
Control device and the reaction force due to the rotation of the welding tool during welding
And a sensor for detecting the
Adjustable fixing device that is adjustable and temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined
And the control device applies a reaction force with the sensor at the time of joining.
The adjustment and fixing device is fixed based on the detected reaction force.
Spot joining system characterized by controlling constant force
Is. In the present invention, the adjustment fixing device is a motor,
Pneumatic, hydraulic, vacuum suction or electromagnetic force method
It is characterized in that the fixing force can be adjusted with.

According to the invention, the welding tool is, for example,
It is provided in a moving device such as an articulated robot and used as a holding device.
One-sided access to any position on the material being held
Join from. A fixing device is connected to the joining tool.
A fixing device is connected to the welding tool to weld the welding tool.
When moving to the position and joining the materials to be joined, the fixing device
Are temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined.

Detecting the reaction force from the welding tool during welding
Then, based on this, make sure that the reaction force is less than the specified value.
Then, adjust the fixing force of the fixing device. Feed like this
By controlling the back, it is always joined with the optimum fixing force.
be able to.

The present invention also provides a tip of a rotating welding tool.
Is pressed against the material to be welded and the material is welded by friction stir welding.
Spot welding system
Hold the holding device and the welding tool on one side of the material to be joined.
The moving device that moves the
Be bonded and temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined during joining
Then, with a fixing device that prevents shaking of the welding tool at the time of welding,
Control the moving device to move the welding tool to the welding position.
With the fixing device temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined.
Spot welding by pressing the rotating welding tool against the materials to be welded
Control device and multiple articulated robots.
At least one of the multi-joint robots has an arm tip
Is a moving device to which a welding tool is attached.
The control device is a multi-joint robot with a welding tool.
When pressing the joining tool from one side of the material to join
The articulated robot placed on the opposite side of the material to be welded
The tips of the welding tools are
Spot joining characterized by cooperative control of robots
System.

According to the invention, the welding tool is, for example,
It is provided in a moving device such as an articulated robot and used as a holding device.
One-sided access to any position on the material being held
Join from. A fixing device is connected to the joining tool.
A fixing device is connected to the welding tool to weld the welding tool.
When moving to the position and joining the materials to be joined, the fixing device
Are temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined. For example, with a holding device
Hold the material to be welded upright and place the robot on both sides of the material to be welded.
Place it on one side of the material to be welded with one robot.
To perform FSW. At this time, place it on the opposite side of the materials to be joined.
The other robot is subject to the pressing force of the welding tool.
It is controlled cooperatively. Even in such a case, the fixed
By using the stand, it prevents side shake due to rotation and joins.
You can This kind of joint control joint
One robot is equipped with a welding tool and both
Side to side, and control so as to receive the pressing force of each other.
Both are possible.

The present invention also provides a tip of a rotating welding tool.
Is pressed against the material to be welded and the material is welded by friction stir welding.
Spot welding system
Hold the holding device and the welding tool on one side of the material to be joined.
The moving device that moves the
Be bonded and temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined during joining
Then, with a fixing device that prevents shaking of the welding tool at the time of welding,
Control the moving device to move the welding tool to the welding position.
With the fixing device temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined.
Spot welding by pressing the rotating welding tool against the materials to be welded
And a control device, wherein the moving device is an articulated robot.
And a welding tool is attached to the tip of the arm.
The control unit uses the articulated robot arm tip as the material to be welded.
Press and bend the robot arm in advance before joining.
A spot characterized by joining in that state
It is a joining system.

According to the invention, the welding tool is, for example,
It is provided in a moving device such as an articulated robot and used as a holding device.
One-sided access to any position on the material being held
Join from. A fixing device is connected to the joining tool.
A fixing device is connected to the welding tool to weld the welding tool.
When moving to the position and joining the materials to be joined, the fixing device
Are temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined.

