A two-component structural adhesive coating and curing device for a battery box

Abstract

A two-component structural adhesive coating and curing device for a battery box body, comprising a conveying and curing line, a curing fixture, an automatic glue coating unit, and a lower bottom plate rack; the conveying and curing line is a continuous closed-loop circulating conveying mechanism, and the conveying and curing line is successively provided with a feeding station, a transmission station, a glue coating station, a first jacking station, an assembly station, a plurality of curing stations, and a second jacking station; the automatic glue coating unit is located at the glue coating station, and the lower bottom plate rack is located at the assembly station. The curing fixture includes a frame placing platform, a fixture frame body, and a self-locking manual pressing mechanism. The fixture frame body is located on the frame placing platform, and the self-locking manual pressing mechanism is distributed on the fixture frame body. The production line layout of the present invention is reasonable, the production is convenient, it meets the production requirements of this process, has a high degree of automation, and has the characteristics of high consistency and qualification rate of the manufactured products, high production efficiency, etc., and can well complete the colloid curing process of the vehicle aluminum alloy box body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of new energy vehicles and automobile parts processing and manufacturing, and specifically relates to a battery box double-component structural adhesive coating and curing device. Technical Background

[0002] With the development of society and the improvement of living standards, cars have become the main means of transportation for people to travel. The market demand for cars is huge and the number of cars in use is increasing day by day. However, as countries pay more attention to environmental protection, technological progress and energy security, the application of internal combustion engines that consume a lot of fossil energy in the field of road transportation is gradually being replaced by various power systems that use other energy sources. The new energy vehicle industry with electrification as its technical background has ushered in a good opportunity for development. The core of new energy vehicles lies in the battery system, and the aluminum alloy box is the installation platform of the battery system. Figure 1 As shown, the main components of the aluminum alloy box include an aluminum frame 101 and a lower base plate 102. The frame is generally connected by arc welding, and the connection between the lower base plate and the frame is generally made by structural adhesive bonding and stir friction welding. Some are directly bonded by structural adhesive. Regardless of the connection method, structural adhesive bonding is required. In this process, structural adhesives require a certain curing time. Glues with different properties require different curing times. Some glues even require an initial setting time of 90 minutes. After the glue is applied, a clamp is required to firmly clamp the frame and the lower base plate to prevent relative slippage and deformation between the two during the solidification process of the structural adhesive. The production demand for automotive parts is large, and this type of process is cumbersome. The current processing methods and devices seriously affect the continuity and automation of production and reduce production efficiency. To achieve continuous production of the box, a continuous curing line is required to improve production efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0003] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a battery box two-component structural adhesive coating and curing device.

[0004] The complete technical solution of the present invention includes:

[0005] A battery box two-component structural adhesive coating and curing device, comprising a conveying and curing line, a curing fixture, an automatic coating unit, and a bottom plate material rack;

[0006] The conveying and curing line is a continuous closed-loop circulating conveying mechanism, and is provided with a material incoming station, a transmission station, a gluing station, a first lifting station, an assembly station, a plurality of curing stations and a second lifting station in sequence;

[0007] The automatic gluing unit is located on the gluing station, and the lower bottom plate rack is located on the assembly station.

[0008] The curing fixture includes a frame placement platform, a fixture frame body, and a self-locking manual pressing tool. The fixture frame body is located on the frame placement platform, and the self-locking manual pressing tools are distributed on the fixture frame body;

[0009] The incoming material station, the transfer station, and the curing station are two-way transfer stations with lifting functions, and the first lifting station and the second lifting station have the function of lifting workpieces.

[0010] The transfer station includes a first transfer station and a second transfer station.

[0011] Only one workpiece is stored at the gluing station and the first lifting station at the same time. After the operation of the first lifting station is completed, the next workpiece enters the gluing station from the second transfer station for gluing work.

[0012] There are a total of 9 curing stations.

[0013] There are a total of 14 curing fixtures on the conveying and curing line, which operate in a cycle.

[0014] The present invention also discloses an automatic welding and assembly production line for vehicle aluminum alloy boxes using the curing device of the present invention. The present invention is applied to its curing table. The production line includes an incoming material vehicle, an automatic coding unit, a friction stir welding unit, a coding NG vehicle, a manipulator and a ground rail handling unit, a deburring unit, a transfer rack, a full-automatic arc welding unit, a full-automatic machining unit, a chip removal unit, a transfer table, a manual repair welding unit, a manual cleaning unit, a code scanning and input unit, a gluing unit, a curing table, an automatic vision inspection device, an airtight inspection device, an automatic packaging area, a waste vehicle, and a wooden spacer trolley unit;

[0015] The manipulator and the ground rail handling unit realize the handling and transportation of raw materials on the production line. The manipulator and the ground rail handling unit consist of two sections, which are connected by a transfer rack in the middle; the incoming material vehicle is located on one side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit and can enter the feeding area of the production line. The feeding area has a mechanism for positioning and clamping the incoming material trolley. The automatic coding unit and the friction stir welding unit are sequentially located at the right end of the incoming material vehicle. The coding NG vehicle is located at one end of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit, close to the automatic coding unit and the friction stir welding unit;

[0016] The deburring unit is located on the other side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit, opposite to the incoming material vehicle.

[0017] The transfer rack is located on the other side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit, adjacent to the deburring unit;

[0018] The full-automatic arc welding unit is located on one side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit, adjacent to the incoming material vehicle;

[0019] The full-automatic machining unit and the chip removal unit are respectively located on both sides of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit, and are adjacent to the full-automatic arc welding unit and the transfer rack respectively;

[0020] The manual repair welding unit, the manual cleaning unit, the code scanning and input unit, and the wooden spacer trolley are sequentially located on one side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit;

[0021] The gluing unit, the curing table, the airtight detection equipment, and the automatic vision detection equipment are sequentially located on the other side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit;

[0022] The waste product cart is located on one side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit, and is oppositely arranged with the automatic vision detection equipment;

[0023] The automatic packaging area is located at the other end of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit.

