An automated butt welding system and method of automatic welding

Abstract

The application discloses an automatic butt welding system for butt welding of a first welding piece and a second welding piece, which comprises a control system and a welding machine, the control system controls the welding machine to automatically weld, and further comprises an automatic operating unit and a filler ring bin, the automatic operating unit is connected with the control system, and the control system controls the automatic operating unit to fix the first welding piece and the second welding piece on the welding machine; a plurality of welding filler rings are arranged in the filler ring bin, the automatic operating unit grabs the welding filler rings in the filler ring bin, and the welding filler rings are placed between the first welding piece and the second welding piece, the welding filler rings are used for eliminating the influence of the size deviation between the first welding piece and the second welding piece, so that one-time forming of full-position automatic welding is completed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of butt welding technology, and more specifically, to an automated butt welding system and an automated welding method. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, there is a significant demand for butt welding of thin-walled pipes and fittings in engineering projects. The wall thickness of both thin-walled pipes and fittings is less than or equal to 3.5mm, and in some projects, this accounts for approximately 60%-80% of all butt welds, making it a type of welding with substantial demand. Due to differences in the forming methods of pipes and fittings, as well as variations in manufacturing dimensions between different manufacturers and batches, there are often deviations between the outer and inner diameters at the pipe-fitting joints. However, these deviations are generally within the standard range.

[0003] The diameter, wall thickness, and ovality tolerances of pipes and fittings are unfavorable for the implementation of all-position automated welding. Therefore, manual argon arc welding is currently the primary method used in various engineering projects for welding thin-walled pipes and fittings. However, manual welding suffers from slow speed and wasted labor. Currently, there is a need for a method that can automate the welding of pipes and fittings of different sizes and tolerances.

[0004] The butt welding project of thin-walled pipes and fittings is characterized by large project volume, tight construction period and high quality requirements. This is in conflict with the inability to quickly increase the number of high-level welders in the short term. Therefore, it is of great significance to study efficient, advanced and high-quality automatic welding technology to promote increased production and output, improve working conditions and reduce labor intensity.

[0005] Existing technology CN107052517A discloses an automatic welding process for butt welding of heat exchanger tubes made of low alloy steel and nickel-based alloy dissimilar steel. This process includes the following steps: cleaning heat exchanger tube I, heat exchanger tube II, and the fusion ring; assembling heat exchanger tube I, heat exchanger tube II, and the fusion ring; installing and debugging the welding equipment; setting the welding process parameters; and starting the welding process. This technical solution cannot solve the technical problem addressed in this application.

[0006] Existing technology CN106825972A discloses a welding method for pipe fittings, which includes the following steps: beveling the welding ends of a first and a second welded pipe fitting, forming a convex ring at the bottom of the bevel of the first welded pipe fitting, and providing a recess corresponding to the convex ring at the bottom of the bevel of the second welded pipe fitting; inserting the convex ring of the first welded pipe fitting into the recess at the bottom of the second welded pipe fitting; and then welding. This technical solution involves complex beveling and does not solve the technical problem addressed in this application.

[0007] In view of the above technical problems, this invention is hereby introduced. Summary of the Invention

[0008] The main objective of this invention is to provide an automated butt welding system and an automated welding method, which is mainly used to solve the problem that it is difficult to automatically weld pipes and fittings in one step due to dimensional deviations.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, according to one aspect of the present invention, an automated butt welding system is proposed for butt welding of a first weldment and a second weldment, comprising a control system and a welding machine, wherein the control system controls the welding machine to perform automatic welding;

[0010] It also includes an automatic operation unit and a filling ring chamber. The automatic operation unit is connected to the control system, and the control system controls the automatic operation unit to fix the first and second welded parts on the welding machine.

[0011] The filling ring chamber contains multiple welding filling rings. The automatic operation unit picks up the welding filling rings in the filling ring chamber and places them between the first welded part and the second welded part. The welding filling rings are used to eliminate the influence of dimensional deviations between the first welded part and the second welded part, so as to complete the one-time forming of all-position automatic welding.

[0012] Furthermore, the filling ring compartment includes welding filling rings of various specifications, and the control system controls the automatic operation unit to select the welding filling rings.

[0013] Furthermore, the control system includes a data input processing module and an assembly module. The data input processing module is connected to the assembly module via signals, and the assembly module is connected to the automatic operation unit. The data input processing module receives the dimensional data of the first and second welded parts, processes it, and generates welding information.

[0014] Furthermore, the automated butt welding system also includes a clamping device, slips, and conforming slips. The first welded part is a pipe, and the second welded part is a pipe fitting. The clamping device is located on the welding machine, the slips fix the pipe to the clamping device, and the conforming slips fix the pipe fitting to the clamping device.

