JP6139275B2 - Welding torch and welding apparatus equipped with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a welding torch used for performing, for example, consumable electrode type gas shielded arc welding, and a welding apparatus including the welding torch.

  In the consumable electrode gas shielded arc welding, generally, a welding wire as a filler material wound around a wire reel is sent out to a welding torch by a wire feeding device. Generally, the wire feeding device includes a feeding roller for feeding a welding wire and a drive motor for driving the feeding roller to rotate. In a welding apparatus for performing automatic welding equipped with a manipulator such as an articulated robot, the wire feeding device is mounted on the manipulator, and a welding torch is provided on the wrist portion of the manipulator. In such a welding apparatus, the wire feeding drive motor is provided, for example, in the vicinity of the welding torch, the part away from the welding torch, or both. By controlling the drive motor, the wire is stably fed to the welding torch and the wire feeding speed is appropriately changed to maintain the welding quality (for example, see Patent Document 1). reference).

  The welding torch includes a torch body portion in which an internal housing space for passing a welding wire is formed. The welding wire is introduced into the inside of the welding torch through the wire introduction portion on the base end side of the torch main body, and is led out of the welding torch through the wire lead-out portion on the tip side of the torch main body. The welding wire that has passed through the wire feeding device is inserted into, for example, a cylindrical wire guide, and is fed to the wire lead-out portion while being guided by the wire guide. And the welding wire which passed the wire guide is hold | maintained by the electric power feeding chip | tip in the front-end | tip part of a welding torch.

  In consumable electrode gas shielded arc welding, it is necessary to appropriately generate an arc between a welding wire held on a power supply tip of a welding torch and a base material to be welded. During welding, the tip of the welding wire is sequentially melted by the heat of the arc and drops as a droplet on the base metal. When the wire tip and the base material are short-circuited via this droplet, the welding spatter is generated and the welding quality is increased. May be reduced. In order to avoid such inconvenience at the time of welding, it is required that the feeding speed of the welding wire be controlled at a relatively high speed and finely controlled, and the feeding roller is reversed to slightly return the wire. It is also desirable. In order to switch the rotation direction of the feed roller, the drive motor may be controlled to switch between the forward rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction. However, the forward rotation and reverse rotation of the drive motor are switched due to the influence of the inertia moment of the drive motor. It was practically difficult to perform at high speed instantaneously.

  To solve such a problem, a technique has been proposed in which the welding wire is reciprocated in the axial direction by swinging the wire guide inside the welding torch (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In the welding torch described in Patent Document 2, the welding wire feeding direction on the proximal end side (wire introduction portion) of the welding torch body and the welding wire feeding direction on the distal end side (wire lead-out portion) intersect each other. The wire guide provided in the welding torch body is bent. Then, by swinging the wire guide in the main body of the welding torch in a direction intersecting (substantially orthogonal) with the feeding direction of the welding wire in the wire introducing portion, the welding wire inserted through the wire guide is also on the proximal end side. Swing in a direction crossing the feeding direction. As a result, the welding wire is reciprocated along the axial direction on the distal end side (near the wire lead-out portion) of the welding torch main body. By controlling the swing cycle of the wire guide, the welding wire can be moved alternately in the forward direction and the backward direction. According to such a configuration, for example, the welding wire can be fed out and pulled back at a relatively high speed without switching the forward rotation direction and the reverse rotation direction of the drive motor for feeding the wire.

  However, according to the welding torch having the conventional structure, in order to swing the wire guide in the welding torch main body, the wire guide needs to have a relatively high rigidity and requires a certain amount of mass. And Therefore, when such a wire guide is swung (vibrated) in a direction orthogonal to the wire feeding direction, the influence of the vibration of the wire guide may affect the entire welding torch, leading to a decrease in welding quality.

  Further, when the wire guide is swung, the welding wire is advanced and retracted at a high speed in the bent wire guide having high rigidity. As a result, a large sliding resistance is generated between the wire guide and the welding wire, which may hinder precise control of the welding wire feeding.

JP 11-226733 A JP 2003-10970 A

  The present invention has been conceived under such circumstances, and the welding wire is prevented from being deteriorated while the reciprocating operation of feeding and pulling-out of the welding wire is performed at a relatively high speed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a welding torch suitable for stable feeding and a welding apparatus including the welding torch.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following technical means.

