JPH064196B2 - Material pipe insertion device for butt welder - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus for inserting a material pipe such as a wheel rim into a butt welder.

(Prior Art) FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a conventional material tube insertion device, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a conventional method for obtaining a gap accuracy of an open end of a material tube and a chucking method.

As shown in the above schematic diagram, the conventional material pipe insertion device 20 is composed of a chucking device 21 that opens and closes the upper and lower jaws and an autoloader 22 that moves the chucking device 21 to the material pipe W.

When the raw material pipe W is inserted into the butt welding machine by using this kind of insertion device and welded, the band-shaped opening end is precisely set at the positioning station, and then the opening ends a and b of the ring ends are simultaneously chucked. Then, this is inserted into a clamp horn of a butt welder, and both open ends are firmly fixed by clamp electrodes, and then the gap G at the open ends is brought into contact with each other to heat and melt between both end faces and press-contact each other.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the conventional insertion device has the following drawbacks.

Since the conventional insertion device has a structure in which the left and right open ends a and b are clamped simultaneously by the upper and lower jaws simultaneously, the thickness of the left and right terminals may be different due to burrs or the like generated at the terminal cutting edge of the material plate, or If the band shaping is insufficient and the force to return the opening end to the original is large, the clamping force will be applied to one side of the chuck part, and the parallel position accuracy of the left and right opening ends will collapse due to insufficient power of the other side chuck part. Resulting in a significant adverse effect on weld quality. Therefore, if this chucking force is strengthened, clamp scratches will remain on the surface of the workpiece,
The chuck pressure cannot be increased. In the positioning station, generally, a method of inserting the gauge bar 23 between the open ends of the material tube is adopted in order to obtain the gap parallelism between the open ends of the material tubes. However, in this method, as can be seen from FIG. 3, if a gauge bar is inserted in the space between the opening ends, it is not possible to perform ticking over the entire length of the material tube sheet width, and a satisfactory butt parallelism cannot be obtained here either.

When the material pipe is fed into the butt welding machine, welding is started with the ring opening ends a and b closed, but the above-mentioned chuck mechanism cannot close the gap G between the ring ends in advance. In other words, it is not possible to set this gap to "zero" in sequence only after setting the material pipe in the welder. This has been a very disadvantageous condition for reducing the production tact.

(Means for Solving the Problem) Therefore, the present invention was developed to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its specific means is a state in which both open ends of a material tube rolled into a band shape are opposed to each other. Then, in the material pipe insertion device for moving this to the butt welding machine and inserting it into the clamp horn, in the frame moving toward the clamp horn and the frame supported by this frame, both open ends from the plate width direction of the material pipe. And a left-right symmetric chucking device for holding a peripheral edge close to, and at least one of the chucking devices is movable in a direction of closing the butt gap of the material pipe.

(Operation) The chucking devices 2 and 3 which are symmetrical with the movement of the frame 4
Are moved, and the peripheral edges c, d and e, f of the open ends a, b of the material pipe which is positioned and held are moved in the plate width direction AA.
When the positioning station is released, the chucking devices 2 and 3 are moved in the direction of arrow a by the movement of the frame 4 to set the material pipe W on the clamp horn of the welding machine. . During this movement, one of the chucks advances in the direction of closing the opening end gap G of the raw material tube, and abuts the opening ends a and b. When the material pipe W is inserted into the clamp horn 19 of the welding machine in this state, the clamp horn clamps and the material pipe opening end a,
b is fixed to the welding electrode E. After that, the chucking devices 2 and 3 and the finger 9 are opened, and the loader unit returns to the original position. Conventionally, the chuck system shown in FIG. 2 does not have a terminal butting function, and since the opening end is butted after being transferred to the welding machine, this amount is a time loss.

