Workpiece joining apparatus and method

Abstract

This application provides a workpiece connection device and method. The workpiece connection device employs multiple clamping mechanisms to stably clamp various dissimilar metal workpieces. Combined with a first moving mechanism, it achieves precise three-dimensional translation of the workpieces, effectively avoiding workpiece clamping deviations and positional offsets, providing a reliable foundation for subsequent cladding and welding. The cladding mechanism integrates laser cladding and laser welding functions, enabling the in-situ preparation of a bonding layer with a different composition from the base material on the workpiece surface to be welded. This effectively suppresses the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds at the dissimilar metal interface, reducing defects such as porosity, inclusions, and cracks, and significantly improving the quality and mechanical properties of the weld joint. The device has a compact overall structure and a high degree of automation. The entire process of cladding, alignment, and welding can be completed continuously without changing tooling or transferring workpieces, greatly simplifying the process flow, shortening the production cycle, and reducing production costs.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of laser welding technology, and in particular to a workpiece connection device and method. Background Technology

[0002] Titanium alloys possess excellent properties such as low density, high specific strength, and good corrosion resistance, and are widely used in aerospace, marine engineering, and chemical industries. Steel, on the other hand, has advantages such as high strength, good toughness, and low cost, making it the most commonly used structural material in industrial production. Titanium-steel dissimilar metal joining can fully leverage the advantages of both materials, achieving lightweight structures and optimized performance, and has significant application value in fields such as aero-engines, shipbuilding, and pressure vessels. However, direct welding of titanium alloys and steel easily generates brittle intermetallic compounds of titanium and iron, leading to joint cracking. Existing technologies often use thin sheets of copper or vanadium as intermediate layers, but these suffer from problems such as difficulty in fixing the thin sheets, poor bonding, inflexible control of composition and thickness, poor adaptability, high heat input, and numerous defects associated with conventional fusion welding. Therefore, this application proposes a titanium-steel dissimilar metal joining device and process based on laser cladding assistance. This device and process solves the above-mentioned pain points and improves joint performance and reliability by preparing a precisely controllable intermediate layer through in-situ laser cladding, integrating cladding and welding functions, providing rotatable and replaceable clamping ends, and using laser-controlled heat welding. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of this, the purpose of this application is to provide a workpiece connection device and method to solve some or all of the technical problems existing in the background art.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides a workpiece connecting device, comprising:

[0005] Base Multiple sets of clamping mechanisms are arranged on both sides of the base along a first direction; each set of clamping mechanisms includes a first moving mechanism and a gripper arranged on the first moving mechanism; the gripper of each set of clamping mechanisms holds a workpiece; The cladding mechanism includes a second moving mechanism and a laser disposed on the second moving mechanism, the second moving mechanism being disposed on the base and located between multiple sets of clamping mechanisms; The workpiece is moved to a preset welding station via the first moving mechanism, and the laser is moved to the surface of the workpiece to be welded via the second moving mechanism to clad the connecting layer on the surface to be welded and to weld the connecting layer of each workpiece; the materials of each workpiece are different, and the materials of the connecting layer of each workpiece are different from the materials of the workpiece.

[0006] Optionally, the gripper includes a bracket and two gripping feet, the two gripping feet being disposed opposite to each other on the bracket, one end of the two gripping feet being rotatably disposed within the bracket via a pivot, and an arc-shaped groove being provided on the opposite side of the two gripping feet, the arc-shaped groove being provided with anti-slip teeth.

[0007] Optionally, the gripper includes a bracket and two grippers, the two grippers being disposed opposite to each other on the bracket, one end of the two grippers being disposed within the bracket via a translation structure, and the two grippers being disposed parallel to each other on opposite sides and provided with anti-slip teeth.

[0008] Optionally, the thickness of the connecting layer is 0.1mm-2mm.

[0009] Optionally, the workpiece includes a first workpiece and a second workpiece, wherein the first workpiece is made of titanium alloy and the second workpiece is made of stainless steel.

[0010] Optionally, the connecting layer of the first workpiece is a first connecting layer, and the material of the first connecting layer is pure vanadium powder; The connecting layer of the second workpiece is a second connecting layer, and the material of the second connecting layer is pure copper powder.

[0011] Optionally, the first workpiece has a first connecting layer, and the second workpiece includes a second connecting layer. The materials of both the first connecting layer and the second connecting layer are pure vanadium powder or pure copper powder.

[0012] Optionally, the workpiece shape includes tubular, plate-shaped, or angular.

[0013] Based on the same inventive concept, this application also provides a workpiece connection method, applicable to the workpiece connection device described in any of the above claims, comprising: The surfaces of multiple workpieces to be welded are pretreated to obtain multiple workpieces, each made of a different material. The laser is used to laminate a corresponding connecting layer onto the welding surfaces of multiple workpieces, wherein the material of the connecting layer corresponding to each workpiece is different from the material of all workpieces; The laser is used to weld the connecting layers of two adjacent workpieces to obtain a welded workpiece.

[0014] Optionally, after obtaining the welded workpiece, the process further includes: The surface of the weld seam of the welded workpiece is pretreated and inspected to obtain the inspection results; If the test result is satisfactory, the welded workpiece is determined to meet the engineering requirements.

[0015] As described above, the workpiece connection device and method provided in this application utilize multiple clamping mechanisms to stably clamp various dissimilar metal workpieces. Combined with a first moving mechanism, this enables precise three-dimensional translation of the workpieces, effectively avoiding workpiece clamping deviations and positional offsets, thus providing a reliable foundation for subsequent cladding and welding. The cladding mechanism integrates laser cladding and laser welding functions, allowing for the in-situ preparation of a bonding layer with a different composition from the base material on the workpiece surface to be welded. This effectively suppresses the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds at the dissimilar metal interface, reducing defects such as porosity, inclusions, and cracks, and significantly improving the quality and mechanical properties of the welded joint. The device features a compact overall structure and a high degree of automation. The entire process of cladding, alignment, and welding can be completed continuously without changing tooling or transferring workpieces, greatly simplifying the process flow, shortening the production cycle, and reducing production costs. It is particularly suitable for the batch, high-quality connection of dissimilar metal workpieces such as titanium steel, and has broad application prospects. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in this application or related technologies, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or related technologies will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a workpiece connection device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a partial structural diagram of a workpiece connecting device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the workpiece docking structure according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a gripper structure according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another gripper structure according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of another workpiece connection device structure according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of another connection structure between the second moving mechanism and the laser according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 8 This is a schematic flowchart of another workpiece connection method according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of an electronic device according to an embodiment of this application.

[0018] Figure label: 1. Base; 2. Clamping mechanism; 3. Cladding mechanism; 4. Workpiece to be clad; 21. First moving mechanism; 22. First rotating base; 23. Gripper; 211. First slide rail; 212. Second slide rail; 213. Third slide rail; 221. First mounting base; 222. Second mounting base; 31. Second moving mechanism; 311. Third slide rail; 312. Fourth slide rail; 32. Laser; 41. First workpiece; 42. Second workpiece; 411. First connecting part; 421. Second connecting part; 231. Bracket; 232. Gripper; 233. Drive source; 24. Third moving mechanism; 241. Bidirectional slide rail; 242. Mounting frame; 25. Fourth moving mechanism; 34. Second rotating base. Detailed Implementation

[0019] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0020] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in the embodiments of this application should have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar terms used in the embodiments of this application do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed after the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are only used to indicate relative positional relationships; when the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0021] It is important to understand in this article that any number of elements in the accompanying figures is for illustrative purposes and not for limitation, and that any naming is for distinction only and has no limiting meaning.

