An Investigation of Gas Metal Arc Welding Sound Signature for On-Line Quality Control

On-l ine quality control in automated welding operations is an important factor contributing to higher productivity, lower costs and greater reliability of the welded components. However, the development of on-l ine inspection techniques and feedback control is still in its infancy. Sound signature produced by GMAW contains information about the behavior of the arc column, the molten metal and the metal transfer mode. Manual welders rely on sound signature as important feedback for production of good welds. High-speed data acquisition and computer-aided analysis of the sound signature may indicate conditions that generate weld defects. This paper presents an experimental investigation that attempts to establish correlations between sound signature, welding parameters and weld transfer mode with a view toward detection of weld defects. The results indicate that the sound signature is a usable, practical information source for process-linked quality control of welds.