JP6766446B2 - Friction stir welding device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a friction stir welding device.

Conventionally, in friction stir welding, a probe (also called a pin) of a tool for friction stir welding is pressed against a joint where works are abutted against each other in a rotated state, and the rotating probe is immersed in the work. This is a method of moving the joint over the entire length. As a result, frictional heat is generated at the joint of the work due to contact with the probe to soften the periphery of the joint, and the periphery of the softened joint is agitated and mixed by plastic flow as the probe rotates. , Join the workpieces together.

Patent Document 1 below discloses one form of a friction stir welding apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1 below, this friction stir welding device is equipped with a gantry that supports a pair of workpieces and a tool that frictionally welds the workpieces supported by the gantry to create a space under the gantry. It is equipped with a traveling carriage that travels. The work receives a force from the tool during friction stir welding (for example, a force pushing the work in the direction in which the friction stir welding proceeds, a force trying to pull the joint apart, a force trying to rotate the work, etc.). Therefore, the gantry is provided with a work clamp mechanism.

JP 2015-196184

Conventionally, the work for friction stir welding has mainly been a thin plate such as an aluminum material having a size of less than 10 mm. However, in recent years, the range of application of friction stir welding is expanding to thick plates of about 10 mm or more (for example, 30 mm or less). Against this background, it has become necessary to monitor the condition of the workpiece, tools, and traveling carriage in order to confirm the construction quality of the thick plate workpiece and to grasp the abnormal condition of the device body and joints. .. In the conventional configuration, since the traveling carriage is arranged in the lower space of the gantry and the work clamp mechanism is arranged on the gantry, it is difficult to directly monitor the monitoring target from the outside by visual inspection or the like. It was.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a friction stir welding apparatus capable of confirming the construction state of a work and grasping an abnormal state of an apparatus main body and a joint portion.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is equipped with a gantry that supports a pair of workpieces and a tool for friction stir welding between the workpieces supported by the gantry, and a traveling carriage that travels in the lower space of the gantry. A friction stir welding apparatus comprising the above, comprising a state monitoring system for monitoring the state of at least one of the work, the tool, and the traveling carriage at the time of the friction stir welding. The configuration is that it is mounted on a traveling trolley.

Further, in the present invention, the state monitoring system employs a configuration in which a plurality of state monitoring elements are provided, and the plurality of state monitoring elements are arranged along the joint portion of the work.

Further, in the present invention, the condition monitoring system adopts a configuration in which the work temperature monitoring element for monitoring the temperature of at least one of the pair of works is provided on the rear side in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. ..

Further, in the present invention, the work temperature monitoring element adopts a configuration in which at least the temperature of the advancing side of the pair of works is monitored.

Further, in the present invention, the work temperature monitoring elements are provided in pairs at positions on both sides retracted from the joint portion of the work in the width direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. adopt.

Further, in the present invention, the condition monitoring system includes an image pickup element arranged between the pair of work temperature monitoring elements, and the image pickup element is attached at an angle of view including at least a joint portion of the work. Adopt the configuration of being.

Further, in the present invention, the condition monitoring system adopts a configuration including a tool temperature monitoring element for monitoring the temperature of the tool in front of the traveling direction of the friction stir welding.

Further, in the present invention, the traveling carriage includes a traveling side carriage unit for traveling the tool, a spindle side carriage unit including a spindle for rotating the tool, the traveling side carriage unit, and the spindle side carriage unit. The state monitoring system includes a connecting portion that is displaceably connected in a certain range in the traveling direction of the frictional stirring joint, and the state monitoring system includes a load monitoring element arranged between the traveling side carriage unit and the spindle side carriage unit. Adopt the configuration of preparing.

Further, in the present invention, the state monitoring element for monitoring the state of the work and the tool is mounted on the spindle side carriage unit.