The welding torch provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes a wire introduction portion that introduces a welding wire along a first feeding direction, and a wire lead-out that leads out the welding wire along a second feeding direction. And a torch body portion having an internal housing space that leads from the wire introduction portion through the intermediate portion to the wire lead-out portion, and a proximal end portion is movable along the first feeding direction in the wire introduction portion And the distal end portion is accommodated in the internal accommodation space while being held by the wire lead-out portion, and the welding wire is inserted into the interior, and at least one between the proximal end portion and the distal end portion. a wire guide part is flexible, the proximal end of the wire guide and and a reciprocating means for reciprocating along the first feed direction, said reciprocating means, the The proximal end First moving speed for moving toward the side closer to the wire lead-out portion is actuated such that the second large than the moving speed of moving toward the side away from the wire lead-out portion, is characterized in that .

  In a preferred embodiment, the reciprocating means includes an actuator having a driving unit, one end connected to the driving unit, and the other end connected to the base end, and driving from the driving unit. A transmission mechanism that transmits force to the base end as a reciprocating motion along the first feeding direction.

  In a preferred embodiment, the drive unit is an output shaft having a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the first feeding direction, and the actuator is a motor that rotationally drives the output shaft. The transmission mechanism includes a link mechanism that converts the rotation of the output shaft into a reciprocating linear motion.

  In a preferred embodiment, the link mechanism includes a link arm extending in a straight line, an eccentricity with respect to the output shaft, and rotatable about the output shaft, and one end in the longitudinal direction of the link arm. A first connecting portion that rotatably connects a portion near the first axis parallel to the output shaft, and a portion that is attached to the base end portion and near the other end in the longitudinal direction of the link arm And a second connecting portion that rotatably connects about a second axis parallel to the output shaft.

  In a preferred embodiment, the first connecting portion is located away from the base end portion, and the link arm is slidable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the first connecting portion. , And can be rotated around a rotation support shaft located between the first and second connecting portions.

  In a preferred embodiment, the rotation support shaft is displaceable between the first and second connecting portions toward the side closer to the first connecting portion and the side away from the first connecting portion. .

In a preferred embodiment, the first and second feeding directions intersect each other, and the internal accommodating space is curved along a plane including the first and second feeding directions. It is formed, and the width dimension of the internal housing space decreases from the intermediate portion toward the wire introduction portion and the wire lead-out portion.

  A welding apparatus provided by the second aspect of the present invention includes a welding torch according to the first aspect of the present invention, wire feeding means for feeding the welding wire toward the wire introduction portion of the welding torch, It is characterized by having.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a whole block diagram which shows an example of the welding apparatus provided with the welding torch of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows an example of the welding torch of this invention. It is sectional drawing which follows III-III of FIG. It is a principal part schematic sectional drawing in alignment with IV-IV of FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the reciprocating means of the welding torch shown in FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the reciprocating means of the welding torch shown in FIG. It is a wire feeding speed diagram at the time of the drive of a wire feeding means and a reciprocating means.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a welding apparatus 100 using a welding torch 200 of the present invention. The welding apparatus 100 includes a manipulator 110 configured as an articulated robot including a plurality of arms. A wire feeding device 111 is mounted on the manipulator 110, and a welding torch 200 is attached to the wrist 112 of the manipulator 110. A welding wire W (see FIG. 2) wound around the wire reel 120 as a filler material is passed through the conduit pipe 130 and fed to the welding torch 200 by the wire feeding device 111. The welding wire W that has passed through the wire feeding device 111 is guided by the one-wire power cable 140 and fed inside thereof.

  Electric power is supplied to the welding torch 200 from the welding power supply device 190 via the one-wire power cable 140, and this electric power is supplied to the welding wire W via a power feed tip 330 described later inside the welding torch 200. The welding torch 200 is also supplied with shield gas from the gas cylinder 150 and compressed air for air blowing from the compressed air generation source 160. Supply and stop of shield gas and supply and stop of compressed air are performed by switching a valve device (not shown).

