KR20240033417A - Pipe welding automation system using robot and welding method using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

This technology relates to a pipe welding automation system that can perform welding by automatically performing welding through the control of a control unit when welding pipe materials. More specifically, in the welding automation system for welding pipe materials through control of the control unit, A rotator that can move up and down as well as in the left and right directions and in the forward and backward directions according to the size of the seated piping material, and can tilt and rotate the seated piping material at the same time, a welding robot that is rotatably installed with the rotator, and the welding device. It is characterized by including a torch holder that provides a torch for the robot to hold, thereby enabling welding of pipe materials by the welding robot.

Description

Pipe welding automation system using collaborative robot and welding method using the same {Pipe welding automation system using robot and welding method using the same}

This technology relates to a pipe welding automation system that can automatically perform welding through the control of the control unit when welding pipe materials.

In general, welding is a method of joining metal materials of the same or different types by applying heat and pressure to directly bond solids. There are various types such as electric arc welding, argon welding, CO2 welding, and oxygen welding.

Welding is a core production process used in the processing and assembly processes, which are essential processes for product production, such as casting, molding, heat treatment, surface treatment, and plastic processing, and is used in key basic industries and growth engine industries such as shipbuilding, plants, automobiles, construction, and aerospace. It is a core technology that determines the quality, durability, productivity, and added value of products and is essential in almost all manufacturing industries, so it is a root technology that has a large economic and industrial ripple effect through technology development.

Piping materials made up of conventional flanges and pipes that reflect this welding technology are manually welded by workers using simple stands, and as a result, a lot of time must be allocated to setting welding points depending on the worker's skill level. do.

In particular, while welding piping materials, the height position of the torch is adjusted using a manual tool provided on a simple stand. Manual operation requires manual adjustment of not only front and back, left and right, but also top and bottom height, which increases worker fatigue. In addition, it is recognized as a cause of safety accidents due to strain on the wrist.

In addition, when welding piping materials placed on a simple stand, the quality deteriorates because each worker performs the welding in a different position. This is because welding conditions such as the angle, direction, and posture of the torch vary depending on the worker's skill level. Because they are applied differently, they can cause quality decline.

In addition, the simple stand on which the piping materials are placed must also be moved frequently depending on the location of the piping materials transported through the crane, and this movement can not only cause fatigue for workers but also cause safety accidents. As the safety itself is not reliable, problems that cause secondary accidents occur.

Domestic Published Patent No. 10-2021-9664 (Published Date: 2021.01.27.) Domestic registered patent No. 10-2092588 (announcement date: 2020.03.26.)

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the present invention simplifies the setting of welding points for piping materials, and in addition, reduces the working time for welding work by automating the adjustment of the up-down, front-back, left-right, and left-right directions of the device on which the piping materials are mounted. The purpose is to provide a welding automation system that can uniformize the welding conditions for the torch regardless of the operator's skill level and at the same time increase the reliability of welding by eliminating the need to move the stand on which the piping material is mounted.

In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, the pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention is a welding automation system for welding the pipe material 10 through control of the control unit 400, and the lifting and lowering (Z axis) Of course, it is possible to move depending on the size of the seated piping material 10 in the left and right (Y-axis) directions and the front-back (X-axis) direction, and the rotator 100 is capable of tilting and rotating the seated piping material 10 at the same time. and a welding robot 200 that is rotatably installed with the rotator 100 and a torch 340 that the welding robot 200 can grasp, so that the piping material 10 can be held by the welding robot 200. It is characterized by including a torch holder 300 that enables welding.

In addition, the welding robot 200 controlled by the control unit 400 includes a rotating table 210 rotatably installed with the rotator 100 so as to be rotatable by a driving member 220, and a rotating table 210. An arm 230 is installed in a multi-joint form in which a plurality of connecting rods 231 can rotate with each other, and is installed at one end of the arm 230 to hold the torch 340 or to hold the torch holder 300. It is desirable to include a gripper 240 for putting down.

In addition, the torch holder 300 controlled by the control unit 400 includes a post 310 that has a length in the vertical direction but is rotatable, an extension bar 320 extending at least one side from one side of the post 310, and It includes a welding gas supply tank 330 fixedly installed on the outer surface of the post 310, and the torch 340 is formed to have a predetermined length through a flexible pipe, and one side is connected to the welding gas supply tank 330 and the pipe. It is preferably connected, and the other side is detachably coupled to the extension bar 320 so that it can be held or released by the welding robot 200.

