Method and welding device for the evaluation of the welding current intensity during the welding of container bodies

• US 8,278,583 B2
• Filed: 07/01/2010
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Soudronic AG
• Original Assignee: Soudronic AG
• Inventors: Mueller, Willi, Dietrich, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): ZARNEKE, DAVID A
• Application Number:
  US12/828,425
• Publication Number:
  US 20110000892A1
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 219/59.1, 219/60.R, 219/60.2, 219/61, 219/60.A, 219/61.2, 219/61.4, 219/61.5, 219/61.6, 219/62, 219/67, 219/78.01, 219/85.13, 219/85.19, 219/85.22, 219/81, 219/82, 219/83, 219/84, 219/86.1, 219/86.7, 219/86.8, 219/87, 219/91.1, 219/91.2
• US Class Current: 219/59.1
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 11/063 Lap welding
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/125 Cans
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 31/125 Weld quality monitoring

Abstract

In order to evaluate the welding current for the resistance seam welding of an overlap seam of container bodies, a welding with changing welding current intensity is carried out for a container body of the production series, resulting in a changing welding of the seam, ranging from the welding with a too high temperature to the welding with a too low temperature. The electric energy for this welding is determined several times during this welding and/or the temperature of the weld seam is determined several times and the welding current intensity is determined at which the welding of the individual container body is too cold and the welding current intensity at which the welding is too hot. This determination is based on the determined electric energy values and/or on the determined temperature values and based on this determination a preferred range for the welding current intensity within these limits of too hot and too cold is determined. By this, an evaluation if the welding current intensity is correct may take place in a simple way during the production. After the welding of the individual container bodies a changed welding current intensity lying between the welding current intensity of the too hot and of the too cold welding may optionally be set and used for the following series of container bodies of the production series.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating the applied welding current intensity during the electric resistance seam welding of overlap seams of consecutive container bodies of a production series, characterized

in that a first series of consecutive container bodies are welded by controlling the resistance welding machine during the production with a preset, substantially constant welding current intensity a1,

in that after this series of container bodies at least a single container body of the production series is welded by a falling or a rising welding current intensity during the seam welding and

in that during this welding with a falling or rising welding current the electric energy is determined several times and/or the temperature of the weld seam is determined several times, and

in that for this welding with falling or raising welding current the welding current intensity is determined at which the welding of the weld seam of the individual container body is too cold and the welding current intensity at which the welding of the weld seam is too hot, based on the determined electric energy values and/or on the determined temperature values, and

in that, based on this determination, a preferred welding current range or a preferred welding current value within these limits is determined.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein it is further checked if the set constant welding current intensity is lying at a preset value within the interval of the welding current intensity for too cold welding and the welding current intensity for too hot welding and particularly if the set welding current intensity is lying within a preferred range of values.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the position of the set welding current intensity is recorded for quality assurance purposes and is particularly determined and recorded periodically.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein, after the welding of the single container body, a changed, substantially constant welding current intensity is set, which lies between the welding current intensity of the too cold and the welding current intensity of the too hot welding and is chosen depending on these welding current intensities, and in that this new, substantially constant current intensity is used for a series of container bodies of the production series following the single container body.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the welding current intensity during the welding of the at least one container body is chosen substantially linearly falling or rising.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the welding current intensity during the welding of the at least one container body has at least two sections with different slopes of the falling or of the rising.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the electric energy is determined by determining the welding current and the electric voltage drop of the welding electrodes for each welding nugget or for selected welding nuggets of the welding seam.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temperature along the weld seam is measured by means of an infrared thermometer.

9. A welding device for the resistance seam welding of container bodies, comprising welding rollers, a welding current generator and a welding current controller, as well as a device for detecting the electric energy along the weld seam of a container body several times and/or for the detection of the temperature of the weld seam along the weld seam of a container body several times, characterized in that the welding current intensity during the welding of a seam of a container body is changeable by means of the welding current controller and/or the welding current generator in order to provide a falling or raising welding current curve, respectively, and in that a too hot welding and a too cold welding provided on the same weld seam by the changing welding current are determinable by the device for the multiple detection and/or by the welding current controller.

10. The welding device according to claim 9, wherein it is determinable if a set, substantially constant welding current intensity for the container body production is lying within a preset range between the welding current intensity for a too cold welding and the welding current intensity for a too hot welding.

11. The welding device according to claim 9, wherein a substantially constant welding current is settable with a welding current intensity which is lying in a preset range between the welding current intensity for a too cold welding and the welding current intensity for a too hot welding.

12. The welding device according to claim 9, wherein the changing welding current is producible with a linearly falling or rising current intensity.

13. The welding device according to claim 9, wherein the changing welding current is producible with at least two ranges of current intensities with different slopes of the falling or the rising of the current intensity.

14. The welding device according to claim 9, wherein the welding current and the electric voltage drop at the welding electrodes is determinable by the device for the multiple determinations of the electric energy for each welding nugget or for some of the welding nuggets.

15. The welding device according to claim 9, wherein the temperature along the welding seam is measurable with an infrared thermometer and the device for the multiple detections.

16. A method for evaluating the used current intensity during the resistance seam welding of overlap seams of consecutive container bodies of a production series for container bodies having an overlapping width which changes along the seam,

wherein the container bodies are welded with a welding current intensity which decreases or increases during the welding of their seam,

wherein the welding current intensity is chosen higher at the higher overlapping width and is chosen lower at the smaller overlapping width,

wherein the electric energy and/or the temperature of the welding seam are/is periodically determined several times for a container body or two consecutive container bodies of the series, and

that the welding current intensity is determined at which the welding of the individual container body is too cold and the welding current intensity at which a too hot welding has taken place, based on the determined electric energy values and/or on the determined temperature values, and

that, based on this determination, the course of the falling or of the rising welding current intensity is evaluated and/or changed within these boundaries.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the position of the set falling or rising welding current intensity is recorded for quality assurance purposes.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein a changed falling or rising welding current intensity which is lying between the welding current intensity of the too cold welding and the welding current intensity of the too hot welding is set after the welding of the single container body and chosen depending on these welding current intensities, and this new falling or rising welding current intensity is applied for the following series of container bodies of the production series.

19. The method according to claim 16, wherein the welding current intensity is chosen substantially linearly falling or rising during the welding of the at least one container body.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein the welding current intensity has at least two sections with different slopes of the falling or of the rising during the welding of the at least one container body.

21. The method according to claim 16, wherein the electric energy is determined by determining the welding current and measuring the electric voltage drop at the welding electrodes for each welding nugget or for some welding nuggets along the weld seam.

22. The method according to claim 16, wherein the temperature along the weld seam is measured with an infrared thermometer.

23. A welding device for the resistance seam welding of container bodies for carrying out the method according to claim 16, comprising welding rollers, a welding current generator and a welding current controller, characterized in that the welding current intensity is changeable during the welding of a seam of a container body by means of the welding current controller and/or the welding current generator and in that a too hot welding or a too cold welding is determinable by the changing welding current by means of a device for the multiple detection and/or by the welding current controller.

24. A welding device for the resistance seam welding of container bodies for carrying out the method according to claim 16, comprising welding rollers, a welding current generator and a welding current controller, characterized in that the welding current intensity is changeable during the welding of a seam of a container body by means of the welding current controller and/or the welding current generator and in that a too hot welding or a too cold welding is determinable by the changing welding current by means of a device for the multiple detection and/or by the welding current controller wherein the welding current intensity is set to rise and fall, and the setting is recorded for quality assurance purposes.