JP7569638B2 - Wire Straightener - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a wire straightener that corrects the curl of welding wire.

In a consumable electrode welding system, the wire feeder feeds the welding wire, for example wound on a wire reel, to the welding torch. If the welding wire is left curled, it is likely to come into contact with the inner wall of a conduit cable that guides the welding wire from the wire feeder to the welding torch, increasing the feeding resistance of the welding wire. In addition, the tip of the welding wire W that protrudes from the tip of the welding torch will bend, making the arc unstable. To prevent these problems, a wire straightener that straightens the curl of the welding wire is placed on the entrance side of the wire feeder. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a wire straightener.

The wire straightener straightens the welding wire by passing it between two rotatably supported fixed straightening rolls and a movable straightening roll that is rotatably and vertically movable and positioned below the two fixed straightening rolls. To properly straighten the welding wire, it is necessary to adjust the pressure applied to the welding wire by the two fixed straightening rolls and the movable straightening roll depending on the material and diameter of the welding wire. The operator adjusts the pressure applied to the welding wire by turning the pressure adjustment handle to move the movable straightening roll to a position that corresponds to the material and diameter of the welding wire.

JP 2017-87290 A

Each time the worker changes the welding wire being used, he or she must manually turn the pressure adjustment handle to move the movable straightening roll to a position that corresponds to the material and diameter of the welding wire. The position of the movable straightening roll is adjusted by looking at the scale, so depending on the location of wire straightener B, it may not be easy to change the welding wire. Also, if the worker adjusts the position of the movable straightening roll to a position that corresponds to the material and diameter of the welding wire, the welding wire will be fed to the welding torch without being properly straightened.

The present invention was conceived in light of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a wire straightener that automatically adjusts to properly straighten the welding wire.

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

The wire straightener provided by the first aspect of the present invention includes two first straightening rolls, a second straightening roll, a movement mechanism that moves one of the two first straightening rolls and the second straightening roll in a direction toward the other, an electrode that is disposed in a cylindrical guide that guides the welding wire that has passed between the two first straightening rolls and the second straightening roll, at least a portion of which is exposed inside the guide, and a control unit that controls the electrode to move toward the movement mechanism when the welding wire comes into contact with the electrode.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control unit causes the movement mechanism to bring the welding wire and the electrode closer together when the welding wire and the electrode remain in contact for a predetermined period of time or more, and then stops the movement mechanism when the welding wire and the electrode are no longer in contact.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the movement mechanism includes a pressure adjustment screw, a movement unit that supports the second straightening roll, is screwed into the pressure adjustment screw, and moves in response to the rotation of the pressure adjustment screw, a motor that rotates in response to a command from the control unit, and a gear that converts the rotational force of the motor into the required torque and transmits it to the pressure adjustment screw.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the welding wire further includes two third straightening rolls, a fourth straightening roll, a second moving mechanism that moves one of the two third straightening rolls and the fourth straightening roll in a direction approaching the other, and a second control unit that controls the second moving mechanism to move the two rolls closer to each other when the welding wire contacts the electrode, and the welding wire passes between the two third straightening rolls and the fourth straightening roll, and the angle between the direction of movement of the moving mechanism and the direction of movement of the second moving mechanism is 90 degrees.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the electrode is attached to the inlet of a wire feeder and is positioned in the outlet guide of the wire feeder.

According to the present invention, when the welding wire comes into contact with the electrode, the control unit causes the moving mechanism to move the two closer together. If the welding wire is not sufficiently straightened, the welding wire will still have a curl, and will come into contact with the electrode as it passes through the guide. In this case, the two first and second straightening rolls are automatically brought closer together, increasing the pressure on the welding wire and further straightening the curl of the welding wire. This straightens the curl of the welding wire to the extent that it does not come into contact with the electrode of the guide. Therefore, the operator does not need to manually adjust the pressure.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

1A is a diagram for explaining a wire straightener according to a first embodiment, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view showing an outlet guide 31, and FIG. 1C is a diagram for explaining a wire straightener according to a first embodiment, FIG. 1A is a front view showing a wire straightener according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a bottom view showing the wire straightener according to the first embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a motor drive control process performed by a motor control unit. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing modified examples of the wire straightener according to the first embodiment, in which (a) is a partial cross-sectional view showing a first modified example of the wire straightener, and (b) is a front view showing a second modified example of the wire straightener. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a wire straightener according to a second embodiment, and is an overall configuration diagram showing a welding system including the wire straightener.

