JP4204680B2 - Friction stir welding equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a friction stir welding apparatus that friction stir welds a plurality of workpieces.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, from the viewpoint of global environment protection or energy saving, suppression of nitrogen oxides and carbon dioxide emitted from automobiles and improvement in fuel efficiency are eagerly desired. One of the most effective ways to achieve these is to reduce the weight of automobiles, that is, to use lightweight materials. Therefore, it has been studied to change the material constituting the body and parts of automobiles from steel to aluminum alloy. The aluminum alloy is not only lightweight, but can be improved in rigidity by optimizing the cross-sectional shape. Moreover, the smoothness is also excellent, and it is suitable as a structural member of transportation equipment such as a vehicle or a ship.
[0003]
However, aluminum alloys are often provided as extruded profiles rather than as rolled plates such as steel. Since the extruded profile is extruded through a die, the width of the profile is limited. For this reason, when forming a wide molded object and a big structure using an aluminum alloy, it is common to join extrusion shape members by arc welding (MIG or TIG).
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when arc welding is performed, the welded portion is deformed and the flowing surface shape is hindered. For this reason, in the part which attaches importance to the appearance, it is necessary to delete the surplus formed at the time of welding. In addition, when arc welding is performed, the welding heat-affected zone (HAZ) outside the welded portion is slowly heated to close to 500 ° C., so that a large precipitate is generated and the strength is lowered. For this reason, it is necessary to compensate for the strength by forming the welded portion thick in advance, and the effect of reducing the weight is not sufficiently exhibited. Further, in arc welding, defects such as peculiar blowholes and solidification cracks may occur, and in this case, the welded portion is suspended and rewelded. In this case, a great number of man-hours are required and the appearance of the welded portion becomes dirty.
[0005]
In recent years, friction stir welding has been considered as a joining method with little heat input and a low degree of softening or distortion (for example, Japanese Patent No. 2712838). In this method, a soft material (bonded material) such as an aluminum alloy is abutted and restrained on a hard backing such as steel, and a hard rotary tool is moved along the abutted portion while rotating at high speed. is there. This method is characterized in that the joint does not melt, and the temperature of the heat-affected zone outside the stirrer does not rise so much.
[0006]
However, the above patent only shows the shape of the rotary tool and the like, and does not specifically disclose the configuration of the apparatus for performing the friction stir welding. In addition, the friction stir welding also causes the following problems when a large molded body is obtained by joining a large number of materials to be joined.
[0007]
That is, when a large molded body is obtained by joining a large number of materials to be joined, it is necessary to repeat the friction stir welding many times. The friction stir welding also causes a slight distortion. Therefore, the distortion accumulates while repeating this many times, and the butted portion of the materials to be joined may be deformed, resulting in poor bonding. In addition, due to the accumulation of the strain, a relatively large strain may occur in the entire formed article.
[0008]
Therefore, the present invention provides a friction stir welding that can satisfactorily suppress the occurrence of poor bonding and the occurrence of distortion in a molded article after joining even when a large number (at least three or more) of materials to be joined are friction stir welded. It was made for the purpose of providing a device.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
The invention of claim 1 made to achieve the above object is
A table for holding a plurality of materials to be joined together,
A rotary tool that relatively moves along the abutting portion of the material to be joined while rotating, and friction stir welds the materials to be joined on both sides of the abutting portion;
A friction stir welding apparatus comprising:
The table is configured to be able to hold at least three or more materials to be joined,
It said rotary tool is provided in several parallel so that the relative movement while rotating along each of a plurality of abutting portions formed between the respective material to be joined, is cantilevered by a support member of the arm-like In addition, the table is configured to be able to hold the material to be bonded over a width wider than a range facing the support member .
[0010]
In the present invention configured as described above, the table can hold at least three or more materials to be joined, and each rotary tool has two or more formed between the materials to be joined. It moves relative to each other while rotating along the butted portion. Then, along each butted portion, the materials to be joined on both sides are simultaneously friction stir welded. That is, in the present invention, at least three or more workpieces can be simultaneously friction stir welded, and the accumulation of strain as described above can be suppressed.
[0011]
Therefore, in the present invention, even when a large number (at least three or more) of materials to be joined are friction stir welded, it is possible to satisfactorily suppress the occurrence of poor bonding and the occurrence of distortion in the molded article after bonding.
