A multi-functional tooling device for robotic welding of steel beams

Abstract

This invention belongs to the field of welding processing technology, specifically disclosing a multi-functional tooling equipment for robotic welding of steel crossbeams. The equipment includes a frame, a translation slide, a lifting mechanism, a web positioning fixture, an upper wing plate positioning fixture, and a lower wing plate positioning fixture. The translation slide is slidably connected to the frame. The upper and lower wing plate positioning fixtures are both mounted on the translation slide and can move vertically. The web positioning fixture is located above the frame, and the lifting mechanism is located below the frame, with the web positioning fixture and the lifting mechanism facing each other. Combining this equipment with a loading / unloading robot and a welding robot to form a robotic welding workstation enables large-scale automated and unmanned production of steel crossbeams, achieving high production efficiency and broad application prospects.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of welding processing technology, specifically to unmanned flexible production technology in the field of intelligent manufacturing of welding processing, and in particular to a multi-functional tooling equipment for robotic welding of steel beams. Background Technology

[0002] Steel crossbeams for railway bridges mainly consist of five parts: lower flange, web, upper flange, cylindrical head studs, and railing post foundations. These steel crossbeams are primarily used on simply supported T-shaped railway bridges, installed on both sides of the bridge at 2m intervals, meaning approximately 1000 crossbeams are required per kilometer of railway. Steel crossbeams are characterized by standardized specifications and large demand, making them suitable for automated mechanized production. Based on production experience, the welding connection of the lower flange, web, and upper flange is the main construction process in steel crossbeam production. Currently, manual welding is predominantly used, which has disadvantages such as high labor intensity, limitations in worker skill levels, inconsistent weld quality, and harsh working conditions. With the scarcity of skilled workers and rising wages in China, manual welding is facing increasing restrictions.

[0003] With the development of intelligent manufacturing technology, it has become possible to reconstruct and upgrade welding production lines. Currently, automated welding workstations using robotic welding are widely used, such as the "Robotic Welding Workstation" disclosed in Chinese Invention Patent No. CN106425223A. This patent involves a relatively general tooling device with rotation, lifting, and movement functions. Although this device is highly flexible and can accommodate welding operations on different workpieces, it still requires targeted development and research for specific welding objects, especially for mass-produced steel beams for railway bridges.

[0004] Utility model patents CN209035880U ("A Positioning, Clamping, and Tilting Device for Railway T-Beam Steel Crossbeams") and CN209206762U ("A Welding Mechanism for Steel Crossbeams") both disclose a clamping fixture with a tilting function, enabling a single robot to weld steel crossbeams for railway bridges. This solves the problems of high labor intensity, unstable weld quality, and low efficiency in manual welding operations. However, these devices still rely on manual loading and unloading, and require manual installation and positioning of the workpieces to be welded, resulting in low automation and production efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art described above, the purpose of this invention is to provide a multi-functional tooling equipment for robotic welding of steel beams, which solves the problems of high labor intensity, unstable weld quality, low automation and low production efficiency of welding equipment in manual welding operations, and realizes the goal of large-scale and unmanned production of steel beams for railway bridges.

[0006] To achieve the above and other related objectives, the present invention provides a multifunctional tooling device for robotic welding of steel beams, including a frame, a translation slide, a lifting mechanism, a web positioning fixture, an upper wing plate positioning fixture, and a lower wing plate positioning fixture. The translation slide is slidably connected to the frame, and the upper and lower wing plate positioning fixtures are both mounted on the translation slide and are vertically movable. The web positioning fixture is located above the frame and has vertical grooves for accommodating and positioning the web workpiece. The lifting mechanism is located below the frame, and the web positioning fixture and the lifting mechanism are positioned opposite each other.

[0007] Furthermore, the frame is provided with a horizontal guide rail, and the horizontal slide is slidably connected to the horizontal guide rail.

[0008] Furthermore, the translation slide is provided with two vertical guide rails, and the upper wing plate positioning fixture and the lower wing plate positioning fixture are slidably connected in the vertical guide rails.

