US 6,024,521 A · Electrode dresser monitoring system and method

Abstract

A system and method for monitoring the operating condition of an electrode dresser for an automated spot welder includes a sensor for sensing an operating characteristic of the dresser. The output produced by the sensor is analyzed by a data acquisition system to determine the operating condition of the dresser. Various types of sensors may be employed including a current sensor which senses current flowing through the dresser motor, a flux sensor which senses leakage flux produced by the dresser motor, and a vibration sensor which senses vibration produced during operation of the dresser. Operating characteristics determined by the data acquisition system include whether the electrode dresser is operational, whether the dresser has been engaged by the electrodes of the welder, the amount of time that the welder electrodes were in dress, and the quality of the dress. The data acquisition system may also be configured to perform spectral analysis of sensor data to determine the presence of anomalous dresser operating conditions.

Claims23

Dependent claims

An apparatus for monitoring the operating condition of an automatic electrode dresser for a welder with electrodes, the electrode dresser having a motor, the system comprising:

a sensor for sensing an operating characteristic of a welder electrode dresser and producing a sensor output corresponding to the operating characteristic that is sensed;
and
a data acquisition system for receiving and analyzing said sensor output to determine the operating condition of the electrode dresser.

A system for monitoring the operating condition of a plurality of electrode dressers for a plurality of welders with electrodes, each electrode dresser having a motor, the system comprising:

a plurality of sensors, each of said plurality of sensors sensing an operating characteristic of a welder electrode dresser and producing a sensor output corresponding to the operating characteristic that is sensed;
a plurality of peak hold circuits, each of said peak hold circuits being in electrical communication with a sensor for receiving a sensor output and holding a peak amplitude of the sensor output;
a plurality of vibration transducers, each of said plurality of vibration transducers being in electrical communication with an electrode dresser and sensing vibration generated by the electrode dresser to produce vibration signals corresponding to the vibration sensed;
a plurality of reset circuits, each of said reset circuits being in electrical communication with a peak hold circuit for resetting the peak hold circuits;
a multiplexer in electrical communication with said plurality of peak hold circuits, said plurality of vibration transducers, and said plurality of reset circuits;
and
a data acquisition system in electrical communication with said multiplexer for receiving peak amplitudes and vibration signals from the multiplexor and providing a reset signal to the multiplexor to reset a peak hold circuit after a peak amplitude is read, said data acquisition system analyzing the peak amplitudes and vibration signals to determine the operating conditions of the plurality of welders.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Electrode dresser monitoring system and method

Life of this patent

Electrode dresser monitoring system and method

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims23