Aluminum alloy tank welding system and method
Automatic welding of aluminum alloy tanks through the robot system solves the problems of low accuracy, low time efficiency and poor stability of manual welding, and achieves high accuracy, high efficiency and high stability welding effects.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202510059878.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-01-15
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-22
AI Technical Summary
When existing artificially welded aluminum alloy cans, the accuracy is low, the time efficiency is low and the stability is poor, making it difficult to ensure the airtightness of the can after welding.
The robot system is used to automatically weld the aluminum alloy tank body, and the entire welding process such as ignition and arcing, feeding welding wire, moving welding guns, controlling current strength and gas flow are automatically carried out to ensure the accuracy and stability of welding.
It improves the accuracy and time efficiency of aluminum alloy tank body welding, enhances welding stability, and ensures the airtightness of the tank body after welding.
Smart Images
Figure CN119857912A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of welding, and in particular to an aluminum alloy tank body welding system and method thereof. Background Art
[0002] The defects of the existing manual welding technology for aluminum alloy tanks are: 1. Aluminum alloy tanks have low hardness, soft texture, low melting point and boiling point, are very sensitive to welding temperature, have good thermal conductivity, heat up quickly, and poor manual welding molding. 2. The aluminum melted by the high temperature of welding is easy to fall, which is difficult to pass ultrasonic testing in welding tasks that need to ensure the airtightness of the tank after welding. 3. Typical welding processes, such as TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas Welding), require high skills and experience of welders. Specifically, welders need to control the welding gun and welding wire with both hands, which requires welders to have extremely high hand-eye coordination ability; the welding effect is very sensitive to the welding current, requiring welders to flexibly adjust the current intensity during operation; using inert gas (such as argon) to protect the molten pool, requiring welders to manually adjust the gas flow to ensure stable flow and sufficient coverage, different welding positions (such as flat welding, vertical welding, overhead welding) have different molten pool control methods, requiring welders to have rich experience and skilled skills; welding heat is concentrated, requiring welders to weld quickly and evenly. The above aluminum characteristics and high-standard operation requirements lead to low accuracy, low time efficiency and poor stability of manual welding.
[0003] In view of this, the present invention is proposed. Summary of the invention
[0004] The main purpose of the present invention is to disclose an aluminum alloy tank body welding system and method thereof, so as to solve the problems of low accuracy, low time efficiency and poor stability of manual welding.
[0005] To achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a welding system for an aluminum alloy tank is provided, and the following technical scheme is adopted: A welding system for an aluminum alloy tank body, characterized in that it comprises: a robot 1, an electrical control cabinet 2, a robot control cabinet 3, a welding machine 4, a positioner 6 and a robot ground rail 7, wherein the welding machine 4 whose target workpiece is an aluminum alloy tank body 5 is communicatively connected to the robot 1, the robot 1 is communicatively connected to the robot control cabinet 1, the positioner 1 is used to fix and adjust the posture of the aluminum alloy tank body 5, the robot ground rail 7 is connected to the mechanical arm of the robot 1 so that the mechanical arm moves in a preset direction, and the electrical control cabinet 2 is electrically connected to the robot control cabinet 3, the positioner 6 and the robot ground rail 7.
[0006] Furthermore, the robot 1 includes a robotic arm, a robotic arm base, a fixture and a sensor, wherein the robotic arm base is used to load and fix the robotic arm; the robotic arm is a six-axis robotic arm, used to manipulate the movement of the welding gun 4; the fixture is used to clamp the welding gun on the robotic arm; the sensor is installed at the center point or adjacent area of the tool at the front end of the robotic arm of the robot 1 to ensure that the sensor 3 maintains a consistent viewing angle with the welding path and the workpiece.
[0007] Furthermore, the robot control cabinet 3 for planning the motion path of the robot arm is communicatively connected with the sensor of the robot 1 .
