A reciprocating main welding production line

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of automobile manufacturing equipment, and discloses a reciprocating main welding production line, which comprises a central conveying device, a plurality of stations distributed along a conveying direction, a side wall positioning and clamping device and a welding robot group. The central conveying device is composed of a roller bed and a sliding table in a head-to-tail mode, has bidirectional conveying functions, and is responsible for carrying a body-in-white welding assembly to reciprocally flow among the stations; the side wall positioning and clamping device can move in the longitudinal and transverse directions, and is used for step-by-step approaching and pushing and pressing together of side wall inner and outer plate assemblies; and the welding robot group has a double-layer arrangement structure, is provided with a gripper and a servo welding tongs, and is responsible for automatic feeding and multi-cycle high-strength welding. The application realizes the reuse of the stations and the equipment through reciprocating material flow, reduces the length of the production line and the equipment floor area, and reduces the construction cost; and a step-by-step feeding and assembling strategy solves the problem of no pre-hinge of the side wall inner plate, effectively improves the body assembling precision and the production efficiency.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of automotive manufacturing equipment technology, specifically a reciprocating main welding production line. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, as automobile production has gradually moved towards higher efficiency and greater precision, optimizing production line structure and assembly processes has become a core approach to enhancing manufacturing competitiveness. In the manufacturing process of automobile body-in-white, the main welding line, due to the extremely complex assembly and connection processes involved, often requires a large number of workstations. Traditional linear main welding production lines, in order to cover all processing nodes, have to lay out a massive number of tooling fixtures, welding robots, and related control equipment along the long assembly line, while also requiring a large number of production line operators. This traditional, lengthy linear layout not only increases material handling time between workstations and reduces equipment utilization, but also occupies a huge amount of factory construction space, resulting in high equipment procurement costs and upfront construction costs for enterprises, severely restricting the efficiency of production line construction and product iteration.

[0003] To reduce the physical length of the main welding line and lower costs, existing process optimization attempts often tend to restructure the production method of the preceding body assembly, attempting to complete the assembly of the body-in-white on the main welding line through a single, linear, one-way installation process. However, this approach has revealed serious process defects in practical applications. Forcibly changing the output of the side panel production line to a pre-assembled side panel assembly with inner and outer panels joined together and then feeding it into the main welding line for overall welding directly results in the side panel inner panel structure losing the opportunity for independent pre-fastening and precise positioning with the body floor during the main welding process. Under the stress of subsequent forced assembly with heavy fixtures and high-strength welding, the internal frame, lacking prior fastening, is prone to slight slippage and deformation, leading to irreversible cumulative dimensional deviations in the body-in-white, making it difficult to meet the stringent requirements of modern automobiles for high-precision assembly.

[0004] Therefore, the industry urgently needs to break away from the traditional one-way linear flow thinking and develop a new main welding production line architecture that can reduce physical footprint by deeply reusing core workstations and equipment, while also taking into account the step-by-step precise assembly logic of parts to solve the problem of the inner plate not being able to be pre-attached. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a reciprocating main welding production line, which solves the problems of numerous workstations, high equipment and floor space costs due to the linear layout of existing automotive main welding production lines, and the dimensional assembly deviations caused by the lack of pre-fastening of the inner side panel during the one-time assembly of the traditional side panel assembly.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0007] A reciprocating main welding production line includes a central conveying device arranged along a straight line. The periphery of the central conveying device is arranged with station 1, station 2, station 3, station 4, station 5 and station 6 in sequence along the conveying direction. The left and right sides of the central conveying device corresponding to station 2, station 3, station 4 and station 5 are respectively provided with side positioning and clamping devices. Welding robot groups are arranged on both sides of the central conveying device corresponding to station 4 and station 5.

[0008] The central conveying device has forward and reverse conveying functions to carry and reciprocate the body-in-white welding assembly. The side panel positioning and clamping device moves laterally and longitudinally along the central conveying device to laterally approach the central conveying device and clamp the side panel sheet metal assembly to the body-in-white welding assembly on the central conveying device. The output end of the welding robot group is arranged facing the central conveying device to perform multiple rounds of welding on the sheet metal assembly in the clamped state.