According to the present invention, the effect of reducing work time due to simplified settings is expected due to the welding of piping materials using an automated welding robot and the automatic execution of the welding point area for the control unit, which is different from the conventional one.

In addition, it is possible to expect the effect of enabling precise micro-welding work through a welding robot due to fine-adjustment welding through the control unit, which is different from the conventional method.

In addition, unlike in the past, piping materials of different sizes can be easily seated and fixed on the rotator based on motion data input through the control unit, improving the speed of work required for welding as well as piping materials with improved accuracy. We look forward to the effects that can be achieved.

Figure 1a is a diagram showing an automated pipe welding system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention.
Figure 1b is an enlarged view showing the driving member of the welding robot installed on the rotator of Figure 1a.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing the moving direction of the rotator in the pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a diagram showing the control unit for the pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a diagram showing the tilting transfer of the rotator on which the pipe material is seated in the pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are views after tilting with respect to FIG. 4.
Figure 6 is a flow chart showing a welding method using an automated pipe welding system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention.
Figure 7 is a diagram showing the welding robot in the original position and when welding the piping material of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is an operational relationship diagram showing the position of the welding robot after welding the piping material shown in Figure 6 is performed.

Hereinafter, various embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. The embodiments described herein may be modified in various ways. Specific embodiments may be depicted in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, the specific embodiments disclosed in the attached drawings are only intended to facilitate understanding of the various embodiments. Therefore, the technical idea is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in the attached drawings, and it should be understood that all equivalents or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the invention are included.

Terms containing ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but these components are not limited by the above-mentioned terms. The above-mentioned terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

In this specification, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to indicate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to indicate the presence of one or more other features. It should be understood that this does not exclude in advance the possibility of the existence or addition of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. When a component is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but that other components may exist in between. It should be. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a component is “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

In addition, when describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof is abbreviated or omitted.

Hereinafter, the pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as the 'welding system') will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.

Prior to the description, the piping material 10 described below will be described as a piping 13 and a flange 11 connected by welding to the end of the piping 13 to clearly understand the gist of the present invention, but inside Note that the point (P1) refers to the joint between the outer surface of the pipe 13 and the outer surface of the flange 11, and the outside point (P2) refers to the joint between the inner surface of the pipe 13 and the flange 11.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the welding system 1 according to the present invention is largely comprised of a rotator 100, a welding robot 200, a torch holder 300, and a screen touch, etc. by an operator who overall controls these components. It includes a control unit 400 that can be controlled.

If described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, the rotator 100 controlled by the control unit 400 has a pipe supplied from the upper part of the rotator 100 by a crane (not shown), etc., as shown. It is stably seated according to the different sizes of the material 10, and after seating, the position of the corresponding piping material 10 can be changed according to the welding position. The base 110, the lower body 120, and the upper part are It includes a body 130 and a lifting platform 140.

For example, the base 110 is equipped with a lower body 120, an upper body 130, and an elevating platform 140, which will be described later, so that the piping material 10 transferred through the crane can enter the work area (Z2). is placed by

On the base 110, a control unit 400 implemented as a monitor with a touch screen that can be operated by an operator is rotatably and movably mounted on a detachable installation stand.

Meanwhile, although not shown, a tilting means (not shown) consisting of at least one cylinder is further provided inside the base 110 constituting the rotator 100 in the present invention, so that the base 110 itself is adjusted to a predetermined position. The piping material 10 tilted to have an inclination angle and placed in the work area Z2 also has its inclination adjusted by the tilting means.

Through this, the worker can easily perform welding on the welding point area (Z1) including the insight point (P1) and the outside point (P2) by the welding robot 200, which will be described later, and a detailed description of this will be provided. will be described in more detail in the welding method (2) according to the present invention.

In addition, as shown, the lower body 120 is configured to seat the lower outer surface of the flange 11, so that the pair of lower rollers 121 on which the flange 11 is seated are rotatable, and are located in the work area Z2. It is installed on the base 110 to be located within the base 110, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the base 110, that is, it is installed to move back and forth in the forward and backward (X-axis) direction closer to or farther away from the lifting platform 140.

At this time, it is preferable that an insertion groove for inserting the flange 11 is formed on the circumferential surface of each lower roller 121, and the pair of lower rollers 121 can be spaced apart from each other after narrowing. It is desirable to be movably installed on the base 110 in the front-to-back (Y) axis direction.

