Workpiece joining method and workpiece assembly

Abstract

In this workpiece joining method: the position (P) of the outline of a first workpiece (W1), which is to be cut out from a plate-shaped material (W), is arranged on a surface of the material (W); cut-off protrusions (S) are formed within the arranged position (P) of the outline of the first workpiece (W1); the first workpiece (W1) is cut out by cutting at the position (P) of the outline of the first workpiece (W1); a surface of a plate-shaped second workpiece (W2) is brought into contact with the cut-off protrusions (S) of the first workpiece (W1) that has been cut out to cause an end surface of the second workpiece (W2) to abut against a surface of the first workpiece (W1) and the portion in which the second workpiece (W2) is butted against the first workpiece (W1) is welded.

Description

Workpiece joining method and joined workpiece

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for joining workpieces and a joined workpiece.

[0002] Conventionally, metal plates have been butted together and joined by laser welding, and Patent Document 1 describes a laser welding method for joining workpieces by laser welding. In the laser welding method described in Patent Document 1, one workpiece is positioned using a jig so that the end face of the other workpiece is butted against the surface of the other workpiece and perpendicular to the surface, and a laser beam is irradiated onto the butted portion to weld.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-187665

[0004] However, in the conventional laser welding method described above, a jig is used for positioning, so it is necessary to prepare a jig according to the shape of the workpiece, which poses the problem of jig costs and time required to set up the jig.

[0005] A first aspect of one or more embodiments is a method for joining workpieces, which includes allocating the position of the outline of a first workpiece to be cut out from a plate-shaped material on the surface of the material, forming a cut-out protrusion inside the allocated position of the outline of the first workpiece, cutting the first workpiece at the position of the outline of the first workpiece to cut out the first workpiece, abutting the surface of a plate-shaped second workpiece against the cut-out protrusion of the first workpiece to butt an end face of the second workpiece against the surface of the first workpiece, and welding the portion of the second workpiece that is butted against the first workpiece to join them.

[0006] A second aspect of one or more embodiments is a workpiece assembly formed from a plate-shaped first workpiece having a cut-and-raised protrusion formed on its surface and a plate-shaped second workpiece welded and joined to the first workpiece, in which the surface of the second workpiece abuts against the cut-and-raised protrusion, the end face of the second workpiece is butted against the surface of the first workpiece, and the butted portion is welded to join them.

[0007] According to the work joining method and the joined workpiece of one or more embodiments, positioning can be performed without using a jig, thereby reducing the cost of the jig and the time required to set up the jig.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing steps of a workpiece joining method according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a top view showing a first workpiece allocated to a material by the workpiece joining method according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a view showing a cut-and-raised protrusion formed on the first workpiece by the workpiece joining method according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a method of butting a second workpiece against a first workpiece by the workpiece joining method according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a method of butting a second workpiece against a first workpiece by the workpiece joining method according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of a joined workpiece manufactured by the workpiece joining method according to an embodiment.

[0009] [Workpiece Joining Method] The workpiece joining method according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the steps of the workpiece joining method according to this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in step S1, the position of the outline of a first workpiece to be cut out from a plate-shaped material is allocated to the surface of the material. A laser processing machine, a bending processing machine, or a punch laser combined machine equipped with both laser processing and bending functions is provided with a control device such as an NC (Numerical Control) device. Based on a processing program, this control device allocates the position P of the outline of a first workpiece W1 to be cut out from the material W to the surface of the plate-shaped material W, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0010] In step S2, a cut-and-raised protrusion S is formed inside the position P of the outer shape of the allocated first workpiece W1. The cut-and-raised protrusion S is a protrusion formed by providing a cut-and-raised blade at the tip of a punch and cutting and raising the surface of the material W. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3 , the cut-and-raised protrusion S includes a recess 31 recessed from the surface of the material W and a protrusion 32 protruding from the surface of the material W.

[0011] The size of the cut-and-raised protrusions S can be set according to the thickness of the material W. When the thickness is thick, the size can be increased because the cut-and-raised protrusions can be cut deeply into the surface of the material W. On the other hand, when the thickness of the material W is thin, the cut-and-raised protrusions can only be cut shallowly because a deep cut would penetrate to the back surface, and the size of the cut-and-raised protrusions S must be reduced.

[0012] For example, in the case of Figure 3 where the thickness of the material W is 1.0 mm, the width of the cut-and-raised protrusion S is set to approximately 1.5 mm, and the height of the protrusion 32 is set to approximately 0.5 mm. However, in order to use the cut-and-raised protrusion S for positioning, the height of the protrusion 32 needs to be 0.3 mm or more. Such a change in the size of the cut-and-raised protrusion S can be achieved by changing the cut-and-raised blade or the lower end.

[0013] When the material W is set in the bending machine or punch laser combined machine, the control device forms the cut-and-raised protrusion S inside the position P of the outer shape of the first workpiece W1, as shown in Fig. 2. At this time, the cut-and-raised protrusion S is formed at a position a predetermined distance L away from the position P of the outer shape of the first workpiece W1. This predetermined distance L is the distance from the position P of the outer shape to the protrusion 32, that is, the distance between the boundary line 33 between the recess 31 and the protrusion 32 and the position P of the outer shape. The predetermined distance L is a value set according to the thickness of the second workpiece to be joined to the first workpiece W1, and will be described in detail below.

[0014] 2, the cut-and-raised protrusion S has a recess 31 formed facing the position P of the outline, and the boundary line 33 is formed parallel to the line segment indicating the position P of the outline. In other words, the cut-and-raised protrusion S is cut and raised perpendicular to the line segment indicating the position P of the outline.

[0015] It is preferable to form at least two cut-and-raised protrusions S on one side that forms the outer shape of the first workpiece W1. Since the cut-and-raised protrusions S are used to position a plate-shaped workpiece as described below, forming two cut-and-raised protrusions S on one side allows the plate-shaped workpiece to be accurately butted against one side.

[0016] The two cut-and-raised protrusions S formed on one side are preferably positioned near both ends of the side, but they must be positioned so as not to be too close to the cut-and-raised protrusions S formed on the adjacent side. Also, if the side is long, an additional cut-and-raised protrusion S may be formed in the center of the side. Conversely, if the side is short, only one cut-and-raised protrusion S may be formed on one side.

[0017] In step S3, the first workpiece W1 is cut at a position P on the outer edge of the first workpiece W1. When the material W is set in the laser processing machine or punch laser combined machine, the control device irradiates a laser beam at the position P on the outer edge shown in Fig. 2 to cut the first workpiece W1 from the material W. However, the first workpiece W1 does not have to be cut by laser cutting, and may be cut by punching or shearing.

[0018] In step S4, the surface of the plate-shaped second workpiece W1 is brought into contact with the cut-and-raised protrusions S of the cut-out first workpiece W1, and the end face of the second workpiece W2 is butted against the surface of the first workpiece W1. As shown in FIG. 4, the end face of the plate-shaped second workpiece W2 prepared in advance is butted against the surface of the first workpiece W1 so that the surface of the second workpiece W2 abuts against the cut-and-raised protrusions S formed on the first workpiece W1 and is positioned so that the end face is perpendicular to the surface of the first workpiece W1. This positioning may be performed by a control device operating a robot arm, or may be performed manually. After the butting, the workpieces may be temporarily fastened by spot welding.

[0019] Here, the predetermined distance L of the first workpiece W1 is set according to the plate thickness h of the second workpiece W2. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, if the predetermined distance L is half the plate thickness h of the second workpiece W2, half-pull welding can be performed in the joining process described below. However, in the case of half-pull welding, the predetermined distance L does not have to be half the plate thickness h, and it is sufficient that it is in the range of 30 to 50% of the plate thickness h. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, if the predetermined distance L is the plate thickness h of the second workpiece W2, single-pull welding can be performed in the joining process described below.

[0020] In step S5, the second workpiece W2 is welded to the first workpiece W1 at the butted portion. The control device performs laser welding on the butted portion of the second workpiece W2 to join them. This laser welding may be performed by the control device operating a robot arm, or it may be performed manually. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the first workpiece W1 and the second workpiece W2 are melted and joined, forming a corner joint workpiece joined body 100. The first workpiece W1 had a recess 31 of the cut-and-raised protrusion S, but this is filled in with the base material during welding, leaving only the protrusion 32.

[0021] The joined workpiece 100 shown in Figure 6 is formed from a plate-shaped first workpiece W1 having cut-and-raised protrusions S formed on its surface and a plate-shaped second workpiece W2 welded and joined to the first workpiece W1, with the surface of the second workpiece W2 abutting against the cut-and-raised protrusions S, and the end face of the second workpiece W2 butting against the surface of the first workpiece W1, and the butted parts are welded and joined. Note that Figure 6 shows a joined workpiece in the case of half-pull, but a joined workpiece in the case of one-way pull as shown in Figure 5 can also be formed in the same way. When the joined workpiece 100 is formed in this way, the workpiece joining method according to this embodiment is completed.

[0022] Effect of the Embodiment As described above in detail, in the workpiece joining method according to the present embodiment, the position P of the outline of the first workpiece W1 to be cut out from the plate-shaped material W is allocated on the surface of the material W, a cut-and-raised protrusion S is formed within the allocated position P of the outline of the first workpiece W1, the first workpiece W1 is cut out by cutting the first workpiece W1 at the position P of the outline of the first workpiece W1, the surface of the plate-shaped second workpiece W2 is abutted against the cut-and-raised protrusion S of the cut-out first workpiece W1, the end face of the second workpiece W2 is butted against the surface of the first workpiece W1, and the second workpiece W2 is joined by welding the butted portion to the first workpiece W1. This allows positioning by abutting the second workpiece W2 against the cut-and-raised protrusion S of the first workpiece W1 without using a jig. Therefore, there is no need to prepare a jig according to the shape of the workpiece, and the time required to set up the jig is also eliminated, thereby reducing jig costs and jig set-up time.

[0023] Furthermore, in the workpiece joining method according to this embodiment, the cut-and-raised projections S are formed at a position a predetermined distance L away from the position P of the outer shape of the first workpiece W1. This allows the second workpiece W2 to be accurately positioned at a position a predetermined distance L away from the position P of the outer shape of the first workpiece W1. In particular, in the case of half-pull welding, the amount of pull of the half-pull can be easily adjusted by adjusting the predetermined distance L.

[0024] Furthermore, in the workpiece joining method according to this embodiment, the predetermined distance L is equal to the plate thickness h of the second workpiece W2. This allows positioning without using a jig when performing one-way pull welding, thereby reducing the cost of the jig and the time required to set up the jig.

[0025] In the workpiece joining method according to this embodiment, the predetermined distance L is half the plate thickness h of the second workpiece W2, which allows positioning without using a jig when performing half-pull welding, thereby reducing the cost of the jig and the time required to set up the jig.

[0026] Furthermore, the joined workpiece 100 according to this embodiment is formed from a plate-shaped first workpiece W1 having cut-and-raised protrusions S formed on its surface, and a plate-shaped second workpiece W2 welded and joined to the first workpiece W1, with the surface of the second workpiece W2 abutting against the cut-and-raised protrusions S, and the end face of the second workpiece W2 butting against the surface of the first workpiece W1, and the butted portions are welded and joined together. This allows the joined workpiece 100 to be manufactured without using a jig, thereby reducing the cost of the jig and the time required to set up the jig when manufacturing the joined workpiece 100.

[0027] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the descriptions and drawings that form part of this disclosure should not be understood to limit this disclosure. Various alternative embodiments, examples, and operating techniques will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.

[0028] The disclosure of this application is related to the subject matter described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-003801, filed on January 15, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Claims

1. On the surface of a plate-shaped material, assign the position of the outer shape of a first workpiece cut out from the material, form a raised cutting projection inside the assigned position of the outer shape of the first workpiece, cut along the position of the outer shape of the first workpiece to cut out the first workpiece, abut the surface of a plate-shaped second workpiece against the raised cutting projection of the cut-out first workpiece, and butt the end face of the second workpiece against the surface of the first workpiece, and weld and join the portion where the second workpiece is butted against the first workpiece. A workpiece joining method.

2. The raised cutting projection is formed at a position separated by a predetermined distance from the position of the outer shape of the first workpiece. The workpiece joining method according to claim 1.

3. The predetermined distance is the plate thickness of the second workpiece. The workpiece joining method according to claim 2.

4. The predetermined distance is half of the plate thickness of the second workpiece. The workpiece joining method according to claim 2.

5. A workpiece joined body formed from a plate-shaped first workpiece having a raised cutting projection formed on its surface and a plate-shaped second workpiece welded and joined to the first workpiece, wherein the surface of the second workpiece abuts against the raised cutting projection, the end face of the second workpiece is butted against the surface of the first workpiece, and the butted portion is welded and joined.

Images