JPH06312266A - Welding tip automatic exchanging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically and rapidly carry out exchange work of welding tips, to reduce the stopping time of automatic welding equipment and to improve a working rate. CONSTITUTION:The welding chip automatic exchanging device is provided with a tip adapter 5 on which the tips of the welding tips 1 are stopped from whirling and an engaging hole 11 freely attachable and detachable is formed and having an adapter main body 12 energized above by a coil spring 15 and a tip supply means 3 which arranges the plural welding tips 1 via the tip adapter 5 on a rotary table 23. Further, a tip attaching and detaching means 6 which holds and rotates the adapter 5 normally and reversely by a rotational chucking device 37 provided on the upper end of a rotation axis freely liftable, a holding and chucking device 44 which is provided on the tip of a turning arm 43 and can hold the welding tips 1 via the tip adapter 5 and a tip delivery means 7 which is turned and moved between the tip supply means 3 and the tip attaching and detaching means 6 are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic welding apparatus by an inert gas arc welding (TIG welding) method for automatically exchanging welding tips attached to a welding torch body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a welding tip attached to a welding torch body is used for a certain period of time or more, the heat generated during welding mainly causes wear of the tip portion and enlargement of the core hole. Cause an unstable welding arc, leading to poor welding. Therefore, the welding operation is interrupted after a certain period of use, and the worker replaces the used welding tip with a new one. There is also a device for exchanging the welding tip together with the torch body.

[0003]

However, the manual work of exchanging the welding tips has been one of the causes of prolonging the stop time of the automatic welding apparatus and lowering the operating rate of the equipment. Also, the device for exchanging the torch body as a whole is large in size and expensive.

According to the present invention, the above problems can be solved and the used welding tip can be removed and the new welding tip can be automatically and quickly attached, and the down time of the automatic welding apparatus can be shortened. It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact and low-cost automatic welding tip changing device capable of improving the operating rate.

[0005]

In order to solve the above problems, an automatic welding tip changing device of the present invention is a welding tip automatic changing device which is mounted on a tip holder attached to a torch body via a screw. And a tip adapter having an adapter body which is formed on the upper surface so as to prevent rotation of the tip of the welding tip and which can be fitted and removed, and which has an adapter body biased upward by a biasing member; A plurality of welding tips are respectively arranged on the tip through a tip adapter, and a tip attachment / detachment means capable of reciprocal rotation by gripping the tip adapter by a rotary chuck device arranged at the upper end of a rotatable shaft. And a gripping chuck device, which is provided at the tip of the swivel arm and can grip the chip adapter, swivels between the chip supply means and the chip attachment / detachment means. Is obtained by including a tip transfer means for moving.

[0006]

In the above structure, the used welding tip can be removed by positioning the torch body directly above the tip attaching / detaching device.
The gripping chuck device of the chip delivery means grips and fixes the chuck holder. Then, the rotation axis of the tip attaching / detaching means is raised and the engaging hole of the tip adapter held by the rotary chuck device is fitted into the used welding tip from below, and the rotary chuck device is reversed to recycle the used welding tip. Detach from the chuck holder.

When mounting a new welding tip, the gripping chuck device of the tip delivery means grips the new welding tip arranged on the rotary table of the tip supply means through the tip adapter, It is conveyed above the attaching / detaching means and delivered to the rotary chuck device. Then, after opening the gripping chuck device, it rises to grip the chuck holder, then the rotating shaft is raised to bring the new welding tip into contact with the chuck holder, and the rotary chucking device rotates forward to rotate the new welding tip. Screw on the chuck holder and install. Further, the grip chuck device and the rotary chuck device are opened and retracted.

In this way, the used welding tip is automatically removed by the gripping chuck device of the chuck delivery means and the rotary chuck device of the tip attachment / detachment means, and the chuck supply means is rotated by the gripping chuck device of the chuck delivery means. Grip the new welding tip with the tip adapter placed on the table and deliver it to the rotary chuck device of the tip attaching / detaching means, and the gripping chuck device and rotary chuck device will automatically put the new welding tip on the tip holder of the torch body. Can be installed. Therefore, the work of exchanging the welding tip can be automated, and the exchanging operation can be promptly performed, and the downtime for exchanging the welding tip of the automatic welding apparatus can be significantly shortened to improve the operating rate.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an automatic welding tip changing device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this automatic welding tip changing device is rotatably arranged on a fixed mount 2 and has a welding tip 1 for replacement and a tip adapter 5 at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. Chip supply means 3 held via
And a tip attachment / detachment means 6 which is arranged on an elevating stand 4 which is provided on a fixed stand 2 so as to be able to move up and down, and which can hold a used welding tip 1 or a new welding tip 1 from below via a tip adapter 5, and a fixed stand. 2 and a tip delivery means 7 that is arranged so as to be rotatable and conveys the welding tip 1 from the tip supply means 3 to the tip attachment / detachment means 6.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the tip adapter 5 has an adapter main body 12 having an engagement elongated hole (engagement hole) 11 into which the tip of the welding tip 1 can be fitted. And a slide rod 13 hanging from the adapter body 12 slidably fitted in the center hole 14a and prevented from rotating via the key 13a, and a slide body 13 slides between the adapter body 12 and the flange body 14. A coil spring (urging member) 15 that is externally fitted to the rod 13 and urges the adapter body 12 upward, a grip portion 16 vertically provided on the lower surface of the flange body 14, and a slide rod 13 that does not come off from the flange body 14. And a stopper 13b that rotates the welding tip 1 by rotating the welding tip 1 through the adapter body 12 by grasping and rotating the grasping portion 16. Male screw formed at the upper end of the flop 1 part 1
It is possible to attach or detach a to or from the mounting female screw hole 18a formed in the tip holder 18 of the torch body 17.