[0015] Furthermore, the automated operation unit includes a robotic arm, and the automated welding system includes various specifications of clamps and various specifications of conforming clamps. The assembly module controls the robotic arm to select clamps and conforming clamps based on the welding information.

[0016] Furthermore, the clamping device includes a frame, a threaded rod, a motor, and two clamping plates. The frame is connected to the welding machine, the threaded rod is connected to the output shaft of the motor, the two clamping plates are located on both sides of the frame, the threaded rod passes through the two clamping plates and the frame, and the threaded rod is threadedly connected to the two clamping plates. The two clamping plates are used to abut against the slips or conformal slips.

[0017] Furthermore, the welding filler ring is provided with multiple tungsten electrode welding points, and the control system also includes a welding module. The welding module is connected to the data input processing module and the welding machine.

[0018] Furthermore, the welding machine includes a tungsten electrode, and the welding module adjusts the position of the tungsten electrode according to the welding information to align it with the tungsten electrode welding point on the welding filler ring.

[0019] Furthermore, the welding filler ring includes an outer ring body and an inner ring body that are connected to each other. The inner ring body is located radially inside the outer ring body, and the thickness of the inner ring body in the axial direction is less than the thickness of the outer ring body.

[0020] Furthermore, the inner ring is located in the middle of the outer ring in the axial direction, and the two axial sides of the inner ring abut against the end faces of the pipe and fitting respectively, while the radial inner side of the outer ring matches the outer diameter of the pipe or fitting.

[0021] Furthermore, the outer ring body has a curved surface on one axial side.

[0022] Furthermore, the control system also includes a start-up module, a cutting module, a grinding module, and a cleaning module, all of which are connected to the data input processing module via signals.

[0023] Furthermore, the automated butt welding system also includes a cutting device, a flat-end machine, a grinding device, and a cleaning device connected in sequence via an automatic transport unit. The data input processing module also receives the material data of the first and second welded parts. The cutting module controls the cutting device and the flat-end machine, the grinding module controls the grinding device, and the cleaning module controls the cleaning device.

[0024] Furthermore, the cleaning equipment includes a fan and cleaning tools. The cleaning tools include a vibrating motor, a cleaning rod, and a cleaning container. The cleaning rod is connected to the output shaft of the vibrating motor, and the surface of the cleaning rod is covered with an absorbent material. The cleaning rod and the cleaning container are connected by a pipe.

[0025] The automated butt welding system of the present invention achieves at least the following beneficial effects:

[0026] 1. The automated butt welding system of this application designs a filling ring chamber and its internal welding filling ring, places the welding filling ring between the pipe and the fitting, and then uses an all-position automatic welding machine to perform welding. This enables all-position automatic welding between pipes and fittings with large dimensional deviations between the base materials on both sides of the butt joint, eliminating the need for tack welding, saving welding personnel, reducing welding difficulty and welding time, and achieving one-time forming, thereby greatly improving welding efficiency.

[0027] 2. The automated butt welding system of this application is designed with an automatic operation unit. The automatic operation unit can select a welding filler ring of a certain specification to match the pipe and fitting according to the size and other parameters of the pipe and fitting, and select a clamp and a conformal clamp of a certain specification to clamp the pipe and fitting. This makes the automated butt welding system highly automated and can complete the automatic welding of pipes and fittings of various sizes and specifications, with a wide range of applications.

[0028] 3. The automated butt welding system of this application is designed with welding filler rings of different specifications to adapt to pipes and fittings of different sizes and dimensional deviations. By designing the specific shape of the welding filler ring, it can match the pipes and fittings and make the welding joint high quality. By designing multiple tungsten electrode welding points on the welding filler ring, the position of the tungsten electrode is guided when welding pipes and fittings with different wall thickness differences, which further improves the welding effect and makes the welding filler ring applicable to a wider range.

[0029] 4. The automated butt welding system of this application realizes the functions of data input and analysis, signal transmission and welding data transmission, and control of equipment in each step of the welding process by designing various modules of the control system. This makes the automated butt welding system suitable for automatic welding of pipes and fittings of various sizes and materials, and can realize the automated operation of the entire welding process.

[0030] 5. This application provides a new filling method for welding equipment that cannot achieve wire filling, and can further obtain welded joints that meet specific performance requirements through the composition design of the filling ring and the exploration of new materials.

[0031] To achieve the above objectives, according to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic welding method for butt welding of pipes and fittings is provided, employing the automated butt welding system described above. The automatic welding method includes the following steps:

[0032] The welding information generation step involves inputting the size data and / or specifications of the pipe and fittings to be welded into the control system. The control system then determines the specifications of the welding filler ring and the welding process parameters based on the built-in program to generate welding information.

