Automatic assembling equipment for automobile steering tie rod ball head

Abstract

The invention discloses automatic assembling equipment for automobile steering tie rod balls, and belongs to the technical field of automobile part manufacturing equipment. The equipment comprises a rack as well as a conveying turntable, a feeding module, a press-fitting module, a detection module, a discharging module and a control system which are integrated on the rack, a plurality of positioning tools are evenly distributed on the conveying rotary disc, continuous transferring of workpieces is achieved, the feeding module adopts a double-vibration-disc structure to complete directional conveying of ball shells and ball pins, and the feeding module is matched with a visual positioning assembly to guarantee the feeding precision; the press-fitting module adopts a servo driving mode, a built-in pressure and displacement sensor realizes closed-loop control in the press-fitting process, the problems of low efficiency, poor consistency, difficulty in quality tracing and the like of traditional manual assembly are solved, and the press-fitting module has the advantages of high assembly precision, high production efficiency, strong compatibility and the like; the device can be widely applied to batch assembly production of automobile steering tie rod balls of different models.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of automotive parts manufacturing equipment technology, specifically to an automatic assembly equipment for automotive steering tie rod ball joints. Background Technology

[0002] The ball joint of a car steering tie rod is a core transmission component in the car steering system. Its assembly quality directly affects the vehicle's steering accuracy, handling stability, and driving safety. Therefore, the requirements for the precision and consistency of the ball joint assembly are extremely high. In the current automotive parts manufacturing process, the assembly of steering tie rod ball joints still relies heavily on manual labor. Traditional manual assembly methods have several drawbacks: First, assembly efficiency is low; the pace of manual operation is slow, and the output of a single machine per shift is typically less than 2,000 pieces, making it difficult to meet the demands of large-scale mass production. Second, assembly accuracy is unstable; the pressing force and assembly depth depend entirely on the operator's experience and judgment, leading to significant differences in operation between different operators, resulting in poor product consistency and a high defect rate, typically above 5%. Third, quality inspection is incomplete; after manual assembly, sampling inspection is often used, making it impossible to achieve full-process, full-batch quality inspection, posing a risk of defective products leaking out, and making it difficult to record and trace inspection data. Fourth, labor costs are high; ball joint assembly is labor-intensive and requires a large number of operators, and with the continuous rise in labor costs, the production pressure on enterprises is increasing year by year. Fifth, safety hazards are prominent; during manual pressing and transfer operations, safety accidents such as hand crushing are prone to occur.

[0003] To address the issues associated with manual assembly, some companies have begun experimenting with semi-automated assembly equipment. However, existing semi-automated equipment still suffers from problems such as low material feeding accuracy, inaccurate control of the pressing process, limited testing functions, and poor equipment compatibility. This makes it difficult to achieve full-process automation and fundamentally improve assembly quality and production efficiency. Therefore, developing an automated assembly machine for automotive steering tie rod ball joints that achieves full-process automation, high assembly accuracy, high production efficiency, strong compatibility, and quality traceability has become a pressing technical challenge in the automotive parts manufacturing industry. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic assembly equipment for automotive steering tie rod ball joints to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: an automatic assembly equipment for automotive steering tie rod ball joints, comprising a frame, and a conveyor turntable, a feeding module, a pressing module, a detection module, a unloading module, and a control system mounted on the frame. The conveyor turntable is provided with a plurality of evenly distributed positioning fixtures, which are adapted to the automotive steering tie rod ball joint workpieces and are used to carry and transport the ball joint assembly to complete each process operation.

[0006] Preferably, the feeding module includes two independent vibratory feeder feeding units, wherein the two sets of vibratory feeder feeding units correspond to the orientation, sorting and conveying of the ball head shell and the ball head pin, respectively. Each vibratory feeder feeding unit is equipped with a photoelectric sensor at its outlet to detect the workpiece's position. The end of the feeding module is also equipped with a vision positioning component, which includes an industrial camera and an image processor to identify the workpiece's posture and compensate for positioning deviations, ensuring feeding alignment accuracy.

