Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Yasuhide Nagao

Hajime Kashiki

Masayuki Inuzuka

Takehiro Hyoue

Kotoyoshi Murakami

Tomoyuki Iwashita

Yuzo Kano

Seiichiro Yamashita

Yasumasa Nakashima

In the friction stir joining apparatus of the present invention, a rotation control unit variably controls a rotational speed of a rotor; and a straight movement control unit controls a straight movement of the rotor so as to control a pressure applied by the rotor to the object. The tip portion of the rotating rotor is pressed against a workpiece, thus spot joining is executed. The apparatus can execute frictional stirring joining without practical trouble under simple control.

Friction stir joining apparatus

Friction stir joining method

A friction stir welding apparatus capable of stably applying a pressure force without enlarging the apparatus, and a robot having thereof are provided. A rotating tool is provided with a rotational shaft and a hollow surrounding shaft is provided to surround the rotational shaft. The rotational shaft is movable along an axis-of-rotation and is rotated by a rotation drive motor about the axis-of-rotation. The surrounding shaft is rotatably supported by a main frame and an outer threaded portion is formed around the outer peripheral thereof to be threadedly engaged with a nut member. The rotating tool is rotatably supported by a header, and the header and the nut member are coupled together through a bracket. Therefore, when the surrounding shaft is rotated about the axis-of-rotation by the linear movement motor, the rotating tool is linearly moved through the nut member, the bracket and the header, and can apply a pressure force against work pieces.

Friction stir welding apparatus and robot employing the apparatus

A processing operation control method controls a processing operation in which a rotary toolis rotated by a rotative drive unit, and presses the rotating rotary toolis pressed by a pressing unitto force the rotating rotary toolinto workpieces Wand W. Load placed on the rotary toolduring the processing operation is measured, an optimum rotating speed at which the rotary toolis to be rotated and/or an optimum pressure to be applied to the rotary toolfor processing the workpieces Wand Wis determined on the basis of the measured load placed on the rotary tool. The rotative drive unitand/or the pressing unitare controlled on the basis of the optimum rotating speed at which the rotary toolis to be rotated and/or the optimum pressure to be applied to the rotary tool

Processing operation control method, processing operation controller, computer program for carrying out the method, information storage medium storing the computer program

A friction stir welding apparatus capable of stably applying a pressure force without enlarging the apparatus, and a robot having thereof are provided. A rotating tool () is provided with a rotational shaft () and a hollow surrounding shaft () is provided to surround the rotational shaft (). The rotational shaft () is movable along an axis-of-rotation (L) and is rotated by a rotation drive motor () about the axis-of-rotation (L). The surrounding shaft () is rotatably supported by a main frame () and an outer threaded portion is formed around the outer peripheral thereof to be threadedly engaged with a nut member. The rotating tool () is rotatably supported by a header (), and the header () and the nut memberare coupled together through a bracket (). Therefore, when the surrounding shaft () is rotated about the axis-of-rotation (L) by the linear movement motor (), the rotating tool () is linearly moved through the nut member, the bracket () and the header (), and can apply a pressure force against work pieces.

A spot joining device comprises a joining tool, an induction motor for rotating the joining tool, a servo motor for vertically moving the joining tool along an axis of the joining tool, and a receiving member placed opposite to the joining tool. The joining tool includes a short-column shaped shoulder and a pin protruded downwardly along the axis from a central portion of a lower face of the shoulder at a tip end portion thereof. Two works such as aluminum alloy plates are lapped and placed on a receiving member. When the joining tool is rotated and moved downwardly, a joint spot of the works is heated and softened due to friction heat generated by the rotating pin. Thereby, plastic flow occurs in the vicinity of the joint spot. The vicinity of the joint spot is stirred and the works are fused at the joint spot. Thus, the works are spot-joined.

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Kobe, Japan

Yasuhide Nagao