[0009] Preferably, the central conveying device consists of a roller bed section and a slide section, specifically including roller bed one, slide one, roller bed two, slide two, roller bed three, and roller bed four connected end to end. Roller bed one is arranged in the boundary area between workstation two and workstation three. The input end of slide one is connected to the output end of roller bed one. The output end of slide one is connected to roller bed two located at workstation four. Roller bed two is connected to roller bed three located at workstation five via slide two. The output end of roller bed three is connected to roller bed four located at workstation six. The bottom of each roller bed section is provided with a lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism is used to drive the corresponding roller bed section to descend and carry the transfer skid or rise and transfer materials to the adjacent slide section.

[0010] Preferably, the side panel positioning and clamping device specifically includes side panel clamp one, side panel clamp two, side panel clamp three, side panel clamp four, side panel clamp five, and side panel clamp six; side panel clamp one and side panel clamp two are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the second work station to clamp the outer side panel; side panel clamp three and side panel clamp four are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the third work station and are connected to slide rails at their bottom ends to slide longitudinally back and forth between the third and fourth work stations; side panel clamp five and side panel clamp six are symmetrically movably arranged on the left and right sides of the fifth work station and are connected to slide rails at their bottom ends to slide longitudinally back and forth between the fifth and fourth work stations.

[0011] Preferably, the welding robot group includes a first welding robot group located at station four and an adhesive application station arranged on the side of station four. Station four has a double-layer structure frame. The first welding robot group includes robot one, robot two, robot three and robot four fixed at the first layer of the double-layer structure frame, and robot five and robot six fixed at the second layer of the double-layer structure frame. The output end of robot five is connected to a gripper to grab the crossbeam component from the adhesive application station and place it on the body-in-white welding assembly. The output ends of all robots in the first welding robot group except robot five are connected to servo welding guns.

[0012] Preferably, the welding robot group further includes a second welding robot group located at the fifth workstation. The second welding robot group includes robots seven, eight, nine, and ten distributed on both sides of the central conveying device at the fifth workstation. The output end of robot ten is connected to a loading gripper to place the rear panel assembly on the structure supported by the central conveying device. The moving ends of the remaining robots seven, eight, and nine are all equipped with servo welding clamps for performing spot welding or repair welding actions.

[0013] Preferably, station one is a loading station, and a conveyor slide is erected above station one. A lifting device is slidably connected to the conveyor slide. The lifting device is suspended and its movement trajectory extends above station two and station three for transferring the side support bracket. A safety door one is laterally blocked at the junction of station one and station two, and a safety door two is blocked at the end exit of station six. When safety door one and safety door two are open, they allow material passage and when closed, they isolate the internal automated operation area.

[0014] Preferably, on both sides of the central conveyor corresponding to workstations 2, 3, 5 and 6, there are fixed platforms for manual operation. Protective fences are fixedly erected at the outer edges of the platforms to define relatively independent manual operation areas and prevent personnel from falling.

[0015] Preferably, the device further includes a controller and a pneumatic solenoid valve island that is communicatively connected to the controller. Each side clamp of the side positioning and clamping device includes a drive cylinder and a clamping arm that is operatively connected to the output end of the drive cylinder. The air inlet of the drive cylinder is connected to the output end of the pneumatic solenoid valve island through an air pipeline. The controller controls the extension and retraction positions of the piston and push rod in the drive cylinder by outputting control commands to the pneumatic solenoid valve island, thereby controlling the closing state of the corresponding side clamp in each process.

[0016] Preferably, each of the side clamps of the side positioning clamping device has a sensor embedded in its clamping area. The signal output terminal of the sensor is electrically connected to the controller. The sensor is used to detect and collect the clamping status and positioning status of the part corresponding to the clamp, and feed the status signal back to the controller in real time.

[0017] Preferably, station six is ​​a post-processing station. A CO2 arc welding device and a laser marking device for manual connection operation are fixedly installed on one side of station six. A smoke and dust shielding curtain for blocking sparks from manual arc welding operations is suspended on the outer frame of station six.

[0018] The above solution achieves the following beneficial technical effects:

[0019] This invention enables the body-in-white welding assembly to circulate repeatedly within a limited number of workstations by setting up a central conveying device with bidirectional forward and reverse conveying functions. Combined with side positioning and clamping devices that can be laterally close and longitudinally slide on both sides, as well as welding robot groups arranged in a double-layer space, the invention achieves high-frequency reuse of the same set of workstations, fixtures and welding equipment in multiple different processes. This reduces the overall length of the traditional main welding line, effectively saves the factory floor space and reduces the initial equipment procurement and construction costs.

