JP6209627B2 - Laser welding apparatus and laser welding method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a laser welding technique for joining a plurality of thin plates.

  It has been widely practiced to join and integrate two (or more) members by abutting a plurality of thin plates and welding the abutting portions, and in particular, a laser having a high energy density. Welding has been used in recent years.

In the case of laser welding in which a base material and a base material are joined, it is necessary to reduce the gap between thin plates as compared with other welding methods.
Therefore, various techniques for reducing the gap between thin plates have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1 (FIG. 1)).

Patent document 1 is demonstrated based on the following figure.
FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the basic principle of the prior art. The upper thin plate 102 is stacked on the lower thin plate 101, and the obtained laminate 103 is strongly sandwiched between the lower pressing member 104 and the upper pressing member 105. Then, the thin plates 101 and 102 are joined by the laser irradiation means 106.

The irradiation site 107 is positioned at a distance L from the lower pressing member 104 and the upper pressing member 105 so as not to interfere with the lower pressing member 104 and the upper pressing member 105.
The gap between the thin plate 101 and the thin plate 102 is small at the portion 108 directly sandwiched between the lower pressing member 104 and the upper pressing member 105, but between the thin plate 101 and the thin plate 102 at the irradiation portion 107 separated by the distance L. There is a possibility that the gap of the gap becomes large. This gap causes poor bonding.

  Therefore, there is a need for a welding apparatus and method that can reliably reduce the gap between thin plates to which laser welding is performed.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-111542

  An object of the present invention is to provide a welding apparatus and method capable of reducing a gap between thin plates to be subjected to laser welding.

The laser welding apparatus according to the present invention is a laser welding apparatus for performing welding on a laminate formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates and joining the plurality of thin plates,
A laser irradiation unit for irradiating a laser beam from one surface of the laminate;
The other side pressing portion for pressing the other surface of the laminate,
While pressing one surface of the laminate, the other side pressing portion is arranged to be offset in the surface direction of the laminate, and an irradiation side pressing portion,
The straight line when the irradiation side edge part formed in the irradiation side pressing part and abutting the laminated body and the other side edge part formed in the other side pressing part and abutting the laminated body are connected by an arbitrary straight line the site containing the above Ri Do and a control unit for controlling the laser irradiation unit to irradiate the laser beam,
The laser light, the irradiated in an arc shape so as to surround the other side pressing portion and said Rukoto.

In the laser welding apparatus, the other-side pressing portion may be one that presses a narrow range by a substantially point-like member laminate.

The laser welding apparatus according to the present invention is a laser welding apparatus for performing welding on a laminate formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates and joining the plurality of thin plates,
A laser irradiation unit for irradiating a laser beam from one surface of the laminate;
The other side pressing portion for pressing the other surface of the laminate,
While pressing one surface of the laminate, the other side pressing portion is arranged to be offset in the surface direction of the laminate, and an irradiation side pressing portion,
The straight line when the irradiation side edge part formed in the irradiation side pressing part and abutting the laminated body and the other side edge part formed in the other side pressing part and abutting the laminated body are connected by an arbitrary straight line It consists of a control unit that controls the laser irradiation unit so as to irradiate the laser beam to the part including the top,
An irradiation-side pressing member including a plurality of irradiation-side pressing portions is provided. The irradiation-side pressing member includes an opening provided between the plurality of irradiation-side pressing portions and penetrating in the plate thickness direction, and laser light is irradiated through the opening. It is characterized by being.

The laser welding method according to the present invention is a laser welding method for performing welding on a laminate formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates,
A step of sandwiching the laminated body so that the laminated body meanders between the irradiation side pressing portion and the other side pressing portion offset from each other in the plane direction of the laminated body;
A laser irradiation unit arranged on the irradiation side pressing unit side, an irradiation side edge formed on the irradiation side pressing unit and in contact with the laminate, and the other side formed on the other side pressing unit and in contact with the stack and a rim portion by irradiating a laser beam to a site containing the straight line when connecting with an arbitrary straight line, Ri Do and a step of bonding the plurality of thin plates to each other,
The laser beam is characterized by that you irradiating the other side pressing portion so as to surround the to and arcuate.