The present invention does not chuck the left and right open ends a and b of the material tube simultaneously from the top and bottom as in the conventional case, but the peripheral edges c, d and e and f of the opposite open ends are symmetrical with respect to the plate width direction. Since it is clamped and held by the chucking devices 2 and 3, there is no problem even if the left and right plate thicknesses are different due to the buildup of burrs or the like formed at the end cutting edge of the material plate. In addition, even if the band formation is not sufficient, there is no variation in the clamping force applied to the left and right of the chuck part as in the past, and the parallel position accuracy of the ring opening end collapses due to insufficient power of the chuck part on one side. Absent. Further, according to the present invention, unlike the conventional case, the surface of the workpiece is not directly scratched by the chuck,
Moreover, the chuck pressure can be adjusted extremely easily. Further, according to the present invention, even in the method of using the gauge bar that provides the gap parallelism at the material pipe opening end, the material pipe sheet width is chucked regardless of the insertion position of the gauge bar. It can be significantly improved.
Further, according to the chuck mechanism of the present invention, the gap of the ring end can be closed before being inserted into the welding machine, and when the material pipe is inserted into the welding machine, the welding work can be immediately started, and the production tact can be significantly increased. It can be shortened.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 1 in the figure denotes a material tube inserting device. 2 and 3 are C frames 4
With a chucking device attached to each of the left and right ends of the C frame 4, support plates 5 and 5 are fixed to each end of the C frame 4, and the screw shaft 12 is attached to the block 6 fixed to the center of each support plate. The left and right sides of the screw shaft are machined into reverse screws with respect to the block 6. Sliders 7, 7 are attached to the left and right of the screw shaft 12. The sliders 7, 7 transmit the rotational force of the motor 11 fixed to the support plate to the sprocket 13 mounted on the screw shaft via the chain 14 and are driven in the opposite directions from the plate width direction AA. It is designed to work. This slider 6,
Fingers 9 and 9 which are opened and closed in the left-right direction via hinges 8 are attached to the top of 7. Chucking device 2,
Reference numeral 3 denotes a left-right symmetrical unit, and one chucking device 2 is a pressing cylinder 10 fixed to a C-shaped frame 4 and advances in a direction of closing a butt gap G between the ring ends of the material tube W. It is configured to be able to.

One side of the C-shaped frame 4 is connected to the slider 16 and is configured to move in the arrow BB direction along the guide 18 of the frame 17.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described.

First, the material tube is positioned and held at the positioning station so that the gap G of the ring end becomes parallel.
The insertion device 1 is moved with respect to the material pipe W which is positioned and held, and the motors 11 of the left and right chucking devices 2 and 3 are actuated to drive the sliders 7 and 7 from the plate width direction to the vicinity of the left and right opening ends. The peripheral edge cdef of is firmly clamped by the fingers 9, 9. Next, when the restraint at the positioning station is released, the chucking device moves in the direction of arrow A to insert the material pipe W into the clamp horn 19 of the welding machine. During this movement, one chucking device 2 causes the pressing cylinder 10 to abut the open ends a and b of the material tube. When the material pipe is set on the clamp horn 19 of the welding machine, the clamp horn 19 descends to firmly fix the material pipe opening ends a and b to the welding electrode E. After that, both chucking devices 2 and 3 are opened, the loader unit returns to its original position, and the next operation is ready.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, in a welding line for manufacturing a material pipe such as a wheel rim of an automobile, the peripheral edges near the open end of the material pipe are each subjected to a plate width by a symmetrical chucking device. Since the clamp is held from the direction, compared to the conventional chucking device for the upper and lower jaws, it is possible to remarkably improve the butt precision of the open ends of the material tubes without being affected by changes in the terminal plate thickness due to burrs or changes in the clamping force. .

Further, by connecting a drive motor control of a finger or the like with a host CPU and giving numerical instructions in accordance with the work size, remote operation of vehicle type switching is possible, and setup time when changing vehicle types can be shortened. .

Further, according to the apparatus of the present invention, since the ring end can be inserted into the welding machine in a closed state, the welding start time can be shortened and the production tact can be shortened.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an embodiment of a material pipe inserting device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a conventional material tube inserting device. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a gap precision and a clamp portion at a material pipe opening end in a conventional material pipe inserting device. [Explanation of Codes] 1 ... Material tube inserting device 2, 3 ... Chucking device 4 ...
flame

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim: What is claimed is: 1. A material tube rolled into a band shape, with open ends on both sides,
In a material pipe inserting device that moves them to a butt welding machine and inserts them into a clamp horn in a state of facing each other, a frame that moves toward the clamp horn,
It has a bilaterally symmetrical chucking device that is supported by this frame and that holds the peripheral edges close to both open ends from the plate width direction of the material pipe, and at least one of the chucking devices is provided with a butt gap of the material pipe. A material pipe insertion device for a butt welder, which is movable in the closing direction.