[0008] Furthermore, the welder 4 includes a welder body, a welding gun, a wire feeding device and a shielding gas device; wherein the welding gun, the wire feeding device and the shielding gas device are all electrically connected to the welder body; the welding gun is integrated at the tool center point or the adjacent area at the front end of the robot arm of the robot 1, and is fixed and positioned by the clamp of the robot 1; the power supply, electrical signal and gas supply of the welding gun of the welder 4 are respectively transmitted to the welding machine body power supply and the machine control cabinet of the welder 4 through an integrated electrical or pneumatic transmission harness for energy and communication.
[0009] Furthermore, the positioner 6 includes a fixed chain 201, a support base 202, an adjustment table 203, a flipping mechanism 204 and a fixed bracket 205, wherein the fixed chain 201 used for binding and fixing the workpiece is a metal chain; the support base 202 is used to support and place the workpiece; the adjustment table 202 is used to laterally adjust the relative position of the support base 202 and the workpiece; the flipping mechanism 204 can flip 90 degrees in a direction perpendicular to the ground and rotate 360 degrees in a direction parallel to the ground, thereby realizing stepless adjustment of the workpiece from flat to upright and stepless adjustment of the workpiece along its long side 360 degrees; the fixed bracket 205 is used to fix the fixed chain 201, the support base 202, the adjustment table 203 and the flipping mechanism 204 and lift the workpiece to a height suitable for the movement of the robot arm 1.
[0010] According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for welding an aluminum alloy tank body is provided, and the following technical scheme is adopted: The workpiece is tied and fixed on the supporting base by fixing chains; By inputting and confirming the product code of the corresponding tank on the touch control screen on the control cabinet, the control system automatically adjusts the adjustment table according to the specific specifications, shape and welding requirements of the workpiece to ensure that the initial positioning of the workpiece meets the requirements of the welding path; the servo drive system of the positioner makes precise adjustments according to the required angle and height to provide the best working posture for subsequent welding operations; the corresponding welding program is started after the electrical control cabinet confirms it again, and the electrical control cabinet sends a start signal to the robot control cabinet to prepare to start the welding process; the robot's sensor obtains the workpiece position and weld information and feeds back to the robot control cabinet in real time to control the robot to perform welding operations.
[0011] Furthermore, the control robot to perform welding operations includes: ignition and arc starting: the welding gun of the welding machine is ignited at a set position, starts according to the set welding arc starting program, forms an arc to start welding; feeding welding wire: according to the welding program, the wire feeding device of the welding machine automatically feeds the welding wire according to the welding speed and demand, ensuring continuous supply during the welding process; moving the welding gun: the robot's mechanical arm moves the welding gun of the welding machine along a preset path, and welds according to the motion trajectory and welding speed given by the sensor input; controlling current intensity and gas flow: the robot's sensor monitors the welding status in real time, and adjusts the welding current and shielding gas flow according to the feedback information, ensuring the stability of the welding process and the quality of the weld.
[0012] Furthermore, at the end of welding, the working method also includes: the robot control cabinet sends a welding end signal, the wire feeding device of the welding machine automatically stops feeding wire, extinguishes the arc, stops gas, and the robot and welding gun retreat into a safe area; the fixing device of the fixing chain is released, and the workpiece is removed from the supporting base to complete the welding.
[0013] The technical solution of the present application adopts a robot to realize the automatic welding of the aluminum alloy tank body. The robot automatically performs the whole welding process including ignition of arc welding, feeding of welding wire for filling welding, control of weld position and coordinated welding with moving welding gun, control of current intensity adjustment and gas flow rate, etc., thereby solving the problems of low accuracy, low time efficiency and poor stability of manual welding. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.
[0015] Figure 1 A welding system layout diagram of an aluminum alloy tank welding system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a specific positioner module layout diagram of an aluminum alloy tank welding system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a top view of the three views of a welding system of an aluminum alloy tank welding system of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a left view of the three-view welding system of an aluminum alloy tank welding system of the present invention; Figure 5 It is a three-view front view of a welding system of an aluminum alloy tank welding system of the present invention; Figure 6It is a motion schematic diagram of a welding system positioner of an aluminum alloy tank welding system of the present invention; Figure 7 The present invention is a flow chart of an aluminum alloy tank body welding method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention can be implemented in many different ways as defined and covered by the claims.