Further , according to the present invention, a multi-function mobile device is provided.
Spot welding can be performed efficiently by using a joint robot.
I can. Also, the articulated robot receives force at the tip.
Then the arm will bend easily. So, for example, the arm
When receiving a rotational reaction force from the welding tool installed at the tip,
The arm bends, making it easier to shake sideways. In the present invention
Before joining, push the tip of the arm onto the material to be joined in advance.
Attach, bend the arm until it stops bending, and then join.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent side shake due to rotational reaction force more reliably.
You can

In the present invention, the fixing device is a member to be joined.
Fixed to be temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined by being pressed by
It is characterized by having a member.

According to the present invention, the fixing device can be applied to the materials to be joined.
By being pressed, it is temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined,
Simple configurations such as spring force, motor, pneumatic and hydraulic
It can be temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined. Also heavy
In case of joint joint joint, if there is a gap between the materials to be joined,
Although the quality deteriorates, by pressing and joining with the pressing means,
Spot FSW contact with high quality by eliminating gaps between materials to be joined
Can be combined. Also, pressing against such materials to be joined
The use of a fixing member that is
This means that the attitude angle of the ball is always vertical. this
This makes it easy to teach the robot.
Wear.

In the present invention, the fixing device has a static friction.
Being made of a material with a large coefficient and being pressed by the materials to be joined
Characterized by having a fixing member fixed to the material to be joined by
To do.

According to the present invention, the fixing member is a static friction member.
A large number of materials, such as rubber such as polyurethane and resin
It is made of system materials. By this, the pressing means presses
When fixed, the fixing device is securely fixed to the materials to be joined.

Further, in the invention, the fixing device is a member to be joined.
Fixed with protrusions that bite into the materials to be joined when pressed by
It is characterized by having a member.

According to the present invention, the fixing member is attached to the material to be joined.
It has a protrusion to go in. By this, pressing by the pressing means
When fixed, the fixing device is securely fixed to the materials to be joined.

In the present invention, the moving device is a member to be joined.
Can be moved in two axial directions on one side of the and joined at any position
It is characterized by moving the tool.

According to the invention, the mobile device used in the invention
Is not limited to an articulated robot, but for example, 2 of x-axis and y-axis
A moving device that can move on the axis may be used. In this case
Also, use a fixing device that is temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined.
With, it is possible to prevent lateral blur and perform spot FSW joining.
It becomes Noh.

Further, the present invention provides an arbitrary one side of the materials to be joined.
Move the welding tool to the position and rotate the welding tool tip.
Press the edge against the material to be welded and spot the material with friction stirring.
With the fixing device used in the spot joining system for joining
The pressing part that holds the welding tool rotatably
The pressure member is attached to the pressure member so that it can move in the axial direction.
At the time of contact, it contacts the work and is formed integrally with the pressing member.
The fixed member is interposed between the fixed member, the fixed member and the pressing portion, and the fixed portion
When the material is pressed against the materials to be joined, it compresses and the fixing member
And a pressing means for pressing the material to be joined.
It is a fixing device.

According to the present invention, a spot joining system is provided.
By providing the fixing device of the present invention, a friction stir welding device and
The material to be joined can be fixed. Also, the fixing device
The fixing member is pressed against the materials to be joined by the pressing means.
The pressing member and the material to be joined that are provided integrally with the fixing member.
Is fixed. This pressing member holds the welding tool
By being attached to the pressing part, the welding tool can
It is possible to prevent lateral blurring.

[0030]

1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a spot joining system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The spot welding system 10 has a work W by friction stirring.
Of the robot 11 and the FSW head 12, a controller 14 for controlling them, and a surface plate 13 for holding the work W.

The robot 11 is, for example, a 6-axis vertical articulated robot, and is equipped with an FSW head 12 at the tip of the wrist. A surface plate 13 is arranged near the robot 11. The surface plate 13 is installed on the floor, has a horizontal loading surface 13a, and holds the workpiece W horizontally on the loading surface 13a. Work W is a vehicle structure panel, hull panel, etc.
It is a large panel-shaped metal material.

The FSW head 12 has a welding tool 15
And a fixing device 1 that is temporarily fixed to the work W at the time of joining
6 and 6 are attached. The FSW head 12 includes a rotary drive source that rotates the welding tool 15 around the axis L, and a pressing drive source that moves the welding tool 15 in the direction of the axis L and presses the workpiece W. The rotary drive source and the pressing drive source are servo motors and are controlled by the controller 14.

FIG. 2 shows the fixing device 16 and the welding tool 1.
5 is an enlarged view of FIG. The welding tool 15 has a columnar shape and has a pin 21 projecting along the axis L at the tip thereof. The welding tool 15 is held by the pressing portion 20 via the bearing 17 so as to be rotatable around the axis L. The pressing portion 20 moves up and down in the direction of the axis L by the pressing drive source built in the FSW head 12, and the tool 1 is attached to the workpiece W at the time of joining.
Press 5.

The fixing device 16 has a spring 18 and a pressing member 19. The pressing member 19 has a cylindrical shape, and is attached to the tip of the pressing portion 20 so as to be movable in the direction of the axis L. A fixing ring 22, which is a fixing member fixed to the work W at the time of joining, is integrally formed at the lower end of the pressing member 19. The fixing ring 22 may be integrally formed with the pressing member 19 from a material having a high static friction coefficient, for example, a rubber-based material such as polyurethane or resin. In another embodiment, the fixing ring 22 is separate from the pressing member 19. The fixing ring 22 may be formed, and only the fixing ring 22 may be made of the above-mentioned material having a high coefficient of static friction. The fixing ring 22 is formed in a flange shape at the lower end portion of a cylindrical pressing member 19, and the spring 18 is interposed between the fixing ring 22 and the step of the pressing portion 20 . The spring 18 is a compression coil spring, and has a function as a pressing unit that compresses the fixed ring 22 at the lower end of the pressing member 19 when pressed against the work W and presses the fixed ring 22 against the work W.

Next, the FSW spot joining method will be described with reference to FIG. The robot 11 can access an arbitrary position on the upper surface of the work W held horizontally on the surface plate 13.

(1) First, the controller 14 rotates the welding tool 15 at high speed, controls each axis of the robot 11, and positions the FSW head 12 at the welding point P. That is, the rotation axis L of the welding tool 15 is aligned with the welding point P set on the work W, and the fixing ring 22 at the lower end of the fixing device 16 is positioned so as to be parallel to the work W. (2) Next, the pressing portion 20 is moved to the axis L by the pressing drive source.
Lower in the direction. Then, first, the fixing ring 22 contacts the surface of the work W. When pushed further down, the spring 18 is compressed and the lower end surface of the fixing ring 22 is pressed by the spring force.
It is pressed against the surface and fixed to the work W. (3) When further pressed down in this state, the welding tool 15
21 contacts the joint point P of the workpiece W. Then,
The joint point P is softened by the frictional heat generated by the rotation of the tip of the pin, the pin 21 is inserted, and the pin 21 is agitated by the rotation of the pin 21 to generate plastic flow. By further pushing, the shoulder portion 23 also comes into contact with the work surface and is further stirred, and the two works W are integrated at the joining point P.

At the time of this joining, the joining tool 15 rotates at a high speed, and therefore a lateral reaction easily occurs due to a rotational reaction force. However, in this embodiment, the fixing device 16 prevents the lateral deviation. That is, since the fixing ring 22 is pressed against the work W by the spring 18, the fixing ring 22 and the pressing member 19 are fixed to the work W at the time of joining. Since the welding tool 15 is held by the pressing member 19 via the bearing 17, the lateral movement of the welding tool 15 is prevented by the pressing member 19 fixed to the work.

After pressing with a predetermined pressing force for a predetermined time, the pressing portion 20
Is raised and the FSW head 12 is raised by the robot 11, the fixing ring 22 is separated from the work surface, and the fixing to the work W by the fixing device 16 is released. Further, the welding tool 15 is pulled out by the rise of the pressing portion 20, and the FSW spot welding is completed.

