Technical Field

The invention relates to a smart hand welding torch system and method for manual laser welding used in laser welding applications.

Prior Art

Today, it has been observed that in cases where laser spot welding must be performed manually, the operator cannot perform standard welding and the welding quality is highly variable. Even if all other variables are held constant, the experiments have revealed that the quality of the weld changes as the angle between the weld surface and the laser beam changes in laser spot welding. The operator cannot apply the laser beam towards the welding surface and always at the same angle in manual laser welding applications.

It is not economical to use a robotic welding line that can fine-tune welding parameters, and laser welding is usually performed manually in the production of custom-made systems. The most common operator error in manual welding operations is the angular positioning error between the laser beam and the plate surface. The surfaces to be welded in production can be in different orientation angles. However, it is impossible for the operator to visually apply the laser beam to sheet metal surfaces in different positions at a right angle. Factors such as the reflection angle of the laser and the melting depth are affected by the relative angle between the sheet metal and the laser beam, and therefore the welding quality cannot be kept at a certain standard. When the angle between the surface normal and the torch is less than the critical weld angle, the experiments have shown that heat-induced traces or microdeformations occur on the visible surface of the thin stainless material. In addition, there is a significant decrease in weld quality since a sufficiently wide weld area cannot be created at large values of this angle. The optimum torch angle range should be determined by considering laser welding parameters and material properties.

Application numbered CN212043089U encountered as a result of the technical researches relates to a device that warns the user by generating an alarm if the position of the manual argon arc welding gun is out of tolerance. This application is a training tool for the welding operator to get the right holding habit. This application has no intended use and capability in production. In addition, it does not measure the angle of the welding surface and does not calculate the welding torch angles suitable for the standing position of the welding surface. RGB led, welding surface angle measurement button, welding torch head and enclosure box are not included in this application.

The document numbered CN215880239U encountered as a result of technical researches, relates to a system that performs the control and adjustment of system parameters in manual laser welders via auxiliary board, display screen and rotary knob. In this application, there is a structure that warns the user to which setting the source device is set by giving 3 different warning lights. However, angular position sensor, welding surface angle measurement button, welding torch head and enclosure box are not included in this application. This application is not about welding with angular accuracy. There is no feature that measures angular position and processes this data. This application is basically a welding device equipped with a display and adjustment buttons so as to adjust and monitor the laser signal.

As a result, due to the abovementioned disadvantages and the insufficiency of the current solutions regarding the subject matter, a development is required to be made in the relevant technical field.

Aim of the Invention

The invention aims to provide a structure having different technical features which brings a new development in this field different from the embodiments used in the prior art.

The main aim of the invention is to reveal a smart hand type welding torch device, which measures the stance angle of the sheet surface to be welded to eliminate angular positioning errors, calculates the appropriate torch holding angles accordingly and helps the operator to perform laser welding at the right angle with visual warnings.

The inventive device first measures the angular position of the sheet metal surface to be welded with the help of the reset plug (welding torch head), angular position sensor (gyro sensor) and welding surface angle measurement button and it warns the operator with different colored LEDs by continuously calculating the relative angle between the laser beam and the surface. In this way, the angular positioning problem of the operator in the manual laser welding process is solved. When it is desired to make the angular position in a position that is too sensitive to be adjusted visually, an adjustment can be made so that the laser trigger is activated only at the appropriate angle. Accordingly, it will be sufficient to connect the laser trigger with the LED that lights up when the device is at the appropriate angle. In this way, the laser can only be made at the appropriate angle. This process can also be performed automatically when the appropriate angle is caught without pressing the trigger. In this way, the operator will not waste time to catch the right angle.

It is not possible to perform welding in the optimum angular range determined by the standard manual welding torch and the operator's eyeball estimate. However, it shows that the operator can always perform the same quality welding process in the same angular range with the help of the invention developed through experiments. The test results show that using a smart torch with the angular positioning assist system introduced in the invention significantly improves the weld quality. Breaking force values in welding with a standard torch vary over a wide range and visual problems such as burning, puncture and swelling are encountered on the visible surfaces of many samples with high strength values. When the developed smart torch was used, the breaking force remained within the desired reference range and no visual defects were found in any sample.