The following describes the embodiment of the present invention in detail with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment
Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 are diagrams for explaining a wire straightener B1 according to a first embodiment. Fig. 1(a) is an overall configuration diagram showing a welding system including the wire straightener B1. Fig. 1(b) is a cross-sectional view showing an outlet guide 31. Fig. 2(a) is a front view showing the wire straightener B1. Fig. 2(b) is a bottom view showing the wire straightener B1.

As shown in FIG. 1(a), the consumable electrode welding system includes a wire feeder A1, a wire straightener B1, a wire reel 4, and a welding torch 5. In reality, the welding system also includes a welding power supply that supplies power to the welding torch 5, a gas tank that supplies shielding gas to the welding torch 5, and other components, but these are not shown in FIG. 1(a). In the following description, the wire reel 4 side is referred to as the upstream side (left side in FIG. 1) and the welding torch 5 side (right side in FIG. 1) as the downstream side, in accordance with the direction in which the welding wire W advances.

The wire feeder A1 feeds the welding wire W wound on the wire reel 4 arranged on the upstream side to the welding torch 5 arranged on the downstream side. As shown in FIG. 1(a), in this embodiment, the wire feeder A1 is a four-roll type wire feeder, and includes feed rolls 21, 23, pressure rolls 22, 24, a center guide 32, and an outlet guide 31. Note that the wire feeder A1 is not limited to a four-roll type, and may be, for example, a two-roll type wire feeder.

The feed rolls 21 and 23 are rotated by the torque of a drive motor (not shown) transmitted by gears (not shown). The pressure roll 22 (24) is positioned vertically above the feed roll 21 (23) and applies pressure to the welding wire W so as to sandwich it between the feed roll 21 (23). The welding wire W is sandwiched between the feed roll 21 and the pressure roll 22, and also between the feed roll 23 and the pressure roll 24, and is fed by the rotation of the feed rolls 21 and 23.

The center guide 32 and the outlet guide 31 are each cylindrical in shape and are members that guide the welding wire W. The center guide 32 guides the welding wire W fed by the feed roll 21 to the feed roll 23. The outlet guide 31 guides the welding wire W fed by the feed roll 23 to the outside of the wire feeder A1. A conduit cable 52 connected to an adapter (not shown) is attached to the tip of the outlet guide 31, and the conduit cable 52 guides the welding wire W to the welding torch 5.

The welding torch 5 receives the welding wire W from the wire feeder A1, causing the tip of the welding wire W to protrude from the tip. Inside the welding torch 5, the welding wire W comes into contact with a power feed tip 51 connected to a welding power supply device (not shown) and receives power. The welding power supply device applies a voltage between the tip of the welding wire W and the base material to generate an arc. The welding torch 5 welds the base material with the heat of the arc.

The wire straightener B1 is a device that straightens out the curl of the welding wire W supplied to the wire feeder A1, and is disposed upstream of the wire feeder A1. In this embodiment, the wire straightener B1 is attached to the inlet of the wire feeder A1 instead of an inlet guide, and guides the welding wire W wound around the wire reel 4 to the feed roll 21 of the wire feeder A1 while straightening the curl. The wire straightener B1 may be disposed away from the wire feeder A1 instead of being attached to the wire feeder A1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the wire straightener B1 includes a main body 11, an inlet guide 111, an outlet guide 112, fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122, a movable straightening roll 13, a pressure adjustment handle 14, a pressure adjustment screw 151, a moving unit 152, a motor 16, a motor control unit 17, gears 181 and 182, an electrode 191, and a connecting wire 192.

