Crawler Wheel Welding Robot for Non-Planar Surface Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Crawling welding robots face difficulties in controlling their movement on non-planar surfaces, such as arc or spherical surfaces, due to inadequate contact with the surface, leading to potential slipping or falling.
Innovation Solution
A crawling welding robot design featuring two crawler wheels with movable wheel carriers connected to a vehicle chassis, allowing for posture adjustment and improved surface contact, along with a molten pool observation module and tensioning mechanisms to enhance stability and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If crawler wheels are used for welding on non-planar surfaces, then the robot can move on complex surfaces, but the crawler wheels cannot fully contact the surface resulting in poor control and slipping
Solution Approach 1:
The crawler wheel is divided into multiple independent contact elements (crawler pads or segments) that can individually adapt to the surface contour. Each segment can independently contact the non-planar surface, ensuring full surface coverage and preventing slipping while maintaining structural integrity of the overall crawler wheel assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The crawler wheel incorporates movable or flexible elements that can dynamically adjust their position and orientation to conform to the non-planar surface. This dynamic adaptation allows the crawler to maintain continuous contact with the surface during movement, improving both adaptability and control stability.
2Reliability
If the crawler wheel structure is made complex to improve surface contact, then surface fit improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The crawler wheel utilizes flexible materials or thin-film structures that can naturally conform to non-planar surfaces without complex mechanical mechanisms. The flexibility of the material allows it to adapt to surface contours while maintaining structural simplicity and reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The crawler wheel incorporates curved or spherical surface elements that can roll or conform to curved workpiece surfaces. This geometric approach enables better surface contact on non-planar surfaces without requiring complex adjustable mechanisms, thereby improving reliability while controlling complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enables better control of the robot's movement on non-planar surfaces, reducing the likelihood of slipping or falling and improving the fit between the crawler wheels and the surface, thereby enhancing operational stability and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
magnetic adsorption devices for adsorbing the workpiece to be welded
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a welding technical field and provides a crawling welding robot. The crawling welding robot includes a vehicle chassis and two crawler wheels connected to two opposite sides of the vehicle chassis, respectively, wheel carriers of two crawler wheels are movably connected with the vehicle chassis. In this way, when the crawling welding robot moves on a non-planar surface for welding, the two crawler wheels can freely adjust its posture relative to the vehicle chassis to adapt to the surface for welding and improve a degree of fit between the two crawler wheels and the surface for welding, making the moving direction of the crawling welding robot easier to be controlled and reducing a probability of the crawling welding robot slipping or falling from the surface for welding.