In the lap joint joining, if there is a gap between the two works W, there is a problem that the joining quality deteriorates, but in the present embodiment, the fixing device 16 presses the works W during joining. Therefore, no gap is formed between the works W, and the joining quality can be improved.

Further, since the fixing ring 22 of the fixing device 16 is pressed against the surface of the work at the time of joining, the posture of the tool at the time of joining is always perpendicular to the work W. That is, the optimum posture of the tool at the time of welding is necessarily determined to be vertical to the work. In the joining work by the robot, it is necessary to teach the joining position to the robot in advance, and at that time, the posture of the tool for each joining point must be determined to be an optimum angle, and the teaching work is very troublesome. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the optimum posture at the time of joining can be automatically determined to be vertical to the work by using the fixing device, the teaching work becomes very simple.

In this embodiment, the spring 18 is used as the pressing means of the fixing device 16, but the pressing means is not limited to this, and may be pressed by a servo motor, for example.
It may be hydraulic or pneumatic. Further, the fixing device is not limited to the method of fixing to the work at the time of joining by pressing the surface of the work, but may be a method of fixing to the work by vacuum suction or fixed to the work by magnetic suction. Good.

FIG. 4 is a view as seen from the lower surface of the welding tool 15 showing another form of the fixing member fixed to the work surface. The fixing member described in FIGS. 1 to 3 is a cylindrical pressing member 1.
Since it is provided at the tip of 9, it is the ring-shaped fixing ring 22 as shown in (a), but the fixing member is not limited to such a shape, and like the fixing member 24 shown in (b), the ring is formed. May be arranged on both sides of the welding tool 15, and as shown in (c), a pair of rectangular fixing members 27 instead of a ring shape are provided on both sides of the tool 15. May be Both are welding tools 1
By being fixed to the work W in the vicinity of 5, lateral shake can be prevented. Further, by providing the welding tool only on both sides instead of the entire circumference, the area in contact with the work can be reduced, and work with a complicated shape can be joined.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing still another form of the fixing ring 22. The fixing ring 25 of (a) is provided with a non-slip member 25a made of a material having a high static friction coefficient, for example, a rubber-based material such as polyurethane or resin, on the side of the fixing ring main body 25b that comes into contact with the work surface.
As a result, the fixing ring 22 is further fixed to the work W, and lateral shake can be reliably prevented.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the non-slip member 25a is made thin, and the fixing ring body 25b is made of a material having a good thermal conductivity, for example, a metal material such as copper, which is used for joining. It is possible to prevent the heat from the work that is sometimes overheated from being taken to the fixing ring main body 25b through the thin anti-slip member 25a and the corrosion resistance of the work is reduced. The thickness of the non-slip member 25a is set to be thin so as not to significantly hinder the conduction of heat from the work to the fixing ring body 25b and to achieve the anti-slip function.

The fixing ring 26 (b) has a plurality of small protrusions 26a formed on the side contacting the work. When the small protrusions 26 a of the fixing ring 26 are pressed against the work W, the small protrusions 26 a bite into the work W. As a result, the fixing ring 26 that is pressed against the surface of the work does not shift, and lateral wobbling of the welding tool can be reliably prevented.

Next, a joining method will be described, in which the robot arm is controlled so as not to bend to further prevent lateral blurring at the time of joining. Here, the case where the fixing device 16 has a pressing means, and the pressing means is not a spring, but the pressing force can be controlled using an external shaft such as a servomotor or a hydraulic / pneumatic mechanism will be described.

In the articulated robot, when a force is applied to the tip of the arm, the arm bends to some extent. Therefore, in the case of FSW spot welding, it can be said that the arm bends due to the rotational reaction force acting from the welding tool at the tip of the arm, and lateral shake easily occurs. Therefore, in order to prevent lateral shake due to the bending of the arm, bend the arm in advance,
Make sure that the arm does not bend further before joining.

Specifically, when the welding tool is positioned and the work W is pressed by the pressing means of the fixing device 16, the work W is pressed until the deflection of the arm becomes constant. When the work is pressed, the reaction force causes the robot arm to bend,
The amount of bending increases as the pressing force increases. However, when the robot arm is pressed to some extent, the robot arm does not bend even if it is pressed further. Therefore, the pressing force is increased by the fixing device 16, and the fixing device 16 presses the robot arm until the bending of the robot arm does not increase or the increase amount is less than a predetermined amount. In this state, even if the reaction force from the tool at the time of welding further acts on the tip of the arm, the robot arm does not bend further. As a result, it is possible to prevent the robot arm from bending due to the rotational reaction force generated at the time of joining and causing lateral shake.

Further, the method of bending the robot arm in this way is not limited to the case of pressing by the pressing means for pressing the external shaft, and the work W is pressed by the articulated robot 11 itself to bend the arm. You may make it join.

Next, a method for optimally controlling the fixing force at the time of joining will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the FSW head 12 is provided with a rotation reaction force measurement sensor 30 that measures a rotation reaction force. This sensor consists of, for example, a load cell,
A signal corresponding to the magnitude of the rotational reaction force is output. The fixing device 16 includes a servo motor, hydraulic pressure, pneumatic pressure, vacuum suction,
Alternatively, the controller 14 can adjust the fixing force to the work W such as electromagnetic force.

In such a configuration, the reference value of the rotational reaction force is set in the controller 14 in advance. This reference value is a value at which lateral shake may occur when the rotational reaction force further increases. Then, at the time of joining, the rotational reaction force measuring sensor 30 detects the reaction force, and when the detected value exceeds the reference value, the fixing force is increased. In this way, by laterally controlling the fixing force at the time of joining, lateral shake is reliably prevented,
FSW with optimum fixing force that does not fix the work more than necessary
Spot joining can be performed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a spot joining system 40 in which two robots are cooperatively controlled to perform spot joining. In the spot joining system 40 of the present embodiment, the work W is held vertically by the holding device 45, and the two robots 41A and 41B are installed on both sides of the work W. Since the other configurations are basically the same as those of the spot joining system 10 described above, the corresponding configurations have the same reference numerals, and the configuration corresponding to one of the robots 41A is denoted by the subscript A and the configuration of the other robot is increased. 41B is attached to the configuration corresponding to 41B, and detailed description is omitted.

In the spot joining system 10 described above,
The workpiece W horizontally mounted on the surface plate 13 is configured to be pressed and joined from above and the pressing force is received by the surface plate 13, but in the present embodiment, the workpiece W that is vertically held. On the other hand, the welding tools are pressed against each other from both sides to perform welding. That is, the pressing force of the welding tool is received by the other welding tool. Further, it is assumed that the robot 41A serves as a main robot and the robot 41B serves as a slave for cooperative control. Therefore, the controller 14A of the robot 41A serves as a main controller, the controller 14B of the robot 41B serves as a slave controller, and a control signal is sent from the main controller 14A to the slave controller 14B, so that the robot 41A and the robot 41A.
B is cooperatively controlled.

Next, the joining method will be described with reference to FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the relative relationship of a tool position, (b) is a figure which shows a joining surface. As can be seen from these figures, the joint position P shifts slightly for both robots. More specifically, one tool 15A
Is joined from one side of the work W, and the other tool 15B is joined from the other side of the work W. At this time, the pressing force of the pin 21A of the one tool 15A is equal to that of the other tool 15B.
Received by the shoulder part 23B of the other tool 15B
The pressing force of the pin 21B is received by the shoulder portion 23A of the one tool 15A. In this way, the adjacent positions are joined so that the pressing force of the pins of each other can be received by the shoulder portion. By simultaneously joining the adjacent positions from both sides of the work W as described above, the FSW spot joining can be performed efficiently and firmly.