One of the improvements brought by the present invention to the current technology is related to occupational safety. The tip of the currently available laser welding torches is made of an electrically conductive material and when it comes into contact with the part to be welded, the safety electrical circuit is completed and laser pulse operation is allowed. In this way, it is ensured that the welding torch operates when it is oriented and in contact with the welding surface, and random laser beam is prevented from being sent around when the laser pulse button is accidentally pressed. The angular positions that the operator will not do welding can be determined in the software, and an extra safety measure can be created by preventing the laser pulse electronically with the help of the present invention, even if the electrical circuit is completed by accident. This safety measure can also be extended by software preventing welding at all angular positions other than the appropriate angular position determined after the angle of the weld surface is automatically measured. In this way, when the laser welding torch is pointed in a direction other than the part to be welded, it will never send a laser beam.

In order to fulfill the abovementioned aims, the invention is a smart hand welding torch system and method for manual laser welding used in laser welding applications, characterized by comprising; • Angular position sensor, which continuously measures the stopping angle of the torch at time intervals determined in the software,

• Welding torch head / reset plug, which ensures that the laser beam / manual welding torch is perpendicular to the welding surface before manual laser welding,

• Measurement button, which transmits the angular position of the manual welding torch when it becomes perpendicular to the welding surface, to the control card by means of the welding torch head / reset plug,

• Control card, which continuously calculates the relative angle between the welding surface and the laser beam according to the angle data measured by the angular position sensor, checks whether this value is within the angular ranges predetermined in the software and provides the user to be warned by means of a led or auditory stimulus.

The structural and characteristic features of the present invention will be understood clearly by the following drawings and the detailed description made with reference to these drawings and therefore the evaluation shall be made by taking these figures and the detailed description into consideration.

Figures to Help Understanding of the Invention

Figure 1a, is an illustration of the present hand laser welding torch.

Figure 1 b, is the illustration of the inventive smart hand welding torch for manual laser welding, which is the subject of the invention.

Figure 1c, is the circuit diagram illustration of the angular positioning assist device.

Figure 2a, is a representative illustration of critical laser holding angles during use of the inventive smart welding torch.

Figure 2b, is a representative illustration of the operator measuring the normal of the weld surface.

Figure 2c, is a representative illustration of the red led illuminated at extreme vertical holding angle.

Figure 2d, is a representative illustration of the green led illuminated at an appropriate holding angle.

Figure 2e, is a representative illustration of the blue led illuminated at extreme inclined holding angle. The figures are not required to be scaled and the details which are not necessary for understanding the present invention may be neglected. Moreover, the elements that are at least substantially identical or have at least substantially identical functions are shown by the same number.

Description of the Part References

1 . Manual welding torch

2. Angular position sensor

3. Led

3.1 Red led

3.2 Green led

3.3 Blue led

4. Control Card

5. Measurement button

6. Welding torch head (Reset Plug)

7. Enclosure box

0A, 0B, 0C, 0. Angles between the laser beam and the weld surface normal

N. Weld surface normal

Detailed Description of the Invention

In this detailed description, the preferred embodiments of the invention are described only for clarifying the subject matter in a manner such that no limiting effect is created.

The invention relates to a smart hand welding torch system and method for manual laser welding used in laser welding applications.

The elements and functions used in the inventive smart manual welding torch (1) are as follows;

Angular position sensor (2) continuously measures the stopping angle of the torch at time intervals determined in the software. The angular position sensor (2) measures the angle of stance of the sheet metal surface to be welded by attaching the same to the welding torch head (6) and thus keeping the torch perpendicular to the surface when a measurement button (5) is pressed, transmits it to the control card (4) and records it. The measured sheet surface angle is recorded and the position of the surface normal is determined as the zero position by means of the angular position sensor (2), and the LEDs (3) in the colors determined in the software are turned on and off to warn the operator for the different angular deviations of the laser beam / manual welding torch (1 ) from this position. The red led (3.1 ) lights up at extreme vertical holding angle (0 <0 <0A). The green led (3.2) lights up at the appropriate holding angle (6A <0 <0B). The blue led (3.3) lights up (0B <0<0C) at the extreme inclined holding angle.

The data coming from the angular position sensor (2) is processed on the control card (4) with the help of software and the RGB LED (3) warns the operator with different colors in the angular intervals specified in the software and the operations required for the opening and closing of the trigger button are carried out by the control card (4).

