Ship assembly production unit and method

Abstract

The invention provides a ship assembly production unit and method.The ship assembly production unit comprises a conveying roller way, a welding robot, a visual recognition device and a controller, the conveying roller way comprises a feeding area, a lifting area and a welding area, the welding area comprises two welding positions, the two welding positions can operate at the same time, and the utilization rate of the welding robot can be increased; in the whole production process, the controller controls the production process according to signal feedback, key and complex processes in the production process are completed by automatic equipment, an intelligent one-piece flow mode is formed, the production efficiency and the production quality are guaranteed, and meanwhile the labor cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of shipbuilding, and specifically relates to a ship assembly production unit and method. Background Art

[0002] During the shipbuilding process, the most common parts are steel plate panels, which are usually composed of a single plate single rib or single plate multi-rib structure, that is, one or two rib plates are vertically installed on the bottom plate, the rib plate length is usually 300mm-4000mm, and the bottom plate length is usually 400mm-4200mm. During the installation process, there are problems such as the steel plate is not completely straight, the heavy steel plate requires multiple people to move or stand up together, the long welding length is prone to thermal deformation, and the installation process requires multiple people to complete (it is impossible to achieve full automation or single-person operation). Some shipyards have only designed some installation tools for this structure, and have initially achieved the fixation of the bottom plate and rib plate, but only partial installation and spot welding operations are performed during the manual installation process, which has a series of problems such as large stress, poor quality, and cumbersome operation. In addition, traditional production lines rely on manual process and action decisions, which have high requirements on manual quality and energy. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art mentioned above, the present invention provides a ship assembly production unit and method, wherein the ship assembly production unit comprises a conveyor roller, a welding robot, a visual recognition device and a controller, wherein the conveyor roller comprises a loading area, a lifting area and a welding area, wherein the welding area comprises two welding positions, and the two welding positions can operate simultaneously, which is beneficial to improving the utilization rate of the welding robot; during the entire production process, the controller controls the production process according to signal feedback, and the key and complex processes in the production process are completed by automated equipment, thereby forming an intelligent single-piece flow mode, thereby ensuring production efficiency and production quality, and reducing labor costs.

[0004] To achieve the above-mentioned and other related purposes, the present invention provides a ship assembly production unit, comprising:

[0005] The conveying roller comprises a feeding area, a lifting area and a welding area connected in sequence, wherein the height of the welding area is lower than that of the feeding area, and the assembled parts formed in the feeding area are transported to the welding area through the lifting area; the welding area comprises two welding positions connected in sequence and identical, and the welding positions comprise a first roller, a second roller and a lifting track, wherein the projection surfaces of the first roller overlap with those of the second roller, and the second roller rises or falls along the lifting track, and when the second roller falls to be located in the same plane as the first roller, the two rollers are staggered;

[0006] A welding robot, arranged at one side of the welding area, for welding the assembled parts;

[0007] A visual recognition device, located at the end of the welding robot and the welding area, for visually recognizing the assembled parts;

[0008] The controller is connected in communication with the conveyor roller and is used to control the opening and closing of the conveyor roller, and the rising and falling of the lifting area and the second roller; it is also connected in communication with the visual recognition device and the welding robot and is used to control the welding robot to perform welding according to the image obtained by the visual recognition device.

[0009] Optionally, the head end and the tail end of the conveying roller are provided with lifting devices, which are used for loading and unloading materials respectively.

[0010] Optionally, the conveying roller further includes a back-firing zone and a material unloading zone, the back-firing zone is located at the end of the first roller, and the material unloading zone is connected to the back-firing zone.

[0011] Optionally, a back-burning device is provided below the roller in the back-burning zone.

[0012] Optionally, the welding robot is arranged on a base, and the base has a slide rail for moving the welding robot between the two welding positions.

[0013] Optionally, a position sensor is provided on the conveying roller for acquiring position information of the assembly part and transmitting the position information to the controller.

[0014] Optionally, a size sensor is provided on the second roller to obtain size information of the assembly part and transmit the size information to the controller.

[0015] The present invention also provides a ship assembly production method, comprising the following steps:

[0016] Providing a ship assembly production unit as described in any one of the above;

[0017] Using the hoisting device to load materials, forming an assembly in the loading area;

[0018] The assembled parts are transferred to the lifting area, the controller controls the lifting area to descend to connect with the welding area, and the assembled parts are transferred to the welding position;

[0019] The controller controls the second roller to carry the assembly and rise to a welding height, the visual recognition device visually recognizes the assembly, and the welding robot welds the assembly;

[0020] After welding is completed, the controller controls the second roller to carry the assembly and descend to the initial position.