[0020] This invention relies on the reciprocating logistics transfer logic and the step-by-step coordination of the side panel positioning and clamping device. The production line can first use side panel clamps three and four to assemble and spot weld the inner side panel assembly to the lower body. After being returned by the central conveyor, the outer side panel assembly is then fastened and assembled by side panel clamps one and two. This new assembly process, which separates the inner and outer side panels and performs independent mounting and welding in steps, overcomes the problem of no pre-fastening of the inner side panel caused by the one-time assembly of the side panel assembly in the prior art. It reduces dimensional deviations in subsequent processing and improves the welding quality of the whole vehicle.

[0021] This invention integrates multiple welding robots in the core work area of ​​the production line. Some robots are directly equipped with grippers to automatically grasp and precisely load the top cover beam and rear panel, while the remaining robots use servo welding clamps to complete multiple rounds of high-intensity welding. Combined with the closed-loop feedback mechanism of the controller and sensors, the precise closure of the pneumatic clamps and the seamless connection of the roller bed slide are automatically controlled, reducing the waiting time for material handling between workstations and the heavy demand for manual handling and welding. This effectively simplifies the personnel setup of the production line and improves the overall production debugging efficiency and safety protection level. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the on-site layout of the production line according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] The following are the components: 1. Workstation 1; 2. Workstation 2; 3. Workstation 3; 4. Workstation 4; 5. Workstation 5; 6. Workstation 6; 7. Safety door 1; 8. Safety door 2; 9. Side clamp 1; 10. Side clamp 2; 11. Side clamp 3; 12. Side clamp 4; 13. Side clamp 5; 14. Side clamp 6; 15. Step platform; 16. Robot 1; 17. Robot 2; 18. Robot 3; 19. Robot 4; 20. Robot 5; 21. Robot 6; 22. Robot 7; 23. Robot 8; 24. Robot 9; 25. Robot 10; 26. Glue application station; 27. Roller bed 1; 28. Roller bed 2; 29. ​​Roller bed 3; 30. Roller bed 4; 31. Slide table 1; 32. Slide table 2; 33. Lifting device. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. 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.

[0025] Please see the appendix Figure 1 This invention provides a reciprocating main welding production line, including a central conveying device arranged along a straight line. The periphery of the central conveying device is arranged with workstation 1, workstation 2, workstation 3, workstation 4, workstation 5, and workstation 6 in sequence along the conveying direction. The left and right sides of the central conveying device corresponding to workstation 2, workstation 3, workstation 4, and workstation 5 are respectively provided with side positioning and clamping devices. Welding robot groups are arranged on both sides of the central conveying device corresponding to workstation 4 and workstation 5.

[0026] The central conveyor has forward and reverse conveying functions to carry and reciprocate the body-in-white welding assembly. The side panel positioning and clamping device moves laterally and longitudinally along the central conveyor to move laterally toward the central conveyor and to assemble and clamp the side panel sheet metal assembly with the body-in-white welding assembly on the central conveyor. The output end of the welding robot group is arranged toward the central conveyor to perform multiple rounds of welding on the sheet metal assembly in the assembled and clamped state.

[0027] Specifically, this invention provides a reciprocating main welding production line as a basic platform for the overall assembly of the body-in-white. By optimizing the equipment layout, it reduces the overall equipment cost and floor space. Inside, it relies on the central conveyor device for dominant transportation. Utilizing the device's forward feeding and reverse return capabilities, it carries the body assembly back and forth in various processing areas, thereby improving the reuse rate of individual workstations and equipment. In the initial stage of material flow, station 1 serves as a logistics hub for the introduction of external materials, facilitating subsequent assembly line operations. Materials then enter stations 2 and 3, which provide spacious semi-open areas and stable operating spaces for manual installation, gluing, and pre-assembly of the inner and outer side panels. Once the vehicle body frame takes initial shape, it is sent to stations 4 and 5, which constitute the core automated construction area of ​​the entire production line, specifically for performing high-precision assembly and intensive automated welding of large quantities of components. After the main structure is formed, the components are finally transferred to station 6, which handles the final processing before the vehicle rolls off the line, facilitating manual inspection, grinding, and finishing touches such as engraving. During this processing flow, the side panel positioning and clamping device plays a crucial role in shaping and fixing. Through flexible lateral approach and longitudinal displacement, it forcibly pushes the loose side panel sheet metal assembly onto the central body frame and locks it firmly, eliminating gaps in the parts assembly. After confirming that the clamping is correct, the welding robot group uses its output end facing the conveying center to swing the welding pliers to perform multiple rounds of high-intensity automated spot welding and repair welding on the sheet metal assembly in the assembled and clamped state. This replaces the complicated manual connection and ensures the strength and consistency of the body structural parts connection.