In the present invention, a condition monitoring system for monitoring the state of at least one of the work, the tool, and the traveling carriage is mounted on a traveling carriage that is equipped with a tool and travels in the lower space of the gantry that supports the work. According to this configuration, the monitoring target can be directly monitored from the traveling carriage in the lower space of the gantry, so that the monitoring of the monitoring target is blocked by the gantry and the structure such as the work clamp mechanism provided on the gantry. Will not be.
Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to obtain a friction stir welding apparatus capable of confirming the construction state of the work and grasping the abnormal state of the apparatus main body and the joint portion.

It is a side view which shows the friction stir welding apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view which shows the structure around one end part of the spindle in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the arrangement of the condition monitoring system mounted on the traveling carriage in embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the connecting part and the arrangement of a load monitoring element in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the arrangement of the condition monitoring system with respect to the joint part of the work in embodiment of this invention. It is an image diagram which shows the image included in the angle of view of the image pickup device in embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the XYZ Cartesian coordinate system may be set, and the positional relationship of each member may be described with reference to the XYZ Cartesian coordinate system. A predetermined direction in the horizontal plane is defined as the X-axis direction, a direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction in the horizontal plane is defined as the Y-axis direction, and a direction orthogonal to each of the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (that is, the vertical direction) is defined as the Z-axis direction.

FIG. 1 is a side configuration view showing a friction stir welding device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The friction stir welding device 1 is equipped with a pedestal 2 that supports the work W and a tool 20 that rubs and joins the work W supported by the gantry 2 and runs in the lower space S of the gantry 2. Be prepared.

The gantry 2 is a pair of support plates extending in the moving direction (X-axis direction) of the traveling carriage 3, and supports the work W on each of the pair of support plates. The traveling carriage 3 has a pair of workpieces W supported by the gantry 2 by moving the tool 20 projecting onto the gantry 2 through a gap in the Y-axis direction of the pair of support plates in the X-axis direction while rotating the tool 20. Join each other. The gantry 2 includes a work clamp mechanism (not shown) for fixing the pair of work Ws to the pair of support plates (see, for example, FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1).

The traveling carriage 3 is arranged in the lower space S of the gantry 2. The traveling carriage 3 is a connecting portion that connects the traveling side carriage unit 4 for traveling the tool 20, the spindle side carriage unit 5 having the spindle 21 for rotating the tool 20, and the traveling side carriage unit 4 and the spindle side carriage unit 5. 6 and a state monitoring system 7 for monitoring the state of frictional stirring joints are provided.

The traveling side carriage unit 4 includes a motor 10, a coupling 12, a worm reducer 13, and a sprocket 14. The motor 10 is a drive source for the traveling side carriage unit 4. The motor 10 includes a planetary reducer. The coupling 12 connects the shaft portions of the motor 10 and the worm reducer 13 to each other. The worm reducer 13 reduces the rotation of the motor 10. The sprocket 14 is connected to the worm reducer 13 and rotates at a predetermined reduction ratio with respect to the rotation of the motor 10.

The sprocket 14 is engaged with a chain rack 9 laid on the base 8. When the sprocket 14 rotates, the traveling side carriage unit 4 moves in the X-axis direction, and the spindle-side carriage unit 5 connected to the traveling side carriage unit 4 via the connecting portion 6 moves in the X-axis direction. Both side portions of the spindle side carriage unit 5 are supported by a linear guide mechanism (see, for example, FIG. 2 of Patent Document 1) (not shown).

The spindle side carriage unit 5 includes a tool 20, a spindle 21, and a spindle rotation drive device 22. The tool 20 is a rotary tool for friction stir welding, and in the present embodiment, includes a bobbin tool that contacts the front and back surfaces of the work W. The main shaft 21 extends in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction), and supports the tool 20 at one end portion 21a vertically above the main shaft 21. The spindle rotation drive device 22 includes an upper bearing portion 23, a lower bearing portion 24, a spindle side V pulley 25, a V belt 26, a motor side V pulley 27, and a motor 28.

The upper bearing portion 23 is arranged on the one end portion 21a side of the spindle 21, and rotatably supports the spindle 21 around an axis extending in the vertical direction. The lower bearing portion 24 is arranged on the other end portion 21b side of the spindle 21, and rotatably supports the spindle 21 around an axis extending in the vertical direction. The spindle side V pulley 27 is connected to the other end 21b of the spindle 21. The V-belt 26 is erected on the main shaft side V pulley 27 and the motor side V pulley 27. The motor-side V-pulley 27 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the spindle-side V-pulley 27 and is connected to the motor 28.