In addition, in the present invention, since each rotary tool is cantilevered by the arm-shaped support member, a part of the material to be joined can be protruded and disposed on the side where the support member is not present. Moreover, the table of this invention can hold | maintain a to-be-joined material over the width | variety wider than the range facing the said supporting member. For this reason, even when the materials to be joined are abutted over a wider range than the range facing the support member, the portion joined by the first friction stir welding is disposed outside the above range, and the second time By performing the friction stir welding, it is possible to easily obtain a molded body having a width wider than the range in which the rotary tool is disposed. Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the above-described effects, there is an effect that a molded body having a wide width can be easily obtained without arranging a rotary tool over a wide width in advance. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the friction stir welding apparatus for obtaining a molded body having a wide width can be satisfactorily reduced.
Note that the table may be a table in which the material to be joined is abutted and restrained by a restraining means such as a jig so that the position of the materials to be joined temporarily fixed by welding or the like in a state of being abutted against each other is not shifted. It may be held. In the former case, the work process required for friction stir welding is reduced to further improve workability, and the adverse effects of welding as described above can be further eliminated, and in the latter case, the configuration of the apparatus is further simplified. The manufacturing cost can be further reduced.
Further, in the present invention, the table itself may be configured over a width wider than the range facing the support member, and the table can be held by the materials to be joined that are faced over a width wider than the table. It may be configured. In the latter case, the apparatus can be further reduced in size, and the exclusive space of the apparatus at the time when a wide molded article is not manufactured can be reduced. In the latter case, the table may be provided with a width direction extending support mechanism that abuts and constrains the material to be joined by extending in the width direction. It is also possible to hold the material to be joined temporarily fixed to the extent that the position does not shift. In these cases, the former can further improve the workability and can further eliminate the adverse effects of welding, and in the latter case, the configuration of the apparatus can be further simplified to further reduce the manufacturing cost.
[0012]
In addition to the structure of Claim 1, the invention of Claim 2 has
Each of the rotary tools is provided with a rotation driving means for rotating the rotary tool,
The rotary tools are provided in a staggered manner so that the rotary drive means do not interfere with each other.
[0013]
In the present invention, the rotation driving means for rotating the plurality of rotary tools are arranged in a staggered manner so as not to interfere with each other. For this reason, even if a rotation drive means is provided for each rotary tool and a relatively large rotation drive means is used, the spacing of the rotary tools in the abutting direction (corresponding to the width of the material to be joined) is relatively long. Can be narrowed. Therefore, in the present invention, even when a relatively narrow workpiece is friction stir welded, the size of the rotation drive means can be freely selected, and sufficient torque required for the rotary tool is provided. The effect of being able to occur.
[0017]
The invention according to claim 3 is the configuration according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The rotary tool is configured to be relatively movable not only in the longitudinal direction but also in the width direction along the abutting portion of each material to be joined.
In this invention, since a rotary tool moves relatively also to the width direction of a to-be-joined material, even when the said butt | matching part is not linear, a to-be-joined material can be favorably joined. Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2 , an effect that the form of the material to be bonded can be further expanded.
[0018]
In addition to the structure in any one of Claims 1-3 , invention of Claim 4 is provided.
The table is configured to be able to hold a material to be joined that is longer in the longitudinal direction than the table.
[0019]
In the present invention, the table is configured to be able to hold a material to be bonded that is longer in the longitudinal direction than the table, and by rotating and holding the material to be bonded shifted in the longitudinal direction, the rotary tool is spread over the entire abutting portion. Can be moved. For this reason, a molded object longer than a table can be obtained easily. Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , there is an effect that a long molded body can be easily obtained even if the table is not configured long in advance. Therefore, the apparatus can be further reduced in size, and the exclusive space of the apparatus at the time when a long molded body is not manufactured can be reduced. In the present invention, when the table is provided with a longitudinally extending support mechanism for supporting the material to be joined by extending in the longitudinal direction, the material to be joined is more stably held and friction stir is performed. Bonding can be performed more reliably.
[0020]
In addition to the structure in any one of Claims 1-4 , the invention of Claim 5 is
It is characterized by being able to change the inclination of the rotary tool with respect to the material to be joined.