In the invention which concerns on Claim 1, the irradiation side edge part formed in the irradiation side press part and contact | abutted with a laminated body and the other side edge part formed in the other side press part and contact | abutted to a laminated body were tied with arbitrary straight lines. A portion including the straight line is irradiated with laser light.
The part including the straight line is a part where the gap is surely reduced. Since laser welding is performed on this part, the welding quality can be improved.

  In the invention according to claim 2, in order to irradiate the laser beam in the circumferential direction around the point-like range, a bead can be formed over a portion where the gaps distributed around the point-like range are relatively coincident, Easy welding conditions.

  In the invention which concerns on Claim 3, the irradiation side press member is provided with the several irradiation side press part and the opening part which is provided between these irradiation side press parts and penetrates in the plate | board thickness direction, By simple structure. Laser welding can be performed.

The invention according to claim 4 is the same as in claim 1, the irradiation side edge formed on the irradiation side pressing portion and in contact with the laminated body, and the other side edge formed on the other side pressing portion and in contact with the laminated body. A laser beam is irradiated to a portion including the straight line when the are connected by an arbitrary straight line.
The part including the straight line is a part where the gap is surely reduced. Since laser welding is performed on this part, the welding quality can be improved.

  In the invention according to claim 5, since the laser beam is irradiated in an arc shape so as to surround the other side pressing portion, the laser beam can be irradiated so as to go outside the substantially point-like other side pressing portion. The bead can be formed at a site close to the other side pressing portion without interfering with the other side pressing portion.

It is a perspective view of the laminated body manufactured with the welding method of this invention. 1 is a perspective view of a laser welding apparatus according to the present invention. It is a principal part top view of the laser welding apparatus which concerns on this invention. 1 is a side view of a laser welding apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure explaining the laser welding method concerning the present invention. It is a figure explaining the laser welding method concerning the present invention. It is a 7-7 arrow directional view of FIG. 6, and is a figure explaining the laser welding method which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which explains supplementarily the shape of an irradiation side press part and the other side press part. It is a figure which further demonstrates the shape of the other side press part. It is a figure explaining the basic principle of the prior art.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are viewed in the direction of the reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body frame 10 includes a lower half body 11 that is a press product and an upper half body 12 that is a press product.
Specifically, the flange-like thin plate 13 projecting from the lower half body 11 and the flange-like thin plate 14 projecting from the upper half body 12 are overlapped, and the beads 15 are formed by laser welding at a predetermined pitch and joined. Is.

A specific example of the laser welding apparatus 20 suitable for manufacturing the laminated body 16 formed by stacking the thin plate 13 and the thin plate 14 will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 2, the laser welding apparatus 20 includes a laser irradiation unit 21, a control unit 22 that controls the laser irradiation unit 21, and a support jig 30 that supports the laminated body (FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 ). I have. The support jig 30 includes an irradiation side pressing member 24 having a plurality (three in the embodiment) of irradiation side pressing portions 23, a plurality (two in the embodiment) the other pressing portion 25, and other components ( This will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. The other side pressing portion 25 has a substantially dot shape.

As shown in FIG. 3, the irradiation-side pressing member 24 includes three irradiation-side pressing portions 23 and a connecting portion 26 that connects them, and is a member that exhibits an E shape in plan view.
The other side pressing part 25 is disposed between the adjacent irradiation side pressing parts 23, 23. That is, the irradiation side pressing part 23 of the irradiation side pressing member 24 is arranged offset in the surface direction of the other side pressing part 25 and the laminate 16 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the laser welding apparatus 20 is an apparatus that welds a laminated body 16 formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates 13, 14 and joins the plurality of thin plates 13, 14 . Laser irradiation unit 21 that irradiates laser light from one surface, control unit 22 that controls laser irradiation unit 21, other side pressing unit 25 that presses the other surface of laminate 16, and one of laminate 16 The irradiation side pressing part 23 which presses the surface is provided.