The motor 28 is a drive source for the spindle side carriage unit 5. When the motor 28 rotates, the main shaft side V pulley 27 rotates at a predetermined reduction ratio via the motor side V pulley 27 and the V belt 26. The spindle 21 is rotatably supported by the upper bearing portion 23 and the lower bearing portion 24, and rotates together with the spindle side V pulley 27. When the spindle 21 rotates, the tool 20 supported by the spindle 21 rotates around an axis extending in the vertical direction. Since the power transmission mechanism by the V-belt 26 is efficient and the efficiency fluctuation due to the load is small, the torque of the spindle 21 can be stably measured from the torque measurement of the motor 28 by driving the servomotor of the motor 28.

The connecting portion 6 connects the traveling side bogie unit 4 and the spindle side bogie unit 5 so as to be relatively displaceable within a certain range in the traveling direction of friction stir welding (details will be described later).
The condition monitoring system 7 includes a plurality of condition monitoring elements 7a for monitoring at least one condition (all in the present embodiment) of the work W, the tool 20, and the traveling carriage 3. The plurality of state monitoring elements 7a include a load monitoring element 40 arranged between the traveling side carriage unit 4 and the spindle side carriage unit 5, a work temperature monitoring element 41 mounted on the spindle side carriage unit 5, and an image pickup element 42. , Tool temperature monitoring element 43, and the like.

Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, the configuration around one end 21a of the spindle 21 and the configuration of the condition monitoring system 7 arranged around the one end portion 21a will be described.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a configuration around one end 21a of the spindle 21 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the condition monitoring system 7 mounted on the traveling carriage 3 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the connecting portion 6 and the arrangement of the load monitoring element 40 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the arrangement of the condition monitoring system 7 with respect to the joint portion 100 of the work W according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an image diagram showing an image included in the angle of view of the image sensor 42 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, one end 21a of the spindle 21 is provided with a storage groove 29 for accommodating the tool 20. The tool 20 includes an upper shoulder 50, a probe 51, a lower shoulder 52, and an insertion portion 53. The upper shoulder 50 and the lower shoulder 52 frictionally generate heat on the front and back surfaces of the work W. The probe 51 stirs and kneads the joint portion 100 of the work W softened by the frictional heat generation. The insertion portion 53 has a cylindrical shape slightly larger than the lower shoulder 52, and is inserted into the accommodating groove 29.

The spindle 21 includes a tool holder 60 that forms a housing groove 29. A key 64 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the tool holder 60. The key 64 is engaged with the key groove 66 formed in the spindle 21. As a result, the rotational force of the spindle 21 can be transmitted to the tool holder 60. The tool holder 60 is fixed to the end face of the spindle 21 at a plurality of locations by a plurality of bolts 67. A cover member 68 that prevents the intrusion of scattered objects is attached to the upper end surface of the tool holder 60.

The spindle 21 includes a floating mechanism 70. The floating mechanism 70 supports the tool 20 with respect to the accommodating groove 29 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The floating mechanism 70 includes a sliding key 71 and a spring member 72. The slide key 71 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the insertion portion 53 of the tool 20. The sliding key 71 is engaged with a key groove 74 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the tool holder 60.

As a result, the rotational force of the spindle 21 can be transmitted to the tool 20 via the tool holder 60. Further, the key groove 74 extends along the axial direction (Z-axis direction) of the main shaft 21, and the tool 20 can be moved in the axial direction with respect to the tool holder 60 by the sliding key 71. The spring member 72 supports the tool 20 so as to be movable in the axial direction. The spring member 72 of the present embodiment is a coil spring and is housed in a guide groove 29c formed in the housing groove 29.

