Tuning PID control of an automatic arc welding system using a SMAW process

A new method to tune the gains of the proportional integral derivative (PID) controller for alternating current shield metal arc welding (SMAW) of automatic arc welding system using a SMAW process is presented in this paper. This method used the genetic algorithm (GA) approach to optimize the gains of the PID auto-tuner and considerably modulated the rate of an electrode feed mechanism that regulates arc current. The proposed controller was verified by simulation and experiments of the transient response in the automatic arc welding system. Finally, the performance indices of the proposed controller are compared with that based on Ziegler–Nichols tuning rules.