Power regulation method, device, laser welder and storage medium

Abstract

This application discloses a power regulation method, device, laser welder, and storage medium, relating to the field of welding. The method comprises: in response to a waveform call instruction, obtaining a control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform call instruction, wherein the control instruction sequence includes at least two control instruction subsequences, with wait instructions configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences; and upon receiving a start enable signal, sequentially reading and executing the control instructions in the control instruction sequence to regulate laser power. This application implements laser power control for complex welding processes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of welding technology, and in particular to a power regulation method, device, laser welder and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] When welding workpieces using welding equipment, the laser power needs to be adjusted according to the conditions of the welds. When facing multi-weld welding operations, it is usually programmed on an industrial robot, and the industrial robot is used to output laser power parameters at preset points or call a process package preset in the laser welder to achieve the power adjustment required for multiple welds. Both power adjustment methods have many problems. For example, the power adjustment method in which the industrial robot outputs laser power parameters at preset points requires the industrial robot to be configured with a corresponding interface, which increases production costs and is difficult to implement. The power adjustment method calling the process package has the problem of delay and difficulty in controlling accuracy. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The main purpose of this application is to provide a power regulation method, device, laser welder and storage medium, aiming to solve the technical problems of difficulty in implementing power regulation and high production cost in multi-weld welding operations.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present application proposes a power regulation method, comprising:

[0005] In response to the waveform call instruction, obtaining a control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform call instruction, wherein the control instruction sequence includes at least two control instruction subsequences, and a wait instruction is configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences;

[0006] When the start enable signal is received, the control instructions in the control instruction sequence are read and executed in sequence to adjust the laser power.

[0007] In one embodiment, the waiting instruction includes a first waiting instruction, which instructs to maintain the standby state within a preset time, and when the duration of the standby state exceeds the preset time, read and execute the control instruction subsequence adjacent to the first waiting instruction.

[0008] In one embodiment, the waiting instruction includes a second waiting instruction, which instructs to maintain a standby state before receiving a target level signal. When the target level signal is received, the control instruction subsequence adjacent to the second waiting instruction is read and executed, wherein the target level signal is output when the driving mechanism equipped with the laser welder moves to a preset position.

[0009] In one embodiment, the control instruction sequence includes at least three control instruction sub-sequences, wherein a second waiting instruction is configured between at least two adjacent control instruction sub-sequences, and a first waiting instruction is configured between the remaining adjacent control instruction sub-sequences.

[0010] In one embodiment, the control instructions in the control instruction subsequence include one or more of a power adjustment instruction, a wait instruction, a jump instruction, and a repetition frequency output instruction.

[0011] In one embodiment, reading and executing the control instruction in the control instruction sequence includes:

[0012] When the read control instruction is a power adjustment instruction, calculating the power change value corresponding to the unit time according to the adjustment time and target power indicated by the power adjustment instruction;

[0013] The laser power is adjusted according to the power change value.

[0014] In one embodiment, reading and executing the control instruction in the control instruction sequence includes:

[0015] When the read control instruction is a loop jump instruction, the target instruction indicated by the jump instruction is read and executed, and the number of jumps is calculated;

[0016] When the jump count reaches a jump count threshold, a control instruction adjacent to the loop jump instruction is read and executed.

[0017] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, the present application also proposes a control device, comprising:

[0018] an instruction calling module, configured to obtain, in response to a waveform calling instruction, a control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform calling instruction, wherein the control instruction sequence includes at least two control instruction subsequences, and a wait instruction is configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences;

[0019] The instruction execution module is used to read and execute the control instructions in the control instruction sequence in sequence when receiving the start enable signal.

[0020] In addition, to achieve the above objectives, the present application also proposes a laser welding machine, comprising:

[0021] A laser output device for outputting laser light;

[0022] A memory for storing a control instruction sequence and a computer program, wherein the computer program is configured to implement the steps of the power regulation method as described above;

[0023] A processor for running computer programs.

[0024] In addition, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application also proposes a storage medium, which is a computer-readable storage medium. A computer program is stored on the storage medium, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the power regulation method as described above are implemented.

[0025] One or more technical solutions proposed in this application have at least the following technical effects:

[0026] A power regulation method is proposed, which realizes the control of laser power in complex welding processes by obtaining the control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform call instruction and then reading and executing the control instructions in the control instruction sequence in sequence when receiving the start enable signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present application.