[0024] There are two transfer racks and one transfer table in the production line, which play a buffering role in the production process to ensure the continuity of production.

[0025] The gluing unit uses a robot to drive a glue gun, and the glue gun is equipped with a glue pump to complete the sealing glue coating process of the product. At the same time, a curing table is set up to ensure that the curing of the glue does not affect the production rhythm;

[0026] The automatic packaging area and the wooden spacer trolley realize the automatic packaging process of product production.

[0027] The full-automatic arc welding unit uses a robot to drive a welding gun, and is equipped with an axis positioner, an automatic wire feeder, and a workpiece positioning fixture to realize the full automation of the arc welding process.

[0028] A method for automatically welding and assembling a vehicle aluminum alloy box body using the described production line includes the following steps:

[0029] The operator first pushes the feeding trolley full of product raw materials to the feeding area. After the feeding area detects the incoming materials, the feeding trolley is positioned and clamped, and the raw materials are sent to the automatic coding unit by the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit for coding. After coding, it will automatically detect whether the coding is successful. If successful, proceed to the next process. If not, send it to the coding NG cart, and repeat this step after manual repair;

[0030] After the automatic coding is successful, the workpiece is sent to the friction stir welding unit by the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit to complete the friction welding of the workpiece. Since there will be burrs at the welding area after friction welding, the workpiece is then sent to the deburring unit by the manipulator to remove the burrs on the workpiece; afterwards, the workpiece is sent to the full-automatic arc welding unit by the robotic arm for CMT welding of the workpiece; after the welding is completed, it is sent to the full-automatic machining unit for precise machining of the workpiece; after the machining is completed, the waste chips of the workpiece are cleaned by the chip removal unit;

[0031] After the waste chips of the workpiece are cleaned, the manipulator transports the workpiece to the manual repair welding unit for manual self-inspection of the welding of the workpiece, and manual repair welding is carried out on the parts that need to be repaired; after repair welding, the workpiece is sent to the gluing unit for applying weld sealant, and then sent to the curing table for curing of the sealant;

[0032] After the glue is cured, the workpiece is sent to the manual cleaning unit for cleaning the supplementary glue and appearance;

[0033] After the above processes are completed, the robot performs airtight detection of the workpiece by the airtight detection equipment and visual detection of whether the machining holes and dental braces are qualified by the automatic vision detection equipment; if unqualified, it is sent to the waste cart, and if qualified, it is sent to the automatic packaging area for product packaging.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment, the present invention also provides a welding fixture for vehicle aluminum alloy box body used in a full-automatic arc welding unit, including a reference platform, one X-direction centering and clamping mechanism, two Y-direction centering and clamping mechanisms, ten Z-direction rotating and clamping mechanisms and a feeding detection switch. The X-direction centering and clamping mechanism is located in the center of the reference platform, and the two Y-direction centering and clamping mechanisms are located on both sides of the X-direction centering and clamping mechanism, and their centering and clamping directions are perpendicular to the X-direction centering and clamping mechanism; the ten Z-direction centering and clamping mechanisms are all distributed around the reference platform, and a small contact surface pad is provided under each Z-direction rotating and clamping mechanism;

[0035] The X-direction centering and clamping mechanism and the Y-direction centering and clamping mechanism are both composed of a centering and clamping block, a centering finger cylinder, a pull rod guide bearing and a pull rod radial guide and limit block. The centering finger cylinder provides centering power, and the pull rod connected to it passes through the pull rod guide bearing. The centering and clamping block is installed on the pull rod connecting the centering finger cylinder, and the pull rod radial guide and limit block is located between the pull rod guide bearing and the centering and clamping block. The pull rod guide bearing and the pull rod radial guide and limit block ensure the consistency of the movement direction of the centering and clamping block during the clamping process; during the centering and positioning process of the box body, the centering and clamping block moves to clamp the box body;

[0036] The Z-direction rotating and clamping mechanism is composed of a rotating pressing cylinder, a cylinder mounting plate and a T-shaped pressing block. The rotating pressing cylinder is connected to the reference platform through the cylinder mounting plate and the high-precision pin positioning hole; the rotating pressing cylinder is connected to the T-shaped pressing block and drives the T-shaped pressing block to press the box body.

[0037] The reference platform is made by welding square tubes and steel plates and undergoes stress relief treatment, and is machined in one clamping.

[0038] The one X-direction centering and clamping mechanism, two Y-direction centering and clamping mechanisms, ten Z-direction rotating and clamping mechanisms and the incoming material detection switch are all connected through positioning pins, screws and the reference platform.

[0039] For the X-direction centering and clamping mechanism and the Y-direction centering and clamping mechanism, the centering power is transmitted through a pull rod; the pull rod is axially guided through a pull rod guiding bearing, and the pull rod is provided with a step, and the radial guiding and limiting are realized through the cooperation between the step and the pull rod radial guiding and limiting block.

[0040] During the process of completing the entire production and manufacturing process of the arc welding fixture for the vehicle aluminum alloy box body, each action is controlled in an electric control manner.

[0041] A three-in-one mechanical gripper for a vehicle aluminum alloy box body includes a gripper reference frame, a box body gripping unit, a fixture tooling gripping unit and a lower bottom plate gripping unit;

[0042] The reference frame includes two cross beams parallel to each other and a longitudinal beam perpendicular to the cross beams;

[0043] The box body gripping unit includes a rotating and clamping cylinder, a support block, an X-axis limiting block, a Y-axis limiting block. There are four groups of the box body gripping unit, which are symmetrically installed at both ends of the longitudinal beams on both sides of the three-in-one mechanical gripper reference frame. Among them, an adjustable tooling support block is provided under the rotating and clamping cylinder, and the X-axis limiting block and the Y-axis limiting block are arranged on the longitudinal beam of the reference frame and are perpendicular to each other; during the gripping process, the accuracy in the X direction is positioned by the X-axis limiting block, and the accuracy in the Y direction is guaranteed by the Y-axis limiting block; after gripping the aluminum alloy box body, the rotating and clamping cylinder presses the box body to ensure the firm clamping of the aluminum alloy box body;

[0044] The fixture tooling gripping unit is located inside the box body gripping unit and includes four clamping mechanisms, a stroke cylinder for driving the clamping mechanism to move, a stroke guiding slide rail and slider group, and two tightening cylinders; the front end of the clamping mechanism is provided with a gripper and a polyurethane pad for gripping, and is installed on the cross beam through the stroke cylinder and the stroke guiding slide rail and slider group. One tightening cylinder that can push along the Z-axis direction is provided between every two groups of stroke cylinders;

[0045] The lower bottom plate gripping unit is a vacuum adsorption mechanism and includes six adsorption panels located on the cross beam. The positions of the six adsorption panels are set according to the center of gravity position of the lower bottom plate.