[0007] Preferably, the pressing module includes a servo pressing unit, which consists of a servo motor, a ball screw, a pressing head, and a guiding mechanism. The servo pressing unit has built-in pressure sensors and displacement sensors, which can collect pressure data and displacement data in real time during the pressing process to achieve closed-loop control of pressing force and pressing depth.

[0008] Preferably, the detection module includes a torque detection unit and a gap detection unit. The torque detection unit uses a dynamic torque sensor, which is mounted on one side of the detection module via a robotic arm. It can simulate the dynamic force state during the steering process of a car and is used to detect the rotational resistance torque after the ball joint is assembled. The gap detection unit uses a laser displacement sensor to detect the radial gap of the ball joint. The detection module is also equipped with a defective product rejection component, which can automatically push the defective workpieces to the waste collection area.

[0009] Preferably, the conveyor turntable is driven by a cam divider to ensure positioning accuracy between each station; a reduction mechanism is provided between the conveyor turntable and the drive motor to adjust the turntable speed; the positioning fixture is equipped with quick-change positioning pins, which can be quickly replaced through a plug-in structure and are compatible with different models of ball head products.

[0010] Preferably, the industrial camera of the vision positioning component is a high-resolution CCD camera, and the image processor has a built-in preset workpiece posture standard template. It can identify the offset angle and position deviation of the workpiece through image comparison and feed the deviation data back to the control system, which drives the actuator to adjust the workpiece position.

[0011] Preferably, the pressing process data of the servo pressing unit can be uploaded to the MES system in real time, including parameters such as pressing time, peak pressing force, and pressing depth, for quality traceability and process optimization; the servo pressing unit is also equipped with an overload protection module, which automatically stops the machine and issues an alarm signal when the pressing force exceeds a preset threshold.

[0012] Preferably, the detection shaft of the torque detection unit and the ball head pin are flexibly connected to avoid damage to the ball head during the detection process; the gap detection unit is equipped with multiple sets of laser emitting and receiving probes, which can detect the radial gap of the ball head from different directions to ensure the accuracy of the detection results.

[0013] Preferably, the control system adopts a PLC + industrial touch screen architecture, with the PLC being a Siemens S7-1200 series and the industrial touch screen being a 10.4-inch color touch screen.

[0014] Preferably, the frame is a welded structure of aluminum profile and steel plate, and the surface is treated with sandblasting to remove rust and electrostatic spraying for corrosion protection; the bottom of the equipment is equipped with feet, with no less than 4 feet evenly distributed at the four corners of the bottom of the frame, and the level of the equipment can be adjusted by rotating the feet to adapt to different ground flatness; the frame is also equipped with protective columns, which are made of transparent acrylic material, allowing observation of the internal operating status of the equipment and ensuring the safety of the operators.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: 1. When in use, this invention adopts a multi-station parallel operation mode, and realizes full-process automated operation through the coordinated cooperation of various modules. Visual positioning ensures material feeding accuracy, servo pressing closed-loop control ensures accurate pressing parameters, and full-process and full-batch inspection comprehensively verifies assembly quality, significantly improving product consistency and reliability. 2. During use, data from key processes such as pressing and testing are uploaded to the MES system in real time, recording the entire lifecycle data of each product. This facilitates quality traceability, problem investigation, and process optimization. The quick-change pressing head and quick-change positioning pin design allows the equipment to complete the changeover of different ball head products within 15 minutes, supporting multi-variety, small-batch production. The design of parameterized adjustment of the vibratory feeder and storage of multiple sets of process parameters further enhances the production flexibility of the equipment. 3. During use, the anti-corrosion treatment of the frame and the design of the safety guard post improve the service life and operational safety of the equipment; the fault self-diagnosis module can monitor the equipment status in real time, promptly alarm and display fault information, which facilitates quick troubleshooting, reduces equipment downtime, and improves the stability of equipment operation. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall device of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the protective column portion in this invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the gap detection unit and the laser displacement sensor in this invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the detection module and dynamic torque sensor in this invention; Figure 5This is a schematic diagram of the conveyor turntable and positioning fixture in this invention.

