Welding Gun Thrust Guide Mechanism for Heavy Arm Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional welding guns with small-sized main body units and large, heavyweight movable gun arms face wear and backlash issues due to uneven load distribution when the gun's posture changes during welding, leading to defects like chip offsets and poor weld quality.
Innovation Solution
A welding gun with a thrust direction guide mechanism featuring guide pins, brackets, and ball transfer units that allow for load-bearing in the thrust direction, reducing friction and wear, and enabling a heavyweight movable gun arm in a compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If a small-sized welding gun with a large, heavyweight movable gun arm is used, then the welding gun can be compact and energy-efficient, but the movable gun arm cannot bear the thrust load effectively when the gun posture changes, causing wear and backlash
Solution Approach 1:
The guide mechanism is segmented into multiple functional components: guide pins for positioning, brackets for structural support, and thrust bearing members for load bearing. This segmentation allows each component to specialize in a specific function, enabling the small-sized gun body to support the heavyweight movable arm effectively.
Solution Approach 2:
Spherical thrust bearing members are used to replace traditional sliding contacts. The spherical geometry enables smooth rolling motion and distributes the thrust load evenly, reducing wear and friction while maintaining compact dimensions of the gun body.
2Device complexity
If conventional guide groove mechanisms are used, then the welding gun structure is simple, but the components wear quickly under thrust load, causing backlash and weld defects
Solution Approach 1:
The thrust bearing members utilize spherical geometry to transform sliding friction into rolling friction. This curvature-based design significantly reduces wear on the guide groove components, preventing backlash that would otherwise lead to chip offsets and weld quality deterioration.
Solution Approach 2:
Thrust bearing members are introduced as intermediary elements between the movable gun arm and the gun body. These bearing members mediate the thrust load transmission, protecting the guide groove components from direct wear and maintaining manufacturing precision over extended operation.
3Reliability
If the welding gun posture is restricted to maintain horizontal engagement, then the guide mechanism durability is improved, but the welding gun loses versatility for different welding points
Solution Approach 1:
The spherical thrust bearing members enable the guide mechanism to accommodate various gun postures and welding positions. The curved contact surfaces allow smooth rotation and movement, providing both durability and the versatility needed for welding at different locations and angles.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide mechanism transitions from a static, posture-restricted design to a dynamic system that can adapt to varying welding positions. The spherical bearings enable controlled movement and rotation, allowing the gun to maintain reliability while gaining adaptability for different welding applications.
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 solution effectively bears thrust loads, enhancing durability and maintaining weld quality by reducing sliding friction and wear, allowing the gun to handle greater loads without posture restrictions.
Implementation Method 1
the thrust bearing member is a ball transfer unit having spherical objects partly abutting on the side of the gun body
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a welding gun capable of improving the durability by effectively bearing the load in the thrust direction, and capable of providing a heavyweight and large-sized movable gun arm, even in a small-sized main body unit. A welding gun 10 of a guide groove type is provided with a thrust direction guide mechanism including: two guide pins 19a and 19b provided to an arm holder 13 in an integrated manner by penetrating first and second guide grooves 17a and 17b; brackets 23a and 23b being fixedly provided to the end portions of the guide pins 19a and 19b, and having a length sufficient to traverse the first and second guide grooves 17a and 17b in a direction orthogonal to the axis line of the guide pins 19a and 19b; and thrust bearing members 24a and 24b being provided to the end portions of the brackets 23a and 23b, abutting on a side plate 11a of a gun body 11, so as to be movable along the first and second guide grooves 17a and 17b.