Intelligent ultrasonic continuous welding system and method for fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite material

Abstract

The invention belongs to the field of ultrasonic welding equipment, and discloses an intelligent system and method for ultrasonic continuous welding of a fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite material. And full-process automatic control from preheating, welding, solidification temperature monitoring, quality detection and process optimization is realized. In the mechanical execution module, an ultrasonic welding device ensures effective implementation of ultrasonic continuous welding, a preheating and slow cooling type prepressing mechanism can apply proper prepressing pressure to a to-be-welded workpiece before welding, waste heat of the workpiece can be generated, and the welding quality can be improved. The dynamic span consolidation mechanism provides stable consolidation pressure for the workpiece in the welding process, and the strength and stability of a welding joint are further enhanced; the ball screw linear guide rail can enable the dynamic span consolidation mechanism to horizontally move along the surface of a workpiece, and accurate control and adjustment in the welding process are achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of additive manufacturing, and in particular relates to an intelligent system and method for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials. Background Art

[0002] Fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites have attracted attention due to their light weight, high strength, wide selection of materials, excellent electrical properties and outstanding thermodynamic properties. In addition, due to their environmentally friendly and recyclable, low processing cost, high production efficiency, good interlaminar toughness and high impact resistance, and suitability for high load and harsh environments, they are widely used in aerospace, wind power generation, transportation and other fields. In terms of thermoplastic composite connection, ultrasonic welding technology is popular due to its advantages such as fast, environmentally friendly, high efficiency and high-quality welding. However, this technology still faces challenges such as size limitations, inconsistent quality, reduced heat-affected properties, poor material compatibility and stress concentration. With the growing demand for large wall panels and long seam welding in the aviation manufacturing industry, and the increasingly urgent need for low-cost, fast and efficient welding solutions in the low-altitude economy industry, traditional ultrasonic spot welding technology no longer meets current needs. In this context, ultrasonic continuous welding technology shows its unique advantages due to its uniform heat distribution, excellent welding quality and cost-effective welding efficiency.

[0003] Traditional ultrasonic spot welding requires continuous pressure from the welding head to complete the welding pre-pressing, welding and consolidation stages, while continuous welding requires additional pre-pressing and consolidation equipment to obtain high-quality welded joints. Existing processes face significant challenges in maintaining welding uniformity and consistency, especially in achieving high stability in the welding process. In addition, damage detection and temperature measurement technologies in ultrasonic continuous welding are often not accurate or real-time, which limits welding accuracy. Existing technologies also lack real-time online control capabilities and cannot adjust parameters according to dynamic changes in welding conditions, which in turn affects welding quality and efficiency. Due to the lack of comprehensive monitoring and control, existing technologies are difficult to achieve automated welding, which limits production efficiency and consistency. At the same time, existing technologies lack the collection and analysis of welding data, making data-based process optimization difficult.

[0004] It can be seen that the use of existing ultrasonic continuous welding technology cannot achieve automation, precise monitoring and real-time regulation in the ultrasonic continuous welding process, resulting in the quality of the welded joint cannot be guaranteed and the production efficiency is low. Summary of the invention

[0005] The present invention provides an intelligent system and method for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, so as to solve the technical problems that the quality of the welded joint cannot be guaranteed and the production efficiency is low due to the inability to realize automation, precise monitoring and real-time regulation in the ultrasonic continuous welding process using the existing ultrasonic continuous welding process.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical contents: An intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, comprising: a mechanical execution module and an intelligent control and monitoring module; The mechanical execution module is used to realize ultrasonic continuous welding of workpieces to be welded, wherein the workpieces to be welded are made of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials; The intelligent control and monitoring module is connected to the mechanical execution module to realize the full process automation control from preheating of the workpiece to be welded, welding, consolidation temperature monitoring, quality inspection to process optimization; The mechanical execution module comprises a mechanical mechanism body; the mechanical mechanism body is provided with an ultrasonic welding device, a preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism, a dynamic span consolidation mechanism, a ball screw linear guide rail and a modular flange connection end; The ultrasonic welding device is used to perform ultrasonic continuous welding on the workpieces to be welded; The preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism is used to apply preloading pressure to the workpiece to be welded before welding and to provide residual heat to the workpiece to be welded; The dynamic span consolidation mechanism is used to provide consolidation pressure for the workpieces to be welded during the ultrasonic continuous welding process; The ball screw linear guide is connected to the dynamic span consolidation mechanism and is used to drive the dynamic span consolidation mechanism to move horizontally along the surface of the workpiece to be welded.

