Closed-loop control of weld penetration in keyhole plasma arc welding

To improve the penetrating ability and the welding quality of keyhole plasma arc welding, a novel penetration closed-loop control system was established. In the system, welding current and plasma gas flow rate were selected as adjusting variables. The wavelet method was used to detect penetration status from welding arc voltage in real-time. The control strategy of one-keyhole-per-pulse was adapted to fulfill stable and high quality welding process. Experimental results show that the developed system can apparently increase the penetrating force of plasma arc and keyhole plasma arc welding is realized successfully in stainless steel with 10 mm in thickness. Moreover,the disturbances of gradual change and break change from 3mm to 6mm in thickness are come over due to the good response property of the developed system.     

The alternate wire-feed control in the automatic CO2 arc welding

In the automatic CO2 arc welding, the alteration of the vertical distance between the welding torch and the workpiece has a strong effect on the welding parameters such as welding current and voltage, with the result that the appearance and quality of weld are not steady. To weaken the influence of the distance alteration, a method is put forward in the paper. The method is that the alternate wire-feed control is used for compensating the welding current. On the basis of theoretical analysis, a static numerical model for alternate wire-feed control is established. The experiments show that the model-based regulation of the wire feed rate can compensate the welding current and ensure the appearance of weld. When the alteration of vertical distance between the torch and the workpiece is greater, not only is the wire feed rate regulated, but the output voltage of the power source is adjusted to ensure the appearance and quality of weld.     

A time-dependent measuring system for welding deformation

In this paper the establishment and application of a time-dependem measuring system for welding deformation are presented which is established with high quality sensors shielded from strong welding interferetwe. By using this system,vertical and horizontal displacements of the high temperature area are surveyed at the same time. And this system is also used for monitoring and controlling the deformation of real welded suttctures.     

Effects of processing parameters on figuration during the GMAW rapid prototyping process

As a deposition technology, gas metal arc welding （GMAW） has shown new promise for rapid prototyping of metallic parts. During the process of metal forming using the arc of GMA W, low heat input and stable droplet transition are critical to high quality figuration. The effects of various processing parameters on figuration quality were studied in the experiment of GMA W rapid prototyping using the wire of ERSO-6 , including welding voltage, wire feeding rate, welding speed and so on. The optimal parameters for ERSO-6 are obtained. Simultaneously, it is verified that the rapid prototyping parts with favorable structures and quality can be achieved under the conditions of low heat input and stable droplet transition.     

Self-adjusting dynamic characteristics of pulsed MIG welding for aluminum alloys

Pulsed MIG welding is suitable for aluminum alloys welding, because spray transfer and excellent profile can be arrived during whole welding current range, and the energy of droplet can be controlled to overcome losing of alloy elements with lower melting and steam point by controlling pulse current and pulse time. Because of the special physic properties of aluminum alloys, there are different requirements for pulsed MIG welding between starting arc short circuit and drop transfer short circuit, pulse period and base period. In order to satisfy the need of aluminum alloys MIG welding, self-adjusting dynamic characteristics are designed to output different dynamic characteristics in different welding startes. The self-adjusting dynamic characteristics of pulsed MIG welding are achieved through a short circuit controller and a dynamic electronic inductor. The welding machine(AL-MIG 350) with self-adjusting dynamic characteristics has a high rate of successfully starting arc up to 96%, and the short circuit time during transfer is less than 1ms, in the mean time, the arc is stiffness, spatter is low and weld appearance is good.     

Physics characteristic of coupling arc of twin-tungsten TIG welding

1 Introduction It is well known that high effeciency and high quality welding is the developing target of welding technology[1, 2]. TIG welding is one of the high quality and widely applied welding methods because its arc is stable, its precess is easy t…     

CO_2 laser-micro plasma arc hybrid welding for galvanized steel sheets

A laser lap welding process for zinc-coated steel has a well-known unsolved problem-porosity formation. The boiling temperature of coated zinc is lower than the melting temperature of the base metal, which is steel. In the autogenous laser welding, the zinc vapor generates from the lapped surfaces expels the molten pool and the expulsion causes numerous weld defects, such as spatters and blow holes on the weld surface and porosity inside the welds. The laser-arc hybrid welding was suggested as an alternative method for the laser lap welding because the arc can preheat or post-heat the weldment according to the arrangement of the laser beam and the arc. CO2 laser-micro plasma hybrid welding was applied to the lap welding of zinc-coated steel with zero-gap. The relationships among the weld quality and process parameters of the laser-arc arrangement, and the laser-arc interspacing distance and arc current were investigated using a full-factorial experimental design. The effect of laser-arc arrangement is dominant because the leading plasma arc partially melts the upper steel sheets and vaporizes or oxidizes the coated zinc on the lapped surfaces. Compared with the result from the laser-TIG hybrid welding, the heat input from arc can be reduced by 40%.     