[0028] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or related technologies, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or related technical descriptions. Obviously, for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative work.

[0029] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a flow chart of a first embodiment of a power regulation method provided in this application;

[0030] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of welding process power change;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the weld seam of a car door;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the power variation of multiple process packages;

[0033] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the interface of the laser welder provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the module structure of the control device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] The realization of the objectives, functional features and advantages of this application will be further explained in conjunction with embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely for explaining the technical solutions of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. In order to better understand the technical solutions of the present application, the following detailed description will be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0037] When welding workpieces using welding equipment, it is necessary to adjust the laser power according to the conditions of the weld, such as Figure 2 The schematic diagram of welding process power change is shown. The main adjustment methods include power ramp up, power ramp down, laser on, power adjustment, laser off and repetition frequency output.

[0038] In the process of working on a single complex weld, it may be necessary to adjust the laser power several times during the welding process, such as Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the car door weld is shown in the figure. The front and rear sections of the weld are straight and curved respectively, or the thickness difference between the front and rear sections is large. During the welding process, at least three power adjustments are required. Figure 3 As shown, the first section is welded at low power, the second section is welded at high power after slowly increasing, and the third section is welded at a repetitive frequency.

[0039] In the process of working on complex welding surfaces, there may be multiple welds with large differences. Different welds require different laser power adjustment methods, such as Figure 4 The schematic diagram of power change of multi-process package is shown, and different welding processes are used at points A, B and C respectively.

[0040] In actual industrial-scale production, in order to pursue processing efficiency, it is necessary to have automated equipment complete all welds at once, which means that multiple welding processes need to be implemented in one operation. Therefore, process control is required, such as waiting, process switching, process triggering, and process stopping.

[0041] In related technologies, industrial robots are programmed to set the trajectory of laser welders, and laser power is adjusted using power adjustment interfaces, beam control interfaces, and pulse adjustment interfaces. However, commercially available industrial robots are typically equipped with only an I / O interface, requiring configuration of power adjustment, beam control, and pulse adjustment interfaces, increasing production costs. Furthermore, programming all power adjustments is complex, and the same program often cannot be applied to industrial robots from different manufacturers, resulting in poor consistency and portability.

[0042] In related technologies, welding machines have multiple built-in welding process packages and are equipped with a process package selection and switching interface. During use, an industrial robot calls and switches between these packages to achieve power regulation and control. For example, if a welding machine has 10 built-in process packages, the robot could call process package 1 at point A, process package 2 at point B, process package 3 at point C, and so on, to implement multiple welding processes. However, a single process package simply edits a single weld segment, performing welding using a simple, fixed process. A single process package can only implement a fixed power with a ramp-up or ramp-down, or a fixed frequency and duty cycle output. Complex welding processes involving multiple continuous power changes cannot be implemented using a single process package. Furthermore, mid-process process changes require switching process packages. This switching process inevitably involves three steps: stopping the current process package, switching to a new process package, and then starting a new process package. This makes smooth process changes difficult, introduces delays, and makes precision control difficult. Common robot call interfaces use multi-bit I / O, such as 8421BCD encoding. However, this occupies a large number of I / O ports (4-bit I / O supports a maximum of 16 process packages), increasing the complexity of the device's electrical connections and reducing reliability. During robot programming, the I / O interface must be continuously called to invoke process packages. However, since I / O calls do not directly correspond to process package numbers, programming becomes more complex (for example, to invoke process package 7, the I / O interface must be changed to 0X1011). The increased number of interface connections also complicates and challenges on-site electrical integration.

[0043] In this embodiment, for the convenience of description, the laser welder is used as the execution subject for detailed description.

[0044] It should be noted that the laser welding machine includes a laser output device for outputting laser light, a memory for storing a control instruction sequence, and a processor for reading and executing the control instruction sequence. Figure 5 As shown in the interface diagram of the laser welder, the laser welder may further include a communication interface for realizing data transmission with a host computer, an enable interface for receiving an enable signal, and an I / O interface for receiving a level signal.

[0045] In the first embodiment of the power regulation method of the present application, refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a flow chart of the first embodiment of the power regulation method of the present application. The power regulation method may include steps S10 to S20:

[0046] Step S10 , in response to the waveform call instruction, obtaining a control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform call instruction, wherein the control instruction sequence includes at least two control instruction subsequences, and a wait instruction is configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences.

