Intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system and machining method thereof

Abstract

The invention discloses an intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system and a machining method, and belongs to the technical field of intelligent manufacturing. The system comprises a conveying belt, a portal frame stretching across the conveying belt, and a welding unit and a polishing unit which are arranged on the portal frame. The welding unit comprises a welding cross-shaped moving assembly, a welding-cooling assembly installed on the welding cross-shaped moving assembly and a welding seam tracking system. The grinding unit comprises a grinding cross-shaped moving assembly and a grinding assembly installed on the grinding cross-shaped moving assembly. The core of the system is that a central control system in communication connection with all the components is arranged, and the central control system is configured to receive weld joint track data recognized by the weld joint tracking system, sequentially control the welding device to weld along the track, control the cooling device to forcibly cool the weld joint and control the grinding device to grind along the same track based on the same data flow. Through path unification and procedure integration, continuous automatic operation of welding and grinding is achieved, and the machining precision, the production efficiency and the product quality are effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent manufacturing technology, specifically to an intelligent integrated welding and grinding manufacturing system and its processing method. Background Technology

[0002] In industrial production, welding and grinding are two crucial processes. Currently, in traditional applications, welding and grinding are usually carried out separately and independently. That is, all workpieces are welded first, and after the weld seam cools naturally, they are then transferred to the grinding station for grinding. This separate operation method has obvious drawbacks: First, the process connection is not smooth, and the workpiece needs to be clamped and transferred multiple times, which not only increases the overall operation time and reduces production efficiency, but may also cause damage to precision during the transfer process; Second, the welding process generates a lot of heat, forming a huge temperature gradient near the weld seam, which causes residual stress and deformation inside the welded part, and waiting for the weld seam to cool naturally takes a lot of time, further slowing down the production pace.

[0003] While existing technologies include automated welding robots and automated grinding devices, most are single-function, independent units that fail to achieve continuous, integrated welding and grinding operations. Therefore, there is an urgent need in this field for a solution that integrates welding, cooling, and grinding processes into a single unit and enables precise, coordinated control to overcome these technological bottlenecks. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to address the shortcomings of existing technologies by providing an intelligent integrated welding and grinding manufacturing system and its processing method. Through integrated design, this system achieves continuous automated operations for weld seam tracking, welding, forced cooling, and grinding, significantly improving production efficiency and ensuring the stability and consistency of processing quality.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention employs an intelligent integrated welding and grinding manufacturing system comprising:

[0006] Conveyor belts are used to intermittently transport workpieces to be processed.

[0007] Clamping devices are provided on both sides of the conveyor belt, corresponding to the welding area and the grinding area respectively, and are used to fix the workpiece during processing;

[0008] A gantry frame is installed across the conveyor belt;

[0009] A welding cross-shaped moving assembly is disposed on the gantry and corresponds to the welding area;

[0010] A welding-cooling assembly is mounted on the welding cross moving assembly via a first robotic arm, and includes a welding device and a cooling device fixedly installed in a front-to-back arrangement.

[0011] A vision sensor, mounted on the first robotic arm via an extender and located in front of the welding device, is used to acquire images of the weld seam.

[0012] A weld seam tracking system, which is communicatively connected to the vision sensor, is used to identify the weld seam trajectory based on the weld seam image using an image processing algorithm.

[0013] A grinding cross-shaped moving component is mounted on the gantry and corresponds to the grinding area;

[0014] A grinding assembly is mounted on the grinding cross moving assembly via a second robotic arm, and a grinding head is provided at the end of the grinding assembly;

[0015] The central control system is communicatively connected to the weld seam tracking system, welding device, cooling device, grinding assembly, welding cross moving assembly, and grinding cross moving assembly. The central control system is configured to: receive weld seam trajectory data from the weld seam tracking system; control the welding cross moving assembly to drive the welding device to weld along the weld seam trajectory; control the cooling device to cool the weld seam after welding; and control the grinding cross moving assembly to drive the grinding assembly to grind along the same weld seam trajectory.