In this invention, the inclination with respect to the to-be-joined material of a rotary tool can be changed. For this reason, even when the vicinity of the butt portion of the material to be joined has an inclination or a step, the rotary tool can be inclined according to the inclination or the step and the friction stir welding can be performed satisfactorily. In general, friction stir welding is facilitated by tilting the rotary tool forward. Therefore, in the present invention, in addition to the effects of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , the form of the material to be joined can be further expanded, and friction stir welding can be more reliably and easily performed. The following effects occur.
[0021]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a friction stir welding apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the friction stir welding apparatus 1 includes a table 3 that holds a plurality of workpieces 91 as a material to be joined made of an extruded shape of an aluminum alloy or the like, and a friction stir welding of the workpieces 91. Three heads 5, 7 and 9 are provided.
[0022]
Each of the heads 5, 7, and 9 includes a rotary tool 11 that moves while rotating along the abutting portion 93 of the work 91, and a motor 13 that serves as a rotational drive unit that rotates the rotary tool 11. The motor 13 is cantilevered by an arm-shaped support member 15. The table 3 is chain-driven in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 by a table driving mechanism (not shown).
[0023]
FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the configuration of the rotary tool 11. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotary tool 11 includes a large-diameter shoulder portion 11a and a small-diameter column 11b protruding from the lower end of the shoulder portion 11a. While rotating around the central axis, the table 3 moves along the butted portion 93 by the above movement. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the abutting portion 93 is formed with a stirring portion 95 in which the metal constituting the workpieces 91 on both sides is stirred by the pillars 11 b, and the workpieces 91 are joined together. Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the friction stir welding apparatus 1 can hold at least three or more (four in FIG. 1) workpieces 91 on the table 3, and each rotary tool 11 can be , And moves while rotating along each butted portion 93. Then, the workpieces 91 (four in total) on both sides thereof are simultaneously friction stir welded along the abutting portion 93 (three in total).
[0024]
Thus, in the friction stir welding apparatus 1, a large number of workpieces 91 can be simultaneously friction stir welded, and it is possible to satisfactorily suppress the occurrence of poor bonding and the occurrence of distortion in the molded body after joining as follows. it can. That is, when the friction stir welding is repeated many times in order to join a large number of workpieces 91 to obtain a large molded body, a slight distortion caused by the friction stir welding accumulates and the butted portion 93 of the workpiece 91 gradually deforms. There is a possibility that poor bonding occurs. In addition, due to the accumulation of the strain, a relatively large strain may occur in the entire formed article. On the other hand, in the friction stir welding apparatus 1, since a large number of workpieces 91 can be friction stir welded simultaneously, the accumulation of distortion as described above is suppressed, the occurrence of poor bonding, and the distortion in the molded body after joining. Can be satisfactorily suppressed.
[0025]
Note that the table 3 may be one that abuts and restrains the work 91 by restraining means such as a jig, and holds the work 91 temporarily fixed by welding or the like in a state of being abutted against each other to the extent that the position does not shift. It may be a thing. In the former case, it is possible to further improve workability by reducing the work steps required for friction stir welding and to better prevent the surface shape of the work 91 from being hindered or the strength from being lowered by welding. In the latter case, the configuration of the apparatus can be further simplified to further reduce the manufacturing cost.
[0026]
Further, as described above, in the friction stir welding apparatus 1, the heads 5, 7, 9 are cantilevered from the right side of FIG. It is possible to protrude from the left side. Then, if it comprises so that the workpiece | work 91 can be supported in the state which protruded the table 3 in this way, a wide molded object as follows can be obtained easily.
[0027]
For example, if a large number of workpieces 91 are abutted over a width wider than the table 3 and temporarily fixed by welding or the like, the left end of the workpiece 91 after the temporary fixing protrudes from the table 3. Further, there is a butting portion 93 between the workpieces 91 in the protruding portion. In this state, friction stir welding as described above is performed, and the butted portion 93 within the range disposed on the table 3 and facing the support member 15 is first joined. Subsequently, the portion joined by the first friction stir welding is disposed outside the above range, and the second friction stir welding is performed, so that the heads 5, 7, and 9 are compared with the range. And a molded body having a wide width can be easily obtained. For this reason, a wide molded body can be manufactured without arranging a large number of heads 5 etc. over a wide width, and the manufacturing cost of an apparatus for obtaining a wide molded body can be favorably reduced. it can.
