Hybrid laser welding system and method using two robots

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10478917-B2
Application number	US-201515124770-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 16, 2015
Priority date	Mar 17, 2014
Publication date	Nov 19, 2019
Grant date	Nov 19, 2019

Abstract

A welding system comprises a two manipulators and a controller. A first manipulator has a joint detection device and a first welding device, usually of the laser type while the second manipulator has a second welding device, usually of the arc weld type. The joint detection device is operative to read welding joint characteristics along a welding joint. The controller determines a corrected trajectory based on a predetermined welding trajectory and on the welding joint characteristics read by the joint detection device. This corrected trajectory is transmitted with a first time delay to the first manipulator and with a second time delay to the second manipulator. The second time delay is a function of a distance between the joint detection device and the second welding device. A corresponding method for welding components along a welding joint is also disclosed.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A hybrid welding system for welding components along a welding joint, the hybrid welding system comprising:
a first manipulator;
a first high energy welding device connected to said first manipulator;
a joint detection device connected to the first manipulator and operative to optically detect welding joint characteristics along a welding joint, the joint detection device spaced apart from the first high energy welding device by a first distance;
a second manipulator spaced apart from the first manipulator;
a second electrode type welding device connected to said second manipulator; and
a controller in communication with said first manipulator, with said second manipulator, and with said joint detection device, said controller being operative to:
(a) control a movement and a position of the joint detection device via the first manipulator along a predetermined trajectory to optically detect the welding joint characteristics;
(b) determine a first corrected trajectory for the first high energy welding device based on said predetermined welding trajectory and on said welding joint characteristics detected by said joint detection device, wherein the first corrected trajectory is different from the predetermined trajectory;
(c) control a movement and a position of the first high energy welding device via the first manipulator along the first corrected trajectory to perform a first welding operation comprising melting a material of the components being welded;
(d) determine a second corrected trajectory for the second electrode type welding device based on said predetermined welding trajectory and on said welding joint characteristics detected by said joint detection device, wherein the second corrected trajectory is different from the first corrected trajectory; and
(e) control a movement and a position of the second electrode type welding device via the second manipulator along the second corrected trajectory to perform a second welding operation after the first welding operation, the second welding operation comprising adding a filler material between the components being welded,

wherein said first corrected trajectory is further based on characteristics of said first high energy welding device and said second corrected trajectory is further based on characteristics of said second electrode type welding device.

2. The welding system of claim 1 , wherein said controller is adapted to electronically store said predetermined welding trajectory.

3. The welding system of claim 1 , wherein said characteristics of said first high energy welding device are different from said characteristics of said second electrode type welding device.

4. The welding system of claim 1 , wherein said first high energy welding device is of a laser.

5. The welding system of claim 1 , wherein said welding joint characteristics comprises at least one of a joint type and a gap between components to be welded.

6. The welding system of claim 1 , wherein said first welding device comprises a pivot so that said first high energy welding device may be pivoted with respect to said joint detection device.

7. A method of welding using a hybrid welding system for welding components along a welding joint, the method comprising:
(a) controlling movements and positions of a first manipulator via a controller to manipulate a joint detection device along a predetermined welding trajectory, the joint detection device being operably attached to the first manipulator;
(b) optically detecting welding joint characteristics using said joint detection device along the welding joint;
(c) determining, via the controller, a first corrected trajectory for a high energy welding device operably connected to the first manipulator based on said predetermined welding trajectory and on said optically detected welding joint characteristics;
(d) manipulating movements and positions of the first high energy welding device along said first corrected trajectory using the first manipulator, said first corrected trajectory being different than the predetermined welding trajectory followed by the joint detection device;
(e) performing a first welding operation along the first corrected trajectory using the first high energy welding device, the first welding operation comprising melting a material of the components being welded;
(f) determining, via the controller, a second corrected trajectory for a second electrode type welding device operably connected to a second manipulator which is distant from the first manipulator using the optically detected welding joint characteristics and the predetermined welding trajectory;
(g) following steps (e) and (f) using the second corrected trajectory to cause the second manipulator to manipulate movements and positions of the second electrode type welding device along said corrected trajectory the second electrode type welding device having different characteristics than the first high energy welding device; and
(h) performing a second welding operation along the second corrected trajectory using the second electrode type welding device, the second welding operation occurring after the first welding operation and comprising adding a filler material between the components being welded,
wherein said first corrected trajectory is further based on characteristics of said first high energy welding device and said second corrected trajectory is further based on characteristics of said second electrode type welding device, and
wherein the joint detection device is spaced apart from the first high energy welding device by a first distance.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising assessing said distance between said first high energy welding device and said second electrode type welding device.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein said assessing is done at one of regular time intervals and regular distance intervals travelled by said first high energy welding device.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said characteristics of said first high energy welding device are different from said characteristics of said second electrode type welding device.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein said second time delay is longer than said first time delay so that said second electrode type welding device is made to follow said first high energy welding device.

12. The method of claim 7 , further comprising providing a laser as said first high energy welding device and a welding arc as said second electrode type welding device.

13. The method of claim 7 , further comprising pivoting said first high energy welding device with respect to said joint detection device.

Assignees

• Bombardier Transp Gmbh

Inventors

• Legault Mario

Classifications

• B23K15/006

  of rectilinear seams · CPC title

• B23K26/044 Primary

  Seam tracking · CPC title

• G05B2219/45104

  Lasrobot, welding robot · CPC title

• G05B2219/39243

  Adaptive trajectory tracking · CPC title

• B23K9/167

  and of a non-consumable electrode · CPC title