Short-circuit process model in underwater welding using rotating arc sensor*

In order to detecting and tracking along the weld seam with rotating arc sensor in underwater welding,the highpressure water environment rotating arc welding hardware platform is established and welding experiments using rotating arc sensor is done.Different radius of rotating arc sensor is used.And the corresponding welding current and voltage is obtained,which is compared with the results of rotating arc sensor short-circuit process simulation model under high-pressure water environment established in this article.The results show that under high-pressure water environment,rotating arc radius should be optimized,otherwise the short-circuit-arcing cycle will transit to a short-circuit-arcing-abruption cycle,making the welding quality poor.At last the critical radius between the short-circuit-arcing cycle and short-circuit-arcing-abruption cycle under high-pressure water environment is obtained.     

Simultaneous observation of keyhole and weld pool in plasma arc welding with a single cost-effective sensor

The dynamic behaviors of the keyhole and weld pool are coupled together in plasma arc welding, and the geometric variations of both the keyhole and the weld pool determine the weld quality. It is of great significance to simultaneously sense and monitor the keyhole and the weld pool behaviors by using a single low-cost vision sensor in plasma arc welding process. In this study, the keyhole and weld pool were observed and measured under different levels of welding current by using the near infrared sensing technology and the charge coupled device （CCD） sensing system. The shapes and relative position of weld pool and keyhole under different conditions were compared and analyzed. The observation results lay solid foundation for controlling weld quality and understanding the underlying process mechanisms.     

Suppressing of humping bead using an external magnetic field in high-speed gas metal arc welding

During high-speed gas metal arc welding （GMAW）, the backward flowing molten jet with high momentum in the weld pool is considered to be responsible for the occurrence of humping bead. To suppress humping bead, an electromagnetic device is developed and coupled with the welding system. By adjusting the conditions of external magnetic field, forward electromagnetic force is obtained to reduce the momentum of the backward flow of molten metal in weld pool. Consequently, the humping bead can be suppressed by adjusting the external magnetic field. Bead-on-plate welding experiment was conducted on mild steel plates, and the influence of magnetic flux density on the arc deflection angle and weld bead quality is investigated. It is found that external magnetic field can remarkably adjust the momentum of backward flow jet and significantly improve the quality of weld bead.     

Effect of arc on radiation thermometry in welding process

The effect of arc on radiation thermometry is analyzed in a field close to the arc during the welding process, and the ratio of signal to noise and other factors are obtained for a small current arc. The method of the temperature measurement is feasible when the arc current is decreased to a smaller value in the welding proceu.     

Study on laser welding of the tin-plate can body

Laser beam welding is a new technique for the food can making.Thisresearch studied the welding technology and parameters for the tin-plate can andtheir influences on welding speed and quality,investigated the microstructureand properties of the weld,analysed distribution of tin in the weld metal andcarried out the flanging test of the can body.The results show that laser weld-ing of the can body is characterized by high welding speed,fine appearance,good quality and stable and reliable process.This technology can fulfill the re-quirements of can making.     

Cluster banding heat source model

0IntroductionWelding is a complex process related to arc physics,heat conduction, metallurgy and mechanics which shouldbe controlled in order to gain high quality welding struc-tures. It is hard to solve practical problem exactly in theprocess of manufacture only by theoretical method. There-fore, as welding production technology is researched, ex-periment is a method in common use and then the produc-tion mode is theory-test-manufacture. However, largenumbers of welding test increase cost of …     

Hybrid Laser-GMAW Welding of High Strength Quenched-Tempered Steels

High-strength quenched and tempered (HSQT) steels have been widely used in structural applications where light weight is of primary design interest.Gas metal arc welding is a common way to join QT steels.When GMAW is used to join the HSQT steel,multi-pass is usually required to achieve full penetration.In addition,weld crack is often observed because of HSQT steel’s high susceptibility to hydrogen embrittlement.In addition,due to the large amount of heat input from the arc,the heat affected zone is often softened.This reduces the ductility and strength of welds and makes the weld weaker than the base metal.In this study,a hybrid laser/GMAW process is proposed to produce butt joint for 6.5mm thick HSQT A514 steel plate.Hydrogen diffusion mechanism is first discusses for GMAW and hybrid laser-GMAW welding processes.Metal transfer mode during the hybrid laser/GMAW welding process is also analyzed.A high speed CCD camera with 4000 frame/second is used to monitor the welding process in real time.Welds obtained by GMAW and hybrid laser/GMAW techniques are compared and tested by static lap shear and dynamic impact.Effects of gap between two metal plates and laser beam/GMAW torch spacing on weld property are studied.By appropriately choosing these two parameters,crack-free butt joints with full penetration can be successfully obtained by the hybrid laser/GMAW welding process for HSQT A514 steel plate.     

