A control method for a strip spring production line equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides a control method for a strip spring production line equipment, which relates to the technical field of strip springs. The control method includes the following steps: the main control unit of the control module makes the strip tooling that holds the strip slide along the tooling transmission unit, the spring feeding / cutting unit cuts the spring, and the spring clamping unit clamps the cut single spring; the main control unit of the control module inserts the spring into the strip by controlling the spring assembly unit; the main control unit of the control module makes the upper point position of the spring in the assembly groove be welded; the control module measures and records each of the multiple springs one by one through the spring curvature height measurement unit for the strip spring after welding is completed; for the spring with unqualified measurement data by the spring curvature height measurement unit, the control module performs a cutting process by controlling the defective spring cutting unit. The present invention makes the strip spring production line equipment more intelligent, and the whole system is safe, reliable, stable in quality and smooth in operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of strip springs, and more particularly, to a control method for strip spring production line equipment. Background Art

[0002] There are approximately 440 nuclear power units operating worldwide. The vast majority (about 92%) of them are light water reactors (LWRs), and the rest are heavy water reactors (PHWRs), advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs), etc. Light water reactors mainly include two types: pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs), and about 75% of them are pressurized water reactors.

[0003] The core of a pressurized water reactor nuclear power plant consists of many fuel assemblies. The end spacers and mixing spacers of the fuel assemblies are collectively referred to as improved spacers. Except that the strips in the mixing spacer contain mixing vanes, the structures and dimensions of these two types of spacers are all the same. Each improved spacer contains 32 inner strips, 244 double springs, and 40 single springs. There are 16 types of inner strips in total, and 14 of them need to be assembled and welded with single and double springs. Among them, the four grooved places on the strip are single spring assembly grooves, and the grooved places at the upper and lower ends of the strip are double spring assembly grooves.

[0004] The strip spring production line equipment is the main equipment for strip spring production. Most of them are controlled manually at the corresponding workstations, resulting in low intelligence and being not easily applicable to large-scale production and manufacturing.

[0005] In summary, we propose a control method for strip spring production line equipment to solve the above technical problems. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a control method for strip spring production line equipment, which makes the strip spring production line equipment more intelligent, the whole system safe, reliable, with stable quality and smooth operation.

[0007] The embodiments of the present invention are implemented as follows:

[0008] The embodiments of the present application provide a control method for strip spring production line equipment. The above strip spring production line equipment includes a frame, a strip tooling, a tooling transmission unit, a spring feeding / cutting unit, a spring gripping unit, a strip spring assembly unit, a welding unit, a spring centering / height control module, a spring curvature height measurement unit, a defective spring cutting unit, and a control module, including the following steps:

[0009] S1. The main control unit of the control module makes the strip tooling clamping the strip slide along the tooling transmission unit, the spring feeding / cutting unit cuts the spring, and the spring gripping unit grips the cut single spring;

[0010] S2. The control module obtains the information of the strip tooling relative to the spring assembly unit. The strip tooling stops. The main control unit of the control module controls the spring assembly unit to clamp the spring of the above spring clamping unit and inserts the clamped spring into the assembly groove of the strip.

[0011] S3. The main control unit of the control module enables the upper welding assembly to weld the upper position points of the spring in the assembly groove.

[0012] S4. The control module positions and clamps the welded strip spring through the spring centering / height control module, and the lower welding assembly of the welding unit welds the lower position points of the spring.

[0013] S5. For the welded strip spring, the control module measures and records each spring one by one through the spring curvature height measurement unit.

[0014] S6. For the spring with unqualified measurement data by the spring curvature height measurement unit, the control module controls the defective spring cutting unit to perform cutting treatment.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above tooling transmission unit is annular. The above strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit and defective spring cutting unit are sequentially arranged along the circumferential direction of the above tooling transmission unit. The above spring feeding / cutting unit and spring clamping unit are arranged in cooperation with the above strip spring assembly unit. The control module makes the above strip tooling move along the circumferential direction of the above tooling transmission unit, and the strip tooling is sequentially docked and processed with the above strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit and defective spring cutting unit.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present invention, the main control unit is electrically connected to an RFID system. The RFID system includes an RFID chip arranged on the above strip tooling, a data processor, and also includes an RDIF reader / writer arranged on the above strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit and defective spring cutting unit. The control module makes the strip tooling face the above strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit and defective spring cutting unit step by step through the docking of the RDIF reader / writer and the RFID chip.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present invention, the main control unit is electrically connected to two monitoring computers equipped with a human-machine operation interface. The monitoring computers are used for program setting and control of the production line equipment.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned main control unit is electrically connected to the air valve control module, and controls the opening and closing of cylinders and electromagnetic switches in the spring feeding / cutting unit, spring clamping unit, strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit, and defective spring cutting unit through the air valve control module.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present invention, the upper welding assembly of the above-mentioned welding unit is equipped with an upper solder joint pressure sensor, and the lower welding assembly of the above-mentioned welding unit is equipped with a lower solder joint pressure sensor. The above-mentioned control module is used to receive the data of the upper solder joint pressure sensor and the lower solder joint pressure sensor, and control the operations of the upper solder joint assembly and the lower solder joint assembly according to the received data.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned spring curvature height measurement unit is equipped with a spring curvature height micrometer. The above-mentioned main control unit receives the measurement value of the spring curvature height micrometer, and judges whether it is qualified according to the size of the measurement value and then records the data.

[0021] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned strip tooling, tooling transfer unit, spring feeding / cutting unit, spring clamping unit, strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit, and defective spring cutting unit are all equipped with servo motor controllers or AC variable frequency motor controllers. The above-mentioned main control unit controls the actions by controlling the servo motor controllers or AC variable frequency motor controllers.

[0022] In some embodiments of the present invention, the control unit of the above-mentioned control module is point-connected to a switch assembly and a signal lamp. The above-mentioned control unit is used to adjust the opening and closing of the switch assembly and the flashing condition of the signal lamp.

[0023] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned main control unit uses Profinet industrial network bus transmission.

[0024] Compared with the prior art, the embodiments of the present invention have at least the following advantages or beneficial effects:

[0025] A control method for a strip spring production line equipment, the above-mentioned strip spring production line equipment includes a frame, strip tooling, tooling transfer unit, spring feeding / cutting unit, spring clamping unit, strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit, defective spring cutting unit and a control module, and includes the following steps:

[0026] S1. The main control unit of the control module makes the strip tooling clamping the strip slide along the tooling transfer unit, the spring feeding / cutting unit cuts the spring, and the spring clamping unit clamps the cut single spring;

[0027] S2. The control module obtains the information of the strip tooling relative to the spring assembly unit, the strip tooling stops, and the main control unit of the control module controls the spring assembly unit to clamp the spring of the above-mentioned spring clamping unit, and inserts the clamped spring into the assembly groove of the strip;

[0028] S3. The main control unit of the control module enables the upper welding assembly to weld the upper position points of the springs in the assembly groove;

[0029] S4. The control module controls the spring centering / height control module to position and clamp the welded strip spring, and the lower welding assembly of the welding unit welds the lower position points of the springs;

[0030] S5. For the welded strip springs, the control module measures and records each spring one by one through the spring curvature height measuring unit;

[0031] S6. For the springs with unqualified measurement data by the spring curvature height measuring unit, the control module controls the defective spring cutting unit to perform cutting treatment.

