METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROCESSING CONDUCTOR SEGMENTS OF A WINDING SUPPORT OF AN ELECTRIC MACHINE

Abstract

The invention relates to a method (100) for processing conductor segments (2) of a winding support (3) of an electric machine, in particular of an electric motor, wherein at least two conductor segments (2) are arranged on the winding support (3), wherein the conductor segments (2) protrude out of the end side of the winding support (3) by way of end sections (4).

A method (100) ensuring sufficient precision when positioning the end sections joined for a welding operation is implemented using at least the following method steps: Advancing (200) a processing unit (6), which can be moved on a circular path (K) along a guide device (5) and comprises at least one first actuator element (7a) and at least one second actuator element (7b) to at least one first end section pair (4a, 4b) having a first end section (4a) and a second end section (4b) or the first end section (4a) and the second end section (4b) to the processing unit (6), Joining (300) the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b) so that, in a clamping region (9), a clamping force joins the first end section (4a) and the second end section (4b) into a welding position, Welding (400) the first end section (4a) and the second end section (4b).

Claims

1. A method (100) for processing conductor segments (2) of a winding support (3) of an electric machine, in particular of an electric motor, wherein at least two conductor segments (2) are arranged on the winding support (3), wherein end portions (4) of the conductor segments (2) protrude out of the ends of the winding support (3), characterized by at least the following method steps: advancing (200) a processing unit (6), which can be moved on a circular path (K) along a guide device (5) and comprises at least one first actuator element (7a) and at least one second actuator element (7b), to at least one first end portion pair (4a, 4b) having a first end portion (4a) and a second end portion (4b), or advancing (200) the first end portion (4a) and the second end portion (4b) to the processing unit (6), bringing together (300) the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b) so that, in a clamping region (9), a clamping force brings together the first end portion (4a) and the second end portion (4b) into a welding position, welding (400) the first end portion (4a) and the second end portion (4b).

2. The method (100) as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b) apply a clamping force to the end portion pair (4a, 4b) until the welding (400) is complete.

3. The method (100) as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bringing together (300) of the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b) takes place parallel to a radial direction (R) of a central axis (M) of the circular path (K).

4. The method (100) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a plurality of conductor segments (2), in particular a plurality of end portion pairs (4a, 4b) is present, and all end portion pairs (4a, 4b) are brought together and welded in succession.

5. The method (100) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that at least two processing units (6) are present, and the processing units (6) are controlled such that at least one first processing unit (6) holds an end portion pair (4a, 4b) in the welding position while at least one second processing unit (6) is moved to an end portion pair (4a, 4b) yet to be welded.

6. The method (100) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that by means of an alignment geometry of the first actuator element (7a) and/or the second actuator element (7b), an alignment of the first end portion (4a) and/or of the second end portion (4b) takes place during the bringing together (300) and/or in the welding position.

7. The method (100) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that at least one end portion pair (4a, 4b) lying on the inside in a radial direction (R), starting from a central axis (M) of the circular path (K), and at least one end portion pair (4a, 4b) lying radially on the outside, are brought together (300) and welded (400) successively or simultaneously.

8. The method (100) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least one end portion pair (4a, 4b) lying on the inside in a radial direction (R), starting from a central axis (M) of the circular path (K), is brought together by means of a first actuator element (7a) and a second actuator element (7b), and at least one end portion pair (4a, 4b) lying radially on the outside is brought together by means of a third actuator element and the fourth actuator element.

9. The method (100) as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the first actuator element (7a) and/or the second actuator element (7b) are cooled, in particular permanently cooled, at least during the welding (400).

10. A device (1) for processing conductor segments (2) of a winding support (3) of an electric machine, in particular an electric motor, characterized by at least one guide device (5) and at least one processing unit (6), wherein the processing unit (6) is held so as to be movable along the guide device (5) on a circular path (K), wherein the processing unit (6) comprises at least one first actuator element (7a) and at least one second actuator element (7b), and wherein the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b) are movable relative to each other such that a clamping force can be applied in a clamping region (9) between the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b).

11. The device (1) as claimed in claim 10, characterized in that at least two processing units (6) are guided on the guide device (5), in particular three, four, five or six processing units (6) are guided on the guide device (6).

12. The device (1) as claimed in claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the guide device (5) has at least one circular rail element, in particular at least one rail element with teeth (12).

13. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the processing unit (6) is movable on the guide device (5) by means of a drive (16), in particular the drive (16) is configured as an electric motor and/or linear motor, and/or is pneumatic and/or hydraulic.

14. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that the processing unit (6) has a base plate (18), and that at least one drive (16), the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b) are arranged on the base plate (18).

15. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that the first actuator element (7a) and/or the second actuator element (7b) can be moved by electric motor and/or linear motor, and/or pneumatically and/or hydraulically.

16. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that the processing unit (6) has at least one spatter protection device, in particular at least one spatter protection plate.

17. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that the first actuator element (7a) and/or the second actuator element (7b) is formed as an actuator rod.

18. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 17, characterized in that the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b) are held so as to be adjustable about a rotation axis (D).

19. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 18, characterized in that first actuator element (7a) and/or the second actuator element (7b) comprises at least one cooling device.

20. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 19, characterized in that a region of an actuator element (7a, 7b) which can be contacted by an end portion (4) has a trapezoid receiving region, in particular with a contact face (19) oriented orthogonally to a longitudinal axis of the actuator element (7a, 7b), and with two sloping guide faces (20a, 20b).

21. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 20, characterized in that the first actuator element (7a) and the second actuator element (7b) are cranked so that end portions (4) can be processed on different radii.

22. The device (1) as claimed in any of claims 10 to 21, characterized in that the first actuator element (7a) and/or the second actuator element (7b) is at least partially coated, in particular with a coating of a ceramic.

Description

[0040] In detail, there are now many possibilities for configuring and refining the method and the device. For these, reference is made both to the claims which are dependent on claims 1 and 10, and to the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments in connection with the drawing. The drawing shows:

[0041] FIG. 1 an exemplary embodiment of a device in perspective view,

[0042] FIG. 2 the exemplary embodiment of the device from FIG. 1 in a further state,

[0043] FIG. 3 an enlargement of an extract from FIG. 2,

[0044] FIG. 4 a top view of a device from FIG. 1,

[0045] FIG. 5 an exemplary embodiment of a device in perspective view,

[0046] FIG. 6 a top view of the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 5,

[0047] FIG. 7 an exemplary embodiment of a device in perspective view,

[0048] FIG. 8 a top view of the exemplary embodiment in FIG. 7,

[0049] FIG. 9 a diagrammatic sequence of a method.

[0050] FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of a device 1 for performance of a method 100 for processing conductor segments 2 of a winding support 3 of an electric machine, here a stator of an electric motor. End portions 4 of conductor segments 2 protrude from the winding support 3 on both ends. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the end portions 4 are already twisted, i.e. twisted out of the starting position about the central axis M.

[0051] According to FIG. 1, the method step of advance 200—see FIG. 9—of a guide device 5 with a processing unit 6 which can be moved on a circular path on the guide device 5, or of a first end portion 4a and a second end portion 4b up to the processing unit 6, has already taken place. In this exemplary embodiment, the guide device 5 is configured as a circular rail element.

[0052] The processing unit 6 comprises a first actuator element 7a and a second actuator element 7b which, in this exemplary embodiment, are held in a control head 8 so as to be pneumatically movable. The first actuator element 7a and the second actuator element 7b are guided along a theoretical common axis which is oriented in the radial direction R—see FIG. 4—to a central axis M of the circular path K. The first actuator element 7a and the second actuator element 7b are held such that they are always aligned in a radial direction R starting from the central axis M.

[0053] Starting from the state of the device 1 shown in FIG. 1, according to FIG. 9 the first actuator element 7a and the second actuator element 7b are brought together 300 in the radial direction R—see FIG. 4—such that a clamping force, resulting from two opposing forces caused by the first actuator element 7a and the second actuator element 7b, is exerted in a clamping region 9 onto the first end portion 4a and the second end portion 4b, such that the first end portion 4a and the second end portion 4b are brought together into a welding position shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. Starting from the welding position shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the first end portion 4a may be welded 400 to the second end portion 4b by means of laser welding, see FIG. 9.

[0054] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show the device according to FIG. 1 in the welding position in which welding 400 of the first end portion 4a and the second end portion 4b may take place directly. The first end portion 4a and the second end portion 4b are brought together parallel to the radial direction R—see FIG. 4—starting from the central axis M of the circular path and also of the winding support 3, so that the side faces 10a and 10b (shown in FIG. 3) of the first end portion 4a and the second end portion 4b lie flat against each other. The two actuator elements 7a, 7b (formed as actuator rods) each apply a clamping force in opposite directions along the radial direction R.

