WELDING AUTOMATION

The aim of automation is to minimize the human involvement and bring as many welding functions as possible under the control of the machine, which in turn results in higher quality, consistency and productivity.

Limitations of Manual Welding

High fatigue factor on the welder due to bright light, heat, smoke and sparks stub is to be discarded , reducing the Arc-On Time Quality of the weld is a function of welders expertise, his mood and fatigue level longer beads: inconsistent bead shape and size low productivity due to its low arc-on time of 30%.

over eighty percent of all such welding is done by manual means. arc welding is one of the largest job category average arc-on-time is less than 30% huge application area and low manual productivity

arc welding is one of the most potential fields for automation and application of robots

Tasks Involved in Arc Welding

Starting and Maintaining the Arc 2. Feeding the Filler Electrode into the Arc 3. Controlling the Heat input for proper penetration 4. Moving the Arc along the joint at a proper velocity 5. Guiding the arc along the joint 6. Manipulating and moving the torch to obtain proper joint fill 7. Correcting the Arc characteristics to overcome deviations
1.

LEVELS OF AUTOMATION - AWS

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. MANUAL WELDING SEMI AUTOMATIC WELDING MECHANIZED WELDING AUTOMATIC WELDING ROBOTIC WELDING ADAPTIVE CONTROL WELDING

Manual Welding
The welder starts and maintains the arc, feeds the electrode into the arc, obtains proper penetration and controls the weld pool, moves the arc with a proper velocity and guides it along the joint profile, manipulates the electrode or the gun for correct placement of the weld metal to obtain a quality weld IS CALLED A CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM

Semi-Automatic Welding
The welding gun is held by the welder and the electrode wire is continuously fed through the gun in to the arc. It is not required for the welder to maintain the arc, discard the stub or change the electrode. Slag removal is largely eliminated and the amount of fumes and smoke is reduced.

Frequently applied to GMAW and FCAW

CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM

Mechanized Welding
the machine maintains the arc, feeds the electrode, moves the torch along the joint at proper speed

most popularly applied to Submerged Arc Welding (SAW) and is also popular with GMAW, FCAW.
Low fatigue factor, higher productivity Welder supervises the process Closed loop system

Automatic Welding
Welding machines are built to provide a set of required motion patterns and preset welding parameters. The welders duty is to set the work pieces and choose a motion pattern and a suitable set of welding parameters. repeated jobs frequently applied to GMAW,GTAW, FCAW and SAW processes.
open loop system

Robotic Welding
robot with a controller provides the motion path of the arc and the welding parameters for making the weld.

The degrees of freedom of the welding torch or the number of axes along which the torch can move in space is much higher in case of robotic welding when compared to automatic welding
employed for simple welds with a complex welding path. Paths which are intermittent Open loop system

Adaptive Control Welding

aims at making the automatic and robotic welding processes closed loop systems by providing power to sense the process parameters and make necessary corrections controlled by a computer controller closed loop system where human presence is replaced by sensors and computer controls

MASTER CONTROLLER WELDING SYSTEM(CELL CONTROLLER)

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DATABANK

ADAPTIVE CONTROL

IMAGE PROCESSOR

IMAGE DISPLAY

ARC IMAGE PICKUP

ARC MANIPULATOR

THE WELDING ARC

Neural Network based seam tracking system

LASER/ VIDEO SCANNER

NEURAL NETWORK

SEAM TORCH

POSITION CONTROLLE R

SCANNER TACK WELD

Equipment Used for Welding Automation

welding power sources, electrode wire feeders, specially designed torches, wire straighteners arc and work motion devices :
Turntables, Pipe rotator units, Driving vehicles, Tripod units & column and boom, Control units, Wire feeder units, Clamping benches, Oscillation units, Seam searching / tracking systems, Camera systems, Orbital welding systems, System controllers, power sources and software, Wire feeder units, Orbital driving vehicles, Tube-to-tubesheet weld heads, Purging gassystems,

Welding Power Sources

Constant Power (CP): MMAW Constant Voltage (CV): GMAW, FCAW Constant Current (CC) : GTAW, PAW

inverter welding machines: MIG/MAG, MIG/MAG pulse, AC-DC TIG, TIG pulse . Digitized Power Sources : all operating and control jobs are performed via a central micro-controller

100,000 Hz (or 100 kHz) instead of the 50 Hz

70 kg to 3 kg.

The Inverter Technology : Power sources are made smaller

Digitized Power Sources *all operating and control jobs are performed via a central micro-controller *process control is carried out via software *Same machine can be used for different welding processes ex: AC/DC TIG, DCTIG/MIG/Pulsed MIG etc. *Out put of any designed wave form

Electrode Wire Dispensing Systems

to carry large reels of electrode wire (100 500 kg) motorized dereelers motorized dispensing systems Fully enclosed electronic control module high torque motors Replaceable motor brushes

arc motion devices

Tractors for flat position welding 2. Carriages for all position welding 3. Side beam carriages 4. Manipulators, Boom and Mast assemblies 5. Gantry and Straddle carriages
1.

Welding tractor

Side beam carriage

Boom and Mast assemblies

Boom and Mast assemblies

Work Motion Devices

1. Universal or tilt-top positioners

2. Turning Rolls 3. Head and tail stock positioners

Universal Positioner

Pipe Rotator

Head and Tail Stock Positioner

Standardized automatic welding machines

External and Internal Seam welding machines Tank Head Welding Machines Lathe Welders Nozzle Welding machines Weld around Machines Welding machines to weld inside surfaces Beam Welding Machines

Automatic Dedicated Welding Machines Heat exchanger welding machines welding automobile torque converters truck wheels automobile axles bicycle frames vertical welding in ships

robotic welding work-cell

Robot and Universal Positioner