Electric heating – Metal heating – By arc
Patent
1994-09-14
1996-02-06
Paschall, Mark H.
Electric heating
Metal heating
By arc
21912182, 21912178, 21912183, 901 42, 228 9, B23K 2602
Patent
active
054897580
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to a laser robot and, more specifically, to a height-sensing device incorporated in a laser robot having, at its extremity, a machining head which projects a laser beam and allows feed motion under the control of an additional-axis device. The additional-axis device is mounted on the robot, provided with two drive motors, and permits machining along a locus having a small diameter for efficient machining of a workpiece using the laser beam projected through the laser beam projecting nozzle of the machining head. The height-sensing device allows the robot to carry out accurate laser beam machining by automatically measuring the longitudinal distance between the surface of the workpiece and the laser beam arc-welding position arc-welding position projecting nozzle of the machining head, and by permitting the robot to correct the longitudinal distance between the laser beam projecting nozzle and the machining start point on the workpiece.
BACKGROUND ART
A laser robot, more specifically, a well known six-axis multi-articulated laser robot having six degrees of freedom of motion (J1 to J6) is provided with a robot wrist, i.e., a movable element attached to the extremity of the robot unit of the laser robot, and is additionally provided with an additional-axis mechanism having two drive motors to increase the degree of freedom of motion. The multi-articulated laser robot moves a machining head which is capable of emitting a laser beam for laser beam machining, using the additional-axis mechanism, along a fixed locus in a plane (two-axis) coordinate system.
Because most of the loci of laser-beam machining are circular and each has a comparatively small diameter, the applicant of the present patent application previously proposed a laser robot capable of forming small holes in the workpiece by precision laser beam machining, and the proposed laser robot is in the initial stage of practical application.
The robot unit of the six-axis multi-articulated laser robot provided with an additional-axis mechanism has the general construction shown in FIG. 2, and, as is generally known, the actions of the robot unit of the robot are controlled during laser beam machining operation by a robot controller 10.
The robot unit 1 of this laser robot has a robot body 3 set in an upright position on a robot base 2, a rotatable robot body 4 supported for rotation (J1) in a horizontal plane on top of the robot body 3, a robot upper arm 5 having one end pivotally joined to one end of the rotatable robot body 4 for turning (J2) about a horizontal axis, and a robot forearm 6 pivotally joined to the extremity of the robot upper arm 5 for turning (J3) about a horizontal axis relative to the robot upper arm 5.
Attached to the extremity of the robot forearm 6 is a three-degrees-of-freedom robot wrist 7 capable of turning (J4 to J6) in a three-dimensional space about three orthogonal axes, and an additional-axis mechanism 8 attached to the robot wrist 7 is provided with a machining head 9 that projects a laser beam.
The additional-axis mechanism 8 is provided with two built-in servomotors, i.e., drive motors, not shown, and controls the laser beam projecting nozzle 9a of the machining head 9, for example, for movement along a desired locus in the plane of an orthogonal two-axis coordinate system according to commands provided by a robot controller 10 to carry out a laser beam machining using a laser beam, such as a cutting operation or a boring operation.
This additional-axis mechanism 8 is principally used for forming holes having small diameters in a workpiece using the machining head 9. The additional-axis mechanism 8 holds the laser beam projecting nozzle 9a of the machining head 9 stationary at a predetermined original position with respect to the additional-axis mechanism 8 while the movable elements of the six-axis system (J1 to J6), i.e., the robot rotatable body 4, the robot upper arm 5, the robot forearm 6 and the robot wrist 7, of the robot unit 1 are in operation.
At the
REFERENCES:
patent: 4794223 (1988-12-01), Barkman et al.
patent: 4920248 (1990-04-01), Toyoda et al.
patent: 5001324 (1991-03-01), Aiello et al.
patent: 5006999 (1991-04-01), Kuno et al.
patent: 5275327 (1994-01-01), Watkins et al.
Nihei Ryo
Sasaki Yasuo
Takamatsu Hiroshi
Terada Akihiro
Fanuc Ltd.
Paschall Mark H.
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