[0016] Furthermore, the cooling device is a fluid cooling system, which includes a cooling head and a gas delivery hose connected to the cooling head for spraying coolant onto the weld surface after welding.

[0017] Furthermore, the welding cross moving assembly includes a first linear moving module arranged along the conveyor belt conveying direction, and a second linear moving module mounted on the first linear moving module and arranged perpendicular to the conveyor belt conveying direction; the welding-cooling assembly is mounted on the second linear moving module of the welding cross moving assembly via a first robotic arm.

[0018] Furthermore, the grinding cross moving assembly includes a third linear moving module arranged along the conveyor belt conveying direction, and a fourth linear moving module mounted on the third linear moving module and arranged perpendicular to the conveyor belt conveying direction; the grinding assembly is mounted on the fourth linear moving module via a second robotic arm.

[0019] Furthermore, the bottom of the gantry is provided with a drive wheel and a locking system that is connected to the drive wheel in a transmission manner; the locking system is communicatively connected to the central control system and is configured to: lock the drive wheel to fix the position of the gantry when the equipment is running, and release the drive wheel when the equipment needs to be moved.

[0020] The present invention also provides a processing method using the intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system described above, comprising the following steps:

[0021] S1. The conveyor belt intermittently transports the workpiece to the welding area, and the clamping device in the welding area is activated to fix the workpiece.

[0022] S2. The weld seam is scanned by the visual sensor of the weld seam tracking system to obtain weld seam trajectory data and save it to the central control system;

[0023] S3. The central control system controls the welding cross moving component to drive the welding device to perform welding operations along the weld track based on the weld trajectory data.

[0024] S4. After the welding operation is completed or near completion, the central control system controls the cooling device to cool the weld seam after welding.

[0025] S5. After welding and cooling are completed, the clamping device in the welding area is released, and the conveyor belt transports the workpiece to the grinding area and is fixed by the clamping device in that area.

[0026] S6. The central control system controls the grinding cross moving component to move the grinding component along the weld trajectory according to the stored weld trajectory data, and performs grinding operation on the cooled weld.

[0027] Furthermore, in step S4, the cooling device continuously sprays low-temperature carbon dioxide gas onto the surface of the weld after welding through a cooling head to perform flow-coverage cooling, reducing the temperature of the weld after welding to a suitable grinding temperature of 50°C to 400°C. The specific temperature value is determined according to the material of the weldment.

[0028] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0029] (1) A highly collaborative automated production unit was constructed: This invention integrates multiple functional modules such as weld identification, welding, cooling and grinding into a unified gantry platform and central control system. Through intermittent conveying of the conveyor belt, a complete closed-loop processing unit is formed, realizing continuous operation of multiple processes under one workpiece clamping, eliminating the transfer, queuing and secondary clamping between processes, greatly improving the overall production efficiency, and reducing the accuracy loss and production management costs caused by multiple processing.

[0030] (2) A machine vision-based intelligent control closed loop has been formed: the vision sensor, weld seam tracking system, cross-shaped moving platform and actuator constitute an intelligent closed loop of perception, decision-making and execution, which not only realizes real-time tracking and adaptive processing of weld seams, improves the intelligence level of the system and its ability to cope with complex working conditions, but also provides a foundation for the collection of production data and process optimization.

[0031] (3) Achieved unified welding and grinding paths and guaranteed accuracy: The weld track data was acquired at once through the weld tracking system and handed over to the central control system to simultaneously command the welding and grinding operations, ensuring a high degree of consistency between the welding and grinding paths. This fundamentally eliminated the processing deviation caused by errors in two positioning or between different systems, and significantly improved the processing accuracy of complex paths;

[0032] (4) The processing chain is optimized through active temperature control: The system-integrated forced cooling device breaks the passive mode of traditional natural cooling. By integrating cooling as a controlled process after welding and before grinding, the weld can be quickly and accurately reduced to the optimal grinding temperature (50-400℃). This not only saves the long waiting time for natural cooling and greatly improves the work cycle, but also the active cooling process helps to reduce welding residual stress and deformation, thereby improving the internal quality of the workpiece while improving efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0034] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the welding-cooling assembly of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the grinding component of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the conveyor belt transmission state of the present invention.

