A kind of automatic welding tool for thin-walled square wind pipe fillet weld and method of use

Abstract

This invention pertains to tooling and its application, specifically relating to an automated welding tooling and its application method for fillet welds in thin-walled square ducts. The automated welding tooling for fillet welds in thin-walled square ducts includes a feeding platform, the tooling itself, a welding robot, and an observation platform. The significant advantages of this invention are: addressing the shortcomings of existing technologies and equipment by providing a highly efficient automated welding tooling; reducing the workload of operators in loading and unloading materials through an auxiliary feeding and lifting platform; the tooling itself incorporates a workpiece positioning block device, reducing manual positioning errors and achieving rapid, high-precision assembly; and the entire process is numerically controlled via a control panel, meeting the automated welding requirements of thin-walled square ducts, reducing the labor intensity of operators, and significantly improving the stability of weld quality during mass production.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention pertains to tooling and its application, specifically relating to an automated welding tooling and its application method for fillet welds in thin-walled square air ducts. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of the national economy, the demand for square air ducts has emerged in various industries, including ventilation systems, air conditioning systems, fume extraction systems, dust removal systems, and bulk material conveying systems, all of which face significant pressure to prefabricate square air ducts. Air duct prefabrication generally involves welding the fillet welds of square air ducts. Traditional fillet welds for thin-walled square air ducts mainly employ manual shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and manual tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding methods, with a low degree of automation. Furthermore, the welding of thin-walled square air ducts in various engineering projects is characterized by large workloads, high labor intensity, and high labor costs. Manual welding operations suffer from significant deformation and low efficiency. In traditional welding methods, the weld quality depends entirely on the skill level of the welding operator, resulting in poor weld quality consistency. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides an automated welding fixture and method for use in corner welds of thin-walled square air ducts.

[0004] The present invention is implemented as follows: an automated welding fixture for corner welds of thin-walled square air ducts, comprising a feeding platform, a fixture, a welding robot, and an observation platform.

[0005] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts is provided, wherein the feeding platform consists of a deformation-resistant mesh structure material placement platform and an electrically controlled lifting mechanism.

[0006] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts includes a feeding platform with directional elongated cylindrical rollers mounted by bolts to assist in loading and unloading.

[0007] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square air ducts includes an electrically controlled lifting mechanism that supports the workpiece to be welded and assists in loading and unloading.

[0008] The above-described automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts comprises a control panel, a frame, a pneumatic clamping device, a fixture positioning mandrel, a workpiece positioning block, and a mandrel positioning handle.

[0009] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts is provided, wherein the control panel is a dedicated control device for the fixture, used to operate the clamping function of the entire fixture.

[0010] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts is provided, wherein the frame is a frame structure for overall support of the fixture.

[0011] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts is provided, wherein the pneumatic clamping device is divided into an upper clamping device and a lateral clamping device. The two clamping devices are vertically distributed and equipped with a piano key type clamping mechanism, which is fixed to the support base by bolts. The pneumatic clamping device applies pressure to clamp the workpiece by pneumatic clamping.

[0012] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds in thin-walled square ducts includes a positioning mandrel parallel to the clamping device, bolted to a support frame to achieve centering and load-bearing functions during the clamping process. The part of the positioning mandrel in contact with the workpiece is made of copper, with a back protective air passage and protective air holes. The mandrel also has a water-cooling circuit, cooling the weld and mandrel through the copper portion, improving weld quality while preventing mandrel thermal deformation due to frequent heating.

[0013] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts includes a workpiece positioning block made of copper, located above a side clamping device, which works in conjunction with the fixture positioning mandrel. By replacing the positioning block and mandrel, the positioning of square ducts to be welded at angles of 30° to 150° can be achieved. By replacing the corresponding side-end pneumatic clamping device mounting base, workpieces at different angles can be clamped and held.

[0014] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts includes a mandrel positioning handle located at the end of the frame. The handle frame structure has a sliding ring embedded in it and a positioning pin at the bottom for locking the fixture positioning mandrel. Together with the fixture positioning mandrel, the mandrel provides a pressing and load-bearing function.

[0015] As described above, an automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts includes an observation platform that is a steel stepped structure with an insulating layer on its surface, used to enable operators to observe the welding process and perform routine equipment maintenance.