[0047] It should be noted that the waveform call instruction is sent by the host computer through the communication interface, or input by the user through the touch screen configured on the laser welder itself. It is used to instruct the call of the control instruction sequence corresponding to the workpiece to be welded. When the laser welder receives the waveform call instruction, it calls the corresponding control instruction sequence in the memory according to the waveform call instruction. The control instruction sequence includes the same number of control instruction subsequences as the weld seams. The wait instruction indicates that the standby state is maintained when the preset conditions are not met. When the preset conditions are met, the control instruction subsequence adjacent to the wait instruction is read and executed. The control instruction subsequence includes one or more control instructions, wherein the control instructions can include one or more of power adjustment instructions, wait instructions, jump instructions, and repetition frequency output instructions.

[0048] It should also be noted that the power adjustment instruction indicates the target power and adjustment time; the waiting instruction in the power adjustment instruction indicates that the laser power after the execution of the previous control instruction is maintained when the preset conditions are not met, and when the preset conditions are met, the control instruction adjacent to the waiting instruction is read and executed; the jump instruction indicates jumping to the target control instruction, and after reading and executing the target control instruction, the control instruction located after the target control instruction is read and executed; the repetition frequency output instruction indicates the repetition frequency and duty cycle.

[0049] In a feasible embodiment, a first waiting instruction is configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences, and the first waiting instruction indicates to maintain the standby state within a preset time. When the duration of the standby state exceeds the preset time, the control instruction subsequence adjacent to the first waiting instruction is read and executed.

[0050] It should be noted that when maintaining the standby state, the laser power is low power or 0 power; the preset time is set based on the time it takes for the laser welder to move from the end point of the completed weld to the starting point of the weld to be welded. For example, in the application of handheld laser welders, automated equipment such as robotic arms are usually used to drive the welding wire to move. Accordingly, the preset time is set to the time it takes for the automated equipment to drive the welding wire from the end point of the completed weld to the starting point of the weld to be welded; in automated welding operations, laser welding is carried out on automated equipment such as robotic arms, and the robotic arms and laser welders move according to a preset trajectory. Accordingly, the preset time is the time it takes for the automated equipment to drive the laser welding from the end point of the completed weld to the starting point of the weld to be welded.

[0051] The power regulation method of this embodiment is applicable to handheld laser welders and laser welders mounted on automated equipment. It uses a fixed time to trigger a control instruction subsequence located after the waiting instruction, is not affected by external signal transmission delays or fluctuations, and reduces the possibility of false triggering. In addition, it does not require interactive actions with other equipment. When cooperating with robots or other devices, no additional programming is required, and it has the advantage of strong portability.

[0052] In another feasible embodiment, a second waiting instruction is configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences, and the second waiting instruction indicates to maintain a standby state before receiving a target level signal. When the target level signal is received, the control instruction subsequence adjacent to the second waiting instruction is read and executed, wherein the target level signal is output when the driving mechanism equipped with the laser welder moves to a preset position.

[0053] It should be noted that the drive mechanism and laser welder are connected via an IO interface, and the target level signal is either high or low. The drive mechanism is an automated device such as a robot or mobile platform, which is programmed to achieve trajectory control. The drive mechanism is configured to output a target level signal when it moves to a preset position. For example, the drive mechanism outputs a target level signal when it drives the laser welder to the starting point of the weld to be welded. After receiving the target level signal, the laser welder reads and executes the control instruction subsequence immediately following the wait instruction.

[0054] The power regulation method of this embodiment uses an external level to trigger the control instruction subsequence located after the wait instruction, and realizes the switching of the control instruction subsequence only through the IO interface, thereby reducing the hardware overhead of the automation device; in addition, in the automated welding operation, the coordination accuracy of the automation device and the laser welder is higher when this embodiment is adopted compared with the first embodiment, thereby improving the welding accuracy.

[0055] In another feasible implementation, the control instruction sequence includes at least three control instruction subsequences, wherein a second waiting instruction is configured between at least two adjacent control instruction subsequences, and a first waiting instruction is configured between the remaining adjacent control instruction subsequences.

[0056] It should be noted that after the control instruction subsequence located after the waiting instruction is triggered and executed at a fixed time, due to the control accuracy of the automation equipment or the laser welder, the laser welder and the automation equipment may be out of sync in time. For example, when the laser welder reads and executes the control instruction subsequence after a fixed time, the laser welder has not moved to or has moved past the starting position of the weld to be welded, affecting the control accuracy.