  A command signal is input from the teach pendant 170 to the robot controller 180, and a signal from the robot controller 180 is input to the manipulator 110 to control the tip position of the welding torch 200. The robot controller 180 also controls the feeding of the welding wire W, the feeding of shield gas, and the feeding of compressed air for air blowing. The robot control device 180 further supplies power to a wire guide driving device 500 (not shown in FIG. 1) provided on the welding torch 200, which will be described later.

  2 to 6 show an embodiment of a welding torch 200 according to the present invention. The welding torch 200 of this embodiment is configured to perform consumable electrode gas shielded arc welding, and includes a cylindrical torch main body 300, a wire guide 400, and a wire guide driving device 500. .

  The torch main body 300 has a wire introduction portion 301 located on the proximal end side and a wire lead-out portion 302 located on the distal end side, and is an internal housing that leads from the wire introduction portion 301 to the wire lead-out portion 302 via the intermediate portion 303. A space 304 is formed. The wire introduction part 301 is attached to the wrist part 112 of the manipulator 110.

  In the present embodiment, the torch body 300 has a torch body 310 connected to the wrist 112 and a tip body 320 connected to the tip of the torch body 310. A power feed tip 330 made of a conductive member is attached to the tip (wire lead-out portion 302) of the tip body 320.

  The torch main body 300 is curved at an intermediate portion 303 thereof, and the wire introduction portion 301 and the wire lead-out portion 302 have axes that intersect each other. The internal housing space 304 is formed to be curved along a plane including these axial centers (a plane P extending in the in-plane direction of the paper surface in FIG. 2). The torch main body 300 is covered with an insulating shrinkable tube 305.

  The wire guide 400 is for guiding the welding wire W fed to the welding torch 200 to the power feed tip 330, and is a cylindrical body having flexibility. For example, the wire guide 400 is formed of a coil liner formed by winding a metal wire in a coil shape. The wire guide 400 is housed in the internal housing space 304 of the torch main body 300 and has the welding wire W inserted therethrough. The wire guide 400 has a proximal end portion 401 held by the wire introduction portion 301 of the torch body portion 300 and a distal end portion 402 held by the wire lead-out portion 302 of the torch body portion 300. Thus, the wire guide 400 held by the torch main body 300 is curved.

  The welding wire W fed to the welding torch 200 is fed in the direction (first feeding direction) along the axis of the wire introduction part 301 at the wire introduction part 301 and introduced into the torch body part 300. The The welding wire W introduced into the torch body 300 is guided by the wire guide 400 and fed while being curved. Thereafter, the welding wire W is fed in the direction (second feeding direction) along the axis of the wire lead-out portion 302 in the wire lead-out portion 302 and is led out of the torch main body 300.

  The internal housing space 304 has a feeding direction F1 (first feeding direction) of the welding wire W in the wire introduction part 301 and a feeding direction F2 (second feeding direction) of the welding wire W in the wire lead-out part 302. The width dimension of the plane including the plane (the plane P extending in the in-plane direction of the paper surface in FIG. 2) becomes smaller from the intermediate portion 303 toward the wire introduction portion 301 and the wire lead-out portion 302. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the cross-sectional shape of the internal housing space 304 in the intermediate portion 303 of the torch main body 300 is a long hole extending in the width direction D <b> 1 of the plane P.

  The base end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 is held by the wire introduction portion 301 so as to be movable along the feeding direction F1. Although details will be described later, the base end 401 is reciprocated along the feeding direction F <b> 1 by the operation of the wire guide driving device 500. FIG. 2 shows a case where the base end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 is located on the side farthest from the wire lead-out portion 302, and FIG. 6 shows the base end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 on the side closest to the wire lead-out portion 302. The case where it is located is shown. As understood from comparison between FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, when the base end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 is reciprocated in the feeding direction F <b> 1, the wire guide 400 swings along the width direction of the plane P. .

