Welding tool grinding head, welding tool grinding device and grinding system

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of stir friction welding, and in particular to a welding tool grinding head, a welding tool grinding device and a grinding system. The welding tool grinding head comprises a first opening provided on a main body, the inner contour of the first opening having a contour structure for accommodating a welding tool shoulder; and a second opening provided on the main body, the second opening intersecting with the first opening so that the first opening is radially connected to the outside; and a grinding piece for grinding the surface of the welding tool shoulder. When in use, the welding tool and the grinding head can be brought close to each other, the welding tool shoulder can be accommodated in the contour structure, and the welding tool grinding head and the welding tool can be kept rotating relative to each other, so that the grinding piece can grind the surface of the welding tool shoulder to remove the attached material attached to the shoulder surface, and the removed attached material is discharged outward from the second opening, thereby facilitating the removal of the attached material on the shoulder.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of friction stir welding, and in particular to a welding tool grinding head, a welding tool grinding device and a grinding system. Background Art

[0002] Friction stir welding technology uses the high-speed rotation of the machine shaft to drive the welding tool to rotate synchronously, slowly penetrate the workpiece to be welded, and move along the position of the weld to be welded. The friction heat between the welding tool and the material to be welded is used as the welding heat source to plasticize the material around the welding tool and form a connection. Due to the advantages of high welding quality, energy saving and environmental protection, friction stir welding technology has been widely used in aerospace, rail transportation, automobile manufacturing and other fields.

[0003] Static shoulder friction stir welding is a method developed on the basis of conventional friction stir welding. The characteristics of its welding tool are: the shoulder and the stirring needle are separated, and during the welding process, the stirring needle rotates, while the shoulder does not rotate. This method can effectively reduce the heat input and the generation of flash, and improve the surface quality and strength of the weld. Due to the structural characteristics of the static shoulder friction stir welding mentioned above, a gap must be left between the stirring needle and the static shoulder so that they can rotate relative to each other. During the welding process, the material softened by friction will enter along the gap between the stirring needle and the shoulder and accumulate inside. When the accumulation reaches a certain level, it will have a greater hindering effect on the rotation of the stirring needle, which can easily lead to unstable welding process and even equipment damage. In order to prevent the accumulation of material inside the shoulder, chip removal holes are often machined on the static shoulder to enable the material entering the gap to be discharged in time along the chip removal holes. During long-distance welding, the material is constantly squeezed out of the chip removal holes and attached to the surface of the static shoulder. If the attached material is not handled in time, it will have a certain impact on the stability of the welding process.

[0004] At present, the removal of attached materials on the stationary shoulder is usually done by stopping the machine, adjusting the robot to the appropriate position, and then manually trimming. The disadvantage is that manual trimming is difficult to trim cleanly, and on the other hand, it requires stopping the machine and then adjusting the robot axis to the appropriate position before manual trimming can be performed, which will greatly reduce production efficiency, especially in mass production. Summary of the invention

[0005] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the defect in the prior art that the material attached to the stationary shoulder is difficult to remove, thereby providing a welding tool grinding head, a welding tool grinding device and a grinding system.

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] The present invention provides a welding tool grinding head, which is also called a grinding head, and comprises a body;

[0008] A first opening is provided on the body; an inner contour of the body forming the first opening has a contour structure for accommodating a welding tool shoulder, and optionally, the contour structure has a conical structure;

[0009] A second opening is provided on the body, the second opening intersects with the first opening, so that the first opening is connected with the outside in a radial direction;

[0010] A grinding piece is fixedly mounted on the main body and at least partially extends into the second opening at the intersection of the first opening and the second opening, and is used for grinding the surface of the welding tool shoulder; preferably, during the grinding operation, a gap of 0.1mm-3mm exists between the grinding head and the shoulder.

[0011] In the above welding tool grinding head, the grinding piece is arranged on the body in the second opening; further, the grinding piece is a tool head (i.e. a blade), and is preferably a milling cutter or a turning tool blade.

[0012] Optionally, in the above-mentioned welding tool grinding head, the first opening is a through hole.