At the time of joining, similarly to the spot joining system 10 described above, the fixing devices 16A and 16B temporarily fix the workpiece W. At this time, the fixing device 16A,
In the case where 16B is a device that presses and fixes the work W, the pressing members 19A and 19B are not disengaged and are at the same position so that this pressing force is also received by each other, as shown in (a). Therefore, the centers of the welding tools 15A and 15B are arranged at positions displaced from the centers of the pressing members 19A and 19B. Since the fixing devices 16A and 16B are provided in this manner, it is possible to prevent lateral blurring of both welding tools 15A and 15B and perform FSW spot welding.

Further, the welding is not limited to the case where the welding tools 15A and 15B are slightly displaced and the welding is performed. For example, when the work W has a large plate thickness, the same positions may be welded from both sides. In this case, the pressing members 19A, 19
The welding tool is placed at the center of B.

The spot joining system 40 as described above is
It is not limited to the case where two plate-like works are superposed and joined, and may be a three-dimensional work such as a car body. In this case, two robots 41
With A and 41B, the two locations where the pressing forces of the two are balanced are joined at the same time. That is, in this case, the separated positions may be joined together.

Further, the number of robots is not limited to two, and three or more robots may be cooperatively controlled.

Further, not only the case where the workpieces W are simultaneously joined from both sides, but only one robot 41A is provided with the joining tool and the other robot 41B is not provided with the joining tool, and the back force which receives the pressing force from one side is provided. A structure may be used in which a pad is provided.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8, a case where the articulated robot is not used will be described. The spot welding system of the present invention is not limited to the case of using the articulated robot as a means for moving the welding tool 15 as described above,
Orthogonal moving device 51 that moves the welding tool in two orthogonal directions, such as the spot welding system 50 shown in FIG.
May be used. The components corresponding to the spot joining system 10 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Spot joining system 50 of this embodiment
Is an FSW device 55 having a welding tool 15,
It is composed of an orthogonal movement device 51 for moving the device and a surface plate 13 for holding the work W. Plate-shaped works W are horizontally stacked and held on the surface plate 13. Orthogonal moving device 51
Includes a pair of first rails 52 extending along the surface plate 13 in the x-axis direction on both sides of the surface plate 13, and a gate-shaped moving device 53 that straddles the surface plate 13 and travels along the pair of rails 52. Have. The gate-shaped moving device 53 has a second rail 54 extending in the y-axis direction perpendicular to the first rail 52, and an FSW device 55 is provided so as to be movable along the second rail 54. The FSW device 55 has an elevating mechanism 57 for raising and lowering the FSW head 12 to which the welding tool 15 is attached in the vertical z-axis direction, and a rotation motor 58 for rotating the welding tool 15. A joining tool 15 and a fixing device 16 are attached to the FSW head 12.

In order to perform the welding with the spot welding system 50, the gate-shaped moving device 53 is moved along the first rail 52 to position the welding tool 15 in the x-axis direction, and
The SW device 55 is run along the second rail 54 to position the tool in the y-axis direction. In this way, FS
The W device 55 can access any position of the work W. Then, the joining tool 15 is rotated by the rotary motor 58.
Is rotated, and the FSW head 12 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 57 to be joined. At this time, when the fixing device 16 is of a type using a spring, the pressing member 19 of the fixing device 16 first contacts the surface of the work W and is fixed to the work surface by the spring force. When it is further lowered while being fixed to the work in this way, FSW spot joining is performed. In this way, since the welding tool 16 is fixed by the fixing device 16 so as not to move laterally during welding, the welding tool is prevented from lateral deviation due to the rotational reaction force. These operations are controlled by a controller (not shown).

The fixing device of this embodiment is not limited to the spring, and any of the above-mentioned methods such as motor, hydraulic / pneumatic pressure, magnetic force, and vacuum suction can be applied.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the fixing device connected to the welding tool is temporarily fixed to the materials to be welded, the lateral movement of the welding tool is prevented and the spot is reliably spotted. It is possible to join.

