Elpatronic Ag

Albano DePaoli

Peter Gysi

Michael Baumgartner

Andreas Lanz

Franz Bugmann

An apparatus for guiding can bodies in a laser welding machine is described. The apparatus comprises a water-cooled holding-down shoe (22) with an integrated holding-down roller (24), gas supply (64) and suction extraction (68), the holding-down roller (24) being disposed in front of the theoretical point of intersection of the two edges of the body to be butt-welded and being adjustable in height, with the holding-down shoe (22), to the thickness of the sheet metal. Adjacent to the holding-down shoe (22) is a holding-up shoe (26) and adjacent to the holding-down roller (24) is a holding-up roller (28). Provided below the holding-up shoe (26) is a horizontally and vertically adjustable supporting roller (30) which supports the can bodies at their underside during the welding operation and during passage through the welding plane (10). The bringing together of the edges of the bodies to be butt-welded, which emerge from the Z-rail, is effected by means of this apparatus without much friction and wear, the welding position is protected and any smoke formed during the welding is drawn off. As a result of the supporting roller, too close an adjustment of the conveying means is avoided, through which increased power requirements and wear in the guide range of the Z-rail would be caused.

Apparatus for guiding can bodies in a laser welding machine

In order to hold the longitudinal edges (12, 14) of a can body (10) which are to be butt-welded together contiguous with one another on the way to a welding apparatus (52), the can body (10) is moved past a magnet (40) by means of which the longitudinal edges (12, 14) are magnetized with opposite polarity. The two poles (N.sub.S, S.sub.N) of the magnet (40) each have a supporting surface (42, 44) for a conveyor belt (36) which conveys can bodies (10) one behind the other from a guide member (22) to the welding apparatus (52).

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Muhlacker, Germany

Albano DePaoli