• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.49-49
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• 2010

용접은 산업계의 기계 조립 및 접합을 위한 공정의 주요한 작업으로 조선, 중공업, 건설 등 산업현장에서 사람에 의한 수동적인 작업으로 대부분 수행된다. 이러한 용접 작업을 수행하는 용접 기술자는 산업 현장 훈련원과 직업 교육 학교에서 양성되지만 용접 훈련 과정은 실습 초보자에게 위험하고, 장시간 교육하기에 어려울 뿐 아니라 재료 낭비, 의사 소통의 한계, 즉석 결과 평가의 한계, 공간부족 등 다양한 문제가 있다. 그러므로, 안전하고 반복적인 실습 환경 제공하고 장시간 및 다수 교육참여 지원 등이 가능한 시스템을 구축하여 숙련된 우수 인력 조기 확보와 훈련 비용을 절감할 필요가 있다. 본 논문에서는 실제와 동일한 상호작용을 제공할 뿐만 아니라 고품질로 훈련 환경을 가시화하여 용접 상황을 동일하게 모사하는 가상 현실 기반 용접 훈련 시뮬레이터를 제시한다. 이 시스템은 용접의 형상과 환경의 고품질 가시화, 경험 DB를 통한 용접의 비드 형상 데이터 획득, 용접 토치를 이용하는 사용자 상호작용, 용접 훈련 결과 평가 및 최적 작업 가이드, 용접 콘텐츠 저작, 다양한 용접 훈련을 가시화하는 하드웨어 플랫폼으로 구성된다. 고품질 가상 용접 가시화는 경험 DB 기반 비드 형상 데이터와 신경회로망을 이용한 비드 형상 예측을 통해 실시간 비드 표현이 이루어지며 쉐이더 기반 고품질 모재 및 비드 표현, 아크 불꽃 효과 표현을 포함한다. 사용자 상호작용은 현장 작업 도구와 일치된 토치 인터페이스와 위치추적을 이용하여 토치의 작업각, 진행각, 속도, 거리 등을 반영할 수 있으며 진동과 소리 등 용접 훈련의 사실적 상호작용도 재현하였다. 용접 훈련 평가 및 최적 작업 가이드는 훈련자의 용접속도, 거리, 각도 등의 사용자 작업 결과를 그래픽으로 표현하고, 애니메이션을 통한 훈련 자세를 추후 분석할 수 있도록 하였고, 가상토치, 기준선, 수치계기 등을 이용한 최적 작업 훈련 가이드 제시하였다. 훈련 콘텐츠 저작은 메뉴UI 기반으로 용접의 전류, 전압 등의 조건과 상황을 선택하도록 제시하였고, 하드웨어 플랫폼은 워크벤치형 입체 디스플레이 방식으로 용접 환경을 가시화하였고, 위, 정면, 아래보기 등 다양한 용접 자세 변경을 지원 할 수 있도록 구축하였다. 이러한 가상현실 기반 훈련 시뮬레이터는 아크열 발생에 따른 장시간 훈련의 어려움을 극복할 수 있고, 다양한 실습 환경을 바꾸어 가며 반복적인 훈련이 가능하고, 실 재료를 사용하지 않아 재료의 낭비를 줄일 수 있는 환경 친화적인 안전하고 효율적인 훈련 실습 환경을 제공할 수 있다.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.60-67
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• 2000

In this study, we constructed a preview-sensing visual sensor system for weld seam tracking in GMA welding. The visual sensor consists of a CCD camera, a diode laser system with a cylindrical lens and a band-pass-filter to overcome the degrading of image due to spatters and/or arc light. To obtain weld joint position and edge points accurately from the captured image, we compared Hough transform method with central difference method. As a result, we present Hough transform method can more accurately extract the points and it can be applied to real time weld seam tracking. Image processing is carried out to extract straight lines that express laser stripe. After extracting the lines, weld joint position and edge points is determined by intersecting points of the lines. Although a spatter trace is in the image, it is possible to recognize the position of weld joint. Weld seam tracking was precisely implemented with adopting Hough transform method, and it is possible to track the weld seam in the case of offset angle is in the region of $\pm15^{\circ}$.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.923-928
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• 2003

This paper presents the motion control of a mobile robot with arc sensor for lattice type welding. Its dynamic equation and motion control method for welding speed and seam tracking are described. The motion control is realized in the view of keeping constant welding speed and precise target line even though the robot is driven along a straight line or comer. The mobile robot is modeled based on Lagrange equation under nonholonomic constraints and the model is represented in state space form. The motion control of the mobile robot is separated into three driving motions of straight locomotion, turning locomotion and torch slider controls. For the torch slider control, the proportional integral derivative (PID) control method is used. For the straight locomotion, a concept of decoupling method between input and output is adopted and for the turning locomotion, the turning speed is controlled according to the angular velocity value at each point of the comer with range of $90^{\circ}$ constrained to the welding speed. The proposed control methods are proved through simulation results and the results have proved that the mobile robot has enough ability to apply the lattice type welding line.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.144-146
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• 2005

