Trajectory Development of Robotic Arc Welding System for Continuous Welding of Corner Area

모서리 부위 연속 용접을 위한 아크 용접 로봇 시스템의 궤적 개발

When a workpiece is to be arc welded around the outside corner, continuous welding without welding seam in the neighborhood of comer still remains a very difficult technique. Skilled welders weld comers by delicate“hand-eye coordination”while turning the workpiece manually, However, there is not a very clear solution to this problem in robotized arc welding process. In order to solve this problem, the coordination of a robot and a positioner with one or two axes is necessary. This paper presents a method of continuous welding around the corner of workpiece using the coordinated motion of a robot and a positioner. The positioner is either revolute jointed or prismatic jointed. In this paper, a clothoid curve is chosen for welding trajectory. The clothoid curve is excellent in connecting straight and curved weld-lines with good continuity and accommodates various welding conditions. By using this welding trajectory, the deceleration, which leads to widening of the melt and the heat affected zone, at comer area is reduced with strategic rotation of robot torch in coordination with a positioner providing smooth transition of welding torch orientation. Two types of special clothoid curves are developed for different weld slope conditions. These clothoid curves are applied to the case of linear and rotary Positioners at arc welding robot work-cell.