[0007] Furthermore, the intelligent control and monitoring module includes a visual monitoring system, an infrared temperature monitoring system, a non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system, an integrated master control unit and an intelligent process optimization engine; The visual monitoring system is used to monitor resin extrusion and workpiece deformation and record data; The infrared temperature monitoring system is used to monitor the interface temperature distribution of each area during the continuous welding process in real time and collect the internal temperature data of the welding joint; The nondestructive ultrasonic flaw detection system is connected to the ball screw linear guide rail and is used to perform real-time nondestructive flaw detection on the newly formed weld and generate internal structure information; The intelligent process optimization engine is used to construct an ultrasonic welding database containing "thermal-mechanical" multi-physics field coupling data based on the welding process images captured by the visual monitoring system, the temperature distribution data provided by the infrared temperature monitoring system, and the internal structure information detected by the non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system, so as to evaluate the welding process in real time and dynamically optimize the process parameters according to the ultrasonic welding database; The process parameters include welding amplitude, welding pressure, welding speed, pre-pressing pressure, preheating temperature, consolidation pressure and consolidation time. The integrated master control unit is used to regulate the ultrasonic welding device, the preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism, the dynamic span consolidation mechanism and the ball screw linear guide rail respectively according to the optimized process parameters.

[0008] Further, the visual monitoring system comprises an aluminum profile connecting plate and a lighting module connected to the mechanical mechanism body, and the aluminum profile connecting plate is connected to a plastic hose and a high-speed camera in sequence; The lighting module comprises a flange connecting plate connected to the mechanical mechanism body, and the flange connecting plate is sequentially connected to a lighting lamp connecting piece and a lighting lamp.

[0009] Furthermore, the infrared temperature monitoring system includes an infrared thermometer connector connected to the mechanical mechanism body; an infrared thermometer is connected to the bottom of the infrared thermometer connector.

[0010] Furthermore, the nondestructive ultrasonic flaw detection system includes an ultrasonic flaw detector connection assembly connected to the ball screw linear guide rail; the ultrasonic flaw detector connection assembly is connected to an ultrasonic flaw detector and an excitation generator.

[0011] Furthermore, the ultrasonic welding device includes a welding pneumatic pressure mechanism connected to the mechanical mechanism body; the output end of the welding pneumatic pressure mechanism is connected to an ultrasonic transducer, a horn and an ultrasonic welding head in sequence; the welding pneumatic pressure mechanism can control the ultrasonic welding head to move in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece to be welded.

[0012] Furthermore, the preheating and slow cooling prepressing mechanism comprises a prepressing pneumatic pressure mechanism connected to the mechanical mechanism body; the prepressing pneumatic pressure mechanism is sequentially connected to a prepressing device mounting plate, a prepressing roller fixing part and an electric heating roller.

[0013] Furthermore, the dynamic span consolidation mechanism includes a cylinder fixing plate connected to the ball screw linear guide; the cylinder fixing plate is connected to a consolidation pneumatic pressure mechanism; the consolidation pneumatic pressure mechanism is connected to a consolidation block connecting plate and a copper consolidation block.

[0014] Furthermore, the modular flange connection end is used to connect to an industrial robot arm or a gantry to achieve continuous welding.

[0015] A working method of an intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, based on the above-mentioned intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, comprises: The intelligent control and monitoring module evaluates the welding process in real time based on the collected data and dynamically optimizes the process parameters; The intelligent control and monitoring module performs full-process automated control of the mechanical execution module based on dynamically optimized process parameters, as follows: Control the preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism to apply preloading pressure to the workpiece to be welded before welding and to provide residual heat to the workpiece to be welded; Control the ball screw linear guide to drive the dynamic span consolidation mechanism to move horizontally along the surface of the workpiece to be welded; Controlling the ultrasonic welding device to perform ultrasonic continuous welding on the workpiece to be welded; The dynamic span consolidation mechanism is controlled to provide consolidation pressure for the workpieces to be welded during the ultrasonic continuous welding process, so as to realize ultrasonic continuous welding of the workpieces to be welded.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: The present invention provides an intelligent ultrasonic continuous welding system for fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite materials. The system realizes the full process automation control from preheating, welding to consolidation temperature monitoring, quality inspection and process optimization by integrating mechanical execution module and intelligent control and monitoring module. In the mechanical execution module, the ultrasonic welding device ensures the effective implementation of ultrasonic continuous welding. The preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism can not only apply appropriate preloading pressure to the workpiece to be welded before welding, but also can provide residual heat for the workpiece, which helps to improve the welding quality; the dynamic span consolidation mechanism provides a stable consolidation pressure for the workpiece during the welding process, further enhancing the strength and stability of the welded joint; the ball screw linear guide can make the dynamic span consolidation mechanism move horizontally along the workpiece surface, realizing the precise control and adjustment of the welding process. The system effectively solves the problems of poor welding uniformity and consistency, insufficient stability, inaccurate damage detection and temperature measurement, lack of real-time online control capability, etc. in traditional ultrasonic continuous welding, greatly improves the quality of the welded joint, and improves production efficiency at the same time; through comprehensive monitoring and control, the system also realizes automatic welding, which provides the possibility for data-based process optimization and further promotes the development of ultrasonic continuous welding technology.