[0046] The rotating and pressing cylinder, the X-axis limiting block and the Y-axis limiting block are connected to the reference frame through a support plate and a high-precision pin hole; the rotating and pressing cylinder is connected with a T-shaped pressing block.

[0047] The three-in-one mechanical gripper for the vehicle aluminum alloy box body can realize the gripping of the aluminum alloy box body, the fixture tooling and the lower bottom plate.

[0048] The three-in-one mechanical gripper for vehicle aluminum alloy box also includes a robot connected to the reference frame.

[0049] The gripper reference frame is made by welding square tubes and steel plates, stress-relieved, and then machined in one clamping.

[0050] In another preferred embodiment, the present invention also provides a glue coating and assembly integrated machine for the cooling bottom plate used in the glue coating unit:

[0051] It includes a glue coating splicing platform, a robot glue coating mechanism, and a compatible robot loading mechanism.

[0052] The glue coating splicing platform includes a main equipment frame, a bottom plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanism, a cold plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanism, and a bottom plate fixed glue coating mechanism. The bottom plate fixed glue coating mechanism is fixed on the main equipment frame, and the bottom plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanism and the cold plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanism are arranged on the main equipment frame and can move along the splicing direction of the cooling bottom plate of the battery box.

[0053] The robot glue coating mechanism includes a glue coating robot, a glue pump, and a glue gun.

[0054] The compatible robot loading mechanism includes a loading robot and a compatible loading tooling.

[0055] The glue coating splicing platform also includes a power transmission rack.

[0056] The glue coating robot and the loading robot are 6-axis robots.

[0057] The compatible loading tooling includes vacuum suction cups for grasping materials, and the vacuum suction cups are controlled by multiple paths of vacuum respectively.

[0058] There are 4 bottom plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanisms, 4 cold plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanisms, and 1 bottom plate fixed glue coating mechanism.

[0059] The structures of the bottom plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanism and the cold plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanism are: including a Y-direction positioning mechanism, an X-direction blocking mechanism, an X-direction rectifying mechanism, a Z-direction positioning, rotating and clamping mechanism, a tooling horizontal cushion block, a moving installation platform, and a gear transmission mechanism driven by a servo motor.

[0060] The X direction refers to the splicing direction of the cooling bottom plate of the battery box, the Y direction refers to the horizontal direction perpendicular to the X direction, and the Z direction is perpendicular to both the X direction and the Y direction.

[0061] Both the bottom plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanism and the cold plate moving and positioning glue coating mechanism are connected to the main equipment frame through slide rails and sliders, and the power is output by gears driven by a servo system.

[0062] The improvements of the present invention over the prior art are as follows:

[0063] 1. The operating structural adhesive curing fixture. The conveyor line body circulates 14 curing fixtures in the long term, eliminating the process of manual handling and greatly reducing personnel operation. The fixture has a simple structure and adopts a self-locking pressing device, which can firmly lock the coated frame and the lower bottom plate, ensuring product quality.

[0064] 2. The closed-loop design of the conveyor line body. The two-way transmission with lifting is adopted at the four corners, connecting the whole process together to achieve the purpose of continuous cyclic work of gluing and curing.

[0065] 3. The automatic gluing unit installed on the conveyor line body uses a servo metering cylinder system to discharge glue. The mixing ratio control accuracy of the two-component glue is precise, the glue application amount control accuracy reaches 5%, the glue strip is uniform and beautiful, and the glue application consistency is good.

[0066] 4. After the frame is glued, the lower bottom plate needs to be buckled on the frame. Since the lower bottom plate is relatively light, a lower bottom plate rack is set on the conveyor line to facilitate personnel to pick up materials.

[0067] 5. Manual operation is required for the conveyor line body. There are 2 lifting mechanisms on the line body that can lift the workpiece. After the workpiece is lifted, it can rotate freely, facilitating personnel operation.

[0068] The structural adhesive gluing and continuous curing production line of the present invention connects all processes such as gluing, upper and lower bottom plates, manual clamping, curing, and manual disassembly of the fixture in series, realizing continuous production of complex processes, improving production efficiency, reducing manual handling work, and greatly reducing production costs. The structural adhesive gluing and continuous curing production line adopts an automatic gluing robot. The servo metering system therein avoids the disadvantages of manual gluing with a glue gun, such as poor glue amount control, unsightly glue strips, poor product consistency, and easy occurrence of glue overflow. The circulating curing fixture can firmly clamp two bonded workpieces together while reducing manual handling work, improving the finished product rate. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0069] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an automatic welding and assembly production line for a vehicle aluminum alloy box body applying the curing device of the present invention.

[0070] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an arc welding fixture for a vehicle aluminum alloy box body.

[0071] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the Y-direction clamping mechanism of an arc welding fixture for a vehicle aluminum alloy box body.

[0072] Figure 4It is a structural schematic diagram of the Z - direction clamping mechanism of the arc - welding fixture for the vehicle - used aluminum alloy box body.

[0073] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the three - in - one mechanical gripper.

[0074] Figure 6 Figure a is a schematic diagram of the composition of the existing cooling bottom plate of the aluminum alloy battery box body.

