According to incomplete statistics, nearly half of the industrial robots in service worldwide are used in various forms of welding processing fields. There are two most common methods of welding robot application, namely spot welding and arc welding. Some of these welding robots are specifically designed for a certain welding method, while most welding robots are actually composed of general industrial robots equipped with a certain welding tool.
The application of industrial robots in the welding field began with resistance spot welding on automotive assembly production lines. The reason is that the process of resistance spot welding is relatively simple, easy to control, and does not require weld trajectory tracking. The control requirements for robot accuracy and repeatability are relatively low.
Let's take a look at the four key technologies of welding robots in the automotive field.
1. Weld seam tracking technology
In the application process of robots, the application of weld seam tracking technology is relatively ordinary. When summarizing the welding operation process, due to the possibility of strong arc radiation, smoke and dust, splashing, processing errors, fixture accuracy, workpiece thermal deformation, and other factors affecting the weld seam process, special attention should be paid to controlling these factors to avoid deviation of the welding torch from the weld seam, leading to welding quality problems and the existence of weld seam tracking technology, To a certain extent, it can be combined with changes in welding conditions to monitor the deviation of the weld seam in real time, and adjust the welding path and parameters in a timely manner, effectively avoiding quality problems during the welding process.
2. Offline Programming and Path Planning Techniques
In the process of welding operation, offline programming and path planning technology mainly refers to the further expansion of robot programming language. It mainly uses the research results of computer graphics to establish the model of the robot's working environment, and through professional algorithms, it can control and operate the graphics of welding devices to a certain extent, which is to promote the robot to carry out welding operations on the basis of the set trajectory planning, Another practical foundation for offline programming is the application of automatic programming technology. A technology that assists programmers in programming tasks by applying automatic programming technology to achieve welding tasks, welding parameters, welding paths, and welding trajectories.
3. Multi robot coordinated control technology
In the actual work process, multi robot coordinated control technology mainly refers to an integrated system composed of several robots selected to complete a certain work task through cooperation and coordination. In the application process of multi robot coordinated control technology, it is mainly necessary to consider how to organize equipment for effective work based on the actual operation task before arranging a certain task in the multi system. After determining the working mechanism, it is necessary to consider how to maintain the consistency of robot motion coordination in combination with actual work.
Special arc welding power source
Continuous practical work experience has shown that a specialized arc welding power source with good electrical performance is one of the keys to ensuring the normal performance of equipment in the system. Most of the specialized arc welding inverters used by robots are transistor type arc welding inverters controlled by a single chip microcomputer. The precise waveform control method of the welding power supply can to some extent ensure the consistency of the welding seam width and depth, promoting a more beautiful welding surface. Therefore, in the application process, it is very important to conduct in-depth research on specialized arc welding power sources.
