JPH1015669A - Device for removing spatter of welding nozzle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove spatters having a large sticking and a breaking force without rolling in a welding wire or imparting a large force to a welding nozzle. SOLUTION: A revolving tool 10 is of a cylindrical shape and provided with a rugged outer face like a knurled mesh. With a proximity sensor 30 detecting the approach of a welding nozzle 110, a rotary driving part 20 rotates the revolving tool 10 at high speed, for example, approximately 2,000rpm or higher. Then, with the descending motion of a welding robot 140, the welding nozzle 110 lowers, as the rugged outer face like a knurled mesh comes into contact with spattering while rotating at high speed, an instant impact is imparted to the spattering, which is thereby destroyed and removed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing spatter attached to a welding nozzle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Spatter adhered to the tip and inner surface of a welding nozzle at the time of welding (for example, metal (for example, iron) that adheres to a welding target in a high temperature state during welding and is adhered by natural cooling (for example, oxidation) Iron and iron)) need to be removed regularly. In particular, in an automatic welding device that automatically performs welding using a welding robot, a spatter removing device that automatically removes spatter between welding operations is required.

FIG. 6 (a) is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the vicinity of a welding nozzle of an automatic welding apparatus, and FIG. 6 (b) is a sectional view showing the structure of the welding nozzle and a state where spatter is attached. In FIG. 6A, the welding robot 140 is connected to the welding torch 120 by the torch bracket 130. Welding torch 1
A welding nozzle 110 is provided at the tip of 20.
The welding robot 140 shown in the figure is an arm portion of the robot, and performs a predetermined operation according to a predetermined program or the like by a control device, a driving device, a joint mechanism, and the like (not shown). With the operation of the welding robot 140, the welding nozzle 110 moves to perform a welding operation at a desired position. Further, the welding nozzle 110 is periodically moved to the position of the spatter removing device to remove the spatter.

FIG. 6B is a side sectional view of the welding nozzle 110. In the figure, a welding nozzle 110 has a cylindrical shape with an open end, and has a tip 11 inside.
1 and welding wire 112 are present.

[0005] Fig. 1 shows a state in which spatter has adhered to the inner surface from the tip of the welding nozzle 110. Spatter is divided into spatter S1 adhering to the nozzle tip and spatter S2 adhering to the nozzle inner surface. Can be Although this does not have a clear boundary, the sputter S1 at the tip end, which has a large amount of adhesion and a large amount of adhesion, and the sputter S2 of the nozzle inner surface with a small amount of adhesion and a small amount of adhesion are distinguished from each other in terms of spatter removal work. I have. In addition, since the sputter S1 appears to adhere in a ring shape along the circular shape of the tip of the nozzle, it may be hereinafter referred to as sputtering.

By the way, in order to prevent the welding nozzle from being damaged or broken by colliding with the welding nozzle, the shock sensor operates and stops its operation when a slight force (about 3 kg weight) is applied. It is supposed to.

Further, the fixing of the welding torch 120 by the torch bracket 130 is loose in order to reduce the impact at the time of collision, so that the welding torch 120 and the welding nozzle 110 fluctuate and become unstable. I have.

On the other hand, in spatter removal, in particular, since the spatter at the tip of the nozzle is hard to break (hard to break), a conventional spatter removing device applies a force applied for removing spatter to the welding nozzle itself. And often actuated the shock sensor.

FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are views showing an example of a conventional sputter removing apparatus. The conventional spatter removing apparatus (part 1) shown in FIG. 7 includes a rotary tool 200 having two blades and a proximity sensor 210. When the welding nozzle 110 moves (falls) with the operation of the welding robot, this is detected by the proximity sensor 210, and the two-blade rotary tool 200 is rotated at a high torque at a low speed by a rotation driving unit (not shown). (For example, one rotation per second).

The blade of the two-blade rotary tool 200 is, for example, chrome-plated on its surface, and has a curved shape along the inside of the welding nozzle. Then, mainly the spatter S2 on the inner surface of the welding nozzle is removed by the cutting edge with the torque of the rotary drive unit.

FIG. 8A is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional sputter removing apparatus (part 2), and FIG. 8B is a partially enlarged view thereof. The sputter removing apparatus (part 2) shown in FIG.
It has a brush 310 for removing spatter S1 attached to the tip of the welding nozzle, and a brush 320 for removing spatter S2 attached to the inner surface of the welding nozzle. Also,
A driving unit 33 having a built-in motor (not shown) for independently rotating the brushes 310 and 320.
Has zero. Further, a proximity sensor 340 for detecting the approach of the welding nozzle 110 is configured.