[0028] The central conveying device consists of a roller bed section and a slide section. Specifically, it includes roller bed 1 27, slide 1 31, roller bed 2 28, slide 2 32, roller bed 3 29, and roller bed 4 30 connected end to end. Roller bed 1 27 is located in the boundary area between station 2 and station 3. The input end of slide 1 31 is connected to the output end of roller bed 1 27. The output end of slide 1 31 is connected to roller bed 2 28 located at station 4. Roller bed 2 28 is connected to roller bed 3 29 located at station 5 via slide 2 32. The output end of roller bed 3 29 is connected to roller bed 4 30 located at station 6. The bottom of each roller bed section is equipped with a lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism is used to drive the corresponding roller bed section to descend and carry the transfer skid or rise and transfer materials to the adjacent slide section.

[0029] Specifically, the central conveying device achieves smooth logistics through the alternating cooperation of different property mechanisms. The roller bed is mainly responsible for vertically connecting and stably supporting the workpiece at specific processing nodes, while the slide table acts as a horizontal transfer bridge connecting the various independent roller beds, ensuring the translational and sliding transition of the workpiece between workstations.

[0030] In actual operation, roller bed 27 first receives the lower body assembly pushed in by the external logistics trolley at the front end of the production line, and provides a stable base for the previous manual material preparation; as the processing command is issued, slide table 31 quickly transfers the assembly inward, smoothly transporting it across the workstation gap to the main operation area; at this time, roller bed 28 takes over the component, providing a precise fixed-point hard support platform for the core robotic automated welding, preventing the workpiece from shifting during welding under stress; then slide table 22 continues to take over, smoothly moving the white body that has undergone initial welding to the next processing node; roller bed 39 then steadily lifts the transferred body, ensuring the smooth movement of subsequent automatic loading and welding operations of components such as the rear panel; until the automated assembly is completed, roller bed 30 is responsible for receiving the finished product and stopping it stably, providing a bearing guarantee for the final manual grinding and cleaning and the final flush unloading.

[0031] To eliminate height differences during logistics transfer, the lifting mechanism, as the power core, precisely drives the corresponding roller bed to perform lifting and lowering switching. When descending, it properly takes over and carries the external transfer skid, and when rising, it lifts the workpiece to the level of the slide rail, thus seamlessly completing the material transfer interaction between adjacent slide sections.

[0032] The side panel positioning and clamping device specifically includes side panel clamp 1 9, side panel clamp 2 10, side panel clamp 3 11, side panel clamp 4 12, side panel clamp 5 13 and side panel clamp 6 14; side panel clamp 1 9 and side panel clamp 2 10 are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of station 2 to clamp the outer side panel; side panel clamp 3 11 and side panel clamp 4 12 are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of station 3 and have slide rails connected to their bottom ends to slide back and forth longitudinally between station 3 and station 4; side panel clamp 5 13 and side panel clamp 6 14 are symmetrically and movably arranged on the left and right sides of station 5 and have slide rails connected to their bottom ends to slide back and forth longitudinally between station 5 and station 4.

[0033] Specifically, the side panel positioning and clamping device has been refined to meet the diverse assembly needs of vehicle body parts. Side panel clamp 1 (9) and side panel clamp 2 (10) are relatively static fixed grippers, specifically used to reliably grasp and fix the left and right side panel outer panels in the early stage of manual loading, maintaining their precise posture during preparatory operations such as gluing. Side panel clamp 3 (11) and side panel clamp 4 (12) have both load-bearing and transportation attributes. They are not only responsible for locking the left and right side panel inner panels, but also can actively move the inner panels forward to accurately press and attach the inner panel assembly to the lower vehicle body floor. In the later multi-layer panel stacking process, side panel clamp 5 (13) and side panel clamp 6 (14) play a role. They can slide into the core welding area from the rear to clamp the inner and outer panel assemblies together with other structural components, ensuring the tight fit of the overall vehicle welding dimensions.