In addition, the lower body 120 is installed to enable reciprocating movement back and forth (X-axis) in the longitudinal direction of the base 110, and the forward and backward movement of the lower body 120 is performed using a cylinder, etc. provided inside the base 110. It can be implemented through .

In addition, the upper body 130 is rotatably installed on the upper part of the lifting platform 140 so as to be located above the lower body 120 as described above, and the upper outer surface of the flange 11 is inserted along with a pair of upper rollers 131 for piping. Ensure that the material 10 is stably mounted and fixed on the rotator 100.

At this time, it is preferable that an insertion groove for inserting the flange 11 is formed on the circumferential surface of the upper roller 131 as in the lower roller 121 described above.

In addition, as shown, the elevating platform 140 is installed to have a length in the vertical direction on the upper part of the base 110, and the upper body 130 installed on the upper part moves up and down (Z-axis) along the longitudinal direction of the elevating platform 140. It has a structure that allows piping materials 10 of different sizes (for example, the size of the pipe or flange diameter) to be stably mounted in the work area.

In addition, the lifting platform 140 can also have a lifting structure by means of a cylinder provided inside the lifting platform 140.

In addition, the welding robot 200 holds the torch 340, which will be described later, by controlling the welding point area Z1 of the piping material 10, which is stably seated and fixed on the rotator 100, through the control of the control unit 400. The configuration for welding includes a rotating table 210, a driving member 220, an arm 230, and a gripper 240.

For example, as shown, the rotating table 210 has one side so that it can rotate at the upper part of the lifting platform 140 through a driving member 220 including a reduction motor and a gear connected through a chain, belt, etc. 140), and the shaft is coupled to the other side, and the arm 230 is fastened to the other side.

For this purpose, the lifting platform 140 may be formed to have the shape of a plate as a whole, and rotates when the piping material 10 enters the work area (Z1) through a crane or the like or leaves the work area after welding is completed. So that there is no interference with the crane.

In addition, as shown, the arm 230 is composed of a multi-joint form in which a plurality of connecting rods 231 are rotatably connected to each other, one side is coupled to the other side of the rotating rod 210, and a gripper 240 is formed on the other side. This makes it possible to attach and detach the torch 340.

In addition, the torch holder 300 can be held by the welding robot 200 described above and is configured to provide the torch 340 necessary for welding, including a post 310, an extension bar 320, and a welding gas supply tank. Includes (330) and torch (340).

For example, as shown, the post 310 has the shape of a pillar with a length in the vertical direction close to the above-described rotator 100, and has at least one extension bar 320 on its outer surface in the direction of the rotator 100. It is formed as an extension so that the welding robot 200 can easily hold the torch 340 by seating it.

In addition, a rotation means (not shown) using a motor or the like that can rotate the post 310 by at least 90 degrees under the control of the control unit may be provided inside the post 310, and the rotation means is connected to a pipe through a crane. It prevents interference from the protruding extension bar 320 when the material 10 enters and exits the work area Z1.

At this time, on the outer surface of the extension bar 320, there is a seating table 321 for stably seating the torch 340 without separation or a welding gas supply tank 330 that extends from the torch 340 seated on the seating table 321. It is preferable to further include at least one of the hangers 323 for holding the flexible pipe that is connected to the pipe and the pipe (PIPE).

In addition, the hanger 323 is formed into a hook shape so that after the welding robot 200 holds the torch 340, the connector can move freely while being hung on the hanger 323.

Meanwhile, the torch holder 300 in the present invention is TIG welding (Tungsten Inert Gas Welding), which welds the base metal by arc heat between the non-consumable tungsten electrode and the base metal in an inert gas such as argon while supplying an inert gas around the weld area. ) is described using the torch 340 and the welding gas supply tank 330 required for this as an example, but this is only one embodiment and may be applied differently depending on the welding method.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, a welding method using an automated pipe welding system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention (hereinafter briefly referred to as the 'welding method') will be described in detail.

First, as shown in FIG. 6, the welding method (2) according to the present invention largely includes 1) the step of seating the piping material (10) whose size is confirmed on the rotator (100) (S10), and 2) the welding point. Step (S20) of selecting the area (Z1) and 3) controlling the welding robot 200 to hold the torch 340 mounted on the torch holder 300 and welding in the selected welding point area (Z1). It includes the step of executing (S30), but if necessary, it is possible to further include the step of (S40) transporting the welded pipe material (10) by a crane. Note that the description is based on examples.

First, as described above, step 1) is performed in which the piping material 10, the size of which has been confirmed through the control unit 400, is placed on the rotator 100.