[0037] In the diagram: 1. Conveyor belt; 2. Clamping device; 3. Gantry frame; 4. Welding cross moving assembly; 5. Welding-cooling assembly; 5. First robotic arm; 51. Welding device; 52. Cooling device; 53. Cooling head; 54. Gas supply hose; 55. Weld seam tracking system; 6. Grinding cross moving assembly; 7. Grinding assembly; 8. Second robotic arm; 81. Grinding head; 82. Central control system; 9. Drive wheel; 10. Locking system; 11. Vision sensor; 12. Workpiece to be processed; 13. Detailed Implementation

[0038] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0039] like Figures 1 to 4As shown, this embodiment provides an intelligent integrated welding and grinding manufacturing system. The system integrates weld seam recognition, welding, forced cooling and grinding functions, realizing efficient and precise automated processing of workpieces on the production line.

[0040] The system includes a conveyor belt 1, a clamping device 2, a gantry frame 3, a welding cross moving assembly 4, a welding-cooling assembly 5, a weld tracking system 6, a grinding cross moving assembly 7, a grinding assembly 8, and a central control system 9.

[0041] The conveyor belt 1 is mounted on the frame and is used to intermittently transport the workpiece 13 to be processed along the conveying direction (i.e., the X direction). The clamping devices 2 are located on both sides of the conveyor belt 1, corresponding to the welding area and the grinding area respectively. When the workpiece 13 is transported to the position, the clamping device 2 in the corresponding area is activated to reliably fix the workpiece to ensure processing accuracy.

[0042] The gantry frame 3 spans the conveyor belt 1, providing a stable support structure for the system. To facilitate the overall movement and positioning of the equipment, drive wheels 10 and a locking system 11 connected to the drive wheels 10 are installed at the bottom of the gantry frame 3. The locking system 11 is communicatively connected to the central control system 9. When the equipment needs to be moved, the locking system 11 releases the drive wheels 10; when the equipment is running and performing processing operations, the locking system 11 locks the drive wheels 10 under the command of the central control system 9, thereby ensuring the stability of the gantry frame 3 and the entire system during the processing.

[0043] A welding cross moving assembly 4 is provided on the gantry 3 corresponding to the welding area. In a preferred embodiment, the welding cross moving assembly 4 includes a first linear moving module arranged along the X direction, and a second linear moving module mounted on the slider of the first linear moving module and arranged along the Y direction perpendicular to the X direction. The first and second linear moving modules together constitute a two-dimensional moving platform capable of precise positioning in the XY plane. The welding-cooling assembly 5 is mounted on the slider of the second linear moving module via a first robotic arm 51.

[0044] The welding-cooling assembly 5 includes a welding device 52 and a cooling device 53, which are fixedly installed in a front-to-back arrangement. The welding device 52 may be, for example, a welding torch. The cooling device 53 is a fluid cooling system, which includes a cooling head 54 and a gas delivery hose 55 connected to the cooling head 54 for spraying coolant (preferably low-temperature carbon dioxide gas) onto the weld surface after welding. A vision sensor 12 is mounted on the first robotic arm 51 via an extender and is located in front of the welding device 52, so that its field of view can cover the weld area to be welded. The vision sensor 12 is communicatively connected to the weld tracking system 6. Based on the weld image acquired by the vision sensor 12, the weld tracking system 6 identifies and calculates the weld trajectory data in real time using embedded image processing algorithms (such as edge detection algorithms, automatic tracking algorithms, etc.).

