Welding device and method for manufacturing a welded object

Abstract

This invention provides a welding apparatus and a method for manufacturing welded materials with varying thicknesses in a single welding process, achieving excellent quality, further reducing operation time, and miniaturizing the equipment. A welding apparatus for welding multiple workpieces to create a welded material includes: a first pulse block and a second pulse block that hold the multiple workpieces; and heaters respectively disposed between the multiple workpieces and the first pulse block and between the multiple workpieces and the second pulse block. The welded material has varying thicknesses in different areas. A heat input adjustment component is disposed between each heater and the multiple workpieces, adjusting the heat input to the multiple workpieces according to the thickness of each portion of the welded material. A method for manufacturing the welded material is also provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a welding device and a method for manufacturing a welded product. Background Technology

[0002] When manufacturing a welded object by fusing multiple workpieces together, the pulse welding method is used. The pulse welding method is widely used because it can join not only materials of the same type (e.g., materials containing resin) but also materials of different types.

[0003] Patent document 1 discloses a method for fusing composite materials between a heater and a composite material via an insulating component.

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-142643 Summary of the Invention

[0005] When using the welding method described in Patent Document 1 to manufacture welded materials with varying thicknesses in certain areas, it is sometimes impossible to achieve the desired thickness, or other processes such as stamping are required, leading to issues such as decreased quality, extended operation time, and larger equipment.

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide a welding device and a method for manufacturing welded materials with varying thicknesses in a single welding process, which can produce welded materials with excellent quality, further shorten the operation time, and achieve equipment miniaturization.

[0007] One way to achieve the above objective is a welding apparatus that welds multiple workpieces together to produce a welded product. The apparatus includes: a first pulse block and a second pulse block that hold the multiple workpieces; and heaters respectively disposed between the multiple workpieces and the first pulse block and between the multiple workpieces and the second pulse block. The welded product has varying thicknesses in different areas. A heat input adjustment component is disposed between each heater and the multiple workpieces, and the heat input adjustment component adjusts the heat input to the multiple workpieces according to the thickness of each part of the welded product.

[0008] Furthermore, one way to achieve the above objective is a method for manufacturing a welded material, which is a method for manufacturing a welded material formed by fusing multiple workpieces together, wherein the method for manufacturing the welded material adjusts the amount of heat input to the multiple workpieces according to the thickness of each part of the welded material with different local thicknesses.

[0009] In the welding apparatus and method for manufacturing welded products according to the present invention, the heat input to multiple workpieces is adjusted according to the thickness of each part of the welded product, thus enabling the manufacture of welded products with the desired thickness through a single welding process. Therefore, in the welding apparatus and method for manufacturing welded products according to the present invention, welded products with varying local thicknesses can be manufactured with excellent quality through a single welding process, and further, the operation time can be shortened and the equipment can be miniaturized.

[0010] Invention Effects

[0011] According to the present invention, a welding apparatus and a method for manufacturing welded materials are provided that can produce welded materials with varying thicknesses in a single welding process with excellent quality, and can further shorten the operation time and achieve equipment miniaturization. Attached Figure Description

[0012] Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the welding apparatus involved in this embodiment.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional welding apparatus.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a diagram used to illustrate the key points of conventional welding methods.

[0015] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for manufacturing a welded material according to this embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0016] Hereinafter, specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Furthermore, for clarity, the following description and drawings are appropriately simplified. Figure 1 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the welding apparatus according to this embodiment. Furthermore, Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for manufacturing a welded material according to this embodiment.

[0017] When using conventional welding methods to create welded parts with varying thicknesses in certain areas, for example, the following four methods A through D can be considered. Here, in... Figure 2 In this example, the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b, which are multiple workpieces to be welded, are each illustrated as a thin strip of resin material. In this example, the abutting portions at the ends of the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b are pulse-welded to create a welded piece where the inner corner 2A is relatively thin and the outer corner 2B is relatively thick. Furthermore, Figure 2 This diagram illustrates an example of a conventional welding apparatus. Furthermore, Figure 3This is a diagram used to illustrate the key points of conventional welding methods.

[0018] Method A: As a heating element H, the entire area of ​​the contact portion between the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b, specifically the inner corner 2A and the outer corner 2B, is heated to melt and fuse them together (see reference). Figure 3 (A)).

[0019] Method B: As a heating part H, the entire area of ​​the contact portion (inner corner 2A and outer corner 2B) of the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b is heated and fused together, and then the portion where the thickness of the inner corner 2A is to be suppressed is stamped (in... Figure 3 (B) only shows the residual heated part H after the stamping process.

[0020] Method C: As the heating part H, only the necessary parts, in this case, only the outer corner 2B, are heated to make them melt and weld together (see reference). Figure 3 (C)).