[0021] Optionally, forming the assembly in the loading area includes:

[0022] Using the hoisting device, firstly place the bottom plate horizontally in the loading area, and then place the rib plate and the bottom plate vertically;

[0023] The bottom plate and the rib plate are assembled, position-welded, and the welds are polished to form the assembly.

[0024] Optionally, the visual recognition device visually recognizes the assembly part, and the welding robot welds the assembly part, including:

[0025] The visual recognition device located in the welding area performs preliminary positioning of the assembly part, and the visual recognition device located at the end of the welding robot performs positioning of the starting point of the weld;

[0026] The controller determines the welding process according to the size information and performs welding.

[0027] Optionally, after welding is completed, the method further includes: the assembled parts are first transferred to the back-firing area for pyrotechnic back-firing, then transferred to the unloading area for manual grinding, and finally unloaded using the lifting equipment.

[0028] Optionally, the two welding positions operate in parallel, and when one of the welding positions is performing welding operations, at the other welding position, the second roller carries another of the assembled parts and rises to a welding height to wait for welding.

[0029] Optionally, the controller automatically controls the entire production process according to the position information acquired by the position sensor.

[0030] The ship assembly production unit and method provided by the present invention have at least the following beneficial effects:

[0031] 1) The welding area includes two welding positions, which can operate simultaneously, which is conducive to improving the utilization rate of the welding robot;

[0032] 2) During the entire production process, the controller controls the production process based on signal feedback, and calculates and centrally controls the processing information, processing time, process arrangement, material transportation and other operations in the production process, forming an intelligent single-piece flow mode, ensuring production efficiency and production quality, and reducing labor costs;

[0033] 3) Lowering the height of the welding area, back-burning area and unloading area can avoid interference between the assembled parts and the driving in the workshop during the manufacturing process, thus ensuring the safety of the production process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1Shown is a schematic diagram of the structure of a ship assembly production unit provided in Example 1.

[0035] Figure 2 Shown is a top view of the ship assembly production unit provided in Example 1.

[0036] Component number description

[0037] 11 Loading area

[0038] 12 Lifting area

[0039] 13 Welding area

[0040] 1301 First welding position

[0041] 1302 Second welding position

[0042] 131 First Roller

[0043] 132 Second roller table

[0044] 133 Guardrail

[0045] 100 Lifting Track

[0046] 14 Back Burning Area

[0047] 15 Unloading area

[0048] 2 Lifting device

[0049] 31. Welding Robot

[0050] 32 Base

[0051] 4 Back-burning device DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention through specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0053] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in this embodiment only illustrate the basic concept of the present invention in a schematic manner. Although the illustrations only show components related to the present invention rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation, the form, quantity, positional relationship and proportion of each component in actual implementation can be changed at will under the premise of realizing the technical solution of this party, and the component layout form may also be more complicated.

[0054] Embodiment 1

[0055] This embodiment provides a ship assembly production unit, including a conveyor roller, a welding robot, a visual recognition device and a controller.

[0056] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the conveying roller includes a loading area 11, a lifting area 12, a welding area 13, a back-firing area 14 and a unloading area 15 which are connected in sequence, wherein the height of the welding area 13 is lower than that of the loading area 11, and the assembled parts formed in the loading area 11 are transported to the welding area 13 through the lifting area 12.

[0057] like Figure 1 As shown, a lifting device 2 is provided on one side of the loading area 11. The operator uses the lifting device 2 to lift the bottom plate and the rib plate to the loading area 11, and assembles, positions and welds them, and grinds the welds in the loading area 11 to initially form an assembly. In this embodiment, the lifting device 2 uses a cantilever lifting assisting mechanical arm, and its operating range covers the loading area 11. The operator can freely drag the assisting mechanical arm to move without the need for a remote control, and completes the loading process through the execution hanger at the end thereof. The execution hanger can be designed in a magnetic suction form or a clamp form to ensure stability during the lifting process. As an example, the lifting device 2 is communicatively connected to a controller (not shown in the figure), and the controller can calculate the load at the end of the lifting device 2, thereby providing assistance for manual dragging and movement.

[0058] like Figure 1 As shown, the lifting area 12 has a lifting track 100, and the conveying roller can move along the lifting track 100 between the height of the loading area 11 and the height of the welding area 13, so as to transfer the assembled parts from the loading area 11 to the welding area 13. As an example, when the assembled parts have not reached the lifting area 12, the lifting area 12 is at the same height as the conveying roller of the loading area 11. When the assembled parts reach the lifting area 12, the lifting area 12 is lowered to the same height as the conveying roller of the welding area 13, and the assembled parts are transferred to the welding area 13. In addition, the lifting area 12 can also be used as a buffer area for assembled parts, which can at least hold a small group of assembled products of the largest single board and single rib type.

[0059] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the welding area 13 includes two first welding positions 1301 and second welding positions 1302 that are connected in sequence and are identical. Each welding position includes a first roller 131, a second roller 132 and a lifting track 100. The projection surfaces of the first roller 131 and the second roller 132 overlap. The second roller 132 can rise or fall along the lifting track 100. When the second roller 132 falls to the same plane as the first roller 131, the two rollers are staggered and merged into the same roller. As an example, when the assembly has not reached the welding position, the second roller 132 is at the same height as the first roller 131. When the assembly reaches the welding position, the second roller 132 carries the assembly to rise for welding. After welding is completed, the second roller 132 carries the assembly to fall and merges with the first roller 131 to form the same roller for subsequent transmission.

[0060] As an example, a dimension sensor (not shown in the figure) is provided on the second roller, and the dimension sensor is communicatively connected with the controller (not shown in the figure). When welding starts, the dimension sensor is used to obtain the dimension information of the assembly and transmit the dimension information to the controller so that the controller can select a welding process suitable for it.

[0061] As an example, the second roller 132 can be raised by at least 1.2 m. When the first welding position 1301 is performing welding operations, the assembled parts can continue to be conveyed to the second welding position 1302 via the first roller 131 of the first welding position 1301 and wait for welding, thereby achieving the independent execution of the feeding, discharging and welding processes in space and time without affecting the transportation of other assembled parts.

[0062] As an example, the height of the welding area 13 is lower than that of the loading area 11, and the height difference between the first roller 131 and the loading area 11 is between 0.5m and 1m. By lowering the height of the welding area 13, it is possible to avoid interference between the assembly parts and the vehicles in the workshop during the manufacturing process.

[0063] like Figure 2 As shown, the welding robot 31 is arranged at one side of the welding area 13 for welding the assembly; the welding robot 31 is arranged on a base 32, and the base 32 has a slide rail parallel to the conveying roller for moving the welding robot 31 between the first welding position 1301 and the second welding position 1302. As an example, the welding robot 31 includes a robot-matched welding machine and corresponding welding software and hardware, a weld positioning system, a gun cleaning and wire reducing system, etc., which are not limited here.

[0064] As an example, a visual recognition device (not shown in the figure) is provided at the end of the welding robot 31, and is used to track and adjust the welding position of the weld in real time during the welding process. In this embodiment, the visual recognition device can adapt to the commonly used marine steel plate primer colors (including but not limited to gray, medium green gray, yellow, red, blue, purple), and is suitable for complex workshop environments, and can be compatible with the presence of stains and handwriting marks on the steel plate. In addition, the visual recognition device (not shown in the figure) is also provided in the welding area 13, for example, it can be provided on the guardrail 133 of the welding area 13, and is used to take a bird's-eye view of the welding area 13 and the back-burning area 14 to obtain information such as the position and welding of the assembly.

[0065] As an example, a controller (not shown in the figure) is communicatively connected with a visual recognition device (not shown in the figure) and a welding robot 31. During the welding process, the visual recognition device scans the assembly and transmits the scanning information to the controller. The controller plans the welding path by processing the scanning information, and controls the welding robot 31 to perform deviation correction and angle recognition during the welding process.

[0066] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the back-burning zone 14 is located at the end of the first roller 131, and a back-burning device 4 is arranged under the roller of the back-burning zone 14. The back-burning device 4 is connected to the controller in communication, and the visual recognition device identifies the position and path coordinates that need to be back-burned, and sends the information to the controller, and the controller controls the back-burning device 4 to back-burn according to the information. As an example, the flame spray gun in the back-burning device 4 performs pyrotechnic back-burning on the weld position below the rib plate through the gap of the roller, and can fine-tune the flame nozzle and the flame spray direction and position, and adjust the position of the rib plate to keep it always located below the rib plate; the back-burning device 4 may include two sets of flame spray guns to ensure that the assembly is back-burned thoroughly, and the two sets of flame spray guns can be controlled separately.

[0067] like Figure 2 As shown, the unloading area 15 is connected to the back-firing area 14 , and a hoisting device 2 is also provided on one side of the unloading area 15 , and the operator uses the hoisting device 2 to complete the unloading process.

