Classifications

• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05H—PLASMA TECHNIQUE; PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS
  • H05H1/00—Generating plasma; Handling plasma
  • H05H1/24—Generating plasma
  • H05H1/26—Plasma torches
  • H05H1/32—Plasma torches using an arc
  • H05H1/34—Details, e.g. electrodes, nozzles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
  • B23K9/24—Features related to electrodes
  • B23K9/28—Supporting devices for electrodes
  • B23K9/29—Supporting devices adapted for making use of shielding means
  • B23K9/291—Supporting devices adapted for making use of shielding means the shielding means being a gas
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
  • B23K9/32—Accessories
  • B23K9/328—Cleaning of weld torches, i.e. removing weld-spatter; Preventing weld-spatter, e.g. applying anti-adhesives
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • H05H—PLASMA TECHNIQUE; PRODUCTION OF ACCELERATED ELECTRICALLY-CHARGED PARTICLES OR OF NEUTRONS; PRODUCTION OR ACCELERATION OF NEUTRAL MOLECULAR OR ATOMIC BEAMS
  • H05H1/00—Generating plasma; Handling plasma
  • H05H1/24—Generating plasma
  • H05H1/26—Plasma torches
  • H05H1/32—Plasma torches using an arc
  • H05H1/34—Details, e.g. electrodes, nozzles
  • H05H1/3457—Nozzle protection devices

