Intelligent laser cutting system for sleeper reinforcing steel bars

Abstract

The utility model discloses a sleeper reinforcing steel bar intelligent laser cutting system which comprises an industrial robot, an outer cover is fixed at the execution tail end of the industrial robot, and a laser cutting gun used for cutting off reinforcing steel bars connected between two adjacent sleepers in semi-finished sleeper products is installed in the outer cover. A laser cutting gun is arranged on the outer cover, a cutting head of the laser cutting gun extends out of the outer cover, a connecting piece is fixed outside the outer cover, a 3D line laser contour camera used for sensing the position of a gap between two adjacent sleeper semi-finished products is installed on the connecting piece, and a robot controller is installed on the industrial robot. The robot controller is used for controlling operation of the industrial robot, the robot controller, the laser cutting gun and the 3D line laser contour camera are connected with a PLC, and the PLC is connected with an industrial personal computer. The sleeper cutting machine is low in noise, free of pollution and high in cutting efficiency, and the sleeper quality is guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a steel bar cutting device, and more particularly to an intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper steel bars. Background Technology

[0002] Railway sleepers, also known as concrete sleepers, are concrete products widely used in railways. They are composed of concrete mixture and reinforcing steel bars. During production, the concrete mixture is poured into a mold containing reinforcing steel bars and other components to create a semi-finished sleeper. Typically, the semi-finished sleeper consists of two rows, each with 4-5 sleepers arranged side-by-side. A gap is left between the ends of adjacent sleepers, and they are connected by multiple reinforcing steel bars. Therefore, after the semi-finished sleeper is removed from the mold, the reinforcing steel bars (high-strength threaded steel bars) between adjacent sleepers need to be cut for further cutting, grinding, and leveling to obtain the final finished sleeper. Currently, most manufacturers still use saw blades or cutters to cut the reinforcing steel bars between sleepers. These cutting methods have the following disadvantages: First, they generate significant noise and dust pollution, and the high-temperature cutting process can easily damage the end structure of the sleeper connected to the reinforcing steel bars, affecting the quality and service life of the sleeper. Second, manual operation of the saw blade or cutter is required to align the gap, resulting in low cutting efficiency and poor cutting quality. Utility Model Content

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide an intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper rebar, which has low noise, no pollution, high cutting efficiency, and ensures the quality of railway sleepers.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0005] A smart laser cutting system for railway sleeper rebar includes an industrial robot. The end effector of the industrial robot is fixed with an outer casing. Inside the casing is a laser cutting gun for cutting the rebar connecting two adjacent sleepers in a semi-finished railway sleeper product. The cutting head of the laser cutting gun extends from the outer casing. A connector is fixed outside the outer casing. A 3D line laser profile camera for sensing the gap between two adjacent sleepers in the semi-finished railway sleeper product is mounted on the connector. A robot controller is mounted on the industrial robot to control its operation. The robot controller, the laser cutting gun, and the 3D line laser profile camera are connected to a PLC controller, which is connected to an industrial computer.

[0006] The advantages of this utility model are:

[0007] This invention uses laser cutting, which is low in noise and produces no dust pollution. The cutting process does not generate high temperatures, is unaffected by ambient light, and will not damage the end structure of the sleeper, ensuring the quality of the sleeper. Moreover, the cutting process is automated, with high cutting efficiency, making it suitable for widespread application. Attached Figure Description

[0008] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the components of the intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper reinforcement of this utility model.

[0009] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of an industrial robot equipped with a laser cutting gun and a 3D line laser contour camera (pipes, optical cables, and wires are not shown).

[0010] Figure 3 This is a partial schematic diagram of a semi-finished railway sleeper. Detailed Implementation

[0011] like Figures 1 to 3 This utility model proposes an intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper rebar, including an industrial robot 10. The execution end of the industrial robot 10 is fixed with an outer cover 70. A laser cutting gun 20 for cutting the rebar 82 connecting two adjacent sleepers 81 in the semi-finished railway sleeper 80 is installed inside the outer cover 70. The cutting head 21 of the laser cutting gun 20 extends downward from the outer cover 70. A connector 40 is fixed outside the outer cover 70. A 3D line laser profile camera 30 for sensing the gap position between two adjacent sleepers 81 in the semi-finished railway sleeper 80 is installed on the connector 40. A robot controller 11 is installed on the industrial robot 10. The robot controller 11 is used to control the operation of the industrial robot 10. The robot controller 11, the laser cutting gun 20 and the 3D line laser profile camera 30 are connected to a PLC controller 60. The PLC controller 60 is connected to an industrial computer 50.

[0012] In this utility model, the industrial control computer 50 is the host computer. The industrial control computer 50, the robot controller 11 and the PLC controller 60 communicate via Ethernet. The industrial control computer 50 controls the industrial robot 10, the 3D line laser contour camera 30 and the laser cutting gun 20 through the PLC controller 60. The robot controller 11 is used to control the movement of each actuator arm of the industrial robot 10.

[0013] In the actual design, the industrial robot 10 is a six-axis robot that already exists in this field.

[0014] The 3D line laser profiler 30 is, for example, an HSD 2240 3D line laser profiler. The 3D line laser profiler selected in this invention has high detection accuracy and stable detection, and is particularly insensitive to changes in illumination, so its detection accuracy is not affected by ambient lighting conditions.

[0015] Currently, most manufacturers use 3D vision cameras, whose detection accuracy is often affected by changes in ambient lighting. 3D vision cameras employ surface scanning to acquire 3D point clouds, extracting 3D features of the workpiece to locate the rebar positions, requiring individual cutting of each rebar within the gap. However, the 3D line laser contour camera 30 selected in this invention uses 3D line laser scanning of the sleeper end to sense the end contour, locating the rebar positions. It performs a one-time cutting of all rebars within the gap, resulting in high efficiency, unaffected by ambient lighting, and guaranteed accuracy.

[0016] In the actual design, the laser cutting gun 20 is a continuous laser cutter. The cutting head 21 of the laser cutting gun 20 is designed as a straight cutting head. The cutting head 21 is a detachable cutting head. The maximum outer diameter of the cross-section of the cutting head 21 is smaller than the gap width d between the ends of two adjacent sleepers 81 in the semi-finished sleeper 80 (the gap width d is generally 7.5cm). The length of the cutting head 21 is greater than the height of the sleeper 81 in the semi-finished sleeper 80, so that the cutting head 21 can cut all the steel bars in the gap at once.

[0017] like Figure 2 The connector 40 includes two connected connecting plates. One connecting plate is fixed to the bottom of the outer cover 70, and the other connecting plate is inclined relative to the outer cover 70 and is equipped with a 3D line laser contour camera 30. The extension line of the sensing end of the 3D line laser contour camera 30 does not intersect with the cutting head 21 to prevent the contour sensing and laser cutting from interfering with each other.

[0018] In the actual design, the outer casing 70 is designed as a rectangular shape, mainly used to protect the laser cutting gun 20. For example... Figure 1An L-shaped bracket 74 is installed inside the outer casing 70. A spring clip 75 is mounted on the L-shaped bracket 74. The spring clip 75 is used to clamp the optical cable 24 extending from the laser cutting gun 20, with the optical cable 24 extending from the optical cable hole 701 at the top of the outer casing 70. An air pipe 23 extending from the air inlet connector 22 on the cutting head 21 of the laser cutting gun 20 enters the outer casing 70 through a hole (not shown) at the bottom of the outer casing 70 and extends out from the air pipe hole 702 at the top of the outer casing 70. The inlet and outlet pipe connectors on the laser cutting gun 20 are located inside the outer casing 70. The inlet and outlet pipe connectors are connected to the inlet pipe 25 and outlet pipe 26 respectively, and the inlet pipe 25 and outlet pipe 26 extend from the water pipe hole 703 at the top of the outer casing 70. A fixing clip 76 is provided on the side wall of the outer casing 70 for clamping the cable 31 extending from the 3D line laser contour camera 30. An observation window 71 is also provided on the side wall of the outer casing 70 for detecting the connection status of the laser cutting gun 20. This invention, through the structural design of the outer casing 70, increases the ease of operation of the industrial robot, avoids interference from pipes and cables, ensures that the cutting execution is not affected by pipes and cables, and guarantees sensing accuracy and cutting quality.

[0019] For semi-finished and finished railway sleepers, refer to Figure 3 To understand the process, during railway sleeper production, concrete mixture is poured into a mold containing reinforcing bars and other components to create semi-finished sleeper products 80. These semi-finished products typically consist of two rows, each with 4-5 sleepers 81 arranged side-by-side. A gap is left between the ends of adjacent sleepers 81, and the ends of adjacent sleepers 81 are connected by multiple reinforcing bars (high-strength threaded steel bars) 82. After the semi-finished sleeper products 80 are removed from the mold, the reinforcing bars 82 between the ends of adjacent sleepers 81 need to be cut. The cut areas then undergo further smoothing, grinding, and other treatments to obtain the finished railway sleeper. Figure 3 The diagram schematically illustrates the connection between two sleepers 81 in the semi-finished sleeper product 80. Figure 3 The diagram shows the length, width, and depth directions defined by the sleeper semi-finished product 80. The length and width directions are used to determine the horizontal position. The direction in which the length of the sleeper 81 is located is the length direction, and the gap is formed in the length direction. The direction in which the width of the sleeper 81 is located is the width direction, and the direction in which the height of the sleeper 81 is located is the depth direction, which is used to define the cutting depth.

[0020] The working process of this utility model is as follows:

[0021] In use, the operator first operates the industrial control computer 50, and then controls the industrial robot 10 through the PLC controller 60, thereby controlling the position of the laser cutting gun 20, so that the cutting head 21 of the laser cutting gun 20 is aligned with the gap between the ends of two adjacent sleepers 81 in the semi-finished sleeper 80 on the cutting station. At this time, the 3D line laser contour camera 30 senses the contour of the sleeper end at the gap position, and the sensing signal is fed back to the industrial control computer 50 through the PLC controller 60, thereby determining the cutting reference position, including the horizontal position and the cutting depth.

[0022] Then the cutting operation begins. The semi-finished sleeper 80 to be cut is placed on the cutting station. The industrial robot 10 is controlled by the PLC controller 60 to move the 3D line laser contour camera 30 to the gap position between the ends of two adjacent sleepers 81. The contour of the sleeper end (or end face) at the gap position is sensed. The sensing signal is fed back to the industrial computer 50 through the PLC controller 60, thereby determining the deviation between the cutting head 21 and the cutting reference position. The position of the cutting head 21 is then adjusted to align with the gap, and the cutting is carried out. All the steel bars 82 in the gap between the two adjacent sleepers 81 are cut off at once, completing the cutting operation.

[0023] In practical implementation, a conveyor can be set up at the cutting station, and the semi-finished sleeper 80 is placed on the conveyor for transport. A position sensor is installed on the conveyor corresponding to the position of the industrial robot 10. The position sensor is used to detect whether the semi-finished sleeper 80 to be cut has been transported to the position of the industrial robot 10. When the semi-finished sleeper 80 to be cut is transported by the conveyor to the position of the industrial robot 10, the position sensor detects this and stops the transport, waiting for the intelligent laser cutting system for sleeper rebar of this invention to perform end contour sensing and rebar cutting at the gap position of the semi-finished sleeper 80. In addition, the conveyor can be connected to the PLC controller 60 of the intelligent laser cutting system for sleeper rebar of this invention and controlled by the PLC controller 60 so that the intelligent laser cutting system for sleeper rebar of this invention will start running immediately when the position sensor detects that the semi-finished sleeper 80 has arrived.

[0024] In actual implementation, the cutting reference position is determined for each gap of the semi-finished sleeper 80. Then, when performing the cutting operation, the cutting head 21 is aligned with each gap between adjacent sleepers 81 to cut the steel bars according to the deviation between the cutting reference position determined for each gap.

[0025] In addition, since the semi-finished sleeper 80 is usually set up with two rows of sleepers 81 side by side, in order to improve production efficiency during actual production, the intelligent laser cutting system for sleeper steel bars of this utility model can be set on both sides of the semi-finished sleeper 80 to perform synchronous cutting operations on the steel bars 82 between the ends of adjacent sleepers 81 on each side of the semi-finished sleeper 80.

[0026] The advantages of this utility model are:

[0027] This invention uses laser cutting, which is low in noise and produces no dust pollution. The cutting process does not generate high temperatures, is unaffected by ambient light, and will not damage the end structure of the sleeper, ensuring the quality of the sleeper. Moreover, the cutting process is automated, with high cutting efficiency, making it suitable for widespread application.

[0028] The above describes the preferred embodiment of this utility model and the technical principles used therein. For those skilled in the art, any obvious changes such as equivalent transformations or simple substitutions based on the technical solution of this utility model without departing from the spirit and scope of this utility model shall fall within the protection scope of this utility model.

Claims

1. A smart laser cutting system for railway sleeper reinforcing bars, characterized in that, The system includes an industrial robot, the end effector of which is fixed with an outer cover. Inside the outer cover is a laser cutting gun for cutting the reinforcing bars connecting two adjacent sleepers in a semi-finished sleeper product. The cutting head of the laser cutting gun extends from the outer cover. A connector is fixed outside the outer cover, and a 3D line laser profile camera for sensing the gap position between two adjacent sleepers in the semi-finished sleeper product is mounted on the connector. A robot controller is mounted on the industrial robot for controlling its operation. The robot controller, the laser cutting gun, and the 3D line laser profile camera are connected to a PLC controller, which is connected to an industrial computer.

2. The intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper reinforcement as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The industrial computer, the robot controller, and the PLC controller communicate via Ethernet.

3. The intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper reinforcement as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The industrial robot is a six-axis robot; the cutting head of the laser cutting gun is a linear cutting head, wherein the cutting head is a detachable cutting head, the maximum outer diameter of the cutting head is smaller than the gap width between two adjacent sleepers in the semi-finished sleeper product, and the length of the cutting head is greater than the height of the sleeper in the semi-finished sleeper product.

4. The intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper reinforcing bars as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The connector includes two connected connecting plates. One connecting plate is fixed to the bottom of the outer cover, and the other connecting plate is inclined relative to the outer cover and is equipped with the 3D line laser contour camera. The extension line of the sensing end of the 3D line laser contour camera does not intersect with the cutting head to prevent the contour sensing and laser cutting from interfering with each other.

5. The intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper reinforcement as described in claim 4, characterized in that, An L-shaped bracket is installed inside the outer casing. A spring clip is mounted on the L-shaped bracket to hold the optical cable leading from the laser cutting gun, with the optical cable extending from the optical cable hole at the top of the outer casing. An air pipe leading from the air inlet connector on the cutting head of the laser cutting gun enters the outer casing through a hole at the bottom and extends from the air pipe hole at the top of the outer casing. The water inlet and outlet connectors on the laser cutting gun are located inside the outer casing, connected to the water inlet and outlet pipes respectively, and extending from the water pipe hole at the top of the outer casing. A fixing clip is provided on the side wall of the outer casing to hold the cable leading from the 3D line laser contour camera. An observation window is also provided on the side wall of the outer casing for detecting the connection status of the laser cutting gun.

6. The intelligent laser cutting system for railway sleeper reinforcement as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The semi-finished railway sleeper is placed on a conveyor for transport. The conveyor is equipped with a position sensor at a position corresponding to the industrial robot. The position sensor is used to detect whether the semi-finished railway sleeper to be cut has been transported to the position of the industrial robot. The conveyor is connected to the PLC controller.

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