[0016] A method for using an automated welding fixture for fillet welds in thin-walled square ducts, comprising the following steps:

[0017] Step 1: Connect the power supply, turn on the air compressor, eject the workpiece positioning block, and check the airtightness of the tooling;

[0018] Step 2: Insert the workpiece I to be welded horizontally, use the workpiece positioning block to achieve quick positioning, and lock the mandrel positioning handle;

[0019] Step 3: Control the upper clamping device cylinder to work through the control panel, drive the piano key type clamping mechanism to clamp the workpiece I to be welded, and check whether the tooling clamping is firm.

[0020] Step 4: Use the lifting platform to assist in loading the workpiece II to be welded. Insert the workpiece II to be welded vertically and use the workpiece positioning block to achieve rapid positioning.

[0021] Step 5: Control the side clamping device cylinder to work through the control panel, which will drive the piano key type clamping mechanism to clamp the workpiece II to be welded.

[0022] Step 6: Weld seam identification is performed using a welding robot equipped with a laser vision weld seam tracking system;

[0023] Step 7: Control the back shielding gas filling through the control screen, and the welding robot welds along the identified weld seam trajectory. During this process, the laser tracking system continuously tracks the center of the weld seam to avoid welding errors caused by the welding process.

[0024] Step 8: Control the pneumatic clamping device to release via the control panel, and use the lifting platform to assist in unloading.

[0025] The significant effects of this invention are: (1) In view of the shortcomings of existing technology and equipment, a highly efficient automated welding fixture is provided, which reduces the workload of operators in loading and unloading materials by means of an auxiliary feeding lifting platform. The fixture itself has a built-in workpiece positioning block device, which reduces the error of manual positioning and realizes rapid and high-precision assembly. The entire process is numerically controlled by the control panel, which meets the automated welding requirements of thin-walled square air ducts, reduces the labor intensity of operators, and greatly improves the stability of weld quality in the mass production process.

[0026] (2) This invention has a wider range of applications and can be applied to the welding of all square air pipes with a length of less than 1600mm and an interface size of more than 200×200. At the same time, by changing the positioning mandrel and the workpiece positioning block, it can achieve welding of square air pipe workpieces with different angles of 30°~150°.

[0027] (3) The present invention has a simple structure and is easy to use. It can achieve rapid and accurate assembly and improve production cycle.

[0028] (4) Compared with traditional manual welding, the welding method in this invention can greatly improve welding efficiency and weld quality, and reduce the technical requirements of welding operators in the welding process. Compared with general automatic welding, the laser vision recognition system replaces the traditional manual teaching and programming, which avoids the influence of operators in manual teaching and can adapt to the small deformation of welding. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1This is a diagram showing the overall layout of the device;

[0030] Figure 2 This is an overall view of the tooling.

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the workpiece in an unclamped state of the welding fixture.

[0032] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram showing the workpiece clamping state of the welding fixture.

[0033] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a tooling for welding non-90° workpieces;

[0034] Figure 6 Layout diagram of welding torch and laser scanning;

[0035] Figure 7 Diagram showing the water vapor flow path of the mandrel;

[0036] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the welding process.

[0037] In the diagram: 1. Workpiece to be welded, 2. Welding fixture, 3. Control panel, 4. Welding robot, 5. Observation platform, 6. Lifting platform, 7. Frame, 8. Upper pneumatic clamping device, 9. Side pneumatic clamping device, 10. Fixture positioning mandrel, 11. Mandrel positioning handle, 12. Workpiece positioning block, 13. Workpiece I to be welded, 14. Workpiece II to be welded, 15. Laser vision recognition module, 16. Robot arm, 17. Robot automatic welding torch, 18. Mandrel body, 19. Positioning copper block, 20. Protective air circuit, 21. Cooling water inlet, 22. Cooling water outlet. Detailed Implementation

[0038] like Figure 1 As shown, an automated welding fixture for corner welds of thin-walled square air ducts consists of a welding fixture 2, a welding robot 4, an observation platform 5, and a lifting platform 6. The welding fixture 2 communicates with the welding robot 4. The workpiece 1 to be welded is clamped and mounted on the welding fixture 2. The behavior control of the welding fixture 2 is realized through touch operation via the control screen 3.

