JP2010075948A - Conduit cable - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a light-weight conduit cable for guiding a welding wire to a wire feeding device, in a welding robot or an automatic arc welding machine. <P>SOLUTION: The conduit cable is connected between a wire feeding device and a wire reel attached to a manipulator, and includes a flexible second resin hose installed around a flexible first resin hose. A liner (not shown) formed by helically winding a metal is inserted in the first resin hose 22, a welding wire is fed through the liner. Also, the first resin hose is provided with rigidity that is decided in consideration of feedability of a welding wire while the second resin hose is softer than the first resin hose and is provided with rigidity that is decided in consideration of operability of the conduit cable. As a result, in a fast operation speed of the manipulator, even if the conduit cable is swung around, it has an effect of reducing a load on the manipulator since it is lighter in weight compared with a conventional conduit cable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a conduit cable for guiding a welding wire to a wire feeding device in a welding robot or an automatic arc welding machine.

  Today, in order to improve the work efficiency of welding, it is widely performed to automate welding using a welding robot. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a general configuration of a welding robot when an articulated robot is used. In the figure, a welding torch 3 is attached to the tip of the wrist 2 of the manipulator 1, and the welding wire wound around the wire reels 4 and 5 is guided by the conduit cable 7 to the wire feeding device 6 attached to the manipulator 1. Then, the wire feeding device 6 feeds the welding torch 3. In the figure, a wire reel 4 in the case of floor placement and a wire reel 5 attached to the manipulator 1 are shown.

  Further, electric power is supplied from the welding power supply device 8 to the welding torch 3, and shield gas is supplied from the gas cylinder 9 to the welding torch 3. A command signal is input from the teach pendant 10 to the robot control device 11, and a signal from the robot control device 11 is input to the manipulator 1 to rotate the six axes including the first to sixth axes, thereby welding the torch. 3 tip position is controlled.

  Conventionally, the above-described conduit cable 7 is provided with an insulator 13 made of rubber around a spiral tube 12 in which flat steel is spirally wound, as shown in FIG. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing a conventional conduit cable 7, in which FIG. 3A is an external view, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. (C) is a partial cross-sectional perspective view. A welding wire is fed through the spiral tube 12. The conduit cable 7 is hard because the insulator 13 is provided around the spiral tube 12, and the conduit cable 7 is not extremely bent. For this reason, the feeding of the welding wire is stabilized. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-236664 A

  However, the performance of recent robots is improved, and the operation speed of the manipulator 1 is improved. Therefore, when the operating speed of the manipulator 1 is high, the conduit cable 7 connected to the wire feeding device 6 attached to the manipulator 1 is swung around. In this case, since the conventional conduit cable 7 is heavy, when the conduit cable 7 is swung, the load applied to the manipulator 1 increases.

  Furthermore, a load is applied to one end of the conduit cable 7 connected to the wire feeding device 6 and one end connected to the wire reel 5 when the wire reel 5 is attached to the manipulator 1, and the conduit cable 7 The lifespan was reduced. In addition, the conventional conduit cable 7 is heavy in weight due to its heavy weight in installation and replacement work of the welding robot, and is limited in flexibility, so that the routing range during installation is limited. It was.

  Moreover, since the conventional conduit cable 7 is screwed in the connection between the wire feeding device 6 and the wire reels 4 and 5, a tool is required when performing the connection work. Therefore, when the work place is small, connection may be difficult. Moreover, since the metal fittings are exposed at both ends of the conventional conduit cable 7, there is a risk of ground faults when a metal material touches the metal fittings during welding.

  Further, the conventional conduit cable 7 is formed as an integral body by crimping both ends of the spiral tube 12 and the insulator 13. Therefore, even when either the spiral tube 12 or the insulator 13 is damaged, only the damaged one cannot be disassembled and disposed, and the entire conduit cable 7 must be disposed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a lightweight conduit cable.