[0017] Preferably, in the present invention, the intelligent control and monitoring module is further refined into multiple subsystems, including a visual monitoring system, an infrared temperature monitoring system, a non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system, etc. These subsystems can capture key data in the welding process in real time, such as resin extrusion, workpiece deformation, interface temperature distribution, internal structure of the weld, etc.; through the analysis and optimization of the intelligent process optimization engine, the system can dynamically adjust the process parameters, achieve precise control of the welding process, and further improve the welding quality and efficiency.

[0018] Preferably, in the present invention, the specific design of the visual monitoring system enables the system to clearly capture image information during the welding process, including resin extrusion and workpiece deformation, etc.; this helps to promptly discover potential welding problems and provide data support for subsequent process optimization.

[0019] Preferably, in the present invention, the introduction of the infrared temperature monitoring system enables the system to monitor the internal temperature data of the welding joint in real time, ensuring that the temperature control during the welding process meets the process requirements, thereby avoiding welding defects caused by overheating or insufficient temperature.

[0020] Preferably, in the present invention, the integration of the nondestructive ultrasonic flaw detection system enables the system to perform real-time nondestructive flaw detection on a newly formed weld, thereby promptly discovering defects inside the weld and ensuring the quality of the weld joint.

[0021] Preferably, in the present invention, the specific design of the ultrasonic welding device enables the system to accurately control the movement of the ultrasonic welding head and the welding pressure, thereby ensuring the stability and consistency of the welding process.

[0022] Preferably, in the present invention, the design of the preheating and slow cooling prepressing mechanism enables the system to preheat and prepress the workpiece to be welded before welding, which helps to improve the strength and stability of the welded joint.

[0023] Preferably, in the present invention, the specific design of the dynamic span consolidation mechanism enables the system to provide a stable consolidation pressure for the workpieces to be welded during the welding process, thereby ensuring the tightness and strength of the weld.

[0024] Preferably, in the present invention, the design of the modular flange connection end enables the system to be connected to automated equipment such as an industrial robot arm or a gantry, thereby realizing automated production of continuous welding, further improving production efficiency and consistency.

[0025] The present invention also provides a working method of an intelligent ultrasonic continuous welding system for fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite materials. The method realizes comprehensive automatic control of the welding process by integrating an intelligent control and monitoring module and a mechanical execution module. The intelligent control and monitoring module can collect data in the welding process in real time, and conduct real-time evaluation and dynamic optimization of process parameters, thereby ensuring the high stability and consistency of the welding process. Before welding, the preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism can apply appropriate preloading pressure and preheating treatment to the workpiece to be welded according to the optimized process parameters, which helps to improve the strength and stability of the welded joint. At the same time, the ball screw linear guide can accurately control the horizontal movement of the dynamic span consolidation mechanism along the surface of the workpiece to be welded, ensuring the accuracy and continuity of the welding process. The ultrasonic welding device implements ultrasonic continuous welding according to the optimized process parameters, further improving the welding quality and efficiency. The dynamic span consolidation mechanism provides a stable consolidation pressure for the workpiece to be welded during the welding process, ensuring the tightness and strength of the weld. This method effectively solves the problems existing in the traditional ultrasonic continuous welding process, such as poor welding uniformity and consistency, insufficient stability, inaccurate damage detection and temperature measurement, and lack of real-time online control capabilities. It realizes full automation, precise monitoring and real-time control of the welding process, and greatly improves the quality of welded joints and production efficiency. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of an intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 A right view of a three-dimensional structure of a dimensional reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding system provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of a preheating and slow cooling prepressing mechanism of an ultrasonic continuous welding system for fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials provided by an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 The overall three-dimensional structural front view of the dynamic span consolidation mechanism, non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system and high-precision ball screw linear guide displacement platform of the dimensional reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding system provided by the embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 A schematic diagram of an overall three-dimensional structure of an embodiment of the present invention using a gantry and an end effector for continuous ultrasonic welding; Figure 6 A schematic diagram of an overall three-dimensional structure of an embodiment of the present invention using an industrial robot arm and an end effector to perform continuous ultrasonic welding; Figure 7 A front view of a three-dimensional structure when the welding surface provided by an embodiment of the present invention is a curved surface; Figure 8 This is a structural principle diagram of an intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Reference numerals: 1. Ultrasonic welding head; 2. Ultrasonic transducer; 3. Welding pneumatic pressure mechanism; 4. First mounting plate; 5. Second mounting plate; 6. Third mounting plate; 7. Aluminum profile; 8. Fourth mounting plate; 9. Angle code; 10. Pre-pressing pneumatic pressure mechanism; 11. Pre-pressing device mounting plate; 12. Pre-pressing roller fixing piece; 13. Electric heating roller; 14. Consolidation pneumatic pressure mechanism; 15. Cylinder fixing plate; 16. Consolidation block connecting plate; 17. Copper consolidation block; 18. Ultrasonic flaw detector; 19. Ultrasonic flaw detector connecting assembly; 20. Infrared thermometer connecting piece; 21. Infrared thermometer Instrument; 22. Aluminum profile connecting plate; 23. Plastic hose; 24. High-speed camera; 25. Lighting lamp; 26. Ball screw linear guide; 27. Flange; 28. Lighting lamp connecting piece; 29. ​​Flange connecting plate; 30. Temperature control probe; 31. Heating wire; 32. Conductive slip ring; 33. Arc-shaped consolidation block; 34. Welding head; 35. Gantry; 36. Gantry linear displacement platform; 37. Thermoplastic composite plate to be welded; 38. Gantry workpiece fixture; 39. Industrial robot arm; 40. Robot arm supporting displacement platform; 41. Thermoplastic composite plate to be welded. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects solved by the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail in the following specific embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Generally, the components of the embodiments of the present invention described and shown in the drawings here can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0030] 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 invention claimed for protection, but merely represents selected embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] Example 1 As mentioned in the background technology, traditional ultrasonic spot welding requires the welding head to continuously apply pressure to complete the welding pre-pressing, welding and consolidation stages, while continuous welding requires additional pre-pressing and consolidation equipment to obtain high-quality welded joints. Existing processes face significant challenges in maintaining welding uniformity and consistency, especially in achieving high stability in the welding process. In addition, damage detection and temperature measurement technologies in ultrasonic continuous welding are often not accurate or real-time, which limits welding accuracy. Existing technologies also lack real-time online control capabilities and cannot adjust parameters according to dynamic changes in welding conditions, which in turn affects welding quality and efficiency. Due to the lack of comprehensive monitoring and control, existing technologies are difficult to achieve automated welding, which limits production efficiency and consistency. At the same time, existing technologies lack the collection and analysis of welding data, making data-based process optimization difficult.