The irradiation side pressing member 24 is supported by a piston rod 31 of a hydraulic cylinder 29 standing on the base 28 so as to be movable up and down.
Moreover, the other side pressing part 25 is formed in the piston rod 33 of the hydraulic cylinder 32 standing on the base 28, for example.

  That is, the support jig 30 includes, as an example, an irradiation side pressing member 24 including the irradiation pressing portion 23, a hydraulic cylinder 29 that moves up and down the irradiation side pressing member 24, and a hydraulic cylinder 32 that moves up and down the other side pressing portion 25, The base 28 supports the hydraulic cylinders 29 and 32.

  For example, the laser irradiation unit 21 is supported by a robot arm 34 and moves three-dimensionally. The robot arm 34 has a rail extending in the longitudinal direction of the flange-like thin plates 13 and 14 (FIG. 1, reference numeral 17; front and back direction in FIG. 4), and a robot such as a slider that moves along the rail and supports the laser irradiation unit 21. Other moving means may be used.

The operation of the laser welding apparatus 20 having the above configuration will be described next.
As shown in FIG. 5, the laminated body 16 formed by stacking the plurality of thin plates 13 and 14 is placed between the irradiation side pressing part 23 and the other side pressing part 25 sufficiently separated in the vertical direction. The laminated body 16 can be placed between the irradiation side pressing part 23 and the other side pressing part 25 by being held by another robot. The laminate 16 may be placed on the other side pressing portions 25, 25.

  Next, the irradiation side pressing part 23 is lowered. Or the other side press part 25 is raised. Alternatively, the irradiation side pressing part 23 is lowered and the other side pressing part 25 is raised.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the laminated body 16 is loosely meandered. Then, the clearance gap between the thin plate 13 and the thin plate 14 becomes small. While maintaining this state, the laser beam 35 is irradiated from the laser irradiation unit 21 to a portion that does not interfere with either the irradiation-side pressing unit 23 or the other-side pressing unit 25.
Stack 16, the other side edge portion 2 5a formed on the edge of the other side pressing section 2 5 together with good contact with the irradiation-side edge 2 3a, 2 3a formed on the edge of the irradiation-side pressing portion 2 3 have good contact with the 2 5a.

In FIG. 7, an arc-shaped bead 15 is formed so as to surround the other side pressing portion 25. In FIG. 2, the control unit 22 turns the optical axis in a state where the laser irradiation unit 21 is moved in the longitudinal direction (FIG. 1, reference numeral 17) of the flange-shaped thin plates 13 and 14 . The control unit 22 may move the laser irradiation unit 21 in an arc shape by the operation of the robot arm 34. In any case, the arc-shaped bead 15 shown in FIG. 7 can be formed.

An irradiation side edge 23a formed on the edge of the irradiation side pressing portion 23 and abutting on the stacked body 16 and an other side edge 25a formed on the edge of the other side pressing portion 25 and contacting the stacked body 16 and the other side edge portion 25a and the shortest line 37 connecting with the shortest distance, and the first straight line 38 which is connected line between one end of the one end and the other side edge portion 25a of the closest irradiation side edge 23a to the connecting portion 26, it can be defined second linear 39 is a connection line between the other end of the other end and the other side edge portion 25a of the irradiation-side edge 23a.

  Between the first straight line 38 and the second straight line 39, the irradiation side edge 23 a and the other side edge 25 a are connected by an arbitrary straight line 40. One of the arbitrary straight lines 40 drawn innumerably is the shortest line 37, and the first straight line 38 and the second straight line 39 are drawn on the outermost side.