[0068] As an example, the controller (not shown in the figure) is used to collect and transmit signals, and the conveying process, manual work process, equipment control process, and visual recognition process in the production process are controlled and regulated by the controller. For example, the controller is connected to the conveying roller in communication, and a position sensor (not shown in the figure) is provided on the conveying roller to obtain the position information of the assembly and transmit the position information to the controller, and the controller controls the opening and closing of the conveying roller according to the position information; the controller can also control the rise and fall of the lifting area 12. When the position sensor (not shown in the figure) detects that the assembly arrives at the lifting area 12, the controller controls the lifting area 12 to descend, and when the assembly is transmitted to the welding area 13, the controller controls the lifting area 12 to return to its position, so as to ensure that no interference and collision occur during operation; similarly, the controller can also control the rise and fall of the second roller 132. When the position sensor (not shown in the figure) detects that the assembly arrives at the welding area 13, the controller controls the second roller 132 to rise, and when the welding of the assembly is completed, the controller controls the second roller 132 to return to its position.

[0069] Embodiment 2

[0070] This embodiment provides a ship assembly production method, comprising the following steps:

[0071] Step S1: Providing a ship assembly production unit;

[0072] Combination Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a ship assembly production unit as described in Example 1 is provided, and its specific structure can refer to the description of Example 1, which will not be repeated here.

[0073] Step S2: Loading materials using the lifting device to form assembled parts in the loading area;

[0074] First, the operator uses the lifting device 2 to lift the bottom plate and the rib plate to the loading area 11 in turn, and places them in the form of the bottom plate at the bottom and the rib plate at the top; then, the operator uses a magnetic triangular auxiliary assembly tool to place the rib plate on the installation position of the bottom plate to ensure the verticality of the rib plate assembly; finally, the assembled small group is positioned and welded, and the weld is polished to form an assembly.

[0075] Step S3: the assembled parts are transferred to the lifting area, the controller controls the lifting area to descend to connect with the welding area, and the assembled parts are transferred to the welding position;

[0076] As an example, the assembled parts are transferred to the lifting area 12. After the position sensor (not shown in the figure) detects that the assembled parts have arrived at the lifting area 12, the controller controls the lifting area 12 to descend to the same height as the welding area 13. At this time, if the position sensor (not shown in the figure) detects that there is a vacant space in the first welding position 1301 or the second welding position 1302, the assembled parts are transferred to the welding area 13, and the controller controls the lifting area 12 to return to its position; if the position sensor (not shown in the figure) detects that there is no vacant space in the first welding position 1301 or the second welding position 1302, the assembled parts are temporarily stored in the lifting area 12 and then transferred after a vacant space appears in the welding area 13.

[0077] Step S4: the controller controls the second roller to carry the assembly and rise to a welding height, the visual recognition device visually recognizes the assembly, and the welding robot welds the assembly;

[0078] First, after the position sensor (not shown in the figure) detects that the assembly has arrived at the first welding position 1301, the controller controls the second roller 132 to carry the assembly up to the welding height; then, the visual recognition device (not shown in the figure) arranged in the welding area 13 takes a bird's-eye view of the assembly to roughly locate the assembly and the starting point of the weld; then, the size sensor (not shown in the figure) arranged on the second roller 132 obtains the size information of the assembly and transmits the size information to the controller, and the controller selects a welding process that is suitable for it; finally, the welding robot 31 arrives at the corresponding welding position for welding. During the welding process, the visual recognition device (not shown in the figure) arranged at the end of the welding robot 31 tracks and automatically corrects the weld, determines the end point of the weld and wraps the angle.

[0079] As an example, the first welding position 1301 and the second welding position 1302 operate in parallel, that is, when the above-mentioned welding operation is performed at the first welding position 1301, another assembly is transferred to the second welding position 1302, and the second roller 132 of the second welding position 1302 carries the other assembly up to the welding height. Similarly, the visual recognition device (not shown in the figure) takes a bird's-eye view of the assembly to roughly locate the assembly and the starting point of the weld, and the size sensor (not shown in the figure) obtains the size information of the assembly to match the corresponding welding process and wait for welding, thereby realizing cyclic welding between the two welding positions.

[0080] Step S5: After welding is completed, the controller controls the second roller to carry the assembly and descend to the initial position.

[0081] As an example, after welding is completed, the controller controls the second roller 132 to carry the assembled parts and descend to the initial position.

[0082] Next, the assembly is transferred to the back-burning area 14 for pyrotechnic back-burning, and the back of the assembly at the weld position is heated by the back-burning device 4 to eliminate welding stress. As an example, after the position sensor (not shown in the figure) detects that the assembly has arrived at the back-burning area 14, the controller controls the back-burning device 4 to start the spray gun, and after the position sensor detects that the assembly has left the back-burning area 14, the controller controls the back-burning device 4 to turn off the spray gun.