[0009] Furthermore, an upper crossbeam is provided above the frame, the web positioning fixture is installed on the upper crossbeam, a lower crossbeam is provided below the frame, and the lifting mechanism is installed on the lower crossbeam.

[0010] Furthermore, columns are provided on both sides of the frame, and the upper and lower crossbeams are aligned and connected to the two columns to form a U-shaped frame. Beneficial effect: The alignment of the upper and lower crossbeams and their connection to the columns on both sides to form a U-shaped frame helps to withstand the reaction force of clamping the web workpiece, ensuring the stability of the structure.

[0011] Furthermore, the translation slide has three stopping positions: left, center, and right. When the translation slide is in the center position, the upper wing plate positioning fixture is located directly below the upper crossbeam; when the translation slide is in the right position, the lower wing plate positioning fixture is located directly below the upper crossbeam; when the translation slide is in the left position, the lower wing plate positioning fixture and the upper wing plate positioning fixture are exposed above each other, allowing for loading operations on the lower wing plate positioning fixture and the upper wing plate positioning fixture.

[0012] Furthermore, both the upper wing plate positioning fixture and the lower wing plate positioning fixture are equipped with vacuum chucks. Beneficial effects: Vacuum chucks can firmly hold the workpiece onto the positioning fixture, further ensuring the workpiece is clamped. At the same time, compared to electromagnetic chucks, mechanical grippers, etc., vacuum chucks can prevent the steel beam from being magnetized or its surface from being scratched.

[0013] Furthermore, a vacuum chuck is installed in the vertical groove. Beneficial effects: The vacuum chuck can firmly hold the web workpiece onto the positioning fixture, further ensuring the workpiece is clamped. At the same time, compared to electromagnetic chucks, mechanical grippers, etc., the vacuum chuck can prevent the steel beam from being magnetized or its surface from being scratched.

[0014] As described above, the multi-functional tooling equipment for robotic welding of steel beams of the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] When this equipment is working, it can use the upper wing plate positioning fixture, lower wing plate positioning fixture, and web plate positioning fixture of the loading and unloading robot for loading. After loading the web plate positioning fixture, the translation slide moves horizontally on the frame to move the upper wing plate positioning fixture or the lower wing plate positioning fixture above the lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism lifts the fixture, so that it can clamp and position the workpiece together with the web plate positioning fixture, making it convenient for the welding robot to weld from both sides of the web plate at the same time.

[0016] The multi-functional tooling equipment for welding steel beams of this invention can be applied to a robotic welding workstation. It can work with loading and unloading robots and welding robots to achieve fully unmanned welding operations with automatic loading and unloading and automatic welding. Only a small number of management personnel are needed to monitor the production process in the central control center. This improves the automation level and production efficiency of the steel beam welding production process, eliminates many uncertainties of manual welding, and ensures product quality. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the multi-functional tooling equipment for robotic welding of steel beams of the present invention applied to a robotic welding workstation.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic elevation view of the multi-functional tooling equipment for robotic welding of steel beams according to the present invention.

[0019] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the multi-functional tooling equipment for robotic welding of steel beams according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the content disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and various details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0021] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in this embodiment are only schematic representations of the basic concept of the present invention. Therefore, the drawings only show components relevant to the present invention and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape, and size of components in implementation. In actual implementation, the form, quantity, and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the component layout may be more complex. The structures, proportions, sizes, etc., depicted in the accompanying drawings are only for illustrative purposes to aid those skilled in the art and are not intended to limit the implementation conditions of the present invention. Therefore, they have no substantial technical significance. Any modifications to the structure, changes in proportions, or adjustments to size, without affecting the effects and objectives of the present invention, should still fall within the scope of the technical content disclosed in the present invention. Furthermore, the terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "middle," and "one" used in this specification are only for clarity of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Changes or adjustments to their relative relationships, without substantially altering the technical content, should also be considered within the scope of the present invention.

[0022] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0023] Frame 1, translation slide 2, lifting mechanism 3, web plate positioning fixture 4, upper wing plate positioning fixture 5, lower wing plate positioning fixture 6, upper crossbeam 7, lower crossbeam 8, column 9, web plate 10, upper wing plate 11, lower wing plate 12, loading and unloading robot 13, welding robot 14.

