JP5309890B2 - Welding apparatus and welding method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a welding apparatus and a welding method.

  In recent years, hybrid welding that achieves both deep penetration and high-speed welding, which are features of laser welding, and a margin for groove accuracy, which is a feature of arc welding, has been used in various fields. According to the laser arc composite welding equipment using this technology, high-speed weldability is ensured by a high energy density heat source formed by laser irradiation, and the joint part is melted extensively by the wide heat source formed by the arc. can do. As such a laser arc combined welding apparatus, there has been proposed a laser irradiation arc welding head having a laser arc nozzle provided with a laser light inlet at the tip of a welding torch body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The laser irradiation arc welding head is provided with a condensing lens optical system for narrowing the laser beam and a protective glass for protecting the condensing lens optical system. The laser light entrance is provided with an air curtain for preventing air from flowing in. This air curtain prevents the purity of the shielding gas from being lowered by injecting air from the laser light inlet by ejecting the shielding gas to the laser light. Further, since this shielding gas flows along the laser beam toward the tip of the laser / arc nozzle, the shielding property is improved and the spatter is prevented from adhering to the condensing lens optical system.
JP 2004-216441 A

  However, according to the conventional laser arc composite welding apparatus, there is a problem that it is not possible to suppress the laser beam from being absorbed and attenuated by the plasma generated with the laser irradiation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a welding apparatus and a welding method capable of improving the durability of a laser irradiation head while maintaining the laser condensing property.

In the welding apparatus and the welding method according to the present invention, the following means are employed in order to solve the above problems.
1st invention has a laser irradiation head which progresses along a to-be-welded object, and the said laser irradiation head is such that the normal line of the output surface where a laser is irradiated is substantially orthogonal to the advancing direction of the said laser irradiation head The welding apparatus is provided with a gas supply unit that injects gas from the front side in the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head toward the output surface.

  Thereby, the gas injected toward the output surface can be divided into a gas flowing along the output surface and a gas entering the laser irradiation head from the output surface. For this reason, the gas flowing along the output surface suppresses the entry of plasma into the laser irradiation head, while the circulation of the gas that has entered the laser irradiation head can more suitably suppress spatter adhesion to the equipment inside the head. it can.

The gas supply unit includes a gas injection port extending substantially parallel to the output surface.
Thereby, the strip-shaped gas substantially parallel to the output surface can be jetted toward the output surface, and the entire output surface can be covered with the gas.

The gas supply unit may inject the gas from a direction inclined to the laser irradiation side at an angle of 2 degrees or more and 5 degrees or less with respect to a traveling direction of the laser irradiation head.
Thereby, the gas injected toward the output surface can be preferably diverted into the gas flowing along the output surface and the gas entering the laser irradiation head from the output surface.

  A second invention is a welding method for irradiating a laser in a direction substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head while the laser irradiation head is advanced along the workpiece, and the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head A gas supply step of injecting gas from the front side toward the output surface of the laser provided in the laser irradiation head is provided.

  Thereby, the gas injected toward the output surface can be divided into a gas flowing along the output surface and a gas entering the laser irradiation head from the output surface. For this reason, the gas flowing along the output surface suppresses the entry of plasma into the laser irradiation head, while the circulation of the gas that has entered the laser irradiation head can more suitably suppress spatter adhesion to the equipment inside the head. it can.

Further, a strip-like gas substantially parallel to the output surface is supplied.
Thereby, the strip-shaped gas (air knife) substantially parallel to the output surface can be jetted toward the output surface, and the entire output surface can be covered with the gas.

In the gas injection, the gas is injected from a direction inclined to the laser irradiation side at an angle of 2 degrees or more and 5 degrees or less with respect to the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head.
Thereby, the gas injected toward the output surface can be preferably diverted into the gas flowing along the output surface and the gas entering the laser irradiation head from the output surface.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the durability of the laser irradiation head while maintaining the laser condensing property.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a welding apparatus and a welding method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a laser arc composite welding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a laser welding head of the laser arc composite welding apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view in the II-II direction in FIG.

  A laser arc composite welding apparatus (welding apparatus) 1 according to the present embodiment includes, for example, an arc torch 2 that progresses along a T-shaped joint TW that is an object to be welded and performs arc welding, and is disposed in the vicinity of the arc torch 2. The laser irradiation head 3 that performs laser welding and the gas supply unit 5 that injects air (gas) from the front side in the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head 3 toward the output surface OP of the laser beam B are provided.