The main body 11 is the main body of the wire straightener B1, and has the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 and the movable straightening roll 13 arranged therein. The inlet guide 111 is attached to the main body 11 and is a guide member that guides the welding wire W wound on the wire reel 4 to the fixed straightening roll 121. The outlet guide 112 is attached to the main body 11 and is a guide member that guides the welding wire W from the fixed straightening roll 122 to the feed roll 21 inside the wire feeder A1. The welding wire W is inserted from the upstream opening of the inlet guide 111, passes between the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 and the movable straightening roll 13, and is fed from the downstream opening of the outlet guide 112.

The fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 and the movable straightening roll 13 apply pressure to the welding wire W passing between the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 and the movable straightening roll 13 to straighten the curl of the welding wire W. The fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122 are arranged parallel to the direction in which the welding wire W is fed, and are each rotatably supported by the main body 11. The fixed straightening roll 121 is arranged upstream of the fixed straightening roll 122. In the following, when the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122 are not distinguished from each other, they may be referred to as the fixed straightening roll 12. The movable straightening roll 13 is arranged on the opposite side of the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122 with respect to the welding wire W, so as to be movable and rotatable in the direction approaching the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122 (see the arrow in FIG. 2(a)). In this embodiment, the wire straightener B1 is arranged so that the welding wire W advances horizontally. In this state, the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, and the movable straightening roll 13 is arranged vertically below the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122 so as to be movable up and down. The arrangement of the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 and the movable straightening roll 13 with respect to the welding wire W may be reversed. In this embodiment, the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 correspond to the "first straightening roll" of the present invention, and the movable straightening roll 13 corresponds to the "second straightening roll" of the present invention.

The pressure adjustment screw 151 is arranged on the main body 11 so as to be rotatable around the axial direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2(a)). The moving part 152 is screwed into the pressure adjustment screw 151 and moves in the axial direction of the pressure adjustment screw 151 in response to the rotation of the pressure adjustment screw 151. The movable correction roll 13 is rotatably supported by the moving part 152 and moves together with the moving part 152. Therefore, the movable correction roll 13 moves in the axial direction of the pressure adjustment screw 151 in response to the rotation of the pressure adjustment screw 151.

The pressure adjustment handle 14 is fixed to one end of the pressure adjustment screw 151 and is operated by the operator. The operator rotates the pressure adjustment handle 14 to rotate the pressure adjustment screw 151 and move the movable straightening roll 13 to adjust the pressure on the welding wire W. In order to properly straighten the welding wire W, it is necessary to adjust the pressure on the welding wire W depending on the material and diameter of the welding wire W. The operator rotates the pressure adjustment handle 14 to move the movable straightening roll 13 to the scale position corresponding to the material and diameter of the welding wire W. The wire straightener B1 is equipped with a mechanism that automatically adjusts the pressure on the welding wire W so that the operator does not need to operate the pressure adjustment handle 14.

The motor 16 is, for example, a geared motor, and rotates in response to a command from the motor control unit 17. The rotational force of the motor 16 is transmitted to the pressure adjustment screw 151 while being decelerated by the gears 181 and 182 to a speed at which the torque required for pressurization is generated. As a result, the pressure adjustment screw 151 rotates in response to the rotational drive of the motor 16, and the movable correction roll 13 moves in response to the movement of the moving part 152. The pressure adjustment screw 151, the moving part 152, and the motor 16 correspond to the "moving mechanism" of the present invention. Note that the moving mechanism for moving the movable correction roll 13 is not limited. For example, the pressure adjustment screw 151 may be screwed in response to the rotational drive of the motor 16, and the moving part 152 may move as the tip of the pressure adjustment screw 151 (or a link member abutting it) abuts against it.

The electrode 191 is made of a conductor such as copper, and detects that the welding wire W has come into contact with it. As shown in FIG. 1, the electrode 191 is disposed at a position midway in the axial direction of the outlet guide 31 (left-right direction in FIG. 1). In this embodiment, the shape of the electrode 191 is a cylinder whose outer diameter and inner diameter are the same as those of the outlet guide 31. The outlet guide 31 is formed by disposing the electrode 191 between two cylindrical insulating members. The outlet guide 31 may have a structure in which the electrode 191 is disposed between two cylindrical metal members, and an insulating member is disposed between each metal member and the electrode 191. The electrode 191 may also be inserted inside the outlet guide 31 and disposed on the inner circumferential surface. The electrode 191 may be exposed on the inside of the outlet guide 31 so that the welding wire W passing through the inside of the outlet guide 31 can come into contact with it. During welding work, a voltage is applied to the welding wire W from a welding power supply device via the power supply tip 51 of the welding torch 5. When the welding wire W comes into contact with the electrode 191, the potential of the electrode 191 becomes the same as that of the welding wire W, so the potential changes compared to when there is no contact.

