JP6496558B2 - Heat increase calculation device for welding robot - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a heat increase calculation device for a welding robot that determines whether or not the heat increase calculated for components of the welding robot exceeds an allowable value.

  Conventionally, in order to protect the welding power source used in arc welding, the temperature inside the welding power source is detected by a temperature sensor, and when the temperature exceeds a predetermined reference value, the welding current is cut off. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1). In addition, when the welding power source reaches the rated usage rate, it is also controlled whether or not to continue welding depending on whether or not the estimated temperature value when welding is continued to the end exceeds the reference value. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).

JP 2013-184193 A JP 2013-151012 A

  In the conventional example, the control as described above is performed during actual welding. Therefore, if the temperature inside the welding power source exceeds the reference value during welding, or if the welding power source reaches the rated usage rate and the estimated temperature value at the end of welding exceeds the reference value, Will be interrupted. For this reason, when the above conventional example is applied to a welding robot, it is necessary to discard a workpiece on which welding has been interrupted, or to perform welding again, resulting in a reduction in production efficiency.

  In the above conventional example, the welding power source can be protected, but the components in the welding robot cannot be protected. A welding robot may be provided with a feed motor for feeding a welding wire. However, when the feed motor repeats inching and retracting at a high speed, the load becomes very large. Therefore, when the feed motor is operated for a long time, the feed motor may be burned out. When control using a temperature sensor is performed in order to avoid this, the welding may be interrupted in the middle as in the conventional example. Moreover, when welding was continued for a long time, the welding torch could become high temperature, and the damage to the welding torch was large.

  Generally speaking, there has been a problem that components of a welding robot, such as a feeding motor and a welding torch, are damaged by welding that continues for a long time. Moreover, when solving the problem, there also existed a request to avoid that welding was interrupted on the way.

  The present invention has been made in response to the above-described problems and demands, and it is possible to prevent the welding robot components from being damaged by welding that continues for a long time without interrupting welding. An object of the present invention is to provide a device that can be used.

In order to achieve the above object, a welding robot heat increase calculation apparatus according to the present invention provides a welding condition and a heat increase amount per unit time related to the components of the welding robot when the welding robot operates according to the welding condition. Is stored correspondence information storage unit for storing correspondence information that is information for associating, an allowable heat increase amount storage unit for storing an allowable heat increase amount of a component, and welding robot teaching information including welding conditions. Using the correspondence information, a heat increase amount calculation unit for calculating a heat increase amount of the component corresponding to the welding condition included in the teaching information, and a component calculated by the heat increase amount calculation unit A determination unit that determines whether or not the heat increase amount exceeds an allowable heat increase amount, and an output unit that performs output according to a determination result by the determination unit.
With such a configuration, when the welding robot operates according to the teaching information, it can be determined without operating the welding robot whether or not the amount of heat increase regarding a certain component exceeds an allowable value. Then, according to the determination result, for example, by inserting a waiting time, the teaching information can be changed so that the heat increase amount for the component does not exceed the allowable value. As a result, for example, when the welding robot is actually operated, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a certain component is overloaded or at a high temperature, and it is possible to prevent welding from being interrupted.

In the heat increase calculation device for the welding robot according to the present invention, the heat increase calculation unit calculates the heat increase for a predetermined time, and the allowable heat increase is an allowable value corresponding to the predetermined time. It may be a heat increase amount.
With such a configuration, it is possible to determine the amount of heat increase corresponding to a predetermined time. The time may be, for example, 10 minutes.

Moreover, in the heat increase calculation apparatus of the welding robot by this invention, a component may be a feed motor which feeds the welding wire of a welding robot.
With such a configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the feed motor is overloaded when the feed motor is operated according to the teaching information. In particular, in a welding method in which inching and retraction are repeated, it is necessary to constantly apply a large acceleration to the welding wire, and a large load is applied to the feeding motor. Even in such a case, for example, the feeding motor can be prevented from burning out by correcting the teaching information according to the determination result.

Further, in the heat increase calculation apparatus for the welding robot according to the present invention, the component may be a welding torch of the welding robot.
With such a configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not the welding torch becomes too hot when welding is performed according to the teaching information. Then, the welding torch can be prevented from being damaged by correcting the teaching information according to the determination result.

In the welding robot heat increase calculation apparatus according to the present invention, the teaching information storage unit also stores shape information that is information related to the shape of the base material to be welded by the welding robot, and the heat increase calculation unit Further, the heat increase amount of the welding torch may be calculated using the shape information.
With such a configuration, it becomes possible to make a more accurate determination. For example, when welding is performed in a closed space, heat is likely to be accumulated, and the amount of heat increase of the welding torch can be large, but when welding is performed in an open space, it is difficult to accumulate heat. The amount of heat increase of the welding torch is not likely to increase. By using the shape information, it is possible to calculate the heat increase amount considering such a difference.

The apparatus for calculating heat increase of a welding robot according to the present invention further includes a temperature reception unit that receives a temperature at the position of the welding robot, and the heat increase calculation unit increases the amount of heat increase as the temperature received by the temperature reception unit increases. You may calculate so that may increase.
When the outside temperature of the welding robot is high, heat dissipation is suppressed, and the amount of heat increase in the constituent elements of the welding robot becomes relatively larger than the allowable heat increase amount. Therefore, with such a configuration, by using the temperature received by the temperature receiving unit, it is possible to calculate the amount of heat increase considering the influence of such temperature.

Further, in the welding robot heat increase amount calculation device according to the present invention, the temperature receiving unit that receives the temperature at the position of the welding robot, and the allowable heat increase amount so that the allowable heat increase amount decreases as the temperature received by the temperature receiving unit increases. An allowable heat increase amount changing unit that changes the increase amount may be further included.
When the outside temperature of the welding robot is high, heat radiation in the welding robot is suppressed. Therefore, with such a configuration, for example, when the outside air temperature of the welding robot is high, it is possible to appropriately cope with such a situation by reducing the allowable heat increase amount.

In the apparatus for calculating the heat increase amount of the welding robot according to the present invention, the output unit may output a warning when it is determined that the heat increase amount of the component exceeds the allowable heat increase amount.
With such a configuration, for example, by correcting the teaching information according to the warning, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a certain component is overloaded or hot when actually operating the welding robot. it can.