[0017] In the diagram: 1. Frame; 11. Protective column; 2. Pressing module; 21. Servo motor; 22. Ball screw; 23. Pressing head; 24. Guide mechanism; 3. Feeding module; 31. Vibratory feeder feeding unit; 32. Vision positioning component; 4. Conveyor turntable; 5. Positioning fixture; 6. Detection module; 61. Dynamic torque sensor; 7. Unloading module; 8. Foot cup; 9. Gap detection unit; 91. Laser displacement sensor. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0019] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention.

[0020] In addition, a fixed connection refers to a connection in which parts or components are fixed and there is no relative movement; a transmission connection refers to a connection in which mechanical motion or torque is transmitted to other working parts through a transmission component; a sliding connection refers to a connection in which two objects are in contact but not fixed and can slide relative to each other; and a rotational connection refers to a connection in which two objects are in contact but not fixed and can rotate relative to each other.

[0021] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified. Please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1-5 The present invention provides a technical solution: This embodiment provides an automatic assembly equipment for automotive steering tie rod ball joints, including a frame 1. The frame 1 is a welded structure of aluminum profile and steel plate. The main frame is made of 40×80mm aluminum profile, and the bottom crossbeam is reinforced with 10mm thick steel plate to ensure the strength of the frame 1. The surface of the frame 1 is treated with sandblasting and rust removal, and then electrostatically sprayed with epoxy resin powder, achieving an IP54 anti-corrosion rating. Each of the four corners of the bottom of the frame 1 is equipped with an adjustable foot cup 8 (4 in total). The foot cup 8 has a load-bearing capacity of ≥500kg and an adjustment stroke of 0-50mm. The levelness of the equipment can be adjusted by rotating the nuts on the top of the foot cup 8, so that the equipment can still operate stably in an environment where the ground flatness deviation is ≤5mm / m. The outside of the frame 1 is covered with transparent acrylic protective columns 11. The protective columns 11 are 5mm thick and are fixed with bolts, allowing for quick disassembly and maintenance. A safety door is set on the side of the protective column 11. The safety door is equipped with an electromagnetic lock. The safety door locks when the equipment is running, and the equipment stops immediately when the safety door is opened, ensuring the safety of the operator.

[0022] The frame 1 integrates and installs a conveyor turntable 4, a feeding module 3, a pressing module 2, a detection module 6, a discharging module 7, and a control system. The conveyor turntable 4 has a diameter of 800mm and is made of 45# steel with a surface hardening treatment, achieving a hardness of HRC45-50. Six positioning fixtures 5 are evenly distributed on the conveyor turntable 4. These fixtures are made of aluminum alloy with an anodized surface. Each fixture has a positioning groove adapted to the ball-head workpiece, and a quick-change positioning pin is installed at the bottom of the groove. The positioning pin uses a plug-in structure and is fixed by an elastic buckle. Replacement is simple: press the buckle to remove the positioning pin, and then release the buckle to fix it in place. The changeover time is ≤10 minutes. The conveyor turntable 4 is driven by a cam divider, model DS40, with an indexing accuracy of ≤±10″. The output shaft speed is adjusted by a reduction mechanism using a worm gear reducer with a transmission ratio of 1:20, allowing stepless adjustment of the conveyor turntable 4 speed within the range of 5-15 rpm to adapt to different production cycle requirements. The drive motor is a Mitsubishi servo motor 21 with a power of 1.5kW, ensuring stable drive.

[0023] The feeding module 3 includes two independent vibratory feeder units 31. The vibratory feeders are 400mm diameter cylindrical vibratory feeders made of 304 stainless steel, with polyurethane wear-resistant pads adhered to the inner walls to prevent workpiece scratches. The two vibratory feeders are respectively for feeding the ball head shell and ball head pin. Electromagnetic vibrators are installed at the bottom of the vibratory feeders, and the vibration frequency can be parameterized by the control system (adjustment range 20-50Hz), with an amplitude adjustment range of 0-2mm. Each vibratory feeder's outlet is equipped with a diffuse reflection photoelectric sensor (model E3Z-LS63), with a detection distance of 0-300mm and a response time ≤1 second. The system can detect the workpiece's position in real time. When no workpiece is detected at the discharge port, a signal is sent to the control system, which increases the vibration frequency of the corresponding vibratory feeder. When workpiece congestion is detected, the vibration frequency is reduced or vibration is paused to ensure stable feeding. The end of the feeding module 3 is equipped with a vision positioning component 32 via a bracket. The vision positioning component 32 includes an industrial camera and an image processor. The industrial camera is a Hikvision MV-CA013-20GM high-resolution CCD camera with 1.3 million pixels, a frame rate of 30 frames per second, and an 8mm fixed-focus lens. The image processor is an Intel Core i5 processor with a built-in Halcon machine vision algorithm library, which can realize functions such as workpiece posture recognition and deviation calculation. The industrial camera and the image processor are connected via Gigabit Ethernet, and the image transmission delay is ≤10ms.