Further , according to the present invention, a welding tool is used at the time of welding.
The reaction force from is detected, and based on this, the reaction force is
Adjust the fixing force of the fixing device to be less than. This
It is always optimally fixed by feedback control
It can be power. For example how to adjust the fixing force
As motor, air pressure, hydraulic pressure, vacuum adsorption and electromagnetic force
Any of these can be used.

Further, according to the present invention, two robots are cooperatively controlled.
It can also be realized by applying a pressing force to each other.

Further , according to the present invention, as the mobile device,
Spot welding can be performed efficiently by using a joint robot.
I can. Also, the arm tip is to be joined in advance.
Press on the material to bend the arm and the arm will bend further.
By connecting so that there is no
Can be more reliably prevented.

Further , according to the present invention, the fixing device is a member to be joined.
It is temporarily fixed to the material to be joined by being pressed by the material
With simple spring force, motor, pneumatic, and hydraulic
With the configuration, it can be temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined. Well
Also, in lap joint joining, if there is a gap between the materials to be joined,
Although the joining quality will be poor, it can be joined by pressing with a fixing device.
By eliminating the gap between the materials to be joined, the spot F can be of high quality.
SW bonding can be performed.

Further , the fixing which is pressed against the materials to be joined at the time of joining
Using a member means the attitude of the welding tool during welding
Is uniquely determined. In other words, when joining
The inclination of the tool becomes constant. This allows you to
Teaching work to the bot can be easily performed.

Further , according to the present invention, the fixing device includes a friction member.
By providing a fixing member that is a large number of materials,
When pressed in steps, the fixing device securely fixes to the material to be joined
To be done.

Further , according to the present invention, the fixing device is a member to be joined.
By providing a fixing member that has a protrusion that cuts into the material,
When pressed by the pressure means, the fixing device securely attaches to the material to be joined.
Fixed.

Further, according to the present invention, the moving device is not limited to the articulated robot, and can be realized by a moving device that can move in two axes of x-axis and y-axis, for example.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a spot joining system 10.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a fixing device 16.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an FSW spot joining method.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another form of the fixing member.

FIG. 5 is a view showing another form of the fixing ring.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a spot joining system 40.

7 is a diagram for explaining a joining method of the spot joining system 40. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a spot joining system 50.

FIG. 9 is a conventional spot joining system 1 using a C gun.
FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a joining system using a surface plate.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 40, 50 Spot joining system 11 Articulated robot 12 FSW head 13 surface plate 14 Controller 15 Joining tool 16 Fixing device

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takehiro Hyoe 3-1-1 Higashikawasaki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Kobe factory (56) Reference JP 2003-154472 (JP, A) JP 2002-301580 (JP, A) German patent application publication 19731638 (DE, A 1) US patent application publication 2002/0179682 (US, A1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23K 20/12