In the apparatus for calculating the heat increase amount of the welding robot according to the present invention, the output unit changes the teaching information so that the cooling period increases when it is determined that the heat increase amount of the component exceeds the allowable heat increase amount. May be.
With such a configuration, teaching information can be automatically corrected, and user convenience is improved. Also, in order to increase the cooling period, for example, by putting a standby time, a standby command, etc. in the non-welding section, it is possible to prevent the welding from being interrupted while increasing the cooling period, thereby reducing productivity. Can be avoided.

  According to the apparatus for calculating the heat increase amount of the welding robot according to the present invention, when the welding robot operates according to the teaching information, the welding robot is operated to determine whether or not the heat increase amount related to a certain component exceeds an allowable value. It can be judged without. As a result, it is possible to determine whether or not the teaching information includes inappropriate content that can damage the components of the welding robot without actually operating the welding robot.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the heat increase calculation apparatus of the welding robot by embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the heat increase calculation apparatus of the welding robot by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the heat increase calculation apparatus of the welding robot by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the heat increase calculation apparatus of the welding robot by the embodiment The flowchart which shows operation | movement of the heat increase calculation apparatus of the welding robot by the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the correspondence information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the information memorize | stored in the allowable heat increase amount memory | storage part in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the teaching information in the embodiment The figure which shows an example of the output result in the same embodiment The figure which shows an example of the output result in the same embodiment The figure which shows an example of the output result in the same embodiment The figure which shows an example of the output result in the same embodiment The figure for demonstrating the shape information in the embodiment The figure for demonstrating the shape information in the embodiment

  Hereinafter, an apparatus for calculating a heat increase amount of a welding robot according to the present invention will be described using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or equivalent, and repetitive description may be omitted. The welding robot heat increase calculation apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention can determine whether or not the heat increase of the components of the welding robot exceeds an allowable value without operating the welding robot. .

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a heat increase calculation device 1 for a welding robot according to the present embodiment. The welding robot heat increase calculation device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a correspondence information storage unit 11, an allowable heat increase storage unit 12, a teaching information storage unit 13, a temperature receiving unit 14, and an allowable heat increase change. Unit 15, heat increase calculation unit 16, determination unit 17, and output unit 18.

  The correspondence information storage unit 11 stores correspondence information. The correspondence information is information that associates the welding conditions with the amount of heat increase per unit time related to the components of the welding robot when the welding robot operates according to the welding conditions. Therefore, when a certain welding condition is given, by using the correspondence information, it is possible to acquire the amount of heat increase per unit time according to the welding condition. The component may be, for example, a feeding motor that feeds a welding wire of a welding robot, a welding torch of a welding robot, or another component of a welding robot. For example, the feeding motor may or may not repeatedly perform inching and retracting of the welding wire. Inching is the advancement of the welding wire in the welding torch direction, and retracting is the reverse of the welding wire. The inching and retraction may be repeated at a high speed. By performing inching and retracting of the welding wire according to welding, a large load is applied to the feeding motor and heat is generated. Further, the welding torch is heated by radiant heat generated by welding. The calorific value and heating amount per unit time are indicated by the heat increase per unit time. Moreover, the welding conditions and the heat increase amount per unit time may be directly associated with each other or may be associated with each other through other information. Further, the correspondence information may correspond to a welding condition or a pointer or address of the heat increase amount per unit time. The correspondence information may be information having a plurality of records having welding conditions and the amount of heat increase per unit time according to the welding conditions, such as a table. In the present embodiment, the case where the correspondence information is such will be mainly described. The correspondence information may include a function, for example. Specifically, the correspondence information may be a function for calculating the amount of heat increase per unit time with the welding condition as an argument, and the welding condition and the speed and acceleration of the feeding motor according to the welding condition. And a function for calculating the amount of heat increase per unit time using the speed and acceleration of the feeding motor as arguments. The welding conditions may include, for example, a welding current or a welding voltage. Further, in the case of a welding robot that uses shield gas, the welding gas flow may be included in the welding conditions. The shielding gas may or may not be used for cooling the feed motor. In the former case, the amount of heat increase per unit time decreases as the flow rate of the shielding gas increases. The amount of heat increase is a value related to an increase in the amount of heat of a certain component. For example, when the component generates heat by itself (for example, when the component is a feeding motor), it is the amount of heat generated by the component. If the component is heated by another (for example, if the component is a welding torch), the heating amount may be used. Further, the heat increase amount may be a temperature increase amount of the component. The amount of heat increased in a certain component divided by the heat capacity of that component is the amount of temperature rise of that component, so the amount of increase in heat and the amount of temperature rise are usually a constant multiple difference. . This is because the heat capacity of the components of the welding robot is considered to be constant. Further, the heat increase amount per unit time may be, for example, a heat increase amount per second, or may be a heat increase amount per other unit time. As will be described later, the correspondence information storage unit 11 may store two or more pieces of correspondence information respectively corresponding to two or more temperatures.

  The process in which the correspondence information is stored in the correspondence information storage unit 11 does not matter. For example, correspondence information may be stored in the correspondence information storage unit 11 via a recording medium, and correspondence information transmitted via a communication line or the like is stored in the correspondence information storage unit 11. Alternatively, the correspondence information input via the input device may be stored in the correspondence information storage unit 11. The storage in the correspondence information storage unit 11 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The correspondence information storage unit 11 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.).

  The allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 stores the allowable heat increase amount of the constituent elements of the welding robot. The component is the same as the component corresponding to the amount of heat increase per unit time that is associated with the welding condition in the correspondence information. Therefore, for example, when the correspondence information relates to the feed motor, the allowable heat increase amount also relates to the feed motor. As will be described later, the allowable heat increase amount is a threshold value to be compared with the heat increase amount calculated by the heat increase amount calculation unit 16. If the calculated heat increase is less than or equal to the allowable heat increase, it is determined that there is no problem. If the calculated heat increase exceeds the allowable heat increase, it is determined that there is a problem. It will be. This allowable heat increase amount may or may not be an allowable heat increase amount according to a predetermined time. The predetermined time may be a rated time described later. Further, the allowable heat increase amount may be a value corresponding to the heat dissipation amount according to the rated time, or may not be so. This will be described later.

  The process in which the allowable heat increase amount is stored in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 does not matter. For example, the allowable heat increase amount may be stored in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 via the recording medium, and the allowable heat increase amount transmitted via the communication line or the like is the allowable heat increase amount storage unit. 12 may be stored, or the allowable heat increase amount input via the input device may be stored in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12. The storage in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like).

  The teaching information storage unit 13 stores the teaching information of the welding robot including the welding conditions. This teaching information usually includes a position command indicating the position of the tip of the welding robot and welding conditions relating to welding by the welding robot. The welding condition may be considered as a welding command. The welding robot operates according to the teaching information. The process in which the teaching information is stored in the teaching information storage unit 13 does not matter. Although FIG. 1 shows a case where teaching information is stored in the teaching information storage unit 13 by the teaching device 2 such as a teach pendant, the teaching information is also stored in the teaching information storage unit via a recording medium, for example. 13 may be stored, and teaching information transmitted via a communication line or the like may be stored in the teaching information storage unit 13 or input via an input device. The teaching information may be stored in the teaching information storage unit 13. Storage in the teaching information storage unit 13 may be temporary storage in a RAM or the like, or may be long-term storage. The teaching information storage unit 13 can be realized by a predetermined recording medium (for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, etc.).

  The temperature receiving unit 14 receives the temperature at the position of the welding robot. The welding robot is a welding robot that operates according to the teaching information stored in the teaching information storage unit 13. The temperature is the outside air temperature in the vicinity of the welding robot. The received temperature may be used, for example, to change the allowable heat increase amount by the allowable heat increase amount change unit 15 or may be used to calculate the heat increase amount by the heat increase amount calculation unit 16. Well, or both may be used. For example, the temperature receiving unit 14 may receive a temperature input from an input device (for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, etc.), or may receive a temperature transmitted via a wired or wireless communication line. The temperature may be received from a thermometer such as a thermocouple. Strictly speaking, the object received by the temperature receiving unit 14 is data indicating temperature, but for convenience of explanation, it is simply referred to as “temperature”. In addition, the temperature receiving unit 14 may or may not include a device (for example, a modem or a network card) for receiving. The temperature receiving unit 14 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives a predetermined device.

  The allowable heat increase amount changing unit 15 may change the allowable heat increase amount so that the allowable heat increase amount decreases as the temperature received by the temperature receiving unit 14 increases. As will be described later, the allowable heat increase amount may be a value corresponding to heat radiation. In that case, when the outside air temperature of the welding robot is high, the degree of heat radiation becomes low, and therefore the allowable heat increase amount may be changed to be small. On the contrary, when the outside temperature of the welding robot is low, the degree of heat dissipation increases, so that the allowable heat increase amount may be increased. Further, the change in the allowable heat increase amount may be performed using information such as a function or a table that associates the temperature with the allowable heat increase amount, for example.

The heat increase amount calculation unit 16 uses the correspondence information stored in the correspondence information storage unit 11 to increase the heat increase amount of the component corresponding to the welding condition included in the teaching information stored in the teaching information storage unit 13. Is calculated. As described above, the component may be, for example, a feed motor of a welding robot or a welding torch of a welding robot. Further, the heat increase amount calculated by the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may correspond to a predetermined time (hereinafter also referred to as “rated time”). The rated time may be, for example, 10 minutes or other lengths. In the present embodiment, the case where the rated time is 10 minutes will be mainly described. For example, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 refers to the teaching information, and calculates the times of the welding section and the non-welding section when the welding robot operates according to the teaching information. And the heat increase amount calculation part 16 sets the start of the judgment period which is a period used as judgment object to a certain time, welding conditions of the welding section included in the set judgment period, and welding according to the welding conditions Get time to be done. Note that the time length of the determination period may be a rated time. Moreover, the heat increase amount calculation part 16 acquires the heat increase amount per unit time corresponding to the acquired welding conditions using correspondence information. And the heat increase amount calculation part 16 respond | corresponds to the welding conditions by multiplying the time when the welding according to a certain welding condition is performed, and the heat increase amount per unit time corresponding to the welding condition. A heat increase amount is calculated, and the calculated heat increase amount is added over the determination period, thereby calculating a heat increase amount corresponding to the determination period. Specifically, in a welding section included in a certain determination period, welding is performed under welding conditions W ₁ , W ₂ ,..., W _N , and times corresponding to these welding conditions are respectively T ₁ , T ₂ , ..., _TN (s). N is an integer of 1 or more. Further, assuming that the heat increase amounts per unit time corresponding to the welding conditions W ₁ , W ₂ ,..., W _N are R ₁ , R ₂ , ..., _RN (J / s), respectively, the heat increase amount. The calculation unit 16 calculates the heat increase amount as in the following equation. Note that the sum Σ of the following equation is taken for i = 1 to N. Further, in the following formula, the unit of the heat increase amount is J (joule), but as described above, the unit of the heat increase amount may be, for example, a temperature or other units.
Heat increase (J) = Σ _i (T _i × R _i )

  In addition, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may calculate the heat increase amount for a plurality of determination periods while changing the determination period. In addition, the determination period may or may not overlap. In the latter case, for example, the end of the first determination period may be set as the start of the second determination period, and when the end of the first determination period is not included in the welding section, The start period may be the start period of the welding period after the end period of the first determination period. When the heat increase amount is calculated for a plurality of determination periods as described above, it is preferable that the welding section corresponding to the teaching information is covered by at least one determination period. In addition, when a welding section is covered by the determination period, one welding section may be covered by a plurality of determination periods. Further, for example, when the teaching information is shown in FIG. 5, after step 17, the process returns to step 1 and the same operation may be repeated again. In such a case, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may set the determination period on the assumption that the first process of the teaching information is continued after the last process of the teaching information. Specifically, in FIG. 5, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 calculates the heat increase amount during the determination period, for example, assuming that steps 15 to 17 and steps 1 to 5 are included in one determination period. Good.

