A Study of Weld Pool width Control in Gas Tungsten Arc Welding Using the Digital Image Processing

화상처리에 의한 Gas Tungsten Arc 용접에서의 용융지폭제어에 관한 연구

The feedback control systems of welding process using visual information can improve weld qualities. However, it is very difficult to get the visual information of weld pool since the light intensity of welding arc is much stronger than that of the weld pool. To explore the possibility of extending the capability of automatic welding machines, a study of a closed loop controlled welding system consisted of a GTA welding machine, a vision system, a stepping motor system and a digital computer was undertaken. Particularly, in this system, a CCD camera with a long wavelength pass filter was used to get a better weld pool image. Subsequently, an image analysis technique has been developed to measure the weld pool width. Using this weld pool width measurement, a colsed loop control system adjusted welding speed to maintain a constant weld pool width.