Automatic welding apparatus for end plug of nuclear fuel rod

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9793020-B2
Application number	US-201313864314-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 17, 2013
Priority date	Jan 8, 2013
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

Disclosed is an automatic welding apparatus for an end plug of a nuclear fuel rod, which is used to perform resistance welding on a cladding tube and the end plug in a welding chamber. The automatic welding apparatus includes a welding chamber configured to perform resistance welding on an end plug and a cladding tube, a cladding tube transfer unit that has a cladding tube clamp fixedly clamping the cladding tube and a first servo motor for driving the cladding tube clamp in a horizontal direction and that horizontally transfers the cladding tube to the welding chamber, end plug welding electrodes gripping the end plug fed from an end plug feeder, an end plug transfer driver for driving the end plug welding electrodes toward the welding chamber in a forward/backward direction, and a position control module for controlling driving of the first servo motor and the end plug transfer driver.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An automatic welding apparatus for an end plug of a nuclear fuel rod, comprising:
a welding chamber for welding the end plug and a cladding tube by a resistance welding;
a cladding tube transfer unit adjoining a first side of the welding chamber and horizontally transferring the cladding tube to the welding chamber, the cladding tube transfer unit including
a cladding tube transfer servo fixing plate supporting the cladding tube transfer unit,
a first roller support fixedly installed on the cladding tube transfer servo fixing plate,
a second roller support fixedly installed on the cladding tube transfer servo fixing plate and separated from the first roller support at intervals,
a first roller disposed on the first roller support,
a second roller disposed on the second roller support, wherein when the cladding tube is horizontally transferred to the welding chamber on the second roller and the first roller, each of the second roller and the first roller rotates in a longitudinal direction of the cladding tube,
a first lead screw of which one end is supported by the first roller support and the other end is supported by the second roller support,
a first servo motor driving the first lead screw from a lateral side of the cladding tube transfer servo fixing plate, a shaft axis of the first servo motor being on an imaginary extension line of an axis of the first lead screw,
a cladding tube clamp moving between the first roller support and the second roller support on the first lead screw in a horizontal direction by a rotation of the first servo motor, the cladding tube clamp fixedly clamping the cladding tube and transferring the cladding tube to the welding chamber, and
a cladding tube electrode disposed inside the welding chamber and configured to fix a leading end of the cladding tube;

an end plug welding electrode through which welding current flows, the end plug welding electrode being provided with a vacuum nozzle at a leading end thereof to grip the end plug by a vacuum manner and transferring the end plug from an outside of the welding chamber to the inside of the welding chamber;
an end plug clamp disposed in the second side of the welding chamber and transferring the end plug from an end plug feeder to the end plug welding electrode, the second side of the welding chamber being opposite side of the first side of the welding chamber;
an end plug transfer driver adjoining the second side of the welding chamber and driving the end plug welding electrode toward the welding chamber in a forward/backward direction, the end plug transfer driver including
an end plug transfer driver fixing plate supporting the end plug transfer driver,
a second servo motor fixedly installed on the end plug transfer driver fixing plate,
second lead screw supports fixedly installed on the end plug transfer driver fixing plate,
a second lead screw of which both ends are supported by the second lead screw supports, wherein the second lead screw is driven by the second servo motor and an axis of the second lead screw is on an imaginary extension line of a shaft axis of the second servo motor,
a transfer plate moving on the second lead screw in a forward/backward direction by a rotation of the second servo motor, and
a pressing cylinder disposed outside the welding chamber and fixed on the transfer plate, the pressing cylinder driving the end plug welding electrode for pressing and fixing the end plug to the cladding tube located in the welding chamber.

2. The automatic welding apparatus set forth in claim 1 , further comprising a cladding tube origin setting unit, which sets an origin of the cladding tube on a transfer section of the cladding tube transferred to the welding chamber, at a leading end of the welding chamber.

3. The automatic welding apparatus set forth in claim 2 , wherein the cladding tube origin setting unit includes a touch sensor that comes into contact with the leading end of the cladding tube to detect a position signal.

Assignees

• Kepco Nuclear Fuel Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cho Young Choon
• Hwang Chang Hwan
• Chang Hung Soon
• Kong Sang Pil
• Na Tae Hyung
• Yoon Young Seok

Classifications

• B23K11/093

  for curved planar seams · CPC title

• B23K37/047

  moving work to adjust its position between soldering, welding or cutting steps (B23K37/053 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B23K11/36

  Auxiliary equipment (B23K11/31 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B23K11/00 Primary

  Resistance welding; Severing by resistance heating · CPC title

• G21C21/02 Primary

  Manufacture of fuel elements or breeder elements contained in non-active casings · CPC title