[0021] Method D: After the contact portions (inner corner 2A and outer corner 2B) of the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b are fused at a low temperature over the entire area, the parts that are to be fused together, specifically the outer corners, are heated again at a high temperature. Figure 3 (D) shows the outer corner 2B as the first heating part H1 and the inner corner 2A as the second heating part H2.

[0022] However, in use Figure 3 In method A as shown in (A), if the resin materials constituting each workpiece are heated to a temperature of mutual solubility and fused together, and then cooled, as follows: Figure 3 As shown in (A1), the first thickness portion a1, corresponding to the outer corner 2B, falls within the desired thickness range (within the allowable range). On the other hand, the second thickness portion a2, corresponding to the inner corner 2A, is sometimes thicker than the base material (the workpiece used), and sometimes exceeds the desired thickness of the inner corner 2A of the weld. This is believed to be because, when the workpiece (resin material) is processed into a sheet, a tensile force is applied simultaneously, and thus the stress is released at the moment of heating and melting, resulting in an increase in thickness compared to the base material.

[0023] Furthermore, in use Figure 3 When the welded object is manufactured using method B as shown in (B), after the welding process (processing) of method A, the desired shape can be obtained by stamping the inner corner 2A where the thickness is to be suppressed. However, since a stamping process is required in addition to the welding process, the number of processes increases, the time required to manufacture one product (welded object) (processing cycle time) is extended, productivity decreases, and the equipment becomes more complex and may become larger.

[0024] Moreover, in use Figure 3 (C) The above method C, as shown, applies heat only to the portion that requires compatibility, i.e., when the outer corner 2B is heated as a heating element H. Figure 3 As shown in (C1), the third thickness portion c1, corresponding to the outer corner 2B, falls within the desired thickness range. On the other hand, the fourth thickness portion c2, corresponding to the inner corner 2A, becomes the thickness of the two workpieces used, exceeding the desired thickness of the inner corner 2A. Consequently, the inner corner extends inward, potentially failing to meet the desired right angle of the inner angle c3. This is believed to be because, due to the difference in expansion between the heated and unheated portions, the unheated portions overlap, causing the shape of the inner angle to change from 90 degrees to the acute angle.

[0025] Furthermore, after using Figure 3 In the case of method D shown in (D), it is possible to produce welded materials of the desired thickness, but welding is required in two steps, increasing the number of steps, lengthening the processing cycle, reducing productivity, and making the equipment more complex and potentially larger.

[0026] On the other hand, such as Figure 1 As shown, the welding apparatus of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as the welding apparatus) welds multiple workpieces (first workpiece 2a and second workpiece 2b) together to produce a welded product.

[0027] This welding apparatus includes a first pulse block 1a and a second pulse block for clamping the plurality of workpieces. Furthermore, heaters 5 are respectively disposed between the plurality of workpieces and the first pulse block 1a, and between the plurality of workpieces and the second pulse block 1b.

[0028] Here, the welded material produced by this welding device is a welded material with different thicknesses in some parts. In this welding device, heat input adjustment components 7a and 7b are arranged between each heater 5 and the plurality of workpieces. The heat input adjustment components 7a and 7b adjust the heat input to the plurality of workpieces according to the thickness of each part of the welded material.

[0029] This welding device with this structure can produce welded materials with varying thicknesses in a single welding process with excellent quality, and can further shorten the operation time and achieve equipment miniaturization.

[0030] The shape and material of the workpiece (the object to be welded) used in this welding device can be appropriately selected according to the shape and material of the object to be welded, without any particular limitation.

[0031] The workpiece material can be any conventionally known material as long as it is suitable for pulse welding with rapid heating and cooling; there are no particular limitations. For example, a resin-containing material can be used.

[0032] There are no particular restrictions on the shape of the workpiece; it can be any shape such as rectangular, circular, elliptical, triangular, or polygonal.

[0033] The shape of the welded part (finished product) can also be appropriately set without particular limitation. For example, a rectangular frame shape can be obtained by aligning the ends of four thin strips of resin material and welding them together to create the four corners. As described above, the welded part produced by this welding apparatus is a welded part with varying thicknesses in certain areas. In the case of this frame shape, the portion corresponding to the inner corners (inner corner 2A) is relatively thin, and the portion corresponding to the outer corners (outer corner 2B) is relatively thick. Here, the right angle of the inner corners of this frame shape (refer to JIS B0621) can be appropriately set. For example, when the side of the first workpiece 2a that is welded to the second workpiece 2b is defined as Y, the right angle is preferably 1.3 (Y).

[0034] Furthermore, the arrangement of the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b during welding can be appropriately set according to the shape of the welded product, for example, Figure 1 As shown, workpieces can be arranged on the same plane, and at this time, a portion of the ends of each workpiece can overlap.