[0057] The power regulation method of this embodiment uses at least one first waiting instruction to trigger a corresponding control instruction subsequence, and uses at least one first waiting instruction to trigger a corresponding control instruction subsequence, which can not only reduce the impact of external signal transmission delay or fluctuation, but also synchronize the time of the automation device and the laser welder, and balance welding efficiency, accuracy and flexibility.

[0058] Step S20: upon receiving the start enable signal, sequentially reading and executing the control instructions in the control instruction sequence to adjust the laser power.

[0059] It should be noted that the laser welder monitors the enable signal through the enable interface. When the laser welder receives the start enable signal, it starts to read and execute the control instruction subsequence at the first position in the control instruction sequence. After executing the last control instruction of the control instruction subsequence, it executes the wait instruction and the laser welder enters the standby state. When the preset conditions are met, it reads and executes the adjacent control instruction subsequence after the wait instruction. Similarly, after all control instructions are read and executed in sequence or the shutdown enable signal is received, the laser power adjustment is ended.

[0060] In a feasible implementation, step S20 may include steps A11 to A12:

[0061] Step A11: when the read control instruction is a power adjustment instruction, calculating the power change value corresponding to the unit time according to the adjustment time and target power indicated by the power adjustment instruction;

[0062] Step A12: adjusting the laser power according to the power change value.

[0063] Specifically, the power adjustment instruction includes a power increase instruction and a power decrease instruction. Accordingly, step A11 includes: when the control instruction read is a power increase / decrease instruction, according to the adjustment time and target increase / decrease power indicated by the power adjustment instruction, calculating the power change value corresponding to the unit time.

[0064] It should be noted that when the adjustment time is 0, the laser power is directly adjusted to the target power.

[0065] In a feasible implementation, step S20 may include steps B11 to B12:

[0066] Step B11: When the read control instruction is a loop jump instruction, read and execute the target instruction indicated by the jump instruction, and calculate the number of jumps.

[0067] Step B12: When the jump number reaches the jump number threshold, read and execute the control instruction adjacent to the loop jump instruction.

[0068] In one feasible embodiment, the host computer provides the user with a control instruction sequence editing window and an editing template with auxiliary input functions. The user completes editing of the control instructions and their control parameters one by one, and after editing, a control instruction sequence is generated. After editing is completed, the user can number the control instruction sequence and transmit it from the host computer to the laser welder. The laser welder reads the number and stores the control instruction sequence in a designated location.

[0069] In a feasible implementation, the control instruction sequence consists of a two-dimensional matrix, for example:

[0070]

[0071] The two-dimensional matrix has a total of 60 instruction lines, each of which consists of 5 bytes. The first byte is the control instruction, the second to third bytes are control parameter one, and the fourth to fifth bytes are control parameter two.

[0072] The power regulation method in this embodiment obtains the control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform call instruction, and then reads and executes the control instructions in the control instruction sequence in sequence when the start enable signal is received. This can realize the control of the laser power of complex welding processes, reduce the difficulty of program editing and the hardware overhead of automation equipment, and improve the consistency and reliability of power jumps. In addition, since it is an embedded program control, it has high precision and is suitable for scenarios with high precision requirements. When used in conjunction with automation equipment, it does not require additional programming and is adaptable to various automation devices.

[0073] This application also provides a control device, referring to Figure 6 , Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a module structure of a control device is provided, which may include:

[0074] an instruction calling module, configured to obtain, in response to a waveform calling instruction, a control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform calling instruction, wherein the control instruction sequence includes at least two control instruction subsequences, and a wait instruction is configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences;

[0075] The instruction execution module is used to read and execute the control instructions in the control instruction sequence in sequence when receiving the start enable signal.

[0076] The control device provided in this application, which employs the power regulation method of the above-mentioned embodiment, can solve the technical problems of the main technical problems. Compared with the related art, the beneficial effects of the control device provided in this application are the same as those of the power regulation method provided in the above-mentioned embodiment, and the other technical features of the control device are the same as those disclosed in the power regulation method of the above-mentioned embodiment, and are not further described here.

[0077] The present application also provides a laser welder, which may include

[0078] A laser output device for outputting laser light;

[0079] A memory for storing a control instruction sequence and a computer program, wherein the computer program is configured to implement the steps of the power regulation method in the above embodiment;

[0080] A processor for running computer programs.