In order to perform arc welding, the laser arc composite welding apparatus 1 includes a welding wire feeding device 8 having a welding wire feeding roll 7 around which a welding wire W supplied to the arc torch 2 is wound, and a welding wire. The rotation of the feed roll 7 is controlled to feed the welding wire W through the arc torch 2 and power is supplied between a power supply tip (not shown) disposed in the arc torch 2 and the T-shaped joint TW. And a welding power source device 10 for generating an arc.
In addition, from the arc torch 2, the shield gas S is ejected toward a welding location.

In order to perform laser welding, the laser arc composite welding apparatus 1 includes a laser oscillation device 11 that outputs laser light, and an optical fiber 12 that transmits the laser light B output from the laser oscillation device 11 to the laser irradiation head 3. And further.
When the wavelength is in the infrared region as in a carbon dioxide laser, transmission is performed using a reflection mirror or the like instead of the optical fiber 12.

  The laser irradiation head 3 includes a housing 13 on which an output surface OP of the laser light B is disposed, and a condensing lens optical that is disposed in the housing 13 and converges the laser light B so that a focal point is generated at the T-shaped joint TW. The direction of the protective glass 16 and the laser beam B that prevents the system 15, dust and the like from adhering to the condensing lens optical system 15 and also prevents spatter generated by arc welding from adhering to the condensing lens optical system 15. A reflection mirror 17 to be adjusted is provided.

  The output surface OP is formed so as to open to the planar side surface P1 of the housing 13 facing the T-shaped joint TW. The side surface P <b> 1 is arranged so that the normal line N of the output surface OP is substantially orthogonal to the traveling direction D of the laser irradiation head 3. That is, the side surface P <b> 1 is arranged in parallel with the traveling direction D of the laser irradiation head 3.

  The gas supply unit 5 is arranged to inject air from the traveling direction D of the laser irradiation head 3, that is, from the direction inclined to the laser irradiation side at an angle θ of 2 degrees or more and 5 degrees or less with respect to the side surface P1. Yes. The gas supply unit 5 is provided with a slit-shaped injection port 5A extending substantially parallel to the output surface OP.

Next, the laser arc composite welding method according to this embodiment will be described together with the operation of the laser arc composite welding apparatus 1.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a laser arc composite welding method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In this laser arc combined welding method, the arc torch 2 and the laser irradiation head 3 are advanced along the T-shaped joint TW, and the laser is irradiated in a direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction D of the laser irradiation head 3 along with the arc welding. A hybrid welding step (S01) for performing laser welding, and a gas supply step (S02) for injecting air from the front side in the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head 3 toward the output surface OP of the laser beam B. .

In the hybrid welding step (S01), first, the welding power supply device 10 is set to a predetermined welding voltage, and the welding wire feeding roll 7 is set to a predetermined wire feeding speed. Then, the welding wire W is fed to supply power while supplying the shielding gas to the welding point.
Further, for example, the YAG laser is set to a predetermined output, and the condensing lens optical system 15 and the reflecting mirror 17 are set, and the laser beam B is irradiated so as to have a predetermined condensing spot diameter at the welding point. Meanwhile, the laser irradiation head 3 is advanced at a speed of 50 cm / min or more.
As a result, arc plasma is constrained at the laser irradiation position, and melting of the welding wire W is promoted by the laser beam B, so that stable high-speed welding is performed.

In the gas supply step (S02), the output surface OP is substantially directed from the direction inclined to the laser irradiation side at an angle θ of 2 degrees or more and 5 degrees or less with respect to the traveling direction D of the laser irradiation head 3 toward the output surface OP. The air A spreading in parallel strips is injected from the injection port 5A of the gas supply unit 5 at an air pressure of 0.5 MPa. The jetted air A flows in a direction opposite to the traveling direction D of the laser irradiation head 3 without interfering with the arc welding shield gas.
The air that has reached the laser irradiation head 3 is further divided into air A1 that flows along the output surface OP and air A2 that enters the laser irradiation head 3 from the output surface OP.