[0032] In order to solve the above problems, this embodiment provides an intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials. The system can realize the automation, precise monitoring and real-time control of the ultrasonic continuous welding process in terms of ultrasonic continuous welding process, optimize production efficiency and obtain higher quality welded joints; this embodiment provides an integrated multi-parameter controlled fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent equipment system. This system is suitable for single-point, multi-point continuous, straight and curved welding, and ensures the uniformity and quality of the workpiece before welding through the preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism. The dynamic span consolidation mechanism allows precise adjustment of the consolidation time and pressure to achieve high-quality welds. The system also integrates high-speed visual monitoring, high-dynamic infrared temperature monitoring and non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection, collects welding data in real time, and builds a welding database. Combined with artificial intelligence algorithms and comprehensive performance intelligent judgment models, the welding process is evaluated in real time and the process parameters are dynamically optimized to achieve intelligent closed-loop control, significantly improve welding efficiency and quality, and bring innovative automation solutions to the field of composite material welding.

[0033] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment provides an intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, including a mechanical execution module and an intelligent control and monitoring module. The mechanical execution module includes an ultrasonic welding device, a preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism, a dynamic span consolidation mechanism, a ball screw linear guide 26, and a modular flange connection end; the intelligent control and monitoring module includes a visual monitoring system, an infrared temperature monitoring system, a non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system, an integrated master control unit and an intelligent process optimization engine.

[0034] In this embodiment, the ultrasonic welding device is mainly composed of an ultrasonic generator, an ultrasonic welding head 1, an ultrasonic transducer 2 and a welding pneumatic pressure mechanism 3. The welding pneumatic pressure mechanism 3 is fixed on a first mounting plate 4, and the output end of the cylinder is connected to a welding kit consisting of an ultrasonic transducer 2, a horn and an ultrasonic welding head 1 to control the ultrasonic welding head 1 to move in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece.

[0035] like Figure 3 As shown, the preheating and slow cooling prepressing mechanism is fixed on the third mounting plate 6, and specifically includes a prepressing pneumatic pressure mechanism 10, a prepressing device mounting plate 11, a prepressing roller fixing member 12 and an electric heating roller 13. The electric heating roller 13 is made of hard metal materials such as alloy steel, and has a built-in electric heating wire 31 and a temperature control probe 30, and also includes a conductive slip ring 32. The preheating and slow cooling prepressing mechanism applies prepressing pressure to the workpiece before welding, and adjusts it through the prepressing pneumatic pressure mechanism 10 to adapt to different pressure requirements to ensure that the workpiece fits tightly. At the same time, the electric heating roller provides a uniform initial temperature for preheating, improves welding efficiency, and reduces temperature gradients and workpiece deformation caused by environmental cooling.

[0036] like Figure 4 The dynamic span consolidation mechanism is fixed on the second mounting plate 5, and includes a consolidation pneumatic pressure mechanism 14, a cylinder fixing plate 15, a consolidation block connecting plate 16, and a copper consolidation block 17. The arc design at both ends of the copper consolidation block 17 not only utilizes the high thermal conductivity of copper to optimize the pressure holding effect, but also reduces the wear on the workpiece surface. The dynamic span consolidation mechanism is connected to the ball screw linear guide 26 through the cylinder fixing plate 15, and the ball screw linear guide 26 is controlled by the servo motor to realize the horizontal movement of the copper consolidation block 17 along the workpiece surface, and the distance from the ultrasonic welding head 1 is accurately adjusted to adjust the consolidation time.