[0024] The pressing module 2 includes a servo pressing unit, which is mounted on the pressing station above the conveyor turntable 4 via a bracket. The servo pressing unit consists of a servo motor 21, a ball screw 22, a pressing head 23, and a guide mechanism 24. The servo motor 21 is a Siemens V90 series, with a power of 2.0kW and a rated speed of 3000rpm. The ball screw 22 is a model SFU3205 with a lead of 5mm and a repeatability of ±0.01mm. The pressing head 23 is made of Cr12MoV material with surface hardening treatment. The pressing head 23 is connected to the ball screw 22 via a flange and secured with four M8 bolts, allowing for easy disassembly. Changing between different models of pressing heads 23 takes ≤5 minutes. The guide mechanism 24 uses two linear guides, model THK SR20, to ensure smooth lifting and lowering of the pressing head 23. The servo pressing unit has a built-in pressure sensor and a displacement sensor. The pressure sensor is a model HBM U9C with a range of 0-50kN and an accuracy class of 0.1. The displacement sensor is a model Keyence. The LK-G5000 has a measuring range of 0-200mm and an accuracy of ±0.001mm. The pressure sensor and displacement sensor are connected to the PLC via an analog module to upload detection data in real time.

[0025] The detection module 6 is installed at the detection station above the conveyor turntable 4, including a torque detection unit, a gap detection unit 9, and a defective product rejection component. The torque detection unit uses a dynamic torque sensor 61, model NORGREN T40F, with a detection range of 0.5-20 N·m and an accuracy class of 0.5. The dynamic torque sensor 61 is mounted via a robotic arm, specifically an ABB IRB120 robot with a 3kg load capacity and a repeatability of ±0.1mm, capable of driving the torque sensor for multi-pose detection. The detection shaft of the torque sensor is connected to the ball joint pin via a flexible clamp made of polyurethane, with an inner hole adapted to the ball joint pin to buffer the force during detection. The gap detection unit 9 uses three sets of laser displacement sensors 91, model SICKCLV650, with a detection accuracy of ±0.01mm. The three sensors are evenly distributed radially on the ball joint, with an included angle of 120°, ensuring complete coverage of the detection area. The defective product rejection component is driven by an SMC cylinder. CDQ2B32-50D, stroke 50mm, thrust ≥100N, push plate is installed at the end of cylinder piston rod. The push plate is made of nylon to avoid scratching the workpiece. The cylinder is controlled by solenoid valve. The solenoid valve is connected to PLC. After receiving the unqualified signal, it drives the cylinder to extend and push the material.

[0026] The unloading module 7 is installed at the unloading station above the conveyor turntable 4, including a pneumatic gripper and a finished product conveyor belt. The pneumatic gripper is an SMC MHZ2-16D with a clamping force of 0-200N, which is adjustable to avoid damaging the workpiece. The pneumatic gripper is mounted on an electric slide, model HIWIN KK8620, with a stroke of 300mm and a repeatability of ±0.02mm, which can drive the pneumatic gripper to move up, down, left, and right. The finished product conveyor belt is made of PVC material, with a width of 200mm and an adjustable conveying speed of 0.5-2m / s. The end of the conveyor belt is connected to a finished product collection box, which is made of stainless steel and has a volume of ≥50L.

[0027] The control system adopts a PLC + industrial touch screen architecture. The PLC is a Siemens S7-1214C with a CPU frequency of 100MHz, integrating 14 inputs / 10 outputs, and expanding with 2 analog input modules (SM 1231) and 1 analog output module (SM1232) for connecting sensors and actuators. The industrial touch screen is a Weintek MT8104iE, a 10.4-inch color LCD screen with a resolution of 800×600 and a touch accuracy of ±2mm. It communicates with the PLC via Ethernet to realize functions such as parameter setting, operation monitoring, fault alarm, and data query. The control system also integrates an Ethernet module to communicate with the MES system via industrial Ethernet to realize real-time uploading of pressing data and detection data.

[0028] The specific operation process of the device in this embodiment is as follows: Equipment debugging and parameter setting: The operator turns on the main power of the equipment, starts the control system, enters the parameter setting interface through the industrial touch screen, selects the ball head product model to be produced (such as model QT-01), and calls the preset process parameters: vibratory feeder feeding frequency 35Hz, pressing force 15kN, pressing depth 50mm, torque detection range 2-8N·m, gap detection threshold ≤0.05mm, conveyor turntable 4 speed 10 rpm; then check the status of each module to ensure that the vibratory feeder, servo motor 21, sensors and other components are normal.

[0029] Loading and Positioning: The ball head shell and ball head pin are poured into two vibratory feeder loading units 31 respectively, and the loading module 3 is started; the vibratory feeder is driven by an electromagnetic vibrator to orient and sort the ball head shell and ball head pin and then transport them to the discharge port. After the photoelectric sensor detects that the workpiece is in place, it sends a signal to the PLC; the PLC drives the pneumatic gripper to grab the workpiece and place the ball head shell and ball head pin in sequence on the positioning fixture 5 of the conveyor turntable 4; the industrial camera of the vision positioning component 32 acquires the workpiece image, and the image processor performs grayscale conversion, edge extraction and other processing on the image, compares it with the preset standard template, identifies the workpiece offset angle (e.g., 2°) and position deviation (e.g., 1.5mm), and feeds the deviation data back to the PLC; the PLC drives the electric slide to drive the pneumatic gripper to adjust the position of the workpiece and complete the precise positioning.

[0030] Precision pressing: The conveyor turntable 4 rotates under the drive of the cam divider, transferring the positioned workpiece to the pressing station; the PLC sends a pressing command, the servo motor 21 of the servo pressing unit starts, and drives the ball screw 22 to drive the pressing head 23 to descend at a speed of 5mm / s; during the pressing process, the pressure sensor collects pressing force data in real time, and the displacement sensor collects pressing depth data in real time. When the pressing force reaches 15kN and the pressing depth reaches 50mm, the PLC sends a stop command, and the servo motor 21 reverses to drive the pressing head 23 to rise and reset; the pressing time (e.g., 3.2s), peak pressing force (e.g., 15.2kN), pressing depth (e.g., 50.1mm) and other data during the pressing process are uploaded to the MES system for archiving via the Ethernet module.

[0031] Comprehensive Inspection and Rejection of Defective Products: The conveyor turntable 4 transfers the press-fitted workpiece to the inspection station; the PLC drives the robotic arm to move the dynamic torque sensor 61 to the inspection position. The inspection shaft is connected to the ball head pin through a flexible clamp. The robotic arm drives the inspection shaft to rotate the ball head at a speed of 10 r / min. The dynamic torque sensor 61 detects the rotational resistance torque of the ball head, and the detection data is 4.5 N·m (within the range of 2-8 N·m, the torque is considered qualified); at the same time, three sets of laser displacement sensors 91 emit lasers to detect the radial clearance of the ball head, and the detection data are 0.02 mm, 0.03 mm, and 0.025 mm respectively (all ≤0.05 mm, the clearance is considered qualified); if the torque of a certain workpiece is detected to be 9.2 N·m (exceeding the threshold), the PLC determines it to be a defective product, drives the cylinder of the defective product rejection component to extend, and pushes the defective workpiece to the waste collection area; qualified workpieces are retained on the positioning fixture 5.

[0032] Material unloading and collection: The conveyor turntable 4 transfers qualified workpieces to the unloading station; the PLC drives the electric slide to move the pneumatic gripper above the workpiece, the pneumatic gripper closes to grab the workpiece, and then the electric slide moves the pneumatic gripper above the finished product conveyor belt, the pneumatic gripper releases, and the workpiece is placed on the conveyor belt; the conveyor belt transports the workpiece to the finished product collection box at a speed of 1m / s, completing the assembly process of a single workpiece.

