Feed forward control of welding process parameters through on-line ultrasonic thickness measurement

Accurate control of welding parameters, such as arc power and wire speed, is critical for successful appropriate weld joint penetration. The thickness components being welded a key parameter in defining optimum penetration, but not always known beforehand or well controlled manual automated operations. This paper presents novel feed-forward, sensor enabled, process strategy based on ultrasonic measurement. An wheel probe, deployed simultaneously alongside the torch, enables plate measurement when coupled with low-latency algorithm real-time controller. GTAW fusion strategy, probe measured thickness, provides direct input current, torch travel speed filler feed rate. A parametric relationship between ultrasonically sample parameters S275 mild steel samples 4.1 mm 6.1 was established verified. It demonstrated that system can measure derive while adapting real-time, sufficiently low-latency, to allow consistent seam uniform penetration variable samples, which under normal open-loop circumstances lead burn-through excessive