Removable welding tip assembly

• US 9,616,517 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2013
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Schnipke, Kevin S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Thanh, Quang D
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chen, Kuangyue
• Application Number:
  US13/925,995
• Publication Number:
  US 20140374388A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: 219 8631, 219 868
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 11/115 by means of two electrodes placed opposite one another on both sides of the welded parts
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 11/3054 Cooled electrodes B23K11/3018, B23K11/3045 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 11/3072 Devices for exchanging or removing electrodes or electrode tips
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 11/312 for several electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 11/314 Spot welding guns, e.g. mounted on robots
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 11/315 with one electrode moving on a linear path

Abstract

A dummy weld apparatus including a dummy weld gun which allows a direct weld robot with a conventional weld gun to clamp down on the dummy weld gun to apply force and weld current for performing welding of workpieces of a first composition (e.g., aluminum). This arrangement allows the current provided by the conventional weld gun to flow through the dummy weld gun for welding the workpieces using weld tips dedicated to welding parts of the first composition, but also allows the dummy weld gun to be removed from the conventional weld gun to allow the conventional weld gun to performing welding operations on workpieces of a second composition (e.g., steel) using the original welding tips of the weld gun, avoiding material contamination of the tips.

Claims

1. An apparatus for welding workpieces, said apparatus comprising:

a weld gun comprising;

a first weld tip and a second weld tip providing a welding current;

a support structure for providing a compressive force by moving the first weld tip in at least a first direction towards the second weld tip; and

a dummy weld gun comprising;

a first arm assembly;

a first dummy weld tip held by the first arm assembly;

a second arm assembly;

a second dummy weld tip held by the second arm assembly; and

a supporting structure connecting the first arm assembly and the second arm assembly, wherein the first arm assembly allows at least the first dummy weld tip to move in at least the first direction toward the second dummy weld tip; and

wherein said dummy weld gun welds workpieces using both the compressive force in at least the first direction and the welding current, wherein the welding current and compressive force are both transferred from the weld gun to the dummy weld gun.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said first dummy weld tip and said second dummy weld tip each include a corresponding flat portion.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first weld tip and the second weld tip contact the flat portions of the first dummy weld tip and the second dummy weld tip, respectively, when the dummy weld gun is welding the workpieces.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein a motion of a piston on the weld gun pushes the first weld tip into the first dummy weld tip to cause the first dummy weld tip to contact the workpieces during the welding of the workpieces to transmit the compressive force.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, where said supporting structure includes a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder configured to enable the dummy weld gun to disengage from the workpieces.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a cooling portion for cooling the dummy weld gun.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a disengaging mechanism for disengaging the first dummy weld tip and the second dummy weld tip from the workpieces after said welding.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said disengaging mechanism includes at least one piston.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said at least one piston is configured to perform said disengaging by rotating at least one of said first dummy weld tip or said second dummy weld tip.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said supporting structure inserts said dummy weld gun into the weld gun for welding the workpieces, and wherein said supporting structure further retrieves said dummy weld gun from the weld gun allowing the weld gun to directly weld other workpieces.

11. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the cooling portion is separate from a cooling weld gun cooling portion.

12. A system for welding workpieces, said system comprising:

a weld gun including;

a support structure,

a piston connected to said support structure,

a first weld tip connected to said piston, and

a second weld tip connected to said support structure, wherein

said weld gun directly welds first workpieces by putting said first weld tip and said second weld tip into contact with opposing sides of the first workpieces by action of the piston for welding the first workpieces by passing a current from the first weld tip to the second weld tip through the workpieces;

a dummy weld gun including;

a first arm assembly,

a first dummy weld tip held by the first arm assembly,

a second arm assembly,

a second dummy weld tip held by the second arm assembly; and

a dummy support structure positioning said first arm assembly and said second arm assembly into the dummy weld gun, wherein

said dummy support structure of the dummy weld gun inserts the dummy weld gun into the weld gun for welding second workpieces using a compressive force transferred from the piston of the weld gun to the dummy weld gun to engage the first and second dummy weld tips with the second workpieces, and wherein

said system supplies a welding current transferred from the first weld tip of the weld gun to the first dummy weld tip of the dummy weld gun through the second workpieces to the second dummy weld tip of the dummy weld gun to the second weld tip of the weld gun, and wherein

said dummy support structure of the dummy weld gun retrieves said dummy weld gun from the weld gun allowing the weld gun to directly weld other first workpieces.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the first dummy weld tip and the second dummy weld tip each include a corresponding flat portion, and wherein the first weld tip and the second weld tip contact the flat portions of the first dummy weld tip and the second dummy weld tip, respectively, when the dummy weld gun is welding the second workpieces.

14. The system of claim 12, where said dummy support structure of the dummy weld gun includes a piston that disengages the dummy weld gun from the second workpieces after said welding.

15. The system of claim 12, further comprising a cooling portion for cooling the dummy weld gun.

16. The system of claim 12, further comprising a disengaging mechanism that disengages the first dummy weld tip and the second dummy weld tip from the second workpieces after said welding.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein said disengaging mechanism includes at least one air cylinder.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein said disengaging mechanism rotates at least one of said first dummy weld tip or said second dummy weld tip.

19. The system of claim 12, wherein said first workpieces include one of steel or aluminum, and wherein said second workpieces include the other of steel or aluminum.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the cooling portion is separate from a cooling weld gun cooling portion.

21. A method of welding workpieces having different compositions, comprising the steps of:

providing a weld gun having first and second weld tips;

providing a dummy weld gun having first and second dummy weld tips;

placing a first workpiece of a first composition between the first and second weld tips;

placing the first and second weld tips into direct compressive contact with opposite sides of the first workpiece of the first composition;

welding the first workpiece of the first composition by passing a current through the first workpiece of the first composition using the first and second weld tips;

moving the dummy weld gun into position within the weld gun;

placing a second workpiece of a second composition different than the first composition between the first and second dummy weld tips;

placing the first and second weld tips into compressive contact with the first and second dummy weld tips causing said first and second dummy weld tips to be in compressive direct contact with opposite sides of the second workpiece of the second composition;

welding the second workpiece of the second composition by passing a current through the second workpiece of the second composition using the first and second dummy weld tips and the first and second weld tips; and

removing the dummy weld gun from within the weld gun for allowing the weld gun to directly weld other workpieces of the first composition.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein said first composition includes one of steel or aluminum, and wherein said second composition includes the other of steel or aluminum.