The present disclosure relates to tip (cap) dressing of welding electrodes, and more particularly to systems involving tip dressing electrodes in the spot welding of press-hardened steels.
Welding is one of the most common forms of joining components and is used extensively. Spot welding is a resistance welding process that employs copper/copper alloy electrodes to apply pressure and electric current to one or more metal workpieces to generate heat as current passes between the electrodes through the resistive material of the workpiece(s). The heat fuses the workpiece(s) forming a weld as the melted material solidifies after removal of the current.
Spot welding is often used in repetitive welding operations such as welding together automotive body structural components through multiple weld spots. Due to the repeated application of pressure and current through the electrodes, electrode degradation eventually occurs. Geometric and/or metallurgical changes may occur as the electrodes are used. For example, the electrode's tip diameter may increase and/or other the electrodes may undergo other deformation such as mushrooming. Also for example, properties of the electrode's material, especially at the tip surface, may change over time leading to suboptimal current conduction.
To address the degradation of electrodes and extend their useful life, tip dressing may be employed. Electrode tip dressing involves mechanically restoring electrode geometry, such as by material removal. An improperly dressed electrode may result in irregular welds, electrode to workpiece sticking, and other undesirable outcomes. Accordingly, effective tip dressing systems are desirable.
Press-hardened steel (PHS) results from processes that heat and form the steel to its final shape in water cooled dies that quench the material to develop desirable properties. The resulting material may be classified as advanced high-strength steel (AHSS), which is a stable material with a high strength-to-weight ratio. The use of such steel is desirable, particularly where weight is a consideration. The physical characteristics of PHS/AHSS material may present challenges in welding, such as reduced electrode lifespan.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems for tip dressing electrodes in welding applications, including in the spot welding of press-hardened steels. It would also be desirable for such systems to extend the lifespan of electrodes while maintaining quality weld formation. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present disclosure will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.
A system for electrode dressing is disclosed. In a number of embodiments, the system includes a cutter with a rim and a center land supported on the rim by a number of flutes defining openings between the flutes. The flutes and the center land define a cutting profile of the cutter. The cutter is configured to rotate about an axis passing through the center land. Cutting edges are disposed on the flutes and are made of a first material having a Vickers hardness (HV) of at least 850 HV, overlaid by a second material having a Vickers hardness of at least 3200 HV.
In additional embodiments, the second material comprises a coating on the first material of less than ten micrometers in thickness.
In additional embodiments, the cutting profile comprises a face cutting profile extending radially outward from the axis. The face cutting profile is disposed at an angle of less than six-degrees relative to a radial normal of the cutter.
In additional embodiments, the cutter comprises a receiving side surface through which the electrode is received into the cutter. The face cutting profile results in the profile receding away from the receiving side surface when moving radially outward from the axis.
In additional embodiments, a groove is defined in each of the flutes. The grooves are disposed radially outward from the center land.
In additional embodiments, each groove includes a leading end and a trailing end. Between the leading end and the trailing end, the groove becomes progressively wider.
In additional embodiments, the leading end is located closer to the axis relative to the trailing end.
In additional embodiments, the first material comprises high speed tool steel and the second material comprises titanium alloy.
In additional embodiments, an electrode is configured to weld press-hardened steel. The electrode, after welding the press-hardened steel, comprises a weld face with a buildup and intermetallic layer of aluminum silicon copper alloy. The cutter has a harness greater than the buildup and the intermetallic layer.
In additional embodiments, a dressing apparatus includes a tip dresser tool with a drive system and a cutter arm carrying the cutter. The dressing apparatus is configured to drive the cutter to rotate to dress the electrode.
In a number of other embodiments, an electrode dressing system includes an annular rim and a center land supported on the annular rim by flutes defining four openings between the flutes. The flutes and the center land define a cutting profile of the cutter. The cutter is configured to rotate about an axis passing through the center land. Cutting edges are formed on the flutes and comprise a first material having a Vickers hardness (HV) of at least 850 HV overlaid by a second material having a Vickers hardness of at least 3200 HV.
In additional embodiments, the second material comprises a coating deposited on the first material in a thickness of less than ten micrometers.
In additional embodiments, the cutting profile comprises a face cutting profile extending radially outward from the axis. The face cutting profile is convex in character and has sides, each disposed at an angle of less than six-degrees relative to a radial normal of the cutter.
In additional embodiments, the cutter comprises a receiving side surface through which the electrode is received into a cavity of the cutter. The face cutting profile results in the profile receding away from the receiving side surface when moving radially outward from the axis.
In additional embodiments, the electrode has an outer perimeter. The cutter is configured to receive the electrode, and a groove in each of the flutes is disposed radially outward from the center land adjacent the outer perimeter of the electrode.
In additional embodiments, each groove includes a leading end and a trailing end, wherein from the leading end and the trailing end, the groove becomes progressively wider in a radial direction.
In additional embodiments, the leading end is located closer to the axis relative to the trailing end so that the grooves are skewed across their respective flutes.
In additional embodiments, the first material comprises high speed M4 tool steel and the second material comprises beta-phase titanium alloy.
In additional embodiments, the electrode is configured to weld press-hardened steel, and after welding the press-hardened steel, the electrode comprises a weld face with a buildup and intermetallic layer of aluminum silicon copper alloy. The cutter has a harness greater than the buildup and the intermetallic layer.
In a number of additional embodiments, an electrode dressing system includes a cutter with an annular rim and a center land supported on the annular rim by flutes defining four openings between the flutes. The flutes and the center land define a cutting profile of the cutter. The cutter is configured to rotate about an axis passing through the center land. Cutting edges are defined on the flutes, wherein the cutting edges comprise a first material having a Vickers hardness (HV) of at least 850 HV overlaid by a second material having a Vickers hardness of at least 3200 HV. The cutting profile comprises a face cutting profile extending radially outward from the axis. The face cutting profile is convex in character and has sides each of which is disposed across the axis from the other. The sides are each disposed at an angle of less than six-degrees relative to a radial normal of the cutter.
The exemplary embodiments will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:
The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the application and uses. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description.
As disclosed herein, systems optimize the dressing of electrodes using a cutter, including for electrodes used in spot welding of PHS. It has been found as part of the subject matter of this disclosure that during spot welding of PHS, including PHS with a coating such as aluminum-silicon (AlSi), the coating alloys with the copper electrodes and forms a hard intermetallic layer (IML) with a hardness close to typical cutter material itself. This IML, has been found, as part of this disclosure, to resist effective removal leading to sub-optimized dressing of the electrode and reduced cutter life. The physical properties of electrodes significantly affect characteristics such as weld quality and surface appearance and so proper dressing is needed. As disclosed herein, a dressing cutter, in general, employs a substrate material with a tailored hardness, further hardened by a thin, high-strength coating. The cutter may also include an optimized cutting-angle design at the cutter's interior to improve dressing, including in the presence of the IML. The effectiveness of the cutter disclosed herein has been demonstrated to significantly improve the electrode dressing quality in PHS steel welding applications and leads to increased cutter life.
Referring to
In the current embodiment, the sheets 28, 30 are formed of PHS and include a coating 32, such as of AlSi. In other embodiments, another coating material may be used. For purposes of the current disclosure, the coating 32 is one that forms a hard layer on the electrodes 40, 42 when exposed to electrical current from the welding apparatus 24. The coating 32 may be applied by means such as hot-dipping or by another appropriate process. The electrodes 40, 42 may include caps 44, 46 respectively, that contact the sheets 28, 30. The caps 44, 46 are a part of the electrodes 40, 42 and are removeable, such as by being threaded to the electrodes 40, 42 for replacement due to the likelihood of their deterioration after repeated welding operations.
The electrode caps 44, 46 come into contact with the PHS sheets 28, 30 at the coating 32. It has been discovered that instead of deforming (mushrooming) or depleting of the caps 44, 46, which is heretofore typical, repeated welding cycles in PHS applications result in a buildup of material on the caps 44, 46. In addition, the buildup accumulates only on the weld faces 48, 50 that contact the sheets 28, 30, rather than on the entire caps 44, 46 such as at their periphery.
As shown schematically in
The cutter 70 includes an annular rim 72 with a center land 74 supported on the annular rim 72 by four flutes 75-78, in this embodiment. This results in four openings 81-84 extending axially through the cutter 70. Axially refers to an axis 80, shown in
Referring to
A snapshot of the cutter 70 at the cutting edge 95 is schematically shown in
Referring to
As shown in the profile 120, the grooves 105-108 (106 and 108 shown in
Each of the grooves 105-108 is positioned near/adjacent the outer periphery 104 of the cap 44 when received in the cavity 90 as shown in
The effectiveness of the cutter 70 has been optimized to effectively dress electrodes/caps in PHS welding applications. However, the cutter 70 is not limited to those applications but has wider applicability where difficult dressing challenges exist. As noted above, consumption rate has been demonstrated as significantly improved. Table 1 below provides details of this improvement by comparing the results of a prior art cutter in the middle column to the results of the cutter 70 of the current disclosure in the third column for a series of nineteen consecutive cuts listed in the first column. A “cut” of column 1 means how much material a single tip dress removes in millimeters to completely remove cap contamination. The rows means a total of 18 cuts (dressings) were conducted. As demonstrated, the total material removed over the series of nineteen cuts was 0.505 mm for the prior art cutter shown in the second column, and 1.942 mm for the cutter 70 shown in the third column. For cut numbers 1-18, the cutter 70 removed substantially more material than the prior art cutter, whose effectiveness quickly degraded. Degradation of the prior art cutter of column 2 is rapid relative to that of the cutter 70 of column 3. In sum, the cutter 70 is more aggressive and has a much longer serviceable life and maintains consistent effectiveness for the eighteen cuts in the series. The ability to effectively remove the buildup and IML, demonstrates the benefits of the current cutter 70 in a number of applications.
As disclosed herein, the dressing cutter 70 employs a substrate material with a tailored hardness, further hardened by a thin, high-strength coating. The cutter 70 may also include an optimized cutting-angle design at the cutter interior to improve dressing, including in the presence of the IML. The effectiveness of the cutter disclosed herein has been demonstrated to significantly improve the electrode dressing quality in PHS steel welding applications and leads to increased dressing cutter life.
While at least one exemplary embodiment has been presented in the foregoing detailed description, it should be appreciated that a vast number of variations exist. It should also be appreciated that the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments are only examples, and are not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure in any way. Rather, the foregoing detailed description will provide those skilled in the art with a convenient road map for implementing the exemplary embodiment or exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that various changes can be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims and the legal equivalents thereof