SPOT WELDING APPARATUS, SPOT WELDING METHOD, AND JOINT STRUCTURE

Abstract

A spot welding apparatus which performs spot welding of a plurality of plate materials which are lapped to each other, comprises a displacement driving unit which displaces lapped portions of the plurality of plate materials and a tool relatively to each other; a rotation driving unit which rotates the tool; and a controller which controls the displacement driving unit and the rotation driving unit so that the tool is plunged into the lapped portions in a state in which the tool is rotated to perform friction stir spot welding. The controller controls the displacement driving unit so that at least one friction stir spot weld is formed in a region of the lapped portions which is between a plurality of resistance spot welds formed by resistance spot welding.

Claims

1. A spot welding apparatus which performs spot welding of a plurality of plate materials which are lapped to each other, the spot welding apparatus comprising: a displacement driving unit which displaces lapped portions of the plurality of plate materials and a tool relatively to each other; a rotation driving unit which rotates the tool; and a controller which controls the displacement driving unit and the rotation driving unit so that the tool is plunged into the lapped portions in a state in which the tool is rotated to perform friction stir spot welding, wherein the controller controls the displacement driving unit so that at least one friction stir spot weld is formed in a region of the lapped portions which is between a plurality of resistance spot welds formed by resistance spot welding.

2. The spot welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller sets a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds to a welding pitch with which a tensile shear strength in a case where a pair of friction stir spot weld and resistance spot weld are formed in the plurality of plate materials is higher than a tensile shear strength in a case where a pair of resistance spot welds are formed in the plurality of plate materials.

3. The spot welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of plate materials are steel materials, wherein in a case where a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is Y and a thickness of each of a pair of plate materials is X, the controller sets the welding pitch to meet Y1.4X.sup.2+18.6X+0.6 in a case where the plate materials are low-carbon steel, and the controller sets the welding pitch to meet Y1.9X.sup.2+25.5X+2.1 in a case where the plate materials are medium-carbon steel or low-alloy steel.

4. The spot welding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the controller sets a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds to a value which is larger than a sum of a radius of each of the plurality of resistance spot welds and a radius of the at least one friction stir spot weld.

5. A spot welding method which performs spot welding of a plurality of plate materials which are lapped to each other, the spot welding method comprising: performing resistance spot welding of lapped portions of the plurality of plate materials to form a plurality of resistance spot welds; and performing friction stir spot welding of a region of the lapped portions which is between the plurality of resistance spot welds to form at least one friction stir spot weld.

6. The spot welding method according to claim 5, wherein a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is set to a welding pitch with which a tensile shear strength in a case where a pair of friction stir spot weld and resistance spot weld are formed in the plurality of plate materials is higher than a tensile shear strength in a case where a pair of resistance spot welds are formed in the plurality of plate materials.

7. The spot welding method according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of plate materials are steel materials, wherein in a case where a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is Y and a thickness of each of a pair of plate materials is X, the welding pitch is set to meet Y1.4X.sup.2+18.6X+0.6 in a case where the plate materials are low-carbon steel, and the welding pitch is set to meet Y1.9X.sup.2+25.5X+2.1 in a case where the plate materials are medium-carbon steel or low-alloy steel.

8. The spot welding method according to claim 5, wherein a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is set to a value which is larger than a sum of a radius of each of the plurality of resistance spot welds and a radius of the at least one friction stir spot weld.

9. A joint structure formed by performing spot welding of a plurality of plate materials which are lapped to each other, the joint structure comprising: a plurality of resistance spot welds formed in lapped portions of the plurality of plate materials; and at least one friction stir spot weld formed in a region of the lapped portions which is between the plurality of resistance spot welds.

10. The spot welding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of plate materials are steel materials, wherein in a case where a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is Y and a thickness of each of a pair of plate materials is X, the controller sets the welding pitch to meet Y1.4X.sup.2+18.6X+0.6 in a case where the plate materials are low-carbon steel, and the controller sets the welding pitch to meet Y1.9X.sup.2+25.5X+2.1 in a case where the plate materials are medium-carbon steel or low-alloy steel.

11. The spot welding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the controller sets a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds to a value which is larger than a sum of a radius of each of the plurality of resistance spot welds and a radius of the at least one friction stir spot weld.