[0028]
Even if the table 3 itself is configured to have a wider width than the range facing the support member 15, a wide molded body can be obtained with the same number of heads, and the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be reduced well. can do. However, when the relatively small table 3 is used as described above, the apparatus can be further reduced in size, and the exclusive space of the apparatus at the time when a wide molded body is not manufactured can be reduced.
[0029]
Further, instead of configuring the table 3 with a wide width, as shown in FIG. 3A, an auxiliary table 31 as a width direction extending support mechanism that can be pulled out from the side surface of the table 3 by a necessary amount may be provided. . In this case, by storing the auxiliary table 31 in the table 3, it is possible to reduce the exclusive space of the apparatus at the time when the wide molded body is not manufactured. Further, in the table 3 and the auxiliary table 31 shown in FIG. 3A, the work 91 is abutted and restrained by the jig 33 provided on the upper surface thereof. For this reason, as described above, the work steps required for friction stir welding are reduced to further improve workability, and further, the surface shape of the workpiece 91 is prevented from being hindered or the strength from being deteriorated by welding. be able to.
[0030]
Further, the tip of the auxiliary table 31 may be supported so as to be movable along the rail 37 via a roller 35 as shown in FIG. In this case, the tip of the auxiliary table 31 can be prevented from being bent, and the work 91 protruding from the table 3 can be held more stably. Therefore, friction stir welding can be more reliably performed.
[0031]
Further, as the form of the friction stir welding of the work 91 protruding from the table 3, various forms are conceivable as in the case of the width direction even when the work 91 protrudes in the longitudinal direction. For example, when the table 3 is configured to be able to hold a workpiece 91 that is longer in the longitudinal direction than the table 3, the rotary tool is moved over the entire abutting portion 93 by shifting and holding the workpiece 91 in the longitudinal direction. 11 can be moved. For this reason, a molded object longer than the table 3 can be obtained easily. Also in this case, since a long molded body can be easily obtained even if the table 3 is not configured to be long in advance, the apparatus can be further reduced in size, and the exclusive space of the apparatus when the long molded body is not manufactured can be reduced. can do.
[0032]
In addition, when the table 3 includes a longitudinal extension support mechanism that supports the workpiece 91 by extending in the longitudinal direction in the same manner as the auxiliary table 31 described above, the workpiece 91 is held more stably and friction stir welding is performed. Can be performed more reliably.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be implemented in various forms within the technical scope of the present invention. For example, like the friction stir welding apparatus 50 shown in FIG. 4, the head 3, 7, 9 is fixed by an arch-shaped support member 55 that fixes the table 3 so as not to move and moves in the direction of arrow B along the rail 53. You may support. In this case, although the friction stir welding of the work 91 protruding from the table 3 in the width direction becomes difficult, the moving speed of the rotary tool 11 along the abutting portion 93 is made more uniform by the heads 5, 7, 9, and the friction stir welding is performed. Can be performed more reliably. In the friction stir welding apparatus 50, the same reference numerals in FIG. 4 are used for the parts configured in the same manner as the friction stir welding apparatus 1, and detailed description thereof is omitted.
[0033]
Further, when a larger number of workpieces 91 having a narrower width are abutted in the width direction, it is desirable to dispose the head 5 and the like as follows. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, two heads 6 and 8 are further provided in the range in which the heads 5, 7, and 9 are arranged, and the width W is narrower (about 2/3) than that shown in FIG. When the six workpieces 91 having the above are friction stir welded, the head 6 may be disposed behind the heads 5 and 7 and the head 8 may be disposed behind the heads 7 and 9, respectively. In FIG. 5, in order to clearly show the positional relationship among the rotary tool 11, the column 11 b, and the motor 13 in each of the heads 5 to 9, they are all represented by solid lines. By comprising in this way, the heads 5-9 are arrange | positioned alternately, and the motor 13 of each head 5-9 does not interfere with each other.