The laser beam 35 connects an irradiation side edge 23 a where the irradiation side pressing portion 23 contacts the stacked body 16 and an other side edge 25 a where the other side pressing portion 25 contacts the stacked body 16 by an arbitrary straight line 40. The portion including the straight line 40 is irradiated and laser welded.

That is, a part including a part crossing an arbitrary straight line 40 connecting the irradiation side pressing part 23 and the other side pressing part 25 and a part not interfering with any of the irradiation side pressing part 23 and the other side pressing part 25 is included. A laser beam 35 is irradiated. In other words, at least a part of the bead 15 is in a region R that is surrounded by the first straight line 38, the second straight line 39, the other side edge portion 25a, and the irradiation side edge portion 23a and does not interfere with the other side pressing portion 25. It may be formed.
Between the pair of irradiation side pressing portions 23, 23 is an opening 41 through which the laser light 35 passes.

  The bead 15 preferably has an arc shape surrounding the other-side pressing portion 25, and may have any shape such as a C-shape, a circle, an ellipse, an ellipse, and a spiral.

  In addition, although the other side pressing part 25 is expressed as a substantially point shape for convenience, it does not need to be a strict point, and may have some size as long as it is small enough to be surrounded by a bead. You may have.

  The irradiation side pressing part 23 is preferably larger than the other side pressing part 25. The other side pressing portion 25 is preferably small in order to increase the degree of freedom of the bead surrounding it, while the irradiation side pressing portion 23 is enlarged, resulting in the first straight line 38, the second straight line 39, and the like. The region R surrounded by can be widened, which also contributes to the improvement of the degree of freedom of beads.

In FIG. 5, the irradiation side edge portion 23a is formed as a corner portion of the irradiation side pressing portion 23, and the other side edge portion 25a is formed as a corner portion of the other side pressing portion 25. However, these are limited to this example. It is not a thing.
As shown in FIG. 8, the positions corresponding to the edges of the actual contact surface when the irradiation side pressing portion 23 and the other side pressing portion 25 are in contact with the laminated body 16 are respectively set to the irradiation side edge portion 23a, It can be regarded as the other side edge 25a.

In FIG. 9, the form of the substantially dot-like other side press part 25 is shown.
As shown in FIG. 9A, the other side pressing portion 25 is a rectangular cross section formed at the tip of the cylindrical portion 42. A rectangular cross section is suitable for forming an elliptical bead or an oval bead.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the other side pressing portion 25 includes a truncated cone portion formed at the tip of the cylindrical portion 42. If it is a truncated cone part, it is suitable for formation of a perfect circle bead.

  As shown in FIG. 9C, the other side pressing portion 25 can be a cylindrical portion 42. The cylindrical portion 42 is suitable for forming a perfect bead. The cylindrical portion 42 may be a piston rod (FIG. 4, reference numeral 33).

The actions described above are summarized as follows.
In this laser welding method, welding is performed on a laminate 16 formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates. First, an irradiation-side pressing portion 23 and the other-side pressing portion 25 (FIG. 3) offset from each other in the plane direction of the laminate 16. The laminated body 16 is sandwiched so that the laminated body 16 meanders (FIG. 6).

Next, an irradiation side edge portion 23a formed on the edge of the irradiation side pressing portion 23 and abutting the laminated body 16 and an other side edge portion 25a formed on the edge of the other side pressing portion 25 and abutting the laminated body 16 are arbitrarily provided. The laser beam 35 is irradiated to a part (FIG. 7) including the arbitrary straight line 40 when the straight line 40 is connected.

That is, the laser irradiation unit 21 arranged on the irradiation side pressing unit 23 side irradiates the laser beam 35 to a portion that does not interfere with the irradiation side pressing unit 23 and the other side pressing unit 25 (FIG. 6) and at the same time, the irradiation side pressing unit 23. The laser beam 35 is irradiated to a part (FIG. 7) including a part that crosses an arbitrary straight line 40 that connects the second pressing part 25 to the other side.