Definitions

• the invention relates to a method for cleaning a device for inert gas welding.
• a part of the device guiding the welding wire is referred to as a nozzle body and a part surrounding the nozzle body at a distance is referred to as a sleeve.
• the cleaning station is generally permanently installed at one point in the working area of the automatic welding machine. This means that the welding torch must be brought to the cleaning station.
• this is only possible with the multi-axis, three-dimensionally movable welding robots and means high investment and maintenance costs. With simpler welding machines, manual cleaning is still required.
• GB-2 035 174 A discloses an automatic welding torch operated with water cooling, in which a part approximately in the form of a sleeve consists of essentially four sections, an end section with gas supply, a central section with a piston-cylinder Arrangement, a front portion and a mouthpiece referred to there as a nozzle.
• a scraper body is attached as a cleaning part, which can be moved by means of the piston-cylinder arrangement.
• Water cooling is now supplied with compressed air, by means of which the piston having the wiper body is moved in the direction of the mouthpiece. This interruption in the welding process is lost as production time.
• a further automatic welding torch is known from US Pat. No. 3,280,043, which has a metallic nozzle body which consists of several parts, namely a brass sleeve, a scraper body and a tapering tube.
• This nozzle body is surrounded at a distance by a sleeve which, in turn, consists of a brass support and a mouthpiece screwed to it and tapering towards the opening of the sleeve.
• a piston is actuated so that the sleeve surrounding the nozzle body is moved relative to the nozzle body until the nozzle body protrudes outward beyond the open end of the sleeve, the inner wall of the sleeve being cleaned in its end region by means of the stripper body.
• the protective gas supply has to be interrupted in this cleaning process in order to enable the supply of compressed air in order to convey the particles of the inner wall of the sleeve which have been detached from the scraper body, this time of cleaning is lost as production time.
• the cleaning of the inner wall of the mouthpiece is not complete, but can only be carried out in a partial area of the taper, since the other partial areas of the mouthpiece do not come into contact with the wiper body. As a result, the risk of bridging and gas supply disruption cannot be completely avoided.
• the sleeve of which has a protective body at its open end, which can be made of ceramic or another current-insulating material.
• the shape and size of the protective body have at least one variable opening, which enable the necessary welding wire and protective gas to escape.
• the welding and metal splashes now stick easily to the outside of the protective body as a compact layer and can be easily removed by wiping them off.
• the invention is therefore based on the object of making an easy-to-carry out cleaning process, in particular of protective gas burners equipped with a protective body, which on the one hand eliminates the disadvantages mentioned above with manual cleaning and on the other hand only allows cleaning in automated welding and / or without substantial interruption of the actual welding process can be carried out.
• the cleaning system is already in the device for Inert gas welding itself and works from the inside out, in a surprisingly simple way.
• This has the advantage that no additional tools, cleaning systems or other auxiliaries need to be supplied from the outside or provided within the device for inert gas welding itself.
• Complex and time-consuming programming work, long travel distances for cleaning and the associated loss of production in automated welding with robots are thereby considerably minimized.
• the cleaning according to the invention cleans without changing the position of the welding robot within an interruption in the welding process, which occurs, for example, whenever the welding robot is directed to a new welding position. Even with manually operated manual welding torches, the cleaning can advantageously be carried out partly mechanically or fully mechanically if the welding torch changes from one welding position to another. The time required for cleaning is therefore not lost as production time.
• the novel cleaning method according to the invention in such a way that cleaning of the devices for inert gas welding known in the prior art, which have no protective body at the open end of the sleeve, is possible.
• the movement means according to the invention there is a stripping body which is essentially adjacent to the inner wall of the sleeve and has an extent which is substantially smaller than the extent of the sleeve between the Insulator and the open end of the sleeve.
• the movement means displacing the nozzle body and the sleeve relative to one another is a spring.
• This spring can connect to the end of the sleeve opposite the open end of the sleeve. There are no significant restrictions on the diameter of the spring.
• a stop against which the spring is supported can be arranged between the spring and the sleeve. This stop can be an annular disc, for example. Pressing the spring together causes the position of the nozzle body relative to the sleeve to change such that the nozzle body is moved in the direction of the open end of the sleeve and then, when the spring is fully compressed, maximally over the open one Protrudes from the end of the sleeve. When the spring is released, the nozzle body is returned to its starting position. As the nozzle body passes through the opening of the protective body, it removes the or on the inner wall of the protective body. impurities in the sleeve, consisting of welding and metal spatter.
• the sleeve has openings in the circumferential direction in the direction of the end facing the spring and that a holding means is provided which engages in at least one of the openings . This ensures that the sleeve is held firmly and cannot change its position.
• the spring is arranged inside the sleeve and at least in the region of the nozzle body. Even then, actuation of the spring causes the position of the nozzle body relative to the sleeve to change such that the nozzle body is displaced in the direction of the open end of the sleeve until the nozzle body projects beyond the open end of the sleeve.
• the spring can at least partially rest on the inner wall of the sleeve. As a result, the freedom of movement of the nozzle body which moves relative to the sleeve is not impaired.
• the movement means is a thread.
• This thread can be formed on at least a partial area of the inner wall of the sleeve and can interact with a further thread that is located in the inner area of the sleeve.
