• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.132-140
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• 2000

Plasma arc cutting is one of the most widely used processes in metal cutting fields and is a process that produces parted metal plates by cutting them with an arc plasma established between the electrode tip and the plate(workpiece). When the tip-to-workpiece distance varies during cutting, the cut quality, for example the kerf width, is deteriorated by the change of plasma arc. The variations of tip-to-workpiece distance are due to the different factors such as inaccuracies in setting the torch or workpiece, thermal distortions during cutting, and uneven surface of workpiece. The control to keep the tip-to-workpiece distance constant is thus indispensable to improve the flexibility of automatic plasma arc cutting system applications. In this study, an arc sensor which utilizes the electrical signal obtained from the plasma arc itself was developed. The arc sensor has an advantage that no particular sensing device is necessary and real-time sensing of the tip-to-workpiece distance is possible directly under the plasma arc. The relationship between plasma arc voltage and tip-to-workpiece distance was determined through the repeated experimental results. The model was used for developing an automatic tip-to-workpiece distance control system of plasma arc cutting. It could be shown that the proposed system has a successful capability of tip-to-workpiece distance control.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.28 no.12
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• pp.1366-1371
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• 2011

In ultra precision machining, it is necessary to adjust the horizontality and reference position of a workpiece in a noncontact manner. For this, a simple process by measuring impedance between a tool tip and a workpiece which are connected to impedance analyzer is proposed. As the distance between the tool and the workpiece gets closer, the reduction rate of impedance becomes higher over all frequency ranges. By setting threshold value of impedance reduction rate at specific frequencies through preliminary experiments, the distance between the tool and the workpiece can be predicted and it directly enables us to horizontalize the workpiece and to set the tool to the desired reference position.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.44-54
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• 1998

In this study a new arc sensor algorithm for automatic weld seam tracking was proposed, which uses the relative welding current variation according to the tip-to-workpiece distance in GMA welding. Since the new developed arc sensor algorithm is not sensitive to unstable factors of arc signal, the system is expected to get rid of the problems of already existing arc sensor system which include the difficulty of modeling the process for various welding conditions and limitation of application to thick plate welding. Thus the system is applicable not only to thick plate welding but also to thin plate welding. To implement the new arc sensor algorithm the system parameters which include sampling time, averaging range, weighting factor of moving averaging, basic compensation time, and basic compensation distance were determined by experimental analysis. Consequently this system has shown the successful tracking capability for the various welding conditions.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 1991.11a
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• pp.60-63
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• 1991

No Abstract, See Full Text

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.190-198
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• 1992

Among the variety of welding processes available, the flux cored arc welding is one of the most frequently used process, because of its wide range of application and high productivity. The weld joint tracking is indispensable to improve the flexibility of the arc welding robot application for the flux cored arc welding (FCAW) process. In this study, an arc sensor which utilizes the electrical signal obtained from the welding arc itself was developed for weld joint tracking in FCAW. Because a model of the welding arc in flux cored arc welding was required to develop the arc sensor, a mathematical model was proposed by analysing the welding arc behaviour, and also an experimental model by using the factorial experiment and least square method. For overcoming the fluctuation in the welding current signal during tracking the weld joint, it was fitted to a curve which is inversely proportional to a trace of tip-to-workpiece distance by using the quadratic curve-fitting method.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.66-80
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• 1997

This paper describes a newly developed arc-sensing algorithm of seam-tracking for FCA W (flux-cored arc welding) horizontal fillet welding. In this algorithm, arc current and the Weighted-Are-Current (WAC) are used to adjust the position of a weld torch in directions of bead throat and weaving, respectively. The WAC, which is newly devised in this study, means that arc current in the vicinity of weaving end is more emphasized than that in the center of weaving. The reason of this is because there usually exists much noise in the center of weaving due to abrupt change of arc length in case some empty gaps exist in a fillet joint Variance analysis was performed in order to check the effect of weld parameters on arc current and the WAC. As a result, the relationships between tip-to-workpiece distance and arc current, and between weaving offset and the WAC were established.To check "the validity of the algorithm, seam-tracking experiments were performed ;mder various welding condition. The result of experiments showed a satisfactory tracking performance in the presence of empty gaps in a horizontal fillet joint.et joint.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.23-30
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• 1990

The robotic welding has been adapted positively in many welding shops forthe purpose of improving the welding efficiency and liberating operators from the severe working atmosphere. But for a large-size structure with thick plates like ship-building and every kind of plants manufacturing, the application of the arc welding robots is not established yet. The reason is assumed that the conventional arc welding robots are not adaptive for multi-pass welding of thick plates whose grooves are not so accurate. As one solution to this problem, a guidance system which uses the welding arc itself as a sensor is largely used. In this study the velocity controller which changes the tip to workpiece distance for regulating the weld proposed. The proportional and integral gain of velocity controller were determined by using the computer simulation of the control system, and the simulation results compared with the experimental ones. It was revealed that the developed control system using the arc sensor principle has a good capability of tracking the weld joint, although some more studies will be needed to refine the model of arc current.

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.321-328
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• 2003

The elongation of contact length on the line of action is considered with particular reference for roll forming of gears, and for dynamic behavior of the tooth in meshing. However there is no paper that discuss the elongation of contact length in the load meshing of gears. Based on our investigation, the contact length on the line of action elongates more than the kinematically calculated value. In rolling, as the tool approaches the workpiece, the center distance of the gears decreases by a small amount. But, the elongation of contact length is sensitive. Therefore, the contact point on the line of action is difficult to be determined, which complicates the tooth analysis. In this study, the exact relation between the elongation of contact length and the tooth space over the recess or before the approach are revealed by experiments and kinematic theory. This analytical result applies not only for rolling, but also for the single flank meshing which is done under constant center distance.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.55-63
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• 1998

Among the position sensing methods available, the arc sensor which utilizes the electrical signal obtained from the welding arc itself is one of the most prevalently used methods, because it has an advantage that no particular sensing device is necessary and real-time sensing of a groove position is possible directly under the arc. The authors have already developed a seam tracking system that contains a new arc sensor algorithm, which uses the relative welding current variation according to the tip-to-workpiece distance in GMA welding. In this study a torch height control algorithm for automatic weld seam tracking was proposed for completing the previous system, which uses an on-off control technique. To implement the torch height control algorithm during weld seam tracking the system parameters which include 2nd averaging range, weighting factor for 2nd moving averaging, and Z-directional basic compensation distance were determined by experimental analysis. Finally the two different height control methods, one is simple on-off control and the other on-off control using a reference current value , were compared in their tracking abilities.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.1080-1084
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• 2001

In manufacturing a micro die with half spherical cavity by MEDM, it is necessary to prepare an electrode with the same shape. This paper suggests a simple method to manufacture a half spherical electrode based on tool wear. The tool wears more rapidly at the edge of a cylindrical electrode. In order to make a half spherical micro electrode, cylindrical electrode was fed into the workpiece by the distance of its radius. The d/R(depth/Radius) value varied with respect to capacitance and electrode diameter. The smaller the size of electrode was, the closer the electrode tip geometry approached to a half sphere.