[0017] The system three views and layout diagram of the technical solution of this application are as follows: Figure 3 Top view, Figure 4 Left view, Figure 5 Front view and Figure 1 As shown. Figure 1 As shown, the system includes seven modules: 101 robot, 102 electrical control cabinet, 103 robot control cabinet, 104 welding machine, 105 aluminum alloy tank, 106 positioner and 107 robot ground rail.
[0018] Specifically, the 101 robot module includes a robotic arm, a robotic arm base, a fixture and sensors. The robotic arm is a six-axis robotic arm used to manipulate the movement of the welding gun; the robotic arm base is used to load and fix the robotic arm; the fixture is used to clamp the welding gun on the robotic arm; the sensors include force, displacement, temperature and visual sensors, which are used to detect the force between the welding gun and the workpiece, the position of the robotic arm in space, and the temperature of the workpiece and welding area and the weld.
[0019] The electrical control cabinet 102 is responsible for the input, output and control of the overall system. The robot control cabinet 103 is used to plan the movement path of the robot arm, adjust the movement of the robot arm in real time according to the sensor feedback of the robot 101 module, coordinate the control of the positioner, and send and receive data with other subsystems in real time, receiving welding path, welding parameters and workpiece information. The programming method can be teaching programming or offline programming.
[0020] The welding machine 104 includes a welding machine body, a welding gun, a wire feeding device and a shielding gas device. The welding machine body (including a power source) is used to control key parameters such as current, voltage, welding speed, wire feeding speed, etc. during welding; the welding gun is used to perform welding operations, such as a TIG welding gun using a tungsten electrode and equipped with a gas nozzle to protect the welding area; the wire feeding device is used to continuously and stably feed the welding wire into the welding area; the shielding gas device is used to feed shielding gas (such as argon gas used in TIG welding) into the welding area and control the gas flow rate to prevent adverse reactions between metal and oxygen, nitrogen, etc. in the air during welding.
[0021] The aluminum alloy tank 105 is the workpiece to be welded. The positioner 6 is used to fix the workpiece and adjust the workpiece posture. It is the core module of this welding system. Figure 2 As shown, it includes five submodules: 201 fixed chain, 202 support base, 203 adjustment platform, 204 flip mechanism, and 205 fixed bracket. Specifically, 201 fixed chain is a metal (such as iron) chain used to bind and fix the workpiece; 202 support base is used to support and place the workpiece; 203 adjustment platform is used to horizontally ( Figure 5 The 204 flip mechanism can flip 90 degrees vertically to the ground and parallel to the ground ( Figure 2 ) 360-degree rotation, realizing infinite adjustment of workpiece from horizontal to vertical placement ( Figure 6 (a) to Figure 6 (b)) and 360-degree infinite adjustment of the workpiece along its long side ( Figure 6 (c)); 203 fixed bracket is used to fix the 6.1-6.4 submodules and lift the workpiece to a height suitable for the movement of the robot arm 1. Figure 6 As shown in (c), the positioner can rotate the workpiece 360 degrees along its long side. The positioner is linked with the robot arm of the robot 1, so that the current welding position is always parallel to the ground, and all welds (workpiece main tube and branch pipe welds, main tube flange welds, branch pipe flange welds, etc.) are swung welded in a flat welding manner, thereby avoiding the problem of poor welding forming and difficulty in ensuring the tightness of the weld after welding due to high-temperature melting and falling of aluminum alloy during welding, and is compatible with welding of welds with random shapes and positions.
[0022] The robot ground track 107 gives the robot arm a seventh axis, wherein Figure 5 The main viewing angle can be moved left and right.