[0035] As described above, this welding apparatus includes a first pulse block 1a and a second pulse block 1b, which clamp the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b and press them for heating. Each pulse block can appropriately use pulse blocks known in the field of pulse welding. Figure 1 The first pulse block 1a and the second pulse block 1b shown are respectively equipped with a temperature sensor 3 and a first insulating component 4.

[0036] Temperature sensor 3 can appropriately use conventionally known temperature sensors, such as thermocouples, which form a circuit by bringing the ends of two metal wires into contact with each other and measure the temperature difference based on the thermoelectric potential of their junction.

[0037] The first insulating component 4 can also be a conventionally known component, such as a highly insulating tape like glass cloth that can insulate the entire pulse block. Therefore, this welding apparatus can be used without problems even when conductive materials are used in each workpiece.

[0038] Here, in Figure 1In the welding apparatus shown, a heater 5 and heat input adjustment components 7a and 7b are arranged between the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b and the first pulse block 1a, from the side of the first pulse block 1a. Furthermore, in Figure 1 In the welding apparatus shown, a stepped absorption component 8 is further arranged between the heat input adjustment component 7b and the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b.

[0039] like Figure 4 As shown, in this welding device, the temperature can be raised instantaneously through the action of the power supply unit 9 (each pulse block connected to the power supply unit 9) and the heater 5.

[0040] The heat input adjustment component 7a is a heat diffusion component capable of diffusing the generated heat. For example, a metal tape with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum tape, can be used, but there are no particular limitations. Figure 4 As shown, the heat diffusion component is positioned on the non-welding portion of workpiece 2; in other words, it corresponds to the portion of the inner corner 2A where the thickness is relatively thinned during welding (the portion of the weld that is relatively thin). Therefore, each workpiece is not heated from the upper side of the paper (first pulse block side), but only from the lower side of the paper (second pulse block side). As a result, it is possible to manufacture a weld that meets the desired thickness of the inner corner 2A or the right angle of the inner corner.

[0041] The heat input adjustment component 7b is a heat transfer component capable of transferring the generated heat; for example, fluoropolymer tape can be used, but there are no particular limitations. Figure 4 As shown, the heat transfer component is positioned at the weld portion of workpiece 2; in other words, it corresponds to the portion of the outer corner 2B that becomes relatively thicker during welding (the portion of the weld that is relatively thicker). Thus, each workpiece is heated from both the upper and lower sides of the paper surface, forming a fused portion of the weld. This fused portion satisfies the desired thickness of the outer corner 2B.

[0042] Thus, the heat input adjustment component between the heater 5 located on the first pulse block side and the multiple workpieces can include a heat diffusion component and a heat transfer component.

[0043] Furthermore, these heat input adjustment components 7a and 7b may or may not be attached to the surface of the heater 5. For example, the aforementioned aluminum or fluoropolymer tape may be attached to the surface of the heater 5 (the workpiece side only). In addition, the configuration range of the heat diffusion components and heat transfer components (various tapes) can be appropriately set according to the shape and properties of the welded material being produced, and there are no particular limitations.

[0044] Thus, in this welding apparatus, heat input adjustment components 7a and 7b are arranged between each heater 5 and the plurality of workpieces 2 to adjust the heat input to the plurality of workpieces 2 according to the thickness of each part of the welded material, thereby achieving the aforementioned excellent effect.

[0045] This welding apparatus can be configured with a stepped absorption component 8 between each workpiece and the heat input adjustment component to absorb gaps or step differences between dissimilar tapes (the aforementioned aluminum tape or fluoropolymer tape). The material of the stepped absorption component 8 is not particularly limited; any component that has the aforementioned effect can be used appropriately, for example, Kapton (registered trademark) tape can be used.

[0046] And, as Figure 1 As shown, a heater 5 and a second insulating component are arranged between the first workpiece 2a and the second workpiece 2b and the second pulse block 1b, from the side of the second pulse block 1b. Thus, in... Figure 1 In the welding apparatus shown, the heat input adjustment component between the heater 5 located on the second pulse block side and the multiple workpieces includes an insulating component. Furthermore, the heat input adjustment component located on the second pulse block 1b side, like the heat input adjustment components 7a and 7b located on the first pulse block 1a side, can utilize heat diffusion components or heat transfer components (various tapes) depending on the shape or properties of the welded material. However, it can also be used as described above... Figure 1 and Figure 4 In that case, insulating components are used. When insulating components are used, the entire welded section is heated from below the paper surface during welding.

[0047] The second insulating component 6 can also use conventionally known components, just like the first insulating component 4, such as glass cloth that can insulate the entire heater. Furthermore, the second insulating component 6 is preferably made of an adhesive tape with high insulation and peelability.

[0048] Thus, in this welding apparatus, the workpiece being welded has an asymmetrical structure on the upper and lower sides of the paper surface. More specifically, a temperature difference is created on the heater surfaces by applying tapes with different thermal conductivity only on one side (e.g., the upper side of the paper surface) of the paired pulse heaters (heater 5) on the upper and lower sides of the paper surface. Figure 1 In the welding apparatus shown, for example, resin tape is applied to the part where heat is to be transferred, and metal tape is applied to the part where heat is to be diffused. In the pulse heater on the other side (below the paper surface), resin tape is applied to one side, without creating a surface temperature difference. By using these heaters 5 to clamp the object to be welded (workpiece 2) and energizing it, the part clamped by the resin tape is heated from both sides and completely melted. On the other hand, the part clamped by both the resin tape and the metal tape is heated from only one side (below the paper surface) and partially melted.

[0049] By employing this asymmetrical structure, the workpiece 2, the object to be processed, is clamped and heated. Through the application of various adhesive tapes, the amount of heat input to the workpiece 2 can be controlled. As a result, through a single heating process (welding process), two or more portions with different thicknesses and properties (e.g., whether they are miscible or not) can be formed while maintaining the positional relationship before heating. Therefore, processing time can be reduced or the equipment can be miniaturized. Thus, this welding apparatus, by controlling the amount of heat input to the object to be welded through the application of various adhesive tapes to the surface of the pulse heater body, is preferably used for pulse welding.

[0050] For example, by using this welding device, it is possible to form parts with different thicknesses and properties on the inner and outer corners of the frame in a short time. Specifically, the inner corner is heated from only one side to make it thinner, while the outer corner is heated from both sides to make it thicker, and they are fused together to form a fused part.

[0051] On the other hand, Figure 2 In the conventional welding apparatus shown, pulse blocks 10 with face-to-face symmetry on the upper and lower sides of the paper are used, and they have face-to-face symmetry structures (both are symmetrical with the paper surface). Figure 1 (The structure on the underside of the paper of this welding device is the same). Therefore, it is considered that it is difficult to meet the desired thickness or shape of the welded portion through a single welding process.

[0052] Furthermore, in the method for manufacturing welded materials according to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture welded materials formed by fusing multiple workpieces together, and to adjust the heat input to the multiple workpieces according to the thickness of each portion of the welded material with different local thicknesses. This manufacturing method, by using the aforementioned welding apparatus, can easily manufacture welded materials having the desired shape and properties.

[0053] As described above, in the welding apparatus and the method for manufacturing welded material according to the present invention, welded material with different thicknesses in a local area can be manufactured with excellent quality through a single welding process, and the operation time can be further shortened and the equipment can be miniaturized.

[0054] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0055] Symbol Explanation

[0056] 1a-First pulse block, 1b-Second pulse block, 2-Workpiece, 2a-First workpiece, 2b-Second workpiece, 2A-Inner corner, 2B-Outer corner, 3-Temperature sensor, 4-First insulating component, 5-Heater, 6-Second insulating component, 7a-Heat input adjustment component (heat diffusion component), 7b-Heat input adjustment component (heat transfer component), 8-Step absorption component, 9-Power supply unit, 10-Pulse block, H-Heating section, H1-First heating section, H2-Second heating section, a1-First thickness section, a2-Second thickness section, c1-Third thickness section, c2-Fourth thickness section, c3-Inner corner.

Claims

1. A welding device that welds a plurality of workpieces to each other to manufacture a welded product, characterized by comprising: a first pulse block and a second pulse block that sandwich the plurality of workpieces; and a heater disposed between the plurality of workpieces and the first pulse block and between the plurality of workpieces and the second pulse block, respectively, wherein the welded product has a local thickness difference, and wherein a heat input amount adjusting member is disposed between each heater and the plurality of workpieces, and the heat input amount adjusting member adjusts a heat input amount to the plurality of workpieces in accordance with a thickness of each portion of the welded product.

2. The welding device according to claim 1, characterized in that the heat input amount adjusting member disposed between the heater disposed on the first pulse block side and the plurality of workpieces includes a heat diffusion member and a heat transfer member.

3. The welding device according to claim 2, characterized in that the heat diffusion member is disposed at a portion of the welded product where a thickness is relatively thin, and the heat transfer member is disposed at a portion of the welded product where a thickness is relatively thick.

4. The welding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the heat input amount adjusting member disposed between the heater disposed on the second pulse block side and the plurality of workpieces includes an insulating member.

5. A method of manufacturing a welded product, which is a method of manufacturing a welded product in which a plurality of workpieces are welded to each other, characterized by adjusting a heat input amount to the plurality of workpieces in accordance with a thickness of each portion of the welded product, wherein the welded product has a local thickness difference. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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