[0039] like Figure 2 As shown, the welding fixture in this invention consists of a frame 7, an upper pneumatic clamping device 8, a side pneumatic clamping device 9, a fixture positioning mandrel 10, and a mandrel positioning handle 11. Before loading the workpiece 1 to be welded, the mandrel positioning handle 11 is raised, and the workpiece 1 to be welded is mounted on the fixture positioning mandrel 10. After the workpiece 1 to be welded is aligned and positioned, the mandrel positioning handle 11 is lowered and locked. The upper pneumatic clamping device 8 and the side pneumatic clamping device 9 are operated through the control panel 3 to clamp the fixture positioning mandrel, thus completing the clamping and fixing of the workpiece 1 to be welded after positioning.

[0040] like Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown, the workpiece I13 to be welded is placed in the welding fixture 2. The workpiece positioning block 12 is used to laterally position the workpiece I13. The fixture positioning mandrel 10 and the upper pneumatic clamping device 8 are used to clamp the workpiece I13. After clamping, the upper pneumatic clamping device 8 will... Figure 3 Status working until Figure 4 The state is that the positioning and clamping of the workpiece I13 to be welded is completed; then the workpiece II14 to be welded is placed in the welding fixture 2, the workpiece positioning block 12 is used to longitudinally position the workpiece II14 to be welded, and the fixture positioning mandrel 10 and the side pneumatic clamping device 9 are used to press the workpiece II14 to be welded, the pressing process is the same as that of the workpiece I to be welded.

[0041] like Figure 5 As shown, by replacing the tooling positioning mandrel 10, the workpiece positioning block 12, and the side pneumatic clamping device mounting base 23, and matching their angles with the angles of the workpiece to be welded, ductwork workpieces with different angles can be welded. The applicable range is 30°~150° of the side wall angle of the workpiece. The subsequent clamping and mounting process is the same as the mounting process of a normal 90° square duct.

[0042] like Figure 6 As shown, the robotic arm 16 is equipped with a robotic automatic welding torch 17 at its front end, and a laser vision recognition module 15 is installed on the axis of the robotic automatic welding torch 17.

[0043] like Figure 7 As shown, the tooling positioning mandrel 10 consists of a mandrel body 18, a positioning copper block 19, a protective gas circuit 20, a cooling water inlet 21, and a cooling water outlet 22. The positioning copper block 19 is fastened to the mandrel body 18 with bolts. The positioning copper block has a protective gas circuit 20 inside, which outputs protective gas to the weld through surface pores. The mandrel body 18 has a water-cooling circuit inside, where cooling water enters the mandrel from the cooling water inlet 21 and flows out from the cooling water outlet 22, thus cooling the tooling positioning mandrel 10 and preventing deformation of the tooling positioning mandrel due to changes in the welding heat field.

[0044] The workflow is as follows: First, the workpiece positioning block 12 is popped out to the working position through the operation control panel 3; then, according to the size of the workpiece 1 to be welded, the lifting platform 6 is adjusted to a suitable height, and the mandrel positioning handle 11 is lifted to place the workpiece 1 to be welded into the fixture. Then, the mandrel positioning handle 11 is pressed down and locked, and the workpiece positioning block 12 is used to position it. The upper pneumatic clamping device 8 and the side pneumatic clamping device 9 are controlled by the operation control panel 3 to clamp and mount the workpiece 1 to be welded. At this time, the workpiece positioning block 12 returns to the initial position. Then, the welding fixture 2 transmits the signal to the welding robot 4. The robot arm 16 drives the laser scanning mechanism 15 to scan and weld the weld. After the welding is completed, the upper pneumatic clamping device 8 and the side pneumatic clamping device 9 are released through the control panel 3. Then, the mandrel positioning handle 11 is lifted, and the lifting platform 6 is used to assist in unloading the welded product.

[0045] The following is a specific example of the welding process: Two certified welders work together to perform welding according to the format in Table 1 below. According to the actual welding process: the welding process does not require beveling the workpiece, the welding process does not require oscillating welding, the welding process is single-wire single-pass welding, and the welding type is fillet weld; the welding parameters are performed according to Table 1.