The motor control unit 17 controls the driving of the motor 16 based on the potential of the electrode 191 input via the connection line 192. When the potential of the electrode 191 is a potential indicating that the welding wire W is in contact with the electrode 191, the motor control unit 17 drives the motor 16 to move the movable straightening roll 13 closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122. In this case, as the movable straightening roll 13 approaches the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122, the pressure on the welding wire W increases, and the curl of the welding wire W is further straightened. On the other hand, when the potential of the electrode 191 is a potential indicating that the welding wire W is not in contact with the electrode 191, the motor control unit 17 stops the motor 16 because the straightening of the welding wire W is appropriate. For example, the motor control unit 17 determines the contact between the welding wire W and the electrode 191 based on whether or not the voltage between the electrode 191 and the base material is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold voltage. In this embodiment, the motor control unit 17 starts driving the motor 16 when the contact state between the welding wire W and the electrode 191 continues for a predetermined time or more in order to prevent momentary contact between the welding wire W and the electrode 191. The motor control unit 17 may be realized as a digital circuit using, for example, a microcomputer, or as an analog circuit using an operational amplifier. The motor control unit 17 may be disposed inside the main body 11, or may be disposed outside the main body 11 as a control device.

Figure 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the drive control process for the motor 16 performed by the motor control unit 17.

First, it is determined whether or not contact between the welding wire W and the electrode 191 is detected (S1). Specifically, the motor control unit 17 determines whether or not the voltage between the base material detected by the connection line 192 is equal to or higher than the threshold voltage. If contact is not detected (S1: NO), the process returns to step S1, and the determination in step S1 is repeated. On the other hand, if contact is detected (S1: YES), the measurement of the time t during which the welding wire W and the electrode 191 are in contact is started (S2). Next, it is determined whether or not contact between the welding wire W and the electrode 191 is detected (S3). If contact is detected (S3: YES), it is determined whether or not the time t is equal to or higher than a predetermined time _t0 set in advance (S4). If the time t is less than the predetermined time _t0 (S4: NO), the process returns to step S3, and the determinations in steps S3 and S4 are repeated.

In step S3, if the contact is no longer detected (S3: NO), the contact state has not continued for a predetermined time or more, so the process returns to step S1 and the determination in step S1 is repeated. In step S4, if the time t is equal to or greater than the predetermined time _t0 (S4: YES), the contact state has continued for a predetermined time or more, so it is determined that the welding wire W has not been sufficiently straightened, the measurement of the time t is terminated (S5), and the motor 16 is driven (S6). Specifically, the motor control unit 17 supplies driving power to the motor 16.

Next, it is determined whether contact between the welding wire W and the electrode 191 has been detected (S7). If contact has been detected (S7: YES), the process returns to step S7 and the determination in step S7 is repeated. During this time, the motor 16 continues to be driven, so the pressure adjustment screw 151 rotates, and the movable straightening roll 13 moves closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 as the moving part 152 moves. As the movable straightening roll 13 moves closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122, the pressure on the welding wire W increases, and the curl of the welding wire W is further straightened.

If contact is no longer detected in step S7 (S7: NO), it is determined that the welding wire W has been properly straightened, and the driving of the motor 16 is stopped (S8), and the process returns to step S1. Even after contact is no longer detected in step S7 and the welding wire W has been properly straightened, the welding wire W may again be insufficiently straightened. For example, the welding wire W wound around the wire reel 4 has a smaller radius of curvature at the beginning of winding than at the end of winding, so even if the welding wire W is adjusted so that it can be properly straightened at the start of feeding, as the feeding of the welding wire W progresses, the curl may become stronger and the straightening may become insufficient. In such a case, contact between the welding wire W and the electrode 191 is detected, and the straightening of the curl of the welding wire W is strengthened again depending on the determination results of steps S1 to S4. Note that the process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3 is an example, and the drive control process performed by the motor control unit 17 is not limited to the above.