  When the temperature is received by the temperature receiving unit 14, the heat increase amount calculating unit 16 may calculate the heat increase amount so that the heat increase amount increases as the received temperature increases. Therefore, for example, correspondence information may be set for each temperature, and the heat increase amount calculated using the correspondence information may be changed using the temperature. In the former case, for example, when correspondence information is stored every 5 ° C. in the correspondence information storage unit 11, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 is closest to the temperature received by the temperature reception unit 14. The amount of increase in heat may be calculated using correspondence information corresponding to the temperature. When the heat increase amount calculated using the correspondence information is changed using the temperature, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 uses, for example, the correspondence information corresponding to a certain reference temperature to increase the reference heat increase. If the received temperature is higher than the reference temperature, the value that is changed to increase the reference heat increase amount is set as the final heat increase amount. When the temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature, a value changed so as to decrease the reference heat increase amount may be set as the final heat increase amount. When increasing or decreasing the reference heat increase amount, for example, the reference heat increase amount may be increased or decreased by multiplying by a coefficient greater than 1 or by a coefficient less than 1. It may be increased or decreased by adding a positive real value or adding a negative real value to the reference heat increase amount. Note that, depending on the difference between the accepted temperature and the reference temperature, the magnitude of the coefficient or the magnitude of the real value may be changed. Specifically, when the accepted temperature is higher than the reference temperature, a larger coefficient or a larger positive real value may be used as the absolute value of the difference between the two is larger. When the accepted temperature is lower than the reference temperature, a smaller value coefficient or a negative real value having a larger absolute value may be used as the absolute value of the difference between the two is larger. Moreover, when the heat increase amount calculation part 16 calculates heat increase amount using temperature, it is suitable that the temperature is the newest temperature. Therefore, when the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 calculates the heat increase amount using the temperature, only the temperature received within a predetermined period from the calculation time point is used, and the other temperatures are not used. Also good. When the heat increase amount is calculated without using the accepted temperature, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 calculates the heat increase amount using correspondence information corresponding to a predetermined reference temperature, for example. May be.

  The determination unit 17 determines whether the heat increase amount of the component calculated by the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 exceeds the allowable heat increase amount stored in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12. In addition, when the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 calculates the heat increase amount for one teaching information a plurality of times, the determination unit 17 makes a determination for each calculated heat increase amount. . Also, if there is a heat increase calculated for certain teaching information that exceeds the allowable heat increase, the welding robot is operated according to the teaching information to handle the heat increase. The teaching information is not appropriate because the component to be operated may have a temperature exceeding the allowable limit. On the other hand, if there is no heat increase amount that exceeds the allowable heat increase amount for the teaching information, even if the welding robot is operated according to the teaching information, the configuration corresponding to the heat increase amount It is unlikely that the element will exceed the allowable limit, and the teaching information will be appropriate.

  The output unit 18 performs output according to the determination result by the determination unit 17. For example, the output unit 18 may output the determination result itself. Further, the output unit 18 may output information indicating whether there is a heat increase amount calculated for certain teaching information that exceeds the allowable heat increase amount. Further, the output unit 18 outputs only when it is determined that the heat increase amount exceeds the allowable heat increase amount, and when not, the output may not be output, and vice versa, or In both cases, output may be performed. The output unit 18 may output a warning when it is determined that the heat increase amount of the component exceeds the allowable heat increase amount. If the person who has seen the output can understand that the output is a warning as a result, the content of the warning does not matter. For example, output indicating that the teaching content related to welding in the teaching information is inappropriate may be performed by text, color, figure, sound, or the like. In addition, depending on the warning, an inappropriate welding section may be specified or not. Further, advice for changing the teaching information to appropriate information may be output. You may think that the advice is a warning. The advice may be, for example, an advice to insert a waiting time (a period in which welding is not performed), an advice to shorten the welding time, or the like. The advice may include, for example, the length of waiting time to be inserted. The length (s) of the waiting time may be calculated by, for example, (heat increase amount (J) −allowable heat increase amount (J)) / (heat radiation amount per unit time (J / s)). In addition, the teaching information may be changed by the user in response to the output of a warning or advice. The change may be, for example, increasing the time length of the non-welding section.

  Further, the output unit 18 may change the teaching information so that the cooling period increases when it is determined that the heat increase amount of the component exceeds the allowable heat increase amount. In addition, a cooling period is a period when welding is not performed at least. This is because the component whose temperature has increased during the cooling is cooled during that period. The cooling may be, for example, natural cooling or forced cooling using a fan or the like. The teaching information is changed so that the cooling period is increased. In the teaching information, a waiting time (period during which welding is not performed) is included in a determination period in which it is determined that the heat increase amount exceeds the allowable heat increase amount. ) May be inserted, and a wait instruction may be inserted at that time. The time point included in the determination period in which the waiting time or the like is inserted is a non-welding section, and may be a time point between two welding periods included in the determination period, for example. Further, the length of the waiting time to be inserted may be determined in advance, for example, or may be a length calculated so that the heat increase amount during the determination period does not exceed the allowable heat increase amount. Good. In the former case, for example, by setting the length of the waiting time to be inserted as a short time, calculating and determining the heat increase amount, and repeating the insertion of the waiting time, finally, the heat increase in the determination period The amount may not exceed the allowable heat increase. Further, the standby command may be, for example, a command to wait until the temperature reaches a predetermined value. When the welding robot operates according to the standby command, for example, the temperature of the component corresponding to the heat increase amount is measured in real time, and the measured temperature is changed according to the execution of the standby command. The movement of the welding or manipulator may be stopped until the temperature set by the standby command is reached.

  Here, the output may be, for example, display on a display device (for example, a CRT or a liquid crystal display), transmission via a communication line to a predetermined device, printing by a printer, or audio output by a speaker. Alternatively, it may be stored in a recording medium or delivered to another component. Note that the output unit 18 may output a warning or the like to the teaching device 2 such as a teach pendant. The output unit 18 may or may not include a device that performs output (for example, a display device or a printer). The output unit 18 may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by software such as a driver that drives these devices.

  Of the correspondence information storage unit 11, the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12, and the teaching information storage unit 13, any two or more storage units may be realized by the same recording medium or separately. It may be realized by the recording medium. In the former case, for example, the region storing the correspondence information becomes the correspondence information storage unit 11, and the region storing the allowable heat increase amount becomes the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12.

  Further, the heat increase calculation device 1 of the welding robot may be, for example, a robot control device, may be included in the control device, or may be a device that performs offline teaching. It may be included in a device that performs off-line teaching, or may be another device.

  Here, the relationship between the determination period, the heat increase amount, and the allowable heat increase amount will be briefly described. Assuming that the heat release amount corresponding to the length of the determination period (rated time) is A and the heat increase amount in the determination period is B, if B ≦ A, heat can be dissipated by the heat increase amount. Therefore, by setting the allowable heat increase amount to A, it is possible to prevent the heat increase amount from exceeding the heat radiation amount. As a result, no matter how long such operation continues, the feeding motor or the like The temperature will not become high. Note that when the temperature at the position of the welding robot is high, the heat dissipation amount A is smaller than when the temperature is not so. Therefore, when the temperature is high, the allowable heat increase amount that is a value corresponding to the heat dissipation amount is lowered, the heat increase amount B that is a comparison target with the heat dissipation amount A is increased, or both are performed. It will be. When the temperature is low, the reverse process is performed. As a result, the processing according to the temperature is as described above. When both the heat increase amount and the allowable heat increase amount are changed according to the temperature change, the degree of the change is usually smaller than when only one of them is changed.