[0032] In the present invention, the main control unit has the functions of automatic mode, rework mode, manual mode, step mode and detection mode. The automatic mode can continuously complete the spring assembly, welding / inspection at all positions of the entire strip; the rework mode can perform corresponding work for a single or several positions separately; in the manual mode, the equipment can be jogged at each working station; the step mode is used for equipment debugging; the detection mode is used for special standard strips not to perform the welding process, directly running to the spring curvature height measuring station to complete the height measurement, and displaying the measurement results with abnormal determination prompts at the same time. The intelligent level of the strip spring production line equipment is higher, the entire system is safe, reliable, stable in quality and smooth in operation. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0033] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required to be used in the embodiments. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present invention, and therefore should not be regarded as limiting the scope. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other related drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0034] Figure 1 It is the schematic diagram of the control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Embodiments

[0035] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Components of the embodiments of the present invention generally described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings here can be arranged and designed in a variety of different configurations.

[0036] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed present invention, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0037] It should be noted that like reference numerals and letters denote like items in the following figures. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

[0038] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that if terms such as "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, or the orientations or positional relationships in which the products of the invention are customarily placed during use, it is only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention. In addition, terms such as "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used for descriptive distinction and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0039] In addition, if terms such as "horizontal", "vertical", "hanging" do not mean that the component is required to be absolutely horizontal or hanging, but can be slightly inclined. For example, "horizontal" only means that its direction is more horizontal relative to "vertical", and does not mean that the structure must be completely horizontal, but can be slightly inclined.

[0040] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, "a plurality of" represents at least two.

[0041] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should also be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, if the terms "set", "install", "connect", and "couple" are used, they should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0042] Embodiment

[0043] Please refer to Figure 1 , this embodiment provides a control method for a strip spring production line equipment. The above strip spring production line equipment includes a frame, a strip tooling, a tooling transfer unit, a spring feeding / cutting unit, a spring clamping unit, a strip spring assembly unit, a welding unit, a spring centering / height control module, a spring curvature height measurement unit, a defective spring cutting unit, and a control module, and includes the following steps:

[0044] S1. The main control unit of the control module makes the strip tooling clamping the strip slide along the tooling transfer unit, the spring feeding / cutting unit cuts the spring, and the spring clamping unit clamps the cut single spring.

[0045] S2. The control module obtains the information of the strip tooling relative to the spring assembly unit, the strip tooling stops, and the main control unit of the control module controls the spring assembly unit to clamp the spring of the spring clamping unit and inserts the clamped spring into the assembly groove of the strip.

[0046] S3. The main control unit of the control module makes the upper welding assembly weld the upper position points of the spring in the assembly groove.

[0047] S4. The control module controls the spring centering / height control module to position and clamp the welded strip spring, and the lower welding assembly of the welding unit welds the lower position points of the spring.

[0048] S5. For the welded strip spring, the control module measures and records each spring one by one through the spring curvature height measurement unit.

[0049] S6. For the spring with unqualified measurement data by the spring curvature height measurement unit, the control module controls the defective spring cutting unit to perform cutting treatment.

[0050] In the present invention, the main control unit has functions of automatic mode, rework mode, manual mode, step mode and detection mode. The automatic mode can continuously complete spring assembly, welding / inspection at all positions of the entire strip. The rework mode can perform corresponding operations on one or several positions individually. In the manual mode, jogging operations can be performed on each station of the equipment. The step mode is used for equipment debugging. The detection mode is used for a special standard strip not to perform the welding process, directly running to the spring curvature height measurement station to complete height measurement, and displaying the measurement result while having an abnormal determination prompt. This makes the intelligent level of the strip spring production line equipment higher, and the entire system is safe, reliable, stable in quality and smooth in operation.

[0051] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned tooling transmission unit is annular, and the above-mentioned strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit and defective spring cutting unit are sequentially arranged along the circumferential direction of the above-mentioned tooling transmission unit. The above-mentioned spring feeding / cutting unit and spring clamping unit are arranged in cooperation with the above-mentioned strip spring assembly unit. The above-mentioned control module makes the above-mentioned strip tooling move along the circumferential direction of the above-mentioned tooling transmission unit, and the strip tooling is sequentially docked and processed with the above-mentioned strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit and defective spring cutting unit.

[0052] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned main control unit is electrically connected to an RFID system. The above-mentioned RFID system includes an RFID chip arranged on the above-mentioned strip tooling, a data processor, and also includes RDIF readers / writers arranged on the above-mentioned strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit and defective spring cutting unit. The control module makes the strip tooling face the above-mentioned strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit and defective spring cutting unit step by step through the docking of the RDIF reader / writer and the RFID chip.

[0053] Optionally, the model selected for the main control unit is SIMATIC S7-1500 PLC, which has features such as a powerful processor, a large-capacity working memory, flexible expansion functions, and a PROFINET IO IRT interface for distributed I / O connection through PROFINET.

[0054] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned main control unit is electrically connected to two monitoring computers equipped with a human-machine operation interface. The monitoring computers are used for program setting and control of the production line equipment.

[0055] In the above embodiments, one human-machine interface and one monitoring computer are arranged at the operation station, and the other human-machine interface is installed on a mobile bracket and can move 360° around the equipment. Operators can operate various functions of the equipment, monitor the working status of the equipment, and process relevant information during the operation of the equipment through these human-machine interfaces.

[0056] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned main control unit is electrically connected to the air valve control module, and controls the opening and closing of cylinders and electromagnetic switches in the spring feeding / cutting unit, spring clamping unit, strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measuring unit, and defective spring cutting unit through the air valve control module.

[0057] In the above embodiments, most of the driving of the motion execution mechanisms of the spring production line equipment is completed by cylinders. Therefore, the reasonable configuration of the air circuit system is very important. According to the equipment function requirements, pneumatic components of FESTO are selected to form the air valve control module of this equipment. The components of the air valve control module include: air source processors, cylinders, magnetic switches for cylinders, flow control valves, air pipes and connectors, air valves (valve islands), and various electrical terminals, etc.

[0058] In some embodiments of the present invention, the upper welding assembly of the above-mentioned welding unit is equipped with an upper solder joint pressure sensor, the lower welding assembly of the above-mentioned welding unit is equipped with a lower solder joint pressure sensor, and the above-mentioned control module is used to receive the data of the upper solder joint pressure sensor and the lower solder joint pressure sensor, and control the operations of the upper solder joint assembly and the lower solder joint assembly according to the received data.

[0059] In the above embodiments, KISTLER 91xx series pressure sensors are selected for the upper solder joint pressure sensor and the lower solder joint pressure sensor.

[0060] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned spring curvature height measuring unit is equipped with a spring curvature height micrometer, and the above-mentioned main control unit receives the measurement value of the spring curvature height micrometer, and records the data after judging whether it is qualified according to the size of the measurement value.

[0061] In the above embodiments, the spring curvature height micrometer is selected from the HEIDENHEIM ST1200 series, and the number is 2 sets, which simultaneously measure the spring curvature height. At the same time, by using a PROFINET IO Gateway, it can be connected to the control module through the PROFINET bus, so that the collected measurement data is more accurate and not easily affected by external interference.

[0062] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned strip tooling, tooling transfer unit, spring feeding / cutting unit, spring clamping unit, strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit, defective spring cutting unit are all equipped with servo motor controllers or AC variable frequency motor controllers, and the above-mentioned main control unit controls the actions by controlling the servo motor controllers or AC variable frequency motor controllers.

[0063] In some embodiments of the present invention, the control unit of the above-mentioned control module is point-connected to a switch assembly and a signal lamp, and the above-mentioned control unit is used to adjust the opening and closing of the switch assembly and the flashing condition of the signal lamp.

[0064] In the above embodiments, the switch assembly includes the safety door of the spring production line equipment, the emergency stop button, and the monitoring point switch signal.

[0065] In some embodiments of the present invention, the above-mentioned main control unit uses Profinet industrial network bus transmission.

[0066] In the above embodiments, PROFINET is launched by the PROFIBUS International Organization (PI), and it is a new generation of automation bus standard based on industrial Ethernet technology. PROFINET has four decisive advantages (openness, flexibility, high efficiency, and high performance) to improve productivity.

