Electric heating – Metal heating – By arc
Patent
1996-10-16
1998-03-24
Evans, Geoffrey S.
Electric heating
Metal heating
By arc
229 443, B23K 2600
Patent
active
057315663
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention pertains to a welding or cutting device, especially for laser welding or the like, with a welding head and a surrounding holding-down device for pressing on the workpiece.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Such a manipulator-guided welding device has been known in practice. It has a welding head in the form of a laser head, which is surrounded by a holding-down device and is mounted and centered within the holding-down device. The holding-down device is pressed onto the workpiece, and counterpressure is optionally applied from the other side with a pressure pad when a plurality of workpieces are welded together. The holding-down device and optionally the pressure pad are fastened to the hand of a manipulator by means of a mounting bracket. FR-A 2 678 193 shows a manipulator-guided welding device with a laser welding head, which is surrounded by a tubular holding-down device. The holding-down device can be elastically pressed onto the workpiece by means of a spring-loaded straight guide and it can thus elastically yield in a vertical direction. The direction of yielding coincides with the direction of the exiting laser beam. It has also been known from this document that the holding-down devices can be allowed to rotate around the axis of the laser beam. The equalization of angle errors in the case of an oblique contact between the holding-down device and the workpiece or in the case of surface defects of the workpiece is consequently impossible here.
It was found in practice that there are problems with the quality of welding if component tolerances and inaccuracies in tens, ion occur.
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a welding device with which better and more constant quality of welding can be achieved.
The present invention is a device for welding and/or cutting which includes a welding head and a holding-down means partially surrounding the welding head. The holding-down means presses on the workpiece. The present invention also includes a manipulator with a manipulator hand and a mounting bracket connected to the manipulator hand. The welding head and the holding-down device are connected to the manipulator hand via the mounting bracket. An equalizing means is connected to the welding device for determining angle errors between the workpiece and the holding-down means. The equalizing means also corrects angle errors between the workpiece and the holding-down means.
It was recognized in the present invention that one cause of the previously impaired quality of welding is to be sought in an insufficient pressing of the holding-down device to the workpiece or workpieces. The present invention therefore suggests an equalizing device, with which possible angle errors between the workpiece or workpieces, on the one hand, and the holding-down device, on the other hand, are determined and corrected. A flat and uniform pressing of the holding-down device and consequently a better quality of welding are thus guaranteed, with adaptation to the surface of the workpiece.
If the welding device has a pressure pad, this may also be connected to the equalizing device, or it may have a separate equalizing device.
Only the holding-down device moves in one embodiment of the equalizing device, while the welding head is stationary, and its position is determined extensively by the feed. However, the equalizing device may also be designed such that the holding-down device moves together with the welding head and adapts itself to the surface of the workpiece. The association between the holding-down device and the welding head, and consequently the focus adjustment remain unchanged as a result. Due to the adaptation, the welding head can thus move possibly extensively in parallel to the surface of the workpiece. This happens, e.g., when the welding head within the holding-down device is displaced in one or more directions with a suitable adjusting device. Local tolerances in the workpiece surface can be equalized at least part
REFERENCES:
patent: 4733048 (1988-03-01), Clayton, Jr.
patent: 4840303 (1989-06-01), Fujii et al.
patent: 5142118 (1992-08-01), Schlatter
patent: 5266770 (1993-11-01), Noe219121.63
Evans Geoffrey S.
Kuka Schweissanlagen & Roboter GmbH
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