Since the air A1 flowing along the output surface OP is a belt (air knife), it flows so as to cover the output surface OP. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the spatter and arc plasma scattered to the vicinity of the output surface OP from entering the laser irradiation head 3.
On the other hand, the air A <b> 2 that has entered the laser irradiation head 3 flows in the laser irradiation head 3. Therefore, the adhesion of the sputter | spatter to the protective glass 16 and the reflective mirror 17 is suppressed, and attenuation | damping of the laser beam B by a plasma is suppressed.

  According to the laser arc composite welding apparatus 1 and the laser arc composite welding method, air A (A1 and A2) is jetted toward the output surface OP in the direction opposite to the traveling direction D of the laser irradiation head 3 during hybrid welding. can do. At this time, the ejected air A can be divided into air A1 flowing along the output surface OP and air A2 entering the laser irradiation head 3 from the output surface OP.

And the entrance of the plasma into the laser irradiation head 3 can be suppressed by the air A1 flowing along the output surface OP.
Further, the air A2 that has entered the inside of the laser irradiation head 3 can more suitably suppress spatter adhesion to the equipment inside the laser irradiation head 3. Therefore, the durability of the laser irradiation head 3 can be improved while maintaining the condensing property of the laser beam B.

  In particular, since the gas supply unit 5 injects air A from a direction inclined to the laser irradiation side at an angle θ of 2 degrees or more and 5 degrees or less with respect to the traveling direction D of the laser irradiation head 3, The air A1 flowing along the output surface OP and the air A2 entering the laser irradiation head 3 from the output surface OP can be diverted in suitable distribution amounts, respectively.

  Further, since the injection direction of the air A and the injection direction of the shield gas in the arc torch 2 are different, the air A (A1 and A2) injected from the gas supply unit 5 is not mixed with the shield gas to cause turbulence. be able to.

  Furthermore, since the gas supply section 5 has the air A injection port 5A extending substantially parallel to the output surface OP, it is possible to inject strip-shaped air substantially parallel to the output surface OP toward the output surface OP. The air A can be flown so as to cover the entire output surface OP.

  The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the laser arc composite welding apparatus 1 that performs hybrid welding as the welding apparatus is used, but a laser welding apparatus that performs only laser welding may be used. Even in this case, the attenuation of the laser beam due to the generated plasma can be suitably suppressed.

1 is a schematic view showing a laser arc composite welding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the laser welding head of the laser arc composite welding apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is the II-II direction partial sectional view in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the laser arc compound welding method which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser arc compound welding apparatus (welding apparatus), 2 ... Arc torch, 3 ... Laser irradiation head, 5 ... Gas supply part, 5A ... Injection port, 16 ... Protective glass, 17 ... Reflection mirror, A, A1, A2 ... Air (gas), B ... Laser beam, D ... Direction of travel, N ... Normal, OP ... Output surface, TW ... T-shaped joint (workpiece), θ ... Angle

Claims (2)

An arc torch that travels along the workpiece and welds, and a laser irradiation head that is disposed near the arc torch and travels along the workpiece and irradiates a laser beam. The laser irradiation head is a welding apparatus configured such that a normal line of an output surface that irradiates laser light is orthogonal to a traveling direction of the laser irradiation head,
A gas supply unit for injecting gas from the front side in the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head toward the output surface;
The gas supply unit includes a gas injection port that extends substantially parallel to the output surface, and is disposed outside the laser irradiation head and from the side facing the output surface, which is the laser irradiation side, to the output surface side. The gas is ejected from a direction inclined at an angle of 2 degrees to 5 degrees with respect to the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head, and the gas ejection direction is shielded by the arc torch. The welding apparatus is configured to be different from the gas injection direction so as not to mix the injections of each other. In this welding method, welding is performed while an arc torch is advanced along the workpiece, and a laser is irradiated in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head while the laser irradiation head is advanced along the workpiece. And
A gas for injecting a strip-like gas substantially parallel to the output surface toward the laser output surface side provided on the laser irradiation head from the front side in the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head and from the outside of the laser irradiation head With a supply process,
In the gas supply step, from a direction inclined at an angle of 2 degrees or more and 5 degrees or less with respect to the traveling direction of the laser irradiation head from the side facing the output surface on the laser irradiation side toward the output surface side. A welding method characterized by injecting the gas and injecting the gas in a direction different from the injection direction of the shield gas by the arc torch so as not to mix the injections of each other.

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