12. The spot welding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the controller sets a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds to a value which is larger than a sum of a radius of each of the plurality of resistance spot welds and a radius of the at least one friction stir spot weld.

13. The spot welding apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the controller sets a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds to a value which is larger than a sum of a radius of each of the plurality of resistance spot welds and a radius of the at least one friction stir spot weld.

14. The spot welding method according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of plate materials are steel materials, wherein in a case where a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is Y and a thickness of each of a pair of plate materials is X, the welding pitch is set to meet Y1.4X.sup.2+18.6X+0.6 in a case where the plate materials are low-carbon steel, and the welding pitch is set to meet Y1.9X.sup.2+25.5X+2.1 in a case where the plate materials are medium-carbon steel or low-alloy steel.

15. The spot welding method according to claim 6, wherein a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is set to a value which is larger than a sum of a radius of each of the plurality of resistance spot welds and a radius of the at least one friction stir spot weld.

16. The spot welding method according to claim 7, wherein a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is set to a value which is larger than a sum of a radius of each of the plurality of resistance spot welds and a radius of the at least one friction stir spot weld.

17. The spot welding method according to claim 14, wherein a welding pitch between the at least one friction stir spot weld and each of the plurality of resistance spot welds is set to a value which is larger than a sum of a radius of each of the plurality of resistance spot welds and a radius of the at least one friction stir spot weld.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a friction stir spot welding device of a spot welding apparatus according to an embodiment.

[0018] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a resistance spot welding step.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a friction stir spot welding step.

[0020] FIG. 4 is a plan view of major constituents of a joint structure.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relation between a welding pitch and a tensile shear strength in a tensile shear test.

[0022] FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relation between a thickness of a plate material and a minimum welding pitch in a case where resistance spot welding of low-carbon steel is performed.

[0023] FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relation between the thickness of the plate material and the minimum welding pitch in a case where resistance spot welding of medium-carbon steel or low-alloy steel is performed.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Hereinafter, the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a friction stir spot welding device 2 of a spot welding apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, a workpiece 50 includes a pair of plate materials 51, 52 which are lapped to each other. The friction stir spot welding device 2 is configured to perform spot welding of lapped portions 50a of the pair of plate materials 51, 52. The friction stir spot welding device 2 includes a base 11, a movable member 12 mounted on the base 11, and a tool retaining member 13 protruding from the movable member 12 toward the workpiece 50. The movable member 12 is mounted on the base 11 so that the movable member 12 is slidable along the axis line of the tool retaining member 13. The tool retaining member 13 is rotatable around its axis line. A tool 10 is detachably mounted on the tip end portion of the tool retaining member 13. A curved frame 14 which is curved in a substantially-L shape is secured to the base 11. The curved frame 14 extends to a location at which its tip end portion faces the tool 10. A support base 15 is provided at the tip end portion of the curved frame 14 to support the workpiece 50.

[0026] The base 11 is provided with a linear motion driving unit 16 which slides the movable member 12 in the axial direction of the tool retaining member 13. The linear motion driving unit 16 slides the movable member 12 to advance and retract the tool 10 with respect to the workpiece 50. The movable member 12 is provided with a rotation driving unit 17 which rotates the tool retaining member 13 around the axis line of the tool retaining member 13. The rotation driving unit 17 rotates the tool retaining member 13 to rotate the tool 10. An articulated (multi-joint) robot 18 is mounted on the base 11. The articulated robot 18 displaces the base 11 to displace the tool 10 to a desired position with respect to the workpiece 50. In brief, the linear motion driving unit 16 and the articulated robot 18 serve as a displacement driving unit 19 which displaces the workpiece 50 and the tool 10 relatively to each other.