The upper bearing portion 23 is a double row bearing in which the first bearing 80 and the second bearing 81 are arranged. The first bearing 80 and the second bearing 81 of the present embodiment are double-row conical roller bearings combined on the back surface. A spacer (not shown) is arranged between the first bearing 80 and the second bearing 81. The inner ring side of the first bearing 80 and the second bearing 81 is fixed to the spindle 21 via a ring-shaped fixing plate 82 and a nut 83. The outer ring side of the first bearing 80 and the second bearing 81 is fixed to the casing 90.

The casing 90 forms an oil cooling chamber 91 that accommodates the upper bearing portion 23 around the spindle 21. The casing 90 includes a casing main body 92 and a casing lid 93. The casing body 92 forms the side surface and the bottom surface of the oil cooling chamber 91. A seal member 96 that is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the spindle 21 is attached to the casing main body 92. The casing lid 93 forms the top surface of the oil cooling chamber 91. A seal member 97 that is in sliding contact with the outer peripheral surface of the spindle 21 is attached to the casing lid 93.

The casing main body 92 is fixed to the spindle side carriage unit 5 at a plurality of locations by a plurality of bolts 94. The casing lid 93 is fixed to the casing body 92 at a plurality of locations by a plurality of bolts 95. The outer ring side of the first bearing 80 and the second bearing 81 is sandwiched between the casing main body 92 and the casing lid 93 which are fastened and fixed by bolts 95. A lubricating oil discharge port (not shown) is connected to the casing main body 92. Further, a lubricating oil supply port (not shown) is connected to the casing lid 93.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the connecting portion 6 connects a plurality of guide posts 30 that freely displaceably connect the traveling side carriage unit 4 and the spindle side carriage unit 5 in the traveling direction (X-axis direction) of friction stir welding. To be equipped. As shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of guide posts 30 are arranged at positions corresponding to the four corners of the square centered on the load monitoring element 40 in the YY plane. The guide post 30 includes a fixing base 31, a shaft 32, and a slide bush 33.

The fixed base 31 is fixed to the facing surface 4a of the traveling side carriage unit 4 facing the spindle side carriage unit 5. The shaft 32 is supported by a fixing base 31 fixed to the traveling side carriage unit 4. The shaft 32 extends from the fixing base 31 in the X-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 2, an insertion hole 34 into which the shaft 32 is inserted is formed on the facing surface 5a of the spindle side carriage unit 5 facing the traveling side carriage unit 4. The slide bush 33 is movably engaged with the shaft 32 inserted into the insertion hole 34 in the X-axis direction, and is fixed to the back surface 5b of the frame 5A forming the facing surface 5a of the main shaft side carriage unit 5. ..

Further, the connecting portion 6 includes a plurality of bolts and nuts 35 that regulate the displacement of the traveling side carriage unit 4 and the spindle side carriage unit 5 in the traveling direction (X-axis direction) of the friction stir welding within a certain range. As shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of bolts and nuts 35 are arranged at positions corresponding to the four corners of the square centered on the load monitoring element 40 in the YY plane. The plurality of bolts and nuts 35 are arranged closer to the load monitoring element 40 than the plurality of guide posts 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the bolt nut 35 is interposed with a disc spring 36 that applies a certain amount of preload (pretension equal to or greater than the reaction force fluctuation in the traveling direction of friction stir welding) to the load monitoring element 40. The disc spring 36 controls the tightening load of the bolt nut 35.

The load monitoring element 40 is a compression type load cell arranged between the facing surface 4a of the traveling side carriage unit 4 and the facing surface 5a of the spindle side carriage unit 5. As shown in FIG. 2, in the normal state where the load monitoring element 40 is sandwiched, there is a clearance between the fixing base 31 and the facing surface 5a to secure the displacement amount of the load monitoring element 40. According to this configuration, the reaction force received by the spindle side carriage unit 5 in the traveling direction at the time of friction stir welding can be measured by the load monitoring element 40. Further, even if the traveling carriage 3 moves to the side opposite to that at the time of friction stir welding, the bolt nut 35 can prevent the traveling side carriage unit 4 and the spindle side carriage unit 5 from being disconnected.

