Welding Camera description
When is Laser Vision camera needed?
Most problems with robotic arc welding can be
attributed to welded part and theire fixture variability, which causes the weld
joint to vary in location or fitup. This variation causes both productivity and
quality problems.
In arc welding, if joint repeatability of ±0.5
mm cannot be held, then joint finding or joint tracking needs to be considered.
This equipment can then be specified, placed in simulation to verify access and
cycle-time effects, and integrated correctly into the complete robot cell.
Laser Vision Camera Basics
The technology used for joint tracking and
weld inspection cameras is based on the principle of laser triangulation. A
relatively low-power laser beam (up to 50mW) is projected on the surface of the
part and the reflected scattered light is imaged back onto a CCD or CMOS
sensor. The controller then extracts signals from the image that can be used
for either joint tracking or weld inspection purposes
Steps in welding process
Preproduction
Preproduction can be used to track the joint and measure the location and fitup
variance. Toolmakers can use this information to adjust the fixture clamping to
close gaps and get the joint location to repeat. The data can even be used to
tell if the detail parts are being correctly made. Without this information, it
is tough to determine the root cause of the problems.
IGM icam 100 (Designed and manufactured by us)
Real-Time Finding and Tracking
After parts and fixtures are optimized, the
laser vision cameras used for finding and tracking will continue to maintain
proper torch position and can allow the operator to select appropriate adaptive
weld schedules to compensate for even larger variation. Of course, if the
variation becomes excessive, no weld schedule change will be enough to maintain
minimum weld quality.
Postweld Inspection
Another approach to improving arc weld quality
is to utilize postweld inspection camera systems. Although not real time, this
approach can be proactive and may be used along with traditional weld realtime
tracking and cross check with measurements on this step reduce rejects.
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