[0027] The friction stir spot welding device 2 includes a controller 20 which controls the linear motion driving unit 16, the rotation driving unit 17, and the articulated robot 18. The controller 20 may be a single control unit with an integrated function, or a plurality of control units with distributed functions. The controller 20 includes a processor, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, an I/O interface, or the like. In response to a command input via the I/O interface by an input device (e.g., computer or teaching pendant) which is not shown, the processor of the controller 12 performs calculations (computations) by use of the volatile memory based on an operation program stored in the non-volatile memory, and the controller 12 communicates with the rotation driving unit 17 and the displacement driving unit 19 via the I/O interface. The friction stir spot welding device 2 performs friction stir spot welding in such a way that the controller 20 controls the rotation driving unit 17 and the displacement driving unit 19 to plunge the tool 10 into the lapped portions 50a of the pair of plate materials 51, 52 in a state in which the tool 10 is rotated, and to stir and plasticize a portion softened by friction heat, of the lapped portions 50a.

[0028] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a resistance spot welding step. As shown in FIG. 2, the spot welding apparatus 1 of the present embodiment further includes a resistance spot welding device 3. The resistance spot welding device 3 includes a pair of welding electrodes 31, 32, an actuator (not shown) which displaces the welding electrodes 31, 32, and a controller (not shown) which controls the actuator. The resistance spot welding device 3 performs resistance welding of the lapped portions 50a of the pair of plate materials 51, 52 by applying an electric current, in a state in which the lapped portions 50a are sandwiched between the pair of welding electrodes 31, 32, to form a plurality of resistance spot welds (resistance spot welded portions) W1, W2 (nuggets) in the lapped portions 50a, with a predetermined gap between the resistance spot welds W1, W2. In this way, the pair of plate materials 51, 52 are spot welded (joined) to each other.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a friction stir spot welding step. As shown in FIG. 3, the friction stir spot welding device 2 forms at least one friction stir spot weld (friction stir welded portion) J in a region R which is between the plurality of resistance spot welds W1, W2, of the lapped portions 50a of the pair of plate materials 51, 52 so that the pair of plate materials 51, 52 are spot welded (joined) to each other. The tool 10 includes a tool body 10a, and a pin 10b protruding from the center of the tool body 10a toward the workpiece 50 and having a diameter smaller than that of the tool body 10a.

[0030] In the friction stir spot welding, the controller 20 (see FIG. 1) controls the rotation driving unit 17 so that the rotation speed of the tool 10 reaches a target rotation speed. In this state, the controller 20 controls the linear motion driving unit 16 to displace the tool 10 so that the pin 10b presses the lapped portions 50a of the workpiece 50. Then, the pin 10b of the tool 10 softens the lapped portions 50a of the workpiece 50 by friction heat. The pin 10b stirs and plasticizes a softened portion 50b. After passage of a predetermined welding time (plunge time of the pin 10b), the controller 20 causes the linear motion driving unit 16 to displace the tool 10 in a direction in which the tool 10 is pulled out (drawn out) of the workpiece 50. After the tool 10 is pulled out of the workpiece 50, the softened portion 50b is cooled and cured (hardened), and thus the friction stir spot weld J is formed. In the friction stir spot welding, no electric current is applied to the plate materials 51, 52, and therefore, the problem associated with the reactive current does not arise. As described above, the lapped portions 50a of the pair of plate materials 51, 52 are welded (joined) to each other by use of both of the resistance spot welding and the friction stir spot welding, and thus a joint structure 100 is formed.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a plan view of major constituents of the joint structure 100. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the joint structure 100 is formed by performing spot welding of the pair of plate materials 51, 52 which are lapped to each other. The joint structure 100 is used in a structure body such as an automobile, an aircraft, a railway vehicle, or the like. The joint structure 100 includes the pair of resistance spot welds W1, W2 formed in the lapped portions 50a of the pair of plate materials 51, 52, and one friction stir spot weld J formed in the region R which is between the pair of resistance spot welds W1, W2. A welding (joining) pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2, i.e., a distance L between the center of the friction stir spot weld J and the center of each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2, is preferably set to a value within a predetermined range. Hereinafter, a suitable range of the welding pitch L will be described.

[0032] FIG. 5 is a graph showing a relation between the welding pitch and a tensile shear strength in a tensile shear test. In this tensile shear test, as a pair of plate materials constituting the joint structure, DP 980 steel plates (tensile strength 980 MPa) which were low-carbon steel were used, and the thickness of each of the plate materials was set to 1.2 mm. Black plots of FIG. 5 indicate results (hereinafter will be referred to as resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding) of the tensile shear test conducted for the joint structure including one resistance spot weld and one friction stir spot weld. A solid line is an approximate line of these black plots. White plots of FIG. 5 indicate results (hereinafter will be referred to as resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding) of the tensile shear test conducted for the joint structure including two resistance spot welds. A broken line is an approximate line of these white plots.