Computer simulation of short-circuiting transfer welding under waveform control on inverter power source

A simulation model is introduced about the non-linearity process of short-circuiting transfer in CO2 arc welding for displaying the interaction between the inverter power source and welding arc under waveform control. In the simulation model, the feedback signals of current and voltage are taken respectively at the different phase in a short circuit periodic time and applied to the PWM （pulse width modulation） module in a model of inverter power source to control the output of power source. The simulation operation about the dynamic process of CO2 short-circuiting transfer welding is implemented on the founded simulation model with a peak arc current of 400 A and a peak voltage of 35 V, producing the dynamic arc waveforms which can embody the effect of inverter harmonic wave. The simulating waveforms are close to that of welding experiments.     

A method of initial welding robot based onposition guiding for arc welding visual servo control

In order to solve the visual guiding task of initial welding position for arc welding robot, this paper presents a practice-prone image-based visual servo control strategy without calibration, and we perform validating experiments on a nine-DOF arc welding robot system. Experimental results illustrate presented method has the function to fulfill the task of welding robot initial positioning with certain anti-jamming ability. This method provides a basis for guiding welding gun to initial welding pose with real typical seam‘ s image properties to replace flag block properties, and is a significant exploit to realize visual guiding of initial welding position and seam tracing in robot welding system.     

Investigation on the deposition rate and the dilution ratio of plasma surface welding

A new kind of plasma technology with both high deposition rate and low dilution ratio was developed under the calculation and analysis of the arc flame characteristics of plasma arc, the kinematics behavior of powder and powder‘ s heating in the arc. Compared with normal plasma surfacing method, the idea using constricting nozzle with small orifice diameter, long plasma arc and increasing the distance from meeting point of the two beams of powder to workpiece , to achieve the goals of high deposition rate and low dilution ratio, was put forward here. In order to prove this idea, a set of experimental system was built up and obtained satisfied results including high deposition rate( more than 25kg/h)and low dilution ratio(less than 5% ). The success of this study offers a promising prospect for developing the powder plasma surface welding in China and may open a way to improve this technology further in efftciency and quality.     

Supervised descent method for weld pool boundary extraction during fiber laser welding process

In order to obtain a high-quality weld during the laser welding process, extracting the characteristic parameters of weld pool is an important issue for automated welding. In this paper, the type 304 austenitic stainless steel is welded by a 5kW high-power fiber laser and a high-speed camera is employed to capture the topside images of weld pools. Then we propose a robust visual-detection approach for the molten pool based on the supervised descent method. It provides an elegant framework for representing the outline of a weld pool and is especially efficient for weld pool detection in the presence of strong uncertainties and disturbances. Finally, welding experimental results verified that the proposed approach can extract the weld pool boundary accurately, which will lay a solid foundation for controlling the weld quality of fiber laser welding process.     

Characteristics analyzing and parametric modeling of the arc sound in CO2 GMAW for on-line quality monitoring

For on-line monitoring of welding quality, the characteristics of the arc sound signals in short circuit CO2 GMAW were analyzed in the time and frequency domains. The arc sound presents a series of ringing-like oscillations that occur at the end of short circuit i. e. the moment of arc re-ignition, and distributes mainly in the frequency band below 10 kHz. A concept of the arc tone channel and its equivalent electrical model were suggested, which is considered a time-dependent distributed parametric system of which the transmission properties depend upon the geometric and physical characteristics of the arc and surroundings, and is excited by the sound source results from the change of arc energy so that results in arc sound. The linear prediction coding （ LPC ） model is an estimation of the tone channel. The radial basis function （ RBF ） neural networks were built for on-line pattern recognition of the gas-lack in welding, in which the input vectors were formed with the LPC coefficients. The test results proved that the LPC model of arc sound and the RBF networks are feasible in on-line quality monitoring.     

The characteristics of welding currents in a rotating arc lead tandem GMAW process and the weld-seam tracking

Tandem gas metal arc welding (T-GMAW) process shows a high deposition rate that up to three times of the single electrode GMAW,so the welding speed could be significantly increased in this process.However,the majority of this process applications are based on the pre-programmed robotic welding,which does not allow them to track the seam real-time during welding.Rotating arc sensor,sensing the seam position by detecting the changing of welding currents,has been widely adopted in the automatic robot welding process.It is proposed in this paper to integrate the rotating arc sensor with a trailing torch to develop a new approach of rotating arc lead tandem gas metal arc welding (RLT-GMAW) process.The characteristics of the welding currents in the proposed new welding process were firstly studied,and then a self-turning fuzzy control seam tracking strategy was developed for the mobile robot automatic welding.The experimental results showed that the proposed RLT-GMAW process had an excellent seam tracking performance and high welding deposition rate.Even if there were some electromagnetic interactions between the two arcs,the deviation of the welding seam could also be reflected by the fluctuation of the welding currents on the leading arc once the correct welding parameters were selected.Based on the detected deviation,the welding tracking experiments showed that the proposed self-turning fuzzy controller had a good performance for the RLT-GMA W process seam tracking.