[0075] Figure 6 Figure b is a schematic diagram of the connection card slot part of the battery box body cooling bottom plate.

[0076] Figure 7 It is an overall schematic diagram of the integrated machine for gluing and assembling the cooling bottom plate.

[0077] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the gluing and splicing platform of the integrated machine for gluing and assembling the cooling bottom plate. Among them, (a) is a three - dimensional view, and (b) is a front view.

[0078] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of the robot gluing mechanism of the integrated machine for gluing and assembling the cooling bottom plate.

[0079] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the compatible robot loading mechanism of the integrated machine for gluing and assembling the cooling bottom plate. Among them, (a) is a view from one angle, and (b) is a view from another angle.

[0080] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of the moving - positioning gluing mechanism of the bottom plate of the gluing and splicing platform. Among them, (a) is a three - dimensional view, and (b) is a front view.

[0081] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of the composition of the transmission mechanism of the moving - positioning gluing mechanism.

[0082] Figure 13 It is a plan view of the continuous curing device for gluing the aluminum alloy box body.

[0083] Figure 14 It is a side view of the continuous curing device for gluing the aluminum alloy box body.

[0084] Figure 15 It is a composition diagram of the two - component structural adhesive gluing and curing device of the present invention.

[0085] Figure 16 It is a process flow diagram of the two - component structural adhesive gluing and curing device of the present invention.

[0086] Figure 17 It is a composition diagram of the structural adhesive curing fixture of the present invention. Specific implementation mode

[0087] In order to make the technical means, creative features, achieved objectives and effects of the invention easy to understand, the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0088] During the production process of the automotive aluminum alloy box body production line, some box bodies require two-component glue. Therefore, the curing table can adopt a two-component structural glue coating and curing mechanism. The structure of the two-component structural glue coating and curing device of the present invention is as Figures 15 - 17 shown, including a conveying and curing line 521, a curing fixture 522, an automatic glue coating unit 523, and a lower bottom plate rack 524.

[0089] Specifically, two-component structural glue needs to be applied to the workpiece frame, and then the lower bottom plate is buckled on the frame. The two are bonded and cured through the structural glue. During the curing process, the workpieces need to not undergo relative displacement and the two should not undergo large deformation; the initial setting time is about 1 hour.

[0090] As described above, the conveying and curing line is a continuous closed-loop circulating conveying mechanism, and two-way transmission workstations with lifting are adopted at the four corners. A designed curing fixture includes a fixture frame body 541, a frame placing platform 543, and 8 self-locking manual pressing tools 542. The frame is conveyed into the frame placing platform. After the glue-coated frame is assembled with the lower bottom plate frame, it is clamped by the self-locking manual pressing tools 542. It can well complete the curing and clamping work of the workpieces.

[0091] The vacant curing fixture receives the frame incoming material at the incoming material station 501. The incoming material station 501 has a two-way transmission function. It passes through the first transmission station 502, the second transmission station 503 to the glue coating station 504. The glue coating station 504 automatically coats the structural glue by a manipulator. After coating, it reaches the first lifting station 505. The lifting station 505 has a workpiece lifting device. After the workpiece is lifted, it can be freely rotated manually and sent to the assembly station 506. The operator assembles the lower bottom plate with the glue-coated frame at the assembly station 506 and clamps it with the fixture. Then the workpiece enters the curing time and passes through the assembly station 506 in sequence, that is, the first curing station, the second curing station 507, the third curing station 508, the fourth curing station 509, the fifth curing station 510, the sixth curing station 511, the seventh curing station 512, the eighth curing station 513, the ninth curing station 514. Since the beat of a single component is 8 minutes and the curing time is 9 * 8 = 72 minutes, when the workpiece is transmitted to the second lifting station 515, the workpiece is lifted, and the operator loosens the clamping mechanism of the fixture. Finally, it reaches the incoming material station 501 through the third transmission station 516, and then the cured workpiece is taken away, leaving the remaining vacant curing fixture.

[0092] The incoming material station 501, the second transfer station 503, the fourth curing station 509, and the sixth curing station 511 on the conveyor line are two-way transfer stations with lifting functions. The first lifting station 505 and the second lifting station 515 have the function of lifting workpieces. Only one workpiece can be stored in the gluing station 504 and the first lifting station 505 at the same time. After the operation of the first lifting station 505 is completed, the next workpiece can enter the gluing station 504 from the second transfer station 503 for gluing work. There are a total of 14 curing jigs on the conveyor line, which circulate.

[0093] This design has a reasonable layout, convenient production, meets the production requirements of this process, has a high degree of automation, and has the characteristics of high consistency and qualification rate of the manufactured products, and high production efficiency. It can well complete the colloid curing process of the vehicle aluminum alloy box body.

[0094] The present invention also provides an automatic welding and assembly production line for vehicle aluminum alloy boxes applying the curing device of the present invention. The curing device mentioned above in the present invention can be applied to its curing table unit. The one end and both ends mentioned below refer to the direction of raw material transportation in the parallel production line, that is, the end points along the longer direction in the production line, or the transverse direction. The one side, both sides, and left and right sides refer to the direction perpendicular to the raw material transportation direction in the production line, that is, along the narrower direction in the production line, or the longitudinal direction.

[0095] The automatic welding and assembly production line and production process for the vehicle aluminum alloy box body. The structure of the production line is as Figure 1 shown, and the main components include an incoming material vehicle 1, an automatic coding unit 2, a friction stir welding unit 3, a coding NG vehicle 4, a deburring unit 6, a manipulator and ground rail handling unit 5, a full-automatic arc welding unit 8, a full-automatic machining unit 9, a chip removal unit 10, a manual repair welding unit 12, a manual cleaning unit 13, a code scanning and input unit 14, a gluing unit 15, a curing table 16, a transfer table 11, a transfer rack 7, an automatic vision inspection device 18, an airtight inspection device 17, an automatic packaging area 21, a waste vehicle 20, a wooden spacer vehicle 19 and other units. And two ground rail handling robots are connected in series to complete the full automation of the production and manufacture of the aluminum alloy box body from incoming materials, production to inspection, and then to cleaning and packaging.