[0023] Each module of the system is connected by cables. Specifically, the robot control cabinet 103 is the core of the overall system control and is responsible for coordinating the work of each subsystem. It is connected to the sensor of the robot 101 through high-speed communication interfaces such as Ethernet, RS232 or USB, connected to the welding machine body power supply of the welding machine 104 through digital or analog signals, and connected to the electrical control cabinet 102 through industrial communication protocols such as Profinet, Ethernet / IP, Modbus or CAN. In addition, the sensor of the robot 101 is installed at the center point or adjacent area of the front end tool of the robot 101's mechanical arm, and it is necessary to ensure that the sensor maintains a consistent viewing angle with the welding path and the workpiece. After that, the welding gun of the welding machine 104 is integrated at the center point or adjacent area of the front end tool of the robot 101's mechanical arm, and is fixed and positioned by the fixture of the robot 101. The power supply, electrical signal and gas supply of the welding gun of the welding machine 104 are respectively transmitted to the welding machine body power supply of the welding machine 104 and the machine control cabinet 103 through an integrated electrical or pneumatic transmission harness for energy and communication. The robot arm base of the robot 101 is connected to the robot ground rail 107. The aluminum alloy tank body 105 is fixed by the 201 fixing chain of the positioner 106 and positioned on the 202 supporting base.
[0024] The operation workflow of the above system is as follows: Step 1: Preparation and fixation of the workpiece. The operator needs to place the workpiece fixed by spot welding on the 202 support base. The workpiece is tied and fixed by the 201 fixing chain to ensure the stability of the workpiece during the welding process and avoid displacement of the workpiece due to gravity, vibration or other external forces.
[0025] Step 2: Initial positioning adjustment. The operator inputs and confirms the product code of the corresponding tank body on the touch control screen of the control cabinet 102. The control system automatically adjusts the adjustment table 203 according to the specific specifications, shape and welding requirements of the workpiece to ensure that the initial positioning of the workpiece meets the requirements of the welding path. The servo drive system of the positioner 106 makes precise adjustments according to the required angle and height to provide the best working posture for subsequent welding operations.
[0026] Step 3: Start of welding program. The operator confirms the corresponding welding program again through the electrical control cabinet 102. These programs are pre-programmed and include welding parameter settings (such as current, voltage, wire feed speed, gas flow, etc.). The operator presses the start button of the electrical control cabinet 102, and the electrical control cabinet sends a start signal to the robot control cabinet 103 to prepare for the welding process.
[0027] Step 4: Automatic welding operation. The robot control cabinet 103 starts the welding process, and the sensor of the robot 101 obtains the workpiece position and weld information, etc., and provides real-time feedback. Perform the following operations in sequence: First, the ignition and arcing operation is performed. The welding gun of the welding machine 104 is ignited at the set position, and the arc is formed to start welding according to the set welding arcing program. Then the welding wire feeding operation is performed. According to the welding program, the wire feeding device of the welding machine 104 automatically feeds the welding wire according to the welding speed and demand to ensure continuous supply during the welding process. Then the welding gun moving operation is performed. The robot arm of the robot 101 moves the welding gun of the welding machine 104 along the preset path. According to the precise motion trajectory information provided by the sensor and combined with the set welding speed parameters, the welding equipment automatically performs welding operations at a uniform speed along this trajectory. This process strictly follows the trajectory path captured and fed back by the sensor, and is executed according to the preset adjusted welding speed to ensure the accuracy and efficiency of welding. Finally, the current intensity and gas flow control operation are performed: the sensor of the robot 101 monitors the welding state in real time, and adjusts the welding current and shielding gas flow according to the feedback information to ensure the stability of the welding process and the quality of the weld.
[0028] Step 5: End of welding and removal of workpiece. After the welding process is completed, the robot control cabinet 103 sends a welding end signal, the wire feeding device of the welding machine 4 automatically stops feeding wire, extinguishes the arc, stops gas, and the robot and welding gun retreat into the safe area. Manual release Figure 2 The fixing device of the 201 fixed chain moves the workpiece from Figure 2 The 202 support base is removed and the welding is completed.