[0013] In the above-mentioned welding tool grinding head, the main body has an upper end face and a lower end face respectively along the axial direction of the through hole; the cross-sectional area of ​​the through hole close to the upper end face is larger than the cross-sectional area close to the lower end face; further, a plurality of mounting holes are provided on the upper end face for mounting the grinding head.

[0014] The present invention also provides a welding tool grinding device, which comprises the welding tool grinding head as described above.

[0015] Furthermore, the welding tool grinding device also includes a servo motor and a transmission; the grinding head is fixed on the output shaft of the transmission.

[0016] The welding tool grinding device also includes a tool setting instrument for aligning the welding tool grinding device and the welding tool; when alignment is required, the tool setting instrument is installed on the output shaft of the transmission in a manner of replacing the grinding head; or, the tool setting instrument is installed on the grinding head.

[0017] Furthermore, in the welding tool grinding device, the tool setting instrument includes a base and a tool setting instrument tip installed on the base.

[0018] The welding tool grinding device further comprises a frame, on which the servo motor and the transmission are arranged, and on which a storage device for the tool setting instrument is also arranged.

[0019] In the welding tool grinding device, the output shaft of the transmission also includes at least one bearing, and preferably, the bearings can be provided in two. The output shaft of the transmission also includes a flange plate for mounting the grinding head or the tool setting instrument.

[0020] The present invention also provides a grinding system, which includes the welding tool grinding device mentioned above; and a controller, which controls the operation of the welding tool grinding device.

[0021] The technical solution of the present invention has the following advantages:

[0022] 1. The welding tool grinding head provided by the present invention, which is also called a grinding port, is used to grind the attached material on the welding tool, and its first opening is opened on the main body, and the inner contour of the first opening formed on the main body has a profiling structure for accommodating the welding tool shoulder, and the profiling structure is similar to the outer surface morphology of the welding tool shoulder, which can better fit the outer surface of the shoulder, occupy the position of the attached material, and promote the removal of the attached material; the second opening of the grinding head is opened on the main body, and the second opening intersects with the first opening, so that the first opening is connected to the outside in the radial direction; the second opening A position is provided for the installation of the grinding piece described below, and at the same time, it is convenient for the removed attached material to fall off; the grinding piece is fixedly arranged on the main body and at least partially extends into the second opening at the intersection of the first opening and the second opening; when in use, the welding tool and the grinding head can be brought close to each other, the welding tool shoulder can be accommodated in the profiling structure, and the welding tool grinding head and the welding tool can be kept rotating relative to each other, so that the grinding piece can grind the welding tool shoulder surface to remove the attached material attached to the shoulder surface, and the removed attached material is discharged outwardly from the second opening, thereby facilitating the removal of the shoulder attached material.

[0023] 2. The welding tool grinding device provided by the present invention has a tool setting instrument which adjusts the main shaft of the welding tool robot before the welding tool grinding operation so that the shoulder on the main shaft and the tool setting instrument are on the same axis to achieve rapid alignment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific implementation methods of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the specific implementation methods or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some implementation methods of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0025] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a welding tool grinding device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a grinding head provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the use of the welding tool grinding device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the structure of a tool setting instrument in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the use of the tool setting instrument in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] Description of reference numerals:

[0031] 1-transmission, 2-servo motor, 3-flange, 4-grinding head, 5-bearing, 6-stationary shoulder, 7-mounting sleeve, 8-waste box, 9-tool setter, 10-housing, 11-observation window; 4-1-second opening, 4-2-first opening, 4-3-mounting hole, 4-4-tool head; 9-1-tool setter tip, 9-2-base, 9-3-tool setter mounting hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", etc. indicate directions or positional relationships based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limitations on the present invention.

[0034] In addition, the technical features involved in the different embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0035] Example 1

[0036] like Figure 1-2 As shown, this embodiment provides a welding tool grinding head 4, which is also called a grinding port, and includes: a body; a first opening 4-2 is opened on the body, and the inner contour of the first opening 4-2 has a contoured structure for accommodating the welding tool shoulder. Optionally, as Figure 2The profiling structure shown has a conical structure, which is similar to the outer surface morphology of the shoulder of the welding tool. It is preferably a conical structure, which can better fit the outer surface of the shoulder, occupy the position of the attached material, and promote the removal of the attached material; a second opening 4-1 is opened on the main body, and the second opening 4-1 is a notch, which is opened on one side of the main body; the second opening 4-1 intersects with the first opening 4-2, so that the first opening 4-2 is connected to the outside in the radial direction; the tool head 4-4 (i.e., the blade) as a grinding part is preferably a milling cutter or a lathe tool blade, and other blades can also be selected. In addition, the grinding part can also select other grinding devices, such as grinding discs, etc.; the tool head 4-4 is fixed on the main body, and at least partially extends into the second opening 4-1 at the intersection of the first opening 4-2 and the second opening 4-1, for grinding the shoulder surface of the welding tool.

[0037] The first opening 4-2 is connected to the outside in radial direction, which means that the space where the contoured structure is located can be connected to the outside through the second opening opened on the upper side wall of the main body, and the second opening 4-1 can provide a position for the installation of the cutter head 4-4, and at the same time facilitate the falling of the removed attached material; the above-mentioned grinding of the welding tool shoulder surface refers to at least one operation including but not limited to scraping, cutting, grinding, etc. that can remove the attached material on the welding tool shoulder.

[0038] When in use, the welding tool and the grinding head can be brought close to each other, the welding tool shoulder can be accommodated in the profiling structure, and the welding tool grinding head and the welding tool can be kept rotating relative to each other, so that the grinding part can grind the surface of the welding tool shoulder to remove the attached material attached to the shoulder surface. The removed attached material is discharged outwardly from the second opening, thereby facilitating the removal of the attached material on the shoulder.

[0039] Optionally, the contoured structure size of the grinding head 4 can be reduced, and when removing the attached material, there is a gap of 0.1mm-3mm between the grinding head 4 and the shaft shoulder, which can better protect the grinding head and the stationary shaft shoulder.

[0040] In addition, in order to make the grinding head adapt to the characteristics of material impact and large contact surface, the cutter head 4-4 can be redesigned, such as increasing the width of the cutter head cutting edge and increasing the curvature of the cutting edge so that the cutting edge fits better with the shaft shoulder, thereby more cleanly removing the attached material on the surface of the stationary shaft shoulder.

[0041] In the above-mentioned welding tool grinding head, the cutter head 4-4 is specifically fixed on the body in the second opening 4-1, and it can be fixed on the body in a manner well known in the art (for example, fixed by screws), and the mouth of the cutter head is facing the first opening 4-2. The cutter head is mainly used to cut aluminum chips at the chip removal holes and chip removal grooves on the shoulder. The profiling structure is similar in basic shape to the chip removal holes and chip removal grooves on the stationary shoulder, so that it avoids hitting the stationary shoulder during rotation. In particular, as an optional method, the profiling structure can accommodate the stationary shoulder, but when the blade rotates, the trajectory formed must fit the surface of the stationary shoulder and maintain a certain distance.

[0042] In the above welding tool grinding head, in order to better accommodate the welding tool shoulder during the grinding process and prevent the shoulder from being damaged, the first opening 4-2 can be set as a through hole. In addition, the body has an upper end face and a lower end face respectively along the axial direction of the through hole; the cross-sectional area of ​​the through hole close to the upper end face is larger than the cross-sectional area close to the lower end face, so as to correspond to the welding tool shoulder or the shoulder and the welding pin.

[0043] In the welding tool grinding head, a plurality of mounting holes are also provided on the upper end surface of the main body, which are used to mount the grinding head on a fixed shaft or a rotating shaft.