[0037] Another example Figure 4 As shown, the nondestructive ultrasonic flaw detection system is installed on the ball screw linear guide 26 through the cylinder fixing plate 15, including an excitation generator, an ultrasonic flaw detector 19 and an ultrasonic flaw detector connecting assembly 18, and moves along the ball screw linear guide 26 synchronously with the dynamic span consolidation mechanism through the servo motor control. After welding is completed, the weld is monitored in real time, and data such as pore distribution, fiber deformation and resin damage are collected to achieve online evaluation and regulation of welding quality.

[0038] Another example Figure 1 As shown, the infrared temperature monitoring system includes an infrared thermometer 21 and an infrared thermometer connector 20, which are fixed to the aluminum profile 7 by countersunk bolts, and then connected to the second mounting plate 5 and the third mounting plate 6 by angle brackets 9. The infrared temperature monitoring system can monitor the interface temperature distribution of each area during the continuous welding process in real time, and collect the internal temperature data of the welding joint to ensure the temperature control of the welding process.

[0039] In this embodiment, the visual monitoring system includes a high-speed camera 24, a plastic hose 23 and an aluminum profile connecting plate 22, and the aluminum profile connecting plate 22 is fixed to the aluminum profile 7 by countersunk bolts. During the continuous welding process, the plastic hose 23 can be adjusted to capture the welding surface to be observed, monitor the resin extrusion and workpiece deformation in real time, and record the data. Equipped with a lighting module to provide lighting for the welding surface. In addition, if Figure 2 As shown, this embodiment also includes a high-power lighting lamp 25, which is fixed to the flange connecting plate 29 via a lighting lamp connecting member 28 to ensure that the welding area has sufficient light source.

[0040] Combination Figure 5 and Figure 6 The fixing and clamping device of the welding equipment can be a gantry 35 or an industrial robot arm 39, which is connected to the flange 27 of the flange connection end and fixed to the flange connection plate 29 and the rear mounting plate 8 by countersunk bolts. When performing single-spot welding, multi-spot continuous welding or linear continuous welding, the thermoplastic composite flat plate 37 to be welded is fixed on the gantry workpiece fixture 38. By controlling the linear displacement platform 36 of the gantry or the industrial robot arm 39 and its displacement platform 40, the horizontal movement of the end effector along the surface of the workpiece is realized. The design of the industrial robot also enables it to adapt to complex environments for ultrasonic welding.

[0041] like Figure 7 As shown, when welding a curved surface, a circular welding head 34 and an arc-shaped consolidation block 33 need to be replaced, and a fixture with a corresponding arc is used. Continuous ultrasonic welding along the curved surface is achieved by precisely controlling the industrial robot arm 39 and its displacement platform 40.

[0042] The integrated master control unit includes subsystems such as welding process parameter control system, welding device pneumatic pressure control system, preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism, dynamic span consolidation mechanism pneumatic pressure control system, ball screw linear guide servo motor control system, gantry or industrial robot arm control system. Through the integrated control subsystem, the integrated master control unit can realize precise control of core welding process parameters such as welding amplitude, welding pressure, welding speed, as well as auxiliary parameters such as preloading pressure, preheating temperature, consolidation pressure and consolidation time, so as to obtain uniform and consistent high-quality welds.

[0043] like Figure 8 As shown in the figure, the core of the system is its intelligent process optimization engine, which uses a multi-channel data acquisition card to capture in real time the welding process images captured by the visual monitoring system, the temperature distribution data provided by the infrared temperature monitoring system, and the internal structure information detected by the non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system, and builds an ultrasonic welding database containing "thermal-mechanical" multi-physical field coupling data, which provides data support for real-time evaluation of the welding process and dynamic optimization of process parameters.

[0044] Aiming at the strong nonlinear and non-smooth structural characteristics of the ultrasonic welding database, and by integrating the mechanical properties of the joint after welding and the connection appearance quality (under-welding, perfect welding, over-welding), a comprehensive performance intelligent judgment model of complex multi-process parameters is constructed. Combined with deep learning algorithms and big data analysis technology, the system can adaptively learn and predict the optimal welding process parameters, and provide optimization suggestions for process parameters for various welding scenarios such as welding tasks of different materials, different thicknesses and different shapes, thereby ensuring the consistency of the welding process and the stability of the welding quality.

[0045] In addition, the system's heuristic random search optimization algorithm further enhances the dynamic adjustment capability of welding parameters. This algorithm can automatically adjust key parameters such as welding speed, power, and pressure based on the feedback of real-time monitoring data and the optimization suggestions of the above-mentioned intelligent judgment model, realize adaptive control of welding and intelligent closed-loop regulation of the process, thereby significantly improving welding efficiency and quality.

[0046] This system achieves precise control of energy input during welding through its intelligent closed-loop control mechanism, significantly improving the stability and consistency of the welding process; this system also integrates other advanced online monitoring unit modules, such as temperature control system, displacement control system, and stress acquisition system, further enhancing the intelligence level of the equipment and the controllability of the manufacturing process. It provides strong technical support for efficient and high-quality welding of composite materials.

