Method and apparatus for controlling induction welding
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsFrancis J. Samalot, Pedro P. Martin, Yannick Buser
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method is provided for controlling an induction welding operation. The method includes sweeping electrical current through an induction welding coil at an initial position of the induction welding coil along a weld path of a material; monitoring a response of the material to the swept electrical current using at least one electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor; calibrating an electrical current value for the induction welding operation using the monitored response; and performing the induction welding operation along the weld path using the calibrated electrical current value.
Claims38
A method for controlling an induction welding operation, the method comprising:
- sweeping electrical current through an induction welding coil at an initial position of the induction welding coil along a weld path of a material prior to any induction welding;
- monitoring a response of the material to the swept electrical current using at least one electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor;
- calibrating an electrical current value for the induction welding operation using the monitored response;
- and
- performing the induction welding operation along the weld path using the calibrated electrical current value.
A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory computer storage medium having a computer readable program code embodied therein, the computer readable program code adapted to be executed, to implement a method for controlling induction welding, the method comprising:
- sweeping electrical current through an induction welding coil at an initial position of the induction welding coil along a weld path of a material prior to any induction welding;
- monitoring a response of the material to the swept electrical current using at least one electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor;
- calibrating an electrical current value for the induction welding operation using the monitored response;
- and
- performing the induction welding operation along the weld path using the calibrated electrical current value.
An apparatus for induction welding, the apparatus comprising:
- an end effector comprising an induction welding coil that generates a magnetic field, the magnetic field causing a weld path of a material to generate heat resulting in induction welding;
- an electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor that measures a magnetic field intensity at an initial position of the induction welding coil along the weld path of the material;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- sweep electrical current through the induction welding coil at the initial position of the induction welding coil along the weld path prior to any induction welding;
- monitor a response of the material to the swept electrical current using the EMF sensor;
- and
- calibrate an electrical current value for the induction welding operation using the monitored response.
A method for controlling an induction welding operation, the method comprising:
- sweeping electrical current through an induction welding coil at an initial position of the induction welding coil along a weld path of a material of a first batch, wherein the electrical current is swept through the induction welding coil to a value that is less than a value of the swept electrical current that induces a calibration weld temperature;
- monitoring a response of the material to the swept electrical current using at least one electromagnetic field (EMF) sensor;
- calibrating an electrical current value for the induction welding operation using the monitored response before a weld is generated on any material of the first batch;
- and
- performing the induction welding operation along the weld path using the calibrated electrical current value.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.