[0055] After the end portion pair 4a, 4b (held in the welding position) has been welded, the processing unit 6 releases the first actuator element 7a and the second actuator element 7b by moving these apart again in opposite directions, shown as an example in FIG. 4. From this state, the processing unit 6 may then travel to the next end portion pair 4a, 4b in order to bring together 300 this end portion pair 4a, 4b in a similar fashion.

[0056] According to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the guide device 5 is configured as a circular rail segment with an outer rail ring 5a and an inner rail ring 5b, wherein the outer rail ring 5a furthermore has a toothed ring 11 with teeth 12. A guide groove 13 is formed between the inner rail ring 5b and the outer rail ring 5a. The processing unit 6 is guided with guide rollers 14 in the guide groove 13 and on the inner circumference 15 of the inner rail ring 5b.

[0057] The processing unit 6 can be moved by a drive 16 on the guide device 5, wherein in this exemplary embodiment the drive 16 is formed as an electric motor 16a with a gearwheel 17. The gearwheel 17 cooperates with the teeth 12 of the toothed ring 11 so that the processing unit 6 is movable along the circular path K. The processing unit 6 has a base plate 18 on which the drive 16 and the control head 8 with actuator elements 7a, 7b are held. The control head 8 is held so as to be rotationally adjustable about a rotation axis D which runs substantially parallel to the central axis M, so that the actuator elements 7a, 7b can be aligned on different radii R1, see FIG. 4.

[0058] FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 show an exemplary embodiment of a device 1 with two processing units 6. FIG. 5 shows the exemplary embodiment in perspective view, FIG. 6 in top view. The processing units 6 are held on the common guide device 5 so as to be movable along the circular path K, so that the processing units 6 can step by step approach and bring together all end portion pairs 4a, 4b. In this exemplary embodiment, the actuator elements 7a, 7b are held on the same radius R1 so that the processing time is shortened due to the presence of two processing units 6, and the capacity of a welding device (not shown) can be utilized more fully. The processing units 6 are configured to be identical to the processing unit 6 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

[0059] FIGS. 7 and 8 show an exemplary embodiment of a device 1 with three processing units 6 guided on the common guide device 5. The processing units 6 are controlled such that two processing units 6—shown at the bottom and on the left in FIG. 8—always hold the respective end portion pair 4a, 4b in the welding position, while the third processing unit 6—shown at the top right in FIG. 8—travels to an end portion pair 4a, 4b to be welded. All processing units 6 are identical to the processing unit 6 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, and each has a drive 16, a base plate 18, and a control head 8 with actuator elements 7a, 7b guided thereon. The actual movement takes place by cooperation of the toothed ring 11 with teeth 12 and the gearwheel 17.

[0060] In order to align and guide the end portions 4a, 4b, the actuator elements 7a, 7b have an alignment geometry—visible in particular in FIG. 3—which has a contact face 19 and two sloping guide faces 20a, 20b. The guide faces 20a, 20b guide an end portion 4a, 4b in the direction of the contact face 19.

[0061] FIG. 9 shows diagrammatically the sequence of an exemplary embodiment of a method 100 for processing conductor segments 2 of a winding support 3 of an electric machine. According to the method 100, firstly a processing unit 6, which is movable along a circular path K along a guide device 5 and comprises at least one first actuator element 7a and at least one second actuator element 7b, advances 200 to at least one first end portion pair 4a, 4b having a first end portion 4a and a second end portion 4b, or the first end portion 4a and the second end portion 4b advance to the processing unit 6, see also FIG. 1.

[0062] Then the first actuator element 7a and the second actuator element 7b are brought together 300 so that at least one clamping force, acting with opposing forces in a clamping region 9, brings together the first end portion 4a and the second end portion 4b into a welding position, see also FIG. 2. The bringing together 300 preferably takes place in a plane to which the central axis M of the circular path K or of the winding support 3 is a planar normal.

[0063] Then the welding 400 takes place of the first end portion 4a and of the second end portion 4b by means of laser welding. It is then provided that the first actuator element 7a and the second actuator element 7b are released again from the end portions 4a, 4b and advance 200 to the next end portion pair 4a, 4b.

[0064] These method steps are performed with changing end portion pairs 4a, 4b until all end portion pairs 4a, 4b have been welded. Processing is then completed.