As shown in FIG. 8B, the brush 310 has a plurality of (six in the figure) wire brush portions 311 in which a large number of fine wires are densely packed. I do. And the wire brush part 31
By means of 1, the sputtering at the tip of the welding nozzle 110 is scraped off.

The brush 320 has, for example, a piano wire brush portion 322 formed by bundling a number of elongated piano wires, and one end of which is fixed to a cylinder 321.
The unit 21 is vertically moved and rotated by a mechanism (not shown) in the driving unit 330. During normal operation and during operation of the brush 310, as shown in FIG. 8A, the cylinder 321 is lowered, and the piano wire brush 322 is housed inside the apparatus. In operation, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), the cylinder 321 is raised, so that a large number of elongated piano wires are connected to the welding nozzle 1.
It expands toward the inner surface of 10. By rotating the cylinder 321 in this state, the piano wire brush 322 removes spatter S2 on the inner surface of the welding nozzle.

[0014] As described above, conventionally, a method of rotating a bundle of wires in contact with each other to remove them by frictional force, or using a sharp tool such as a two-blade rotating tool or the like to scrape the wire at low speed and high torque is used. Was.

There is also a method called a shot blast method for driving an infinite number of small iron balls. FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional sputter removal apparatus using a shot blast method (conventional spatter removal apparatus (No. 3)).

In FIG. 1, when a welding nozzle 110 is inserted into a hole 411 formed in the upper surface of a chamber 410,
A large number of shot balls 430 are blown at high speed from a shot blowout port 420 provided in the chamber. The shot ball 430 is, for example, an extremely small-sized steel ball, which is fired at a high speed from the shot outlet 420 to collide with spatters at the tip and the inner surface of the welding nozzle to remove it.

[0017]

As described above, the conventional main method is to remove a bundle of wires by rotational contact with a frictional force, or by using a sharp tool such as a two-blade rotary tool. Although it is a method of scraping off at low speed and with high torque, the above-mentioned conventional spatter removing apparatuses (No. 1) and (No. 2) have the following problems.

That is, the welding wire 112 in the welding nozzle 110 is entangled between the piano wire brush 322 and the two blades, and the welding wire is damaged, or the shock sensor operates due to the impact of the welding wire. There is a problem that the robot stops and the work efficiency is deteriorated.

In addition, since the surface of the welding nozzle is damaged by a wire or the like, spatter easily adheres to the flawed portion, and the adhesion of the spatter to the flawed portion increases, so that there is a problem that it is difficult to remove the spatter.

In particular, when removing spatter that is difficult to break such as sputtering at the tip, the spatter cannot be broken and cannot be removed, or the wire hits the sputtering and the welding nozzle is moved in the tangential direction. As a result, the shock sensor is frequently activated, the welding robot stops, and the work efficiency is degraded.

In addition, the method of hitting innumerable small iron balls called the shot blast method has a problem that spatter having a large adhesive force and a large breaking force cannot be removed.
In particular, in the shot blast method, the spatter which has a large adhesive force and is difficult to break cannot be removed in many cases as compared with the other two methods.

As described above, in the conventional spatter removing apparatus particularly when performing robot welding, the welding sensor is actuated by entanglement of the welding wire or impact on the welding nozzle, thereby activating the robot's shock sensor. There was a problem that the welding device was stopped.

Alternatively, there is a problem that spatter having a large adhesive force and a large breaking force cannot be removed. An object of the present invention is to provide a spatter removing apparatus that can remove spatter having a large adhesive force and a large breaking force without involving a welding wire or applying a large force to a welding nozzle.

[0024]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A spatter removing device according to the present invention is a device for removing spatter adhering to a substantially cylindrical welding nozzle holding a welding wire therein, the device being formed so as to surround the welding wire during its operation. A rotating tool having a plurality of irregularities formed on the outer surface thereof, and rotating tool driving means for rotating the rotating tool at high speed.

In the sputter removing apparatus having the above-described structure, the rotating tool having a plurality of fine uneven surfaces on the outer surface is brought into contact with the sputter while being rotated at a high speed, so that the sputter is instantaneously destroyed by the impact force. Thus, spatter can be removed without contacting the inner surface of the welding nozzle and without applying a force to the welding nozzle itself, so that the inner surface of the nozzle is not damaged and the shock sensor is not activated.

The welding wire in the welding nozzle is
Since the welding wire is accommodated in the substantially cylindrical hollow portion, the welding wire is not involved in rotation. The sputtering removal apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of hooks, and hooks the hooks on the sputter adhered to the tip of the welding nozzle and applies a force in the axial direction of the welding nozzle to remove the sputter.

