Method and apparatus for monitoring weld quality

A method for monitoring quality of a weld bead during a welding process utilizing an electronic controller, comprising the steps of:

• determining an average area under a first welding parameter signal between a first predetermined frequency and a second predetermined frequency;
• determining a combination average area limit value for both a second welding parameter signal and a third welding parameter signal;
• and
• comparing said combination average area limit value for both said second welding parameter signal and said third welding parameter signal with said average area under said first welding parameter signal and terminating said welding process if said average area under said first welding parameter signal exceeds said combination average area limit value for both said second welding parameter and said third welding parameter signal.

A method for monitoring quality of a weld bead during a welding process utilizing an electronic controller, comprising the steps of:

• determining an average area under a first welding parameter signal between a first predetermined frequency and a second predetermined frequency during a first predetermined time interval that is updated every second predetermined time interval;
• determining a combination average area limit value for both a second welding parameter signal and a third welding parameter signal during a third predetermined time interval that is updated every fourth predetermined time interval;
• and
• comparing said combination average area limit value for both said second welding parameter signal and said third welding parameter signal with said average area under said first welding parameter signal and terminating said welding process if said average area under said first welding parameter signal exceeds said combination average area limit value for both said second welding parameter signal and said third welding parameter signal for a fifth predetermined time interval that is updated every sixth predetermined time interval.

A method for monitoring quality of a weld bead during a welding process utilizing an electronic controller, comprising the steps of:

• determining an average power spectral density value for a current signal between a first predetermined frequency and a second predetermined frequency during a first predetermined time interval that is updated every second predetermined time interval and determining an average value for a voltage signal and an average value for a wire feed speed signal during a third predetermined time interval that is updated every fourth predetermined time interval;
• determining an average area limit value by comparing said average value for a voltage signal and said average value for a wire feed speed signal with average area limit values located in a preestablished array by utilizing bilinear interpolation;
• and
• comparing said average power spectral density value for said first welding parameter signal with said average area limit value and terminating said welding process if said average power spectral density value of said current signal exceeds said average area limit value for a fifth predetermined time interval that is updated every sixth predetermined time interval.

A method for monitoring quality of a weld bead during a welding process utilizing an electronic controller, comprising the steps of:

• determining an average power spectral density value for a current signal between a first predetermined frequency and a second predetermined frequency during a first predetermined time interval that is updated every second predetermined time interval and determining an average value for a voltage signal and an average value for a wire feed speed signal during a third predetermined time interval that is updated every fourth predetermined time interval;
• determining an average area limit value by comparing said average value for a voltage signal and said average value for a wire feed speed signal with average area limit values located in a preestablished array by utilizing nonlinear regression;
• and
• comparing said average power spectral density value for said first welding parameter signal with said average area limit value and terminating said welding process if said average power spectral density value of said current signal exceeds said average area limit value for a fifth predetermined time interval that is updated every sixth predetermined time interval.

A method for monitoring quality of a weld bead during a welding process utilizing an electronic controller, comprising the steps of:

• determining an average power spectral density value for a current signal between a first predetermined frequency and a second predetermined frequency during a first predetermined time interval that is updated every second predetermined time interval and determining an average value for a voltage signal and an average value for a wire feed speed signal during a third predetermined time interval that is updated every fourth predetermined time interval;
• determining an average area limit value by comparing said average value for a voltage signal and an average value for a wire feed speed signal with average area limit values located in a preestablished array by utilizing bilinear interpolation;
• comparing said average power spectral density value for said first welding parameter signal with said average area limit value and setting an indicator equal to one if said average power spectral density value of said current signal exceeds said average area limit value and setting an indicator to zero if said average limit value exceeds said average power spectral density value of said current signal for a fifth predetermined time interval that is updated every sixth predetermined time interval;
• summing a value of said indicators for a seventh predetermined time interval that is updated every eighth predetermined time interval;
• and
• terminating said welding process if said summation of said indicators exceeds a predetermined maximum value.

An apparatus, for monitoring quality of a weld bead during a welding process, comprising:

• an electronic controller for receiving a current signal, a voltage signal and a wire feed speed signal and then determining an average power spectral density value for a current signal between a first predetermined frequency and a second predetermined frequency during a first predetermined time interval that is updated every second predetermined time interval and determining an average value for a voltage signal and an average value for a wire feed speed signal during a third predetermined time interval that is updated every fourth predetermined time interval and determining an average area limit value by comparing said average value for a voltage signal and an average value for a wire feed speed signal with average area limit values located in a preestablished array by utilizing bilinear interpolation and then comparing said average power spectral density value for said first welding parameter signal with said average area limit value and setting an indicator equal to one if said average power spectral density value of said current signal exceeds said average area limit value and setting an indicator to zero if said average limit value exceeds said average power spectral density value of said current signal for a fifth predetermined time interval that is updated every sixth predetermined time interval and then summing a value of said indicators for a seventh predetermined time interval that is updated every eighth predetermined time interval and then terminating said welding process if said summation of said indicators exceeds a predetermined maximum value.