In other words, the operator can use the control unit 400 to apply 50A per unit from 200A to 900A, which is the size of the different diameters (for example, the diameter size of the flange or pipe) of the piping material 10 to be placed on the rotator 100. Motion data for the inside point (P1) and outside point (P2) are input to the control unit 400 one by one.

Then, the control unit 400 individually moves the upper body 130 and lower body 120, which constitute the rotator 100, in the Z-axis, Step 1) of fixing the material 10 to the rotator 100 is completed so that it can be stably fixed (see Figure 2).

Afterwards, the operator executes step 2) of selecting the welding point area (Z1) through the control unit 400.

To elaborate, when the operator selects either the inside point (P1) or the outside point (P2) using the displayed function of the control unit 400, the control unit 400 operates the tilting function provided in the rotator 100. Using a means, the piping material 10 placed through step 1) is controlled to be tilted, and when control is completed, the welding switch is turned on to perform welding (see FIGS. 5A and 5B). .

At this time, after the tilting of the rotator 100, it is desirable that the coordinate value at which the welding robot 200 is located is based on the ground on which the rotator 100 is installed so as not to interfere with the inclination of the tilting. This is because the welding This is because when the coordinate values of the robot 200 are interfered with by the tilting inclination, the welding robot 200 moves in a diagonal direction, making it impossible to weld the selected welding point area Z1.

When welding is performed through step 2) described above, in step 3), the control unit 400 controls the welding robot 200 to hold the torch 340 and then welds the piping material for any one point selected in step 2). The welding in (10) is performed, and this will be explained using an example in which the inside point (P1) is selected first and the outside point (P2) is selected second.

In detail, as shown in FIG. 7, when a signal for welding execution of the inside point (P1) is input by the operator to the control unit 400, the control unit 400 uses the joint-shaped connecting rod 231 to The torch 340 mounted on the holder 300 is preferentially controlled so that it can be gripped by the gripper 240.

Then, the welding robot 200 is controlled so that the end of the held torch 340 is located at the welding position of the inside point (P1), and in this state, the control unit 400 controls the piping material 10 mounted on the rotator 100. ) to perform TIG welding on the strip-shaped inside point (P1).

At this time, TIG welding in the present invention means welding by fine adjustment, where fine adjustment allows movement at 1 mm intervals along the shape (band shape) of the inside point (P1) or outside point (P2). It is preferable that the fine operation allows welding to be performed by rotating the rotator 100 through the fine welding function displayed through the control unit 400.

In other words, through fine-adjustment welding, changes in gaps and steps depending on the direction of welding are minimized, thereby realizing the advantage of drastically lowering the probability of welding defects.

In addition, in the present invention, the operator controls the welding robot 200 in the up, down, left, and right directions using a joystick provided in the control unit 400 during the process of performing welding on the welding point area (Z1), thereby adjusting the welding position. It is also possible to weld while rechecking in real time.

Furthermore, the welding robot 200 after welding is completed can be in the original position so that it can escape from the work area Z2, as shown, but preferably, as in step 4), which will be described later, interference from the crane does not occur. It is preferable that the rotary table 210 is rotated by the driving member 220 to a certain degree.

Through the above-mentioned fine adjustment and use of the joystick, it is possible to not only reduce the defect rate for welding, but also increase the probability of welding accuracy.

Finally, when the welding through step 3) is completed, the worker performs step 4) of transferring the welded piping material 10.

To elaborate, when the welding of the welding point area (Z1) for the piping material (10) is completed through the above-described step 3), the worker inputs the welding OFF displayed on the control unit 400 and tilts it by tilting. At the same time as returning the piping material 10 to its original position, the upper body 130 is raised to release the piping material 10 pressurized by the upper roller 131.

When the dismantling of the piping material 10 is completed, the welding robot 200 places the held torch 340 on the seating table 321 and simultaneously rotates the rotating table 210 by the driving member 220 to rotate the arm 230. ) rotates so that it is not located on the top of the piping material (10), that is, in the work area (Z2).

When the welding robot 200 rotates so as to deviate from the work area Z2, the crane descends to pick up the piping material 10 welded by the operator and transport it to the desired location.

Meanwhile, the piping material 10 in the present invention may have welding point areas Z1 on both sides of the piping material 10 depending on the formation position of the flange 11, and in this case, steps 1) to 1) described above may be present. After completing welding on one side through step 3), steps 1) to 3) are additionally performed to perform welding of the welding point area on the other side, and then step 4) is performed. It is also possible to do so.