  The wire guide driving device 500 is for reciprocating the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 along the feeding direction F1, and is provided in the vicinity of the wire introducing portion 301. The wire guide driving device 500 includes a motor 510 as an actuator and a link mechanism 520. The link mechanism 520 functions as a transmission mechanism that transmits the driving force from the output shaft 511 of the motor 510 to the base end 401 as a reciprocating operation along the feeding direction F1. The motor 510 is, for example, a servomotor that rotationally drives the output shaft 511 so that the rotation speed of the output shaft 511 can be controlled by pulses. The motor 510 is used by rotating the output shaft 511 in only one direction. The motor 510 is arranged such that the rotation axis of the output shaft 511 is substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction F1.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the link mechanism 520 is for converting the rotation of the output shaft 511 into a reciprocating linear motion, and includes a linear link arm 530 and connecting portions 541 and 542. Have. The link arm 530 is rotatable about a rotation support shaft 550 parallel to the output shaft 511 between the connecting portions 541 and 542. Further, although detailed illustration and explanation are omitted, the rotation support shaft 550 can be displaced between the connecting portions 541 and 542 to the side approaching the connecting portion 541 and the side moving away from the connecting portion 541.

  The connecting portion 541 is attached to a position that is eccentric with respect to the output shaft 511 via the disk-shaped member 512, and is rotatable about the output shaft 511. The connecting portion 541 is located away from the base end portion 401 of the wire guide 400, and a portion near one end (upper end in FIGS. 2 and 4) in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 530 is parallel to the output shaft 511. It is connected so as to be rotatable around the axis O1. Further, the link arm 530 is slidable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the connecting portion 541.

  The connecting portion 542 is attached to the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400. The connecting portion 542 connects a portion of the link arm 530 near the other end in the longitudinal direction (the lower end in FIGS. 2 and 4) so as to be rotatable around an axis O <b> 2 parallel to the output shaft 511. The link arm 530 is slidable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the connecting portion 542. The link arm 530 may be connected to the connecting portion 542 so as not to slide.

  Next, the operation of the wire guide driving device 500 will be described.

  When the output shaft 511 of the motor 510 is driven to rotate, the disk-like member 512 rotates, and the link arm 530 swings about the rotation support shaft 550. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, when the output shaft 511 rotates counterclockwise (in the direction of arrow N <b> 1 in the figure), the connecting portion 541 rotates about the output shaft 511. Here, since the link arm 530 is rotatable about the rotation support shaft 550 and is slidable with respect to the connecting portion 541, the upper end of the link arm 530 is illustrated at the position shown in FIG. Located on the far left side. At this time, the connecting portion 542 is located on the rightmost side in the drawing, and the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 is located farthest from the wire lead-out portion 302.

  Next, when the output shaft 511 rotates about 70 ° counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 2, the connecting portion 541 rotates in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 530 while rotating around the axis O1, as shown in FIG. Relative movement along the axis approaches the rotation spindle 550. At this time, the connecting portion 542 moves to the left side in the drawing, and the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 comes closer to the wire lead-out portion 302 than in the case shown in FIG. Here, as the wire guide 400 approaches the wire lead-out portion 302, the wire guide 400 is displaced to the curved convex side as indicated by an arrow N2 in the internal housing space 304. Then, with respect to the welding wire W guided by the wire guide 400, the path length in the torch body 300 is longer than that shown in FIG. 2, and the welding wire W is pulled back.

  Next, when the output shaft 511 further rotates about 70 ° counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 5, the connecting portion 541 rotates in the longitudinal direction of the link arm 530 while rotating about the axis O1, as shown in FIG. And move away from the rotation spindle 550. At this time, the connecting portion 542 is located on the leftmost side in the drawing, and the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 is located closest to the wire lead-out portion 302. Here, the wire guide 400 is further displaced to the convex side of the curved shape as indicated by the arrow N2 in the internal housing space 304. And about the welding wire W guided by the wire guide 400, the path | route length in the torch main-body part 300 becomes the maximum, and the welding wire W is further pulled back.

  Next, when the output shaft 511 further rotates about 220 ° counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 6, the connecting portion 541 is relatively moved along the longitudinal direction of the link arm 530 while rotating about the axis O <b> 1. Return to the state shown in FIG. Here, the wire guide 400 is displaced to the concave side of the curved shape in the internal housing space 304. And about the welding wire W guided by the wire guide 400, the path | route length in the torch main-body part 300 becomes the minimum, and the welding wire W is sent out.