[0034] The core of enabling these fixtures to be flexibly scheduled lies in the slide rail at the bottom. The slide rail creates a standard straight running guide path with low resistance, which allows the movable fixture to carry heavy sheet metal parts back and forth smoothly and accurately between adjacent workstations in the longitudinal direction, avoiding deviation of the movement trajectory, and thus ensuring the consistency and accuracy of each clamping and positioning action.

[0035] The welding robot group includes a first welding robot group located at station 4 and an adhesive application station 26 arranged to the side of station 4. Station 4 has a double-layer structure frame. The first welding robot group includes robots 16, 17, 18, and 19 fixed to the first layer of the double-layer structure frame, and robots 20 and 21 fixed to the second layer of the double-layer structure frame. The output end of robot 20 is connected to a gripper to grab the crossbeam component from the adhesive application station 26 and place it on the body-in-white welding assembly. The output ends of all robots in the first welding robot group except robot 20 are connected to servo welding guns.

[0036] Specifically, to meet the demands of intensive vehicle body assembly, the welding robot group took over the high-intensity assembly tasks. The first welding robot group, as the core operational force, concentrated on handling the assembly of large batches of structural components. The adhesive application station 26 provided a pre-treatment platform, ensuring that components such as crossbeams could be pre-applied with structural adhesive before assembly, thereby enhancing the sealing and bonding performance of the joints. To accommodate multiple machines and avoid interference from the robotic arms, a double-layer structural frame rationally expanded the limited working space in a three-dimensional manner. With this design, the first layer provided a stable working foundation for lower-level equipment, while the second layer effectively raised the reference elevation of higher-level equipment.

[0037] In the specific work process, robots 1-16, 2-17, 3-18, and 4-19 work together to tackle the intensive spot welding tasks on the door frames and lower body, ensuring the robustness of the underlying frame. Robots 5-20 and 6-21 leverage their high-position advantage to lead the assembly work in the roof area. During this process, robot 5-20 uses a gripper to automatically grasp and smoothly transport the crossbeam components, accurately placing them onto the body-in-white welding assembly, eliminating the risks of manual high-altitude handling. The servo welding gun, as the execution terminal of each robot, continuously outputs closing pressure and welding energy, enabling the metal sheets to be firmly fused at instantaneous high temperatures, improving the overall torsional rigidity of the body.

[0038] The welding robot group also includes a second welding robot group located at station 5. The second welding robot group includes robots 722, 823, 924 and 1025 distributed on both sides of the central conveyor at station 5. The output end of robot 1025 is connected to a workpiece gripper to place the rear panel assembly on the structure carried by the central conveyor. The motion ends of the other robots 722, 823 and 924 are equipped with servo welding guns for performing spot welding or repair welding actions.

[0039] Specifically, in subsequent processing, the second welding robot group continues to undertake the reinforcement and automated assembly tasks of the rear area of ​​the vehicle body. Within this group, robot 1025 performs material handling, using its upper gripper to clamp the large rear panel assembly and automatically place it on the central body structure, reducing the physical exertion of workers handling large sheet metal parts. After the rear panel assembly is in place, robots 722, 823, and 924 quickly follow up. Using their respective servo welding guns, they perform spot welding or supplementary welding on weak areas such as the rear panel and side panels that are not yet fully secured. Through flexible multi-angle welding, they eliminate blind spots at structural joints, ensuring that the weld strength of the components fully meets the forming standards.

[0040] Workstation 1 is the loading station. A conveyor chute is installed above workstation 1. A lifting device 33 is slidably connected to the conveyor chute. The lifting device 33 is suspended and its movement trajectory extends above workstations 2 and 3 for transferring the side support. A safety door 7 is installed laterally to block the junction of workstation 1 and workstation 2. A safety door 8 is installed at the end exit of workstation 6. Safety doors 7 and 8 allow material passage when open and isolate the internal automated operation area when closed.

[0041] Specifically, for the logistics scheduling and flow in the early stages of assembly, the conveyor chute serves as an aerial transfer channel, effectively avoiding interference from ground equipment and improving the space utilization of the factory. The lifting device 33 operates smoothly along this chute, stably lifting and transferring the side support frame in a suspended posture, making the cross-area transfer of large panels more efficient and faster. At the human-machine interface boundary, safety gates 7 and 8 act as crucial protective barriers. These two access control facilities dynamically open and close according to the production flow rhythm. When open, they promptly release the passage, allowing fully loaded material transfer equipment to shuttle through; once the material transfer is completed and the machine processing stage begins, the gates quickly close, thus creating a physical isolation barrier that separates the dangerous high-speed automated operation area from the external manual operation area, effectively preventing safety accidents caused by splashing sparks or accidental personnel entry.