[0033] Continuous operation and fault handling: The equipment repeats the above process to achieve mass production. During operation, the PLC monitors the status of each module in real time. If no workpiece is detected at the vibratory feeder outlet (no signal from the photoelectric sensor), the industrial touch screen will display a "feeding shortage" fault and issue an audible and visual alarm. If the pressing force is detected to exceed 110% of the preset threshold (e.g., 16.5kN), the machine will stop immediately, display a "pressing overload" fault, and issue an alarm. After troubleshooting, the operator can reset the equipment through the touch screen to continue operation.

[0034] Working Principle: Before starting the equipment, the operator selects the product model and presets process parameters via the industrial touchscreen, including the vibratory feeder feeding frequency, pressing force threshold, pressing depth, torque detection range, and gap detection threshold. After starting the equipment, the control system coordinates the operation of each module: the conveyor turntable 4 rotates intermittently at a preset speed under the drive of the cam divider. When the positioning fixture 5 reaches the feeding station, the two independent vibratory feeder feeding units 31 respectively directionally convey the ball head shell and ball head pin to the discharge port. After the photoelectric sensor detects that the workpiece is in place, it sends a signal to the control system. The control system drives the actuator (such as a pneumatic gripper) to grab the workpiece onto the positioning fixture 5. Subsequently, the industrial camera of the vision positioning component 32 acquires the workpiece image. The image processor identifies the posture deviation by comparing it with the preset standard template and feeds the deviation data back to the control system. The control system drives the actuator to adjust the workpiece position to complete the precise positioning.

[0035] After positioning, the conveyor turntable 4 rotates the workpiece to the pressing station, the servo pressing unit starts, and the servo motor 21 drives the ball screw 22 to drive the pressing head 23 to descend smoothly, starting the pressing operation. During the pressing process, the pressure sensor and displacement sensor collect pressure data and displacement data in real time and feed them back to the control system. The control system compares the real-time data with the preset parameters and dynamically adjusts the operating parameters of the servo motor 21 to achieve closed-loop control of pressing force and pressing depth, ensuring that the pressing process meets the process requirements. After pressing is completed, the pressing data is uploaded to the MES system for archiving in real time.

[0036] After pressing, the workpiece rotates to the inspection station along with the conveyor turntable 4. The robotic arm drives the dynamic torque sensor 61 to the inspection position. The inspection shaft is flexibly connected to the ball joint pin, simulating the dynamic force state of a car steering to drive the ball joint to rotate and complete the rotational resistance torque detection. At the same time, multiple sets of laser displacement sensors 91 emit lasers from different directions to complete the radial clearance detection of the ball joint. After the inspection data is fed back to the control system, it is compared with the preset threshold to determine whether the workpiece is qualified. Unqualified workpieces are pushed to the waste collection area by the rejection component, while qualified workpieces continue to be transferred with the turntable.

[0037] After qualified workpieces are transferred to the unloading station, the actuator (such as a pneumatic gripper) of the unloading module 7 grabs the workpiece and places it on the finished product conveying mechanism (such as a conveyor belt), which then transports it to the finished product collection box. Throughout the process, the control system monitors the operating status of each module in real time. If any abnormalities such as material shortage or component failure are detected, the machine immediately stops and displays the fault information on the industrial touch screen, while simultaneously issuing an audible and visual alarm. This completes the fully automated assembly of a single ball head. The equipment continuously cycles through the above process, achieving automated mass production.

[0038] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An automatic assembly equipment for automotive steering tie rod ball joints, characterized in that: The utility model relates to a kind of automobile steering pull rod ball head assembly production line, including rack (1), and be provided on rack (1) conveying carousel (4), feeding module (3), press-fitting module (2), detection module (6), unloading module (7) and control system, conveying carousel (4) is equipped with multiple evenly distributed positioning tooling (5) on, positioning tooling (5) is compatible with automobile steering pull rod ball head workpiece, for carrying and conveying ball head assembly complete each process operation.

