398results about "Welding monitoring devices" patented technology

A system and method for assessing the quality of spot weld joints between pieces of metal includes an ultrasound transducer probing a spot weld joint. The ultrasound transducer transmits ultrasonic radiation into the spot weld joint, receives corresponding echoes, and transforms the echoes into electrical signals. An image reconstructor connected to the ultrasound transducer transforms the electrical signals into numerical data representing an ultrasound image. A neural network connected to the image reconstructor analyzes the numerical data and an output system presents information representing the quality of the spot weld joint. The system is trained to assess the quality of spot weld joints by scanning a spot weld joint with an ultrasound transducer to produce the data set representing the joint; then physically deconstructing the joint to assess the joint quality.

A system that facilitates dynamic configuration of a welding system with respect to a sensor comprises a processing unit associated with the welding system. A configuration component facilitates configuring the welding system with respect to the sensor upon determining that the sensor is coupled to a local bus associated with the processing unit. A remote access component can facilitate remotely accessing the welding system, the configuration of the welding system alterable by way of the remote access component.

Various welding systems that provide communication over auxiliary or weld power lines are provided. The disclosed embodiments may include a multi-process welding power supply that is communicatively coupled to a pendant via an auxiliary conduit that facilitates the exchange of data and power between components of the welding system. In some embodiments, the pendant may also include auxiliary outlets that allow an operator to power auxiliary devices at the weld location. The disclosed embodiments further include a pendant with a wire spool and wire feeder drive circuitry that is configured to activate spooling during MIG welding. Embodiments are provided that also allow for bidirectional data communication over a power line in networked welding systems.

A method and apparatus for ultrasonic in-process monitoring and feedback of resistance spot weld quality uses at least one transducer located in the electrode assembly transmitting through a weld tip into an underway weld. Analysis of the spectrum of ultrasonic waves provides the operator with an indication of the size, thickness, location, dynamics of formation and quality of the spot weld. The method presents a fundamentally new physical approach to the characterization of the spot weld quality. Together with transmission mode it includes new modes of operation of ultrasonic probes such as a reflection mode and simultaneous use of transmission and reflection modes, and a new physical interpretation of the signal analysis results.

To precisely measure bead cutting shapes of electric resistance welded pipes without being affected by difference in luminance level between cut and uncut portions in optical cutting images, an image is obtained by overlaying an optical cutting image with the optical cutting image subjected to thinning processing. A profile of the welded pipe is approximated with a quadratic function and a region containing the bead apex coordinates is identified as the bead. Shape data of the pipe surface at the portion corresponding to the bead portion is obtained from the preset left and right boundaries of the bead portion and the apex position of the separately-calculated bead portion, and bead width, height, slope angle, and unevenness at the left and right boundaries between the bead portion and base pipe portion, are each calculated, based on the left and right bead shape approximation functions and base pipe shape approximation function.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, a fracture prediction device for a spot welded portion can be provided. For example, the device may include an input arrangement configured to input all or some of a material strength, a plate thickness, a nugget diameter of a spot welding, a plate width of a joint, and a rotation angle of the joint in a tension test, based on a cross tension test and/or a shear tension test at a spot welded joint. The device can also include a first calculation arrangement configured to calculate a fracture strength parameter of the spot welded portion from all or any of the material strength, the plate thickness, the nugget diameter of the spot welding, the plate width of the joint, and the rotation angle of the joint in the tension test. A parameter storage arrangement may also be provided which can be configured to store the fracture strength parameter by each steel type. Further, the device may further have a second calculation arrangement configured to determine a fracture of the spot welded portion by installing the fracture strength parameter stored in the parameter storage arrangement into a fracture prediction formula in which a deformation at a periphery of the spot welding is modeled by a finite element procedure. Exemplary embodiments of the method software arrangement and computer accessible medium performing similar procedures can also be provided.

This invention provides a method of producing a series of substantially uniform spot welds between two metal parts using a servomotor driven movable electrode and an axially opposing fixed electrode. Target values for electrode displacement in producing a weld indentation and electrode squeeze force are determined for the electrodes and workpieces. During welding operations electrode displacement and electrode force measurements are continually taken and compared with the displacement and force target values. While the measured values are within a tolerance range of the target values, welding is continued using the preset parameters. When either or both of the measured electrode displacement or force value falls outside the target range the total welding current is adjusted in small increments to correct the displacement and/or force values and, thereafter, welding is continued using the new total welding current.

A resistance welding method, which resistance-welds a pair of workpieces by gripping the workpieces with a pair of electrode tips under a prescribed welding pressure, and supplies a welding current through the electrode tips to the workpieces, includes the steps of detecting a change in an amount of expansion of a nugget produced in the workpieces, along a direction in which the electrode tips grip the workpieces therebetween, determining whether the detected change is smaller than a threshold value or not, and gradually increasing the welding current flowing through the workpieces after the detected change is judged as being smaller than the threshold value.