[0067] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. For those skilled in the art, the present invention can have various changes and modifications. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A control method for a strip spring production line equipment, the strip spring production line equipment comprising a frame, a strip tooling, a tooling transfer unit, a spring feeding / cutting unit, a spring clamping unit, a strip spring assembly unit, a welding unit, a spring centering / height control module, a spring curvature height measuring unit, a defective spring cutting unit and a control module, characterized in that, It includes the following steps: S1. The main control unit of the control module makes the strip tooling for clamping the strip slide along the tooling transmission unit. The spring feeding / cutting unit cuts the spring, and the spring clamping unit clamps the cut single spring. S2. The control module obtains the information of the relative position between the strip tooling and the spring assembly unit. The strip tooling stops. The main control unit of the control module controls the spring assembly unit to clamp the spring of the spring clamping unit and inserts the clamped spring into the assembly groove of the strip. S3. The main control unit of the control module makes the upper welding assembly weld the upper point position of the spring in the assembly groove. S4. The control module controls the spring centering / height control module to position and clamp the strip spring after welding, and the lower welding assembly of the welding unit welds the lower point position of the spring. S5. The control module measures and records each spring of the welded strip spring through the spring curvature height measuring unit. S6. For the spring with unqualified measurement data by the spring curvature height measuring unit, the control module controls the defective spring cutting unit to cut it.

2. The control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that The tooling transmission unit is annular. The strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measuring unit and defective spring cutting unit are sequentially arranged along the circumferential direction of the tooling transmission unit. The spring feeding / cutting unit and the spring clamping unit are arranged in cooperation with the strip spring assembly unit. The control module makes the strip tooling move along the circumferential direction of the tooling transmission unit, and the strip tooling is sequentially docked and processed with the strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measuring unit and defective spring cutting unit.

3. The control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control unit is electrically connected to an RFID system. The RFID system includes an RFID chip arranged on the strip tooling, a data processor, and also includes RDIF readers arranged on the strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measuring unit and defective spring cutting unit. The control module makes the strip tooling face the strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measuring unit and defective spring cutting unit step by step through the docking of the RDIF reader and the RFID chip.

4. The control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control unit is electrically connected to two monitoring computers equipped with a human-machine operation interface. The monitoring computers are used for program setting and control of the production line equipment.

5. The control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control unit is electrically connected to a gas valve control module, and controls the opening and closing of the cylinders and electromagnetic switches in the spring feeding / cutting unit, spring clamping unit, strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measuring unit and defective spring cutting unit through the gas valve control module.

6. The control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The upper welding assembly of the welding unit is equipped with an upper solder joint pressure sensor, and the lower welding assembly of the welding unit is equipped with a lower solder joint pressure sensor. The control module is used to receive the data of the upper solder joint pressure sensor and the lower solder joint pressure sensor, and control the operations of the upper solder joint assembly and the lower solder joint assembly according to the received data.

7. The control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The spring curvature height measurement unit is equipped with a spring curvature height micrometer. The main control unit receives the measurement value of the spring curvature height micrometer, and judges whether it is qualified according to the size of the measurement value and then records the data.

8. A control method for a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The strip tooling, tooling transfer unit, spring feeding / cutting unit, spring clamping unit, strip spring assembly unit, welding unit, spring centering / height control module, spring curvature height measurement unit, and defective spring cutting unit are all equipped with servo motor controllers or AC variable frequency motor controllers. The main control unit controls the actions by controlling the servo motor controllers or AC variable frequency motor controllers.

9. The control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control unit of the control module is point-connected with a switch assembly and a signal lamp. The control unit is used to adjust the opening and closing of the switch assembly and the flashing condition of the signal lamp.

10. The control method of a strip spring production line equipment according to claim 1, characterized in that, The main control unit uses a Profinet industrial network bus for transmission.

Images