If the welding wire W has a strong curl and the radius of curvature is too small, it will come into contact with the inner wall of the conduit cable 52, etc., and the feeding resistance will increase. In addition, the tip portion of the welding wire W protruding from the tip of the welding torch 5 will be curved, making the arc unstable. On the other hand, if the curl of the welding wire W is corrected too much and the radius of curvature becomes too large, it will be difficult to contact the power supply tip 51 of the welding torch 5, and power will not be supplied properly. Therefore, it is desirable that the welding wire W be within an appropriate range of curvature radius. If the radius of curvature of the welding wire W is small, it will come into contact with the electrode 191. In this case, the motor control unit 17 drives the motor 16 to strengthen the correction of the curl of the welding wire W. Then, the motor control unit 17 stops strengthening the correction when the welding wire W is corrected to the extent that it does not come into contact with the electrode 191. Therefore, the curl of the welding wire W is prevented from being corrected too much. The smaller the inner diameter D (see FIG. 1B) of the cylindrical electrode 191 is, and the larger the axial dimension L (see FIG. 1B) of the electrode 191 is, the easier it is for the welding wire W to come into contact with the electrode 191, so the correction is strengthened and the radius of curvature is increased. Therefore, by appropriately designing the inner diameter D and dimension L of the electrode 191, the radius of curvature of the welding wire W can be controlled within the desired range.

Before starting welding, the worker sets up the welding wire W in the wire feeder A1. First, the worker inserts the tip of the welding wire W wound on the wire reel 4 from the inlet guide 111 of the wire straightener B1 and passes it between the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 and the movable straightening roll 13. At this time, the movable straightening roll 13 is moved to an initial position where the gap between the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 is sufficiently wide. The movement to the initial position is performed by reverse rotation of the motor 16. The worker may manually rotate the pressure adjustment handle 14 in the opposite direction to move the movable straightening roll 13 to the initial position. The welding wire W passed between the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 and the movable straightening roll 13 is passed through the outlet guide 112 and the wire feeder A1. Then, by inching the wire feeder A1, the welding wire W is fed until it protrudes from the tip of the welding torch 5.

When welding starts, the wire feeder A1 feeds the welding wire W to the welding torch 5. At the start of welding, the movable straightening roll 13 is located in the initial position, so the wire straightener B1 does not straighten the welding wire W. Therefore, the welding wire W is fed with a curled shape, so that it comes into contact with the electrode 191 arranged in the outlet guide 31. This drives the motor 16, moves the movable straightening roll 13 closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122, and pressurizes and straightens the welding wire W. The straightening is strengthened until the welding wire W has an appropriate curvature radius that does not contact the electrode 191. In this way, the wire straightener B1 automatically adjusts the welding wire W so that it can be properly straightened without the operator manually operating it. Note that after setting up the welding wire W before the start of welding, the operator may manually operate the pressure adjustment handle 14 to bring the movable straightening roll 13 closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122 to a certain extent (without applying too much pressure). In this case, the time from the start of welding until the welding wire W reaches an appropriate curvature radius can be shortened.

Next, we will explain the effects of the wire straightener B1 according to this embodiment.

According to this embodiment, when the welding wire W comes into contact with the electrode 191 arranged in the outlet guide 31, the motor control unit 17 drives the motor 16 to move the movable straightening roll 13 closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122. If the welding wire W is not sufficiently straightened, the welding wire W will still have a curl, and will come into contact with the electrode 191 when passing through the outlet guide 31. In this case, the movable straightening roll 13 is automatically brought closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122, increasing the pressure on the welding wire W and further straightening the curl of the welding wire W. As a result, the curl of the welding wire W is straightened to the extent that it does not come into contact with the electrode 191. Therefore, the operator does not need to manually adjust the pressure.