As described above, the welding system 1 according to the present invention performs welding of the piping material 10 using an automated welding robot 200 and creates a welding point area Z1 for the control unit 400, which is different from the conventional one. Due to automatic execution, the effect of reducing work time due to simplified settings is expected.

In addition, it is possible to expect the effect of enabling precise micro-welding work through the welding robot 200 due to fine-adjustment welding through the control unit 400, which is different from the conventional method.

In addition, unlike in the past, piping materials 10 having different sizes can be easily seated and fixed on the rotator 100 based on motion data input through the control unit 400, thereby reducing the progress of the work required for welding. Of course, the effect of obtaining piping materials 10 with improved accuracy is expected.

As described above, the present invention has been described with specific details such as specific components and limited embodiments and drawings, but this is provided only to facilitate a more general understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. , those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations from this description.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and the scope of the patent claims described later as well as all things that are equivalent or equivalent to the scope of this patent claim shall fall within the scope of the spirit of the present invention. .

1: Pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot according to the present invention
100: rotator
110: base 120: lower body
121: lower roller 130: upper body
131: upper roller 140: lifting platform
200: Welding robot
210: Rotating table 220: Driving member
230: arm 231: connecting rod
240: Gripper
300: Torch holder
310: Post 320: Extension bar
321: Seating stand 323: Hanging stand
330: Welding gas supply tank 340: Torch
400: Control unit
Z1: Welding point area
Z2: Work area

Claims (6)

In the welding automation system for welding piping materials 10 through control of the control unit 400,
It is possible to move depending on the size of the seated piping material (10) in the left and right (Y-axis) directions and forward and backward (X-axis) directions as well as up and down (Z-axis), and the seated piping material (10) can be tilted and rotated at the same time. rotator(100);
A welding robot (200) rotatably installed with the rotator (100); and
A torch holder 300 that provides a torch 340 to be held by the welding robot 200 to enable welding of the piping material 10 by the welding robot 200. Pipe welding automation system using collaborative robots.
According to paragraph 1,
The welding robot 200 controlled by the control unit 400 is
a rotator 210 rotatably installed with the rotator 100 to be rotatable by a driving member 220;
An arm 230 installed on the rotating table 210 and having a multi-joint form in which a plurality of connecting tables 231 can rotate with each other; and
A pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot, comprising a gripper 240 installed at one end of the arm 230 to hold the torch 340 or place it on the torch holder 300.
According to paragraph 1,
The torch holder 300 controlled by the control unit 400
A post 310 having a vertical length but being rotatable;
At least one extension bar 320 extending from one side of the post 310; and
Including a welding gas supply tank 330 fixed to the outer surface of the post 310,
The torch 340 is formed to have a predetermined length through a flexible pipe, and one side is connected to the welding gas supply tank 330, and the other side is detachably coupled to the extension bar 320 to control the welding robot ( 200) A pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot, characterized in that it is provided so that it can be held or released by.
In a welding method using a welding automation system controlled through the control unit 400 and including a rotator 100, a welding robot 200, and a torch holder 300,
1) Seating the piping material (10) whose size has been confirmed onto the rotator (100);
2) Selecting the welding point area (Z1); and
3) controlling the welding robot 200 to hold the torch 340 mounted on the torch holder 300 and performing welding in the selected welding point area Z1;
In step 1), the size is confirmed in the up and down (Z-axis) direction, left and right (Y-axis) direction, and forward and backward ( X-axis) direction is adjusted to seat the piping material 10 on the rotator 100 so that it can rotate or tilt,
In step 3), the control unit 400 controls the torch 340 held by the welding robot 200 at least one of the inside point (P1) or the outside point (P2) included in the welding point area (Z1). ) A welding method using a pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot, characterized in that welding can be performed by.
According to paragraph 4,
In step 3) above
Welding of the inside point (P1) or outside point (P2) is performed by fine adjustment, but the fine adjustment is based on movement at 1 mm intervals. A welding method using a pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot. .
According to paragraph 4,
After step 3), proceed to step 4),
It further includes the step of transporting the welded piping material (10) by a crane,
In step 4) above,
To prevent the lifting crane from interfering with the welding robot 200, the torch 340 held by the welding robot 200 is placed on the torch holder 300 and then moved out of the work area Z2. A welding method using a pipe welding automation system using a collaborative robot characterized by rotation.

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