US 7,107,118 B2 · Laser welding control system

Abstract

A fully integrated automated laser weld process control system (LWPCS) and method of controlling the fabrication of structural parts, particularly for shipbuilding and other industries. The LWPCS defines joint and weld quality attributes as process control variables and integrates these weld quality variables, along with the more traditional process parameters such as laser power, wire feed, GMAW voltage and active seam tracking, into a closed-loop monitoring and control system. The LWPCS includes a central processor and a plurality of subsystems that control laser beam positioning, vision-based monitoring and image processing, active weld-quality monitoring and inspection, adaptive beam delivery, and seam tracking. Cross-communication between subsystems is managed by the central processor. In addition to process control, the system extracts weld quality attributes during the weld process and provides immediate documentation of the weld quality.

Claims25

Dependent claims

A laser weld process control system comprising:

a central processor that includes a parametric database with weld parameters and a graphical user interface (GUI) that enables operator input of weld specifications of a part to be welded and operation intervention in a weld process;
a plurality of weld process subsystems that control said weld process by measuring and analyzing welding process-control parameters;
a plurality of weld quality subsystems that monitor a weld quality of a weld seam in realtime during said weld process by measuring and analyzing weld-quality attributes of a weld during the welding process;
wherein said central processer is in communication with each subsystem of said plurality of weld process subsystems and each subsystem of said plurality of weld quality subsystems, manages cross-communications between and among said each subsystem of said weld process subsystems and said weld quality subsystems, and provides closed-loop control of said weld process;
and
wherein said GUI provides a real-time representation of said weld parameters and a sequence of welding operations.

3 more elements

A method of controlling a hybrid weld process, said method comprising:

a) providing a central processor (CP) and a plurality of subsystems that includes device control subsystems such as a laser-weld-device control subsystem (LDCS), a GMAW subsystem (GMAW), a wire feed control subsystem (WFCS), and weld quality monitoring subsystems, such as a weld pool monitoring and processing subsystem (WPMPS), an active weld quality and monitoring subsystem (AWQMS), an adaptive laser-beam delivery subsystem (ABDS), and a seam tracker subsystem (STS);
b) providing a database of weld parameters and adjustment parameters;
c) enabling communication from said CP to said each of said subsystems in said plurality of subsystems;
d) enabling communication from said weld quality monitoring subsystems with said CP;
e) enabling operator intervention via a graphic user interface (GUI);
f) automatically initializing a continuous weld process;
g) continuous real-time monitoring of said continuous weld process;
h) adjusting in real-time one or more devices in said device control subsystems, based on inputs from said plurality of subsystems, including from said WPMPS and said AWQMS;
and
i) automatically generating an inspection report of a completed weld joint.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Laser welding control system

Life of this patent

Laser welding control system

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims25