Welding Torch Wire Forming Rollers for Stable Contact and Low Friction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing welding technologies face challenges in achieving reliable and constant contact between the welding wire and the contact sleeve, leading to uncontrolled fluctuations in contact resistance and welding arc quality due to unpredictable wire dressing and positioning, especially in dynamic welding processes.
Innovation Solution
A wire forming unit with three rollers, where the middle roller is offset transversely to the outer rollers, minimizes frictional forces and ensures a defined curvature of the welding wire, maintaining a consistent contact point and force by reducing plastic deformation and adjusting the transverse offset based on wire diameter and material, ensuring a stable arc during welding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the welding wire is fed through the hose package with uncontrolled dressage and position, then the wire can be easily fed to the welding torch, but the contact point and contact force in the contact sleeve cannot be controlled, leading to uncontrolled fluctuation in contact resistance and welding current
Solution Approach 1:
The wire forming unit performs preliminary action by plastic deformation of the welding wire before it reaches the contact sleeve. The unit imparts a specific curvature and orientation to the wire, ensuring that when the wire contacts the contact sleeve, the contact point and contact force are controlled and predictable, eliminating the uncontrolled fluctuation caused by uncontrolled dressage
2Reliability
If wire forming units are used to change the dressage of the welding wire through plastic deformation, then the contact point and contact force can be controlled, but the frictional forces increase and the wire feeding frequency is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The invention optimizes the parameters of the wire forming unit, specifically the roller diameter, roller spacing, and transverse offset distance. By carefully selecting these parameters, the unit achieves the necessary wire curvature with minimal plastic deformation and reduced frictional forces, allowing for higher wire feeding frequencies while maintaining contact control
3Adaptability or versatility
If the welding torch is arranged on a welding robot that changes the spatial position, then the welding process becomes more versatile, but the orientation of the welding wire in the contact sleeve changes, affecting contact quality
Solution Approach 1:
The wire forming unit performs preliminary action by imparting a specific curvature and orientation to the welding wire that compensates for the changes in torch orientation. The unit pre-shapes the wire so that regardless of the torch's spatial position, the wire maintains consistent contact with the contact sleeve, ensuring reliable contact quality in robotic 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
This solution enhances welding quality by maintaining a constant contact point and force, reducing frictional forces, and allowing for more dynamic wire feeding frequencies, ensuring predictable weld quality and position.
Implementation Method 1
A wire forming unit with three rollers, where the middle roller is offset transversely to the outer rollers, minimizes frictional forces
Implementation Method 2
ensures a defined curvature of the welding wire, maintaining a consistent contact point and force by reducing plastic deformation
Data Source
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AI summary
The aim of the invention is to achieve a reliable constant contact in a welding torch with a contact sleeve with a wire forming unit and to reduce the frictional forces for the wire forming process. This is achieved in that three ball bearing-mounted rollers (4a, 4b, 4c) are arranged one behind the other in the longitudinal direction (x) of the welding torch (10) in the wire forming unit (1). The central roller (4b), when viewed in the longitudinal direction (x), is offset in the wire forming unit (1) relative to the two outer rollers (4a, 4c), when viewed in the longitudinal direction (x), by a transverse offset (V) in a transverse direction (y) transverse to the longitudinal direction (x) in order to form a zig-zag-shaped path for the welding wire (3) through the wire forming unit (1), wherein the axial distance (A) between the two outer rollers (4a, 4c) when viewed in the longitudinal direction (x) is maximally 35 mm, preferably maximally 30 mm, more preferably maximally 20 mm.