[0033] In the assembly process, the control system controls the automatic operation unit to fix the pipe and fittings on the welding machine. Based on the welding information, the control system controls the automatic operation unit to select the welding filler ring in the filler ring chamber and place the welding filler ring between the pipe and fittings.

[0034] In the welding process, the control system adjusts the welding process parameters of the welding machine according to the welding information and controls the welding machine to complete the one-time forming of all-position automatic welding.

[0035] Furthermore, the welding information also includes the predetermined movement path of the welding head. During the welding process, the movement path map of the welding head is acquired in real time. The movement path map is compared with the predetermined movement path of the welding head to determine whether the movement of the welding head has deviated. If a deviation occurs, the movement of the welding head is first attempted to be corrected. If a deviation still occurs, the welding machine is stopped, and the deviation difference and direction of the weld point after the welding machine deviates are calculated. A dot plot is then drawn based on the deviation difference and direction.

[0036] Furthermore, the welding information also includes the tungsten electrode welding point. During the welding process, the control system adjusts the position of the tungsten electrode of the welding machine to align with the tungsten electrode welding point on the welding filler ring before welding.

[0037] The automatic welding method of the present invention achieves at least the following beneficial effects:

[0038] 1. The automatic welding method of this application can use the automated butt welding system proposed in this application to automate the entire process of cutting, grinding, cleaning, assembly and welding for butt welding of pipes and fittings of various sizes and specifications with different dimensional deviations.

[0039] 2. The automatic welding method of this application compares the movement path of the welding head with the predetermined path during the welding process, so that when problems occur during the welding process, the welding machine can quickly and automatically adjust the welding point. If it cannot be adjusted, it can stop the machine immediately and show the user a dot diagram that can intuitively understand the offset of the welding point, so that the user can quickly and accurately debug the welding machine or replace the workpiece. Attached Figure Description

[0040] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, are used to provide a further understanding of the invention. The illustrative embodiments of the invention and their descriptions are used to explain the invention and do not constitute an undue limitation of the invention. In the drawings:

[0041] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the overall control of an automated butt welding system according to one embodiment is shown.

[0042] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of pipe and fitting welding according to one embodiment is shown;

[0043] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a contour-following chuck is shown;

[0044] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a clamping device according to one embodiment is shown;

[0045] Figure 5 A cross-sectional view of the weld filler ring of one embodiment is shown;

[0046] Figure 6A schematic diagram of a welding filler ring mating with a pipe and fittings according to an embodiment is shown;

[0047] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a cleaning tool according to one embodiment is shown.

[0048] The above figures include the following reference numerals:

[0049] 1. Cutting equipment; 2. Flat-end machine; 3. Grinding equipment; 4. Cleaning equipment; 5. Control system; 6. Welding machine; 7. Clamping device; 8. Automatic operation unit; 9. Filling ring chamber; 10. Slip; 11. Contouring slip; 12. Welding filling ring; 13. Outer ring body; 14. Inner ring body; 15. Tungsten electrode; 16. Vibration motor; 17. Cleaning rod; 18. Cleaning container; 19. Frame; 20. Threaded rod; 21. Motor; 22. Clamping plate. Detailed Implementation

[0050] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in the present invention can be combined with each other. The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0051] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection claimed by the present invention. The term "comprising" indicates the presence of a feature, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features. The terms "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the purpose of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0052] In this description, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of these terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances. Furthermore, in the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0053] Example:

[0054] This application proposes an automated butt welding system for butt welding of a first weldment and a second weldment. This automated butt welding system, by designing a welding filler ring, can achieve one-time automatic welding of pipes and fittings with large dimensional deviations between the base materials on both sides of the butt joint.

[0055] In this application, pipes mainly include various straight pipes, and pipe fittings include various straight pipes, bends, and various components that play a role in connecting, controlling, changing direction, diverting flow, sealing, and supporting in the piping system. In some other embodiments, automated butt welding systems can also be used for butt welding of pipe fittings, and those skilled in the art can make adaptive adjustments.

[0056] like Figure 1 As shown, the automated butt welding system includes a control system 5 and a welding machine 6. The control system 5 controls the welding machine 6 to perform automatic welding. It also includes an automatic operation unit 8 and a filling ring 9. The automatic operation unit 8 is connected to the control system, and the control system 5 controls the automatic operation unit 8 to fix the first and second welded parts onto the welding machine 6.

[0057] The automated butt welding system also includes a clamping device 7, which is located on the welding machine 6 and is used to fix the first and second welded parts.

[0058] Combination Figure 6 As shown, the filling ring chamber 9 includes multiple welding filling rings 12. The automatic operation unit 8 picks up the welding filling rings 12 in the filling ring chamber 9 and places the welding filling rings 12 between the first welded part and the second welded part. The welding filling rings 12 are used to eliminate the influence of dimensional deviation between the first welded part and the second welded part in order to complete the one-time forming of all-position automatic welding.