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. In a spot welding system in which the tip of a rotating welding tool is pressed against a material to be welded and spot welding the material to be welded by friction stir welding, a holding device for holding the material to be welded and one surface of the material to be welded. On the side, a moving device that moves the welding tool to an arbitrary position, and a fixing device that is connected to the welding tool and temporarily fixed to the materials to be welded during welding to prevent the welding tool from shaking during welding. A control device that controls the moving device to move the welding tool to the welding position and temporarily fixes the fixing device to the welding target material while pressing the rotating welding tool against the welding target material to perform spot welding. Existence
The fixing device is a pressing part that holds the welding tool rotatably.
A pressing member that is attached to the pressing portion so as to be movable in the axial direction, and a member that comes into contact with the material to be joined during joining and is formed integrally with the pressing member.
The fixed member is interposed between the fixed member and the pressing portion, and the fixed member is bonded.
When it is pressed against the material, it is compressed and the fixing member is welded
And a pressing means for pressing
Joining system. 2. A tip of a rotating welding tool is used as a material to be welded.
Press to apply spot stir welding of the materials to be welded by friction stir welding.
Holding to hold the materials to be joined in the pot joining system
Place the welding tool at any position on the equipment and one side of the material to be welded.
The moving device that moves the
Sometimes it is temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined,
Controls the fixed device and the moving device that prevent blurring of the tool
Then move the welding tool to the welding position and cover the fixing device.
Joining tool that rotates while temporarily fixed to the joining material
The controller to perform spot welding by pressing the
Sensor that detects the reaction force due to the rotation of the welding tool
And the fixing device temporarily adjusts the fixing force on the material to be joined.
The adjusting device is fixed to the
At the same time, the reaction force is detected by the sensor and based on the detected reaction force.
And controlling the fixing force of the adjusting and fixing device.
Spot joining system. 3. The adjusting and fixing device comprises a motor, an air pressure,
Fixed force by hydraulic, vacuum suction or electromagnetic force
3. The spoke according to claim 2, characterized in that
Joint system. 4. The material to be welded is the tip of a rotating welding tool.
Press to apply spot stir welding of the materials to be welded by friction stir welding.
Holding to hold the materials to be joined in the pot joining system
Place the welding tool at any position on the equipment and one side of the material to be welded.
The moving device that moves the
Sometimes it is temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined,
Controls the fixed device and the moving device that prevent blurring of the tool
Then move the welding tool to the welding position and cover the fixing device.
Joining tool that rotates while temporarily fixed to the joining material
And a control device that presses the material against the material to be spot-joined.
It has several articulated robots, and at least one of the articulated robots is an arm.
It is a moving device with a welding tool attached to the tip.
The controller is an articulated robot with a welding tool.
When the joining tool is pressed from one side of the joining material to join
The articulated robot placed on the opposite side of the material to be joined,
Make sure that the tip of the arm receives multiple pressing forces from the welding tool.
Spot characterized by cooperative control of two robots
Joining system. 5. The material to be welded is the tip of a rotating welding tool.
Press to apply spot stir welding of the materials to be welded by friction stir welding.
Holding to hold the materials to be joined in the pot joining system
Place the welding tool at any position on the equipment and one side of the material to be welded.
The moving device that moves the
Sometimes it is temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined,
Controls the fixed device and the moving device that prevent blurring of the tool
Then move the welding tool to the welding position and cover the fixing device.
Joining tool that rotates while temporarily fixed to the joining material
Equipped with a control device for spot welding by pressing the
However, the moving device is an articulated robot,
A welding tool is attached and the control device is an articulated robot.
Before joining, press the arm end of the bot against the material to be joined.
Make sure the robot arm is flexed and contact it in that state.
Spot bonding system, characterized by focus. 6. The fixing device is pressed against a material to be joined.
Has a fixing member that is temporarily fixed to the materials to be joined.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein
Spot joining system. 7. The fixing device has a large coefficient of static friction.
It is made of a material and is pressed by the material to be bonded
7. A fixing member to be fixed is provided.
The spot joining system described. 8. The fixing device is pressed against the materials to be joined.
When having a fixing member having a protrusion that bites into the material to be joined
The spot joining system according to claim 6, characterized in that
Mu. 9. The moving device comprises :
It is possible to move in two axes and move the welding tool to any position.
In any one of Claims 1-8 characterized by making it
The spot joining system described. 10. Bonding to an arbitrary position on one surface side of a material to be bonded
Move the tool and rotate the tip of the welding tool to be welded
Press to the material and spot weld the material to be welded by friction stirring.
A fixing device used in a pot joining system, which includes a pressing portion that rotatably holds a joining tool, a pressing member that is axially movably attached to the pressing portion, and a pressing member that comes into contact with workpieces at the time of joining. Integrally formed
The fixing member is interposed between the fixing member and the pressing portion, and the fixing member is bonded.
When it is pressed against the material, it is compressed and the fixing member is welded
Fixing device characterized by including a pressing means for pressing
Place