As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 5A of the spindle side carriage unit 5 supports the top plate frame 5B. A support member 5c that supports the top plate frame 5B is attached to the back surface 5b of the frame 5A. The casing main body 92 is connected to the top plate frame 5B via a bolt 94. Further, a work temperature monitoring element 41 is attached to the top plate frame 5B. The work temperature monitoring element 41 monitors the temperature of the work W on the rear side (-X side of the tool 20) in the traveling direction of friction stir welding.

The work temperature monitoring element 41 is a non-contact infrared temperature sensor. The work temperature monitoring element 41 includes a prism 41a that bends the measurement infrared ray R1 by 90 ° because the distance between the top plate frame 5B and the work W is short and it is difficult to mount the work temperature monitoring element 41 upward. As a result, the work temperature monitoring element 41 can measure the temperature of the work W arranged directly above the spindle side carriage unit 5. As shown in FIG. 3, the work temperature monitoring elements 41 are provided in pairs at intervals in the width direction (Y-axis direction) orthogonal to the traveling direction of friction stir welding.

As shown in FIG. 5, the work temperature monitoring elements 41 are provided in pairs at positions on both sides retracted from the joint portion 100 of the pair of works W in the Y-axis direction. Specifically, the measurement point 41b of the work W by the work temperature monitoring element 41 is set at a position retracted from the joint portion 100. The size of the joint 100 depends on the size of the tool 20. Therefore, the left and right measurement points 41b are preferably set at least separated from the diameter of the probe 51 (see FIG. 2) of the tool 20, and more preferably the upper shoulder 50 and the lower shoulder 52 (FIG. 2) of the tool 20. It is preferable to set the diameter apart from the diameter of 2).

As shown in FIG. 5, when the tool 20 rotates clockwise in a plan view, the pair of workpieces W arranged on the + Y side becomes the advancing side of the friction stir welding. The advancing side is the side where the traveling direction and the rotating direction of the tool 20 at the time of friction stir welding are the same. The advancing side has a higher resistance and a larger amount of heat input than the retreating side (−Y side) in which the traveling direction and the rotating direction of the tool 20 are opposite to each other. Therefore, the work temperature monitoring element 41 can monitor the temperature of the advancing side of at least a pair of work Ws. In the present embodiment, a pair of work temperature monitoring elements 41 are provided so that the temperature on the retreating side can also be monitored.

As shown in FIG. 3, an image sensor 42 is arranged between the pair of work temperature monitoring elements 41. The image sensor 42 is supported by an attachment base 37 attached to the top plate frame 5B. The attachment base 37 is arranged in the recessed portion 5d of the top plate frame 5B. A pair of ribs 4A (see FIG. 4) provided on the upper portion of the traveling side carriage unit 4 are inserted into the recessed portion 5d. As shown in FIG. 2, the attachment base 37 is formed in a stepped shape (stepped shape), and supports the image sensor 42 at a position lower than the top plate frame 5B. The attachment base 37 is also equipped with an illumination 44 that illuminates the monitoring target of the image sensor 42. The illumination 44 illuminates the range indicated by reference numeral L in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The image sensor 42 is a video camera that images the joint portion 100 of the work W on the rear side (-X side of the tool 20) in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. The image pickup element 42 is attached at an angle of view including at least the joint portion 100 of the work W. As shown in FIG. 6, the angle of view of the image sensor 42 of the present embodiment includes the tool 20 (lower shoulder 52) and the scale 38 in addition to the joint portion 100. The scale 38 grasps the imaging position of the image sensor 42, and is installed on a device fixing portion (in the present embodiment, the back side of the gantry 2). The image sensor 42 of the present embodiment has a zoom function, and in FIGS. 2 and 3, it is possible to switch between the wide-angle mode indicated by the reference numeral V1 and the telephoto mode indicated by the reference numeral V2.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tool temperature monitoring element 43 monitors the temperature of the tool 20 on the front side (+ X side of the tool 20) in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. The tool temperature monitoring element 43 is a non-contact infrared temperature sensor. As shown in FIG. 2, the tool temperature monitoring element 43 is attached to the casing lid 93. The tool temperature monitoring element 43 is attached at an angle such that the measurement infrared R2 includes the lower shoulder 52 of the tool 20.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the plurality of state monitoring elements 7a (load monitoring element 40, work temperature monitoring element 41, image pickup element 42, tool temperature monitoring element 43) described above are the joint portion 100 (tool) of the work W. It is arranged along a straight line extending in the X-axis direction passing through 20).
The condition monitoring system 7 includes an operation panel with a monitor (not shown) capable of visually confirming the monitoring data of the plurality of condition monitoring elements 7a, and a storage device (not shown) for storing the monitoring data of the plurality of condition monitoring elements 7a. The storage device includes, for example, a data logger that stores monitoring data of the load monitoring element 40, the work temperature monitoring element 41, and the tool temperature monitoring element 43, and an HDD recorder that stores the monitoring data (imaging data) of the imaging element 42. Be prepared. The sampling of the monitoring data is linked to the rotation / stop of the spindle 21, and it is possible to trace the state in time series.