In the chip supply means 3, a circular rotary table 23 is rotatably arranged via a vertical rotary shaft 22 by a rotating motor 21 capable of intermittent rotation, and on the rotary table 23, at regular intervals in the circumferential direction. A plurality of holding holes 24 into which the grip portion 16 of the tip adapter 5 can be fitted are formed, and the welding tip 1 is held in an upright posture via the tip adapter 5. Further, the fixed base 2 is provided with a proximity sensor 26 which is provided on the lower surface of the rotary table 23 in correspondence with the holding hole 24 and detects a detection target 25, and the rotary table 23 is predetermined by a detection signal of the proximity sensor 26. Can be stopped in position.

The tip attaching / detaching means 6 guides an elevating rail 32 on a side surface of the elevating platform 4 so that the guide member 31 provided on a side portion of the stationary platform 2 can move up and down, and an elevating cylinder provided in the stationary frame 2. The piston rod of the device 33 is connected to the elevating / lowering stand 4 via the connecting member 34 and is driven up and down. A rotary shaft 36 is rotatably provided on the lift base 4 via a bearing 35.
At the upper end of the, the grip 1 of the tip adapter 5 is opened and closed.
A rotary chuck device 37 having a pair of left and right holding claws 37 a capable of gripping 6 is provided. Further, a passive gear 38 is attached to the lower end of the rotary shaft 36, and a drive gear 40, which is rotationally driven by an attachment / detachment motor 39 arranged on the lifting platform 4, is meshed with the passive gear 38. Therefore,
The welding tip 1 held by the rotary chuck device 38 via the tip adapter 5 is moved up and down by the elevating cylinder device 33 to approach the torch body 17, and the attachment / detachment motor 40 rotates the welding tip 1 forward or backward. The male screw portion 1a can be attached to and detached from the tip holder 18 of the torch body 17.

In the tip passing means 7, a vertical double-acting swiveling lifting / lowering cylinder device 42 is rotatably supported by a fixed mount 2 on the side of the tip mounting / demounting device 6 via a bearing 41, and is horizontally supported by a piston rod 42a. Swivel arm 43
A gripping chuck device 44 having a pair of gripping claws 44a that can be opened and closed through is attached. Further, a gripping chuck device 44 is attached to the lower part of the main body 42b of the swivel lifting / lowering cylinder device 42 via the piston rod 42a of the swiveling lift / lowering cylinder device 42, and the chip pick-up position S of the new welding chip 1 of the rotary table 23 and the chip mounting / removal. A rotary rotary actuator 45 for reciprocating in a range of 180 ° between the chip supply positions E of the rotary chuck device 38 of the device 6 is provided. Therefore, after gripping the tip adapter 5 with the new welding tip 1 on the rotary table 23 at the lower position by the gripping chuck device 44, the swiveling lift cylinder device 42 is advanced and raised to the intermediate position to hold the holding hole. The tip adapter 5 with the new welding tip 1 held by 24 can be taken out from the rotary table 23.

Next, a method for removing the used welding tip 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. (1) The swivel arm 43 is swung to the chip take-out position S, and the torch holder 18 of the torch body 17 positioned immediately above the chip attaching / detaching device 6 is held by the holding claws 44a of the holding chuck device 44. Next, the elevating cylinder device 33 is advanced to the rotary chuck device 37 via the elevating platform 4.
Of the adapter body 1 which is lifted and gripped by the holding claw 37a
2 is brought into contact with the used welding tip 1 to make the coil spring 15
Compress. [FIG. 5] (2) The attachment / detachment motor 39 is activated to rotate the tip adapter 5 through the rotary shaft 36 and the rotary chuck device 37, and the engagement elongated hole 11 of the adapter body 12 is used as the used welding tip 1. They are matched with each other, and the adapter body 12 is raised by the coil spring 15 to fit the engagement elongated hole 11 to the lower portion of the used welding tip 1. [FIG. 5 phantom line] (3) The used welding tip 1 is reversed by the attachment / detachment motor 39 via the tip adapter 5, and the used welding tip 1 is inserted from the mounting female screw hole 18 a of the tip holder 18.
Remove the male screw part 1a. And the lifting cylinder device 3
3 is contracted to lower the elevating stand 4, and the used welding tip 1 is removed from the torch holder 18 of the torch body 17. Further, the turning rotary actuator 45 turns the turning arm 43 by 90 ° to stop at the tip discharging position P shown by the solid line in FIG. 1, and the gripping claw 44a is opened to move the used welding tip 1 downward. Drop and eject.