Next, operation | movement of the heat increase amount calculation apparatus 1 of a welding robot is demonstrated using the flowchart of FIG. 2A.
(Step S101) The heat increase amount calculation unit 16 determines whether or not to make a determination regarding the heat increase amount. And when determining regarding the amount of heat increase, it progresses to step S102, and when that is not right, it progresses to step S109. For example, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may determine that the determination regarding the heat increase amount is to be performed when receiving an instruction to start the determination regarding the heat increase amount. When the information is accumulated, it may be determined that the teaching information is determined regarding the heat increase amount.

  (Step S102) The heat increase amount calculation unit 16 refers to the teaching information stored in the teaching information storage unit 13, and the time between the welding section and the non-welding section when the welding robot operates according to the teaching information. Calculate By using the calculation result, for example, it becomes possible to know the start time and end time of each welding section on the basis of the start time of the operation according to the teaching information.

  (Step S103) The heat increase amount calculation unit 16 sets the start of the determination period to the start of the first welding section in the teaching information.

  (Step S104) The heat increase amount calculation unit 16 calculates the heat increase amount for the set determination period.

  (Step S <b> 105) The determination unit 17 determines whether or not the heat increase amount calculated in step S <b> 104 is less than or equal to the allowable heat increase amount stored in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12. If the heat increase amount is less than or equal to the allowable heat increase amount, the process proceeds to step S106. If the heat increase amount exceeds the allowable heat increase amount, the process proceeds to step S108.

  (Step S106) The heat increase amount calculation unit 16 updates the determination period. For example, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may set the start of the determination period after the update as the end of the determination period before the update.

  (Step S107) The heat increase calculation unit 16 determines whether or not to end the determination process. If the process is to end, the process returns to step S101; otherwise, the process returns to step S104. The heat increase amount calculation unit 16 determines to end the determination process when the start of the determination period set in step S106 exceeds the end point of the series of first processing according to the teaching information, Otherwise, it may be determined not to end. When the end of the judgment period exceeds the end time of the first process according to the teaching information, the second process according to the teaching information may be considered for the excess part, or It does n’t have to be. When the process according to the teaching information is repeatedly executed, the former is preferable.

  (Step S108) The output unit 18 performs output according to the determination result. Then, the process returns to step S101. This output processing will be described later using another flowchart.

  (Step S109) The temperature receiving unit 14 determines whether a temperature has been received. And when temperature is received, it progresses to step S110, and when that is not right, it returns to step S101.

  (Step S110) The heat increase amount calculation unit 16 performs setting related to the correspondence information so that the heat increase amount is calculated according to the temperature received in step S109. The setting may be, for example, setting correspondence information used in calculating the heat increase amount, or may be a setting relating to a change in the heat increase amount calculated using the correspondence information. After the setting, the amount of heat increase corresponding to the setting is calculated.

  (Step S111) The allowable heat increase amount changing unit 15 changes the allowable heat increase amount stored in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 according to the temperature received in step S109. Then, the process returns to step S101. Note that the allowable heat increase amount may not be changed even when a new temperature is accepted, such as when the newly accepted temperature is the same as the previously accepted temperature.

  Note that the order of processing in the flowchart of FIG. 2A is an example, and the order of each step may be changed as long as similar results can be obtained. 2A shows the case of returning to step S101 after the output of step S108, this need not be the case. For example, the process may proceed to step S106 after the output of step S108, and the determination process may be continued. In addition, although the flowchart of FIG. 2A shows the case where both the processes of steps S110 and S111 are performed, this need not be the case. Only one process may be performed. In addition, when not performing the process of step S111, the heat increase amount calculation apparatus 1 of the welding robot may not include the allowable heat increase amount changing unit 15. 2A does not include a process for changing teaching information, it is needless to say that a process for changing teaching information may be performed in the heat increase calculation device 1 of the welding robot. For example, the teaching apparatus 2 may accumulate new teaching information in the teaching information storage unit 13 or change teaching information stored in the teaching information storage unit 13. Also, in the flowchart of FIG. 2A, the process ends due to power-off or a process end interrupt.

FIG. 2B is a flowchart showing details of the output process (step S108) in the flowchart of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2B illustrates a case where a warning is output.
(Step S <b> 201) The output unit 18 sums up the time lengths of the welding sections included in the determination period in which the heat increase amount is determined to exceed the allowable heat increase amount (hereinafter, referred to as “welding time”). Is), but it is determined whether it is less than the rated time. And when welding time is less than a rated period, it progresses to step S202, and when that is not right, it progresses to step S203. If the welding time is less than the rated time, the non-welding period is included in the determination period. On the other hand, when the welding time is equal to or longer than the rated time, the entire determination period is a welding section.

  (Step S202) The output unit 18 outputs a warning that the heat increase amount exceeds the allowable heat increase amount and advice that a non-welding section is added. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG. 2A. In addition, according to this output, a non-welding area may be added as appropriate in the teaching information.

  (Step S203) The output unit 18 outputs a warning that the heat increase amount exceeds the allowable heat increase amount and advice that the welding section is too long. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG. 2A. In addition, according to this output, in teaching information, a welding area may be appropriately divided into two or more, and a non-welding area may be inserted therebetween.

  FIG. 2C is a flowchart showing details of the output process (step S108) in the flowchart of FIG. 2A. In FIG. 2C, a case where a non-welded section is inserted will be described. Note that the processing in steps S201 and S203 in the flowchart in FIG. 2C is the same as that in the flowchart in FIG.

  (Step S301) In the teaching information stored in the teaching information storage unit 13, the output unit 18 further adds to the non-welding section included in the determination period in which it is determined that the heat increase amount exceeds the allowable heat increase amount. Insert a non-welded section. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG. 2A. In addition, the period during which cooling can be performed in the determination period increases due to the insertion of the non-welding section.

  FIG. 2D is a flowchart showing details of the output process (step S108) in the flowchart of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2D illustrates a case where a standby instruction is inserted. Note that the processing in steps S201 and S203 in the flowchart in FIG. 2D is the same as that in the flowchart in FIG.