[0042] On both sides of the central conveyor corresponding to workstations 2, 3, 5 and 6, there are fixed platforms 15 for manual operation. Protective fences are fixedly erected at the outer edge of the platforms 15 to define relatively independent manual operation areas and prevent personnel from falling.

[0043] Specifically, to meet the needs of manual intervention and auxiliary operations at specific flow points, platform 15 provides operators with a stable and appropriately sized standing platform. This allows workers to maintain a comfortable operating posture when loading and unloading parts, applying adhesives, and performing subsequent inspections and maintenance, effectively reducing labor intensity and improving the convenience of construction operations. Considering the potential safety hazards of raising the work surface, the protective fence serves as a boundary protection, clearly defining a relatively independent and safe manual work area. It reliably prevents operators from accidentally falling while focusing on assembly or turning around, ensuring the safety of on-site personnel.

[0044] It also includes a controller and a pneumatic solenoid valve island that communicates with the controller. Each side clamp of the side positioning and clamping device includes a drive cylinder and a clamping arm that is driven and connected to the output end of the drive cylinder. The air inlet of the drive cylinder is connected to the output end of the pneumatic solenoid valve island through an air pipeline. The controller outputs control commands to the pneumatic solenoid valve island to control the extension and retraction positions of the piston and push rod in the drive cylinder, thereby controlling the closing state of the corresponding side clamp in each process.

[0045] Specifically, the automated clamping process of the entire production line relies on the central control system. The controller, as the logical control hub of the production line, is responsible for generating and issuing precise action commands based on preset processing procedures. The pneumatic solenoid valve island, upon receiving commands, acts as a pneumatic circuit switching hub, rapidly switching airflow directions to allocate power sources as needed. The controlled gas is guided and delivered along the pneumatic pipelines to each pneumatic actuator, ensuring immediate response of pneumatic transmission. The drive cylinder, as the core power output unit, forces the internal piston to produce linear displacement under the direct push of air pressure. The piston's movement seamlessly transmits mechanical thrust to the front-end push rod, causing it to extend or retract. Ultimately, the linear extension and retraction of the push rod is converted into the deflection and clamping action of the clamping arm. The clamping arm thereby generates mechanical locking force, firmly pressing and fixing the dispersed sheet metal parts onto the reference surface, effectively resisting deformation stress during subsequent welding operations and ensuring precise control of the clamp closure state at each flow node.

[0046] Sensors are fixedly embedded in the clamping area of ​​each side clamp of the side positioning and clamping device. The signal output end of the sensor is electrically connected to the controller. The sensor is used to detect and collect the clamping status and positioning status of the part corresponding to the clamp, and feed the status signal back to the controller in real time.

[0047] Specifically, the sensors are responsible for real-time detection and precise capture of whether the sheet metal parts are fully aligned with the predetermined position and whether the specified clamping force has been achieved. After completing the physical detection, the sensors convert the collected part positioning and clamping status into electrical signals and continuously feed these signals back to the controller in real time. This allows the central control unit to grasp the actual situation at the end of the fixture immediately, effectively preventing the robot from blindly starting welding operations when the workpiece is misaligned or the clamping is loose, thus reducing the defect rate and the risk of equipment collision interference.

[0048] Station 6 is a post-processing station. On one side of station 6, CO2 arc welding equipment and laser marking equipment for manual connection operations are fixedly installed. A smoke and dust shielding curtain for blocking sparks from manual arc welding operations is suspended on the outer frame of station 6.

[0049] Specifically, in the final stages of the vehicle body assembly process, meticulous manual intervention is essential. CO2 arc welding equipment provides operators with a highly flexible manual welding method, specifically designed for manually repairing narrow gaps or specific reinforcing nodes that are difficult for robots to reach, thereby further enhancing the local connection strength of the vehicle body frame. After all welding processes are completed, laser engraving equipment is activated, using a high-energy beam to etch identification codes onto the metal surface, leaving a data imprint for the vehicle's quality traceability and factory documentation.

[0050] In response to the environmental interference problems that inevitably arise from the aforementioned post-processing heat treatment, the fume shielding curtain plays a crucial role as a flexible isolation barrier. It can not only reliably block the high-temperature metal sparks that fly everywhere during manual welding, but also effectively contain and shield the diffused harmful fumes and glaring arc light, protecting the health and safety of personnel in the adjacent area, while maintaining the cleanliness of the overall production workshop environment.

