WO2020046239A2

WO2020046239A2 - Movable welding machine

Info

Publication number: WO2020046239A2
Application number: PCT/TR2019/050332
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mustafa Bozkurt
Original assignee: Hi̇dromek-Hi̇droli̇k Ve Mekani̇k Maki̇na İmalat Sanayi̇ Ve Ti̇caret Anoni̇m Şi̇rketi̇
Priority date: 2018-07-30
Filing date: 2019-05-14
Publication date: 2020-03-05
Also published as: TR201810950A2; WO2020046239A3

Abstract

The present invention is a movable welding machine which has a body (10) with the aim of eliminating loss of time and which enables the welding of the pipes and the profiles (80) in open areas, under field conditions, in a proper and errorless manner, without requiring a great extent of labor force and man power.

Description

MOVABLE WELDING MACHINE

Technical Field

The invention is related to movable welding machines which enable the pipes and the profiles to be welded in outer environment and be connected.

The invention specifically relates to movable welding machines which enable two pipes or a profile in open areas and the welded product to be connected into the end of the line.

Prior Art

Welding of the pipe and/or profiles which are made of metal and similar materials is generally performed in open areas. Welding of the pipes that are used in many works including petroleum pipelines, sewer system pipelines etc. is performed in outer environments. Welding pipes and similar products in outer environments or open areas is a very demanding work. This process is performed in a manner that the steps below describe:

• Preparing the positioning equipment for the pipes to be welded,

• Putting the pipes to be welded down to the line,

• Locating the pipes to be welded into the correct welding position in the line,

• Carrying the welding equipments to the point of line in which the welding is going to be performed,

• Setting up a tent in order for the area which the welding is going to be performed to be protected against natural effects and weather conditions

• Performing the welding,

• Controlling the performed welding,

• Removing the tent that is set up in order for the area which the welding is going to be performed to be protected against natural effects and weather conditions

• Carrying the welding equipments from the point of line in which the welding is going to be performed.

The process in the prior art are very demanding and difficult. In order for the welding to be done correctly without any errors, the materials should be in the same position. In order to obtain this positioning in open areas, structures like cranes are used and this requires a major amount of work labor. In addition to these, time waste of significant amounts occur in these processes and this results in an increase in the cost of work. In order to solve the above mentioned problems, different welding machines have been designed. For instance, in the patent application with number W02005056230 a mobile, a mobile orbital welding device to connect a first pipe end along the circumferential connection and a second pipe end via at least one welding seam in order to produce a pipe line to be located on the land is provided. The device of the invention comprises a guide ring which can be guided to a first pipe and and circumferential joint and an orbital carrier which can be replaced with the engine along the guide ring. In the orbital carrier, a laser source head is mounted in a manner to be able to be guided to the circumferential linkage in order to be guided towards a laser source area. The welding seam is produced by moving its orbit along the circumferential joint. The laser beam is produced especially by a high power fiber laser beam source, which is located on the mobile carrying device and which is located far from the orbital carrier. However; in the said application, human labor force and qualified personnel are required. In addition to this, the invention does not include factors regarding the controlling welding.

As a result, a development in the technical field is required due to the inadequacy of the existing machines.

Short Description of the Invention

The present invention is related to movable welding machines which enable the pipe and the profiles to be welded in outer environment and to be connected.

The main aim of the invention is to provide a movable welding machine which enables the welding of the pipe and the profiles in a proper and errorless manner, especially in open areas.

An aim of the invention is to provide a movable welding machine which enables the welding of the pipe and the profiles in open areas without requiring a great extent of labor force and man power.

Another aim of the invention is to is to provide a movable welding machine which eliminates the time loss in the process of welding of the pipe and the profiles in open areas.

In order to realize all the aims that are mentioned above and can be understood from the detailed description provided below; the present invention is a movable welding machine which has a body with the aim of eliminating loss of time and which enables the welding of the pipes and the profiles in open areas, under field conditions, in a proper and errorless manner, without requiring a great extent of labor force and man power. The invention comprises a walking chassis which enables the machine to move in outer environment conditions; a main platform which is located on the walking chassis and onto which all the equipment used for welding process are located; at least one movable platform which is located on at least one side of the main platform and which has an openable-closable structure for supporting the pipes, in order for the long pipes to be connected and welded more easily; a pipe positioning system which is located on the main platform and which enables the pipes to be welded to have an appropriate welding position and a welding control x-ray system which enables controlling whether the welded pipes and profiles are welded according to the desired manner, or not.

All properties of the invention, along with its all advantages, shall be understood in a clear manner by the figures provided below and the detailed description with reference to these accompanied figures and therefore; an evaluation shall be made by taking these figures and the detailed description into the account.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 , is a general view of the movable welding machine of the invention.

Figure 2, is a general view of the position of the invention when the invention is in a folded position.