[0059] The filling ring chamber 9 contains welding filling rings 12 of various specifications, and the control system 5 controls the automatic operation unit 8 to select the welding filling ring 12.

[0060] Specifically, in this embodiment, the first welded component is a pipe, and the second welded component is a pipe fitting. For example... Figure 1 As shown, the control system 5 includes a data input processing module and an assembly module. The data input processing module is signal-connected to the assembly module, and the assembly module is connected to the automatic operation unit 8. The data input processing module receives the input dimension specifications and dimensional deviation data of the pipes and fittings, processes them, and generates welding information. The welding information is transmitted to the assembly module, which is electrically connected to the automatic operation unit 8 to control the automatic operation unit 8 to select a welding filler ring of a specific specification within the filler ring chamber 9 and place it between the pipes and fittings to be welded.

[0061] The automated butt welding system of this application designs a filling ring chamber and its internal welding filling ring, places the welding filling ring between the pipe and the fitting, and then uses an all-position automatic welding machine to perform welding. This enables all-position automatic welding between pipes and fittings with large dimensional deviations between the base materials on both sides of the butt joint, eliminating the need for tack welding, saving welding personnel, reducing welding difficulty and time, and achieving one-time forming, thereby greatly improving welding efficiency.

[0062] like Figure 2 As shown, the automated butt welding system also includes clamps 10 and conforming clamps 11. Clamps 10 are used to fix the pipe to the clamping device 7, and conforming clamps 11 are used to fix the pipe fitting to the clamping device 7. A schematic diagram of the conforming clamps is shown below. Figure 3 As shown in this embodiment, the pipe fitting is a bend. The conformal clamp can be fitted onto the bend according to the shape of different bends to facilitate clamping by the clamping device. The clamp can also be fitted onto a straight pipe.

[0063] Preferably, the automatic operation unit 8 includes a robotic arm, and the automatic welding system includes various specifications of clamps 10 and various specifications of contour clamps 11. The assembly module controls the robotic arm to select clamps 10 and contour clamps 11 of a specific specification based on the welding information.

[0064] The automated butt welding system of this application is designed with an automatic operation unit. The automatic operation unit can select a welding filler ring of a certain specification to match the pipe and fitting according to the size and other parameters of the pipe and fitting, and select a clamp and a conformal clamp of a certain specification to clamp the pipe and fitting. This makes the automated butt welding system highly automated and can complete the automatic welding of pipes and fittings of various sizes and specifications, with a wide range of applications.

[0065] like Figure 4 As shown, preferably, the clamping device 7 includes a frame 19, a threaded rod 20, a motor 21, and two clamping plates 22. (Combined) Figure 2 As shown, the frame 19 is connected to the welding machine 6, the threaded rod 20 is connected to the output shaft of the motor 21, and the two clamping plates 22 are located on both sides of the frame 19 respectively. The threaded rod 20 passes through the two clamping plates 22 and the frame 19, and the threaded rod 20 is threadedly connected to the two clamping plates 22. The two clamping plates 22 are used to abut against the slip 10 or the conformal slip 11.

[0066] like Figure 5 As shown, the welding filler ring 12 includes an outer ring body 13 and an inner ring body 14 that are connected to each other. The inner ring body 14 is located radially inside the outer ring body 13, and the thickness W of the inner ring body 14 in the axial direction is less than the thickness B of the outer ring body 13.

[0067] Combination Figure 5 , Figure 6As shown, the inner ring 14 is located in the middle of the outer ring 13 in the axial direction. The two axial sides of the inner ring 14 abut against the end faces of the pipe and the fitting, respectively, and the radial inner side of the outer ring 13 matches the outer diameter of the pipe or fitting. In this application, both the pipe and the fitting are prepared with a type I bevel, and the beveling accuracy requirement is relatively low.

[0068] Preferably, in this application, the cross-section of the weld filler ring 12 can be set to a T-shape; more preferably, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the outer ring body 13 has a curved surface on one side of its axial direction.

[0069] In this embodiment, taking pipes and fittings with a wall thickness of less than 3.5 mm as an example, the specific parameter design specifications for the welding filler ring are proposed as follows:

[0070] The thickness B value of the outer ring body 13 is generally selected as 3.2mm. When it is necessary to increase the filling amount, it can be further increased. The limit for increasing the value should take into account the width of the molten pool, and it is generally not greater than 4mm.

[0071] To avoid excessive overall wall thickness of the pipe to be welded, the radial width T of the outer ring 13 should be as small as possible, generally 1mm. To avoid deformation during welding, it is not recommended to be less than 0.8mm, that is, the T value should be between 0.8mm and 1mm.