[0051] Working principle: During operation, the outer and inner panels of the left and right sides are first sent to station 1 by the transfer trolley and lifted by the hoist 33 and moved along the slide. At this time, the safety door 7 is opened and the hoist 33 enters station 2 and station 3 in sequence. The operator stands on the platform 15 laid on both sides of the corresponding station and places the outer panels of the left and right sides on the side clamp 9 and side clamp 10 respectively and clamps them. The inner panels of the left and right sides are placed on the side clamp 11 and side clamp 4 respectively and clamped.

[0052] Next, the lower body welding assembly enters from station 1. Roller bed 27 descends to receive the skid and then rises, conveying it forward along slide table 31 to roller bed 28 located at station 4. At the same time, side panel fixtures 311 and 412 slide longitudinally to station 4 via slide rails, bringing the inner side panel and the lower body assembly closer together. At this time, the worker places the crossbeam component on the glue application station 26 to apply glue. Robot 520 grabs the crossbeam and places it in the corresponding position of the assembly, where it is clamped by the side panel fixtures. Subsequently, robots 16, 217, 318, 419, 520, and 621, arranged at station 4, perform the first round of automatic spot welding and supplementary welding on the assembled frame.

[0053] After spot welding is completed, side panel fixtures 311 and 412 are released and retracted. Roller bed 228 transports the white body welding assembly process parts to roller bed 329 located at station 5 via slide table 232. Roller bed 329 descends, causing side panel fixtures 513 and 614 to clamp the workpiece. Robots 722, 823, 924 and 1025 located at station 5 automatically perform supplementary welding on the inner side panel. The process parts are then transported to roller bed 430 at station 6 for manual arc welding and burr removal.

[0054] After the initial processing of the skeleton assembly is completed, it is reversed back to station 2 via the roller bed and slide table. The side clamp 19 and the side clamp 210 move inward to fasten and overlap the side outer panel on both sides of the assembly. Then the assembly is transported forward again to the roller bed 228 at station 4. Robot 520 picks up the reinforcing plate from the glue application station 26 and places it above the assembly. The side clamp 513 and the side clamp 614 slide in reverse to station 4 to clamp the side outer panel and other components. Robot 116 to Robot 621 are reused to perform spot welding and repair welding of the outer panel.

[0055] Next, the assembly is sent to the roller bed 329 at station 5. The worker puts the rear panel into the gripper of robot 1025, which automatically installs it onto the assembly. Robots 722, 823 and 924 work together to perform spot welding and repair welding on the rear panel area.

[0056] Finally, the welded assembly is sent to the roller bed 430 at station 6. Workers stand on the platform 15 to complete the final manual inspection, arc welding, grinding and manual engraving and other post-processing. After all processing is completed, the safety door 28 at the end of station 6 is opened, and the roller bed 430 rises to a level position to push the skid with the body-in-white onto the lower part, thus completing a complete reciprocating automatic welding and assembly process.

Claims

1. A reciprocating main welding production line, characterized in that, The device includes a central conveyor that extends along a straight line. The periphery of the central conveyor is arranged with workstation 1 (1), workstation 2 (2), workstation 3 (3), workstation 4 (4), workstation 5 (5) and workstation 6 (6) in sequence along the conveying direction. The left and right sides of the central conveyor corresponding to workstation 2 (2), workstation 3 (3), workstation 4 (4) and workstation 5 (5) are respectively provided with side positioning and clamping devices. Welding robot groups are arranged on both sides of the central conveyor corresponding to workstation 4 (4) and workstation 5 (5). The central conveying device has forward and reverse conveying functions to carry and reciprocate the body-in-white welding assembly. The side panel positioning and clamping device moves laterally and longitudinally along the central conveying device to laterally approach the central conveying device and clamp the side panel sheet metal assembly to the body-in-white welding assembly on the central conveying device. The output end of the welding robot group is arranged facing the central conveying device to perform multiple rounds of welding on the sheet metal assembly in the clamped state.