[0096] The manipulator and ground rail handling unit 5 realizes the transportation of raw materials on the production line. The manipulator and ground rail handling unit 5 is arranged transversely and consists of two sections, which are connected by a transfer rack 11 in the middle. The incoming material vehicle 1 is located on one side of the manipulator and ground rail handling unit 5 and can enter the feeding area of the production line. The feeding area has a mechanism for positioning and clamping the incoming material vehicle 1. The automatic coding unit 2 and the friction stir welding unit 3 are arranged in sequence at the right end of the incoming material vehicle. The coding NG vehicle 4 is located at one end of the manipulator and ground rail handling unit 5, close to the automatic coding unit 2 and the friction stir welding unit 3;

[0097] The deburring unit 6 is located on the other side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5, and is arranged opposite to the incoming material cart 1.

[0098] The transfer rack 7 is located on the other side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5, and is arranged adjacent to the deburring unit 6.

[0099] The full-automatic arc welding unit 8 is located on one side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5, and is arranged adjacent to the incoming material cart 1.

[0100] The full-automatic machining unit 9 and the chip removal unit 10 are respectively located on both sides of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5, and are respectively arranged adjacent to the full-automatic arc welding unit 8 and the transfer rack 7.

[0101] The manual repair welding unit 12, the manual cleaning unit 13, the barcode scanning and input unit 14 and the wooden spacer cart 19 are successively located on one side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5.

[0102] The glue application unit 15, the curing table 16, the airtight detection equipment 17, and the automatic vision detection equipment 18 are successively located on the other side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5.

[0103] The waste product cart 20 is located on one side of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5, and is arranged opposite to the automatic vision detection equipment 18.

[0104] The automatic packaging area 21 is located at the other end of the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5.

[0105] There are 2 transfer racks 7 and a transfer table 11 in the production line, which play a buffering role in the production process to ensure the continuity of production.

[0106] The glue application unit 15 uses a robot to drive a glue gun, and the glue gun is equipped with a glue pump to complete the sealing glue application process for the product. At the same time, a curing table is set up to ensure that the curing of the glue does not affect the production rhythm.

[0107] The automatic packaging area 21 and the wooden spacer cart 21 realize the automatic packaging process of product production.

[0108] The full-automatic arc welding unit 8 uses a robot to drive a welding gun, and is equipped with a 2-axis turntable, an automatic wire feeder and a workpiece positioning fixture to realize the full automation of the arc welding process.

[0109] Specifically, the working steps are as follows:

[0110] The operator first pushes the incoming material cart 1 filled with product raw materials to the incoming material area. After the incoming material area detects the incoming material, the incoming material cart is positioned and clamped, and the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5 send the original to the automatic coding unit 2. After coding, it will automatically detect whether the coding is successful. If successful, proceed to the next process. If not, send it to the coding NG cart 4, and repeat this step after manual repair.

[0111] After the automatic coding is successful, the manipulator and the ground rail handling unit 5 transport the workpiece to the friction stir welding unit 3 to complete the friction stir welding of the workpiece. Since there will be burrs at the welding joint after friction welding, the manipulator then transports the workpiece to the deburring unit 6 to remove the burrs on the workpiece; afterwards, the mechanical arm transports the workpiece to the full-automatic arc welding unit 8, and after positioning and fixing the workpiece with a fixture, CMT welding of the workpiece is carried out; after the welding is completed, it is sent to the full-automatic machining unit 9 for precise machining of the workpiece; after the machining is completed, the chip removal unit 10 cleans the waste chips of the workpiece;

[0112] After the waste chips of the workpiece are cleaned, the manipulator transports the workpiece to the manual repair welding unit 12 for manual self-inspection of the welding of the workpiece, and manual repair welding is carried out on the parts that need to be repaired; after the repair welding, the workpiece is sent to the glue application unit 15 for applying the weld sealant. Since the sealant needs time to cure, in order to achieve continuous production, the present invention provides a curing table 16.

[0113] After the glue is cured, the workpiece is sent to the manual cleaning unit 13 for cleaning the supplementary glue and appearance;

[0114] After the above processes are completed, the robot performs airtight detection on the workpiece by the airtight detection device 17 and visual detection on whether the machined hole positions and dental braces are qualified by the automatic vision detection device 18; if unqualified, it is sent to the waste cart 20, and if qualified, it is sent to the automatic packaging area 21 for product packaging.

[0115] In the above production line, 2 transfer racks 7 and one transfer table 11 are distributed, which play a buffering role in the production process to ensure the continuity of production.

[0116] In addition, in the above production line, the full-automatic arc welding unit 8 connects the frame and the bottom plate of the vehicle aluminum alloy box by arc welding. When welding the above components, due to the large number of welding points of the product, the traditional manual welding has low production efficiency, the traditional fixture has low repeated positioning accuracy, the clamping mechanism is complex, and it does not meet the conditions for cooperating with the automatic welding process. And because the welding deformation of aluminum alloy is large, the clamping force of the traditional fixture is insufficient, the workpiece is unevenly stressed, and it cannot meet the requirements of product dimensional tolerance and geometric tolerance. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle aluminum alloy box arc welding fixture is designed. After the workpiece is fixed with the designed fixture, welding is carried out. The structure of the fixture is as follows Figures 2 - 4As shown in the figure, the main components include a reference platform 101. Small contact surface pads 103 are distributed under each Z-direction rotary clamping mechanism. There is 1 X-direction centering clamping mechanism 105, 2 Y-direction centering clamping mechanisms 104, and 10 Z-direction rotary clamping mechanisms 102 evenly distributed around the product. It also consists of a incoming material detection switch 106. After the reference platform is fabricated by welding square tubes and steel plates and stress-relieved, it is machined in one clamping to ensure that the platform has a high flatness and the platform pin holes have a high positioning accuracy. The rest of the mechanisms are all connected to the reference platform through positioning pins, screws. As Figure 3 shown, the basic principles of the X- and Y-direction centering clamping mechanisms are the same, and they are all composed of finger cylinders, tie rods, linear bearings, centering blocks, etc.