  (Step S401) In the teaching information stored in the teaching information storage unit 13, the output unit 18 waits in a non-welding section included in a determination period in which it is determined that the heat increase amount exceeds the allowable heat increase amount. Insert an instruction. And it returns to the flowchart of FIG. 2A. Note that the standby command may be, for example, a command to wait for welding or movement of the manipulator until the temperature of the component for which the heat increase amount is calculated reaches a certain temperature. When the welding robot operates according to the standby command, the operation of the welding robot is stopped by the standby command until the temperature of the component decreases.

  Next, the operation of the welding robot heat increase calculation device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described using a specific example. In this specific example, it is assumed that the correspondence information storage unit 11 stores the correspondence information shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the correspondence information includes a plurality of records including the welding voltage (V), the welding current (A), and the amount of heat (J / s) per unit time. For example, the amount of heat (J / s) per unit time corresponding to the welding voltage X101 (V) and the welding current Y101 (A) is H0101.

  Further, in this specific example, it is assumed that the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 stores the information shown in FIG. The information shown in FIG. 4 is information having a plurality of records having a temperature (° C.), an allowable heat increase amount (J), and a flag. The flag is a flag indicating the allowable heat increase amount to be used for determination. The allowable heat increase amount of the record having the flag “1” is used for the determination. In the case of FIG. 4, the allowable heat increase amount Z103 (J) corresponding to 20 ° C. is used for the determination.

  Further, in this specific example, it is assumed that the teaching information shown in FIG. 5 is input and accumulated in the teaching information storage unit 13 by the teaching device 2 which is a teach pendant. The teaching information shown in FIG. 5 includes a command relating to the movement of the position of the tip of the manipulator and welding conditions. For example, step 1 of the teaching information is a command to move the position of the tip of the manipulator to a position p1 at a speed v1 along a linear track. Note that the position p1 and the like may include a posture (angle) with respect to the tip of the manipulator. Step 2 is a command to start welding according to the welding condition w2. Although not shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the details of the welding condition w2 (welding current, welding voltage, etc.) are also included in the teaching information. Step 3 is a command to move the position of the tip of the manipulator to the position p3 at the speed v3 during the welding. Step 4 is a command to end the welding started in Step 2. In the teaching information in FIG. 5, steps 2 to 4 are one welding section.

  In this specific example, it is assumed that the process of step S110 in the flowchart of FIG. 2A is not performed. That is, when a new temperature is input, the allowable heat increase amount is appropriately changed according to the temperature. In this specific example, it is assumed that the rated time is 10 minutes.

  Assume that the operator operates the teaching device 2 and inputs the temperature “24 ° C.” after inputting the teaching information of FIG. 5. Then, the temperature is received by the temperature receiving unit 14 and passed to the allowable heat increase amount changing unit 15 (step S109). When the temperature “24 ° C.” is received, the allowable heat increase amount changing unit 15 changes the temperature of the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 to “25 ° C.” that is the temperature closest to 24 ° C. in the information of FIG. The corresponding flag is set to “1”, and the other flags are set to “0” (step S111). As a result, the allowable heat increase amount “Z104” is used in the subsequent determination processing.

  Next, it is assumed that the operator operates the teaching device 2 and inputs an instruction to start the determination. Then, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 determines to start the determination process in response to the input of the instruction (step S101), reads the teaching information shown in FIG. 5 from the teaching information storage unit 13, and determines the welding section. The time with the non-welding section is calculated (step S102). For example, Step 1 corresponds to a non-welded section, and Steps 2 to 4 correspond to a welded section. Thereafter, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 sets the start of the determination period to the start of the first welding section (steps 2 to 4) (step S103). Then, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 calculates the heat increase amount corresponding to the determination period of 10 minutes from the start (step S104). Specifically, it is assumed that the determination period includes the welding section of Steps 2 to 4 and the welding section of Steps 7 to 9. Then, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 multiplies the heat amount per unit time corresponding to the welding condition by the welding condition w2 and the time of the welding condition, and the welding condition w7 also corresponds to the welding condition. The amount of heat increase in the determination period is calculated by multiplying the heat amount per unit time by the welding condition time and adding them. Then, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 informs the determination unit 17 that the heat increase amount is the calculation result and the heat increase amount for the welding sections in steps 2 to 4 and the welding sections in steps 7 to 9. hand over. Upon receiving the heat increase amount or the like, the determination unit 17 reads the allowable heat increase amount “Z104” from the record including the flag “1” among the records stored in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12, and the heat increase amount It is determined whether the heat increase received from the calculation unit 16 exceeds the allowable heat increase “Z104” (step S105). In this case, it has been exceeded. Then, the determination part 17 passes to the output part 18 that the heat increase amount exceeded the allowable heat generation amount for the determination periods corresponding to the welding sections of Steps 2 to 4 and the welding sections of Steps 7 to 9. Accordingly, the output unit 18 performs output according to the determination result (step S108).

  In addition, when the output process shown by FIG. 2B is performed, since the total time of the two welding sections of steps 2 to 4 and steps 7 to 9 included in the determination period is smaller than the rated time of 10 minutes. (Step S201), the output unit 18 may output the teaching information and the advice to insert a waiting time to the teaching device 2 (Step S202). In addition, in the teaching apparatus 2, the display shown by FIG. 6A may be performed according to the output. In the display, the steps corresponding to the two welding sections included in the determination period are highlighted by the rectangles 51 and 52. In addition, an advice “Please enter a waiting time” box 53 is displayed between the steps corresponding to the two welding sections. In response to this display, the operator may update the teaching information by inserting a predetermined waiting time before step 5 or after step 6 and input an instruction to start the determination again. Good. As described above, by repeating the determination and updating of the teaching information, when the welding robot is finally operated according to the teaching information, the amount of heat increase in the components such as the feeding motor is allowed. The value can not be exceeded.

  When the output process shown in FIG. 2C is performed, the teaching information may be updated as shown in FIG. 6B as a result of the output (step S301). In FIG. 6B, a waiting time 54 of xx (seconds) is inserted after the first welding section. The xx (seconds) may be a predetermined time. Further, after the insertion, the determination process may be automatically executed again, and it may be confirmed whether the heat increase amount does not exceed the allowable value by the insertion of the waiting time. Even in the determination, if the heat increase amount corresponding to steps 2 to 4 and steps 7 to 9 exceeds the allowable value, a waiting time of xx (seconds) is further automatically inserted. Will be. In addition, in FIG. 6B, although it has shown about the case where a waiting time is inserted immediately after the first welding section among a plurality of welding sections corresponding to the heat increase amount that has exceeded the allowable value, this need not be the case. . For example, a waiting time may be inserted immediately before the last welding section among a plurality of welding sections corresponding to the heat increase amount that has exceeded the allowable value, or a waiting time is inserted in other places. You may make it do.