  In addition, the laser welding apparatus 20 shows a suitable structure, and when implementing the laser welding method of this invention, the structure of the laser welding apparatus 20 may be changed suitably.

  In addition, the present invention is suitable for manufacturing a vehicle body by joining pressed products of thin steel plates to form a vehicle body frame, but may be applied to welding of a general structure different from the vehicle body.

  Moreover, the other side pressing part 25 which exhibits a substantially dot shape may be a prism or a polygonal column in addition to a cylinder. Furthermore, the other side pressing part 25 may be a flat plate extending in the extending direction of the tube or the irradiation side pressing part 23 in addition to the substantially dot shape, and the shape is arbitrary.

  In the embodiment, the laminated body is composed of two upper and lower thin plates. However, the laminated body may be composed of three or more thin plates, and the thickness of each may be different.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is suitable for manufacturing a vehicle body by joining pressed products of thin steel plates to form a vehicle body frame.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Thin plate, 14 ... Thin plate, 15 ... Bead, 16 ... Laminated body, 20 ... Laser welding apparatus, 21 ... Laser irradiation part, 22 ... Control part, 23 ... Irradiation side press part, 23a ... Irradiation side edge part, 24 ... Irradiation side pressing member, 25 ... other side pressing part, 25a ... other side edge part, 35 ... laser beam, 40 ... arbitrary straight line, 41 ... opening.

Claims (4)

A laser welding apparatus for performing welding on a laminate formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates and joining the plurality of thin plates,
A laser irradiation unit for irradiating a laser beam from one surface of the laminate;
The other side pressing portion for pressing the other surface of the laminate,
While pressing one surface of the laminate, the other side pressing portion is arranged to be offset in the surface direction of the laminate, and an irradiation side pressing portion,
The straight line when the irradiation side edge part formed in the irradiation side pressing part and abutting the laminated body and the other side edge part formed in the other side pressing part and abutting the laminated body are connected by an arbitrary straight line the site containing the above Ri Do and a control unit for controlling the laser irradiation unit to irradiate the laser beam,
The laser beam is a laser welding device according to claim Rukoto is irradiated in an arc shape so as to surround the other side pressing portion. The other side pressing unit, a laser welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the said laminate is intended to press a narrow range by a substantially point-like member. A laser welding apparatus for performing welding on a laminate formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates and joining the plurality of thin plates,
A laser irradiation unit for irradiating a laser beam from one surface of the laminate;
The other side pressing portion for pressing the other surface of the laminate,
While pressing one surface of the laminate, the other side pressing portion is arranged to be offset in the surface direction of the laminate, and an irradiation side pressing portion,
The straight line when the irradiation side edge part formed in the irradiation side pressing part and abutting the laminated body and the other side edge part formed in the other side pressing part and abutting the laminated body are connected by an arbitrary straight line It consists of a control unit that controls the laser irradiation unit so as to irradiate the laser beam to the part including the top,
An irradiation side pressing member including a plurality of the irradiation side pressing portions, the irradiation side pressing member includes an opening provided between the plurality of irradiation side pressing portions and penetrating in a plate thickness direction, and the laser beam is features and, Relais Za welding apparatus to be illuminated through the opening. A laser welding method for welding a laminated body formed by stacking a plurality of thin plates,
A step of sandwiching the laminated body so that the laminated body meanders between the irradiation side pressing portion and the other side pressing portion offset from each other in the plane direction of the laminated body;
A laser irradiation unit arranged on the irradiation side pressing unit side, an irradiation side edge formed on the irradiation side pressing unit and in contact with the laminate, and the other side formed on the other side pressing unit and in contact with the stack and a rim portion by irradiating a laser beam to a site containing the straight line when connecting with an arbitrary straight line, Ri Do and a step of bonding the plurality of thin plates to each other,
The laser beam is a laser welding method, characterized that you irradiating the other side pressing portion surrounding manner and arcuate.

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