[0024] The specific implementation process is as follows:

[0025] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 As shown, the present invention provides a multifunctional welding fixture for robotic welding of steel beams, including a frame 1, a translation slide 2, a lifting mechanism 3, a web positioning fixture 4, an upper wing plate positioning fixture 5, and a lower wing plate positioning fixture 6. The translation slide 2 is slidably connected to the frame 1, and the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 and the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 are both mounted on the translation slide 2 and can be lifted and moved. Specifically, the frame 1 is provided with a horizontal guide rail, the horizontal slide is slidably connected to the horizontal guide rail, and the frame 1 is also provided with a horizontal drive device for driving the translation slide 2 to move along the horizontal guide rail.

[0026] An upper crossbeam 7 is provided above the frame 1, and a lower crossbeam 8 is provided below the frame 1. The web plate positioning fixture 4 is installed on the upper crossbeam 7, and the lifting mechanism 3 is installed on the lower crossbeam 8. Specifically, a column 9 is provided on both sides of the frame 1. The upper crossbeam 7 and the lower crossbeam 8 are directly opposite each other and are connected to the two columns 9 to form a U-shaped frame. This is beneficial for bearing the reaction force of clamping the workpiece of the web plate 10 and ensuring the stability of the structure.

[0027] When the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 or the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 moves above the lifting mechanism 3 along with the translation slide 2, it can be lifted by the lifting mechanism 3, thereby clamping the workpiece together with the web plate positioning fixture 4. When the lifting mechanism 3 descends, the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 or the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 descends along with it under the combined action of gravity and the return spring force.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, the multifunctional tooling equipment of the present invention is applied to a robotic welding workstation. One loading and unloading robot 13 is installed on one side of the frame 1, and two welding robots 14 are installed on the other side. The two welding robots 14 are located on both sides of the column 9.

[0029] The translation slide 2 of this equipment can be accurately positioned in three positions: left, center, and right. When the translation slide 2 is in the left position, the loading and unloading robot 13 can perform loading operations on the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 and the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5; when the translation slide 2 is in the center position, the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 is located directly below the upper crossbeam 7 of the frame 1; when the translation slide 2 is in the right position, the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 is located directly below the upper crossbeam 7; the lifting mechanism 3 is located below the translation slide 2 and can lift the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 and the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 respectively.

[0030] Furthermore, in addition to clamping and positioning the workpiece, this equipment also employs vacuum chucks. Vacuum chucks are installed on the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 and the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6, which can firmly adhere the wing plate workpiece to the positioning fixture. The web plate positioning fixture 4 has vertical grooves that can accommodate and position the web plate 10 workpiece. The vertical grooves are set along the axial direction of the web plate positioning fixture 4 (i.e., the length direction of the upper crossbeam 7). Vacuum chucks are installed on the sides of the vertical grooves, which can firmly adhere the web plate 10 workpiece to the positioning fixture. During welding, the web plate 10 workpiece is inserted vertically into the vertical groove of the web plate positioning fixture 4, thus solving the positioning problem of the web plate 10. At the same time, there is no need for clamping fixtures (i.e., web plate positioning fixture 4) to flip the workpiece. The workpiece can be flipped by a loading and unloading robot. Other clamping fixtures (i.e., upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 and lower wing plate positioning fixture 6) need to be moved as needed to make the web plate 10, upper wing plate 11, and lower wing plate 12 cooperate to clamp together, and then welding can be performed, making the operation simpler.

[0031] This multi-functional tooling equipment operates in the robotic welding workstation according to the following workflow:

[0032] 1) The conveyor belt delivers the blanks of the upper flange 11, lower flange 12 and web plate 10 of the steel crossbeam to the designated position in the welding area in sequence;

[0033] 2) Position the translation slide 2 to the left;

[0034] 3) The loading and unloading robot 13 takes the upper wing plate 11 from the conveyor belt and places it on the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 on the translation slide table 2;

[0035] 4) The loading and unloading robot 13 takes the lower wing plate 12 from the conveyor belt and places it on the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 on the translation slide table 2;

[0036] 5) The loading and unloading robot 13 takes the web plate 10 from the conveyor belt and places it on the positioning beam fixture of the web plate 10;

[0037] 6) Position the translation slide 2 in the center position;

[0038] 7) The lifting mechanism 3 rises and lifts the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 on the translation slide 2, so that the upper wing plate 11 is clamped with the web plate 10.