[0072] The sum of the T value and the radial width S of the inner ring is generally equal to the pipe wall thickness, and is rounded appropriately. Based on the dimensional deviations between the pipe and fittings, the W value is reduced or the B value is increased according to the specific filling requirements.

[0073] like Figure 6 As shown, the D value should be at least greater than the larger outer diameter of the pipe or fitting. Considering the compatibility with various positions of the pipe and fitting, it is generally recommended that the difference between the D value and the maximum outer diameter on both sides should not exceed 1mm. If it exceeds this, clamping measures must be adopted to ensure that the difference between the welding filler ring and the entire circle of the pipe or fitting does not exceed 0.5mm.

[0074] The allowable tolerance for all the above dimensions is ±0.05mm. The preferred dimensions for the weld filler ring design are as follows: For pipe and fitting wall thicknesses less than 2mm, B is 3.2mm, T is 1mm, W is 1.6mm, and S is 0.6mm; for pipe and fitting wall thicknesses between 2mm and 3.5mm, B is 3.2mm, T is 1mm, W is 1.6mm, and S is 2mm.

[0075] The automated butt welding system of this application adapts to pipes and fittings of different sizes and dimensional deviations by designing welding filler rings of different specifications. By designing the specific shape of the welding filler ring, it can match the pipes and fittings and make the welding joints of high quality.

[0076] More preferably, a plurality of tungsten electrode welding points are provided on the welding filler ring 12, for example... Figure 5 Points a, b, and c are shown in the diagram, with points b and c located on the curved surface. These tungsten electrode welding points are used to guide the position of the tungsten electrode during welding.

[0077] like Figure 1 As shown, the control system 5 also includes a welding module, which is signal-connected to the data input processing module and connected to the welding machine 6. The welding machine 6 includes a tungsten electrode 15, and the welding module adjusts the position of the tungsten electrode 15 according to the welding information to align it with the tungsten electrode welding point on the welding filler ring 12.

[0078] Specifically, preferably, when the difference in wall thickness between the two sides of the pipe and the fitting is within 0.4 mm, the tungsten electrode is recommended to be adjusted to position a; when the difference in wall thickness between the two sides is in the range of 0.4 mm to 1.0 mm, the tungsten electrode is recommended to be adjusted to position b; and when the difference in wall thickness between the two sides is greater than 1.0 mm, the tungsten electrode is recommended to be adjusted to position c.

[0079] By designing multiple tungsten electrode welding points on the welding filler ring, the position of the tungsten electrode can be guided when welding pipes and fittings with different wall thickness differences, thereby further improving the welding effect and making the welding filler ring more widely applicable.

[0080] Furthermore, preferably, such as Figure 1 As shown, the control system 5 also includes a start-up module, a cutting module, a grinding module, and a cleaning module. These modules are all connected to the data input processing module via signals. It may also include a storage module, which is connected to both the data input processing module and the start-up module via signals. The storage module can store historical processing records, allowing users to easily retrieve data or process the same pipes and fittings.

[0081] The automated butt welding system also includes a cutting device 1, a flat-end mill 2, a grinding device 3, and a cleaning device 4, which are connected sequentially via an automatic transport unit. The data input processing module also receives material data for the first and second welded parts. The cutting module controls the cutting device 1 and the flat-end mill 2, the grinding module controls the grinding device 3, and the cleaning module controls the cleaning device 4. In this way, the control system can select different models of the cutting device 1, the flat-end mill 2, the grinding device 3, and the cleaning device 4 based on the dimensions, materials, and other data of the pipes and fittings to be welded, or adjust the processing parameters of the equipment.

[0082] More preferably, such as Figure 1 As shown, the startup module, cutting module, grinding module, cleaning module, assembly module, and welding module are sequentially connected by signals. After each module completes its task, it transmits welding information and a high-level signal to the next module in sequence.

[0083] Cleaning equipment 4 includes a fan and cleaning tools, such as... Figure 7 As shown, the cleaning tool includes a vibrating motor 16, a cleaning rod 17, and a cleaning container 18. The cleaning rod 17 is connected to the output shaft of the vibrating motor 16, and the surface of the cleaning rod 17 is covered with an absorbent material. The cleaning rod 17 is connected to the cleaning container 18 via a pipe. The cleaning rod 17 can clean the end face of pipes or fittings after cutting and grinding.

[0084] According to another aspect of the present invention, an automatic welding method for butt welding of pipes and fittings is provided, employing the automated butt welding system described above. The automatic welding method includes the following steps:

[0085] In the welding information generation step S1, the dimensions, dimensional deviations, materials, and other data of the pipe and fittings to be welded are input into the control system. The control system determines the specifications of the welding filler ring 12 and the welding process parameters based on the built-in program to generate welding information.