[0117] Specifically, the idea of the above design is that for this aluminum alloy box product, the surrounding frames and bottom plates need to be connected by arc welding, and the airtightness needs to be strictly controlled without any air leakage. On the other hand, due to the large number of welding points and high demand for the product, automated welding is required to improve production efficiency and product consistency. Since there will be certain errors in the dimensions of the incoming materials, the traditional method of unilateral alignment in the X- and Y-directions has poor positioning accuracy. Therefore, the centering positioning as Figure 3 shown is adopted to attenuate the dimensional errors of the incoming materials.

[0118] Because the product will deform in the free state, and during the welding process, due to its special material, the deformation amount is difficult to control. External downward pressure is required to firmly press it to control the deformation of the product. As Figure 4 shown, the Z-direction rotary pressing mechanism includes a rotary pressing cylinder 121, a cylinder mounting plate 122, and a T-shaped pressing block 123, which can provide a large downward pressing force. As Figure 2 shown, the 10 Figure 5 shown mechanisms evenly distributed can well complete the downward pressing of the product around, firmly hold the workpiece, and have a good effect on preventing the deformation generated during the welding of the product.

[0119] As Figure 3 shown, the Y-direction centering positioning includes a centering clamping block 141, a centering finger cylinder 142, a tie rod guide bearing 143, and a tie rod radial guide limit block 144. The centering finger cylinder 142 provides the centering power, and the tie rod guide bearing 143 and the tie rod radial guide limit block 144 ensure the consistency of the movement direction of the centering clamping block 141 during the clamping process. During the centering positioning of the workpiece, the two centering clamping blocks 141 move and clamp simultaneously.

[0120] During use, a robot or worker places the workpiece into Figure 2For the shown fixture, after the detection switch 106 detects the incoming material, the centering mechanisms in the X and Y directions clamp simultaneously, and then 10 pressing mechanisms in the Z direction press down simultaneously to firmly fix the workpiece. Since the pressing mechanisms have the advantages of large pressing force, small volume, and simple structure, the welding points of the workpiece can be completely exposed, and during welding, a robot can be used to drive the welding torch for automatic welding, improving the consistency and production efficiency of arc welding of the workpiece. After the arc welding is completed and the workpiece is cooled, the 10 pressing mechanisms in the Z direction are automatically opened simultaneously, and then the centering and positioning in the X and Y directions are opened simultaneously, and then the workpiece is removed by the robot or manually.

[0121] The designed arc welding fixture for vehicle aluminum alloy boxes is simple, reasonable in structure, and has a high degree of automation, which can be reasonably compatible with both manual and robotic automatic loading and unloading of materials. Moreover, it has the characteristics of high consistency and qualification rate of the manufactured products and high production efficiency, and can well complete the automated production of vehicle aluminum alloy boxes.

[0122] In addition, in the production line disclosed in the present invention, in the manipulator and ground rail handling unit, it is necessary to grasp the aluminum frame and lower bottom plate of the aluminum alloy box, as well as various components. The traditional production process requires the manipulator to grasp the fixture tooling, aluminum alloy box, and upper cover plate of the box step by step. The traditional robot gripper can only operate with a single function and can only grasp a single workpiece. One robot arm is equipped with one type of gripper. The traditional robot gripper requires more robots, wastes resources, and delays the entire production process at the same time.

[0123] Therefore, in view of the requirements and processing methods of the entire production line, in the manipulator and ground rail handling unit of the present invention, and in other required occasions, a three-in-one robot gripper for the designed box, fixture tooling, and lower bottom plate can be adopted. The basic structure is as Figure 5 shown, including a reference frame 202, a box grasping unit, a fixture tooling grasping unit, and a lower bottom plate grasping unit; the reference frame includes two cross beams parallel to each other and a longitudinal beam perpendicular to the cross beams,

[0124] Among them, the main components of the box grasping unit include a mechanism composed of four groups of rotary clamping cylinders 201, support blocks 209, X-axis limit blocks 211, and Y-axis limit blocks 210; among them, these four groups of mechanisms are respectively installed at both ends of the longitudinal beams on both sides of the reference frame of the three-in-one mechanical gripper and are symmetrically distributed in both the X direction and the Y-axis direction. A support block 209 is provided on the rotary clamping cylinder, and the X-axis limit block 211 and the Y-axis limit block 210 are arranged on the longitudinal beam of the three-in-one mechanical gripper and are perpendicular to each other. During the handling process, the positioning accuracy of the box should be strictly controlled. The X-axis limit block 211 is relied on to position the accuracy in the X direction, and the Y-axis limit block 210 ensures the accuracy in the Y direction; the rotary clamping cylinder 1 presses the aluminum alloy box after grasping it to ensure that the aluminum alloy box is firmly clamped on the gripper.

[0125] The clamping tooling grasping unit is located inside the box body grasping unit, including four sets of clamping mechanisms 203, a stroke cylinder 204 for driving the clamping mechanism to move, a stroke guiding slide rail slider 208 structure, and two clamping cylinders 205; the front end of the clamping mechanism includes an L-shaped structure gripper and a polyurethane pad 207 for grasping, and is installed on the cross beam through the stroke cylinder 204 and the stroke guiding slide rail slider group 208. One clamping cylinder is provided between every two sets of stroke cylinders 204. During the grasping process of the clamping tooling, the gripper of the clamping mechanism 203 is opened by the stroke cylinder 204. The displacement accuracy of the clamping mechanism 203 is ensured by the stroke slide rail slider group 208. The polyurethane pad 207 buffers the clamping force to avoid deformation and wear of the workpiece. After the clamping tooling frame is installed, the clamping cylinder 205 will push and press the frame along the Z-axis direction to firmly position the tooling frame and restrict the freedom degree in the Z-axis direction, achieving stable and accurate clamping.