  When the output process shown in FIG. 2D is performed, the teaching information may be updated as shown in FIG. 6C as a result of the output (step S401). In FIG. 6C, a standby instruction 55 for waiting until α (° C.) is inserted after the first welding section. Α (° C.) in the standby command 55 may be a predetermined temperature. In addition, when the determination process is automatically executed again after the insertion, since the time corresponding to the standby instruction is not known, the determination in the section before the standby instruction and the section after the standby instruction are performed. The determination process may be performed separately for the determination. 6C shows a case where a standby command is inserted immediately after the first welding section among the plurality of welding sections corresponding to the heat increase amount that has exceeded the allowable value, but this need not be the case. . For example, a standby command may be inserted immediately before the last welding zone among a plurality of welding zones corresponding to the heat increase amount that has exceeded the allowable value, or a standby command is inserted at other locations. You may make it do.

  The case where the output of step S203 in FIGS. 2B to 2D is performed will be briefly described. For example, the first welding section (steps 2 to 4) in the teaching information shown in FIG. 5 is longer than the rated time, and the heat increase amount corresponding to the determination period included in the welding section exceeds the allowable heat increase amount. Suppose that Then, the output unit 18 may output teaching information and advice indicating that the welding time is too long to the teaching device 2 (step S203). In addition, in the teaching apparatus 2, the display shown by FIG. 6D may be performed according to the output. In the display, the step of the welding section corresponding to the determination period is highlighted by a rectangle 56. Further, a box 57 for advice “welding time is too long” is displayed below the highlight display. In response to this display, the operator may update the teaching information by dividing the welding sections in steps 2 to 4 into two or more welding sections and input an instruction to start the determination again. . As described above, by repeating the determination and updating of the teaching information, when the welding robot is finally operated according to the teaching information, the amount of heat increase in the components such as the feeding motor is allowed. The value can not be exceeded.

  As described above, according to the welding robot heat increase calculation device 1 according to the present embodiment, when the welding robot operates in accordance with the teaching information, the heat increase of a predetermined component of the welding robot is allowed. It can be determined whether or not the value is exceeded. Since the determination can be made without actually operating the welding robot, for example, it is possible to avoid the interruption of welding in the middle. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in productivity by discarding a workpiece that has been interrupted during welding or by performing welding again. Further, since such interruption does not occur, there is no need to re-instruct at the production site, and a reduction in productivity can be avoided. In addition, for example, in the case of a welding robot that is not interrupted even if the heat increase amount of a predetermined component exceeds the allowable value, the component may be damaged by the heat increase amount exceeding the allowable value. However, the heat increase calculation device 1 of the welding robot according to the present embodiment can detect this in advance and prevent such a situation from occurring and avoid damage to the constituent elements. You will also be able to. The load of the feed motor varies depending on the magnitude of the welding current, but the relationship between the welding current and the load of the feed motor and the relationship between the load of the feed motor and the degree of temperature rise. Is not linear. For this reason, when the operator or the like sets teaching information, it is not easy to know how long the non-welding section should be. Will be able to easily know if is appropriate. In addition, by accepting the outside temperature of the welding robot and calculating the amount of heat increase according to the outside temperature, or changing the allowable amount of heat increase, it is possible to make an appropriate judgment according to the outside temperature. become. Moreover, even when the teaching information is changed so that the cooling period is increased, it is possible to avoid interruption of welding in the middle by inserting a standby time or a standby command into the non-welding section, and productivity Can be prevented from dropping.

  In the present embodiment, when the component for which the heat increase amount is calculated is a welding torch, the heat increase amount may be calculated using information on the shape of the base material to be welded. Good. For example, when FIG. 7A is compared with FIG. 7B, in FIG. 7A, welding is performed in a more closed environment, and heat tends to accumulate, whereas in FIG. 7B, welding is performed in a more open environment. Will be carried out and heat is hard to be stored. Therefore, even when welding according to the same teaching information is performed, the welding performed as shown in FIG. 7A calculates a larger amount of heat increase than the welding performed as shown in FIG. 7B. May be. Specifically, the teaching information storage unit 13 may also store shape information that is information related to the shape of the base material to be welded by the welding robot. The teaching information may be an angle formed by the base material to be welded (for example, the angle θ in FIGS. 7A and 7B), or is the welding location a closed environment (an environment where heat is not easily radiated)? Other information indicating whether it is an open environment (an environment where heat is easily radiated) may be used. The angle θ may be an angle formed by the surface of the base material in a plane perpendicular to the weld line (bead). Further, a groove angle may be used instead of the angle θ. Further, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may calculate the heat increase amount of the welding torch also using the shape information stored in the teaching information storage unit 13. The calculation of the heat increase amount using the shape information means that the heat increase amount becomes smaller when the shape information indicates that the welded portion has an open shape (for example, when the angle θ is large). When the calculation information indicates that the weld location is a closed shape (for example, when the angle θ is small), the heat increase amount may be calculated to be larger. That is, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may calculate the heat increase amount so as to indicate that the weld location is more closed by the shape information (for example, as the angle θ is smaller). . For this reason, for example, the correspondence information may be set for every certain degree, and the heat increase amount calculated using the correspondence information may be changed using the certain degree (for example, the angle θ). Also good. The calculation method is the same as the calculation method according to the temperature, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 calculates the heat increase amount according to the rated time, and the determination unit 17 calculates the heat increase amount and the allowable heat increase amount according to the rated time. Although the case of comparison has been described, this need not be the case. For example, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may calculate a cumulative value of the heat increase amount from a certain calculation start time to a calculation end time. The start time may be, for example, the start time of the operation according to the teaching information or the time when the first welding according to the teaching information is started. The end point may be an arbitrary point after the start point. Here, the calculation period T (s) = end point-start point. The calculation period T is a period according to the amount of heat increase, and the period includes a welded section and a non-welded section. In that case, the allowable heat increase amount is a value corresponding to the calculation period T. For example, if the heat dissipation amount per unit time is D (J / s), the allowable heat increase amount may be D × T (J) obtained by multiplying the calculation period T by the heat dissipation amount D per unit time. Or it is good also as DxT + C (J) which added the value C according to the temperature rising to permissible temperature to it. The C is usually a predetermined positive real number. The C is a value corresponding to the degree of temperature rise allowed for the component to be determined. Therefore, for example, when the temperature of the component before the start of the operation according to the teaching information is H ₁ (° C.) and the allowable temperature of the component is H ₂ (° C.), H ₂ −H ₁ It may be considered that the value obtained by multiplying the heat capacity of the component by C is C. By using D × T + C (J) as the allowable heat increase amount, the allowable range becomes wider, and therefore the possibility that the teaching information must be changed is further reduced, which is preferable. Note that the allowable heat increase amount may be calculated by the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 and accumulated in the allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12, or may be calculated and accumulated by other components. The allowable heat increase amount storage unit 12 may be considered as a recording medium in which the allowable heat increase amount is temporarily stored, for example. In this case, the heat increase amount calculation unit 16 may calculate the heat increase amount while sequentially increasing the calculation period T after fixing the start time of the calculation period. Further, the determination unit 17 compares each calculated heat increase amount with the corresponding allowable heat increase amount. As a result of the comparison, when the heat increase amount exceeds the allowable heat increase amount, the same output as when the heat increase amount according to the rated time exceeds the allowable heat increase amount may be performed. Thus, by calculating the cumulative value of the heat increase amount, the allowable heat increase amount considering the value (C) corresponding to the temperature rise to the allowable temperature can be used, and in that case, the allowable range is more Will spread.