[0086] Processing step S2, such as Figure 1 As shown, the control system 5 sequentially controls the cutting equipment, leveling machine, grinding equipment, and cleaning equipment to perform cutting, grinding, and cleaning operations based on the welding information. After the previous module completes its corresponding operation, it sends a high-level signal and welding data to the next module. In some other embodiments, a central control module can also be set to send individual instructions to each module.

[0087] In assembly step S3, the control system 5 controls the automatic operation unit 8 to fix the pipe and fitting on the welding machine 6. The control system 5 controls the automatic operation unit 8 to select the welding filler ring 12 in the filler ring chamber 9 according to the welding information, and places the welding filler ring 12 between the pipe and fitting.

[0088] In welding step S4, the control system 5 adjusts the welding process parameters of the welding machine 6 according to the welding information and controls the welding machine 6 to complete the one-time forming of all-position automatic welding.

[0089] The automatic welding method of this application can use the automated butt welding system proposed in this application to automate the entire process of cutting, grinding, cleaning, assembly and welding for butt welding of pipes and fittings of various sizes and specifications with different dimensional deviations.

[0090] In this application, the welding information also includes the predetermined movement path of the welding head. In welding step S4, during the welding process of the welding machine 6, the movement path diagram of the welding machine head of the welding machine 6 is acquired in real time. The movement path diagram is compared with the predetermined movement path of the welding head to determine whether the movement of the welding head has deviated. If the deviation occurs, the movement of the welding head is first attempted to be corrected. If the deviation still occurs, the welding machine 6 is stopped, and the offset difference and offset direction of the weld point after the welding machine 6 deviates are calculated. The dot pattern is drawn based on the offset difference and offset direction.

[0091] The automatic welding method of this application compares the movement path of the welding head with the predetermined path during the welding process, so that when problems occur during the welding process, the welding machine can quickly and automatically adjust the welding point. If it cannot be adjusted, it can stop the machine immediately and show the user a dot diagram that can intuitively understand the offset of the welding point, so that the user can quickly and accurately debug the welding machine or replace the workpiece.

[0092] The welding information also includes the tungsten electrode welding point. In welding step S4, the control system 5 adjusts the position of the tungsten electrode 15 of the welding machine 6 to align with the tungsten electrode welding point on the welding filler ring 12 before welding.

[0093] The following is a specific welding process using a closed-loop small pipe all-position argon arc welding machine, taking a 1” Sch10S pipe with an actual outer and inner diameter of 33.4*27.86mm and an elbow with an outer and inner diameter of 34.2mm*27.06mm and a material of 06Cr18Ni11Ti as an example:

[0094] After issuing a start command to the automated butt welding system, the preparation of I-grooves for the pipes and fittings begins. The control system selects specialized cutting equipment and a specialized flat-end machine for cutting and grinding based on the welding information. It also controls a specialized grinding tool to grind the surface of the base material at both ends of the weld joint within 10mm until the metal luster is fully exposed. After grinding, a blower is used to blow away the inner wall, and cleaning tools are used to wipe both the inner and outer walls with acetone or alcohol to ensure they are free of oil and rust. Transport vehicles then move the pipes and fittings between the various devices.

[0095] The control system selects the closed CWH-53 clamping head according to the outer diameter of the pipe and fitting. A 1-inch diameter clamp is selected on the pipe side, and a corresponding conforming clamp is selected on the fitting side. The robotic arm selects the corresponding specifications of clamps and conforming clamps, and fixes the clamping device on the lower side of the clamping head, making it an integral part of the CWH-53 clamping head.

[0096] The robot arm is controlled to select a T-shaped filling ring in the filling ring compartment. The ring has dimensions B=3.2mm, T=1mm, S=2mm, W=1.6mm, D=35mm, and the model number is IN348.

[0097] Before welding, the control system debugs the welding machine and checks whether the display on the welding machine panel is normal; it runs the welding head and checks whether the equipment is faulty; it checks whether the gas lines such as the argon gas meter, flow meter, and solenoid valve are unobstructed, and confirms that the calibrated instruments are within their calibrated validity period.

[0098] The robotic arm secures the pipe and fitting to the clamping device. The fitting is then fixed to the conformal clamp, and the fit between the arc-shaped support plate and the elbow is adjusted using an adjustable nut to achieve elbow fixation and assembly. Subsequently, it is fitted with a T-shaped filling ring and another pipe, and the other pipe is secured with a clamp on the other side.

[0099] The control system adjusts the tungsten electrode to position B of the T-shaped filler ring, approximately 1.5 mm above the ring, based on the wall thickness difference of 0.8 mm between the straight pipe and the elbow.

[0100] The control system uses a special plug to seal the argon gas outlet at the weld joint; 99.99% Ar gas is introduced from both the front and back sides. The front gas flow rate is 15 L / min with a pre-gas supply time of 10 s. The back gas flow rate is 12 L / min with a pre-gas supply time of 20 s.