[0081] The laser welder provided in this application, employing the power regulation method of the aforementioned embodiment, can solve the technical problems of the primary technical problem. Compared with the related art, the beneficial effects of the laser welder provided in this application are the same as those of the power regulation method provided in the aforementioned embodiment, and the other technical features of the laser welder are the same as those disclosed in the power regulation method of the aforementioned embodiment, and are not further described here.

[0082] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions (ie, a computer program) stored thereon, wherein the computer-readable program instructions are used to execute the power regulation method in the above embodiment.

[0083] The computer-readable storage medium provided herein may be, for example, a USB flash drive, but is not limited to electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems or devices, or any combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include, but are not limited to, a portable computer disk electrically connected with one or more wires, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or the like, or any suitable combination thereof. In this embodiment, the computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that can be used by an instruction execution system or device, or a combination thereof. The program code contained on the computer-readable storage medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including, but not limited to, wires, optical cables, RF (Radio Frequency), or the like, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0084] The storage medium provided in this application is a computer-readable storage medium that stores computer-readable program instructions (i.e., a computer program) for executing the above-described power regulation method, thereby resolving the technical issues of the primary technical problem. Compared to related technologies, the beneficial effects of the computer-readable storage medium provided in this application are similar to those of the power regulation method provided in the above-described embodiments, and are not further elaborated here.

[0085] The above are only some embodiments of the present application and are not intended to limit the patent scope of the present application. All equivalent structural transformations made using the contents of the present application specification and drawings under the technical concept of the present application, or direct / indirect application in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A power regulation method, characterized in that: include: In response to a waveform call instruction, a control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform call instruction is obtained, wherein the control instruction sequence includes at least two control instruction subsequences, and a wait instruction is configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences; the wait instruction includes a second wait instruction, the second wait instruction instructing to maintain a standby state before receiving a target level signal, and when the target level signal is received, reading and executing the control instruction subsequence adjacent to the second wait instruction, wherein the target level signal is output when a driving mechanism carrying the laser welder moves to a preset position; When the start enable signal is received, the control instructions in the control instruction sequence are read and executed in sequence to adjust the laser power.

2. The power regulation method according to claim 1, wherein: The waiting instruction includes a first waiting instruction, which instructs to maintain the standby state within a preset time. When the duration of the standby state exceeds the preset time, the control instruction subsequence adjacent to the first waiting instruction is read and executed.

3. The power regulation method according to claim 2, wherein: The control instruction sequence includes at least three control instruction sub-sequences, wherein a second waiting instruction is configured between at least two adjacent control instruction sub-sequences, and a first waiting instruction is configured between the remaining adjacent control instruction sub-sequences.

4. The power regulation method according to claim 1, wherein: The control instructions in the control instruction subsequence include one or more of a power adjustment instruction, a wait instruction, a jump instruction, and a repetition frequency output instruction.

5. The power regulation method according to claim 4, wherein: The reading and executing the control instruction in the control instruction sequence includes: When the read control instruction is a power adjustment instruction, calculating the power change value corresponding to the unit time according to the adjustment time and target power indicated by the power adjustment instruction; The laser power is adjusted according to the power change value.

6. The power regulation method according to claim 4, wherein: The reading and executing the control instruction in the control instruction sequence includes: When the read control instruction is a loop jump instruction, the target instruction indicated by the jump instruction is read and executed, and the number of jumps is calculated; When the jump count reaches a jump count threshold, a control instruction adjacent to the loop jump instruction is read and executed.

7. A control device, characterized in that: The control device comprises: an instruction calling module, configured to, in response to a waveform calling instruction, obtain a control instruction sequence indicated by the waveform calling instruction, wherein the control instruction sequence includes at least two control instruction subsequences, and a wait instruction is configured between adjacent control instruction subsequences; the wait instruction includes a second wait instruction, the second wait instruction instructing to maintain a standby state before receiving a target level signal, and upon receiving the target level signal, reading and executing the control instruction subsequence adjacent to the second wait instruction, wherein the target level signal is output when a driving mechanism carrying the laser welder moves to a preset position; The instruction execution module is used to read and execute the control instructions in the control instruction sequence in sequence when receiving the start enable signal.

8. A laser welding machine, characterized in that: The laser welder comprises: A laser output device for outputting laser light; a memory for storing a control instruction sequence and a computer program, wherein the computer program is configured to implement the steps of the power regulation method according to any one of claims 1 to 6; A processor for running computer programs.

9. A storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium is a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program is stored on the storage medium. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the power regulation method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are implemented.

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