  As understood with reference to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, when the motor 510 is driven to rotate, the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 has a predetermined length range (stroke S) along the feeding direction F <b> 1. Can be reciprocated. While the proximal end portion 401 reaches the position closest to the wire lead-out portion 302 shown in FIG. 6 from the position farthest from the wire lead-out portion 302 shown in FIG. 2, the output shaft 511 rotates about 140 °. In contrast, while the proximal end portion 401 reaches the position farthest from the wire lead-out portion 302 shown in FIG. 2 from the position closest to the wire lead-out portion 302 shown in FIG. Rotate. Therefore, when the motor 510 is driven at a constant rotational speed, the moving speed (first moving speed) when moving the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 toward the side approaching the wire lead-out portion 302 is the wire speed. It is larger than the moving speed (second moving speed) when moving toward the side away from the derivation unit 302. With the reciprocation of the base end 401, the welding wire W in the torch main body 300 is alternately pulled back and sent out, but the speed at the time of pulling is higher than the speed at the time of sending.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of a wire feeding speed diagram by driving the wire feeding device 111 and the wire guide driving device 500. As shown in the upper part of FIG. 7, the welding wire W is sent out from the wire feeding device 111 toward the welding torch 200 at a constant speed by driving the wire feeding device 111. As shown in the middle part of the figure, the wire guide driving device 500 (motor 510) drives the welding torch 200 so that the welding wire W is sent out and pulled back alternately. Here, the rotation speed of the motor 510 is kept constant, for example, at about 5000 rpm, and the frequency of operation of the welding wire W is about 83 Hz. As can be understood from the composite component shown in the lower part of the figure, in the feeding of the welding wire W by the wire feeding device 511 and the wire guide driving device 500, feeding and instantaneous return are repeated, and high speed It is possible to feed and return the welding wire W.

  Next, the effect | action of the welding apparatus 100 which concerns on above-described embodiment is demonstrated.

  At the time of welding operation, by driving the wire guide driving device 500 to reciprocate the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 along the feeding direction F1, at the distal end of the welding torch 200 (near the wire outlet portion 302), The welding wire W can be reciprocated along the axial direction (feeding direction F2). Since the motor 510 of the wire guide driving device 500 is used while being rotated only in one direction, for example, the welding wire W at the tip of the welding torch 200 is not switched without switching the forward or reverse rotation of the driving motor of the wire feeding device 111. Can be sent and pulled back repeatedly. This is suitable for avoiding a short-circuit phenomenon occurring between the tip of the welding wire W and the base material during welding, and is preferable for improving the welding quality.

  Since the wire guide 400 has flexibility, the reciprocating motion of the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 in the feeding direction F1 causes the wire guide 400 to move from the convex side of the curved shape while maintaining the curved shape. Displacement between the concave side is possible. As a result, the welding wire W guided by the wire guide 400 is prevented from being deformed and can be smoothly moved relative to the wire guide 400, while changing the path length in the torch body 300. As a result, the welding wire W can be fed smoothly.

  Further, unlike the present embodiment, for example, when a highly rigid wire guide is used, the mass is relatively increased. And if such a wire guide is moved within the welding torch, the welding torch is likely to vibrate, and there is a risk of degrading the welding quality. On the other hand, according to the wire guide 400 of this embodiment, since the vibration of the welding torch 200 can be suppressed, it is more preferable in improving the welding quality. Since the wire guide driving device 500 is configured to reciprocate the flexible wire guide 400 in the axial direction, a small motor with a relatively low torque may be employed as the driving motor 510. it can.

  The wire guide driving device 500 is configured to convert the rotation of the output shaft 511 of the motor 510 into a reciprocating linear motion in the feeding direction F1 by the link mechanism 520. The output shaft 511 of the motor 510 is substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction F1. According to such a structure, the freedom degree of arrangement | positioning of the motor 510 can be raised.

