An apparatus and method for cleaning fabrication equipment, such as for example wire feed tips provided on welding guns. Equipment of that nature usually includes an outlet through which joining or filling material is dispensed and which may easily become blocked by weld splatter or the like when in such close proximity to the work piece being fabricated. The apparatus provides a support means for holding the equipment, cleaning means for removing debris from the equipment, and control means for effecting relative movement of the support means and cleaning means in a swift and efficient manner.

A welding torch 10 is provided for use in a Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) process. The welding torch 10 includes a torch body 12, a welding tip 16 extending from the torch body 12, and a detachable nozzle 22 which substantially surrounds the welding tip 16 in use to direct gas around the welding tip 16 and onto a workpiece, the nozzle 22 having a front end which faces the workpiece in use and a rear end which attaches to the torch body 12 in use, in which a ring 24 is provided, the ring 24 being substantially axially fixed to the nozzle 22 at the rear end of the nozzle 22, and the ring 24 being rotatable with respect to the nozzle 22, the ring 24 having a screw thread and the torch body having a corresponding screw thread 26, for fixing the nozzle 22 to the torch body 12.

Systems for servicing welding torches are provided, which include a feeder assembly and a nozzle cleaning assembly. The feeder assembly may be configured to feed removable components (e.g., contact tips). For example, the feeder assembly comprises a hopper magazine configured to store contact tips for a welding torch so that one contact tip is on top of another contact tip in their horizontal directions and to release each of the contact tips in the horizontal direction. The nozzle cleaning assembly may comprise a brush for cleaning the inner wall of the contact tip and a universal joint for off-centered rotation of the brush head.

A system and method for servicing a welding torch is provided. The system includes a gripping module for holding and releasing a component of the welding torch, the gripping module is movable along an axis of the gripping module and rotatable about the axis; and a control system for providing a degree of freedom in a movement of the gripping module to control or reduce a force exerted between mating components of the welding torch.

The disclosure relates to the field of wire arc additive manufacturing, and specifically discloses a wire arc additive manufacturing method for a high-strength aluminum alloy component, equipment and a product. A high-strength aluminum alloy is modified by using a MXene nanomaterial, and wire arc additive manufacturing is performed by using the modified high-strength aluminum alloy as a raw material, and a nanosecond laser beam is applied during the wire arc additive manufacturing to achieve an enhanced arc cathode atomization cleanup function to remove impurities, thus obtaining a high-strength aluminum alloy component without defects. The disclosure can solve the problem of very difficult forming in wire arc additive manufacturing of a high-strength aluminum alloy, and also solve the problems of many pores, liability to crack and lots of impurities during additive manufacturing of the high-strength aluminum alloy, so that a high-strength aluminum alloy component without defects can be produced.

Systems and methods for cleaning a wire electrode after a welding process has ended are described. During a welding process, a wire electrode may be fed forward from a wire feeder through a welding torch to create a molten weld pool. While, conventionally, feeding of the wire electrode stops when the welding process ends, the present disclosure contemplates instead continuing to feed the wire electrode forward after the welding process ends. More particularly, the present disclosure contemplates feeding the wire electrode into the weld pool so that the wire electrode can be “cleaned” in the molten weld pool created by the welding process. The “cleaned” wire electrode end can be more easily used to establish an electrical arc at the beginning of the next welding process.

A system and method for servicing a welding torch is provided. The system includes a gripping module for holding and releasing a component of the welding torch, the gripping module is movable along an axis of the gripping module and rotatable about the axis; and a control system for providing a degree of freedom in a movement of the gripping module to control or reduce a force exerted between mating components of the welding torch.

A double-action friction stir joining system, which includes a double-action friction stir joining device, a cleaning mechanism having a dressing member, a robot, and a control device. The double-action friction stir joining device includes a first rotary driver configured to rotate a pin member and a shoulder member, and a tool driver configured to reciprocate the pin member and the shoulder member. The control device is adapted to (A) operate the tool driver so that the pin member is thrusted into the shoulder member, (B) operate the first rotary driver so that the shoulder member rotates, and (C) operate the robot so that the robot holds the double-action friction stir joining device and the dressing member contacts an inner circumferential surface of the shoulder member.

Pliers for cleaning a welding gun nozzle include a right and left handle. The right handle is configured to operate a top left gripping end and a bottom right nozzle cleaner. The left handle is configured to operate a top right gripping end and a bottom left nozzle cleaner. The right handle are hingedly fixed together about a connection point. When the left handle and the right handle are closed, the top left gripping end and the top right gripping end are configured to squeeze together and the bottom right nozzle cleaner and the bottom left nozzle cleaner are configured to spread apart. And, when the left handle and the right handle are opened, the top left gripping end and the top right gripping end are configured to spread apart and the bottom right nozzle cleaner and the bottom left nozzle cleaner are configured to come together.

A system for a welding apparatus including a welding cup; a hollow tubular adapter body extending longitudinally from a first end to a second end, an external surface of the adapter body defining one or more grooves extending about a circumference thereof and longitudinally disposed between the first and second end; and one or more O-rings configured to be installed about the adapter body and received in each of the one or more grooves; wherein the first end or the second end of the adapter body is engageable with a welding torch head and wherein the welding cup is configured to receive the other of the first end and the second end of the adapter body therein, the welding cup extending longitudinally along the adapter body such that the one or more O-rings is disposed between the adapter body and the welding cup.