A first invention is a liner in which a metal is wound spirally and a welding wire is fed inside,
A first resin hose having the liner inserted therein and having flexibility;
A flexible second resin hose provided around the first resin hose,
The first resin hose has a rigidity determined in consideration of feeding performance of the welding wire,
The second resin hose is a conduit cable characterized by being softer than the first resin hose and having rigidity determined in consideration of the operability of the conduit cable.

  According to a second aspect of the invention, one end of the conduit cable is detachably attached to a wire feeding device, and the other end of the conduit cable is detachably attached to a wire reel or pail pack. The conduit cable described in 1.

In a third invention, the detachable members at both ends of the conduit cable are covered with a flexible insulating member,
The periphery of the conduit cable having a predetermined length from both ends of the conduit cable is reinforced by the insulating member so that the respective curvature radii of both ends of the conduit cable are 100 mm or more. It is the conduit cable as described in 2nd invention.

  The conduit cable of the present invention is connected to a wire feeding device attached to the manipulator, and when the manipulator operates at a high speed, the conduit cable is lighter than the conventional one even if the conduit cable is swung. As a result, the load on the manipulator is reduced.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing a conduit cable 21 according to the present invention, where FIG. 1 (A) is an external view, FIG. 1 (B) is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. (C) is a partial cross-sectional perspective view, and FIG. (D) is a view showing a connecting portion. As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the conduit cable 21 is provided with a flexible second resin hose 23 in close contact with the flexible first resin hose 22. ing. Further, a liner (not shown) in which a metal is spirally wound is inserted through the first resin hose 22, and a welding wire is fed therethrough. The first resin hose 22 has rigidity determined in consideration of the feedability of the welding wire, and the second resin hose 23 is softer than the first resin hose, and the operability of the conduit cable. The rigidity is determined in consideration of

  For example, by setting the shore hardness of the first resin hose 22 of the inner layer to HsA95 to 98 and the shore hardness of the second resin hose 23 of the outer layer to HsA85, the conduit cable 21 has flexibility, The structure prevents bending. Further, by making the second resin hose 23 of the outer layer flame retardant, it is possible to prevent burnout due to spatter during welding.

  One end of the conduit cable 21 is detachably attached to the wire feeding device 6 shown in FIG. 2, and the other end is detachably attached to the wire reels 4 and 5 or a pail pack (not shown) shown in FIG. It is attached. These connections are detachably connected using a coupler 24 shown in FIG. The coupler 24 includes a plug 25 and a socket 26. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 (A), plugs 25 are attached to both ends of the conduit cable 21, and the wire feeding device 6 side and the wire reels 4, 5 or pail pack (not shown) side are provided. The socket 26 is attached.

  The coupler between one end of the conduit cable 21 and the wire feeder 6 and the coupler between the other end of the conduit cable 21 and the wire reels 4 and 5 or a pail pack (not shown) are usually formed of metal. Has been. For this purpose, these couplers are covered with flexible insulating members 27 and 28, respectively, so that the current-carrying portions are not exposed.

  In order to prevent the bending radii at both ends of the conduit cable 21 from becoming smaller due to the posture of the manipulator 1 and deteriorating the feedability of the welding wire, both ends of the conduit cable 21 connected to these couplers are also the above-described insulating members. In order to prevent the respective radii of curvature at both ends from becoming smaller. For example, it is covered with an insulating member over 20 [cm] to 30 [cm] from both ends so that the respective curvature radii at both ends are 100 mm or more.

  The operation will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the conduit cable 21 of the present invention is provided with a second resin hose 23 in close contact with the periphery of the first resin hose 22, and the first resin hose 22 is used to feed a welding wire. The second resin hose 23 is softer than the first resin hose and has rigidity determined in consideration of the operability of the conduit cable. A liner (not shown) in which a metal is spirally wound is inserted through the first resin hose 22, and a welding wire is fed through the liner. One end of the conduit cable 21 is detachably attached to the wire feeding device 6 shown in FIG. 2, and the other end is detachably attached to the wire reels 4 and 5 or a pail pack (not shown). These connections are detachably connected using a coupler 24 shown in FIG. Further, these couplers are covered with an insulating member to eliminate the exposure of the energizing portion.