[0029] The positioner of the present invention can realize the infinite adjustment of the workpiece from flat to cubic and the 360-degree rotation of the workpiece along its long side, so that the welding position is always parallel to the ground, and all welds are welded in a flat welding manner, thereby avoiding the poor forming caused by high-temperature melting and falling during aluminum alloy welding, and the problem of difficult to complete the air tightness of the weld after welding. At the same time, the robot automatically performs the whole welding process such as ignition arc welding, feeding welding wire for filling welding, controlling the weld position to cooperate with the moving welding gun for welding, controlling the current intensity adjustment and the gas flow size, so as to solve the problems of low accuracy, low time efficiency and poor stability of manual welding.
[0030] on the other hand, Figure 7 The present invention is a flowchart of a method for welding an aluminum alloy tank body according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0031] 710: The workpiece is tied and fixed to the support base by a fixed chain; 720: Input and confirm the product code of the corresponding tank on the touch screen of the control cabinet. The control system automatically adjusts the adjustment table according to the specific specifications, shape and welding requirements of the workpiece to ensure that the initial positioning of the workpiece meets the requirements of the welding path; 730: The servo drive system of the positioner makes precise adjustments according to the required angle and height to provide the best working posture for subsequent welding operations; 740: After confirming the corresponding welding program again through the electrical control cabinet, the program is started. The electrical control cabinet sends a start signal to the robot control cabinet to prepare to start the welding process; 750: The robot's sensors obtain workpiece position and weld information and feed it back to the robot control cabinet in real time to control the robot to perform welding operations.
[0032] The method of this embodiment can solve the following problems: 1. The aluminum alloy tank has low hardness, soft texture, low melting point and boiling point, is very sensitive to welding temperature, has good thermal conductivity, heats up quickly, and has poor manual welding forming. 2. The aluminum material melted by the high welding temperature is easy to fall, and it is difficult to pass ultrasonic detection in welding tasks that require the airtightness of the tank after welding. 3. Typical welding processes, such as TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas Welding, non-melting extremely inert gas shielded arc welding), require high skills and experience of welders. Specifically, welders are required to control the welding gun and welding wire with both hands, requiring welders to have extremely high hand-eye coordination ability; the welding effect is very sensitive to the welding current, requiring welders to flexibly adjust the current intensity during operation; using inert gas (such as argon) to protect the molten pool, requiring welders to manually adjust the gas flow to ensure that the flow is stable and fully covered, and different welding positions (such as flat welding, vertical welding, overhead welding) have different molten pool control methods, requiring welders to have rich experience and skilled skills; welding heat is concentrated, requiring welders to weld quickly and evenly. The above-mentioned aluminum material characteristics and high-standard operation requirements lead to problems of low accuracy, low time efficiency and poor stability in manual welding.
[0033] The above only describes some exemplary embodiments of the present embodiment by way of illustration. It is undoubted that, for those skilled in the art, the described embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the above drawings and descriptions are illustrative in nature and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.
Claims
1. An aluminum alloy tank welding system, characterized in that: The invention comprises: a robot (1), an electrical control cabinet (2), a robot control cabinet (3), a welding machine (4), a positioner (6) and a robot ground rail (7), wherein the welding machine (4) whose target workpiece is an aluminum alloy tank body (5) is communicatively connected to the robot (1), the robot (1) is communicatively connected to the robot control cabinet (3), the positioner (6) is used to fix and adjust the posture of the aluminum alloy tank body (5), the robot ground rail (7) is connected to the robot arm of the robot (1) so that the robot arm moves in a preset direction, and the electrical control cabinet (2) is electrically connected to the robot control cabinet (3), the positioner (6) and the robot ground rail (7).