When the laser beam / manual welding torch (1 ) is held perpendicular to the sheet surface to be welded, the measurement button (5) is pressed and the direction of the surface normal is measured and recorded by the control card (4). In this way, the angular position of the surface to be welded or any desired position is determined as the angular zero position

The welding torch head (6) is attached to the tip of the manual welding torch (1 ) and provides a flat, wide surface that allows it to be held in such a way that the laser beam direction is perpendicular to the sheet surface to be welded. Such a head is needed since the end of the laser beam is very narrow. Alternatively, any flat surface on the torch of sufficient width can be used for this purpose and the surface angle can be calculated by indirect operations. However, it is more functional to use such an apparatus on the tip of the welding torch to measure the angular position of the welding surface in narrow areas to be welded. In this way, the angular position of welding surfaces in narrow areas can also be measured.

The protection of the angular position sensor (2) and the control card (4) is provided by the enclosure box (7). As an alternative embodiment of the enclosure box (7), it occupies so little space that the entire system can be placed within the welding torch.

The standard laser welding torch shown in Figure 1 a is enhanced with the angular positioning assist device as shown in Figure 1 b. The circuit diagram of the device, which is preferably created using the arduino Pro Micro control card and the MPU6050 angular position sensor (2), is given in Figure 1 c (The system can also be produced using different control cards and different angular position sensors). The angular position of the torch is continuously measured with the aid of the angular position sensor (2) located at the top of the torch along the direction of the laser beam and according to the angular state of the torch, the operator is warned about the angular position with different colors with the help of the RGB LED (3). (The angular position sensor (2) can also be placed at a different point on the welding torch, but this selection may reduce the accuracy of the angular position measurement.)

The holding angle of the torch should be adjusted according to the angle of the surfaces to be welded (Figure 2a). For this reason, before starting the welding process, the stance angle (surface normal) of the sheet surface to be welded should be measured. This measurement can be taken without the need for an external device by attaching the welding torch head (reset plug) (6), which allows the tip of the smart welding torch to be held perpendicular to the surface (Figure 2b). The surface area that will enable the torch to be held perpendicular to the surface is obtained with the help of the welding torch head (reset plug) (6) attached to the tip of the torch. The angles in this starting position are recorded by the control card (4) with the help of the measurement button (5) on the device and the surface normal is calculated with the angle values obtained from the angular position sensor (2). This calculation is done as follows: the angular position sensor (2) provides angle information in the range of 0-360 degrees from the three axes. Only two of these angle values (x, y) are sufficient to calculate the direction of the surface normal. While the surface normal changes in the range of 0-180 degrees, the sensor needs angular transformation to measure in the range of 0-360 degrees. The direction of the source surface normal can be easily calculated with the help of the converted two angle information and the cosine theorem. When the surface angle measurement button (5) is pressed, the measured initial values are continuously subtracted from the next values and the angle between the welding torch (laser direction) and the surface normal is continuously calculated in the time interval determined in the software. The RGB LED at the tip of the torch warns the welding operator as red (Figure 2c), green (Figure 2d) and blue (Figure 2e) according to the limit values of the angles (0A, 0B and 0C) determined in the program. In this way, the operator can perform the welding process in the right position or the welding process can be performed automatically when the welding torch position comes to the appropriate angle. Performing the process automatically allows welding in a much more precise narrow angular range. This process can also be performed automatically when the appropriate angle is caught without pressing the trigger. In this way, the operator will not waste time to catch the right angle.

The process steps carried out with the inventive system is as follows; • Uploading the appropriate range of the angle between the welding surface and the laser beam / manual welding torch to the software on the control card (4) during the manual laser welding process (the appropriate angular range should be determined in advance according to the welding power parameters and the material properties to be welded),

• Making the laser beam / manual welding torch (1 ) perpendicular to the welding surface via the welding torch head/reset plug (6) before manual laser welding and pressing the measurement button and measuring the stance angle by means of the angular position sensor (2) and recording the same on the control card (4),

• Continuously measuring the angular position of the manual welding torch (1 ) in laser welding by means of the angular position sensor (2) and calculating the relative angle between the welding surface and the laser beam / manual welding torch (1 ) by the control card (4),

• Giving visual or auditory warning to the operator by means of leds (3) or an audible stimulus depending on the suitability of the relative angle between the welding surface and the laser beam, which is continuously calculated by the control card (4).

• As an alternative: Performing the laser triggering automatically according to the command given from the control card (4) when the appropriate angular position is achieved instead of the operator pressing the laser pulse button.