Figure 3a, is a side view of the invention.

Figure 3b, is a top view of the invention.

Reference Part Numbers

10 Machine body

1 1 Walking chassis

12 Main platform

13 Movable platform

14 Pipe positioning system

15 Pipe orbit positioning system

16 Engine

17 Remote control

18 Hydraulic power system

19 Tool kit

20 Robot welding machine

30 Lifting crane

31 Welding curtain 40 Generator

50 Welding equipments

51 Welding gases

60 Compressor

70 Welding control x-ray system

80 Pipe

Detailed Description of the Invention

The said movable welding machine includes;

• a walking chassis (1 1 ) which enables the machine to move in outer environment conditions,

• a main platform (12) which is located on the walking chassis (1 1 ) and onto which all the equipment used for welding process are located ,

• at least one movable platform (13) which is located on at least one side of the main platform (12) and which has an openable-closable structure for supporting the pipes (80), in order for the long pipes (80) to be connected and welded more easily,

• a pipe positioning system (14) which is located on the main platform (12) and which enables the pipes (80) to be welded to have an appropriate welding position

• and a welding control x-ray system (70) which enables controlling whether the welded pipes and profiles (80) are welded according to the desired manner, or not.

In Figure 1 , the general view of the movable welding machine of the invention is shown. According to this, the movable welding machine has a body (10). Under the body (10) there is a walking chassis (1 1 ) which enables the machine to be movable in field conditions. The walking chassis (1 1 ) has a chain pallet structure in order for the machine to travel more easily in open field conditions, especially in earth road and stone roads. By this manner, the machine can travel on earthy, stony, muddy etc. surfaces and in field conditions very easily. There is a main platform (12) on the walking chassis (1 1 ). The main platform (12) is a platform on which all the equipments of welding in the machine are located. There is a movable platform (13) on each side of the main platform (12). The movable platform (13) supports the pipes (80) in order for the long pipes (80) to be welded more easily. As it can be seen in Figure 2, the movable platform (13) can be folded upwards when the machine is about to move. There is a pipe positioning system (14) on the main platform (12) which enables the pipes (80) to be welded to be positioned into the appropriate welding position. Preferably, there are two pipe positioning systems (14) on the main platform (12). The pipe positioning system (14) works by hydraulic control. The pipe positioning system (14), has openable claws. The openable claws open when the pipe (80) is going to be located into the pipe positioning system (14) and the openable claws close after the pipe (80) is located and they are fixed to the pipe (80). In addition, there is a pipe orbit positioning system (15) on the main platform (12) and the movable platform (13). The pipe orbit positioning system (15) enables the pipes (80) to be welded to be in the same axis. The pipe orbit positioning system (15) also works by hydraulic control. The pipe orbit positioning system (15) is located as four pieces in a manner that two are located on the main platform (12) and one for each of the movable platforms (13) that are located in both sides of the main platform (12). In an alternative structuring of the invention, the pipe orbit positioning system (15) can be more in number depending on the weight of the pipes (80) and the thickness of the pipes (80). The power that is needed for the movable welding machine to move is provided by an engine (16). The engine (16) is located on a main platform (12). There is a hydraulic power system (18) which provides the needed power and movement to the machine, along with the engine (16). The hydraulic power needs required by the machine are provided by the hydraulic power system (18). The engine (16) and the hydraulic power system (18) operate together in order to provide the movement of the machine.

The lifting on the pipes (80) to be welded onto the main platform (12) and the movable platform (13) and lifting the pipes afterwards to the pipe positioning system (14) and the pipe orbit positioning system (15) is achieved by the lifting crane (30). In addition to this, performing the control of the weights of the pipes (80) is done by the lifting crane (30) as well. In case that the weights of the pipes (80) are not appropriate; the pipes (80) are not lifted onto the main platform (12). Therefore, it is prevented that the movable welding machine is damaged due to the heavy load. There is a welding curtain (31 ) on the end of the lifting crane (30). The said welding curtain (31 ) enables the welding process to be done without error in outer environment conditions. The welding curtain enables the medium requirements that are necessary for the welding process and the light intensity of the medium to be kept at the appropriate ratio. The welding curtain (31 ) has an openable and closable structure. Therefore; the movable welding machine can be opened or closed depending on its movement.

In order to increase the movement ability of the movable welding machine, a remote control system (17) is used. By the remote control (17), a flexibility of movement is provided to the movable welding machine. The welding process is performed by a robot welding machine (20) in the invention. By the robot welding machine (20); a welding process of the pipes (80) is performed in a manner to decrease the human-driven errors. In addition to this, the welding process can be performed in a very rapid manner due to the robot welding machine (20). The said robot welding machine (20) is located on the main platform. There are welding equipments (50) located on the side of the robot welding machine (20) which is located on the main platform (12). The robot welding machine (20) performs the welding process automatically by utilizing these welding equipments (50). The gases that are needed for the welding are provided by welding gases (51 ). The welding gases (51 ) are located on the side of the welding equipments (50). The control regarding whether the welded pipes and profiles (80) are welded according to the desired features or not is performed by a welding control x-ray system (70). After the pipes (80) are welded by the robot welding machine (20); the control of the weld is automatically done by the welding control x-ray system (70).