[0047] Example 2 The invention discloses a welding method based on an ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system for fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials.

[0048] In this embodiment, a continuous carbon fiber reinforced polycarbonate composite plate with a length of 300 mm, a width of 101.6 mm, and a thickness of 2 mm is used, wherein the volume fraction of the carbon fiber is 40%.

[0049] This embodiment is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0050] Clean the plastic composite board with alcohol to remove the oil on the surface and then air dry it.

[0051] Before welding begins, the thermoplastic composite flat plate 37 or the thermoplastic composite plate 41 to be welded is firmly placed in the upper and lower positions of the corresponding fixtures of the gantry 35 or the industrial robot arm 39 to accurately define the welding area and complete the precise clamping of the workpiece; wherein the thermoplastic composite plate 41 to be welded is Ω-shaped.

[0052] The welding equipment is connected and fixed to the gantry 35 or the industrial robot arm 39 through the flange 27. The ultrasonic welding head 1, the electric heating roller 13, the copper consolidation block 17 and the ultrasonic flaw detector 19 of the welding device are adjusted by operating the integrated master control unit to ensure that they are horizontally aligned with the line to be welded. Subsequently, the end effector is moved horizontally to position the electric heating roller 13 above the left side of the area to be welded, and to ensure that the distance between the ultrasonic welding head 1 and the line to be welded in the vertical direction is within the range of the cylinder stroke to complete the precise setting of the pre-positioning stage.

[0053] The pre-pressing pneumatic pressure mechanism 10 is precisely controlled by the integrated master control unit to guide the electric heating roller 13 to move in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece, and the pre-pressing pressure is monitored in real time by the pressure acquisition system. When the pressure reaches the preset value, the cylinder stops working. At the same time, the temperature control probe 30 monitors and records the temperature of the electric heating roller to ensure that after the preset temperature and pre-pressing pressure meet the conditions, the end effector is controlled by the gantry 35 or the industrial robot arm 39 to move horizontally along the workpiece to be welded, and the pre-pressing and preheating stage is successfully completed.

[0054] When the welding equipment is positioned so that the ultrasonic horn 1 is aligned with the area to be welded, the welding pneumatic pressure mechanism 3 accurately controls the horn to be pressed down to achieve the preset welding pressure. Under this pressure, the two workpieces to be welded are welded together. Subsequently, the ultrasonic horn 1 moves along the path preset by the gantry 35 or the industrial robot arm 39 to complete the entire welding process.

[0055] After welding is completed, the dynamic span consolidation mechanism automatically moves the copper consolidation block 17 to a predetermined position according to the preset consolidation distance. When the copper consolidation block 17 arrives at the area to be welded, the downward pressure of the consolidation block is accurately controlled by the consolidation pneumatic pressure mechanism 14, and the consolidation pressure is monitored in real time by the installed pressure acquisition system. Once the preset consolidation pressure value is reached, the consolidation pneumatic pressure mechanism 14 stops operating and enters the consolidation and cooling stage of the weld. At the same time, the non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system moves synchronously with the consolidation block to perform real-time non-destructive flaw detection on the newly formed weld. When the non-destructive flaw detector 19 runs to the rightmost end of the weld, the continuous welding process is completed.

[0056] During the welding process, the infrared thermometer 21 works in conjunction with the welding equipment, moves along the welding path, accurately monitors the real-time temperature of the welding interface, ensures the accuracy of temperature control, and records the data in real time. At the same time, the high-speed camera 24 also follows the movement of the welding equipment, carefully monitors the welding surface, the shape of the formed weld, and the deformation of the workpiece in real time and collects key data. In addition, the ultrasonic non-destructive flaw detector 19 also realizes online monitoring and collects key information such as the pore distribution, fiber deformation, and resin damage of the formed weld.

[0057] These data are used to build a comprehensive "thermal-mechanical" multi-physics field coupled ultrasonic welding database, which is the basis for realizing intelligent control of the welding process. The data in the above database are analyzed using artificial intelligence algorithms, and a comprehensive performance intelligent judgment model for complex multi-process parameters is established in combination with evaluation indicators such as the mechanical properties and appearance quality of the welded joints. The constructed comprehensive performance intelligent judgment model can evaluate the welding process in real time and provide optimization suggestions for process parameters. In order to achieve the optimal setting of process parameters, a heuristic random search optimization algorithm is used, which can dynamically adjust the welding parameters according to real-time monitoring data to obtain the best welding effect.

[0058] It can be seen that the intelligent system and method for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials provided by the present invention have the following advantages over the existing ultrasonic continuous welding process: (1) The present invention uses fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, with a carbon fiber volume fraction of 20% to 60%, including but not limited to polyetheretherketone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyethylene terephthalate and other polymers, which have the advantages of light weight, high strength, high modulus, high temperature resistance, fatigue resistance, corrosion resistance, good thermal stability, etc.; the present invention realizes an efficient, accurate and automated welding process through the high-precision welding capability, flexibility and adaptability of its mechanical execution module, combined with the real-time monitoring, non-destructive testing and full-process automated control of the intelligent control and monitoring core, and significantly improves the welding quality, production efficiency and the intelligent level of the process.

[0059] (2) The present invention ensures the accuracy of energy transfer and the stability of pressure control during the welding process through an efficient transducer and a precise pneumatic pressure system; at the same time, it solves the efficiency problem of traditional ultrasonic spot welding in welding large-scale and complex three-dimensional structures.

[0060] (3) The preheating and slow cooling prepressing mechanism configured in the present invention can provide uniform heat distribution by using electric heating rollers to achieve prepressing and preheating functions, effectively eliminating the temperature gradient caused by rapid cooling of the environment, and reducing deformation and warping of the workpiece. In conjunction with the real-time monitoring of the pressure acquisition system, the precise control of temperature and prepressing pressure during the prepressing process is ensured, thereby optimizing the preheating and prepressing effects of the material and improving the quality of the welded joint.

[0061] (4) The dynamic span consolidation mechanism configured in the present invention is equipped with copper consolidation blocks with arcs at both ends, which utilize the high thermal conductivity of copper for effective consolidation. At the same time, the arc design reduces the wear on the workpiece surface. In conjunction with the high-precision ball screw linear guide displacement platform, the distance between the consolidation block and the ultrasonic welding head can be accurately adjusted; combined with the real-time monitoring of the pressure acquisition system, the precise control of the consolidation pressure is ensured, which improves the adaptability of the welding process and the uniformity of the joint. At the same time, the replacement of the arc-shaped consolidation device expands its application to three-dimensional curved surface welding.

[0062] (5) The advantage of the modular flange connection end configured in the present invention is its compatibility with industrial robot arms or gantry, which provides flexibility and scalability for the welding system, enables the continuous welding process to be automated and precisely controlled, and significantly improves production efficiency and welding quality.

[0063] (6) The advantage of the non-destructive ultrasonic testing system configured in the present invention is that it can realize real-time monitoring, and can instantly detect and record interface damage defects such as pore distribution, fiber deformation, resin damage, etc. during the welding process, ensuring continuous monitoring of welding quality and accurate data collection.

[0064] (7) The high dynamic infrared temperature measurement and control system configured in the present invention can provide real-time feedback of interface temperature changes during the welding process, ensuring accurate control of the welding temperature, thereby ensuring the quality and consistency of the welded joint.

[0065] (8) The high-speed camera mechanism configured in the present invention can capture the deformation, warping and resin extrusion of the welding area in real time, collect data, and provide visual information for building a welding process database, thereby enhancing the visibility of the welding process and the accuracy of monitoring.

[0066] (9) The integrated master control unit of the present invention realizes precise control and real-time status monitoring of each component in the welding process by uniformly controlling all components and supporting automation equipment of the mechanical execution module and is equipped with a displacement and pressure acquisition system, thereby ensuring the efficiency and consistency of the welding operation.

[0067] (10) The intelligent process optimization engine of the present invention realizes the real-time collection of key data such as pore distribution, fiber degeneration, numerical damage, interface temperature and resin extrusion by configuring a multi-channel performance data acquisition card. These data are used to build a comprehensive "thermal-mechanical" multi-physics field coupled ultrasonic welding database. This database not only provides a basis for the intelligent control of the welding process, but also combines mechanical properties and welding quality evaluation indicators to form a comprehensive performance intelligent judgment model that can evaluate and optimize process parameters in real time. In conjunction with artificial intelligence algorithms and heuristic random search optimization algorithms, the system can automatically adjust welding parameters according to real-time monitoring data to ensure the quality of welded joints, thus realizing intelligent closed-loop control of the welding process. The automation level and adaptability of the welding process have been significantly improved, and production efficiency and product quality have been optimized.

[0068] In summary, the fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system of the present invention provides an efficient and accurate thermoplastic composite continuous ultrasonic welding device and process. The present invention can obtain a higher quality weld by configuring a pre-pressing mechanism and a consolidation mechanism. At the same time, through real-time data acquisition, multi-physical field coupling analysis and intelligent process parameter adjustment, the welding quality and production efficiency are significantly improved, which not only improves the quality of the welded joint, but also realizes the automation and intelligence of the welding process, and has a wide range of industrial application prospects.

[0069] The above embodiment is only one of the implementation methods that can realize the technical solution of the present invention. The scope of protection claimed by the present invention is not limited only to this embodiment, but also includes changes, replacements and other implementation methods that can be easily thought of by any technician familiar with the technical field within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, characterized in that: include: Mechanical execution module and intelligent control and monitoring module; The mechanical execution module is used to realize ultrasonic continuous welding of workpieces to be welded, wherein the workpieces to be welded are made of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials; The intelligent control and monitoring module is connected to the mechanical execution module to realize the full process automation control from preheating of the workpiece to be welded, welding, consolidation temperature monitoring, quality inspection to process optimization; The mechanical execution module comprises a mechanical mechanism body; the mechanical mechanism body is provided with an ultrasonic welding device, a preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism, a dynamic span consolidation mechanism, a ball screw linear guide rail (26) and a modular flange connection end; The ultrasonic welding device is used to perform ultrasonic continuous welding on the workpieces to be welded; The preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism is used to apply preloading pressure to the workpiece to be welded before welding and to provide residual heat to the workpiece to be welded; The dynamic span consolidation mechanism is used to provide consolidation pressure for the workpieces to be welded during the ultrasonic continuous welding process; The ball screw linear guide rail (26) is connected to the dynamic span consolidation mechanism and is used to drive the dynamic span consolidation mechanism to move horizontally along the surface of the workpiece to be welded.

2. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The intelligent control and monitoring module includes a visual monitoring system, an infrared temperature monitoring system, a non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system, an integrated master control unit and an intelligent process optimization engine; The visual monitoring system is used to monitor resin extrusion and workpiece deformation and record data; The infrared temperature monitoring system is used to monitor the interface temperature distribution of each area during the continuous welding process in real time and collect the internal temperature data of the welding joint; The non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system is connected to the ball screw linear guide rail (26) and is used to perform real-time non-destructive flaw detection on the newly formed weld and generate internal structure information; The intelligent process optimization engine is used to construct an ultrasonic welding database containing "thermal-mechanical" multi-physics field coupling data based on the welding process images captured by the visual monitoring system, the temperature distribution data provided by the infrared temperature monitoring system, and the internal structure information detected by the non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system, so as to evaluate the welding process in real time and dynamically optimize the process parameters according to the ultrasonic welding database; The process parameters include welding amplitude, welding pressure, welding speed, pre-pressing pressure, preheating temperature, consolidation pressure and consolidation time. The integrated master control unit is used to respectively regulate the ultrasonic welding device, the preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism, the dynamic span consolidation mechanism and the ball screw linear guide rail (26) according to the optimized process parameters.

3. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The visual monitoring system comprises an aluminum profile connecting plate (22) and a lighting module connected to the mechanical mechanism body, wherein the aluminum profile connecting plate (22) is sequentially connected to a plastic hose (23) and a high-speed camera (24); The lighting module comprises a flange connection plate (29) connected to the mechanical mechanism body, and the flange connection plate (29) is sequentially connected to a lighting lamp connection piece (28) and a lighting lamp (25).

4. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The infrared temperature monitoring system comprises an infrared thermometer connecting piece (20) connected to the mechanical mechanism body; an infrared thermometer (21) is connected to the bottom of the infrared thermometer connecting piece (20).

5. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The non-destructive ultrasonic flaw detection system comprises an ultrasonic flaw detector connection assembly (18) connected to the ball screw linear guide rail (26); the ultrasonic flaw detector connection assembly (18) is connected to an ultrasonic flaw detector (19) and an excitation generator.

6. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ultrasonic welding device comprises a welding pneumatic pressure mechanism (3) connected to the mechanical mechanism body; the output end of the welding pneumatic pressure mechanism (3) is sequentially connected to an ultrasonic transducer (2), a horn and an ultrasonic welding head (1); the welding pneumatic pressure mechanism (3) is capable of controlling the ultrasonic welding head (1) to move in a direction perpendicular to the surface of a workpiece to be welded.

7. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The preheating and slow cooling prepressing mechanism comprises a prepressing pneumatic pressure mechanism (10) connected to the mechanical mechanism body; the prepressing pneumatic pressure mechanism (10) is sequentially connected to a prepressing device mounting plate (11), a prepressing roller fixing member (12) and an electric heating roller (13).

8. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The dynamic span consolidation mechanism comprises a cylinder fixing plate (15) connected to the ball screw linear guide rail (26); the cylinder fixing plate (15) is connected to a consolidation pneumatic pressure mechanism (14); the consolidation pneumatic pressure mechanism (14) is connected to a consolidation block connecting plate (16) and a copper consolidation block (17).

9. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The modular flange connection end is used to connect with an industrial robot arm or a gantry to achieve continuous welding.

10. A working method of an intelligent system for ultrasonic continuous welding of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite materials, characterized in that: The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composite ultrasonic continuous welding intelligent system according to any one of claims 1 to 9 comprises: The intelligent control and monitoring module evaluates the welding process in real time based on the collected data and dynamically optimizes the process parameters; The intelligent control and monitoring module performs full-process automated control of the mechanical execution module based on dynamically optimized process parameters, as follows: Control the preheating and slow cooling preloading mechanism to apply preloading pressure to the workpiece to be welded before welding and to provide residual heat to the workpiece to be welded; Control the ball screw linear guide to drive the dynamic span consolidation mechanism to move horizontally along the surface of the workpiece to be welded; Controlling the ultrasonic welding device to perform ultrasonic continuous welding on the workpiece to be welded; The dynamic span consolidation mechanism is controlled to provide consolidation pressure for the workpieces to be welded during the ultrasonic continuous welding process, so as to realize ultrasonic continuous welding of the workpieces to be welded.

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