[0101] The control system selects the corresponding process parameters for the outer diameter and wall thickness of the pipe fitting from the welding parameter library based on the welding information, and fine-tunes the parameters according to the actual welding effect. The final welding process parameters are divided into 4 zones: peak current 120-150A, base current 46A, peak time 1s, base time 1s, and welding speed 100mm / min.

[0102] In summary, it can be seen from the above description that the embodiments of the present invention achieve the following technical effects:

[0103] 1. The automated butt welding system of this application designs a filling ring chamber and its internal welding filling ring, places the welding filling ring between the pipe and the fitting, and then uses an all-position automatic welding machine to perform welding. This enables all-position automatic welding between pipes and fittings with large dimensional deviations between the base materials on both sides of the butt joint, eliminating the need for tack welding, saving welding personnel, reducing welding difficulty and welding time, and achieving one-time forming, thereby greatly improving welding efficiency.

[0104] 2. The automated butt welding system of this application is designed with an automatic operation unit. The automatic operation unit can select a welding filler ring of a certain specification to match the pipe and fitting according to the size and other parameters of the pipe and fitting, and select a clamp and a conformal clamp of a certain specification to clamp the pipe and fitting. This makes the automated butt welding system highly automated and can complete the automatic welding of pipes and fittings of various sizes and specifications, with a wide range of applications.

[0105] 3. The automated butt welding system of this application is designed with welding filler rings of different specifications to adapt to pipes and fittings of different sizes and dimensional deviations. By designing the specific shape of the welding filler ring, it can match the pipes and fittings and make the welding joint high quality. By designing multiple tungsten electrode welding points on the welding filler ring, the position of the tungsten electrode is guided when welding pipes and fittings with different wall thickness differences, which further improves the welding effect and makes the welding filler ring applicable to a wider range.

[0106] 4. The automated butt welding system of this application realizes the functions of data input and analysis, signal transmission and welding data transmission, and control of equipment in each step of the welding process by designing various modules of the control system. This makes the automated butt welding system suitable for automatic welding of pipes and fittings of various sizes and materials, and can realize the automated operation of the entire welding process.

[0107] 5. This application provides a new filling method for welding equipment that cannot achieve wire filling, and can further obtain welded joints that meet specific performance requirements through the composition design of the filling ring and the exploration of new materials.

[0108] 6. The automatic welding method of this application can use the automated butt welding system proposed in this application to automate the entire process of cutting, grinding, cleaning, assembly and welding for butt welding of pipes and fittings of various sizes and specifications and with different dimensional deviations.

[0109] 7. The automatic welding method of this application compares the movement path of the welding head with the predetermined path during the welding process, so that when problems occur during the welding process, the welding machine can quickly and automatically adjust the welding point. If it cannot be adjusted, it can stop the machine immediately and show the user a dot diagram that can intuitively understand the offset of the welding point, so that the user can quickly and accurately debug the welding machine or replace the workpiece.

[0110] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automated butt welding system for butt welding a first weldment and a second weldment, comprising a control system (5) and a welding machine (6), wherein the control system (5) controls the welding machine (6) to perform automatic welding, characterized in that: It also includes an automatic operation unit (8) and a filling ring chamber (9), the automatic operation unit (8) being connected to the control system, and the control system (5) controlling the automatic operation unit (8) to fix the first welded part and the second welded part on the welding machine (6); The filling ring chamber (9) includes a plurality of welding filling rings (12). The automatic operation unit (8) grabs the welding filling ring (12) in the filling ring chamber (9) and places the welding filling ring (12) between the first welded part and the second welded part. The welding filling ring (12) is used to eliminate the influence of the dimensional deviation between the first welded part and the second welded part in order to complete the one-time forming of full-position automatic welding. The first welded part is a pipe, the second welded part is a pipe fitting, the filling ring chamber (9) includes welding filling rings (12) of various specifications, and the control system (5) controls the automatic operation unit (8) to select the welding filling ring (12). The control system (5) includes a data input processing module and an assembly module. The data input processing module is signal-connected to the assembly module, and the assembly module is connected to the automatic operation unit (8). The data input processing module receives the input size data of the first welded part and the second welded part, processes it, and generates welding information. The welding filler ring (12) is provided with multiple tungsten electrode welding points. The control system (5) also includes a welding module. The welding module is connected to the data input processing module and to the welding machine (6). By designing multiple tungsten electrode welding points on the welding filler ring (12), the position of the tungsten electrode can be guided when welding the pipe and the fitting with different wall thickness differences, thereby further improving the welding effect and making the welding filler ring (12) applicable to a wider range. The welding machine (6) includes a tungsten electrode (15), and the welding module adjusts the position of the tungsten electrode (15) according to the welding information to align with the tungsten electrode welding point on the welding filler ring (12); The welding filler ring (12) includes an outer ring body (13) and an inner ring body (14) connected to each other. The inner ring body (14) is located radially inside the outer ring body (13), and the thickness of the inner ring body (14) in the axial direction is less than the thickness of the outer ring body (13). The inner ring (14) is located in the middle of the outer ring (13) in the axial direction. The two axial sides of the inner ring (14) abut against the end faces of the pipe and the pipe fitting, respectively. The radial inner side of the outer ring (13) matches the outer diameter of the pipe or the pipe fitting.