2. The welding system according to claim 1, characterized in that The robot (1) comprises a robotic arm, a robotic arm base, a fixture and a sensor, wherein the robotic arm base is used to load and fix the robotic arm; the robotic arm is a six-axis robotic arm, used to manipulate the movement of a welding gun (4); the fixture is used to clamp the welding gun on the robotic arm; the sensor is installed at the tool center point or the adjacent area at the front end of the robotic arm of the robot (1), ensuring that the sensor (3) maintains a consistent viewing angle with the welding path and the workpiece.
3. The welding system according to claim 2, characterized in that: A robot control cabinet (3) for planning the motion path of the robot arm is communicatively connected to the sensor of the robot (1).
4. The welding system according to claim 3, characterized in that The welding machine (4) comprises a welding machine body, a welding gun, a wire feeding device and a shielding gas device; wherein the welding gun, the wire feeding device and the shielding gas device are all electrically connected to the welding machine body; the welding gun is integrated at the tool center point or the adjacent area at the front end of the robot arm of the robot (1), and is fixed and positioned by a clamp of the robot (1); the power supply, electrical signal and gas supply of the welding gun of the welding machine (4) are respectively transmitted to the welding machine body power supply and the machine control cabinet of the welding machine 4 through an integrated electrical or pneumatic transmission harness for energy and communication.
5. The welding system according to claim 4, characterized in that The positioner (6) comprises a fixed chain (6.1), a support base (6.2), an adjustment table (6.3), a flipping mechanism (6.4) and a fixed bracket (6.5), wherein the fixed chain (6.1) used for binding and fixing the workpiece is a metal chain; the support base (6.2) is used for supporting and placing the workpiece; the adjustment table (6.3) is used for horizontally adjusting the relative position of the support base (6.2) and the workpiece; the flipping mechanism (6.4) can flip 90 degrees in a direction perpendicular to the ground and rotate 360 degrees in a direction parallel to the ground, thereby realizing stepless adjustment of the workpiece from flat to upright and stepless adjustment of the workpiece along its long side 360 degrees; the fixed bracket (6.5) is used to fix the fixed chain (6.1), the support base (6.2), the adjustment table (6.3) and the flipping mechanism (6.4) and to lift the workpiece to a height suitable for the movement of the robot arm of the robot (1).
6. A working method of an aluminum alloy tank welding system, characterized in that: include: The workpiece is tied and fixed on the supporting base by fixing chains; By inputting and confirming the product code of the corresponding tank on the touch control screen on the control cabinet, the control system automatically adjusts the adjustment table according to the specific specifications, shape and welding requirements of the workpiece to ensure that the initial positioning of the workpiece meets the requirements of the welding path; The servo drive system of the positioner makes precise adjustments according to the required angle and height to provide the best working posture for subsequent welding operations; After confirming the corresponding welding program again through the electrical control cabinet, the program is started. The electrical control cabinet sends a start signal to the robot control cabinet to prepare to start the welding process; The robot's sensors obtain the workpiece position and weld information and feed it back to the robot control cabinet in real time to control the robot to perform welding operations.
7. The working method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The controlling robot to perform welding operation comprises: Ignition and arc starting: The welding gun of the welding machine is ignited at the set position, and an arc is formed to start welding according to the set welding arc starting program; Feeding welding wire: According to the welding procedure, the wire feeding device of the welding machine automatically feeds the welding wire according to the welding speed and demand to ensure continuous supply during the welding process; Moving welding gun: The robot's mechanical arm moves the welding gun of the welding machine along a preset path, and performs welding according to the motion trajectory and welding speed given by the sensor input; Control current intensity and gas flow: The robot's sensors monitor the welding status in real time and adjust the welding current and shielding gas flow according to the feedback information to ensure the stability of the welding process and the quality of the weld.
8. The working method according to claim 7, characterized in that: At the end of welding, the working method further comprises: The robot control cabinet sends a welding end signal, the wire feeding device of the welding machine automatically stops feeding wire, extinguishes the arc, stops gas, and the robot and welding gun retreat into a safe area; Release the fixture holding the chain in place and remove the workpiece from the support base to complete the weld.