[0046] The welding process is selected as L×L1×L2×t (see...) Figure 8 The following four different specifications of square tubes were used for welding: 1500×500×500×1.5mm, 1500×500×500×3.0mm, 500×300×500×1.5mm, and 500×300×500×3.0mm. The material of the duct to be welded was Q235B. The workpiece to be welded was clamped and fixed according to the operation process in 5.4.4 above, and the welding was performed with reference to the parameters in Table 1.

[0047] Welding Parameter Table

[0048]

[0049] Table 1

[0050] Macroscopic metallographic process evaluation was performed on the above four types of samples after welding.

[0051] The evaluation results are as follows: Table 2

[0052]

[0053] Table 2

[0054] Based on the above results, the macroscopic metallographic structure of the weld seam meets the relevant standard requirements. Using this invention, fillet welds on Q235B steel plates are simple to operate, highly efficient, and automated, ensuring the weld seam meets macroscopic metallographic requirements.

Claims

1. An automated welding fixture for fillet welds in thin-walled square ducts, characterized in that: This includes a feeding platform, tooling, welding robots, and an observation platform. The feeding platform consists of a deformation-resistant mesh structure material placement platform and an electrically controlled lifting mechanism; The feeding platform is equipped with directional long cylindrical rollers by bolts to assist in loading and unloading materials. The electrically controlled lifting platform uses a linkage lifting mechanism to support the workpieces to be welded and to assist in loading and unloading materials. The tooling consists of a control panel, a frame, a pneumatic clamping device, a tooling positioning mandrel, a workpiece positioning block, and a mandrel positioning handle. The control panel is a dedicated control device for tooling, used to operate the clamping function of the entire tooling. The frame is a frame structure used to provide overall support for the tooling. The pneumatic clamping device is divided into an upper clamping device and a lateral clamping device. The two clamping devices are vertically distributed and equipped with a piano key type clamping mechanism. They are fixed to the support base by bolts. The pneumatic clamping device applies pressure to clamp the workpiece by pneumatic clamping. The tooling positioning mandrel is parallel to the pneumatic clamping device and is bolted to the support frame to achieve centering and load-bearing functions during the clamping process. The part of the tooling positioning mandrel that contacts the workpiece is made of copper, with a back protective air passage and protective air holes. At the same time, the tooling positioning mandrel has a water cooling circuit, which cools the weld and mandrel through the copper part, improving the weld quality while avoiding thermal deformation of the mandrel due to frequent heating. The workpiece positioning block is made of copper and is located above the side clamping device. It works together with the tooling positioning mandrel. By changing the positioning block and mandrel, the positioning of the square air duct to be welded at an angle of 30° to 150° can be completed. By changing the corresponding side pneumatic clamping device mounting seat, the clamping and holding of workpieces at different angles can be achieved. The mandrel positioning handle is located at the end of the frame. A sliding ring is embedded in the handle frame structure, and there is a positioning pin at the bottom, which is used to lock the tooling positioning mandrel. Together with the tooling positioning mandrel, it plays a pressing and bearing role. The observation platform is a steel stepped structure with an insulating layer on its surface, used to enable operators to observe the welding process and perform routine equipment maintenance.

2. A method of using the automated welding fixture for fillet welds of thin-walled square ducts according to claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Connect the power supply, turn on the air compressor, eject the workpiece positioning block, and check the airtightness of the tooling; Step 2: Insert the workpiece I to be welded horizontally, use the workpiece positioning block to achieve quick positioning, and lock the mandrel positioning handle; Step 3: Control the upper clamping device cylinder to work through the control panel, drive the piano key type clamping mechanism to clamp the workpiece I to be welded, and check whether the tooling clamping is firm. Step 4: Use the lifting platform to assist in loading the workpiece II to be welded. Insert the workpiece II to be welded vertically and use the workpiece positioning block to achieve rapid positioning. Step 5: Control the side clamping device cylinder to work through the control panel, which will drive the piano key type clamping mechanism to clamp the workpiece II to be welded. Step 6: Weld seam identification is performed using a welding robot equipped with a laser vision weld seam tracking system; Step 7: Control the back shielding gas filling through the control screen, and the welding robot welds along the identified weld seam trajectory. During this process, the laser tracking system continuously tracks the center of the weld seam to avoid welding errors caused by the welding process. Step 8: Control the pneumatic clamping device to release via the control panel, and use the lifting platform to assist in unloading.

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