[0033] As can be seen from FIG. 5, in a case where the welding pitch is in a range of 6 mm to 20 mm (the welding pitch is 6 mm or more and 20 mm or less), the tensile shear strength of the resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding is higher than that of the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding. In a case where the welding pitch is excessively short, a welding pitch between the resistance spot weld and the friction stir spot weld is shorter than a sum of a radius of the resistance spot weld and a radius of the friction stir spot weld, the resistance spot weld and the friction stir spot weld overlap with each other, and thereby a total welding (joining) area is reduced. As a result, the effect of improving the joint strength is reduced. In view of this, the welding pitch is preferably set to 6 mm or more to prevent the resistance spot weld and the friction stir spot weld from overlapping with each other. Specifically, a lower limit value of the welding pitch with which the tensile shear strength of the resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding is higher than that of the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding depends on the radius of the resistance spot weld and the radius of the friction stir spot weld. In FIG. 5, each of the plots at which the welding pitch is 0 mm indicates the tensile shear strength at a single point. In this case, the tensile shear strength at one point of the resistance spot weld is higher than that of the friction stir spot weld.

[0034] In a case where the welding pitch is long, the reactive current generated by flow dividing of the welding current, during the resistance spot welding, is reduced. For this reason, in this case, the tensile shear strength of the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding is higher than that of the resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding. However, in a case where the welding pitch is 20 mm or less, the reactive current is increased in the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding. For this reason, in this case, the tensile shear strength of the resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding is higher than that of the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding. For example, in a comparison of a fracture state after the tensile shear test in a case where the welding pitch was 10 mm, it was observed that in the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding, the resistance spot weld at a second spotting point had a diameter smaller than that of the resistance spot weld at a first spotting point, and an interface fracture was formed, while it was observed that in the resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding, a base material (base metal) fracture was formed. In view of this, in the joint structure comprising the plate materials formed by the low-carbon steel and each having a thickness of 1.2 mm, the welding pitch between the friction stir spot weld and the resistance spot weld is preferably set to a value that is 20 mm or less. An upper limit value of the welding pitch with which the tensile shear strength of the resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding is higher than that of the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding is varied depending on the material quality and thickness of the plate materials. This will be described below.

[0035] FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relation between the thickness of the plate material and the minimum welding pitch in a case where the resistance spot welding of the low-carbon steel (e.g., S10C) is performed. FIG. 7 is a graph showing a relation between the thickness of the plate material and the minimum welding pitch in a case where the resistance spot welding of medium-carbon steel (e.g., S20C, S35C, S45C) or low-alloy steel (e.g., SNCM439, SCM435) is performed. The low-carbon steel is defined as steel with a carbon content (mass percentage concentration) that is less than 0.20%. The medium-carbon steel is defined as steel with a carbon content that is equal to or more than 0.20% and equal to or less than 0.6%. The low-alloy steel is defined as steel containing alloy elements with a content (mass percentage concentration) that is equal to or less than 5%, the alloy elements being other than iron and carbon. The minimum welding pitch means the lower limit value of the welding pitch which is required in a case where the pair of plate materials are welded (joined) to each other by only the resistance spot welding. In FIG. 6, a solid line is an approximate line of black plots. This solid line is represented by Y=1.4X.sup.2+18.6X+0.6 in a case where the welding pitch is Y(mm) and the thickness is X (mm). In FIG. 7, a solid line is an approximate line of black plots. This solid line is represented by Y=1.9X.sup.2+25.5X+2.1 in a case where the welding pitch is Y(mm) and the thickness is X (mm).

[0036] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the minimum welding pitch required in a case where the pair of plate materials are welded (joined) to each other by only the resistance spot welding is longer as the thickness of the plate material is increased. The minimum welding pitch required in a case where the pair of plate materials are welded (joined) to each other by only the resistance spot welding is shorter in a case where the plate materials are the low-carbon steel than in a case where the plate materials are the medium-carbon steel or the low-alloy steel. In summary, the reactive current is more easily generated as the thickness of the plate material is increased, and is less easily generated in the low-carbon steel than in the medium-carbon steel or the low-alloy steel.

