METHOD FOR MACHINING THE ENDS OF AT LEAST ONE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for processing the ends of at least one electrical conductor of any geometry, wherein the electrical conductors can be cables, in particular cables with several wires, as well as stranded wires such as pigtails or flat strands.

[0002] During the automatic or semi-automatic processing of electrical conductors with large cross-sections and different geometries, the device for processing the ends of the electrical conductors, such as a compacting device or a welding device, must be converted when changing from one geometry to another. This is both time-consuming and costly. The clamping devices for the electrical conductors provided in the processing devices must be replaced with corresponding clamping devices for different dimensions of the electrical conductors. This results in long setup times, during which the expensive devices for processing the free ends of the electrical conductors are idle.

[0003] Although some production data was already recorded during this automatic or semi-automatic processing of electrical conductors, assigning the respective data to the individual electrical conductors was extremely complex. Due to the lack of production data, it was also almost impossible to detect production defects during production. Such a process is known from document US 2013 / 283605 A1.

[0004] The invention is based on the object of developing the generic method in such a way that the long, costly set-up times are eliminated and, in further steps, simple error detection and tracking of the production data of each processed electrical conductor are easily possible.

[0005] This technical problem is solved by the method disclosed in independent claim 1.

[0006] The clamps arranged at the ends of the at least one electrical conductor allow the at least one electrical conductor to be easily gripped in the devices for processing the free ends of the at least one electrical conductor. Individual clamping devices for the different electrical conductors no longer need to be provided in the processing devices.

[0007] It is important that, after clamping, the terminals have external dimensions that are adapted to the receptacles for the terminals in the at least one device for processing the free ends of the at least one electrical conductor.

[0008] This allows the clamps or clamping fixtures to be adapted to the dimensions of the subsequent processing equipment during the clamping process. The internal dimensions of the clamping fixture are thus adapted to the respective electrical conductor to be processed, while the external dimensions of all clamps are adapted to the clamping space provided in the processing machines. The processing machines no longer require complex retooling, as clamping fixtures with the same dimensions are always processed.

[0009] It is advantageous that the at least one electrical conductor is bent into the planned later installation position when positioned in the nests, and that the at least one electrical conductor can also be stretched against its predetermined bend after it has been clamped, preferably can be aligned lengthwise for the following processing devices.

[0010] By clamping the bent electrical conductors, it is achieved that they can return to their bent shape after the stretching process has been completed, so that the electrical conductors, for example, which have a large cross-section, although they are essentially straight in the processing machine, return to their bent starting position after processing, whereby the bend corresponds to the later installation position, so that despite large cross-sections, no great bending forces have to be applied during the later installation of the electrical conductors.

[0011] The electrical conductors maintain their specified bending position particularly securely when the clamps are closed so firmly that, for example, several strands of the electrical conductor can no longer experience any relative movement to one another in the clamping area. In this case, not only is relative movement between the clamp and the electrical conductor excluded, but also relative movement between the individual strands of the electrical conductor.

[0012] Preferably, two electrical conductors with different lengths due to the bend can be positioned in nests adapted to the two electrical conductors and then clamped with terminals also adapted to the electrical conductors.

[0013] Positioning two or more electrical conductors in a processing device would be extremely difficult. According to the present method, the two or more electrical conductors with large cross-sections and any geometry are clamped before being inserted into the processing station, allowing for simple and reproducible insertion of the electrical conductors via the clamping device of the processing machine.

[0014] It's worth emulating that, following processing in one processing device or processing station, further processing stations can follow, where all the electrical conductors to be processed can be clamped and processed using the clamping device. For all processing stations arranged one after the other, such as compacting devices, cutting devices, welding devices, connecting devices, etc., the setup steps described above are not required.

[0015] Preferably, at least one of the terminals has an RFID chip, with the relevant material and production data being read into the chip during each processing step. This makes it easy to check whether the correct device and product assignment has been selected (Poka-Yoke). The history of the electrical conductors can also be tracked at any time.

[0016] If at least one of the nests has an RFID chip in which data such as the dimensions of the nests or their type designation is stored, a comparison can be made as to whether the nests used and the at least one electrical conductor match the production order, so that errors caused, for example, by an accidental incorrect pairing of the electrical conductors to the nests can be identified at an early stage (Poka Yoke).

[0017] It is advantageous if, in the last step, the release of the terminals, the data stored on the at least one RFID chip of the terminals is transferred in whole or in part as a code, e.g. as a barcode, to the at least one electrical conductor.

[0018] This means that even after the terminals on the electrical conductor have been removed, the entire production history or the most important data for individual, unique identification is stored.

[0019] It is also advantageous if, at the latest when transferring at least the most important identification or production data from the RFID chip of the terminals to the electrical conductors, data from the RFID chip is also transferred to an external computer, whereby the data transferred to the electrical conductor and to the external computer can be of different sizes.

[0020] At this point, any potential errors in the production process can be identified again. Furthermore, not only is the production history reflected on the electrical conductor, but it can also be easily determined by comparing the inputs to the computer, allowing for precise identification and location of electrical conductors. In this case, a unique identifier on the electrical conductor may be sufficient to gain access to all stored production data.

[0021] Depending on the type and shape of the electrical conductors to be processed, a special nest is provided for each component. The nests can be arranged on a base plate in such a way that the distance between the nests corresponds to the length of the electrical conductors to be processed. The nests can be arranged in a line or offset from an imaginary line on the plate so that the electrical conductors are bent, for example, when their ends are inserted into the nests. The operator must manually insert the electrical conductors into the corresponding nest on both sides. The ends of the electrical conductors, if they are insulated, are placed in the nest with their insulation against a mechanical stop, or in the case of stranded wires, with their ends against a stop. The stripping length is set for the subsequent processing.Two or more electrical conductors, with and / or without insulation, can also be inserted into the corresponding receptacle of the respective nest.

[0022] Depending on the cross-section, e.g., 2 x 50 mm² or 1 x 70 mm², a corresponding terminal is provided for each electrical conductor. The terminal's internal dimensions are smaller than the external dimensions of the cables or strands to be clamped, ensuring that the cables or strands remain firmly in the terminal after clamping. The external dimensions of the terminal are adapted to the mountings of the subsequent processing stations.

[0023] The operator must attach the appropriate terminals to the respective electrical conductors. This is done in the area of the nests, which have corresponding recesses for the terminals. The terminals are then pulled out of the nests and inserted, for example, into the welding machine.

[0024] In order to be able to trace and verify the allocation of products to individual devices and the individual manufacturing steps, the nests and terminals can contain RFID chips. At least on the RFID chips of the terminals, the essential or even all material data and processing steps can then be documented throughout the entire processing. This data can include information on the electrical conductors to be processed, the selection of nests and terminals, data of the operator who manually inserts the wires into the nests, the force with which the nests are closed, etc. If inconsistencies are discovered between the electrical conductor to be processed and the nest and / or terminals used, errors can be identified at an early stage.

[0025] In the welding machine, the electrical conductors are held by the clamps, and then the free ends of the electrical conductors are welded, compacted, or similarly processed. Since space constraints generally only allow for straight-line cables or stranded wires to be processed in the processing stations, the previously bent electrical conductors are also essentially aligned in a row. If several electrical conductors are held by the clamps, for example, the shortest electrical conductor can lie fairly straight in the processing station, while the longer electrical conductors have a bend in the processing station. However, it is essential that the clamps are positioned in a row to save as much space as possible.

[0026] After a processing step, e.g., welding in a station, the electrical conductors can be transferred from the welding device to a cutting device via the clamps. The electrical conductors are then repeatedly secured via the corresponding clamps in the respective processing stations and then processed at their ends. Other or additional processing steps, as well as alternative sequences of processing steps, are possible.

[0027] For easy handling, the terminals can also have handles that the operator or mechanical grippers can use to better transport the electrical conductors.

[0028] In all processing steps, in addition to the material data, the respective production data of the machines, such as the welding current, the welding time or the cutting force, etc., can be stored on the RFID chip of the terminals.

[0029] Writing data to the RFID consumes cycle time in the machine. Therefore, it is advisable to limit the volume of data to be written. It is advantageous to store the extensive data in a central database, while the RFID only stores basic data indicating which processing step was performed correctly or incorrectly. To reference the centrally stored, additional data, a unique identifier for each electrical conductor is required, which must therefore be stored in the RFID and the database.

[0030] After the electrical conductors are completed, they are removed from the last processing machine via the terminals and unclamped in a unclamping device. This allows all, or at least the most important, identification or production data stored on the terminals' RFID chips to be applied to the electrical conductors in the form of a code. This allows the code on the electrical conductors to be read at a later date to precisely determine which production steps were completed and which production parameters were used.

[0031] The invention is explained in more detail with reference to a drawing. It shows: Figure 1 a base plate with nests arranged at an angle to each other, Figure 2 two electrical conductors with a large cross-section inserted into the nests, Figure 3 two terminals for the two electrical conductors, Figure 4 the terminals attached around the electrical conductors in the respective nests, Figure 5 aligned electrical conductors, Figure 6 the schematic representation of a welding device for processing the electrical conductors.

[0032] Figures 1 and 2 show a base plate 1 on which two nests 2, 2' are arranged. In this case, the nests 2, 2' are arranged at an angle of 90° to each other. The nests 2, 2' each have two receiving grooves 3 in which the electrical conductors 4, 4' can be accommodated ( Fig. 2). Furthermore, each nest 2, 2' has stops 5, 5', against which the insulation 6, 6' of the electrical conductors 4, 4', here cables, can be pushed. The strand 7, 7' of the electrical conductors 4, 4' protrudes over the stops 5, 5'. Between the receiving grooves 3, 3' and the stops 5, 5', recesses 8, 8' are provided, which are later used to accommodate Figure 3 terminals 9, 9' shown. Figure 2 shows the base plate 1 with the nests 2, 2', into which the electrical conductors 4, 4' are inserted. The insulation 6, 6' abuts the stops 5, 5'. The stranded wire 7, 7' protrudes beyond the stops 5, 5'.

[0033] Figure 3 shows two terminals 9, 9', which are used to hold and clamp the two electrical conductors 4, 4' according to Figure 2 are provided.

[0034] In Figure 4The base plate 1 with the nests 2, 2' and the electrical conductors 4, 4' accommodated therein can be seen. Furthermore, in the recesses 8, 8' between the receiving grooves 3, 3' and the stops 5, 5' ( Fig. 1 ) Terminals 9, 9' inserted and clamped.

[0035] Figure 5 shows the electrical conductors 4, 4' with the clamped terminals 9, 9' that have been removed from the nests 2. The electrical conductor 4 is already stretched relative to its original bend, while the electrical conductor 4' is shown partially stretched. After this stretching of at least the shorter electrical conductor 4, the terminals 9, 9' are in a line and can thus be installed, for example, in the welding device.

[0036] Figure 6shows, for example, a welding device 10 which can accommodate four corresponding electrical conductor strands via their terminals 9, 9' in a turning station 11. It can be seen that the electrical conductors 4 are fed into the turning station 11 in an input station 12 and can be removed in a removal station 13 after both sides of the cables have been welded.

[0037] By rotating the rotating station 11, the electrical conductor is transferred from the input station 12 to a first welding station 14, where the first cable end is welded. The cable previously located in the welding station 14 is transported by the rotating process to the welding station 14', where the respective second cable end is welded.

[0038] By further rotating by 90°, the first cable end of a third cable is then welded in the welding station 14. At the same time, the second end of the second cable is welded in the welding station 14', and the first cable, which has meanwhile reached the removal station 13, is removed from the welding device 10 and transferred to a unclamping station 15.

[0039] In the unclamping station 15, the production data recorded on the RFID chips (not shown) of the terminals 9, 9' are converted into a code, e.g., a barcode, and printed on the electrical conductors 4. Rejected parts can be identified, sorted out, and, if necessary, destroyed during this process at the latest. Reference symbols overview

[0040] 1Base plate 2Nests 3Holding groove 4Electrical conductors 5Stops 6Insulation 7Wire 8Recesses 9Clamps 10Welding device 11Rotating station 12Input station 13Removal station 14Welding stations 15Unclamping station

Claims

1. A method for the processing of the ends of at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') of any geometry, with the following steps, a) Positioning of the end regions of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') in modules (2, 2') matched to the outer dimensions of the electrical conductor (4, 4'), wherein the modules (2, 2') can be arranged on a base plate in line, or also offset from an imaginary line, such that the electrical conductor, when it is inserted with its end regions into a receiving groove (3, 3') of the modules (2, 2'), is, for example, curved; wherein any insulation of the electrical conductor that may be present, when the latter is inserted with its end regions into the receiving grooves (3, 3') of the modules, abuts against a stop (5, 5'), and wherein the strands (7, 7') of the electrical conductor protrude beyond the stop; b) Attachment of a clamp (9, 9') in each case, with internal dimensions matched to the external dimensions of the electrical conductor (4, 4'), and less than the external dimensions, to the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') in the region of the modules (2, 2'), in a recess (8, 8') between the receiving element (3, 3') and the stop (5, 5'), and respective clamping of the two end regions of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4'), with a force such that no relative movements occur between the electrical conductor (4, 4') and the clamps (9, 9') in the further processing, wherein the clamps (9, 9') are set up in such a way that the ends of the at least one electrical conductor to be processed protrude beyond the clamps (9, 9'), c) Removal of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') from the modules (2, 2') by way of the clamps (9, 9'), d) Introduction of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') by way of the clamps (9, 9') into at least one device for the processing of the free ends of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4'), e) Processing of the ends of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') that protrude beyond the clamps (9, 9'), f) Removal of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') from the at least one device for the processing of the ends of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4'), and release and removal of the clamps (9, 9') from the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4').

2. The method in accordance with Claim 1, characterised in that, after clamping has taken place in accordance with step b), the clamps (9, 9') have external dimensions that are matched to receptacles for the clamps (9, 9') in the at least one device for the processing of the free ends of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4').

3. The method in accordance with Claim 1 or 2, characterised in that, in the course of positioning in accordance with step a), the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') is curved in the planned subsequent installation position, and in that, in step d), the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') is also stretched against its curvature as prescribed by the clamping in accordance with step b), and is preferably aligned longitudinally for the processing device.

4. The method in accordance with one of the Claims 1 to 3, characterised in that, the clamping in accordance with step b) is carried out on electrical conductors (4, 4') with at least two cores, in such a way that the at least two cores of the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') can no longer undergo any relative movements with respect to one another in the clamping regions.

5. The method in accordance with one of the Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that, two electrical conductors (4, 4'), with different lengths as a result of the curvature, are positioned in modules (2, 2') matched to the two electrical conductors (4, 4'), and are then clamped with clamps (9, 9') that are also matched to the two electrical conductors (4, 4') .

6. The method in accordance with one of the Claims 1 to 5, characterised in that, following step e), the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4') is removed from the processing station, and transferred into at least one further processing station, wherein the processing stations take the form of compacting devices, and / or cutting devices, and / or welding devices, and / or connecting devices for the connection of terminations, and in that, step f) only takes place thereafter.

7. The method in accordance with one of the Claims 1 to 6, characterised in that, at least one of the clamps (9, 9') has an RFID chip, and in that, the respective material and production data are read onto the chip in the course of each step of the processing.

8. The method in accordance with Claim 7, characterised in that, at least one of the modules (2, 2') has an RFID chip, on which data, such as dimensions of the modules (2, 2'), are stored, and in that, a comparison is made as to whether the modules (2, 2') used, and the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4'), match the production order.

9. The method in accordance with Claim 7 or 8, characterised in that, when the clamps (9, 9') are released in accordance with step f), the data stored on the at least one RFID chip of the clamps (9, 9') are transmitted as a code to the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4').

10. The method in accordance with one of the Claims 7 to 9, characterised in that, at the latest in the course of transmission of the production data from the RFID chip of the clamps (9, 9') to the at least one electrical conductor (4, 4'), the said data are also transmitted to an external computer, and in that, all material and production data, after storage on one of the RFID chips, are also preferably transmitted to the external computer.