The pressured air that is needed by the hardwares of the invention is provided by a compressor (60). The said compressor (60) is located on the main platform (12). The electrical energy that is required for the welding process is provided by a generator (40). The generator (40) provides the air that is required for the robot welding machine (20) and the compressor (60). There is a tool kit cabinet (19) in the machine of the invention, for the needs of the personnel in cases of maintenance, malfunction etc. Inside this tool kit cabinet (19); hand tools, some spare parts etc. that can be needed by the personnel are included.

In the light of what is described above; the application of the invention is done in this manner: The invention moves on a chain palette system which is located on both sides of the walking chassis (1 1 ). The power that is needed for the invention is provided by a cooperation of the engine (16) and the hydraulic power system (18). By the virtue of the chain palette system, the machine can easily move under the open field conditions. All the necessary components in the invention are located on the main platform (12) which is located on the walking chassis (1 1 ). A flexibility of the movement is provided to the machine by a remote control system (17). The movable platform (13) opens and an area is created for the long pipes (80) to be connected. Pipes and alike (80) are being located onto the pipe positioning system (14) which has hydraulic openable jaws by the pipe orbit positioning system (15), by their weights being controlled. In case that the weights of the pipes (80) are appropriate; they are located by a lifting crane (30); in case that the weights are not appropriate, they are located by a crane with a higher capacity and which shall be provided additionally from outside. Depending on the measures defined in the welding project; the pipes (80) are moved forwards, backwards or pivoted on their own orbit by the help of the hydraulic rotation and positioning systems and they are brought into the appropriate position with respect to the welding axis. After this step, the components that are required for the pipes (80) to be welded or connected get involved. The generator (40) is being operated in order to provide energy, i.e. power, to the said welding hardwares of the welding equipments (50). The generator (40) operates the compressor (60) and the dry air that is going to be needed by the robot welding machine (20) is provided. By the welding gases (51 ), the need of welding gases (51 ) in order for the pipes (80) to be welded is provided. The welding curtain (31 ), which has a special openable and closable design, is attached onto the crane (30). By covering the pipes 880) and the welding robot with the welding curtain (31 ), the medium that is needed for the welding process is acquired. The welding equipments (50) are located inside this region. The robot welding machine (20) shall operate automatically and make the pipes (80) welded. In order to approve that the performed welding process has been accurate, the pipes (80) are controlled by a welding control x-ray system (70) after the completion of the welding process in order to check if the welding is without errors. In the welding process that are defined in these steps, the human-driven errors are decreased to a minimum level. In addition to all this, spare parts and materials etc. and similar equipments that are needed for the machine maintenance or the welding processes can be easily obtained from the tool kit cabinet (19).

As a result, by the virtue of the invention; a correct and errorless welding process of the pipe and the profiles (80) can be performed under field conditions, without requiring a great amount of labor force and man power.

Claims

1. A movable welding machine which has a body (10) with the aim of eliminating loss of time and which enables the welding of the pipes and the profiles (80) in open areas, under field conditions, in a proper and errorless manner, without requiring a great extent of labor force and man power; characterized in comprising;

2. The movable welding machine according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising a pipe orbit positioning system (15) which enables the pipes (80) to be welded in the welding process to be in the same axis.

3. The movable welding machine according to Claim 2, characterized in comprising a lifting crane (30) which enables the pipes (80) to be welded to be lifted to the pipe positioning system (14) and the pipe orbit positioning system (15) on the main platform (12) and the movable platform (13).

4. The movable welding machine according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising a welding curtain (31 ) which enables the medium requirements that are necessary for the welding process and the light intensity of the medium to be kept at the appropriate ratio, in order for the welding process to be performed without error.

5. The movable welding machine according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising an engine (16) which provides the power that is needed for the movable welding machine to move.

6. The movable welding machine according to Claim 5, characterized in comprising a hydraulic power system (18) which provides the hydraulic power needs of the machine, working together with the engine (16).

7. The movable welding machine according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising a robot welding machine (20) which performs a welding process which is rapid and which operates in a manner to decrease the human-driven errors.

8. The movable welding machine according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising a remote control system (17) which increases the ability of the movement of the movable welding machine.

9. The movable welding machine according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising a compressor (60) which provides the pressured air which is needed by all the hardware that are used in the invention.

10. The movable welding machine according to Claim 1 , characterized in comprising a generator (40) which provides the electric energy which is needed in the welding process.