[0034]
For this reason, even if a motor 13 is provided for each rotary tool 11 as described above and a relatively large motor 13 is used, the interval in the width direction of the rotary tool 11 can be made relatively narrow. Therefore, the size of the motor 13 can be freely selected even when the relatively narrow workpiece 91 is friction stir welded, and sufficient torque or the like required for the rotary tool 11 can be applied. Each rotary tool 11 may be connected by a chain or the like and driven by a single motor 13. In this case, it is less necessary to alternately arrange the rotary tools 11 as described above. However, when the motor 13 is provided for each rotary tool 11 as described above, the torque and the like required for friction stir welding can be obtained more reliably.
[0035]
Moreover, in this invention, you may comprise so that the inclination with respect to the workpiece | work 91 etc. of the rotary tool 11 can be changed. As this type of configuration, one that changes the inclination with an adjusting screw or the like while the apparatus is stopped, or one that changes the inclination with a motor or the like while the apparatus is being driven, that is, during the execution of friction stir welding, can be considered. In this case, even when the vicinity of the workpiece abutting portion 93 or the like has an inclination or a step, the rotary tool 11 can be inclined according to the inclination or the step, and the friction stir welding can be performed satisfactorily.
[0036]
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 6, when another workpiece 97 is erected on the upper surface of the workpiece 91, the rotating tool 11 is inserted into the abutting portion 99 at an angle of 45 ° from both sides to perform friction stir welding. It is desirable to do. For this reason, when it comprises so that the inclination of the rotary tool 11 can be changed as mentioned above, such friction stir welding of a molded object can be performed still more reliably. 6, when the workpiece 97 is temporarily fixed to the workpiece 91 at appropriate intervals by arc welding or the like, the friction stir welding may be performed, and both longitudinal ends of the workpieces 91 and 97 may be bonded. The friction stir welding may be performed by fixing with a jig or the like. In general, the friction stir welding is facilitated by tilting the rotary tool 11 forward. Therefore, when the inclination of the rotary tool 11 can be changed, the form of the work 91 that can be joined can be further expanded, and the friction stir welding can be more reliably and easily performed.
[0037]
Furthermore, the rotary tool 11 may be configured to be relatively movable not only in the longitudinal direction along the abutting portion 93 of the workpiece 91 and the like but also in the width direction. Such a configuration can be easily realized, for example, by providing a chain that can circulate horizontally in the upper part of the support member 15 or 55 and fixing the heads 5, 7, and 9 to the chain. In this case, even when the abutting portion 93 or the like is not linear, the workpiece 91 or the like can be favorably joined, and the form of the work 91 or the like that can be joined can be further expanded. Furthermore, the present invention can be applied to the field of friction stir welding apparatus that friction stir welds various materials to be joined in addition to the extruded shape of aluminum alloy.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a friction stir welding apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing a configuration of a rotary tool of the friction stir welding apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a width direction extending support mechanism of the friction stir welding apparatus.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a modified example of the friction stir welding apparatus.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of each friction stir welding apparatus when a head is added.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an effect obtained by inclining the rotary tool.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,50 ... Friction stir welding apparatus 3 ... Table 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ... Head 11 ... Rotary tool 13 ... Motor 15, 55 ... Support member 31 ... Auxiliary table 91, 97 ... Work piece 93, 99 ... Butting part

Claims (5)

A table for holding a plurality of materials to be joined together,
A rotary tool that relatively moves along the abutting portion of the material to be joined while rotating, and friction stir welds the materials to be joined on both sides of the abutting portion;
A friction stir welding apparatus comprising:
The table is configured to be able to hold at least three or more materials to be joined,
It said rotary tool is provided in several parallel so that the relative movement while rotating along each of a plurality of abutting portions formed between the respective material to be joined, is cantilevered by a support member of the arm-like In addition , the friction stir welding apparatus , wherein the table is configured to be able to hold the material to be joined over a width wider than a range facing the support member . Each of the rotary tools is provided with a rotation driving means for rotating the rotary tool,
2. The friction stir welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotary tools are provided in a staggered manner so that the rotary drive means do not interfere with each other. Upper Machinery rolling tool, not only in the longitudinal direction along said abutting portion of each material to be joined, according to claim 1, wherein in that it is relatively movable in even the width direction Friction stir welding device. The friction stir welding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the table is configured to be able to hold a material to be joined that is longer in the longitudinal direction than the table . The friction stir welding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an inclination of the rotary tool with respect to the workpiece is changeable .

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