As described above, in the present embodiment, at least one of the work W, the tool 20, and the traveling carriage 3 (this) is added to the traveling carriage 3 which is mounted on the tool 20 and travels in the lower space S of the gantry 2 which supports the work W. In the embodiment, a condition monitoring system 7 for performing condition monitoring (all) is installed (see FIG. 1). According to this configuration, since the monitoring target can be directly monitored from the traveling carriage 3 in the lower space S of the gantry 2, the monitoring is performed by the gantry 2 and the structure such as the work clamp mechanism provided on the gantry 2. The monitoring of the target will not be interrupted.

Specifically, the condition monitoring system 7 includes a plurality of condition monitoring elements 7a (load monitoring element 40, work temperature monitoring element 41, image pickup element 42, tool temperature monitoring element 43), and the plurality of condition monitoring elements 7a are shown in FIG. As shown in 3 and FIG. 5, they are arranged along the joint portion 100 of the work W. According to this configuration, the work temperature monitoring element 41, the image pickup element 42, and the tool temperature monitoring element 43 can directly monitor the monitoring target (work W, tool 20) from the gap of the gantry 2, and the load monitoring element 40 It is arranged on the moving path of the tool 20 in a plan view, and can directly receive the reaction force in the traveling direction at the time of friction stir welding. Therefore, it is possible to confirm the construction state of the work W and accurately grasp the abnormal state of the device main body and the joint portion 100.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the work temperature monitoring element 41 is arranged on the rear side (−X side of the tool 20) in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. According to this configuration, it is possible to monitor the temperature of the work W immediately after being heated by the tool 20.
Further, the work temperature monitoring element 41 monitors the temperature on the advancing side (+ Y side) of at least a pair of works W. That is, since the advancing side has a higher resistance and a larger amount of heat input than the retreating side (-Y side), the abnormal state of the joint portion 100 can be effectively grasped by monitoring the temperature of the advancing side. can do.
Further, the work temperature monitoring elements 41 are provided in pairs at positions on both sides retracted from the joint portion 100 of the work W in the width direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. According to this configuration, the influence of the measurement infrared ray R1 from the scale-like surface of the joint portion 100 is avoided, the measurement accuracy of the work temperature monitoring element 41 is improved, and the temperature of not only the advancing side but also the retreating side is affected. Can be monitored.