  The link mechanism 520 includes a linear link arm 530 and connecting portions 541 and 542 that rotatably connect portions near both ends of the link arm 530 around axes O1 and O2 parallel to the output shaft 511. The link arm 530 is rotatable between the connecting portions 541 and 542 around the rotation support shaft 550. The connecting portion 541 is located away from the base end portion 401 of the wire guide 400, the connecting portion 541 is eccentric with respect to the output shaft 511, and is rotatable about the output shaft 511, a link arm As described above with reference to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the motor 510 is driven at a constant number of rotations in cooperation with the fact that 530 is slidable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the connecting portion 541. Then, due to the reciprocating movement of the base end portion 401, the feeding speed of the welding wire W becomes higher than the speed at the time of feeding back.

  By pulling back the welding wire W during welding, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of spatter due to a short circuit between the tip of the welding wire W and the base material. In the present embodiment, the pull back operation is performed at a higher speed and in a shorter time than the feed operation, so that the arc length for generating the arc can be made faster and the ratio of generating the arc can be increased. it can. As a result, it is easy to form deep penetration in the welded portion, and high-speed welding is facilitated, so that the welding quality can be further improved.

  The rotation support shaft 550 that is the rotation center of the link arm 530 can be displaced so as to approach the connection portion 541 or away from the connection portion 541. As can be understood with reference to FIG. 2, the stroke S of the reciprocating motion of the base end 401 can be increased and decreased by adjusting the rotation support shaft 550 in this way, and the return amount of the welding wire W can be adjusted. Is possible. Thereby, it is possible to appropriately flexibly cope with the change of the welding conditions, and it is possible to further improve the welding quality.

  In the welding torch 200, an internal housing space 304 in which the wire guide 400 is housed is formed to be curved along a plane P including the feeding direction F1 in the wire introduction part 301 and the feeding direction F2 in the wire lead-out part 302. ing. The width dimension of the plane P decreases from the intermediate part 303 toward the wire introduction part 301 and the wire lead-out part 302. According to such a configuration, the wire guide 400 moves following the width direction D1 of the plane P by the reciprocation of the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 in the feeding direction F1. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the wire guide 400 from moving in an unintended direction. This is suitable for preventing flapping and damage of the welding wire W and improving the welding quality.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and all modifications within the scope of the matters described in the claims are all within the scope of the present invention. Is included.

  In the above embodiment, the link mechanism 520 includes the link arm 530, the connecting portions 541 and 542, the rotation support shaft 550, and the like, so that the welding wire is used for the reciprocating operation of the base end portion 401 by the rotation drive of the motor 510 at a constant speed. Although the moving speed in the pull-back direction of W is configured to be higher than the moving speed in the feed-out direction, the present invention is not limited to this. As for the link mechanism, for example, a general crank mechanism having a crank arm as a link arm may be adopted. In the case of a normal crank mechanism, when the drive motor rotates at a constant speed, the reciprocating operation of the base end 401 has the same moving speed in the pull-back direction and the moving speed in the feed-out direction of the welding wire W. By changing the rotation speed of the motor by pulse control, the base end 401 is moved so that the moving speed of the welding wire W in the pull-back direction is larger than the moving speed in the feed-out direction with respect to the reciprocating operation of the base end 401. It can be reciprocated. In addition, the link arm is not limited to the case where one link arm is provided as in the above-described embodiment, and may be configured to include two link arms that make a pair.

  The actuator for reciprocating the proximal end portion 401 of the wire guide 400 is not limited to the motor 510 having the output shaft 511, and for example, a linear motor in which the drive unit moves linearly may be used. When using a linear motor, the moving speed and moving stroke of the reciprocating motion of the base end 401 can be appropriately set. Further, an air cylinder or a solenoid may be used as the actuator. In the case of an air cylinder, by using a double-acting type, the base end 401 is reciprocated so that the moving speed in the pull-back direction of the welding wire W is greater than the moving speed in the feed-out direction. It is possible to move. Furthermore, you may comprise so that the base end part 401 may be reciprocated by the combination of the drive force of a drive part, and biasing means, such as a spring. In this case, for example, one direction of the reciprocating motion of the base end 401 is performed by the driving force from the driving unit, and the other direction is performed by the biasing force of the biasing member when the driving force is released. . Even with such a configuration, with respect to the reciprocating operation of the base end portion 401, the base end portion 401 can be reciprocated so that the moving speed of the welding wire W in the pullback direction is higher than the moving speed of the feed-out direction. is there.