[0037] A white plot indicating the upper limit value (20 mm) of the welding pitch with which the tensile shear strength of the resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding was higher than that of the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding in the test result (low-carbon steel; thickness 1.2 mm) of FIG. 5 is added to FIG. 6. This white plot is roughly located on the solid line (Y=1.4X.sup.2+18.6X+0.6) of the graph. Therefore, in the joint structure in which the resistance spot weld and the friction stir spot weld are adjacent to each other, preferably, the upper limit value of the welding pitch is set to meet Y1.4X.sup.2+18.6X+0.6 in a case where the plate materials are the low-carbon steel, and is set to meet Y1.9X.sup.2+25.5X+2.1 in a case where the plate materials are the medium-carbon steel or the low-alloy steel.

[0038] From the above fact, the controller 20 sets the welding pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2 to meet Y1.4X.sup.2+18.6X+0.6 in a case where the plate materials 51, 52 are the low-carbon steel. Also, the controller 20 sets the welding pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2 to meet Y1.9X.sup.2+25.5X+2.1 in a case where the plate materials 51, 52 are the medium-carbon steel or the low-alloy steel. Further, the controller 20 sets the welding pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2 to a value which is larger than the sum of the radius of the resistance spot weld J and the radius of the friction stir spot weld W1(W2). The controller 20 sets the welding pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2 to a welding pitch with which the tensile shear strength in a case where a pair of friction stir spot weld and resistance spot weld are formed in the pair of plate materials is higher than that in a case where a pair of resistance spot welds are formed in the pair of plate materials.

[0039] In accordance with the above-described configuration, by forming the friction stir spot weld J in the region R which is between the resistance spot welds W1, W2, the welding pitch L between the spot welds (the resistance spot weld and the friction stir spot weld) can be reduced as a whole, while keeping a long distance between the resistance spot welds W1, W2. Since the distance between the resistance spot welds W1, W2 is made long and thereby the reactive current is suppressed, it becomes possible to prevent reduction of the welding strength, degradation of the external appearance quality, and non-uniformity of the welding strength. In addition, since the welding pitch L between the spot welds can be reduced as a whole, the joint strength and the stiffness of the joint structure 100 can be improved.

[0040] The controller 20 sets the welding pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2 so that the tensile shear strength of the resistance spot welding+friction stir spot welding is higher than that of the resistance spot welding+resistance spot welding. Therefore, it becomes possible to suitably prevent reduction of the welding strength due to the reactive current and improve the welding strength by reduction of the welding pitch, in the resistance spot welding. Further, the controller 20 sets the welding pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2 to a value which is larger than the sum of the radius of the resistance spot weld W1(W2) and the radius of the friction stir spot weld J. This makes it possible to prevent a situation in which the friction stir spot weld J and each of the resistance spot welds W1, W2 overlap with each other, and thereby a total welding (joining) area is reduced. As a result, the welding strength can be effectively improved.

[0041] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and its configurations may be changed, added or deleted. For example, the welding pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and the resistance spot weld W1 may be different from the welding pitch L between the friction stir spot weld J and the resistance spot weld W2. Although in the example of FIG. 4, the friction stir spot weld J is provided on a straight line connecting the pair of resistance spot welds W1, W2 to each other, the friction stir spot weld J may be provided at a location that is between the pair of resistance spot welds, on a curved line extending in the extending direction of curved portions in a case where the lapped portions of the plate materials have the curved portions in a top plan view (when viewed from above). The displacement driving unit may move the workpiece with respect to the tool. Further the number of plate materials which are lapped to each other and are spot welded may be set to three or more.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0042] 1 spot welding apparatus [0043] 2 friction stir spot welding device [0044] 3 resistance spot welding device [0045] 10 tool [0046] 17 rotation driving unit [0047] 19 displacement driving unit [0048] 20 controller [0049] 50a lapped portions [0050] 51, 52 plate materials [0051] 100 joint structure [0052] J friction stir spot weld [0053] L welding pitch [0054] W1, W2 resistance spot welds