In the sputtering apparatus having the above structure,
Sputtering at the tip of the nozzle, which is a spatter having a large adhesive force and difficult to break, is removed by applying a force in the axial direction of the welding nozzle using a hook. This makes it possible to remove sputtering even with a smaller force than the method using a rotary tool.

[0028]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a schematic external view of a spatter removing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, the configuration including the welding nozzle 110, the welding torch 120, the welding bracket 130, and the welding robot 140, and the proximity sensor 30 are the same as those in the related art, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The rotary tool 10 is a substantially cylindrical spatter removing tool having a two-stage outer shape. The outer surface of the rotary tool 10 has, for example, knurled fine irregularities. Further, the inside has a substantially cylindrical cavity having an inside diameter that allows the tip 111 and the welding wire 112 in the welding nozzle 110 to be inserted with a sufficient margin.

The rotary tool 10 is driven to rotate by a rotation drive unit 20. When the proximity sensor 30 detects the approach of the welding nozzle 110, the rotation drive unit 20 drives the rotary tool 10 to rotate. At this time, the rotation speed is, for example, 2000 rpm.
Rotate at high speed before and after or more.

Then, when the welding nozzle 110 descends with the descending operation of the welding robot 140, the rotary tool 10 whose outer surface has been subjected to knurled irregularities comes into contact with sputtering at a high speed. At this time, an instantaneous impact force is applied to the sputtering, and the sputtering is instantaneously destroyed. Since the fixing force of the spatter is not so strong as compared with the difficulty of breaking, the spatter is broken and the fixing is removed, and the spatter is removed.

Similarly, the spatter S2 on the inner surface of the welding nozzle is also removed by being instantaneously destroyed by the impact force. At this time, the rotating tool 10 enters the inside of the welding nozzle 110, but the tip 111 and the welding wire 112 in the welding nozzle 110 are inside the substantially cylindrical shape of the rotating tool 10. Never get involved. In addition, an impact is given for a moment, and the impact force becomes a force for destroying the spatter, so that the shock sensor is not activated.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing details of spatter removal by the rotary tool 10. FIG. In the figure,
The rotary tool 10 having a two-stage shape has a first-stage curved surface 1 on its outer surface.
Second and second curved surfaces 13 and first curved surface 1
It has an inclined surface 14 between the second and second curved surfaces 13 and has a structure having a cavity 11 therein. Furthermore, 1
The inclined surface 15 is also provided between the curved surface 12 of the step and the tip.

The outer surface of the rotary tool 10 is processed to have an uneven shape such as the knurled eye described above.
The rotary tool 10 rotates at a high speed of, for example, 2000 rpm.

Now, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), when the welding nozzle 110 descends, the welding time is long, a large amount of spatter adheres, and the spatter S1 (sputtering) at the tip of the welding nozzle 110 is reduced. When the inner diameter of the ring is small, the sputtering contacts the curved surface 12 or the inclined surface 15 of the first stage, and the sputtering is destroyed by the impact force, and the sputtering is dispersed. Also, since the welding time is short and the amount of spatter adhered is small, when the inner diameter of sputtering is large, the sputtering comes into contact with the curved surface 13 or the inclined surface 14 of the second stage, and the sputtering is broken by the impact force. And scattered.

The outer diameter of the curved surface 13 of the second stage of the rotary tool 10 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the welding nozzle 110 so that the inner surface of the welding nozzle 110 is not directly contacted. For example, if the inner diameter of the welding nozzle 110 is 1
In the case of 6 mm, for example, the outer diameter of the curved surface 13 in the second step is 14.5.
mm, the outer diameter of the first-stage curved surface 12 is 12.5 mm.

The spatter S1 at the tip of the welding nozzle 110
When (sputtering) is destroyed and removed, the welding nozzle 110 further descends. As a result, the sputter S2 adhering to the inner surface of the nozzle comes into contact with the inclined surface of the rotary tool 10 or the curved surface 13 of the second stage one after another to be broken and removed.

FIG. 2B shows a state in which the sputter S2 is being removed. In the figure, the tip 111 and the welding wire 112 in the welding nozzle 110 are in the cylindrical cavity 11 of the rotary tool 10, so that the welding wire or the like is not caught and caught in rotation.