[0044] Example 2

[0045] like Figure 1 , 3 -5, this embodiment provides a welding tool grinding device, which includes the welding tool grinding head described in Example 1. In addition, it also includes a servo motor 2 and a transmission 1, which are respectively fixed on the frame, and the grinding head 4 can be fixed to the output shaft (i.e., the connecting shaft) of the transmission 2 through a flange 3. The servo motor 2 obtains an amplified torque through the transmission 1 and outputs it to the output shaft. The output shaft is connected to the grinding head 4 through the flange 3, so that the power of the motor is output to the grinding head 4, providing the grinding head 4 with a rotational driving force.

[0046] In addition, the output shaft of the transmission also includes at least one bearing 5. Preferably, in order to increase the rigidity of the connecting shaft and ensure that the connecting shaft does not bend, two or more bearings 5 ​​can be installed.

[0047] Preferably, in order to increase the installation error tolerance of the equipment, a coupling can be used when connecting the connecting shaft to the transmission 1 and the mounting flange 3.

[0048] The welding tool grinding device also includes a tool setting instrument 9, which is used to align the welding tool grinding device with the mounting sleeve 7 and the stationary shoulder 6 of the welding tool. Specifically, it is installed on the output shaft and then plays a role in aligning with the robot spindle of the welding tool. The tool setting instrument 9 includes a base 9-2 and a tool setting instrument tip 9-1 installed on the base 9-2. The tool setting instrument tip 9-1 is used to align with the robot spindle, the tool setting instrument base 9-2 is used to set the tool setting instrument tip, and the tool setting instrument mounting hole 9-3 is used to install the tool setting instrument 9, for example, by bolts. Preferably, because the tool setting instrument tip is relatively sharp, a tool setting instrument protection device can also be provided, which can protect personnel during installation on the one hand, and protect the tool setting instrument tip on the other hand.

[0049] In the upper welding tool grinding device, a grinding head 4 and / or a tool setting instrument 9 can be installed on the flange 3 to achieve the removal of attached materials and equipment tool setting. Preferably, the flange 3 is installed with the tool setting instrument 9, and after the alignment is completed, the tool setting instrument 9 is removed and the grinding head 4 is installed; or the flange 3 is installed with the grinding head 4, and the tool setting instrument 9 is installed when alignment is required, and the tool setting instrument 9 is removed after alignment.

[0050] In addition, in order to improve the operating efficiency of the equipment, the tool setting instrument 9 can be installed on the flange 3 and can also be installed on the grinding head 4.

[0051] In order to use the grinding device more conveniently, a frame can be installed under the grinding device, and the frame and the grinding device are connected by bolt connection, welding, electromagnetic connection, slot connection, etc. to facilitate the placement of the grinding device. At the same time, a pair of tool setting instrument storage devices are set on the frame of the grinding device, and the tool setting instrument 9 can be stored after use to avoid the situation where the tool setting instrument 9 is discarded at will and lost. In addition, a shell 10 can be provided to protect the internal components, and an observation window 11 can be provided to facilitate observation of the grinding state.

[0052] In addition, a collection box may be placed directly below the grinding head 4, and the removed attached materials may fall into the collection box for easy collection.

[0053] As an optional method, when the welding tool grinding device provided in this embodiment is used, the grinding device is installed on the workbench, placed in a fixed position and leveled. The tool setting instrument 9 is installed on the grinding head 4. The main shaft of the stir friction welding robot can be moved to the vicinity of the grinding device manually and fine-tuned so that the shoulder on the main shaft and the tool setting instrument 9 are on the same axis. At this time, the tool setting instrument 9 is removed, and the servo motor 2 is started to rotate the grinding head 4. The main shaft is moved parallel to the axis of the static shoulder into the grinding head 4 until the contour structure in the grinding head 4 is completely fitted with the shoulder and the movement is stopped to complete the cleaning. In this process, the cutter head 4-4 rotates rapidly driven by the servo motor 2 to cut and remove the attached material. After the cleaning is completed, the shoulder is removed along the axis direction to complete the cleaning of the static shoulder. In this process, a certain position point can be saved. When the static shoulder needs to be cleaned again after welding, the robot can automatically move to the grinding device according to the set position point for cleaning, and there is no need to perform the tool setting operation again.

[0054] In addition, as an alternative implementation, the grinding device can be installed on the frame and placed in a fixed position, and then fixed after leveling.

[0055] As another alternative embodiment, when cleaning the attached material, the shaft shoulder rotates while the grinding head 4 is kept stationary, thereby promoting the removal of the attached material; similarly, the shaft shoulder and the grinding head can rotate relative to each other.

[0056] Example 3

[0057] This embodiment provides a welding tool grinding device, which is different from the welding tool grinding device described in Example 2 in that when cleaning the shaft shoulder on the gantry-type stir friction welding machine, the grinding device is rotated 90 degrees and then installed on the frame, that is, the axis of the grinding device is parallel to the axis of the main shaft of the gantry-type stir friction welding machine before cleaning.

[0058] Example 4

[0059] This embodiment provides a grinding system, which includes the welding tool grinding device of embodiment 2 or embodiment 3; and a controller, which controls the operation of the welding tool grinding device. With the grinding system, the attached material can be removed manually or automatically by setting a program.

[0060] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely examples for the purpose of clear explanation, and are not intended to limit the implementation methods. For those skilled in the art, other different forms of changes or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is not necessary and impossible to list all the implementation methods here. The obvious changes or modifications derived therefrom are still within the scope of protection of the invention.

Claims

1. A welding tool grinding head, characterized in that: include, ontology; A first opening (4-2) is provided on the main body; the inner contour of the main body forming the first opening (4-2) has a contoured structure for accommodating a welding tool shoulder; A second opening (4-1) is provided on the body, the second opening (4-1) intersects with the first opening (4-2), so that the first opening (4-2) is connected with the outside in a radial direction; A grinding piece is fixedly arranged on the body and at least partially extends into the second opening (4-1) at the intersection of the first opening (4-2) and the second opening (4-1), and is used for grinding the shoulder surface of the welding tool.

2. The welding tool grinding head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The grinding piece is arranged on the main body in the second opening (4-1).

3. The welding tool grinding head according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The grinding piece is a cutter head.

4. The welding tool grinding head according to claim 3, characterized in that: The cutter head is a milling cutter or a turning tool blade.

5. The welding tool grinding head according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first opening is a through hole.

6. The welding tool grinding head according to claim 5, characterized in that: The body has an upper end surface and a lower end surface respectively along the axial direction of the through hole; the cross-sectional area of ​​the through hole close to the upper end surface is larger than the cross-sectional area close to the lower end surface.

7. The welding tool grinding head according to claim 5, characterized in that: The contoured structure has a tapered structure.

8. The welding tool grinding head according to claim 6, characterized in that: A plurality of mounting holes (4-3) are provided on the upper end surface.

9. The welding tool grinding head according to claim 1, wherein during the grinding operation, there is a gap of 0.1 mm to 3 mm between the grinding head and the shaft shoulder.

10. A welding tool grinding device, characterized in that: It comprises the welding tool grinding head as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The welding tool grinding device according to claim 10, characterized in that: Also includes, Servo motors and transmissions; The grinding head is fixed on the output shaft of the transmission.

12. The welding tool grinding device according to claim 11, characterized in that: It also includes a tool setting instrument (9) for aligning the welding tool grinding device and the welding tool; When alignment is required, the tool setting instrument (9) is installed on the output shaft of the transmission in a manner of replacing the grinding head; or, the tool setting instrument (9) is installed on the grinding head.

13. The welding tool grinding device according to claim 12, characterized in that: The tool setting instrument (9) comprises a base (9-2) and a tool setting instrument tip (9-1) mounted on the base (9-2).

14. The welding tool grinding device according to claim 12, characterized in that: It also comprises a frame, on which the servo motor and the transmission are arranged, and on which a storage device for the tool setting instrument (9) is also arranged.

15. The welding tool grinding device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that: The output shaft of the transmission also includes at least one bearing (5); the output shaft of the transmission also includes a flange (3) for mounting the grinding head or the tool setting instrument (9).

16. A grinding system, characterized in that: It comprises the welding tool grinding device as described in any one of claims 10-15; and a controller, which controls the operation of the welding tool grinding device.

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