  In order to prevent the bending radius of both ends of the conduit cable 21 from being reduced due to the posture of the manipulator 1 and the feeding performance of the welding wire from being deteriorated, both ends of the conduit cable 21 connected to these couplers are connected to the insulating members 27, Reinforced by 28, the respective radii of curvature at both ends are not reduced.

  As a result, even if the conduit cable 7 connected to the wire feeding device 6 attached to the manipulator 1 is swung, the conduit cable 21 of the present invention is lighter than the conventional one, and thus is added to the manipulator 1. The load is reduced. Furthermore, the load applied to one end of the conduit cable 21 connected to the wire feeding device 6 and one end connected to the wire reel 5 when the wire reel 5 is attached to the manipulator 1 is also reduced. In addition, since the conduit cable 7 is lightweight during installation and replacement work of the welding robot, the burden on the operator can be reduced, and the flexibility has been increased, so the routing range during installation is expanded. It was.

  Further, since the first resin hose 22 of the conduit cable 21 has rigidity determined in consideration of the feedability of the welding wire, even if the posture of the manipulator 1 is changed, the feeding resistance of the welding wire is reduced. There is no increase. Moreover, even if the manipulator 1 operates suddenly, the conduit cable 21 itself is not bent, and stable feeding of the welding wire can be maintained. Further, even when a sudden load is applied to the conduit cable 21 during feeding of the welding wire, deformation of the conduit cable 21 itself can be prevented and buckling of the welding wire can be prevented.

  Further, since the connection at both ends of the conduit cable 21 is made detachable, the burden on the operator can be reduced in installation and replacement work. Moreover, since the metal part of the connection part of the both ends of the conduit cable 21 is covered with the insulating member, even if a metal thing touches this connection part during welding, it does not cause a ground fault.

  Further, the conduit cable 21 is made detachable by attaching couplers at both ends, and the liner, the first resin hose 22 and the second resin hose 23 are not integrated. Therefore, when one of the liner, the first resin hose 22 and the second resin hose 23 is damaged, only the damaged one can be removed and replaced for use. Alternatively, if the damaged part is in the vicinity of the end, the liner, the first resin hose 22 and the second resin hose 23 at that part can be cut, and the remaining conduit cable 21 can be used.

  Although the case where the conduit cable 21 of the present invention is used in a welding robot has been described, the present invention is not limited to the use of a welding robot, but is also applied to an automatic arc welding machine, and wire feeding in an automatic arc welding machine. It is provided between the feeding device and the wire reel or pail pack, and the welding wire is inserted therethrough.

It is a figure which shows the conduit cable of this invention. It is a figure which shows the general structure of the robot for welding when using an articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the conduit cable of a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Manipulator 2 Wrist part 3 Welding torch 4 Wire reel 5 Welding wire 6 Wire feeding device 7 Conduit cable 8 Welding power supply device 9 Gas cylinder 10 Teach pendant 11 Robot controller 12 Spiral tube 13 Insulator 21 Conduit cable 22 1st resin Hose 23 Second resin hose 24 Coupler 25 Plug 26 Socket 27 Insulating member

Claims (3)

A liner in which metal is spirally wound and a welding wire is fed inside;
A first resin hose having the liner inserted therein and having flexibility;
A flexible second resin hose provided around the first resin hose,
The first resin hose has a rigidity determined in consideration of feeding performance of the welding wire,
The conduit cable, wherein the second resin hose is softer than the first resin hose and has rigidity determined in consideration of the operability of the conduit cable.   The conduit cable according to claim 1, wherein one end of the conduit cable is detachably attached to a wire feeding device, and the other end of the conduit cable is detachably attached to a wire reel or a pail pack. The detachable members at both ends of the conduit cable are covered with a flexible insulating member,
The periphery of the conduit cable having a predetermined length from both ends of the conduit cable is reinforced by the insulating member so that the respective curvature radii of both ends of the conduit cable are 100 mm or more. The conduit cable according to claim 2.

Images