• the thread is formed on at least a partial area of the outer wall of the sleeve and interacts with another thread that is located in the outer area of the sleeve.
• the sleeve can be moved relative to the nozzle body or this relative to the sleeve.
• the stripping body can be moved together with the nozzle body when the movement means is actuated, that the stripping body can be moved in the direction of the nozzle body-facing boundary of the insulating body is connected.
• the stripping body can furthermore be formed in one piece with the insulating body. It can further be provided that the wall of the stripping body has a thickness that enables the formation of a distance between the stripping body and the burner head. This is it is important that the protective gas can emerge unhindered from the burner head and flow in the direction of the open end of the sleeve.
• this movement means be dimensioned in such a way that it enables the nozzle body and the sleeve to be displaced relative to one another until the nozzle body protrudes outwards beyond the end wall of the protective body or outwards beyond the open end of the sleeve.
• the method according to the invention can be safely repeated until the end wall or the inner wall no longer has any impurities, since the cleaning method according to the invention can be carried out quickly and easily.
• the protective body is non-metallic.
• the protective body can consist of a boron nitride mixed ceramic material which has oxide and / or carbide components to reduce the surface adhesion.
• the protective body can also be made of metal and in one piece with the sleeve. It can be provided that a water cooling is connected to the inner wall of the sleeve. This water cooling then serves to dissipate the heat generated during inert gas welding.
• the water cooling is preferably designed as reflux cooling so that the heated water can always be removed and replaced by new cold water.
• FIG. 2 shows an incompletely illustrated, partially sectioned view of a further embodiment of a welding torch designed according to the invention
• FIG. 3 shows an incompletely shown, partially sectioned view of a welding torch designed according to the invention during the cleaning process
• FIG. 4 shows an incompletely illustrated, partially sectioned view of a further embodiment of a welding torch designed according to the invention for preferred use in an automatic welding system.
• the welding torch (1) shown in FIG. 1 has a torch head 3 with a nozzle body 5, through which a welding wire, not shown, is led to the welding point.
• the feed is located on the welding machine and takes place through a hose package 7, in which the electrical energy, the welding wire and a protective gas are also fed to the torch.
• the burner head 3 is surrounded at a distance by a sleeve 9, which is made of copper, for example, so that the protective gas emerges in the distance between the nozzle body 5 and the sleeve 9, which is designed here as an annular channel.
• the sleeve 9 has at its open end 11 a protective body 13 which consists of an end wall 15 and a collar 17 projecting into the interior of the sleeve 9.
• the collar 17 can be connected to the sleeve 9 in different ways. On the one hand, it can have an external thread with which it is screwed into a corresponding internal thread of the sleeve 9. But it can also be pressed into the open end of the sleeve.
• the protective body and the sleeve are formed in one piece.
• the end wall 15 there is an opening 19 of the protective body 13, the diameter of which is designed such that the nozzle body 5 can pass through the opening.
• the protective body 13 preferably consists of a boron nitride mixed ceramic material, the properties of which include high temperature resistance, high electrical resistance, good thermal conductivity and low wettability. Additional properties of borides, such as titanium boride and / or oxides, such as zirconium oxide and / or carbides, such as silicon carbide, can further improve the properties of the protective body 13, with the success that welding and metal spatter from the weld are thrown back, in contrast to the inert gas burners without protective body 13, which have been in use for decades to a lesser extent.
• borides such as titanium boride and / or oxides, such as zirconium oxide and / or carbides, such as silicon carbide
• the protective gas burner according to FIG. 1 has a spring 21 which adjoins the end 23 opposite the open end 11 of the sleeve 9. There are basically no significant restrictions with regard to the diameter of the spring 21. Between the spring 21 and the sleeve 9, an annular disc 25 is arranged, which serves as a stop for the spring.
• the means that can be used as a stop are not limited to the ring disk.
• the sleeve 9 In the area of the end 23 opposite the open end 11 of the sleeve 9, the sleeve 9 is seated on an insulating body 27 which extends essentially to the burner head 3. So that the sleeve, when the spring is actuated, to move the nozzle body 5 relative to the sleeve 9 in the direction of the open end 11 of the sleeve 9 and especially when the spring 21 is then relaxed, the sleeve 9 points in the direction onto the end 23 facing the spring 21 in the circumferential direction openings 29 in which a holding means 31 can engage.
• This holding means can be a locking screw, but it can also be a spring which engages in mutually opposite openings 29 and holds the sleeve 9 on the insulating body 27.
• the design of the device according to the invention is not limited to the aforementioned means for locking the sleeve 9 on the insulation 27. Rather, it may also be possible that the sleeve 9 has no openings 29 in the circumferential direction, but that, for example, the annular disk 25 serving as a stop has a collar which engages in the sleeve.
• FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the device according to the invention, in which the spring 33 is arranged inside the sleeve 9.
• the spring 33 extends from the boundary of the insulating body 35 directed towards the open end 11 of the sleeve 9 to the boundary of the protective body 13 pointing into the interior of the sleeve 9.
• the spring 33 lies at least partially on the inner wall of the sleeve 9, in such a way that it can be actuated, but on the other hand does not hinder the flow of protective gas and the nozzle body 5.
• the springs 21, 33 can be actuated in the usual manner known to a person skilled in the art. In the case of hand-operated shielding gas burners, this can be done partly mechanically, but also fully mechanically via cylinders, pneumatic and other movement systems. In the automated welding robots, the springs are actuated by the robots, controlled by the corresponding computer program. In the two-way movement systems, the springs 21, 33 are however unnecessary.
• the springs 21 or 33 are replaced by a thread as the movement means.
• a thread can be formed on the inner wall of the sleeve, which interacts with another thread in the inner region of the sleeve.
