Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
  • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
  • B23K9/24—Features related to electrodes
  • B23K9/28—Supporting devices for electrodes
  • B23K9/285—Cooled electrode holders

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the field of resistance welding and, more particularly, the cooling of welding installations, and / or the components of such installations.
• Resistance welding installations generally consist of at least two electrodes arranged to be brought close to one another on either side of sheets to be welded, then to be traversed by a welding current of high intensity. .
• This current causes by Joules effect a rise in temperature which must be combated to avoid various mechanical phenomena, in particular destruction by fusion.
• the parts requiring cooling are inter alia, the electrodes, the extensions, the electrode holders, the arms of the gun and the connecting rods, the welding transformer and the variator of intensity at Thyristors.
• this motor In the case of a so-called electric resistance welding clamp, that is to say the relative movement of the arms of which is ensured by means of an electric motor, this motor must also be cooled.
• an overhead cooling installation is used.
• This installation is heavy and complex (requiring a round trip) and includes one or more collector (s), sub-collector (s) and tarpaulin (s) in stainless steel in addition to lowering to installations in steel or stainless steel.
• cooling water A drawback linked to the use of cooling water lies in the need to treat the water in order to remove components which are capable of mechanically and / or chemically attacking the circuits through which this water passes, such attacks resulting in the wear of the circuits and, above all, the formation of sediments which lead to blockage of the circuits.
• the cooling circuit comprises pipes which, for machines and / or moving components, must be flexible and which impede the freedom of movement of the moving parts while causing an increase in space which is extremely troublesome for what mobile equipment, such as robotic welding tongs, is called "ergonomics".
• the water At the outlet of the cooling circuit, the water must be treated before being discharged or reused, which generates additional costs. Water must also be stored in large tanks, called tarpaulins.
• air cooling is also used, either ambient air or forced air.
• Such a cooling process which cannot be used for most other welding components, is also practicable only by exposing the engine to the open air, or by enclosing it in a casing cooled by forced air. .
• the present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks of common cooling methods by means of a new method making it possible to ensure optimal cooling, without hampering the maneuverability of the installations and without generating high costs of setting up and managing a cooling.
• the subject of the invention is a method of cooling a resistance welding installation and / or components of such an installation, characterized in that circulation is carried out in the installation and / or its components a gas produced by the expansion of a liquid stored in at least one container mounted in said installation and / or its components.
• any neutral gas with high cooling power such as nitrogen is used as the cooling gas, the container or containers containing said gas in the liquid state.
• the subject of the invention is a resistance welding installation and / or components of such an installation, characterized in that they comprise at least one container containing a liquid capable of vaporizing by expansion. at room temperature, said container being provided with an expansion device, such as a valve, communicating with at least one cooling tube also integrated in the installation and / or its components and serving the locations to be cooled by the installation and / or components of this installation.
• said container is removably mounted in the installation so as to allow easy and rapid replacement of an empty or insufficiently full container with a new container.
• the invention advantageously provides that said container is arranged in such a way that its positioning automatically produces the opening of the triggering member.
• the container is provided with a thread surrounding said triggering member and cooperating with an inlet thread of the cooling pipe.
• the container may comprise a bayonet system cooperating with lugs the inlet of the cooling pipe.
• the inlet of the tubing comprises means, such as a stop, for opening the triggering member.
• said gas is a neutral gas with high cooling power, in particular nitrogen, and the container contains the refrigerating gas in the liquid state such as liquid nitrogen.
• a resistance welding installation and / or its components thus equipped have considerable advantages compared to installations and / or components cooled by water or even by air.
• removable containers constituted in the manner of cartridges provided with triggering means, allows an easy and rapid reloading, for example during periods, even short, of shutdown of the installation which are for example operating breaks, shift changes, plant maintenance downtime, etc. It suffices in fact to have containers of sufficient capacity to ensure cooling during periods of uninterrupted operation, taking account of course of the flow of the expansion means or pressure reducer with flow proportional to the temperature ( ⁇ °).

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Arc Welding In General (AREA)
• Filling Or Discharging Of Gas Storage Vessels (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=8846680

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

Citations (1)

Family Cites Families (3)

• 2000
  • 2000-02-04 FR FR0001449A patent/FR2804626B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2001
  • 2001-02-02 EP EP01904037A patent/EP1251992A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2001-02-02 WO PCT/FR2001/000320 patent/WO2001056732A1/fr not_active Ceased
  • 2001-02-02 AR ARP010100498A patent/AR027354A1/es unknown
  • 2001-02-02 AU AU31965/01A patent/AU3196501A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (1)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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