Dual electromagnetic sensor is used for sensing the weld line. The sensor consists of excitation and two sensing coil wound over the ferro-magnetic core. By using the dual sensor, the effect of noise is minimized. It is based on the generation of eddy currents in the welding plate by passing current through the excitation coil. The sensor can be used to track the butt joints having no gap between them, where a vision based sensor fails to track. Sensor sensitivity depends on the number of coil turns, frequency of excitation, distance of a sensor from the work piece, diameter of core, etc. The whole system consists of a sensor, a signal processing board, a motion controller and a personnel computer (PC). The raw sensor signal is processed using the signal processing board. It consists of amplification, rectification, filtering, averaging, offset adjustment, etc. Based on sensor data, the motion controller adjusts the position of a welding torch.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 1993.10a
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• pp.550-555
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• 1993

The aim of this paper is to present the development of visual seam tracking system equipped with visual range finder. The visual range finder, which consists of a CCD camera and a diode laser system with line generating optics, developed to recognize the types of weld joints and detect the location of weld joints. In practical applications, however, images of the weld joints are often degraded due to spatters, are flares, surface specularity, and welding smoke. To overcome the problem, this paper proposes a syntactic approach which is a class of artificial intelligence techniques. In the approach, the type of weld joint is inferred based upon the production rules which are linguiques grammars consisting of a set of line and junction primitives of laser strip image projected on weld joint. The production rules eliminate several noisy primitives to create new primitives through the merging process of primitives. After the recognition of weld joint, arc welding is started and the location of weld joints is repeatedly detected using a spring model-based template matching in which the template model is a by-product of the recognition process of weld joint. To show the effectiveness of the proposed approach a series of experiments-identification and robotic tracking-are conducted for four different types of weld joints.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.70-75
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• 2000

The weld seam tracking system for arc welding process uses various kinds of sensors such as arc sensor, vision sensor, laser displacement and so on. Among the variety of sensors available, electro-magnetic sensor is one of the most useful methods especially in sheet metal butt-joint arc welding, primarily because it is hardly affected by the intense arc light and fume generated during the welding process, and also by the surface condition of weldments. In this study, a dual-electromagnetic sensor, which utilizes the induced current variation in the sensing coil due to the eddy current variation of the metal near the sensor, was developed for arc welding of sheet metal butt-joints. The dual-electromagnetic sensor thus detects the offset displacement of weld line from the center of sensor head even though there's no clearance in the joint. A set of design variables of the sensor were determined for the maximum sensing capability through the repeated experiments. Seam tracking is performed by correcting the position of sensor to the amount of offset displacement every sampling period. From the experimental results, the developed sensor showed the excellent capability of weld seam detection when the sensor to workpiece distance is near less than 5 mm, and it was revealed that the system has excellent seam tracking ability for the butt-joint of sheet metal.

• Laser Solutions
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2009

Because of its fast and precise welding performance, laser welding is becoming a new excellent welding method. However, the precise focusing and robust seam tracking are required to apply laser welding to the practical fields. In order to laser weld a type of T joint like a circular pipe on a square pipe, which could be met in the three dimensional structure such as an aluminum space frame, a visual sensor system was developed for automation of focusing and seam tracking. The developed sensor system consists of a digital CCD camera, a structured laser, and a vision processor. It is moved and positioned by a 2-axis motorized stage, which is attached to a 6 axis robot manipulator with a laser welding head. After stripe-type structured laser illuminates a target surface, images are captured through the digital CCD camera. From the image, seam error and defocusing error are calculated using image processing algorithms which includes efficient techniques handling continuously changed image patterns. These errors are corrected by the stage off-line during welding or teaching. Laser welding of a circular pipe on a square pipe was successful with the vision tracking system by reducing the path positioning and de focusing errors due to the robot teaching or a geometrical variation of specimens and jig holding.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.66-72
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• 2005

An electromagnetic inductive sensor consisted of one exciter and three separated (triple) detectors has been developed for both tracking the weld seam of a workpiece and controlling the sensor-to-workpiece distance (height) simultaneously. The left and right detectors are used to track the seam, while the fore and the other two detectors allow the sensor to determine the height and the gap width by being coupled their outputs together. A series of experiments with the proposed sensor located above a mild steel plate containing a weld seam of gap are carried out to examine the feasibility of the sensor. The results revealed that the proposed sensor could fairly well track the desired seam and also well control the height to be constant even when the gap width of the seam varied. The gap width can be also determined during the seam tracking by using the sensor outputs. As a consequence, these can provide the developed sensor with substantial improvement for industrial uses with respect to the previous electromagnetic sensors being used for the weld seam tracking.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.78-84
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• 1996

Recently, the fact that welding conditions are dangerous for men and the shapes of seams are complex enforced the welding system to be automatic. In order to obtain this target, are chip Microprocessor controlled welding system is devised in this study. The tracking of seam shape is achieved by applying a differential transformer and by using a program developed. This welding system mainly consists of a sensor, the differential transformer, a servo power amplifier, a control system, and DC motors. It is verified that the developed welding system is able to track three kinds of seam shapes.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
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• 1996.10b
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• pp.775-778
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• 1996

In this research, the robustness of a seam tracking for the automatic welding system is studied. The laser displacement sensor is used as a seam finder. X-Y moving table drived by ac servo motor controls the position and velocity of the torch-and-sensor part. However, dc servo motor is used to control the position and velocity of the torch. The sensor locates ahead of torch to preview the weld line, and brings about the inaccuracy on the torch tracking. To enhance the robustness on this system against the influence of disturbances and model uncertainty, H$\_$.inf./ control is applied to the angular motion of torch. The simulation shows that the tracking accuracy improved significantly. Also, experimental results give a good performance of H$\_$.inf./ control strategy to the automatic seam tracking system for the welding.