[0083] Next, the assembled parts are transferred to the unloading area 15, and the operator grinds the welds and edges that need to be polished; finally, the assembled parts are hoisted into the unloading frame by the hoisting device 2 to wait for logistics.

[0084] As an example, in the entire production method, the controller monitors each workstation process and controls the production rhythm through the signal feedback of the position sensor, the size sensor, and the visual recognition device, ensuring that the transportation between the subsequent process and the previous process will not start until the subsequent process sends a completion signal, otherwise, even if the previous process has been completed, transportation will not be carried out, thereby ensuring the single-piece flow production mode. For example, the assembly will not be transferred to the lifting area 12 until it is detected that the lifting area 12 and the loading area 11 are at the same height; the assembly will not be transferred to the welding area 13 until it is detected that there is a vacant welding position in the welding area 13; the controller will not send a request for welding until it is detected that the welding robot 31 is in an idle state; the assembly will not be transferred to the back-burning area 14 until it is detected that the back-burning area 14 is idle.

[0085] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with the art may modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concept disclosed by the present invention shall still be covered by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A ship assembly production unit, characterized in that: include: The conveying roller comprises a feeding area, a lifting area and a welding area connected in sequence, wherein the height of the welding area is lower than that of the feeding area, and the assembled parts formed in the feeding area are transported to the welding area through the lifting area; the welding area comprises two welding positions connected in sequence and identical, and the welding positions comprise a first roller, a second roller and a lifting track, wherein the projection surfaces of the first roller overlap with those of the second roller, and the second roller rises or falls along the lifting track, and when the second roller falls to be located in the same plane as the first roller, the two rollers are staggered; A welding robot, arranged at one side of the welding area, for welding the assembled parts; A visual recognition device, located at the end of the welding robot and the welding area, for visually recognizing the assembled parts; The controller is connected in communication with the conveyor roller and is used to control the opening and closing of the conveyor roller, and the rising and falling of the lifting area and the second roller; it is also connected in communication with the visual recognition device and the welding robot and is used to control the welding robot to perform welding according to the image obtained by the visual recognition device.

2. The ship assembly production unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The head end and the tail end of the conveying roller are provided with hoisting devices, which are used for loading and unloading materials respectively.

3. The ship assembly production unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying roller further comprises a back-firing zone and a material unloading zone. The back-firing zone is located at the end of the first roller, and the material unloading zone is connected to the back-firing zone.

4. The ship assembly production unit according to claim 3, characterized in that: A back-firing device is arranged below the roller table in the back-firing zone.

5. The ship assembly production unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The welding robot is arranged on a base, and the base is provided with a slide rail for moving the welding robot between the two welding positions.

6. The ship assembly production unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying roller is provided with a position sensor for acquiring position information of the assembly part and transmitting the position information to the controller.

7. The ship assembly production unit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second roller is provided with a size sensor for acquiring size information of the assembly part and transmitting the size information to the controller.

8. A ship assembly production method, characterized in that: The steps include: Providing a ship assembly production unit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7; Using the hoisting device to load materials, forming an assembly in the loading area; The assembled parts are transferred to the lifting area, the controller controls the lifting area to descend to connect with the welding area, and the assembled parts are transferred to the welding position; The controller controls the second roller to carry the assembly and rise to a welding height, the visual recognition device visually recognizes the assembly, and the welding robot welds the assembly; After welding is completed, the controller controls the second roller to carry the assembly and descend to the initial position.

9. The ship assembly production method according to claim 8, characterized in that: Forming the assembly in the loading area includes: Using the hoisting device, firstly place the bottom plate horizontally in the loading area, and then place the rib plate and the bottom plate vertically; The bottom plate and the rib plate are assembled, position-welded, and the welds are polished to form the assembly.

10. The ship assembly production method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The visual recognition device visually recognizes the assembly part, and the welding robot welds the assembly part, including: The visual recognition device located in the welding area performs preliminary positioning of the assembly part, and the visual recognition device located at the end of the welding robot performs positioning of the starting point of the weld; The controller determines the welding process according to the size information and performs welding.

11. The ship assembly production method according to claim 8, characterized in that: After the welding is completed, the method further includes: the assembled parts are firstly transferred to the back-firing area for pyrotechnic back-firing, then transferred to the unloading area for manual grinding, and finally unloaded by using the hoisting equipment.

12. The ship assembly production method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The two welding positions operate in parallel. When one welding position is performing welding operation, at the other welding position, the second roller carries another assembly part and rises to the welding height to wait for welding.

13. The ship assembly production method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The controller automatically controls the entire production process according to the position information acquired by the position sensor.

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