[0045] On the gantry 3, a grinding cross-shaped moving assembly 7 is provided corresponding to the grinding area. Its structure is similar to that of the welding cross-shaped moving assembly 4, preferably including a third linear moving module arranged along the X direction, and a fourth linear moving module arranged along the Y direction and mounted on the slider of the third linear moving module. The grinding assembly 8 is mounted on the slider of the fourth linear moving module via a second robotic arm 81. A detachable grinding head 82 is provided at the end of the grinding assembly 8 to allow for the replacement of appropriate grinding tools according to different workpiece materials.

[0046] The central control system 9, as the core control unit of the entire equipment, is connected to the weld seam tracking system 6, welding device 52, cooling device 53, grinding assembly 8, welding cross moving assembly 4, and grinding cross moving assembly 7.

[0047] This embodiment also provides a processing method using the above-described intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system, the method comprising the following steps:

[0048] S1. Workpiece conveying and fixing: Conveyor belt 1 intermittently conveys the workpiece 13 to the welding area. Upon arrival, the clamping device 2 in the welding area activates to firmly clamp the workpiece 13.

[0049] S2. Weld Track Recognition: The weld tracking system 6 is activated, and the workpiece weld is scanned by the vision sensor 12. The weld tracking system 6 processes and analyzes the acquired images, identifies the precise trajectory of the weld, and uploads and saves the trajectory data to the central control system 9.

[0050] S3. Welding operation: The central control system 9 drives the first linear movement module and the second linear movement module of the welding cross moving assembly 4 to work together according to the received weld trajectory data, so as to drive the welding device 52 (welding gun) to perform welding operation precisely along the identified weld trajectory.

[0051] S4. Forced Cooling: After the welding operation is completed (or near completion), the central control system 9 activates the cooling device 53. The central control system 9 determines the timing of cooling activation based on preset program logic. For example: Method 1, a position sensor located behind the welding device 52 detects that the welding device 52 has moved to the end of the weld or left a specific distance from a certain section of the weld, triggering a cooling command; Method 2, based on the total length of the weld trajectory and the moving speed of the welding device, the estimated welding completion time is calculated, and a cooling command is triggered at or slightly earlier than this time. The cooling device 53 continuously and evenly sprays low-temperature carbon dioxide gas and other coolants onto the surface of the weld after welding through its cooling head 54, performing flow-coverage forced cooling. By controlling the cooling parameters, the temperature of the weld after welding is rapidly reduced from the high welding temperature to a suitable grinding temperature of 50°C to 400°C, the specific temperature value being determined according to the material of the weldment.

[0052] S5. Workpiece Transfer: After the welding and cooling processes are completed, the clamping device 2 in the welding area is released. The conveyor belt 1 restarts, transporting the welded and cooled workpiece 13 to the grinding area. Once in place, the clamping device 2 in the grinding area activates to fix the workpiece.

[0053] S6. Grinding operation: The central control system 9 retrieves the same weld trajectory data stored in step S2, drives the third and fourth linear movement modules of the grinding cross moving assembly 7, and drives the grinding head 82 to grind and polish the weld that has cooled to a suitable temperature along the same path as the welding, so as to obtain the final product.

[0054] Through the above system and method, the present invention achieves absolute uniformity of welding and grinding paths, ensuring processing accuracy; by integrating the forced cooling process, the production cycle is significantly shortened and workpiece quality is improved; and finally, a highly collaborative, continuously automated intelligent production unit is constructed.