[0022] Based on the above background description, the following situation also exists in related technologies: Titanium and steel have vastly different physicochemical properties. When directly welded, a large number of brittle Ti-Fe intermetallic compounds (such as TiFe, TiFe2, etc.) are generated at the interface. These compounds severely reduce the plasticity and toughness of the joint, making it extremely prone to cracking and difficult to obtain welded joints that meet usage requirements. To solve this problem, existing technologies mainly employ the method of adding an intermediate layer. This involves inserting thin sheets of metals such as copper, vanadium, or nickel between titanium and steel as a transition layer to prevent direct contact between titanium and iron, thereby inhibiting the formation of harmful intermetallic compounds. However, this method has the following insurmountable drawbacks: 1. The interlayer sheet is difficult to fix during assembly, requiring the design of complex special fixtures, which increases the complexity and cost of the welding process; 2. It is difficult to ensure a completely tight bond between the interlayer sheet and the titanium and steel surfaces to be welded, making it easy for air and impurities to get mixed in during the fusion process, resulting in defects such as porosity and inclusions; 3. Once the type and thickness of the interlayer are determined, it is difficult to adjust, making it impossible to flexibly control according to different welding requirements, resulting in poor adaptability; 4. For joints with complex shapes, the interlayer sheet is difficult to cut and fit, making it impossible to achieve high-quality welding; 5. Conventional fusion welding methods have high heat input, large molten pool size, and chaotic metal composition within the molten pool, which easily leads to the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds and weld failure.

[0023] To solve the above technical problems, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, this application provides a workpiece connecting device, including: Base 1, Multiple sets of clamping mechanisms 2 are arranged on both sides of the base 1 along a first direction; each set of clamping mechanisms 2 includes a first moving mechanism 21 and a gripper 23 arranged on the first moving mechanism 21; the gripper 23 of each set of clamping mechanisms 2 clamps a workpiece; The cladding mechanism 3 includes a second moving mechanism 31 and a laser 32 disposed on the second moving mechanism 31. The second moving mechanism 31 is disposed on the base 1 and located between multiple sets of clamping mechanisms 2. The workpiece is moved to a preset welding station via the first moving mechanism 21, and the laser 32 is moved to the surface of the workpiece to be welded via the second moving mechanism 31 to clad the connecting layer on the surface to be welded and to splice the connecting layers of two adjacent workpieces; the materials of each workpiece are different, and the materials of the connecting layers of each workpiece are different from the materials of the workpiece.

[0024] Specifically, the workpiece connecting device is used to achieve integrated laser cladding and welding connection of dissimilar metal workpieces, especially suitable for connecting dissimilar metal workpieces such as titanium alloy and stainless steel. In this application, 3mm TC4 titanium alloy and 306 stainless steel plates are used as workpieces for splicing and welding. The workpiece connecting device mainly includes a base 1, two sets of clamping mechanisms 2, and a cladding mechanism 3. The base 1 is the mounting base of the entire device, and adopts a rigid structure design to ensure the overall structural stability and motion accuracy, providing a reliable installation reference for the multiple sets of clamping mechanisms 2 and the cladding mechanism 3. Taking two sets of clamping mechanisms 2 as an example, the two sets of clamping mechanisms 2 are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the base 1 along a first direction (e.g., the length direction of the base 1), with symmetrical structure and consistent function, respectively used to clamp two sets of workpieces to be welded, namely the first workpiece 41 and the second workpiece 42. Each clamping mechanism 2 includes a first moving mechanism 21 and a gripper 23. The gripper 23 is fixedly installed at the output end of the first moving mechanism 21 and is used to detachably clamp and fix the workpiece. The two clamping mechanisms 2 can move independently or in conjunction to achieve flexible adjustment and precise alignment of the workpiece position. Further, the first moving mechanism 21 is a multi-axis precision moving module used to drive the gripper 23 and the workpiece to achieve high-precision translation in three-dimensional space. It mainly includes a first slide rail 211, a second slide rail 212, a third slide rail 311, and a matching drive assembly. For details on the specific structure and implementation process of the first moving mechanism 21, please refer to the following embodiments. The cladding mechanism 3 is located above the base 1 and between the two clamping mechanisms 2. It is used to complete the cladding of the connection layer of the workpiece to be welded and subsequent welding operations. It includes a second moving mechanism 31 and a laser 32. The second moving mechanism 31 is a three-dimensional moving platform, straddling the base 1, which can drive the laser 32 to move flexibly in the horizontal, vertical and longitudinal directions; the laser 32 is installed at the execution end of the second moving mechanism 31, and can output a laser beam with preset power, and has the functions of cladding powder feeding and welding. In actual operation, the first workpiece 41 and the second workpiece 42 are first clamped onto the jaws 23 of the two clamping mechanisms 2. Then, the first moving mechanism 21 of the two clamping mechanisms 2 moves the first workpiece 41 and the second workpiece 42 to the preset cladding station, so that the workpieces to be welded face upward and are on the same horizontal plane. The second moving mechanism 31 of the cladding mechanism 3 moves the laser 32 above the workpieces to be welded, and forms a connecting layer in situ at the welding surfaces of the first workpiece 41 and the second workpiece 42. The first workpiece 41 and the second workpiece 42 are dissimilar metal materials, and the connecting layer material is different from the corresponding workpiece base material. After the connecting layer is clad, the first moving mechanism 21 of the two clamping mechanisms 2 moves synchronously, moving the first workpiece 41 and the second workpiece 42 to the preset welding station, so that the connecting layers of the two workpieces are precisely aligned. Finally, the laser 32 of the cladding mechanism 3 moves above the butt joint and outputs laser to weld the connecting layer, completing the integrated connection of the dissimilar metal workpieces.

[0025] The workpiece connecting device in this application employs multiple clamping mechanisms 2, enabling stable clamping of various dissimilar metal workpieces. Combined with the first moving mechanism 21, it achieves precise three-dimensional translation of the workpiece, resulting in high positioning accuracy and good motion stability. This effectively avoids workpiece clamping deviations and positional offsets, providing a reliable foundation for subsequent cladding and welding. The cladding mechanism 3 integrates laser cladding and laser welding functions, allowing for the in-situ preparation of a connecting layer with a different composition from the base material on the workpiece surface to be welded. This effectively suppresses the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds at the dissimilar metal interface, reducing defects such as porosity, inclusions, and cracks, and significantly improving the quality and mechanical properties of the welded joint. The device features a compact overall structure and a high degree of automation. The entire process of cladding, alignment, and welding can be completed continuously without changing tooling or transferring workpieces, greatly simplifying the process flow, shortening the production cycle, and reducing production costs. It is particularly suitable for the batch, high-quality connection of dissimilar metal workpieces such as titanium steel, and has broad application prospects.

[0026] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the first moving mechanism 21 is used to drive the gripper 23 and the workpiece to move in multiple axes within the plane of the base 1. It includes a first slide rail 211, a second slide rail 212, and a third slide rail 311. The first moving mechanism 21 adopts a multi-slide rail combination structure, which can flexibly and accurately switch the workpiece between the cladding station and the welding station without the need for repeated manual adjustment or secondary clamping, reducing processes, reducing human error, and significantly improving workpiece alignment accuracy and work efficiency.

[0027] The first slide rail 211 is fixedly installed on both sides of the base 1 and arranged horizontally (left and right direction). It is the first-level sliding pair, which carries the second slide rail 212 and the upper component and provides lateral displacement stroke.

[0028] The second slide rail 212 is slidably mounted on the first slide rail 211 and is arranged in the horizontal longitudinal direction (front and back direction). It is the second-level sliding pair, which supports the third slide rail 311 and the gripper 23 assembly and provides longitudinal displacement stroke.

[0029] The third slide rail 311 is slidably mounted on the second slide rail 212 and arranged in the vertical direction (up and down direction). It is the third-level moving pair and is directly connected to the gripper 23 to provide vertical lifting stroke.

[0030] Drive unit (not marked in the attached diagram, but included): Each set of slide rails corresponds to an independent drive motor (servo motor / stepper motor), lead screw / synchronous belt transmission assembly, and limit sensor to achieve precise drive and travel protection.

[0031] Specifically, the first moving mechanism 21 is controlled by the device control system to accurately position the workpiece to the cladding station and welding station. The movement control process is as follows: For the cladding process: After the workpiece is clamped into the gripper 23, the control system triggers a reset command, and the first slide rail 211, the second slide rail 212, and the third slide rail 311 return to their initial origin (positioned by limit sensors) to complete the initial calibration. According to the size of the workpiece to be welded and the coordinates of the surface to be welded, the control system drives the first slide rail 211 to move laterally to adjust the left and right position of the workpiece; the second slide rail 212 to move longitudinally to adjust the front and back position of the workpiece; and the third slide rail 311 to move vertically to adjust the height of the surface to be welded. Finally, the surface to be welded on the workpiece is accurately aligned with the cladding area below the laser 32, with the positioning accuracy controlled within ±0.1mm. For the welding station movement: After the cladding of a single workpiece is completed, the control system synchronously drives the first moving mechanisms 21 on both sides to move the two sets of workpieces along the slide rails to the preset welding station A, so that the welding connection layers of the two workpieces are accurately joined, with the joining gap controlled within 0~0.2mm. Linkage and fine-tuning: During the movement, each slide rail drive unit feeds back the position signal to the control system in real time, and performs linkage and fine-tuning in conjunction with the laser 32 position sensor to ensure that the workpiece position is stable throughout the cladding and welding process without offset or jitter.