[0126] The clamping tooling grasping unit is located on the cross beam and includes a vacuum adsorption mechanism 206 for grasping the lower bottom plate. It relies on the vacuum adsorption device 205 to suck the lower bottom plate. According to the center of gravity position of the lower bottom plate, 6 adsorption panels are used to adsorb the lower bottom plate, which also has the function of positioning and fixing. The lower bottom plate is firmly fixed on the adsorption device, achieving the purpose of adsorption and handling.

[0127] The above design has strong adaptability and can be reasonably compatible whether it is for the robot to automatically pick and place the aluminum alloy box body, the lower bottom plate, or to carry the clamping tooling. Moreover, it has the characteristics of high consistency and qualified rate of the manufactured products, high production efficiency, space saving, and reduction of the robot input cost, and can well complete the automated production of the vehicle aluminum alloy box body.

[0128] In addition, since a large amount of heat is dissipated during the use of the battery, the cooling water system of the box body is essential and is usually also called the cooling bottom plate in this field. For example, Figure 6 as shown in a battery box body cooling bottom plate in an existing technology, it is composed of 9 small plates, including 5 adjacent A-type bottom plates and 4 B-type cold plates in sequence. Each small plate is connected by the gluing method as shown in Figure 6 b. For each production of a cooling bottom plate, 8 parts need to be coated with glue. After each coating of glue, splicing is carried out, and the splicing needs to be completed before the glue starts to set. After splicing, relative displacement of the two small plates at the glue-coated parts is not allowed before the glue sets. This process is complex and cumbersome, and it is easy to have deviations in splicing and gluing. Therefore, it is very necessary to achieve high-efficiency automated production for the process.

[0129] In a preferred specific implementation manner, the gluing unit of the present invention addresses the above problems. Through a fully automatic feeding, gluing, and splicing unit design, it realizes the integration of many processes such as incoming material positioning, gluing, and translational splicing of the bottom plate, with a high degree of automation and high production efficiency, greatly reducing the labor cost. The basic structure of the gluing unit is described as follows: AsFigures 7 - 12 As shown in the figure, the main components of the gluing unit include a gluing splicing platform 301, a robotic gluing mechanism 302, and a compatible robotic loading mechanism 303, etc., which are divided into three major parts.

[0130] Specifically, the gluing splicing platform includes a main equipment frame 344. There are 4 bottom plate moving and positioning gluing mechanisms 341, 4 cold plate moving and positioning gluing mechanisms 342, 1 bottom plate fixed gluing mechanism 343, and a power transmission rack 345 on the main equipment frame. Among them, 1 bottom plate fixed gluing mechanism 343 is fixed on the main equipment frame 344 by a fixed L-shaped bracket.

[0131] Among the 4 bottom plate moving and positioning gluing mechanisms 341 and 4 cold plate moving and positioning gluing mechanisms 342, a total of 8 moving and positioning gluing mechanisms, each mechanism is composed of a Y-direction positioning mechanism 371, an X-direction blocking mechanism 373, an X-direction rectifying mechanism 375, a Z-direction positioning and rotating clamping mechanism 377, a tooling horizontal pad 374, a moving installation platform 372, and a gear transmission mechanism 376 driven by a servo motor. The 8 moving and positioning gluing mechanisms are all connected to the main equipment frame 344 through slide rails and sliders, and the power is output by a gear driven by a servo system. During the working process, the workpieces driven by the 8 moving installation platforms move closer to the fixed platform one by one along the X direction after gluing.

[0132] The specific transmission method is as Figure 12 , all the moving and positioning gluing mechanism platforms 391 are connected to the slide rails fixed on the gluing splicing platform through high-precision guiding sliders 393 to realize the guiding of the workpiece translation in the X direction. The transmission system is driven by a servo motor to drive a high-precision gear rack 392 to complete the translation of each bottom plate in the X direction. The cold plate moving and positioning gluing mechanism 342 and the bottom plate fixed gluing mechanism 343 adopt the same mechanism method for the precise positioning of the product. The only difference is that the bottom plate fixed gluing mechanism does not require the movement of the workpiece, so it is directly installed on the frame of the gluing splicing platform, reducing the servo transmission mechanism.

[0133] The robotic gluing mechanism is composed of a 6-axis robot 351, a glue gun 352, and a glue pump 503. After all the incoming material loading processes are completed by the robotic loading mechanism, all the bottom plates on the gluing splicing platform are in an open state. The 6-axis robot of the gluing mechanism 2 drives the glue gun to complete the gluing of the fixed bottom plate and the cold plate closest to the fixed bottom plate. Then, these two plates are spliced under the drive of the moving installation platform, and neither of the two plates will move again before all the processes are completed. At the same time, the gluing robot completes the gluing between the second cold plate and the third bottom plate, and then the third bottom plate moves closer to the previous two plates for splicing. After completion, the first three plates will not move again before all the processes are completed, and the subsequent operations are carried out in the same way.

[0134] The compatible robot loading mechanism is composed of a 6-axis robot 361 and a compatible loading tooling 362. The compatible loading tooling is provided with a suction cup frame 364 and vacuum suction cups 363. Since a complete cooling bottom plate needs to be composed of 9 plates, manual loading is very cumbersome, and the shapes of each plate are not the same. Therefore, a compatible gripper is designed for the compatible loading tooling. The gripper grabs the bottom plate through vacuum suction cups and is controlled by two or more independent vacuum systems. When the bottom plate loading is completed, the first set of vacuum system is turned on and the second set is turned off; when the cooling plate loading is completed, the second set of vacuum system is turned on and the first set is turned off; in this way, a set of grippers can be used to grab bottom plates of multiple shapes simultaneously.