In addition, according to this embodiment, the motor control unit 17 starts driving the motor 16 when the state in which the welding wire W is in contact with the electrode 191 continues for a predetermined time or more. This makes it possible to prevent the pressure on the welding wire W from being increased when the welding wire W and the electrode 191 momentarily come into contact. Furthermore, when the welding wire W is properly straightened and no longer in contact with the electrode 191, the motor control unit 17 stops driving the motor 16 and stops the increase in the pressure on the welding wire W. This prevents the curl of the welding wire W from being straightened too much.

In addition, according to this embodiment, the pressure adjustment screw 151 rotates by the torque of the motor 16, which is decelerated and transmitted via gears 181 and 182 to a speed at which the torque required for pressure application is generated. The moving part 152 supporting the movable straightening roll 13 moves in the axial direction of the pressure adjustment screw 151 in response to the rotation of the pressure adjustment screw 151. As a result, the motor control part 17 can drive the motor 16 to move the movable straightening roll 13 closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122, thereby increasing the pressure on the welding wire W.

In addition, in this embodiment, the wire straightener B1 is attached to the inlet of the wire feeder A1 instead of the inlet guide. This allows the wire straightener B1 to guide the welding wire W to the feed roll 21 of the wire feeder A1 while straightening the curl of the welding wire W. Also, the electrode 191 is disposed in the outlet guide 31. Therefore, the motor control unit 17 can detect the straightened state of the welding wire W when it is fed from the wire feeder A1.

In this embodiment, the electrode 191 is exposed over the entire circumferential direction of the inner circumferential surface of the outlet guide 31, but this is not limited to the above. The electrode 191 may be exposed only partially in the circumferential direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 1(a), when the welding wire W is wound counterclockwise around the wire reel 4 in a front view, the welding wire W has a curl that bulges downward, as shown in FIG. 1(b). In this case, the electrode 191 may be disposed only on the lower side of the outlet guide 31, as shown in FIG. 4(a). The electrode 191 may be exposed at a position on the inner circumferential surface of the outlet guide 31 where the curled welding wire W can come into contact.

In the present embodiment, the electrode 191 is disposed in the outlet guide 31 of the wire feeder A1, but this is not limiting. The electrode 191 may be disposed in the center guide 32 of the wire feeder A1, or in the outlet guide 112 of the wire straightener B1, as shown in FIG. 4(b). In addition, when the wire straightener B1 is disposed away from the wire feeder A1 and an inlet guide is attached to the wire feeder A1, the electrode 191 may be disposed in the inlet guide. The electrode 191 is disposed in one of the cylindrical guides that guide the welding wire W that has passed between the fixed straightening rolls 121, 122 and the movable straightening roll 13.

In addition, in this embodiment, the wire straightener B1 is described as having two fixed straightening rolls 12 and one movable straightening roll 13, but the number of fixed straightening rolls 12 and movable straightening rolls 13 is not limited. For example, the wire straightener B1 may further include a movable straightening roll 13, or may further include a fixed straightening roll 12. The wire straightener B1 may further include one fixed straightening roll 12 and two movable straightening rolls 13. In this case, the fixed straightening roll 12 corresponds to the "second straightening roll" of the present invention, and the movable straightening roll 13 corresponds to the "first straightening roll" of the present invention.

In addition, in this embodiment, the welding system uses the welding wire W wound on the wire reel 4, but this is not limited to the above. The welding wire W may be supplied from another wire supply source, such as a pail pack.

Second Embodiment
Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining a wire straightener B2 according to a second embodiment. This figure is an overall configuration diagram showing a welding system including the wire straightener B2, and corresponds to Fig. 1(a). In Fig. 5, elements that are the same as or similar to those in the welding system according to the first embodiment (see Fig. 1(a)) are given the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations are omitted. Note that in Fig. 5, most of the wire feeder A1 and the welding torch 5 are omitted. The wire straightener B2 according to this embodiment has a different configuration from the wire straightener B1 according to the first embodiment.

The welding system according to this embodiment is equipped with a pail pack 45 instead of a wire reel 4 as a wire supply source. The pail pack 45 contains the welding wire W wound in a coil shape with the coil surface facing vertically, and the welding wire W is discharged from above the pail pack. Therefore, the welding wire W in the pail pack 45 is supplied with an inconsistent winding direction.

The wire straightener B2 is a combination of the wire straightener B1 according to the first embodiment and a wire straightener B1' similar to the wire straightener B1. The wire straightener B1 is attached to the inlet of the wire feeder A1 instead of the inlet guide of the wire feeder A1. The wire straightener B1' is disposed upstream of the wire straightener B1, and the inlet guide 111 of the wire straightener B1 is attached to the outlet instead of the outlet guide 112. The wire straightener B1' is in a position in which the wire straightener B1 is rotated 90 degrees around the feed axis of the welding wire W (the axis extending in the direction in which the welding wire W is fed). Therefore, the angle between the direction in which the movable straightening roll 13 of the wire straightener B1 moves and the direction in which the movable straightening roll 13 of the wire straightener B1' moves is 90 degrees.

The connection wire 192 of the wire straightener B1' is connected to the electrode 191 of the wire straightener B1. When the welding wire W comes into contact with the electrode 191, the wire straightener B1 and the wire straightener B1' each bring the movable straightening roll 13 closer to the fixed straightening rolls 121 and 122, thereby applying pressure to the welding wire W and straightening it.

In this embodiment, the wire straightener B2 also automatically adjusts so that it can properly straighten the welding wire W. The wire straightener B1 portion of the wire straightener B2 straightens the curl in a first direction (up-down direction (vertical direction) in FIG. 5) perpendicular to the feed direction of the welding wire W (left-right direction (horizontal direction) in FIG. 5), and the wire straightener B1' portion straightens the curl in a second direction (front-back direction (horizontal direction) on the paper in FIG. 5) perpendicular to the feed direction and the first direction of the welding wire W. Therefore, the wire straightener B2 can properly straighten the welding wire W supplied from the pail pack 45 with its curl direction not being constant.

The wire straightener according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. The specific configuration of each part of the wire straightener according to the present invention can be freely designed in various ways.

A1: Wire feeder, 31: Outlet guide, B1, B1', B2: Wire straightener, 121, 122: Fixed straightening roll, 13: Movable straightening roll, 151: Pressure adjustment screw, 152: Moving part, 16: Motor, 17: Motor control part, 181, 182: Gear, 191: Electrode

Claims (5)

Two first straightening rolls;
A second straightening roll;
A moving mechanism that moves one of the first straightening roll and the second straightening roll in a direction approaching the other of the two straightening rolls;
a cylindrical electrode that is disposed in a cylindrical guide that guides the welding wire that has passed between the two first straightening rolls and the second straightening rolls, and is exposed inside the guide over its entire circumference ;
a control unit that controls the moving mechanism to move the welding wire and the electrode closer to each other when the welding wire and the electrode come into contact with each other;
Equipped with a wire straightener. the control unit causes the moving mechanism to bring the welding wire and the electrode closer to each other when the welding wire and the electrode continue to be in contact with each other for a predetermined time or more, and thereafter, stops the moving mechanism when the welding wire and the electrode are no longer in contact with each other.
2. The wire straightener of claim 1. The moving mechanism includes:
Pressure adjustment screw,
a moving part that supports the second straightening roll, is screwed into the pressure adjustment screw, and moves in response to rotation of the pressure adjustment screw;
A motor that is rotated in response to a command from the control unit;
a gear that converts the rotational force of the motor into a required torque and transmits it to the pressure adjustment screw;
Equipped with
3. A wire straightener according to claim 1 or 2. Two third straightening rolls;
A fourth straightening roll;
a second moving mechanism for moving one of the third straightening roll and the fourth straightening roll in a direction approaching the other;
a second control unit that controls the second moving mechanism to move the welding wire and the electrode closer to each other when the welding wire and the electrode come into contact with each other;
Further equipped with
The welding wire passes between the two third straightening rolls and the fourth straightening roll,
The angle between the direction in which the moving mechanism moves and the direction in which the second moving mechanism moves is 90 degrees.
4. A wire straightener according to claim 1. It is attached to the entrance of the wire feeder,
The electrode is disposed in an outlet guide of the wire feeder.
5. A wire straightener according to claim 1.

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