The image pickup element 42 is arranged between the pair of work temperature monitoring elements 41 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, and is attached at an angle of view including at least the joint portion 100 of the work W as shown in FIG. There is. According to this configuration, the image sensor 42 can be arranged by utilizing the dead space between the pair of work temperature monitoring elements 41. Further, the joint portion 100 of the work W extends directly above the image pickup element 42, and as shown in FIG. 6, the joint portion 100 easily fits in the angle of view of the image pickup element 42. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, during friction stir welding, if there is no particular abnormality, the image pickup element 42 continues to image the joint portion 100 having a constant width. Therefore, the joint portion 100 is joined by monitoring the width of the joint portion 100. The abnormal state of the unit 100 can be effectively grasped. Further, if the scale 38 is included in the angle of view of the image sensor 42, the position can be easily grasped even if an abnormal state occurs in the joint portion 100.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tool temperature monitoring element 43 is arranged on the front side (+ X side of the tool 20) in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. According to this configuration, the temperature of the tool 20 can be measured without interfering with the image sensor 42 (without entering the angle of view of the image sensor 42). Further, the front side in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding is a state before heat is applied to the work W, and the tool temperature monitoring element 43 can be arranged close to the work W. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the tool temperature monitoring element 43 It is also easy to adjust the mounting angle of.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the traveling carriage 3 includes a traveling side carriage unit 4 for traveling the tool 20, a spindle side carriage unit 5 having a spindle for rotating the tool 20, and a traveling side carriage. The load monitoring element 40 includes a traveling side carriage unit 4 and a spindle side carriage unit 5 and a connecting portion 6 for connecting the unit 4 and the spindle side carriage unit 5 so as to be displaceable within a certain range in the traveling direction of the friction stirring joint. Placed between. When the worm reducer 13 is used as in the present embodiment, the speed reducer efficiency may fluctuate by about 10% at the start of operation and during operation due to its mechanical characteristics. Therefore, for example, the motor 10 is driven by a servomotor. If an attempt is made to measure the reaction force in the traveling direction of the friction stirring joint from the torque value of the motor 10, it becomes difficult to measure the accurate value. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, the traveling system (traveling side carriage unit 4) and the rotating system (spindle side carriage unit 5) of the traveling carriage 3 are mechanically divided, and the load monitoring element 40 is arranged between them. Therefore, it is possible to accurately measure the reaction force in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding without being affected by the fluctuation of the reducer efficiency of the worm reducer 13.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a state monitoring element 7a (work temperature monitoring element 41, image pickup element 42, tool temperature monitoring element 43) for monitoring the state of the work W and the tool 20 is mounted on the spindle side carriage unit 5. ing. According to this configuration, the tool 20, the work temperature monitoring element 41, the image pickup element 42, and the tool temperature monitoring element 43 are mounted on the same spindle side trolley unit 5, so that the spindle side trolley is mounted in the traveling direction of the friction stirring joint. Even if the unit 5 is displaced by receiving a reaction force, the relative positions of the tool 20, the work temperature monitoring element 41, the image sensor 42, and the tool temperature monitoring element 43 do not change. Therefore, when the unit 5 is mounted on the traveling side trolley unit 4. The measurement error is smaller than that.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the gantry 2 that supports the pair of work Ws and the tool 20 that frictionally stir-welds the workpieces W supported by the gantry 2 are mounted, and the lower space S of the gantry 2 is mounted. It is a friction stir welding device 1 including a traveling carriage 3 traveling on the above, and includes a state monitoring system 7 for monitoring the state of at least one of the work W, the tool 20, and the traveling carriage 3 at the time of friction stir welding. By adopting the configuration that the state monitoring system 7 is mounted on the traveling carriage 3, it is possible to confirm the construction state of the work W and to grasp the abnormal state of the device main body and the joint portion 100 by friction stir welding. The joining device 1 is obtained.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The various shapes and combinations of the constituent members shown in the above-described embodiment are examples, and can be variously changed based on design requirements and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, a compression type load cell is used as the load monitoring element 40. For example, in the case where the spindle side carriage unit 5 is pulled by the traveling side carriage unit 4, the load monitoring element 40 is a tension type. A load cell may be used.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the disc spring 36 is interposed in the bolt nut 35 to apply the preload to the load monitoring element 40 has been described, but the disc spring 35 has another elastic element (for example, a coil spring or the like). It may be composed of rubber or the like).