2. The automated butt welding system of claim 1, wherein: The automated butt welding system also includes a clamping device (7), a slip (10), and a conforming slip (11). The clamping device (7) is located on the welding machine (6). The slip (10) fixes the pipe on the clamping device (7), and the conforming slip (11) fixes the pipe fitting on the clamping device (7).

3. The automated butt welding system of claim 2, wherein: The automatic operation unit (8) includes a robotic arm, and the automated butt welding system includes various specifications of the slips (10) and various specifications of the conforming slips (11). The assembly module controls the robotic arm to select the slips (10) and the conforming slips (11) according to the welding information.

4. The automated butt welding system of claim 3, wherein: The clamping device (7) includes a frame (19), a threaded rod (20), a motor (21), and two clamping plates (22). The frame (19) is connected to the welding machine (6). The threaded rod (20) is connected to the output shaft of the motor (21). The two clamping plates (22) are located on both sides of the frame (19). The threaded rod (20) passes through the two clamping plates (22) and the frame (19). The threaded rod (20) is threadedly connected to the two clamping plates (22). The two clamping plates (22) are used to abut against the slip (10) or the conformal slip (11).

5. The automated butt welding system according to claim 4, characterized in that: The outer ring body (13) has a curved surface on one side of its axial direction.

6. The automated butt welding system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control system (5) further includes a start-up module, a cutting module, a grinding module, and a cleaning module. The start-up module, the cutting module, the grinding module, the cleaning module, and the assembly module are all signal-connected to the data input processing module.

7. The automated butt welding system according to claim 6, characterized in that: The automated butt welding system also includes a cutting device (1), a flat-end machine (2), a grinding device (3), and a cleaning device (4) connected in sequence via an automatic transport unit. The data input processing module also receives the material data of the first welded part and the second welded part. The cutting module controls the cutting device (1) and the flat-end machine (2), the grinding module controls the grinding device (3), and the cleaning module controls the cleaning device (4).

8. The automated butt welding system according to claim 7, characterized in that: The cleaning equipment (4) includes a fan and a cleaning tool. The cleaning tool includes a vibrating motor (16), a cleaning rod (17), and a cleaning container (18). The cleaning rod (17) is connected to the output shaft of the vibrating motor (16). The surface of the cleaning rod (17) is provided with a water-absorbing material. The cleaning rod (17) is connected to the cleaning container (18) through a pipe.

9. An automatic welding method for butt welding of pipes and pipe fittings, characterized in that, The automated butt welding system according to any one of claims 1-8, the automated welding method comprising the following steps: In the welding information generation step (S1), the size data and / or specifications of the pipe and the fitting to be welded are input into the control system. The control system determines the specifications of the welding filler ring (12) and the welding process parameters according to the built-in program to generate welding information. Assembly step (S3): The control system (5) controls the automatic operation unit (8) to fix the pipe and the fitting on the welding machine (6). The control system (5) controls the automatic operation unit (8) to select a welding filler ring (12) in the filler ring chamber (9) according to the welding information, and places the welding filler ring (12) between the pipe and the fitting. In the welding step (S4), the control system (5) adjusts the welding process parameters of the welding machine (6) according to the welding information and controls the welding machine (6) to complete the one-time forming of all-position automatic welding.

10. The automatic welding method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The welding information also includes the predetermined movement path of the welding head. In the welding step (S4), during the welding process of the welding machine (6), the movement path diagram of the welding machine (6) head is acquired in real time. The movement path diagram is compared with the predetermined movement path of the welding head to determine whether the movement of the welding head has deviated. If the deviation occurs, the movement of the welding head is first tried to be corrected. If the deviation still occurs, the welding machine (6) is stopped. The offset difference and offset direction of the welding point after the welding machine (6) deviates are calculated, and a dot plot is drawn according to the offset difference and the offset direction.

11. The automatic welding method according to claim 9, characterized in that: The welding information also includes the tungsten electrode welding point. In the welding step (S4), before welding, the control system (5) adjusts the position of the tungsten electrode (15) of the welding machine (6) to align with the tungsten electrode welding point on the welding filler ring (12).

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