[0055] The above description is merely an example and illustration of the structure of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make various modifications or additions to the specific embodiments described, or use similar methods to replace them, as long as they do not deviate from the inventive concept of the present invention, and all such modifications or additions should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An intelligent integrated welding and grinding manufacturing system, characterized in that, include: Conveyor belt (1) is used to intermittently transport workpieces (13) to be processed. Clamping devices (2) are provided on both sides of the conveyor belt (1), corresponding to the welding area and the grinding area respectively, and are used to fix the workpiece during processing; A gantry frame (3) is set across the conveyor belt (1); A welding cross moving assembly (4) is disposed on the gantry (3) and corresponds to the welding area; The welding-cooling assembly (5) is mounted on the welding cross moving assembly (4) by a first robotic arm (51), which includes a welding device (52) and a cooling device (53) fixedly mounted in a front-to-back arrangement. A vision sensor (12) is mounted on the first robotic arm (51) via an extender and is located in front of the welding device (52) for acquiring weld images; The weld seam tracking system (6) is communicatively connected to the vision sensor (12) and is used to identify the weld seam trajectory based on the weld seam image through an image processing algorithm; A grinding cross-shaped moving assembly (7) is set on the gantry (3) and corresponds to the grinding area; The grinding assembly (8) is mounted on the grinding cross moving assembly (7) via the second robotic arm (81), and the grinding assembly (8) is provided with a grinding head (82) at its end. The central control system (9) is communicatively connected to the weld tracking system (6), welding device (52), cooling device (53), grinding assembly (8), welding cross moving assembly (4), and grinding cross moving assembly (7); the central control system (9) is configured to: receive weld trajectory data from the weld tracking system (6); control the welding cross moving assembly (4) to drive the welding device (52) to weld along the weld trajectory; control the cooling device (53) to cool the weld after welding; and control the grinding cross moving assembly (7) to drive the grinding assembly (8) to grind along the same weld trajectory.

2. The intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The cooling device (53) is a fluid cooling system, which includes a cooling head (54) and a gas delivery hose (55) connected to the cooling head (54) for spraying coolant onto the surface of the weld after welding.

3. The intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The welding cross moving assembly (4) includes a first linear moving module arranged along the conveying direction of the conveyor belt (1), and a second linear moving module installed on the first linear moving module and arranged perpendicular to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt (1). The welding-cooling assembly (5) is mounted on the second linear movement module of the welding cross moving assembly (4) via the first robotic arm (51).

4. The intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The grinding cross moving assembly (7) includes a third linear moving module arranged along the conveyor belt (1) conveying direction, and a fourth linear moving module installed on the third linear moving module and arranged perpendicular to the conveyor belt (1) conveying direction; the grinding assembly (8) is installed on the fourth linear moving module by a second robotic arm (81).

5. The intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the gantry (3) is provided with a drive wheel (10) and a locking system (11) that is connected to the drive wheel (10) in a transmission manner; the locking system (11) is connected in communication with the central control system (9) and is configured to lock the drive wheel (10) to fix the position of the gantry (3) when the equipment is running, and release the drive wheel (10) when the equipment needs to be moved.

6. A processing method using the intelligent welding and grinding integrated manufacturing system as described in any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: S1. The conveyor belt (1) intermittently transports the workpiece (13) to the welding area, and the clamping device (2) in the welding area is activated to fix the workpiece (13). S2. The weld is scanned by the visual sensor (12) of the weld tracking system (6) to obtain weld trajectory data and save it to the central control system (9). S3. The central control system (9) controls the welding cross moving component (4) to drive the welding device (52) to perform welding operation along the weld track according to the weld track data. S4. After the welding operation is completed or near completion, the central control system (9) controls the cooling device (53) to cool the weld after welding. S5. After welding and cooling are completed, the clamping device (2) of the welding area is released, and the conveyor belt (1) transports the workpiece (13) to the grinding area and is fixed by the clamping device (2) of the area. S6. The central control system (9) controls the grinding cross moving component (7) to drive the grinding component (8) to move along the weld trajectory according to the stored weld trajectory data, and performs grinding operation on the cooled weld.

7. The processing method according to claim 6, characterized in that, In step S4, the cooling device (53) continuously sprays low-temperature carbon dioxide gas onto the surface of the weld after welding through the cooling head (54) to perform flow-coverage cooling, reducing the temperature of the weld after welding to a suitable grinding temperature of 50°C to 400°C. The specific temperature value is determined according to the material of the weldment.

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