Weld-induced distortion compensation method, system and program product

A system for compensating for a weld-induced distortion in a welded combination of an as-designed three-dimensional (3D) component having an opening therein and an as-designed member to be welded to the opening, the system comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• a compensation system coupled to the memory and configured to process events therein according to a method that includes:
• based on a pre-defined welding process to couple the as-designed member to the opening in the as-designed 3D component, performing a weld process evaluation including:
• performing a first welding simulation to calculate a first weld-induced distortion in at least one of the as-designed 3D component or the as-designed member;
• performing a finite element analysis to calculate a distorted model including at least one of a pre-weld distorted 3D component or a pre-weld distorted member, to be generated by at least one pre-loading fixture to compensate for the first weld-induced distortion in the at least one of the as-designed 3D component or the as-designed member;
• and
• performing a second welding simulation to calculate a second weld-induced distortion based on the distorted model including the at least one of the pre-weld distorted 3D component or the pre-weld distorted member;
• and
• in response to the second weld-induced distortion resulting in a product within a product specification for the welded combination of the as-designed 3D component and the as-designed member:
• distorting at least one of the as-designed 3D component to the pre-weld distorted 3D component or the as-designed member to the pre-weld distorted member using at least one at least one pre-loading fixture, and
• performing the pre-defined welding process using a welding system operatively coupled to the compensation system.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed on a processor, compensates for a weld-induced distortion in a welded combination of an as-designed three-dimensional (3D) component having an opening therein and an as-designed member to be welded to the opening, and performs the steps of:

• based on a pre-defined welding process to couple the as-designed member to the opening in the as-designed 3D component, performing a weld process evaluation including:
• performing a first welding simulation to calculate a first weld-induced distortion in at least one of the as-designed 3D component or the as-designed member;
• performing a finite element analysis to calculate a distorted model including at least one of a pre-weld distorted 3D component or a pre-weld distorted member, to be generated by at least one pre-loading fixture to compensate for the first weld-induced distortion in the at least one of the as-designed 3D component or the as-designed member;
• and
• performing a second welding simulation to calculate a second weld-induced distortion based on the distorted model including the at least one of the pre-weld distorted 3D component or the pre-weld distorted member;
• and
• in response to the second weld-induced distortion resulting in a product within a product specification for the welded combination of the as-designed 3D component and the as-designed member:
• distorting at least one of the as-designed 3D component to the pre-weld distorted 3D component or the as-designed member to the pre-weld distorted member, and
• performing the pre-defined welding process.