As described above, the sputter removing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention applies instantaneous impact force to spatters by rotating the rotary tool 10 having an uneven outer surface at a high speed. can do. Also, at this time, since the tip 111 and the welding wire 112 are inserted into the cylinder and protected, the welding wire and the like do not get caught in the rotation.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The sputter removing apparatus according to the second embodiment is based on the results of experiments performed by the present inventors and the like.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an experimental method and experimental results. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show the experimental method, and FIG.
(C) shows the experimental results. The experiment shown in FIG. 3A is based on the cylindrical rotary tool 5 used in the first embodiment, for example.
0 is the spatter S1 attached to the tip of the welding nozzle 110.
This is an experiment to check whether it is rotatable by inserting it into the inside of (sputtering) so as to be in contact with it and rotating it by hand.

The experiment shown in FIG.
1 is hooked on the upper side of the spatter S1 ring, and the hook 41 is pulled downward along the axis of the welding nozzle by a spring scale 40 (hereinafter referred to as "axially pulled out") to remove the spatter S1 (without breaking the spatter S1). The force at the time of peeling off from the tip) is measured by the spring balance 40.

In the experiments shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the amount of spatter adhered to the welding nozzle 110 is changed by changing the welding time by the welding nozzle 110 to 3, 6, 9, and 12 minutes. Naturally, the longer the welding time, the greater the amount of spatter, which makes it difficult to break and remove.

As shown in the experimental result 60 of FIG.
According to the results of the experiment shown in FIG. 3A, when the welding time was 3 minutes and 6 minutes, the rotation was possible by hand, but the rotation was not possible after 9 minutes and 12 minutes.

On the other hand, in the method of hooking with a hook and pulling out in the axial direction, spatter could be removed even when the welding time was 12 minutes, and the required force at that time was only 1200 (g).

As described above, although the experimental results cannot be accurately compared numerically, the force that can be applied by ordinary human hands is much larger than 1200 (g), and such a force is In addition, when the welding time was 9 minutes or more, rotation was impossible.

Therefore, it was found from the above experimental results that the sputtering at the tip of the welding nozzle 110 can be removed only by applying a very small force by the method of applying a force in the axial direction.

FIG. 4 is an external view of a sputter removing apparatus according to the second embodiment. The sputter removing device includes a sputter removing unit 70 and a nozzle inner surface sputter removing unit 80.

The sputter removing section 70 comprises a sputter removing tool 71, a spatter preventing liquid container 72, a spatter preventing liquid 73, a spatter preventing liquid supply tank 74, and a hole 75 for maintaining the spatter preventing liquid level constant.

The sputter removing tool 71 is provided with, for example, four hooks 76 at its tip, as shown in FIG.
This is a tool for removing the hook 76 by hooking it on the sputtering and pulling it out in the axial direction as in the experiment.

The sputter removing tool 71 is accommodated in a spatter preventing liquid container 72, and the spatter preventing liquid container 72 is filled with a spatter preventing liquid 73. The spatter prevention liquid 73 is generally known and is a solution for facilitating peeling of spatter.

The anti-sputtering liquid 73 is supplied from the anti-sputtering liquid supply tank 74, and is always filled in the anti-sputtering liquid container 72 with the sputter preventing liquid level maintaining hole 75 so that the liquid level becomes constant. ing.

Then, at the time of the spatter removing operation, first, the welding nozzle 110 moves directly above the sputter removing tool 71 with the operation of the welding robot 140. Next, the welding nozzle 110 is gradually lowered by the welding robot 140, and the hook 76 at the tip of the sputtering removal tool 71 is inserted into the welding nozzle 110.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, the hook 76 collides with the inside of the sputtering and is deformed.
Above the sputtering, it returns by elastic force. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, when the hook 76 is hooked on the upper surface of the sputtering, the welding robot 1
Due to 40, the welding nozzle 110 is gradually raised. As a result, a downward force is applied to the sputtering along the axial direction of the welding nozzle 110. Then, as shown in the experimental results in FIG. 3, the sputtering is separated from the attachment surface of the welding nozzle 110 and removed by a small force.

Since the above operation is performed in the anti-spatter liquid, the operation of immersing the sputter-attached portion of the welding nozzle in the anti-sputter liquid and the operation of removing the sputter can be performed at one time. By using the anti-sputtering liquid together, the spatter can be more easily separated, and the spatter can be removed with a smaller force. Therefore, the spatter cannot be broken even when a large force is applied as in the conventional technique, and the nozzle is moved by the applied force, so that the shock sensor of the welding robot does not operate.

After the sputtering is removed as described above, the welding robot 140 subsequently moves the welding nozzle 11
0 is moved to the nozzle inner surface spatter removal unit 80. The nozzle inner surface spatter removing unit 80 includes a nozzle inner surface spatter removing rotary tool 81, a proximity sensor 82, a housing 83, and a motor 84 in the housing 83.

Rotary tool 81 for removing spatter from inner surface of nozzle
Is a cylindrical rotary tool, and the rotary tool 1 of the first embodiment is
0, but this rotary tool 81
Is used after the sputtering has already been removed, so there is no particular need to form a two-stage shape. For example, a one-stage shape having a gentle slope from the tip end may be used as shown in FIG.

The welding nozzle 1 is provided by the welding robot 140.
When 10 moves and comes directly above the rotary tool 81, the proximity sensor 82 detects this, and the motor 84 rotates the rotary tool 81. Subsequently, as the welding nozzle 110 descends, the spatter S2 attached to the inner surface of the welding nozzle is broken and removed by the rotary tool 81.

As described above, in the sputter removing apparatus of the second embodiment, the sputter, which is the most difficult to remove, is removed with a smaller force by applying a force not in a rotational force but in an axial direction. Can be. Also,
Thereafter, the spatter S2 on the inner surface of the welding nozzle is easily broken and has a weaker adhesion than the sputtering, so that the rotating tool 8
1 allows easy removal.

The shape of the outer surface of the rotary tool 10 is not limited to a two-step shape, but may be a one-step shape having an inclined surface, such as a rotary tool 81. Further, it may be simply a cylindrical shape having irregularities on the outer surface. Or,
Instead of being uneven, for example, a blade may be provided.
That is, any shape may be used as long as it has a substantially cylindrical shape and has an outer surface processed into a shape capable of giving an impact due to high-speed rotation to the sputter. However, experiments have confirmed that a two-stage rotary tool is optimal because a guide effect by the first stage (an effect of stabilizing the welding nozzle without any fluctuation even when a slight impact is applied) can be obtained. .

In the first embodiment, a spatter preventing liquid may be used together. In this case, after the welding nozzle is immersed in the spatter preventing liquid for a predetermined time in advance, the spatter is removed by the rotating tool.

Further, the hook of the sputtering removal tool 71 in the second embodiment is closed inward when inserted into the welding nozzle so as not to collide with sputtering, and is opened outward after being inserted inside. A structure that operates so as to be caught by sputtering may be used.

[0064]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the sputter is instantaneously pulverized by rotating the cylindrical rotary tool having irregularities on the outer surface at high speed so as to collide with the sputter. Can be removed. As a result, even spatter having a large adhesive force and being hardly broken like sputtering can be removed without operating the shock sensor of the welding robot.

Further, by using the method of removing the sputtering by removing the sputtering in the axial direction, the sputtering can be removed with a smaller force.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic external view of a sputter removing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing details of spatter removal by a rotary tool 10;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an experimental method and an experimental result.

FIG. 4 is an external view of a sputter removing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a sputtering removal operation using a sputtering removal tool.

6A is a schematic configuration diagram of a welding nozzle portion of the automatic welding device, and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a structure of the welding nozzle and a state where spatter is attached.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a conventional sputter removing apparatus (part 1).

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a conventional sputter removal apparatus (part 2).

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining a conventional sputter removal apparatus (part 3).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rotary tool 11 Cavity 12 First-stage curved surface 13 Second-stage curved surface 14 Inclined surface 15 Inclined surface 20 Rotation drive unit 30 Proximity sensor 40 Spring balance 41 Hook 50 Rotary tool 70 Sputter removal unit 71 Sputter removal tool 72 Spatter prevention Liquid container 73 Anti-sputtering liquid 74 Tank for supplying anti-spattering liquid 75 Hole for maintaining constant anti-spattering liquid level 80 Nozzle inner surface spatter removal part 81 Rotary tool for nozzle inner surface spatter removal 82 Proximity sensor 83 Housing 84 Motor

Claims (6)

[Claims] An apparatus for removing spatter adhered to a substantially cylindrical welding nozzle holding a welding wire therein, comprising a substantially cylindrical hollow portion formed so as to surround the welding wire during operation thereof. And a rotating tool having a plurality of irregularities formed on an outer surface thereof; and rotating tool driving means for rotating the rotating tool at a high speed. 2. The sputter removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outer surface of the rotary tool has a two-step shape. 3. The sputter removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the high-speed rotation is a rotation of about 2,000 rpm or more than 2,000 rpm. 4. The spatter removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotary tool has knurled irregularities. 5. An apparatus for removing spatter adhering to a welding nozzle, comprising a plurality of hooks, wherein the hook is hooked on the spatter adhering to the tip of the welding nozzle and a force is applied in the axial direction of the welding nozzle to remove the spatter. Sputtering removal equipment. 6. The sputter removing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said sputter is removed in a spatter preventing liquid.