Method and apparatus for manufacturing welded member

Abstract

To not only cool a molten pool but also blow off fumes by supplying a cooling material when joining metal materials by laser welding.SOLUTION: A method for manufacturing a welded member includes irradiating a joining portion of metal members with a laser beam and moving an irradiation region of the laser beam along the joining portion, and supplying a cooling material to a molten pool formed in the joining portion by being irradiated with the laser beam to cool the molten pool. The material to be cooled is supplied from the front side of the irradiation region in the advancing direction toward the molten pool located on the rear side of the irradiation region in the advancing direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method and an apparatus for manufacturing a welded component. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a laser welding method for joining two steel plates by laser welding, in which a cooling gas is sprayed onto a heated portion (in other words, a molten pool) including the vicinity of the laser irradiation point of the steel plate where the laser beam is irradiated during welding, to cool the heated portion. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-290950 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the laser welding method described in Patent Document 1, a cooling gas generator that generates cooling gas is placed on one or both sides of the steel plate, and the cooling gas is sprayed onto the heated part. As a result, the area around the laser irradiation point is covered with the cooling gas generator, which causes a problem in that it is difficult to blow away fumes, which are fine particles generated by laser welding.

[0005] Furthermore, when the cooling gas sprayed from the cooling gas generator hits the steel plate being welded, it flows around the laser irradiation point, and fumes also flow around the laser irradiation point along with the cooling gas, and may adhere to surrounding welding jigs, etc.

[0006] One aspect of the present disclosure aims to provide a method for joining two metal materials by laser welding, in which a cooling material such as a cooling gas is supplied to not only cool the molten pool but also blow away fumes generated by the laser welding. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure is a method for manufacturing a welded component, in which two metal components are joined by laser welding to form the welded component. The method for manufacturing a welded member of the present disclosure includes irradiating a joint portion of two metal members with a laser beam and moving the irradiation area of ​​the laser beam along the joint portion.

[0008] The method for manufacturing a welded member according to the present disclosure also includes supplying a cooling material to a molten pool formed in the joint by irradiating the laser beam, thereby cooling the molten pool. The cooling material is supplied from the front of the path of the irradiation area of ​​the laser beam moving along the joint toward the molten pool located behind the path of the irradiation area.

[0009] Therefore, the cooling material supplied to the molten pool is less likely to flow forward in the direction of the laser beam irradiation area, allowing the molten pool to be cooled efficiently. In addition, because the cooling material is supplied from the front of the irradiation area, fumes generated by the laser beam irradiation can be prevented from flowing forward or to the side of the irradiation area.

[0010] Therefore, it is possible to prevent fumes from hitting and adhering to welding jigs and the like that are arranged around the welding parts during welding. Here, the method for manufacturing a welded member according to the present disclosure may include injecting gas from ahead in the direction of travel toward an irradiation region of the joint portion irradiated with the laser beam.

[0011] In this way, by injecting gas from the front of the laser beam irradiation area, it is possible to blow away fumes generated by the laser beam irradiation, thereby preventing the quality and performance of laser welding from being reduced by fumes.

[0012] Furthermore, because the gas is injected from the front of the laser beam irradiation area in the direction of travel, the cooling material supplied toward the molten pool does not block the flow of gas. Therefore, the cooling material may enhance the above-mentioned effects of the gas, but does not impede them, thereby achieving better cooling of the molten pool and removal of fumes.

[0013] Next, when the outer wall surface of the welded part to be irradiated with the laser beam is horizontal, the cooling material may be supplied to the outer wall surface at an angle of 45 degrees or more in a side view of the outer wall surface, and the gas may be blown to the outer wall surface at an angle of 45 degrees or less in a side view.

[0014] By supplying the cooling material in this way, the flow of the cooling material is stronger in the thickness direction of the welded parts than in the horizontal direction along the outer wall surface of the welded parts, which increases the contact of the cooling material with the molten pool and improves the cooling effect of the cooling material on the molten pool.

[0015] Furthermore, by spraying gas as described above, the gas tends to flow horizontally along the outer wall surface of the welded parts rather than in the thickness direction of the welded parts, which makes it possible to efficiently remove fumes generated by the laser beam irradiation.

[0016] Next, when the outer wall surface of the welded part to be irradiated with the laser beam is viewed from above facing the outer wall surface, the supply angle of the cooling material and the injection angle of the gas may each be set to be within a range of 45 degrees with respect to the central axis along the movement direction of the irradiation area.

[0017] In this way, it is possible to prevent fumes blown away by the cooling material and gas from hitting and adhering to welding jigs and the like arranged around the welding parts. Next, the irradiation area of ​​the joint portion onto which the laser beam is irradiated may be set so as to fall within the gas injection area when the outer wall surface of the welded member onto which the laser beam is irradiated is viewed from above.

[0018] In this way, the fumes generated by the irradiation of the laser beam can be effectively removed by the gas, and the deterioration of the processing quality and processing performance of the laser welding can be more effectively prevented.

[0019] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a manufacturing apparatus for a welded component that forms a welded component by joining two metal components by laser welding. The manufacturing apparatus includes an irradiation unit and a cooling unit to realize the manufacturing method.

[0020] The irradiation unit is configured to irradiate the joint between the two metal members with a laser beam and move the laser beam irradiation area along the joint, while the cooling unit is configured to supply a cooling material to the molten pool formed at the joint by irradiating the laser beam, thereby cooling the molten pool.

[0021] In particular, the cooling unit is configured to supply cooling material from the front of the laser beam irradiation area in the direction of travel toward the molten pool located behind the irradiation area in the direction of travel. Therefore, according to the manufacturing device for welded components disclosed herein, it is possible to form welded components using the above-mentioned manufacturing method, and to obtain the same effects as those described above. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a general configuration of a welding device. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a welded member viewed from above an area irradiated with a laser beam. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. [Embodiment] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manufacturing apparatus 20 of this embodiment is an apparatus for forming a welded member 10 by joining two metal materials, a first metal plate 10A and a second metal plate 10B, by laser welding.

[0024] The first metal plate 10A and the second metal plate 10B are plate-shaped members made of metal. The first metal plate 10A and the second metal plate 10B are, for example, steel plates. A specific example of the steel plate is a zinc-plated steel plate.

[0025] 2, the first metal plate 10A and the second metal plate 10B have rectangular shapes when viewed from the outside, but this shape is appropriately set depending on the product shape of the welded member 10. The first metal plate 10A and the second metal plate 10B may be made of the same material or may have different thicknesses.

[0026] 2, the first metal plate 10A and the second metal plate 10B are positioned and fixed via clamps 12A and 12B, respectively. The clamps 12A and 12B position the metal plates 10A and 10B with the edges of the metal plates 10A and 10B, which form the joint portion 14, butting against each other.

[0027] Then, the manufacturing device 20 irradiates the joint 14 with a laser beam L and moves the irradiated area (hereinafter referred to as the laser irradiation point) P relatively along the joint 14 in one direction (hereinafter referred to as the welding direction) indicated by the arrow M in the figure. Therefore, the joint 14 of the welded members 10 is welded by well-known butt welding.

[0028] During this welding, the laser irradiation point P is moved along the joint 14, and the movement may be a linear movement along the joint 14, or may be moved two-dimensionally laterally to the welding direction M. In other words, weaving welding or wobbling welding, in which the irradiation area of ​​the laser beam L is alternately moved laterally to the welding direction M, may be used to weld the joint 14.

[0029] The welded member 10 thus produced is then subjected to processing such as press forming. When the first metal plate 10A and the second metal plate 10B have different thicknesses and / or materials, the welded member 10 is also called a tailored blank.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing apparatus 20 includes a processing head 22, a cooling nozzle 24, and an assist gas nozzle . The processing head 22 emits laser light generated by a laser oscillator via a lens or the like as a laser beam L for laser welding. The processing head 22 is disposed at a position facing the joining portion 14 of the member 10 to be welded such that the central axis of the laser beam L is perpendicular to the plate surface of the member 10 to be welded.

[0031] Additionally, the processing head 22, together with the cooling nozzle 24 and the assist gas nozzle 26, is moved relatively in the welding direction M by an actuator (not shown) provided in the manufacturing apparatus 20. As a result, the laser irradiation point P moves along the joint portion 14 of the welding member 10, and the metal plates 10A, 10B are melted and joined at the joint portion 14. Note that this processing head 22 corresponds to the irradiation unit of the present disclosure.

[0032] Next, the cooling nozzle 24 is for cooling the molten pool 16 of the welded member 10 that has been melted by irradiation with the laser beam L. Since the laser irradiation point P moves in the welding direction M along the joint portion 14 of the welding part 10, as viewed from the manufacturing device 20, the molten pool 16 moves from the laser irradiation point P to the opposite side of the welding direction M, that is, behind the path of the laser irradiation point P.

[0033] For this reason, the cooling nozzle 24 is positioned so as to radiate the cooling gas Gc as a cooling material from the front side in the path direction of the laser irradiation point P toward the rear side in the path direction. Therefore, the cooling gas Gc radiated from the cooling nozzle 24 can efficiently cool the molten pool 16 extending rearward in the path direction of the laser irradiation point P.

[0034] The cooling gas Gc may be, for example, air, but may also be a gas containing a cooling liquid. The cooling material may be a liquid or may be in the form of a mist. The cooling nozzle 24 corresponds to the cooling unit of the present disclosure.

[0035] Next, the assist gas nozzle 26 injects an assist gas Ga toward the laser irradiation point P. The assist gas Ga is used to blow away fumes generated by laser welding. For example, air is used as the assist gas Ga, but as the gas of the present disclosure, an inert gas (so-called shield gas) such as argon or helium may also be used. In this case, a shield gas nozzle may be used instead of the assist gas nozzle 26.

[0036] The assist gas nozzle 26 is positioned so as to inject the assist gas Ga from ahead in the direction of travel of the laser irradiation point P toward the laser irradiation point P. This injection direction is the same as the radiation direction of the cooling gas Gc from the cooling nozzle 24, so the flow of the assist gas Ga is not blocked by the cooling gas Gc.

[0037] Therefore, the fumes are blown away by the assist gas Ga and the cooling gas Gc backward in the direction of travel of the laser irradiation point P, which can more effectively prevent the fumes from deteriorating the processing quality and processing performance of the laser welding. In addition, adhesion of fumes to welding jigs such as the clamps 12A and 12B can also be prevented.

[0038] Here, the angle A1 of the central axis of the spray of the cooling gas Gc from the cooling nozzle 24 (hereinafter referred to as the spray angle) and the angle A2 of the central axis of the spray of the assist gas Ga from the assist gas nozzle 26 (hereinafter referred to as the spray angle) are set as follows: The spray angle A1 of the cooling gas Gc corresponds to the supply angle of the cooling material in the present disclosure.

[0039] That is, the cooling nozzle 24 and the assist gas nozzle 26 are also positioned on the outer wall surface of the welded component 10 that is irradiated with the laser beam L, that is, on the side of the surface of the welded component 10 that is located on the processing head 22 side. When the outer wall surface of the welded component 10 is horizontal and at an angle of 0 degrees, the cooling nozzle 24 is positioned so that the spray angle A1 of the cooling gas Gc with respect to the outer wall surface of the welded component 10 is 45 degrees or more in a side view of the outer wall surface of the welded component 10. Similarly, the assist gas nozzle 26 is positioned so that the spray angle A2 of the assist gas Ga with respect to the outer wall surface of the welded component 10 is 45 degrees or less in a side view.

[0040] As a result, the flow of the cooling gas Gc emitted from the cooling nozzle 24 is stronger in the thickness direction of the welded component 10 than in the horizontal direction along the outer wall surface of the welded component 10. This increases the impact of the cooling gas Gc on the molten pool 16, thereby improving the cooling effect of the cooling gas Gc on the molten pool 16.

[0041] In contrast, the assist gas Ga injected from the assist gas nozzle 26 is more likely to flow horizontally along the outer wall surface of the welded member 10 than in the thickness direction of the welded member 10. Therefore, the assist gas Ga can efficiently blow away the fumes generated by the irradiation of the laser beam L backward in the path direction of the laser irradiation point P.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 2, the assist gas nozzle 26 is positioned so that the spray angle A3 in a top view of the outer wall surface of the welded member 10 is within an angular range of 45 degrees to the left or right of the central axis (0 degrees) along the welding direction M, which is the direction of movement of the laser irradiation point P.

[0043] Although not shown in Figure 2, the spray angle of the cooling nozzle 24 when viewed from above is also arranged to be within an angle range of 45 degrees left and right with respect to the central axis along the welding direction M (in other words, the axis along the joint portion 14), as described above.

[0044] As a result, the assist gas Ga or cooling gas Gc can better prevent fumes from flowing to the side of the welding member 10 away from the joint portion 14 and adhering to welding jigs such as clamps 12A, 12B located on the side of the welding member 10.

[0045] The processing head 22 is set so that the size of the area irradiated by the laser beam L on the outer wall surface of the welded member 10, in other words, the size of the laser irradiation point P, falls within the injection area of ​​the assist gas Ga. In other words, the irradiation area of ​​the laser beam L irradiated onto the welded member 10 is smaller than the diameter D1 of the injection port of the assist gas nozzle 26 that injects the assist gas Ga.

[0046] Therefore, the fumes generated by the irradiation of the laser beam L can be removed more effectively by the assist gas Ga, and the processing quality and processing performance of the laser welding can be improved.

[0047] Here, in order to cool the molten pool 16 more quickly, it is preferable to set the temperature of the cooling gas Gc blown out from the cooling nozzle 24 lower than the temperature of the assist gas Ga injected from the assist gas nozzle 26.

[0048] However, since the temperatures of the laser irradiation point P and the molten pool 16 are significantly higher than room temperature, the molten pool 16 can be cooled even if the temperature of the cooling gas Gc is the same as that of the assist gas Ga.

[0049] On the other hand, the flow velocities of the cooling gas Gc and the assist gas Ga should preferably be set so that the cooling gas Gc is faster than the assist gas Ga. In other words, if the flow velocity of the cooling gas Gc is increased, the cooling gas Gc can more easily reach the molten pool 16 on the outer wall surface of the welded workpiece 10, thereby improving the cooling effect.

[0050] For this purpose, if the gas pressures of the assist gas Ga and the cooling gas Gc are the same, the nozzle diameter of the cooling nozzle 24 should be smaller than the nozzle diameter of the assist gas nozzle 26.

[0051] Furthermore, if the cooling nozzle 24 and the assist gas nozzle 26 have the same nozzle diameter, the gas pressures may be adjusted so that the gas pressure of the cooling gas Gc is higher than the gas pressure of the assist gas Ga.

[0052] [Other embodiments] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can take on various forms.

[0053] In the manufacturing apparatus 20 of the above embodiment, the laser beam L is irradiated from the processing head 22, the cooling gas Gc as a cooling material is emitted from the cooling nozzle 24, and the assist gas Ga is sprayed from the assist gas nozzle 26.

[0054] However, it is not necessary to spray the assist gas Ga from the assist gas nozzle 26, and when laser welding the welding parts 10 with the laser beam L, it is sufficient to simply spray the cooling gas Gc from the cooling nozzle 24 onto the molten pool 16.

[0055] In other words, the cooling nozzle 24 sprays the cooling gas Gc from the front of the laser irradiation point P in the direction of travel toward the molten pool 16 behind the direction of travel, so that fumes generated by laser welding are blown away by the cooling gas Gc behind the laser irradiation point in the direction of travel. Therefore, the intended object of the present disclosure can be achieved simply by spraying the cooling gas Gc from the cooling nozzle 24 toward the molten pool 16 during laser welding.

[0056] The cooling nozzle 24 does not have to pass over the laser irradiation point P in top view, and may be configured to spray toward the molten pool 16 from ahead of the laser irradiation point P in the traveling direction. Next, in the above embodiment, the nozzle diameters of the cooling nozzle 24 and the assist gas nozzle 26 have been described, but the shapes of the outlets of the cooling nozzle 24 and the assist gas nozzle 26 do not necessarily have to be circular and may be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the cooling nozzle 24 and the assist gas nozzle 26 may have different shapes of the outlets or the overall nozzle shape.

[0057] 1, the position of the tip of the cooling nozzle 24 is closer to the laser irradiation point P in the axial direction along the welding direction M than the position of the tip of the assist gas nozzle 26. However, the tip positions of the cooling nozzle 24 and the assist gas nozzle 26 may be the same, or may be reversed.

[0058] In the above embodiment, the processing head 22, the cooling nozzle 24, and the assist gas nozzle 26 are described as being moved in the welding direction M along the welded portion of the welded member 10 by an actuator provided in the manufacturing apparatus 20.

[0059] This actuator may be implemented, for example, by using a robot, and by attaching a welding tool including a processing head 22, a cooling nozzle 24, and an assist gas nozzle 26 to a robot arm, the robot arm may move each of these parts.

[0060] In contrast, the manufacturing apparatus 20 equipped with the processing head 22, the cooling nozzle 24, and the assist gas nozzle 26 may be fixed, and the welding member 10 positioned by the clamps 12A and 12B may be moved relative to the processing head 22.

[0061] Furthermore, the functions of one component in the above embodiments may be distributed among multiple components, or the functions of multiple components may be integrated into one component. Also, part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be omitted. Furthermore, at least part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another of the above embodiments.

[0062] [Technical idea disclosed in this specification] [Item 1] A method for manufacturing a welded member, in which two metal members are joined by laser welding to form a welded member, irradiating a laser beam onto a joint portion of the two metal members and moving an irradiation area of ​​the laser beam along the joint portion; supplying a cooling material to a molten pool formed at the joining portion by irradiating the laser beam, thereby cooling the molten pool; Equipped with A method for manufacturing welded components, in which the cooling material is supplied from in front of the path of the irradiation area of ​​the laser beam moving along the joint toward the molten pool located behind the path of the irradiation area.

[0063] [Item 2] A method for manufacturing a welded component according to item 1, Injecting gas toward the irradiation area of ​​the joint irradiated with the laser beam from a direction ahead of the irradiation area in the traveling direction; A method for manufacturing a welded member, comprising:

[0064] [Item 3] A method for manufacturing a welded component according to item 2, When the outer wall surface of the welded member to be irradiated with the laser beam is horizontal, The cooling material is supplied to the outer wall surface at an angle of 45 degrees or more in a side view of the outer wall surface, The gas is sprayed onto the outer wall surface at an angle of 45 degrees or less when viewed from the side.

[0065] [Item 4] A method for producing a welded member according to item 2 or 3, a supply angle of the cooling material and an injection angle of the gas are each set to be within a range of 45 degrees with respect to a central axis along the movement direction of the irradiation area when the outer wall surface of the welded part onto which the laser beam is irradiated is viewed from above facing the outer wall surface.

[0066] [Item 5] A method for producing a welded member according to any one of items 2 to 4, a method for manufacturing a welded member, wherein the irradiation area of ​​the joint where the laser beam is irradiated is set so as to fall within the gas injection area when the outer wall surface of the welded member where the laser beam is irradiated is viewed from above facing the outer wall surface.

[0067] [Item 6] A welded component manufacturing apparatus that joins two metal components by laser welding to form a welded component, an irradiation unit configured to irradiate a laser beam onto the joint portion of the two metal members and move an irradiation area of ​​the laser beam along the joint portion; a cooling unit configured to supply a cooling material to a molten pool formed at the joining portion by irradiating the laser beam, thereby cooling the molten pool; Equipped with The cooling section is configured to supply the cooling material from the front of the path of the irradiation area moving along the joint toward the molten pool located behind the path of the irradiation area. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 10...welding material, 10A...first metal plate, 10B...second metal plate, 14...joint portion, 16...molten pool, 20...manufacturing device, 22...processing head, Gc...cooling gas, L...laser beam, P...laser irradiation point.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a welded member, in which two metal members are joined by laser welding to form a welded member, comprising: irradiating a laser beam onto a joint portion of the two metal members and moving an irradiation area of ​​the laser beam along the joint portion; supplying a cooling material to a molten pool formed at the joining portion by irradiating the laser beam, thereby cooling the molten pool; Equipped with A method for manufacturing welded components, in which the cooling material is supplied from in front of the path of the irradiation area of ​​the laser beam moving along the joint toward the molten pool located behind the path of the irradiation area.

2. 2. The method for manufacturing a welded member according to claim 1, Injecting gas toward the irradiation area of ​​the joint irradiated with the laser beam from a direction ahead of the irradiation area in the traveling direction; A method for manufacturing a welded member, comprising:

3. The method for manufacturing a welded member according to claim 2, When the outer wall surface of the welded member to be irradiated with the laser beam is horizontal, The cooling material is supplied to the outer wall surface at an angle of 45 degrees or more in a side view of the outer wall surface, The gas is sprayed onto the outer wall surface at an angle of 45 degrees or less when viewed from the side.

4. The method for manufacturing a welded member according to claim 2, a supply angle of the cooling material and an injection angle of the gas are each set to be within a range of 45 degrees with respect to a central axis along a moving direction of the irradiation area when the outer wall surface of the welded part onto which the laser beam is irradiated is viewed from above facing the outer wall surface.

5. A method for manufacturing a welded member according to any one of claims 2 to 4, a method for manufacturing a welded member, wherein the irradiation area of ​​the joint where the laser beam is irradiated is set so as to fall within the gas injection area when the outer wall surface of the welded member where the laser beam is irradiated is viewed from above facing the outer wall surface.

6. 1. A welded member manufacturing apparatus that forms a welded member by joining two metal members by laser welding, comprising: an irradiation unit configured to irradiate a laser beam onto the joint portion of the two metal members and move an irradiation area of ​​the laser beam along the joint portion; a cooling unit configured to supply a cooling material to a molten pool formed at the joining portion by irradiating the laser beam, thereby cooling the molten pool; Equipped with The cooling section is configured to supply the cooling material from the front of the path of the irradiation area moving along the joint toward the molten pool located behind the path of the irradiation area.

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