System, method and apparatus for stud welding
A system, method and apparatus for welding a group of welding studs to the surface of an inputted base material using a stud welding gun. According to a preferred embodiment, the method of the present invention may include the steps of: uploading CAD specifications for the base material; calculating targeted weld locations based on the CAD specifications; initiating a first set of side rollers and drive rollers to in-intake the base material; measuring the location of the base material along a first axis; controlling the first set of side rollers and drive rollers to position the base material at a first location along a first axis based on the measured location of the base material along the first axis; measuring the relative horizonal and vertical distances between the stud welding gun and each of the respective stud welding areas indicated in the inputted CAD data; controlling a first set of carriage servo motors to move the stud welding gun into a first target position along a second axis relative to the measured location of the base material; controlling a second set of vertical positioning assemblies to adjust the vertical distance of the welding gun along a third axis relative to the measured location of the base material; executing stud welds to secure studs to the base material; and initiating rotary sanding, peening or other supplemental processing to a stud weld area.
1 . A stud welding assembly for moving over the surface of a base material and to sequentially position and weld a plurality of welding studs; the stud welding assembly comprising:
a welding assembly main body;
an upper ball bearing carriage track;
a lower ball bearing carriage track; wherein the upper and lower ball bearing carriage tracks are attached to a front surface of the welding assembly main body;
a left stud gun assembly; wherein the left study gun assembly comprises:
a left vertical positioning assembly;
a left stud welding gun; and
a left stud welding gun leg;
a right stud gun assembly; wherein the right stud gun assembly comprises:
a right vertical positioning assembly;
a right stud welding gun; and
a right stud welding gun leg;
wherein the left stud gun assembly is movably attached to the upper ball bearing carriage track and the lower ball bearing carriage track; wherein the right stud gun assembly is movably attached to the upper ball bearing carriage track and the lower ball bearing carriage track; wherein the upper and lower ball bearing carriage tracks allow the right and left stud welding guns to horizontally translate across the front face of the stud welding assembly;
a system controller; wherein the system controller is configured to direct the movement of the right and left stud welding gun assemblies to one or more targeted Y-axis values;
a plurality of side rollers;
a plurality of drive rollers; wherein the system controller is configured to control the rotational movement of the plurality of side rollers and the plurality of drive rollers;
wherein the plurality of drive rollers and the plurality of side rollers are configured to frictionally receive and pull the base material to propel the stud welding assembly across the surface of the base material;
wherein the system controller is configured to control the side rollers and the drive rollers to position the stud welding assembly and the stud welding guns to a targeted X-axis value; and
a plurality of guide plates; wherein the plurality of guide plates comprise at least a left guide plate and a right guide plate; wherein the plurality of guide plates comprise smooth upper surfaces to receive the base material; wherein the left guide plate forms a left docking slot; wherein the left docking slot is adjustably sized to receive the base material with the base material in contact between the left docking slot and at least one drive roller;
wherein the left and right vertical positioning assemblies are configured to adjust the vertical distance between the right and left stud welding guns and the received base material as the base material moves within the right docking slot and left docking slot;
wherein the system controller is configured to independently adjust the positions of the right and left stud welding guns along the Z-axis relative to the base material to a targeted Z-axis value.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the stud welding assembly further comprises one or more auxiliary devices to treat and finish the surface of a welding stud attached by the stud welding assembly to the base material.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the one or more auxiliary devices comprise orbital sanders.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the orbital sanders comprise a left orbital sander and a right orbital sander.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the left and right orbital sanders are adjustably attached via an adjustable tool spindle.
6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the system controller comprises a Computer Numeric Controller (CNC) controller.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the system controller comprises a motor control module.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the system controller comprises a measurement module for receiving data from one or more measurement sensors to monitor the relative spacing of system components.
9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the system controller is linked to a plurality of servo motors for moving one or more of the side rollers.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of side rollers are formed of resilient materials.
11 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the system controller is configured to control one or more of the side rollers in response to data received from the one or more measurement sensors.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the one or more measurement sensors comprise at least one sensor selected from the group consisting of laser sensors, imaging sensors, and IR sensors.
13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the system controller is configured to control the relative position between the base material and the stud welding guns along a X-axis.
14 . The system of claim 13 , wherein the system controller is linked to a second plurality of servo motors to control the position of each stud welding gun in response to measuring data from the one or more measurement sensors.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the system controller is configured to control the relative position between the base material and the stud welding guns along a Z-axis.
16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the system controller is configured to control the relative position between the base material and the stud welding guns along an Y-axis.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the system controller is configured to control the positioning of the one or more auxiliary devices.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the system controller is configured to control the location of one or more orbital sanders by adjusting one or more motorized tool spindles.
19 . The system of claim 18 , wherein a target location of at least one of the orbital sanders is determined using a laser sensor.