Design of robotic workstation for laser welding of pressure vessels

Oriented to the stable and efficient welding requirements of pressure vessels, a laser welding robot workstation that can realize fast clamping and automatic position change is designed. The workstation consists of Mitsubishi PLC, six-axis industrial robot, ground rail, welding positioner, touch screen, etc. Through the touch screen to detect the information and set the parameters, it is able to realize the multi-station, multi-seam welding processing of the product. The design of the workstation includes the overall layout design, the design of the positioning jigs and fixtures with single and double-axis and the design of the PLC-based intelligent control system. The welding process parameters were optimized by using the uniform design method, and the welding performance test was conducted. The results show that compared with manual welding, this workstation can complete the pressure vessel welding work more efficiently and stably, the weld seam is smooth, the productivity is significantly improved, the welding error rate is as low as 1.5%, and the optimal welding parameters can be found quickly to meet the needs of industrial production.