Next, a method of mounting the new welding tip 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. (1) The turning arm 43 is turned to the tip supply position S, the turning motor 21 is driven to turn the turntable 23 by a predetermined angle, and the tip adapter 5 holding the new welding tip 1 is held by the grip chuck device 44. Insert it between the grip claws 44a and close the grip claws 44a to move the chip adapter 5
Clamp. [FIG. 7] Then, the lifting / lowering cylinder device 42 for swiveling is advanced to lift the chip adapter 5, the grip portion 16 is pulled out from the holding hole 24, and the rotary table 23 is pulled out.
Take out from. [Fig. 7 phantom line] (2) The turning rotary actuator 45 turns the turning arm 43 by 180 ° and turns the tip adapter 5 holding the new welding tip 1 from the tip supply position S to the tip attachment / detachment position E. To move. Then, the elevating cylinder device 33 is advanced to elevate the elevating stand 4, and the rotating chuck device 44 holds the grip portion 16 of the chip adapter 5. [FIG. 8] (3) Open the grip claws 44 a of the grip chuck device 44,
The swinging lifting / lowering cylinder device 42 is advanced to raise the gripping chuck device 44 to grip the chip holder 18. At the same time, the elevating cylinder device 33 is advanced to elevate the elevating platform 4, and the tip adapter 5 with the new welding tip 1 held by the rotary chuck device 44 is elevated. The external thread 1a of the welding tip 1 is the tip holder 1
When the coil spring 15 is brought into contact with the coil spring 15 and is compressed, the rising is stopped. [FIG. 9] Then, the attachment / detachment motor 39 is driven to rotate the welding tip 1 in the forward direction via the rotary chuck device 44 and the tip adapter 5, and the male screw portion 1 a of the welding tip 1 is attached to the female screw hole of the tip holder 18. The welding tip 1 is attached to the tip holder 18 by screwing it into the tip holder 18a.

[0017]

As described above, according to the welding tip automatic exchanging device of the present invention, the used welding tip is automatically transferred by the gripping chuck device of the chuck transfer means and the rotary chuck device of the tip attaching / detaching means. Then, the gripping chuck device of the chuck delivery means grips the new welding tip with a tip adapter placed on the rotary table of the chuck supply means and hands it to the rotary chucking apparatus of the tip attaching / detaching means, and the gripping chucking apparatus and the rotary chucking apparatus. With this, the new welding tip can be automatically attached to the tip holder of the torch body. Therefore, the work of exchanging the welding tip can be automated, and the exchanging operation can be promptly performed, and the downtime for exchanging the welding tip of the automatic welding apparatus can be significantly shortened to improve the operating rate. In addition, the entire torch body can be downsized as compared with the case where the whole torch body is exchanged, and the cost is reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an automatic welding tip changing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the welding tip automatic changing device.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a tip adapter used in the welding automatic tip changing device.

4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a procedure for removing a used welding tip of the welding tip automatic replacement device.

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a procedure for removing a used welding tip of the welding tip automatic exchange device.

FIG. 7 is a side view illustrating a procedure for attaching a new welding tip of the welding tip automatic changing device.

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating a procedure for attaching a new welding tip of the welding tip automatic changing device.

FIG. 9 is a side view illustrating a procedure for attaching a new welding tip of the welding tip automatic changing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Welding tip 1a Male screw part 2 Fixed mount 3 Chip supply means 4 Elevating mount stand 5 Chip adapter 6 Chip attaching / detaching means 7 Chip passing means 11 Engaging slot 12 Adapter body 15 Coil spring 16 Grip 17 Torch body 18 Chip holder 18a Installation Female screw hole 21 Swivel motor 22 Vertical rotation shaft 23 Rotary table 24 Holding hole 33 Lifting cylinder device 36 Rotating shaft 37a Holding claw 37 Rotating chuck device 39 Attachment / detachment motor 42 Swivel lifting cylinder device 43 Swivel arm 44 Grip chuck device 44a Grip claw 45 Rotating rotary actuator

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic welding tip changer mounted on a tip holder attached to a torch body via a screw, wherein a tip end portion of the welding tip is prevented from rotating and a fitting hole is detachable. A tip adapter that has an adapter body that is formed on the upper surface and that is urged upward by a urging member, and a tip supply means in which a plurality of welding tips are arranged on the rotary table through the tip adapter, and can be raised and lowered. A tip attachment / detachment unit that can hold the chip adapter by the rotary chuck device arranged at the upper end of the rotary shaft and can rotate in the forward and reverse directions, and a gripping chuck device that is provided at the tip of the swivel arm and can hold the chip adapter. An automatic welding tip exchanging device comprising: a tip passing means for swiveling between a supplying means and a tip attaching / detaching means. .