  In the above-described embodiment, the welding wire W feeding direction (first feeding direction) in the wire introducing portion 301 of the torch main body 300 and the welding wire W feeding direction (second feeding) in the wire lead-out portion 302 are described. (Direction) intersects, but the first and second feeding directions do not have to intersect. The first and second feeding directions are determined according to the shape of the torch main body 300 (welding torch 200), and the relationship between the first and second feeding directions is parallel to each other when not intersecting. There are various variations, such as the case of becoming substantially the same. For example, when the first and second feeding directions are substantially the same, the internal housing space 304 between the wire lead-out part 301 and the wire lead-out part 302 is curved.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Welding apparatus 110 Manipulator 111 Wire feeding apparatus (wire feeding means)
112 Wrist portion 120 Wire reel 130 Conduit pipe 140 One-line power cable 180 Robot control device 190 Welding power supply device 200 Welding torch 300 Torch main body portion 301 Wire introduction portion 302 Wire lead-out portion 303 Intermediate portion 304 Internal accommodation space 305 Contraction tube 310 Torch Body 320 Chip body 330 Power feed tip 400 Wire guide 401 Base end 402 Front end 500 Wire guide driving device (reciprocating means)
510 Motor (actuator)
511 Output shaft (drive unit)
520 Link mechanism 530 Link arm 541 Connecting portion (first connecting portion)
542 connecting part (second connecting part)
550 Rotating support shaft F1 feeding direction (first feeding direction)
F2 feeding direction (second feeding direction)
O1 axis (first axis)
O2 axis (second axis)
P plane W welding wire

Claims (8)

A wire introduction part for introducing a welding wire along a first feeding direction, a wire lead-out part for leading out the welding wire along a second feeding direction, and the wire lead-out through an intermediate part from the wire introduction part A torch body portion having an internal housing space leading to the portion,
The proximal end portion is held movably along the first feeding direction in the wire introducing portion, and the distal end portion is held in the inner receiving space while being held in the wire lead-out portion, and the welding wire A wire guide in which at least a part between the base end portion and the tip end portion is flexible, and
Reciprocating means for reciprocating the base end portion of the wire guide along the first feeding direction ,
In the reciprocating means, the first moving speed for moving the base end portion toward the side approaching the wire lead-out portion is larger than the second moving speed for moving the base end portion toward the side away from the wire lead-out portion. actuating so that, welding torch you wherein a.   The reciprocating means includes an actuator having a drive unit, one end coupled to the drive unit, and the other end coupled to the base end unit, and a driving force from the drive unit is transmitted to the first transmission unit. The welding torch according to claim 1, further comprising: a transmission mechanism that transmits to the base end portion as a reciprocating operation along a feeding direction. The drive unit is an output shaft having a rotation axis substantially perpendicular to the first feeding direction;
The actuator includes a motor that rotationally drives the output shaft,
The welding torch according to claim 2, wherein the transmission mechanism includes a link mechanism that converts the rotation of the output shaft into a reciprocating linear motion. The link mechanism has a linearly extending link arm, is eccentric with respect to the output shaft, is rotatable about the output shaft, and a portion near one end in the longitudinal direction of the link arm is located on the output shaft. A first connecting portion that is pivotally connected around a first axis parallel to the base, and a portion that is attached to the base end and is closer to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the link arm. The welding torch according to claim 3 , further comprising: a second coupling portion that is pivotably coupled around the second axis. The first connecting portion is at a position spaced from the base end portion,
The link arm is slidable in the longitudinal direction with respect to the first connecting portion, and is rotatable about a rotating support shaft located between the first and second connecting portions. The welding torch according to claim 4 . The rotation support shafts is displaceable on the side away from the side and the first connecting portion closer to the first coupling portion between the first and second connecting portions, according to claim 5 Welding torch. The first and second feeding directions intersect each other;
The internal housing space is formed to be curved along a plane including the first and second feeding directions, and the width of the internal housing space is changed from the intermediate portion to the wire introducing portion and the wire. The welding torch according to claim 6 , wherein the welding torch becomes smaller toward the lead-out portion. A welding apparatus comprising: the welding torch according to any one of claims 1 to 7 ; and wire feeding means for feeding the welding wire toward the wire introduction portion of the welding torch.

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