[0032] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the second moving mechanism 31 is used to drive the laser 32 to achieve three-dimensional precision movement above the two sets of clamping mechanisms 2, so as to meet the requirements of rapid switching and precise positioning of cladding and welding stations. The second moving mechanism 31 includes a third slide rail 311, a fourth slide rail 312 and a matching drive unit. The whole is straddling the base 1 and between the two sets of clamping mechanisms 2, with stable structure and high motion rigidity.

[0033] The third slide rail 311 is a transverse slide rail, which is fixedly mounted on both sides of the base 1 along the length direction (first direction) of the base 1. It serves as the transverse bearing reference of the second moving mechanism 31 and is used to drive the upper component to achieve transverse (X-direction) displacement. The stroke covers the workpiece welding area of ​​the two sets of clamping mechanisms 2.

[0034] The fourth slide rail 312 is a longitudinal slide rail, which is slidably mounted on the third slide rail 311 and can move laterally along the third slide rail 311. The fourth slide rail 312 itself extends in a direction perpendicular to the third slide rail 311 (front and back direction) to drive the laser 32 to achieve longitudinal (Y direction) displacement and cover the full-area scanning range of the workpiece surface to be welded.

[0035] The laser 32 mounting base (not separately marked in the attached diagram) is slidably mounted on the fourth slide rail 312, allowing it to move vertically (Z-axis) along the fourth slide rail 312. The laser 32 is fixed to the lower end of this mounting base, enabling precise adjustment of the laser focus height. The drive unit: The third slide rail 311, the fourth slide rail 312, and the vertical lifting shaft are each equipped with an independent servo motor, precision lead screw drive, and position encoder. Combined with limit sensors, this achieves independent closed-loop control for each axis, resulting in fast motion response and a repeatability accuracy of ±0.05mm.

[0036] The second moving mechanism 31 is controlled by the device control system and works in coordination with the first moving mechanism 21 of the two clamping mechanisms 2 to complete the precise positioning of the entire cladding and welding process. The specific control process is as follows: after the workpiece is transferred to the cladding station by the first moving mechanism 21 and the alignment is completed, the control system sends a command to the second moving mechanism 31: drive the third slide rail 311 to move laterally so that the laser 32 is aligned with the lateral center of the target workpiece surface to be welded; drive the fourth slide rail 312 to move longitudinally to plan the laser scanning path and cover the entire surface area to be welded; drive the vertical lifting shaft to adjust the height of the laser 32 and set the defocus amount to the process requirement value to ensure that the laser beam is accurately focused on the surface to be welded and to provide a stable heat source for cladding. During the cladding process, the second moving mechanism 31 moves in conjunction with a preset path: the third slide rail 311 and the fourth slide rail 312 cooperate to drive the laser 32 to perform linear or reciprocating scanning motion along the surface to be welded, controlling the scanning speed and overlap rate; at the same time, the vertical position is kept constant to ensure that the cladding layer thickness is uniform and the composition is stable, completing the in-situ preparation of the titanium alloy side vanadium connecting layer and the stainless steel side copper connecting layer. After the connecting layers of the two workpieces are clad, the first moving mechanism 21 moves the workpiece to the welding station to complete the docking; the control system drives the second moving mechanism 31 to quickly return to its original position: the third slide rail 311 moves laterally to align the laser 32 with the center of the docking seam; the fourth slide rail 312 finely adjusts the longitudinal position to ensure that the laser spot is directly facing the weld seam; the vertical lifting shaft readjusts the defocusing amount and switches to the welding process parameters, ready to carry out the welding operation. During welding, the second moving mechanism 31 moves at a constant speed; the third slide rail 311 drives the laser 32 to move along the weld direction, controlling the welding speed; the fourth slide rail 312 can be slightly offset to achieve the process requirement of the laser spot being offset towards the titanium alloy side by 0.1~0.5mm; it remains stable in the vertical direction to ensure a constant state of the laser molten pool, suppress the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds, and improve the weld quality. During the movement, the encoders of each axis provide real-time feedback of position signals, and the control system corrects the movement trajectory in real time to ensure synchronization with the first moving mechanism 21; the limit sensors monitor the stroke in real time to prevent overtravel collisions and ensure the safe operation of the equipment.

[0037] In some embodiments, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7As shown, the device includes a third moving mechanism 24, which includes a bidirectional slide rail 241 disposed on the base 1 and opposing mounting brackets 242 disposed on the bidirectional slide rail 241. The bidirectional slide rail 241 extends along a first direction, and the mounting brackets 242 are L-shaped, with the two mounting brackets 242 extending toward each other respectively. The gripper 23 is mounted on the end of the mounting bracket 242 away from the base 1 via a first rotating base 22.

[0038] The mounting brackets 242 are all fixed to the bidirectional slide rails 241 by sliders. Each slider can move independently on the bidirectional slide rails 241. When a cladding layer needs to be applied to the workpiece, the corresponding slider can be moved individually to move the grippers 23. When two workpieces are to be joined, the two sliders can be controlled to move synchronously to achieve the joining of the two workpieces.

[0039] The first rotating base 22 includes a first mounting base 221 and a second mounting base 222. The second mounting base 222 is fixed on the mounting frame 242, and the first mounting base 221 is rotatably mounted on the second mounting base 222. A gripper 23 is mounted on the first mounting base 221. The first mounting base 221 is controlled to rotate relative to the second mounting base 222 by a drive motor, thus allowing the first mounting base 221 to rotate at a preset angle. This preset angle can be controlled by a control system. One end of the gripper 23 is equipped with a drive source 233, which is fixed to the first mounting base 221. The drive source 233 can rotate 360 ​​degrees, driving the gripper 23 to rotate 360 ​​degrees to accommodate laser welding on different workpieces and in different positions.

[0040] In this embodiment, as Figure 6 As shown, the device also includes a fourth moving mechanism 2525, which includes a fifth slide rail, and the laser 32 is mounted on the fifth slide rail via a second rotating base 34.

[0041] Specifically, the fourth moving mechanism 25 works in conjunction with the third moving mechanism 24. The third moving mechanism 24 determines its installation position based on the installation location of the fourth moving mechanism 25. In other words, the gripper on the third moving mechanism 24 can move directly to below the laser 32 of the fourth moving mechanism 25 for direct welding. Welding at different positions on the workpiece is achieved solely through the rotation of the laser 32 and the gripper 23. The structure of the second rotating base 34 is identical to that of the first rotating base 22, and will not be described again here.

[0042] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4As shown, the gripper 23 includes a bracket 231 and two grippers 232. The two grippers 232 are disposed opposite to each other on the bracket 231. One end of the two grippers 232 is rotatably disposed inside the bracket 231 via a pivot. The two grippers 232 are provided with arc-shaped grooves on opposite sides, and anti-slip teeth are provided in the arc-shaped grooves.

[0043] Specifically, the gripper 23 is used to stably and reliably clamp workpieces of different shapes, such as tubular, plate-shaped, or angular. It is made entirely of high-strength, rigid material, possessing excellent structural strength, wear resistance, and deformation resistance, and can adapt to the high-precision clamping requirements of dissimilar metal workpieces. The gripper 23 includes a support 231 and two clamping feet 232. The two clamping feet 232 are symmetrically and oppositely arranged on the support 231, forming an open-type clamping structure, facilitating rapid loading, unloading, and positioning of the workpiece. The support 231 is the main load-bearing component of the gripper 23, with an overall U-shaped or frame-shaped structure and an internal mounting cavity for accommodating and mounting the two clamping feet 232 and their matching rotating components. The top or back of the support 231 is fixedly mounted on the output end of the first moving mechanism 21 via bolts, flanges, or a quick-release structure, ensuring a secure connection and reliable positioning, and allowing it to move synchronously with the first moving mechanism 21. The two grippers 232 are symmetrical movable clamping components with identical structural dimensions and synchronized operation, used to clamp workpieces from both sides. One end of each gripper 232 is rotatably mounted in the mounting cavity of the bracket 231 via a rotating shaft. A wear-resistant bearing or bushing is configured between the rotating shaft and the bracket 231 to reduce rotational friction and improve operational flexibility, allowing the two grippers 232 to synchronously close inward or open outward around the rotating shaft, realizing clamping and releasing actions. A locking component can be installed at the end of the rotating shaft to prevent the grippers 232 from loosening during rotation and to ensure structural stability. Arc-shaped grooves are formed on the inner sidewalls of the two grippers 232. The curvature of the arc-shaped grooves is adapted to the outer contour of the workpiece to be clamped (such as a tubular workpiece), increasing the contact area between the grippers 23 and the workpiece and avoiding indentations, deformation, or damage to the workpiece surface due to excessive local stress. The length and depth of the arc-shaped grooves can be designed according to the workpiece specifications to ensure stable fitting of workpieces of different sizes. The inner wall of the arc-shaped groove is uniformly provided with anti-slip teeth. The anti-slip teeth are distributed in a fine tooth or grid pattern. They are made of hard material with a rough surface, which can significantly increase the friction between the clamping foot 232 and the workpiece contact surface. When clamping the workpiece, the anti-slip teeth can embed into the tiny texture of the workpiece surface, effectively preventing the workpiece from slipping, rotating or shifting during cladding, alignment and welding, ensuring that the workpiece is fixed in position and stable in posture, and providing a reliable clamping foundation for subsequent laser cladding and welding operations.

[0044] In some embodiments, such as Figure 5 As shown, the gripper 23 includes a bracket 231 and two grippers 232. The two grippers 232 are arranged opposite to each other on the bracket 231. One end of the two grippers 232 is arranged inside the bracket 231 through a translation structure. The two grippers 232 are arranged parallel to each other on opposite sides and are provided with anti-slip teeth.

[0045] Specifically, the gripper 23 is used to stably clamp plate-shaped, strip-shaped, or flat workpieces. It is made of high-strength rigid material, exhibiting high structural rigidity and good wear resistance. It can reliably clamp workpieces of different thicknesses and widths, ensuring stable position and posture throughout the cladding, alignment, and welding processes. The gripper 23 includes a support 231 and two clamping feet 232. The two clamping feet 232 are arranged opposite and parallel to each other on the support 231, forming a translational clamping structure. Clamping and releasing of the workpiece are achieved through horizontal translation, making operation simple and providing uniform clamping force. The support 231 is the main support component of the gripper 23, with an overall rectangular frame or groove-shaped structure. An internal horizontal mounting cavity is formed to accommodate the two clamping feet 232 and the translational drive assembly. The back of the support 231 is fixedly mounted on the output end of the first moving mechanism 21 via bolts, positioning pins, or a flange structure, ensuring a stable connection and high positioning accuracy. It can move synchronously with the first moving mechanism 21 in three dimensions without relative displacement. The two clamping feet 232 are symmetrical, flat clamping components with identical structural dimensions and synchronized movement, used to horizontally clamp workpieces from both sides. One end of each clamping foot 232 is slidably positioned within the mounting cavity of the bracket 231 via a translational structure. The translational structure can be in the form of a linear guide rail, a precision slide table, or a guide groove combined with a slider, providing high guiding accuracy and low movement resistance. This allows the two clamping feet 232 to synchronously translate inward to close or outward to open in the horizontal direction, achieving stable clamping and rapid release of the workpiece. Wear-resistant bushings or lubricants can be configured inside the translational structure to reduce sliding wear, extend service life, and ensure smooth operation. The opposing inner surfaces of the two clamping feet 232 are parallel planes, adapted to the planar contour of plate-shaped workpieces. During clamping, they can form surface contact with the workpiece surface, resulting in a large contact area and uniform force distribution, avoiding deformation, indentation, or surface damage to the workpiece due to localized stress concentration. This is particularly suitable for clamping flat plate-like workpieces.

[0046] The two clamping feet 232 have anti-slip teeth evenly distributed on their parallel inner surfaces. The anti-slip teeth are distributed in the form of fine serrations, grids, or dotted protrusions, with high hardness and a high coefficient of friction. When clamping the workpiece, the anti-slip teeth can closely fit the workpiece surface, increasing the friction between the contact surfaces. This effectively prevents the workpiece from slipping, shifting, or rotating during laser cladding scanning, workpiece alignment, and welding, ensuring stable workpiece clamping posture and accurate positioning. This provides a reliable clamping guarantee for subsequent dissimilar metal bonding layer cladding and welding.

[0047] In some embodiments, the thickness of the connecting layer is 0.1mm-2mm.

[0048] Specifically, this thickness range was optimized and determined for the laser cladding welding process of dissimilar metals such as titanium alloys and stainless steel: when the thickness is less than 0.1 mm, the bonding layer is too thin, making it difficult to completely block the interdiffusion of titanium and iron atoms. The interface is prone to the formation of brittle Ti-Fe intermetallic compounds, and the continuity of the cladding layer is poor, with local missing layers, pinholes, and uncovered areas easily appearing, which weakens the interface bonding strength; when the thickness is greater than 2 mm, the bonding layer is too thick, which will increase the accumulation of thermal stress, the risk of interface deformation and cracking, while increasing material costs, prolonging the cladding time, and reducing process efficiency. Controlling the thickness of the connecting layer within the range of 0.1mm to 2mm balances barrier effect, interface strength, forming quality, and process economy: the preferred thickness of the vanadium connecting layer on the titanium alloy side is 0.2mm to 1.0mm to ensure the formation of a continuous solid solution with the titanium alloy without brittle phases; the preferred thickness of the copper connecting layer on the stainless steel side is 0.1mm to 0.8mm to adapt to the good metallurgical compatibility of copper and steel and reduce residual stress; the overall thickness can be precisely controlled within the range according to the workpiece material, plate thickness, joint type, and performance requirements to ensure that the connecting layer is uniform and dense without porosity inclusions, effectively inhibiting the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds, and significantly improving the mechanical properties, crack resistance, and reliability of dissimilar metal joints.

[0049] In some embodiments, the workpiece includes a first workpiece 41 and a second workpiece 42, wherein the first workpiece 41 is made of titanium alloy and the second workpiece 42 is made of stainless steel.

[0050] Wherein, the connecting layer of the first workpiece 41 is a first connecting layer, and the material of the first connecting layer is pure vanadium powder; The connecting layer of the second workpiece 42 is a second connecting layer, and the material of the second connecting layer is pure copper powder.

[0051] Specifically, the workpieces include a first workpiece 41 and a second workpiece 42 to be welded together. These are dissimilar metal components; the first workpiece 41 is made of titanium alloy, and the second workpiece 42 is made of stainless steel. Titanium alloys have advantages such as low density, high specific strength, and strong corrosion resistance, and are widely used in aerospace, marine engineering, and other fields. Stainless steel, on the other hand, has characteristics such as high strength, good toughness, low cost, and excellent processing performance, and is a commonly used structural material in the industrial field. Joining titanium alloys and stainless steel allows for the full utilization of the respective performance advantages of both materials, achieving lightweight, high-performance, and low-cost structures, suitable for manufacturing critical components such as aero-engines, ship components, and pressure vessels. To suppress the formation of brittle Ti-Fe intermetallic compounds during direct welding of titanium alloy and stainless steel, and to prevent joint cracking and failure, a first connecting layer is provided on the welding surface of the first workpiece 41 (titanium alloy). This first connecting layer is prepared by laser cladding of pure vanadium powder. Vanadium and titanium have excellent metallurgical compatibility; they can form a continuous solid solution at high temperatures, without producing brittle intermetallic compounds, and can form a stable metallurgical bond with the titanium alloy base material, effectively preventing titanium atoms from diffusing to the interface. Correspondingly, a second connecting layer is provided on the welding surface of the second workpiece 42 (stainless steel). This second connecting layer is prepared by laser cladding of pure copper powder. There are no stable brittle intermetallic compounds between copper and stainless steel; only a simple eutectic structure is formed. The coefficients of linear expansion are similar, the welding residual stress is small, and a good interfacial bond can be formed with the stainless steel base material, effectively preventing iron atoms from diffusing to the interface. By setting a pure vanadium connecting layer on the titanium alloy side and a pure copper connecting layer on the stainless steel side, a composite transition structure of "titanium alloy, vanadium, copper, and stainless steel" is formed. Vanadium and copper also have good metallurgical compatibility and no brittle phase formation. This fundamentally blocks the direct contact between titanium and iron atoms, inhibits the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds, reduces defects such as porosity, inclusions, and cracks, and significantly improves the bonding strength, plasticity, toughness, and service reliability of dissimilar metal joints.

[0052] In some embodiments, the workpiece includes a first workpiece 41 and a second workpiece 42, wherein the first workpiece 41 is made of titanium alloy and the second workpiece 42 is made of stainless steel.

[0053] The first workpiece 41 has a first connecting layer, and the second workpiece 42 has a second connecting layer. Both the first connecting layer and the second connecting layer are made of pure vanadium powder or pure copper powder.

[0054] Specifically, the workpieces include a first workpiece 41 and a second workpiece 42 to be welded together. These are dissimilar metal components; the first workpiece 41 is made of titanium alloy, and the second workpiece 42 is made of stainless steel. Titanium alloys possess advantages such as low density, high specific strength, corrosion resistance, and good high-temperature performance, and are commonly used in aerospace, marine equipment, and chemical equipment applications where lightweighting and reliability are critical. Stainless steel, on the other hand, features high strength, good toughness, controllable cost, and excellent machinability, making it one of the most widely used structural materials in industry. The dissimilar joining of titanium alloy and stainless steel allows for the complementary properties of the two materials, meeting the comprehensive requirements of lightweight, high performance, and low cost, and has significant application value in the manufacturing of key components such as aero-engines, ships, and pressure vessels. To address the technical challenges of brittle Ti-Fe intermetallic compounds and joint cracking during direct welding of titanium alloys and stainless steel, a first connecting layer is applied to the welding surface of the first workpiece 41 (titanium alloy plate), and a second connecting layer is applied to the welding surface of the second workpiece 42 (stainless steel plate). Both the first and second connecting layers can be prepared using pure vanadium powder or pure copper powder via laser cladding, offering flexibility and adaptability. The materials can be adjusted according to workpiece thickness, joint type, performance indicators, and process conditions. When both the first and second connecting layers use pure vanadium powder, vanadium exhibits excellent metallurgical compatibility with titanium, forming a continuous solid solution without brittle phases, resulting in stable interfacial bonding with the titanium alloy. Although vanadium exhibits some mutual solubility with iron, chromium, and nickel in stainless steel, the vanadium layer effectively prevents direct contact between titanium and iron atoms, reducing the formation of brittle phases. This design is suitable for applications requiring high-temperature strength and interfacial stability. When both the first and second connecting layers are made of pure copper powder: copper has good metallurgical compatibility with stainless steel, without stable brittle intermetallic compounds, only forming a low-melting-point eutectic structure, with similar coefficients of linear expansion and low residual stress; although copper and titanium can form a small amount of intermetallic compounds, they can effectively block Ti-Fe diffusion at a reasonable thickness, resulting in a wide process window, good formability, and lower cost, making it suitable for titanium-steel dissimilar joining under normal working conditions. This embodiment simplifies the cladding process and powder feeding configuration by uniformly selecting pure vanadium or pure copper as the connecting layer materials on both sides, reducing the types of powder, lowering material change and control costs, while ensuring good metallurgical compatibility and strong interface bonding of the connecting layers on both sides, effectively inhibiting the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds, reducing defects such as porosity, inclusions, and cracks, and improving the mechanical properties, stability, and process versatility of the joint.

[0055] In some embodiments, the workpiece shape includes tubular, plate-like, or angular.

[0056] Specifically, the workpiece shape includes tubular, plate-like, or angular shapes, covering common joint types in dissimilar metal connections. It has a wide range of applications and strong versatility, meeting the connection needs of different structural components and working conditions. When the workpiece is tubular, it includes hollow or solid rods such as round tubes, square tubes, and irregularly shaped tubes; the outer diameter and wall thickness can be selected according to actual needs. Tubular workpieces are mostly used in scenarios such as pipe, shaft, and pipe fitting connections. The clamping jaws 23 can adopt an arc-shaped groove structure, which fits snugly against the outer circle of the tube to achieve circumferential stable clamping, ensuring that the roundness and coaxiality are not affected during cladding and welding, and avoiding elliptical deformation or local depressions. When the workpiece is plate-like, it includes planar components such as flat plates, curved plates, and plates of varying thicknesses; the thickness, width, and length can be designed as needed. Plate-shaped workpieces are the most commonly used structural component form in industry, often used in flat splicing, wall panels, base plates, flanges, and other connection scenarios. The clamping jaws 23 employ parallel clamping surfaces to achieve large-area close clamping, uniform force distribution, and prevention of plate warping, indentation, or localized deformation, ensuring a flat and stable welding surface. When the workpiece is angular, including angle steel, angle profiles, bent parts, L-shaped parts, and other components with angular structures, the angle, side length, and thickness can be determined according to the joint type. Angular workpieces are often used for structural connections such as frames, supports 231, reinforcing ribs, and corner joints. The clamping jaws 23 can achieve stable clamping on both sides of the diagonal by adjusting the opening angle or replacing the adaptable clamping feet 232, ensuring precise alignment and tight fit of the corner joint, meeting the cladding and welding requirements of special joints such as corner joints, T-joints, and lap joints. This device can adapt to tubular, plate-shaped, and angular workpieces and is compatible with various joint types. It can achieve rapid adaptation without changing the entire machine structure, simply by adjusting the structure and posture of the gripper 23. This significantly improves the equipment's versatility and application range, reduces tooling costs, and is suitable for batch, high-quality connections of dissimilar metals such as titanium alloys and stainless steel in pipes, plates, and frame components.

[0057] In some embodiments, the device further includes a pressure regulating unit for regulating the clamping force between the connecting layers when multiple workpieces are welded. The pressure regulating unit is connected to the first moving mechanism 21 and is used to control the first moving mechanism 21.

[0058] Specifically, the device also includes a pressure regulating unit, which is used to precisely adjust and stably control the clamping force between the connecting layers of each workpiece before splicing and welding multiple workpieces, so as to ensure that the mating surfaces are tightly fitted and the force is uniform, thus providing stable mechanical conditions for high-quality welding.

[0059] The pressure regulating unit is electrically connected to and coordinated with the first moving mechanism 21 of the two sets of clamping mechanisms 2, respectively. It can implement independent or synchronous pressure closed-loop control on the first moving mechanism 21 on both sides. By adjusting the output thrust / pull force of the first moving mechanism 21, the clamping force of the workpiece held by the gripper 23 in the docking direction can be indirectly controlled, thereby achieving precise control of the interface pressure of the connection layer.

[0060] The pressure regulating unit integrates a pressure sensor, a servo controller, and an execution drive module: the pressure sensor collects the contact pressure signal of the connection layer interface when the workpiece is docked in real time and feeds the pressure data back to the servo controller; the servo controller performs closed-loop calculation based on the preset process pressure value and the real-time feedback signal, and outputs control commands to drive the first moving mechanism 21 to fine-tune the displacement and output force, dynamically compensate for pressure fluctuations caused by factors such as gaps and deformation, and keep the clamping force stably maintained within the set range (such as 0.3MPa~1.0MPa).

[0061] In the process of butt welding of workpieces, the pressure regulating unit plays a crucial role: after cladding is completed, the two sets of first moving mechanisms 21 drive the workpiece to the welding station, so that the two connecting layers are in contact with each other; the pressure regulating unit is activated, controlling the first moving mechanism 21 to slowly advance and apply a preset clamping force, eliminating the interface gap of the connecting layer, expelling air and impurities, and avoiding defects such as porosity, inclusions, and incomplete fusion caused by excessive gaps during welding; at the same time, the uniform and stable clamping force can suppress welding thermal deformation, reduce interface misalignment and warping, ensure uniform weld formation and dense structure, and effectively improve the interface bonding strength and mechanical reliability of dissimilar metal joints.

[0062] The pressure regulating unit is linked with the first moving mechanism 21 for control. It has high pressure regulation accuracy, fast response speed and good stability. It is suitable for the high-precision docking requirements of dissimilar metal workpieces such as titanium alloy and stainless steel, significantly reduces human adjustment error and improves the consistency of welding process and product qualification rate.

[0063] In some embodiments, the laser 32 is a blue-green laser with a wavelength range of 400-550nm, used for cladding highly reflective copper powder, which can significantly improve the laser energy absorption rate and reduce energy loss.

[0064] Based on the same inventive concept, such as Figure 8 As shown, this application also provides a workpiece connection method, applicable to the workpiece connection device described in any of the above claims, comprising the following steps: Step 101: Pre-process the surfaces of multiple workpieces to be welded to obtain multiple workpieces, wherein the materials of the multiple workpieces are different.

[0065] In this step, the pretreatment specifically includes: firstly, mechanically grinding the surfaces to be welded on the first workpiece 41 (titanium alloy) and the second workpiece 42 (stainless steel), using coarse sandpaper, fine sandpaper, or a grinding wheel to remove surface oxide scale, rust, machining marks, and burrs, so that the surfaces to be welded reach a uniform and smooth state; after grinding, wiping or ultrasonically cleaning the surfaces to be welded with organic solvents such as anhydrous ethanol and acetone to remove oil, dust, cutting fluid residue, and other contaminants; after cleaning, placing the workpieces in a dust-free environment to air dry naturally or dry with hot air to ensure that the surfaces to be welded are dry and free of moisture residue, avoiding defects such as porosity and inclusions during the cladding process.

[0066] After pretreatment, a number of clean, flat and dry workpieces to be welded are obtained, including at least two different materials, preferably titanium alloy workpieces and stainless steel workpieces. The two are dissimilar metal materials, which can give full play to their respective performance advantages and meet the requirements of lightweight structure and high reliability.

[0067] Step 102: Using the laser 32, a corresponding connecting layer is fused onto the welding surfaces of the multiple workpieces, wherein the material of the connecting layer corresponding to each workpiece is different from the material of all workpieces.

[0068] In this step, the laser cladding process is used to prepare a transitional bonding layer. This layer is prepared in situ on the pretreated surface to be welded to block the interdiffusion of dissimilar metal atoms and inhibit the formation of brittle intermetallic compounds.

[0069] First, such as Figure 2 As shown, the pre-treated first workpiece 41 and second workpiece 42 are respectively clamped on the jaws 23 of the two sets of clamping mechanisms 2. The first moving mechanism 21 moves the workpieces to the preset cladding station so that the surfaces to be welded are facing upwards and at the same horizontal plane. Then, the second moving mechanism 31 of the cladding mechanism 3 drives the laser 32 to move above the surface to be welded and connects to the powder feeding unit. The appropriate powder is selected according to the workpiece material: pure vanadium powder is used for the surface to be welded of titanium alloy workpieces, and pure copper powder is used for the surface to be welded of stainless steel workpieces (or pure vanadium / pure copper powder is used uniformly). Start the laser and set the cladding process parameters: laser power 500-2000W, scanning speed 5-20mm / s, powder feeding rate 5-30g / min, overlap rate 30%-50%, and introduce argon gas as a protective gas (flow rate 10-20L / min) to prevent oxidation of the cladding layer; the laser 32 scans the surface to be welded along the preset path, and the powder is heated and melted by the laser beam and deposited on the surface to be welded, forming a uniform and dense bonding layer layer by layer, with a thickness controlled at 0.1-2mm, preferably 0.2-1.0mm on the titanium alloy side and preferably 0.1-0.8mm on the stainless steel side; During the cladding process, the laser power, scanning speed, and powder feeding rate are adjusted in real time to ensure that the bonding layer has uniform composition, consistent thickness, and is free of pores, cracks, and incomplete melting defects. After cladding is completed, the powder feeding unit is turned off, and the laser 32 is reset, completing the preparation of the bonding layer on the welding surface of each workpiece. The bonding layer material (pure vanadium / pure copper) and the workpiece base material (titanium alloy / stainless steel) are different, achieving an effective transition between dissimilar metals.

[0070] Step 103: Use the laser 32 to splice and weld the connecting layers of two adjacent workpieces to obtain a welded workpiece.

[0071] In this step, which is a laser welding process, the welded joint layers are butt-welded to form a stable and reliable dissimilar metal joint.

[0072] First, the first moving mechanism 21 of the two clamping mechanisms 2 moves synchronously, driving the first workpiece 41 and the second workpiece 42 to the preset welding position, so that the connecting layers of the two workpieces are precisely aligned, with the gap controlled at 0-0.2mm. Appropriate clamping force is applied through the pressure adjustment unit to ensure tight contact between the mating surfaces. Then, the second moving mechanism 31 of the cladding mechanism 3 moves the laser 32 directly above the weld seam, adjusting the laser spot position to face the center of the weld seam. The spot can be offset 0.1-0.5mm towards the titanium alloy side according to process requirements. The laser process parameters are then switched to welding mode: laser power 800-300... 0W, welding speed 10-50mm / s, defocusing amount -2-+2mm, spot diameter 0.5-2mm, argon gas protection (flow rate 15-25L / min); start the laser, laser 32 moves at a constant speed along the butt joint, the laser beam is focused on the interface of the connecting layer, causing the connecting layers on both sides to melt and form a molten pool, which forms a dense weld after cooling; during the welding process, the state of the molten pool is monitored in real time, and the laser parameters and movement trajectory are adjusted to avoid burn-through, collapse or incomplete penetration defects; after welding is completed, the laser is turned off, and the weld is allowed to cool naturally to room temperature, the workpiece is removed, and a firmly connected and stable dissimilar metal welded workpiece is obtained.

[0073] In some embodiments, after obtaining the welded workpiece, the following step is further included: Step 104: Pre-treat and inspect the surface of the weld seam of the welded workpiece to obtain the inspection results.

[0074] This step is the post-weld quality control process. Through weld surface finishing and multi-dimensional quality inspection, welding defects are identified, joint performance is verified, and the welded workpiece is ensured to meet design and engineering requirements.

[0075] First, perform surface pretreatment of the weld: After the workpiece has completely cooled to room temperature, remove it from the clamp 23 of the device and use mechanical grinding to finish the weld and its surrounding area. Use coarse grinding wheel and fine sandpaper in sequence to remove weld excess, weld beads, spatter and surface oxide layer, so that the weld surface is flush with the base material and the transition is smooth, eliminating stress concentration points. After grinding, wipe the weld area with anhydrous ethanol to remove dust and oil, ensuring that the detection surface is clean and unobstructed, so as to avoid affecting the detection accuracy. Subsequently, multi-item quality inspections were conducted, covering appearance, internal defects, and mechanical properties to comprehensively evaluate the joint quality: Appearance inspection: The weld surface was observed visually and with a magnifying glass to check for macroscopic defects such as cracks, porosity, undercut, incomplete penetration, collapse, and burn-through, and the weld formation quality and surface condition were recorded; Non-destructive testing: X-ray and ultrasonic testing were used to detect internal defects such as porosity, inclusions, lack of fusion, and cracks within the weld, obtaining internal quality inspection data; Dimensional accuracy inspection: Calipers, micrometers, and angle gauges were used to inspect key parameters such as the overall dimensions of the workpiece, weld width, butt joint gap, coaxiality (for tubular workpieces), and flatness (for plate workpieces) to verify whether the dimensional accuracy meets design requirements; Mechanical property sampling inspection: Representative workpieces were selected for tensile and bending tests to determine the joint's tensile strength, yield strength, elongation, and crack resistance, assessing whether the joint's mechanical properties meet standards. Through the above preprocessing and inspection, the system collects appearance, internal, dimensional, and mechanical property data, forming complete and traceable inspection results.

[0076] Step 105: In response to the qualified test result, determine that the welded workpiece meets the engineering requirements.

[0077] In this step, which is the quality judgment and qualification confirmation process, a comprehensive judgment is made based on the test results of step 104, according to the preset engineering standards and design indicators, to determine whether the welded workpiece can be put into actual use.

[0078] The specific judgment criteria are as follows: Visual inspection shows no cracks, porosity, undercut, or other defects, and the weld formation is uniform and aesthetically pleasing; non-destructive testing shows no excessive porosity, inclusions, cracks, or other defects inside the weld, and the internal quality is dense; dimensional accuracy inspection meets design tolerance requirements, and the workpiece assembly dimensions are up to standard; in mechanical property testing, the joint tensile strength, crack resistance, and other indicators meet or exceed engineering usage standards, with no issues such as fracture or insufficient plasticity. When all test items meet the above qualification standards, the test results are considered qualified, and the weld quality, dimensional accuracy, and mechanical properties of the welded workpiece are deemed to meet the engineering usage requirements in fields such as aerospace, marine engineering, and pressure vessels, and it can be put into subsequent assembly, processing, or service use; if any test fails, the workpiece is deemed to have quality defects and must be reworked or scrapped to prevent unqualified workpieces from entering the production process and to ensure the overall product quality and safety in use.

[0079] In some embodiments, in response to the use of the laser 32 to clad corresponding connecting layers on the surfaces to be welded of a plurality of workpieces, wherein the materials of each connecting layer are different, the process parameters of the laser 32 include: laser power of 1200W, scanning speed of 10mm / s, powder feeding rate of 15g / min, overlap rate of 40%, defocusing amount of +2mm, and argon protective gas flow rate of 15L / min; wherein the powder particle size used for cladding the connecting layers is 50-150μm. The thickness of the connecting layer on the first workpiece 41 (titanium alloy) is 0.2-1.0mm. The thickness of the connecting layer on the second workpiece 42 (steel) is 0.1-0.8mm.

[0080] In some embodiments, the process parameters of the laser 32 used in response to cladding corresponding connecting layers on the welding surfaces of a plurality of workpieces using the laser 32, wherein the material of each connecting layer is pure vanadium powder, include: laser power of 1000W, scanning speed of 8mm / s, powder feeding rate of 12g / min, overlap rate of 35%, and argon protective gas flow rate of 12L / min.

[0081] In some embodiments, when the laser 32 is used to splice the connecting layer of two adjacent workpieces, the process parameters of the laser 32 include: laser power 1800W, welding speed 20mm / s, defocusing amount 0mm, spot diameter 0.5mm, and argon protective gas flow rate 20L / min.

[0082] The specific connection process is given below: Example 1 The above-mentioned apparatus performs butt welding of TC4 titanium alloy and 304 stainless steel plates, including the following steps: S1: Pre-treatment of workpieces: Select 3mm TC4 titanium alloy plate and 304 stainless steel plate. Use 80#-600# sandpaper to grind the surface to be welded in sequence to remove surface oxide scale and oil stains. Then use anhydrous ethanol for ultrasonic cleaning for 10 minutes. After taking it out, blow it dry with cold air. S2: Workpiece clamping: clamp the TC4 titanium alloy plate and the 304 stainless steel plate on the plate-shaped clamping ends of the first clamping mechanism 2 and the second clamping mechanism 2 respectively, and adjust the position so that the surfaces to be welded are facing upward and are on the same horizontal plane. S3: Intermediate layer cladding. The control system moves the laser 32 of the laser processing system above the TC4 titanium alloy plate to be welded, connects to the powder feeding unit, and uses pure vanadium powder as the cladding material to prepare a vanadium cladding layer with a thickness of 1mm using laser cladding. Then, the laser 32 is moved above the 304 stainless steel plate to be welded, and a copper intermediate layer with a thickness of 1mm is prepared using pure copper powder laser cladding. Laser cladding process parameters: laser power 1200W, scanning speed 10mm / s, powder feeding rate 15g / min, overlap rate 40%, defocusing amount +2mm, argon protective gas flow rate 15L / min. S4: Workpiece docking. The control system controls the rotatable clamping ends of the first clamping mechanism 2 and the second clamping mechanism 2 to rotate 90° clockwise around the horizontal axis at the same time, so that the two surfaces to be welded with copper intermediate layer are facing each other. Then, the pressure regulating unit applies a clamping force of 0.5MPa to make the two surfaces to be welded tightly docked. S5: Laser welding. Disconnect the powder feeding unit from the laser 32. The control system controls the laser 32 to move above the butt joint. Adjust the laser spot position so that it is directly facing the center of the weld. Start the laser to perform laser welding. Laser welding process parameters: laser power 1800W, welding speed 20mm / s, defocusing amount 0mm, spot diameter 0.5mm, argon protective gas flow rate 20L / min. S6: Post-weld treatment. After the weld has cooled to room temperature, remove the welded workpiece, sand the weld surface, and then perform X-ray non-destructive testing and tensile testing. The test results show that the TC4 titanium alloy-304 stainless steel joint prepared in this embodiment is free of defects such as porosity, inclusions, and cracks. The tensile strength of the joint reaches 490 MPa, and the fracture location is at the interface between the copper intermediate layer and the steel, meeting the engineering requirements.

[0083] Example 2 The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that: In step S3, both the TC4 titanium alloy side and the 304 stainless steel side are clad with vanadium powder (particle size 53-150μm). A vanadium intermediate layer with a thickness of 0.8mm is prepared by laser cladding. The laser cladding process parameters are: laser power 1000W, scanning speed 8mm / s, powder feeding rate 12g / min, overlap rate 35%, and argon protective gas flow rate 12L / min. In step S5, the laser spot is biased 0.5mm toward the titanium alloy side; laser welding process parameters: laser power 1500W, welding speed 15mm / s, defocusing amount 0mm, spot diameter 0.5mm, argon protective gas flow rate 18L / min.

[0084] Testing revealed microcracks on the stainless steel side of the TC4 titanium alloy-304 stainless steel joint prepared in this embodiment. This is because vanadium forms brittle intermetallic compounds with iron, nickel, and chromium in the stainless steel, exacerbating the cracking tendency. The joint's tensile strength reached 384 MPa, and the fracture location was at the junction of the vanadium interlayer and the stainless steel.

[0085] Example 3 The difference between this embodiment and Embodiment 1 is that the workpieces to be welded are Φ20mm×2mm TC4 titanium alloy tubes and 304 stainless steel tubes; In step S2, a tubular clamping end is used to clamp the TC4 titanium alloy tube and the 304 stainless steel tube respectively; in step S3, a vanadium / copper interlayer with a thickness of 1.2 mm is laser clad on the end face of the TC4 titanium alloy tube and the 304 stainless steel tube respectively. In step S5, the laser power is 1500W, the welding speed is 12mm / s, the spot diameter is 1.2mm, and the argon protective gas flow rate is 22L / min.

[0086] Testing showed that the TC4 titanium alloy tube-304 stainless steel tube joint prepared in this embodiment had good sealing performance and no surface cracks.

[0087] This application offers the following advantages: The laser cladding-assisted titanium-steel dissimilar metal joining method described herein eliminates the need for Cu, V, Ni, and other metal foil interlayers widely used in titanium-steel welding. This avoids inherent defects such as foil warping, misalignment, excessive gaps, and oxidation inclusions and incomplete fusion between the foil and the base material, significantly improving the consistency and reliability of the interface bonding. This application allows for precise control of the Cu and V interlayer thickness (micrometer to millimeter level) and elemental distribution through laser cladding process parameters (power, scanning speed, powder feed rate). It also allows for the preparation of gradient composition interlayers to specifically block Ti-Fe atomic interdiffusion, inhibiting the formation of harmful brittle intermetallic compounds such as TiFe and TiFe2 from the source. The device in this application integrates laser cladding and laser welding functions. A rotatable clamping end enables integrated operation of cladding the interlayer before butt welding, eliminating the need to re-clamp the workpiece. This reduces secondary oxidation and contamination of the weld surface after interlayer preparation, improving welding efficiency and precision. This application offers strong adaptability to various joint types, high clamping and butt joint precision, and replaceable clamping ends that can accommodate various common joint types such as flat plate butt joints, pipe butt joints, and corner joints. The 90° rotating butt joint mechanism of the clamping ends ensures precise alignment of the surfaces to be welded after cladding, with controllable butt gaps, solving the problem of traditional tooling's difficulty in achieving high-precision butt joints on the cladding surface. This application utilizes laser cladding to prepare a titanium-steel welding intermediate layer, reducing the heat and dilution rate acting on the base material, controlling the formation of brittle metal compounds, and leveraging the small laser welding spot and controllable heat input characteristics to precisely control the position and size of the molten pool, further inhibiting the formation of harmful intermetallic compounds and obtaining titanium-steel dissimilar metal joints with excellent mechanical properties.

[0088] It should be noted that the method in this embodiment can be executed by a single device, such as a computer or server. The method can also be applied in a distributed scenario, where multiple devices cooperate to complete the task. In such a distributed scenario, one of these devices may execute only one or more steps of the method in this embodiment, and the multiple devices will interact with each other to complete the method described.

[0089] It should be noted that the above description describes some embodiments of this application. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the actions or steps recorded in the claims can be performed in a different order than that shown in the above embodiments and still achieve the desired result. Furthermore, the processes depicted in the drawings do not necessarily require a specific or sequential order to achieve the desired result. In some embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

[0090] Based on the same inventive concept, corresponding to any of the above embodiments, this application also provides an electronic device, including a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the program to implement a workpiece connection method as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0091] Figure 9 This embodiment illustrates a more specific hardware structure of an electronic device. The device may include a processor 1010, a memory 1020, an input / output interface 1030, a communication interface 1040, and a bus 1050. The processor 1010, memory 1020, input / output interface 1030, and communication interface 1040 are interconnected internally via the bus 1050.

[0092] The processor 1010 can be implemented using a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit), microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits, and is used to execute relevant programs to implement the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this specification.

[0093] The memory 1020 can be implemented in the form of ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), static storage device, dynamic storage device, etc. The memory 1020 can store the operating system and other applications. When the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this specification are implemented by software or firmware, the relevant program code is stored in the memory 1020 and is called and executed by the processor 1010.

[0094] The input / output interface 1030 is used to connect input / output modules to realize information input and output. Input / output modules can be configured as components within the device (not shown in the figure) or externally connected to the device to provide corresponding functions. Input devices may include keyboards, mice, touchscreens, microphones, various sensors, etc., while output devices may include displays, speakers, vibrators, indicator lights, etc.

[0095] The communication interface 1040 is used to connect a communication module (not shown in the figure) to enable communication between this device and other devices. The communication module can communicate via wired means (such as USB, Ethernet cable, etc.) or wireless means (such as mobile network, WIFI, Bluetooth, etc.).

[0096] Bus 1050 includes a pathway for transmitting information between various components of the device, such as processor 1010, memory 1020, input / output interface 1030, and communication interface 1040.

[0097] It should be noted that although the above-described device only shows the processor 1010, memory 1020, input / output interface 1030, communication interface 1040, and bus 1050, in specific implementations, the device may also include other components necessary for normal operation. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will understand that the above-described device may only include the components necessary for implementing the embodiments of this specification, and not necessarily all the components shown in the figures.

[0098] The electronic devices described above are used to implement a corresponding workpiece connection method in any of the foregoing embodiments, and have the beneficial effects of the corresponding method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0099] Based on the same inventive concept, corresponding to the methods of any of the above embodiments, this application also provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores computer instructions for causing the computer to execute a workpiece connection method as described in any of the above embodiments.

[0100] The computer-readable medium of this embodiment includes permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media, and information storage can be implemented by any method or technology. Information can be computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase-change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile optical disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transfer medium that can be used to store information accessible by a computing device.

[0101] The computer instructions stored in the storage medium of the above embodiments are used to cause the computer to execute a workpiece connection method as described in any of the above embodiments, and have the beneficial effects of the corresponding method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

[0102] It is understood that before using the technical solutions of the various embodiments in this application, users will be informed of the type, scope of use, and usage scenarios of the personal information involved in an appropriate manner, and user authorization will be obtained.

[0103] For example, upon receiving a user's active request, a prompt message is sent to the user to explicitly inform them that the requested operation will require the acquisition and use of the user's personal information. This allows the user to independently choose, based on the prompt message, whether to provide personal information to the software or hardware such as electronic devices, applications, servers, or storage media performing the operations described in this application.

[0104] As an optional but not limited implementation, in response to a user's active request, sending a prompt message to the user can be done via a pop-up window, where the prompt message can be presented in text format. Furthermore, the pop-up window can also include a selection control allowing the user to choose "agree" or "disagree" to provide personal information to the electronic device.

[0105] It is understood that the above notification and user authorization process is merely illustrative and does not limit the implementation of this application. Other methods that comply with relevant laws and regulations may also be applied to the implementation of this application.

[0106] Those skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely exemplary and is not intended to imply that the scope of this application is limited to these examples; under the concept of this application, the technical features of the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of different aspects of the embodiments of this application as described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity.

[0107] Additionally, to simplify the description and discussion, and to avoid obscuring the embodiments of this application, the well-known power / ground connections to integrated circuit (IC) chips and other components may or may not be shown in the provided drawings. Furthermore, the apparatus may be shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring the embodiments of this application, and this also takes into account the fact that the details of the implementation of these block diagram apparatuses are highly dependent on the platform on which the embodiments of this application will be implemented (i.e., these details should be fully understood by those skilled in the art). While specific details (e.g., circuits) have been set forth to describe exemplary embodiments of this application, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments of this application can be implemented without these specific details or with variations thereof. Therefore, these descriptions should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0108] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, many substitutions, modifications, and variations of these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the foregoing description. For example, other memory architectures (e.g., dynamic RAM (DRAM)) may be used with the embodiments discussed.

[0109] The embodiments of this application are intended to cover all such substitutions, modifications, and variations that fall within the broad scope of the claims of this application. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the embodiments of this application should be included within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A workpiece connecting device, wherein, include: Base (1), Multiple clamping mechanisms (2) are arranged on both sides of the base (1) along a first direction; each clamping mechanism (2) includes a first moving mechanism (21) and a gripper (23) arranged on the first moving mechanism (21); the gripper (23) of each clamping mechanism (2) clamps a workpiece; The cladding mechanism (3) includes a second moving mechanism (31) and a laser (32) disposed on the second moving mechanism (31). The second moving mechanism (31) is disposed on the base (1) and located between multiple sets of clamping mechanisms (2). In this process, the workpiece (4) is moved to the preset welding station (A) via the first moving mechanism (21), and the laser (32) is moved to the surface of the workpiece to be welded via the second moving mechanism (31) to clad the connecting layer on the surface to be welded and to splice the connecting layers of two adjacent workpieces; the materials of each workpiece are different, and the material of the connecting layer of each workpiece is different from the material of the workpiece.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The gripper (23) includes a bracket (231) and two grippers (232). The two grippers (232) are disposed opposite to each other on the bracket (231). One end of the two grippers (232) is rotatably disposed in the bracket (231) via a pivot. An arc-shaped groove (233) is provided on the opposite side of the two grippers (232), and anti-slip teeth (234) are provided in the arc-shaped groove (233).

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The gripper (23) includes a bracket (231) and two grippers (232). The two grippers (232) are arranged opposite to each other on the bracket (231). One end of the two grippers (232) is arranged inside the bracket (231) through a translation structure. The two grippers (232) are arranged parallel to each other on opposite sides and are provided with anti-slip teeth (234).

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The thickness of the connecting layer is 0.1mm-2mm.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The workpiece includes a first workpiece (41) and a second workpiece (42), wherein the first workpiece (41) is made of titanium alloy and the second workpiece (42) is made of stainless steel.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, The connecting layer of the first workpiece (41) is a first connecting layer (411), and the material of the first connecting layer (411) is pure vanadium powder; The connecting layer of the second workpiece (42) is the second connecting layer (421), and the material of the second connecting layer (421) is pure copper powder.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein, The first workpiece (41) has a first connecting layer (411) as its connecting layer, and the second workpiece (42) includes a second connecting layer (421). The materials of the first connecting layer (411) and the second connecting layer (421) are both pure vanadium powder or pure copper powder.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, The workpiece shape includes tubular, plate-shaped, or angular.

9. A workpiece connection method, applicable to the workpiece connection device according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein, include: The surfaces of multiple workpieces to be welded are pretreated to obtain multiple workpieces, each made of a different material. The laser is used to laminate a corresponding connecting layer onto the welding surfaces of multiple workpieces, wherein the material of the connecting layer corresponding to each workpiece is different from the material of all workpieces; The laser is used to weld the connecting layers of two adjacent workpieces to obtain a welded workpiece.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, After obtaining the welded workpiece, the process also includes: The surface of the weld seam of the welded workpiece is pretreated and inspected to obtain the inspection results; If the test result is satisfactory, the welded workpiece is determined to meet the engineering requirements.

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