STICKING PAD, FRICTION STIR WELDING MACHINE AND FRICTION STIR WELDING SYSTEM

• US 20100213242A1
• Filed: 02/06/2008
• Published: 08/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Kawasaki Heavy Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Kawasaki Heavy Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Nishida, Hidehito, Fujimoto, Mitsuo
• Granted Patent: US 7,896,216 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 228/2.100
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 20/1245 characterised by the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/18 Sheet panels
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/10 Aluminium or alloys thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 37/0294 Transport carriages or vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: F16B 47/00 Suction cups for attaching purposes; Equivalent means using adhesives devices using adhesives, suction or magnetism for hanging or supporting pictures or the like A47G1/17; vacuum work holders B25B11/005; anchoring of ships using suction B63B21/27; suction cups for handling glass B65G49/061; load-engaging elements for cranes using suction means B66C1/02

Abstract

A lightweight, mobile friction stir welding machine, a sticking pad for the friction stir welding machine, and a friction stir welding system are provided. The sticking pad has a flat base member facing an object, an annular sealing member protruding from one of major surfaces of the base member so as to surround a central area of the surface of the base member, a slippery member attached to the end surface of the annular sealing member facing the object, and one or some deformation-suppressing protrusions protruding from the surface facing the object of the base member. The slippery member is made of a material that can make the slippery member contact the object with a friction coefficient lower than that with which the sealing member can be in contact with the same object.

Claims

1. A sticking pad incorporated into a friction stir welding machine including a vehicle and capable of welding plural workpieces together by friction stir welding with a welding tool while traveling along the workpieces, and capable of being brought into contact with an object to keep the welding tool in contact with the workpieces by attraction and of being selectively set in either of an operative state in which the sticking pad is in contact with the object to make attraction effective and an inoperative state in which the sticking pad is separated from the object to make attraction ineffective.

2. The sticking pad according to claim 1 further comprising:

an elastic, annular sealing member capable of surrounding a suction space and of sealing the suction space; and

a slippery member attached to a surface of the sealing member facing the object, and made of a material that makes the slippery member contact the object with a friction coefficient lower than that with which the sealing member can be in contact with the object.

3. The sticking pad according to claim 2 further comprising protrusions extending toward the object in the suction space, having a rigidity higher than that of the sealing member, and made of a material that can make the protrusions contact the object with a friction coefficient lower than that with which the sealing member is in contact with the object.

4. A friction stir welding machine capable welding plural workpieces together by friction stir welding using a welding tool, said friction stir welding machine comprising:

sticking pads set forth in claim 1;

a tool holding device rotatable about a predetermined reference axis and holding the welding tool;

a rotational driving means for driving the tool holding device for rotation about the reference axis;

a linear shifting means for driving the tool holding device for movement along the reference axis; and

a vehicle loaded with the tool holding device, the rotational driving means, and the linear shifting means and capable of traveling.

5. The friction stir welding machine according to claim 4, wherein the plural sticking pads include main sticking pads capable of producing a high attraction and disposed on a front part of the vehicle, and at least one auxiliary sticking pad disposed on the rear side of the main sticking pads and capable of producing a low attraction, and the number and positions of at least one auxiliary sticking pad are adjustable.

6. The friction stir welding machine according to claim 4 further comprising switching means for selectively setting the sticking pads in either of the operative state and the inoperative state.

7. A friction stir welding system comprising:

the friction stir welding machine set forth in claim 4; and

guide rails extended along a weld line and having a high rigidity higher than that of workpieces;

wherein the sticking pads are attracted to the guide rails.

8. The friction stir welding system according to claim 7, wherein the guide rails have surfaces on which wheels included in the friction stir welding machine roll and to which the sticking pads stick, and the surfaces of the guide rails are finished by a predetermined process such that the sticking pads are in contact with the surfaces of the guide rails with a low friction coefficient.

10. The friction stir welding system according to claim 7, wherein each of the guide rails has a vertical part having a guide surface perpendicular to the surfaces of the workpieces, and the friction stir welding machine further includes second guide members in contact with the guide surfaces.

11. The sticking pad according to claim 1, wherein the sticking pad can electromagnetically stick to the object, and the sticking pad is provided with an electromagnet capable of attracting the object when a current is supplied thereto.

12. The sticking pad according to claim 11, wherein that the sticking pad is provided with plural protrusions for spacing the electromagnets from the object.

13. The sticking pad according to claim 12, wherein each of the protrusions has a spherical tip.

14. The sticking pad according to claim 12, wherein a slippery film is formed on the tip of each protrusion to make the protrusion slide easily relative to the object.

15. A friction stir welding machine capable welding plural workpieces together by friction stir welding using a welding tool, said friction stir welding machine comprising:

sticking pads set forth in claim 11;

a tool holding device rotatable about a predetermined reference axis and holding the welding tool;

a rotational driving means for driving the tool holding device for rotation about the reference axis;

a linear shifting means for driving the tool holding device for movement along the reference axis; and

a vehicle loaded with the tool holding device, the rotational driving means, and the linear shifting means and capable of traveling.

16. The friction stir welding machine according to claim 15 further comprising switching means for selectively setting the sticking pads in either of an operative state and an inoperative state.

17. A friction stir welding system comprising:

the friction stir welding machine according to claim 15;

guide rails extended along a weld line and having a rigidity higher than that of parts to be attracted of workpieces;

wherein the guide rails are an object to which the sticking pads stick.

18. The friction stir welding system according to claim 17, wherein the guide rails have surfaces on which wheels included in the friction stir welding machine roll.

19. The friction stir welding system according to claim 17, wherein each of the guide rails has a vertical part having a guide surface perpendicular to the surfaces of the workpieces, and the friction stir welding machine further includes second guide members in contact with the guide surfaces.

9. A friction stir welding system comprising:

guide rails extended on the surfaces of workpieces along a weld line corresponding to the joint of the workpieces and having parallel parts extending parallel to the surfaces of the workpieces; and

a friction stir welding machine having guide members, capable of welding the workpieces together by friction stir welding with a welding tool while a vehicle is traveling with the guide members kept in contact with surfaces of the parallel parts of the guide rails facing the workpieces.