An adaptable, servo-control system for force/position actuation generally includes an electric linear actuator and a controller. The controller interfaces with the electric linear actuator and with a number of I/O signals that are independent from the electric linear actuator. The controller interface to the independent I/O signals is transparent to the manner in which the I/O signals are produced. Rather the controller simply looks for the status of the I/O that is preferably received into the controller by hard-wiring or field bus I/O messaging such as from a industrial robot or programmable logic controller. The adaptable servo-control system is particularly suited to resistance weld systems wherein the electric linear actuator can replace the pneumatic actuator providing position and force actuation of the weld tip of the welding gun.

An automated method for forge welding tubulars including heating the tubular ends to be joined in a welding chamber while the heated tubular ends are maintained aligned and parallel relative to each other and at a small spacing, whereupon the heated tubular ends are pressed together while a reducing shield gas is injected into the chamber. The positions of the tubular ends are monitored by cameras which are coupled to a pyrometric and position monitoring system which automatically adjusts the position of the tubular ends relative to each other and the heat supplied to the tubular ends during the heating step until the tubular ends have reached a predetermined temperature, whereupon the tubular ends are moved towards each other along a distance which exceeds the spacing monitored between the tubular ends during the heating step with a selected extra distance, such that the tubular ends are firmly pressed against each other and the amount of external and/or internal upset of the tubular ends in the welding zone is limited to an acceptable level.

A method and device for measuring a resistance spot welding electrode tip includes a welding electrode tip monitoring device for monitoring a welding electrode tip, the welding electrode tip monitoring device communicatively connected to a robotic welder equipped with electrode welding tips in a manner to be automatically employed as part of a robotic step with the robotic welder and is equipped with a mechanism for generating characteristic data of the welding electrode tips without having to remove the welding tips from the robotic welder.

A spot welding system using a spot welding gun having a servomotor for driving welding tips capable of suppressing variation of pressing force due to influence of heat generated by welding current to obtain an uniform pressing force. A difference between the temperature T detected by a temperature sensor and an initial temperature T0 is multiplied by a coefficient A to obtain a pressing force compensation amount α. A pressing force d estimated by an observer is subtracted from the compensated command pressing force p′ and an obtained difference is multiplied by a constant K2 to obtain a torque command (current command) τ for driving the servomotor to press the objects by the welding tips. Since the commanded pressing force is compensated in accordance with the temperature, a constant and stable pressing force is produced without influence of the temperature variation.

A method for regulation of a multi-axis automated manipulator, in particular of a robot, includes flexible regulation of at least one guide axis, and rigid regulation of at least one additional axis, and determining a desired value of the at least one additional axis on the basis of a real value of the guide axis.

Welding equipment for cell modules comprises a rack, a conveying mechanism for conveying to-be-machined pieces, a welding mechanism, a visual positioning and detecting mechanism and a control system; the conveying mechanism comprises a feeding mechanism for conveying the to-be-machined pieces for feeding as well as a cell module positioning mechanism for positioning the to-be-machined pieces for positioning welding by the aid of the welding mechanism; the visual positioning and detecting mechanism positions and finds out first welding points on the to-be-machined pieces and determines relative coordinates of other welding points with the first welding points used as datum points; and the control system controls the welding mechanism to perform welding according to the relative coordinates. With the equipment, the first welding points of the workpieces are positioned and found out through the visual positioning and detecting mechanism and are used as the datum points for determining of the relative coordinates of other welding points, the welding mechanism is controlled to perform welding according to the relative coordinates, the coordinates of other welding points are convenient to determine for positioning welding, the feeding mechanism performs feeding automatically, and the cell module positioning mechanism positions the cell modules automatically, so that the positioning precision and the machining efficiency are improved.

A system and method for monitoring the molten state for enabling a molten state, butting state, or other state of electric-resistance-welded pipe on-line more accurately than in the past are provided. That is, a mirror 23 provided at a front end side inside a container 21 receives light emitted by the welded parts 5 of the tube-shaped steel strip 1 themselves through heat resistant glass 22 from the side direction and reflects the image of the welded parts 5 of the tube-shaped steel strip 1 in the direction of a relay lens 24 provided at a base end side of a relay lens unit 13. The relay lenses 24 relay the image of the welded parts 5 of the tube-shaped steel strip 1 to a conversion lens 12, then the conversion lens 12 forms that image on the imaging area of a CCD camera 11. Therefore, it is possible to capture the welded parts 5 of the tube-shaped steel strip 1 from the side direction by a resolution in accordance with the resolution of the CCD camera 11 and possible to obtain information of the welded parts 5 of the tube-shaped steel strip 1 more accurately than in the past and on-line.

A drive device for a pair of welding tongs having a pair of limbs, is arranged between the adjusting ends of the limbs, located opposite to the welding electrodes, for adjusting between a welding position and a standby position. In order to reduce its length, provide continuous control and monitoring, simplify the device and reduce noise, the drive device is provided with an electric motor-driven screw-thread drive with a rotating nut and a rotating spindle which is axially displaceable between an extended and a return position, the spindle being connected to an adjusting end of the limb. The drive device can be used as a main drive for a pair of welding tongs for the positioning of the limbs, or can be used as a secondary drive, for setting of a stopping position of the pair of welding tongs.