2. The automatic assembling equipment for the steering tie rod ball head of an automobile according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feeding module (3) includes two independent vibration disc feeding units (31), wherein the two groups of vibration disc feeding units (31) correspond to the directional sorting and conveying of the ball head shell and the ball head pin respectively, each discharge port of the vibration disc feeding unit (31) is provided with a photoelectric sensor for detecting the in-place state of the workpiece, and the end of the feeding module (3) is also provided with a visual positioning assembly (32) including an industrial camera and an image processor for identifying the workpiece posture and compensating for the positioning deviation to ensure the feeding alignment accuracy.

3. The automatic assembling equipment for the steering tie rod ball head of an automobile according to claim 2, characterized in that: The press-fitting module (2) includes a servo press-fitting unit composed of a servo motor (21), a ball screw (22), a press-fitting head (23), and a guide mechanism (24). The servo press-fitting unit is built-in with a pressure sensor and a displacement sensor to collect pressure data and displacement data in real time during the press-fitting process, realizing closed-loop control of the press-fitting force and depth.

4. The automatic assembling equipment for the steering tie rod ball head of an automobile according to claim 3, characterized in that: The detection module (6) includes a torque detection unit and a gap detection unit (9). The torque detection unit uses a dynamic torque sensor (61) mounted on one side of the detection module (6) through a mechanical arm to simulate the dynamic force state during the automobile steering process for detecting the rotational torque of the assembled ball head. The gap detection unit (9) uses a laser displacement sensor (91) to detect the radial gap of the ball head. The detection module (6) is also provided with a defective product rejection assembly to automatically push the unqualified workpieces to the waste collection area.

5. The automatic assembling equipment for the steering tie rod ball head of an automobile according to claim 4, characterized in that: The conveying carousel (4) is driven by a cam divider to ensure the positioning accuracy between stations. A speed reduction mechanism is provided between the conveying carousel (4) and the driving motor to adjust the carousel speed. The positioning tooling (5) is provided with quick-change positioning pins to realize quick replacement of the positioning pins through a plug-in structure, which can be compatible with different models of ball head products.

6. The automatic assembly equipment for automobile steering tie rod ball head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The industrial camera of the visual positioning assembly (32) uses a high-resolution CCD camera, and the image processor is built-in with a preset workpiece posture standard template. The image comparison can identify the offset angle and position deviation of the workpiece, and the deviation data is fed back to the control system to adjust the workpiece position by driving the actuator.

7. The automatic assembly equipment for automobile steering tie rod ball head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The press-fitting process data of the servo press-fitting unit can be uploaded to the MES system in real time, including press-fitting time, press-fitting force peak value, press-fitting depth, etc. for quality traceability and process optimization. The servo press-fitting unit is also provided with an overload protection module. When the press-fitting force exceeds the preset threshold, the machine automatically stops and sends an alarm signal.

8. The automatic assembling equipment for the steering tie rod ball head of an automobile according to claim 4, characterized in that: The detection shaft of the torque detection unit is connected with the ball head pin in a flexible manner, so as to avoid damage to the ball head in the detection process; the gap detection unit (9) is provided with a plurality of groups of laser emission and receiving probes, so as to detect the radial gap of the ball head from different directions and ensure the accuracy of the detection result.

9. The automatic assembly equipment for automobile steering tie rod ball head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control system adopts a PLC+industrial touch screen architecture, the PLC selects a Siemens S7-1200 series, and the industrial touch screen adopts a 10.4-inch color touch screen.

10. The automatic assembly equipment for automobile steering tie rod ball head according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rack (1) adopts an aluminum profile and steel plate welded structure, the surface is subjected to sand blasting rust removal and electrostatic spraying corrosion prevention treatment; the bottom of the equipment is provided with foot cups (8), the number of the foot cups (8) is not less than 4, and the foot cups (8) are evenly distributed at the four corners of the bottom of the rack (1), the levelness of the equipment can be adjusted by rotating the foot cups (8) to adapt to different ground flatness; the rack (1) is further provided with a protective column (11), the protective column (11) is made of transparent acrylic material, the internal running state of the equipment can be observed, and the safety of the operator is ensured.

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