Wirelaying apparatus and wirelaying method for electrofusion welding
AssigneeMSA Engineering Systems Limited
InventorMorgan Jones
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wirelaying apparatus includes a tool arm with a tool head which carries a wirelaying tool. The tool has a cutting tip through which a wire is laid into a working surface of a workpiece. The workpiece is retained in a retainer and is moved relative to the wirelaying tool. In use, the cutting tip follows along an arcuate path while laying the wire into the working surface of the workpiece. Thus, more complex wirelaying configurations are achieved, such as a bi-helical wirelaying pattern in a generally cylindrical pipe fitting or a bi-spiral wirelaying pattern in a semi-cylindrical saddle coupler pipe fitting.
Claims16
A wirelaying apparatus for laying a wire into a working surface of a workpiece, comprising:
- a retainer for retaining a workpiece;
- a wirelaying tool comprising:
- a cutting tip configured to make a cut in a working surface of the workpiece as the wirelaying tool is moved relative to the retainer;
- and
- an aperture that is configured to deliver a wire through the cutting tip directly into the cut in the working surface;
- and
- a tool arm including, at a distal end a tool head, the tool arm being rotatable on a longitudinal axis, the wirelaying tool being mounted to the tool head and the tool head moving the wirelaying tool relative to the retainer,
- wherein:
- the wirelaying tool is radially offset from a center of rotation about which the wirelaying tool rotates on a circular path on the tool head;
- and
- the cutting tip is offset from the center of rotation on a tangential line on the circular path such that the cutting tip describes an arc about the center of rotation and follows an arcuate path while laying the wire in the cut in the working surface of the workpiece.
A method for laying wire into a working surface of a workpiece, comprising the steps of:
- retaining the workpiece with a retainer;
- forming a first wirelaying pattern by opening a cut with a cutting tip of a wirelaying tool in the working surface of the workpiece by a first relative movement of the wirelaying tool with respect to the retainer, and feeding the wire directly into the cut through an aperture in the cutting tip of the wirelaying tool laying the wire in the cut in the working surface,
- moving a tool head carrying the wirelaying tool with respect to the retainer to change a cutting direction of the wirelaying tool while continuously laying the wire in the cut in the working surface, wherein the tool head is at a distal end of a tool arm that is rotatable on a longitudinal axis of the tool arm, and the wirelaying tool is radially offset from a center of rotation about which the wirelaying tool rotates on a circular path on the tool head,
- rotating the cutting tip around the center of rotation from which the cutting tip is offset on a tangential line on the circular path such that the cutting tip describes an arc and follows an arcuate path around the center of rotation while laying the wire into the working surface;
- and
- forming a second wirelaying pattern by a second relative movement of the workpiece with respect to the wirelaying tool.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.