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the connecting portion 6 includes a plurality of guide posts 30 has been described, but the connecting portion 6 can displace the traveling side carriage unit 4 and the spindle side carriage unit 5 by a linear guide mechanism. It may be configured to be connected. Further, this linear guide mechanism may also be used as a linear guide mechanism for guiding the entire traveling of the traveling carriage 3.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, it has been described that the spindle 21 is rotated via the power transmission mechanism by the V-belt 26, but if the power transmission efficiency is good and the efficiency fluctuation due to the load is small, for example, a spur gear. A simple gear reduction mechanism such as the above may be used as the power transmission mechanism.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, a configuration in which a pair of work temperature monitoring elements 41 are arranged on the rear side in the traveling direction of friction stir welding to monitor the temperature of each of the pair of work Ws has been described. Only one 41 may be arranged, and only one temperature of the pair of workpieces W may be monitored. When only one work temperature monitoring element 41 is arranged, the temperature of either the advancing side or the retreating side of the work W may be monitored, but it is better to monitor the temperature of the advancing side having a large amount of heat input. preferable. Further, two or more work temperature monitoring elements 41 may be arranged. When two or more work temperature monitoring elements 41 are arranged, two are arranged on the front side and two on the rear side in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding, and the temperature of the pair of work W before and after the friction stir welding is monitored. May be.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the work temperature monitoring element 41 is a non-contact type sensor from the viewpoint of handleability, but the work temperature monitoring element 41 may be a contact type sensor. For example, a contact-type sensor such as a thermoelectric pair may be supported by an elastic member such as a spring and pressed against the work W.
Further, the tool temperature monitoring element 42 may also be a contact type sensor. For example, a contact-type sensor may be embedded in the tool 20 to remotely monitor the temperature of the tool 20 by wireless communication.
Further, as the work temperature monitoring element 41 and the tool temperature monitoring element 42, a thermo camera or the like capable of collectively monitoring a wide area may be used.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the video camera is used as the image sensor 42, but a still image camera may be used as the image sensor 42 to take pictures at regular intervals. Further, if an image sensor 42 such as a night-vision camera is used, the illumination 44 does not have to be installed.

Further, for example, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the tool 20 is a bobbin type has been described, but the tool 20 is screwed with a probe type (a probe (cylindrical portion) without a pair of shoulders is threaded). (Including those that are not).

1 Friction stirring and joining device 2 Stand 3 Traveling carriage 4 Traveling side carriage unit 5 Main shaft side carriage unit 6 Connecting part 7 Status monitoring system 7a Status monitoring element 20 Tool 40 Load monitoring element 41 Work temperature monitoring element 42 Image sensor 43 Tool temperature monitoring element 100 Joint W work

Claims (8)

A friction stir welding device including a gantry that supports a pair of workpieces and a traveling carriage that is equipped with a tool for friction stir welding of the workpieces supported by the gantry and runs in the lower space of the gantry.
A condition monitoring system for monitoring the condition of at least one of the work, the tool, and the traveling carriage at the time of the friction stir welding is provided.
The condition monitoring system is mounted on the traveling carriage.
The traveling carriage includes a traveling side carriage unit for traveling the tool, a spindle side carriage unit including a spindle for rotating the tool, and the traveling side carriage unit and the spindle side carriage unit in the traveling direction of the friction stirring joint. It is equipped with a connecting part that can be freely displaced within a certain range.
The state monitoring system is a friction stir welding apparatus including a load monitoring element arranged between the traveling side carriage unit and the spindle side carriage unit . The condition monitoring system includes a plurality of condition monitoring elements and includes a plurality of condition monitoring elements.
The friction stir welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of condition monitoring elements are arranged along a joint portion of the work. The first or second aspect of the present invention, wherein the condition monitoring system includes a work temperature monitoring element that monitors the temperature of at least one of the pair of works on the rear side in the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. Friction stir welding equipment. The friction stir welding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the work temperature monitoring element monitors at least the temperature of the advancing side of the pair of works. Claim 3 or 4 is characterized in that the work temperature monitoring elements are provided in pairs at positions on both sides retracted from the joint portion of the work in a width direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. The friction stir welding apparatus according to. The condition monitoring system includes an image pickup device arranged between the pair of work temperature monitoring elements.
The friction stir welding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image pickup element is attached at an angle of view including at least the joint portion of the work. The friction stirring according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the state monitoring system includes a tool temperature monitoring element that monitors the temperature of the tool in front of the traveling direction of the friction stir welding. Joining device. The friction stir welding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the state monitoring element for monitoring the state of the work and the tool is mounted on the spindle side carriage unit.

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