The present disclosure relates, in general, to a stud welding apparatus and, particularly, to stud welding gun dimensional set up teaching tools.
Stud welding guns are widely used in manufacturing operations to weld metal studs to the surface of metal work pieces for the subsequent attachment of other work pieces via the stud.
Typically, a stud welding gun includes a collet which holds the tip end of a stud in a position for welding to a work piece surface when the weld gun is advanced into a welding position.
A probe is attached to the weld gun and has an end which is adjustably positioned beyond the end of the collet. The probe stabilizes the workpiece during welding and prevents contact between the collet and the workpiece if a stud is not advanced into the collet at the start of the welding operation.
In addition, when the weld head moves forward, the stud makes contact with the work piece which pushes the stud and collet backward away from the work piece until the probe makes contact with the work piece. This establishes the maximum penetration distance after the weld head retracts. The weld head is retracted a few millimeters before an arc is established between the stud and the work piece. The stud is subsequently advanced into the molten metal at the location of the arc on the work piece.
Stud welding apparatus advantageously lend themselves to automatic machine applications, such as programmed robot applications, so that the studs can be precisely positioned in the proper location on a workpiece.
However, it is necessary to manually adjust the position of the probe to the proper empty collet safety distance between the end of the collet and the end of the probe as well as program or teach the robot the stud height, depending upon the height of the stud being welded, when the weld gun begins its advance to the weld position. Previously, these two teaching steps were performed manually using an operator's skill, experience, and a measurement scale. However, the minute distances, typically only a few millimeters, are difficult to accurately gauge by the eye.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a teaching tool that could be used to automatically teach or program a robot with the proper set up dimensions for stud welding operations which eliminates manual operator intervention.