[0135] During the use process, all the loading work of the bottom plates and cold plates is completed by the compatible robot loading mechanism. At this time, all the moving positioning and gluing mechanisms of the gluing and splicing platform are in the open position. After each loading is completed, each moving positioning and gluing mechanism positions and clamps the workpiece in the X, Y, and Z directions. After all the incoming materials are positioned, the work described for the robot gluing mechanism is started. After the above processes are completed, the initial setting of the glue is carried out. When the initial setting time arrives, the positioning and clamping mechanisms in the X, Y, and Z directions of all the platforms open, and a complete cooling plate gluing and splicing process is completed.

[0136] In the production line of the present invention, in order to ensure that the curing of the glue does not affect the production rhythm, a curing table 16 is provided. Since the existing boxes, whether bonding structural glue or sealant, require a certain curing time, and different performance glues require different curing times, and some glues even require an initial setting time of 90 minutes. Therefore, in a preferred specific embodiment, the curing table can also adopt a continuous gluing and curing structure device, and the main components are as Figures 13 - 14 shown, including a driving end 404, a conveyor line body 402, a driven end 401, a baking shed 403, a loading manipulator 406, and an unloading manipulator 405.

[0137] The conveyor line body 402 is used to convey the boxes during curing. The driven end 401 and the driving end 404 are respectively located at both ends of the conveyor line body 402. The loading manipulator 406 is located on one side of the driven end 401, and the unloading manipulator 405 is located on one side of the driving end 44. A baking shed 403 is provided on the conveyor line body 402. The baking shed includes a connecting component 421 with the conveyor line body 402 and a shed body 422. There is a baking space 423 for the cured boxes to pass through between the shed body and the conveyor line body 402.

[0138] During the curing process, the loading manipulator 406 picks up and places the box body to be cured with glue on the curing workpiece station on one side of the driven end 401 of the conveyor line body 402. Then, the driving motor at the active end 404 drives the shaft at the active end 404 to rotate, driving the shaft at the driven end 401, thereby driving the chain plate to move from the driven end 401 to the active end 404, enabling the workpiece to enter the next station and enter the baking shed 403 for curing. Subsequently, when the curing workpiece station becomes empty, the loading manipulator 406 loads another box body to be cured, and so on. After the workpiece reaches the curing completion area, the unloading manipulator 405 removes the workpiece.

[0139] Currently, the production cycle of the box body in the aluminum alloy production line is 6 - 8 minutes. Calculated at six minutes, one box body to be cured is placed every 6 minutes. As Figure 1 , as shown, the line body can accommodate 13 components at the same time. That is, the time for each cured box body on the line body is 12 * 6 = 72 minutes. During continuous production, this line body can not only ensure 72 minutes of curing time but also meet the production cycle of 6 minutes. It realizes the continuous automated production of box body glue curing.

[0140] This design can meet all the current glue coating and curing processes for aluminum alloy boxes. During use, the baking temperature or whether to enable the baking function can be freely set according to the curing processes of different glues; according to the initial setting time of different glues, the glue coating process, and the box body structure, the length of the line body can be freely designed. For glues with too long initial setting time, the workpieces can be stacked in piles to increase the workpiece capacity of the line body. Just appropriately raise the baking shed body 422 to achieve the effect of not increasing the production cycle but lengthening the curing time.

[0141] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not impose any limitations on the present invention. Any simple modifications, changes, and equivalent structural changes made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention still fall within the protection scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A two-component structural adhesive coating and curing device for a battery box body, characterized in that, it includes a conveying and curing line, a curing fixture, an automatic glue coating unit, and a lower bottom plate rack; The two-component structural adhesive is applied to the frame, and then the lower bottom plate is buckled on the frame. The two are bonded and cured through the structural adhesive. During the curing process, the workpiece does not undergo relative displacement, and the initial setting time is 1 hour; The conveying and curing line is a continuous closed-loop circulating conveying mechanism, and two-way transmission stations with lifting are adopted at the four corners, The conveying and curing line is successively provided with a feeding station, a transmission station, a glue coating station, a first lifting station, an assembly station, multiple curing stations, and a second lifting station; The automatic glue coating unit is located at the glue coating station, and the lower bottom plate rack is located at the assembly station; The curing fixture includes a frame placement platform, a fixture frame body, and a self-locking manual pressing mechanism. The fixture frame body is located on the frame placement platform, and the self-locking manual pressing mechanisms are distributed on the fixture frame body; The frame is conveyed into the frame placement platform. After the glue-coated frame is assembled with the lower bottom plate, it is clamped by the self-locking manual pressing mechanism; The feeding station, the transmission station, and the curing station are two-way transmission stations with lifting, and the first lifting station and the second lifting station have the function of lifting the workpiece; The transmission station includes a first transmission station and a second transmission station; There are a total of 9 curing stations; The empty curing fixture receives the frame at the feeding station. The feeding station has a two-way transmission function. It passes through the first transmission station and the second transmission station to the glue coating station. The glue coating station automatically applies the structural adhesive by a manipulator. After coating, it goes to the first lifting station. The lifting station has a workpiece lifting device. After the workpiece is lifted, it can be freely rotated manually and sent to the assembly station. The operator assembles the lower bottom plate with the glue-coated frame at the assembly station and clamps it with the fixture; then the workpiece enters the curing time and successively passes through the assembly station, the first curing station, the second curing station, the third curing station, the fourth curing station, the fifth curing station, the sixth curing station, the seventh curing station, the eighth curing station, and the ninth curing station. When the workpiece is transmitted to the second lifting station, the workpiece is lifted, and the operator loosens the pressing mechanism of the fixture. Finally, it reaches the feeding station through the third transmission station, and then takes away the cured workpiece, leaving the remaining empty curing fixture; The feeding station, the second transmission station, the fourth curing station, and the sixth curing station on the conveying line are two-way transmission stations with lifting, and the first lifting station and the second lifting station have the function of lifting the workpiece; Only one workpiece exists at the glue coating station and the first lifting station at the same time. After the operation of the first lifting station is completed, the next workpiece can enter the glue coating station from the second transmission station for glue coating work; There are a total of 14 curing fixtures on the conveying line, which circulate.

Images