[0039] 8) After the upper wing plate 11 and the web plate 10 are clamped together, the loading and unloading robot 13 releases the web plate 10 to make room for the welding robot 14.

[0040] 9) Two sets of welding robots 14 move along the specified trajectory and weld simultaneously from both sides of the web plate 10; after completing the welding, they return to the initial position;

[0041] 10) After the loading and unloading robot 13 holds the web plate 10, the lifting mechanism 3 and the upper wing plate positioning fixture 5 descend.

[0042] 11) The loading and unloading robot 13 takes out the web plate 10, rotates it 180°, and puts it back under the crossbeam of the web plate positioning fixture 4;

[0043] 12) Position the translation slide 2 to the right;

[0044] 13) The lifting mechanism 3 rises and lifts the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 on the translation slide 2, so that the lower wing plate 12 is clamped with the web plate 10.

[0045] 14) Two sets of welding robots 14 move along the specified trajectory and weld simultaneously from both sides of the web plate 10; after completing the welding, they return to the initial position;

[0046] 15) After the loading and unloading robot 13 picks up the web plate 10, the lifting mechanism 3 and the lower wing plate positioning fixture 6 descend.

[0047] 16) The loading and unloading robot 13 picks up the welded workpiece and places it on the forklift pallet;

[0048] 17) Position the translation slide 2 to the left and repeat the above actions at the welding workstation.

[0049] In summary, the multifunctional tooling equipment of the present invention, when applied in a robotic welding workstation, enables large-scale automated and unmanned production of steel beams in an unmanned welding production line. It eliminates the need for manual handling and welding in traditional production lines, resulting in high production efficiency. The movement trajectory and operation sequence of the intelligent equipment can be uniformly planned in the central control center, enabling remote network cloud control. It is suitable for digital manufacturing systems and has broad application prospects.

[0050] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention. Any person skilled in the art can modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concept disclosed in the present invention should still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-functional tooling device for robotic welding of steel beams, characterized in that, The machine includes a frame, a translation slide, a lifting mechanism, a web plate positioning fixture, an upper wing plate positioning fixture, and a lower wing plate positioning fixture. The translation slide is slidably connected to the frame. The upper and lower wing plate positioning fixtures are both mounted on the translation slide and can move vertically. The web plate positioning fixture is located above the frame and has vertical grooves for accommodating and positioning the web plate workpiece. The lifting mechanism is located below the frame, and the web plate positioning fixture and the lifting mechanism are positioned opposite each other. The frame is provided with an upper crossbeam above it, the web plate positioning fixture is installed on the upper crossbeam, the frame is provided with a lower crossbeam below it, and the lifting mechanism is installed on the lower crossbeam. The translation slide has three stopping positions: left, middle and right. When the translation slide is in the left position, the lower wing plate positioning fixture and the upper wing plate positioning fixture are exposed, and the lower wing plate positioning fixture and the upper wing plate positioning fixture can be loaded. When the translation slide is in the center position, the upper wing plate positioning fixture is located directly below the upper crossbeam; when the translation slide is in the right position, the lower wing plate positioning fixture is located directly below the upper crossbeam. Vacuum suction cups are respectively provided on the upper wing plate positioning fixture and the lower wing plate positioning fixture.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The frame is equipped with a horizontal guide rail, and the translation slide is slidably connected to the horizontal guide rail.

3. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The translation slide is provided with two vertical guide rails, and the upper wing plate positioning fixture and the lower wing plate positioning fixture are slidably connected in the vertical guide rails.

4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The frame is provided with columns on both sides, and the upper and lower crossbeams are directly opposite each other and connected to the two columns to form a U-shaped frame.

5. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A vacuum suction cup is installed in the vertical groove.

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