2. The reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The central conveying device consists of a roller bed section and a slide section, specifically including roller bed one (27), slide one (31), roller bed two (28), slide two (32), roller bed three (29), and roller bed four (30) connected end to end. Roller bed one (27) is arranged in the boundary area between workstation two (2) and workstation three (3). The input end of slide one (31) is connected to the output end of roller bed one (27), and the output end of slide one (31) is connected to the section of the roller bed one (29). The second roller bed (28) at position four (4) is connected to the third roller bed (29) at position five (5) via the second slide (32). The output end of the third roller bed (29) is connected to the fourth roller bed (30) at position six (6). The bottom of each roller bed is provided with a lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism is used to drive the corresponding roller bed to descend and carry the transfer skid or rise and transfer the material to the adjacent slide.

3. The reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The side panel positioning and clamping device specifically includes side panel clamp one (9), side panel clamp two (10), side panel clamp three (11), side panel clamp four (12), side panel clamp five (13) and side panel clamp six (14); side panel clamp one (9) and side panel clamp two (10) are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the work station two (2) to clamp the side panel outer plate; side panel clamp three (11) and side panel clamp four (12) are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the work station three (3) and the bottom end is connected to a slide rail to slide longitudinally back and forth between the work station three (3) and the work station four (4); side panel clamp five (13) and side panel clamp six (14) are symmetrically and movably arranged on the left and right sides of the work station five (5) and the bottom end is connected to a slide rail to slide longitudinally back and forth between the work station five (5) and the work station four (4).

4. The reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The welding robot group includes a first welding robot group set at the fourth station (4) and an adhesive application station (26) arranged on the side of the fourth station (4). The fourth station (4) has a double-layer structure frame. The first welding robot group includes robot one (16), robot two (17), robot three (18) and robot four (19) fixed at the first layer of the double-layer structure frame, and robot five (20) and robot six (21) fixed at the second layer of the double-layer structure frame. The output end of robot five (20) is connected to a gripper to grab the crossbeam component from the adhesive application station (26) and place it on the white body welding assembly. The output ends of all robots in the first welding robot group except robot five (20) are connected to servo welding clamps.

5. A reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The welding robot group also includes a second welding robot group set at the fifth (5) station. The second welding robot group includes robots seven (22), eight (23), nine (24) and ten (25) distributed on both sides of the central conveying device at the fifth (5) station. The output end of robot ten (25) is connected to a gripper to place the rear panel assembly on the structure carried by the central conveying device. The moving ends of the other robots seven (22), eight (23) and nine (24) are all equipped with servo welding guns for performing spot welding or repair welding actions.

6. The reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, Workstation 1 (1) is a loading station. A conveyor slide is installed above workstation 1 (1). A lifting device (33) is slidably connected to the conveyor slide. The lifting device (33) is suspended and its movement trajectory extends above workstation 2 (2) and workstation 3 (3) for transferring the side support. A safety door 1 (7) is installed laterally to block the junction of workstation 1 (1) and workstation 2 (2). A safety door 2 (8) is installed at the end outlet of workstation 6 (6). When the safety door 1 (7) and the safety door 2 (8) are open, they allow material to pass through and when closed, they isolate the internal automated operation area.

7. A reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The central conveyor corresponding to workstations 2 (2), 3 (3), 5 (5) and 6 (6) is provided with fixed platforms (15) for manual operation on both sides of the ground. Protective fences are fixedly erected at the outer edge of the platforms (15) to define relatively independent manual operation areas and prevent people from falling.

8. A reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a controller and a pneumatic solenoid valve island that is communicatively connected to the controller. Each side clamp of the side positioning and clamping device includes a drive cylinder and a clamping arm that is pulsatorically connected to the output end of the drive cylinder. The air inlet of the drive cylinder is connected to the output end of the pneumatic solenoid valve island through an air pipeline. The controller controls the extension and retraction position of the piston and push rod in the drive cylinder by outputting control commands to the pneumatic solenoid valve island, thereby controlling the closing state of the corresponding side clamp in each process.

9. A reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 8, characterized in that, Each side clamp of the side positioning clamping device has a sensor embedded in its clamping area. The signal output terminal of the sensor is electrically connected to the controller. The sensor is used to detect and collect the clamping status and positioning status of the part corresponding to the clamp, and feed the status signal back to the controller in real time.

10. A reciprocating main welding production line according to claim 1, characterized in that, The sixth workstation (6) is a post-processing workstation. A CO2 arc welding device and a laser marking device for manual connection operation are fixedly installed on one side of the sixth workstation (6). A smoke and dust shielding curtain for blocking sparks from manual arc welding operations is suspended on the outer frame of the sixth workstation (6).

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