  In the above description, the case where the heat increase amount or the like is the heat amount (J) has been mainly described, but as described above, it may not be so. The amount of heat increase may be a temperature (such as ° C. or K).

Further, in the above embodiment, when the allowable heat increase amount is not changed according to the accepted temperature, the heat increase calculation device 1 of the welding robot does not include the allowable heat increase amount change unit 15. May be.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, when the change of the allowable heat increase amount according to the received temperature and the change of calculation of a heat increase amount are not performed, the heat increase amount calculation apparatus 1 of a welding robot is a temperature reception part. 14 and the allowable heat increase amount changing unit 15 may not be provided.

  Moreover, although the case where the heat increase amount calculation apparatus 1 of the welding robot is a stand-alone has been described in the above embodiment, the heat increase amount calculation apparatus 1 of the welding robot may be a stand-alone apparatus, and is a server client. It may be a server device in the system. In the latter case, the output unit or the reception unit may receive input or output information via a communication line.

  In the above embodiment, each process or each function may be realized by centralized processing by a single device or a single system, or may be distributedly processed by a plurality of devices or a plurality of systems. It may be realized by doing.

  In the above embodiment, the information exchange between the components is performed by one component when, for example, the two components that exchange the information are physically different from each other. It may be performed by outputting information and receiving information by the other component, or when two components that exchange information are physically the same, one component May be performed by moving from the phase of the process corresponding to to the phase of the process corresponding to the other component.

  In the above embodiment, information related to processing executed by each component, for example, information received, acquired, selected, generated, transmitted, or received by each component In addition, information such as threshold values, mathematical formulas, addresses, and the like used by each constituent element in processing may be temporarily or for a long time held in a recording medium (not shown), even if not specified in the above description. Further, the storage of information on the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a storage unit (not shown). Further, reading of information from the recording medium (not shown) may be performed by each component or a reading unit (not shown).

  In the above embodiment, when information used by each component, for example, information such as a threshold value, an address, and various setting values used by each component may be changed by the user, Even if it is not specified in the description, the user may be able to change the information as appropriate, or may not be so. If the information can be changed by the user, the change is realized by, for example, a not-shown receiving unit that receives a change instruction from the user and a changing unit (not shown) that changes the information in accordance with the change instruction. May be. The change instruction received by the receiving unit (not shown) may be received from an input device, information received via a communication line, or information read from a predetermined recording medium, for example. .

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, when two or more components contained in the heat increase calculation apparatus 1 of a welding robot have a communication device, an input device, etc., two or more components are a physically single device. Or may have separate devices.

  In the above-described embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or a component that can be realized by software may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. At the time of execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing the storage unit or the recording medium. The program may be executed by being downloaded from a server or the like, or may be executed by reading a program recorded on a predetermined recording medium (for example, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, a semiconductor memory, or the like). Good. Further, this program may be used as a program constituting a program product. Further, the computer that executes the program may be singular or plural. That is, centralized processing may be performed, or distributed processing may be performed.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible, and it goes without saying that these are also included in the scope of the present invention.

  As described above, according to the heat increase calculation apparatus for a welding robot according to the present invention, there is a possibility that a predetermined component is damaged during the operation of the welding robot before the operation of the welding robot according to the teaching information is executed. It is useful as an apparatus for determining whether the amount of heat increase of the constituent elements of the welding robot is within an allowable value.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heating amount calculation apparatus of welding robot 11 Correspondence information storage part 12 Allowable heat increase amount storage part 13 Teaching information storage part 14 Temperature reception part 15 Allowable heat increase amount change part 16 Heat increase amount calculation part 17 Judgment part 18 Output part

Claims (5)

A correspondence information storage unit that stores correspondence information that is information for associating the welding conditions with the amount of heat increase per unit time related to the constituent elements of the welding robot when the welding robot operates according to the welding conditions;
An allowable heat increase amount storage unit in which the allowable heat increase amount of the component is stored;
A teaching information storage unit that stores welding robot teaching information including welding conditions;
Using the correspondence information, a heat increase amount calculation unit that calculates a heat increase amount of the component corresponding to the welding condition included in the teaching information;
A determination unit that determines whether the heat increase amount of the component calculated by the heat increase amount calculation unit exceeds the allowable heat increase amount;
An apparatus for calculating a heat increase amount of a welding robot, comprising: an output unit that performs output according to a determination result by the determination unit. The heat increase amount calculation unit calculates a heat increase amount for a predetermined time,
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the allowable heat increase amount is an allowable heat increase amount corresponding to the predetermined time. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the component is a feeding motor that feeds a welding wire of the welding robot. The welding robot heat increase calculation device according to claim 1, wherein the component is a welding torch of the welding robot. The teaching information storage unit also stores shape information that is information related to the shape of the base material to be welded by the welding robot,
The said heat increase amount calculation part is a heat increase amount calculation apparatus of the welding robot of Claim 4 which calculates the heat increase amount of the said welding torch also using the said shape information.

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