• the sleeve 9 can then be held in place, which is possible manually and automatically, in order then to move the nozzle body 5 relative to the sleeve 9 in the direction of its open end 11 by means of rotary movements which are carried out by means of the thread .
• the thread can also be formed on the outer wall of the sleeve, it then interacting with a further thread in the outer area of the sleeve 9.
• This further thread can be formed on the collar of the washer 25, which also serves as a stop means.
• the relative movement of the nozzle body 5 with respect to the sleeve 9 would result from the fact that the sleeve 9 is not moved, but the sleeve 9. It will be on this Point expressly pointed out that it is possible within the scope of the present invention that both the nozzle body 5 remains stationary and the sleeve 9 can be moved, and vice versa.
• the nozzle body 5 of the protective gas burner can, on the one hand, be arranged such that it ends essentially just above the protective body 13, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. However, it is also possible for the nozzle body 5 to end essentially in the region of the open end 11 of the sleeve 9. This is particularly advantageous in the case of automated welding robots, since the welding torches without protective body 13, which have been customary for decades, can then be replaced by welding torches with protective body 13, either with or without a cleaning system according to the invention, without changing the operating program.
• the opening 19 of the protective body 13 is cleaned in that the springs 21 or 33 or the thread or some other equivalent movement means is actuated in the manner described above, whereby the nozzle body 5 moves relative to the sleeve 9 in the direction of its open end becomes.
• the springs 21 or 33 or the thread are dimensioned such that the nozzle body 5 can pass through the opening 29 in the end wall 15 of the protective body 13 and can protrude outward beyond the end wall 15. This is shown in FIG. 3.
• the nozzle body 5 removed welding and metal spatters there when passing through the opening 19 of the protective body 13.
• the adhesion of the impurities on the inner wall of the opening 19 to metal, for example, is reduced, as already mentioned at the beginning, so that the impurities are essentially easy to remove and there is no risk of being too large Force the nozzle body 5 is damaged. Subsequently, the nozzle body 5 is returned to its starting position, which is also its working position during the welding process. The cleaning process can be repeated if necessary until the impurities at the opening 19 of the protective body 13 have been completely removed.
• the cleaning of the protective gas burner 1 can be carried out quickly at any time, preferably when the is brought Sch Strukturb "race-1 from a working position to another.
• This is a significant advantage over the conventional Reini ⁇ supply systems, as always directed at them, the cleaning operation from outside to inside, and was carried out only by means of an additional tool.
• the nozzle body 5 is shown in its generally customary form to 3 to 3. However, it can also have a configuration as shown in Fig. 4.
• the diameter of the nozzle body 5 tapers in the direction of its end, ie on the The welding wire emerges to form a shoulder 37.
• This embodiment is preferably used in automatic systems sets when the condition is that the nozzle body is to be substantially closed with the open end 11 of the sleeve 9.
• the tapered diameter of the nozzle body 5 then serves to enable the protective gas to escape unimpeded.
• the shape of the nozzle body, which is widened by paragraph 37, then serves to clean the opening 19 of the protective body 13.
• the protective body 13 is metallic and is preferably made in one piece with the sleeve 9.
• the metallic protective body 13 can, however, also be connected to the sleeve 9 as a separate part, as was already the case with the protective body 13 has been described. Since a large amount of heat is generated during inert gas welding, it is provided in this embodiment that water cooling is connected to the inner wall of the sleeve 9. The wall of the water cooling pointing in the direction of the nozzle body 5 additionally has insulation. Furthermore, the water cooling is designed in the form of a reflux cooling. This is possible because the water is forced out by means of a partition, not shown in the drawing.
• the partition is preferably made as a milled part and made of copper or brass.
• the heated water can be removed and always replaced with cold water.
• the water is supplied and discharged in a manner known per se via the hose package.
• the nozzle body 5 can be surrounded by insulation. Only the nozzle body 5 can have insulation, for example in the form of an insulating sleeve.
• the cleaning principle according to the invention can not only be used in welding torches 1 with sleeves 9 which have a protective body 13. Basically, the principle "from the inside out” can also be applied to the welding torches with sleeves 9 without protective body 13, which have been common for decades. This will be explained in principle in the following, but is no longer shown in the figures.
• a stripping body which is essentially in contact with the inner wall of the sleeve. This stripping body has an extent which is substantially smaller than the extent of the sleeve between the insulating body 27 and the open end of the sleeve 11.
• the stripping body can be connected to the boundary of the insulating body 27 pointing in the direction of the nozzle body 5 his.
• the scraper body may only have a thickness that ensures that an annular gap is formed between the scraper body and the burner head 3, so that the Shielding gas can flow freely from the burner head 3.
• the wiper body is insulated on the inside, but it can also consist of an insulating material itself, e.g. it can be integrally connected to the insulation.
• a spring according to spring 21 according to FIG. 1, spring 33 according to FIG. 2, or a thread can serve as the moving means here.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
• Spectroscopy & Molecular Physics (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Insulators (AREA)
• Arc Welding In General (AREA)
• Mounting Of Bearings Or Others (AREA)

Priority Applications (2)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Publications (1)

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (1)

Citations (3)

• 1994
  • 1994-09-14 AT AT94927616T patent/ATE170121T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1994-09-14 ES ES94927616T patent/ES2122327T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1994-09-14 WO PCT/EP1994/003089 patent/WO1995007788A1/de active IP Right Grant

Patent Citations (3)

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