SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED IN-PROCESS INSPECTION OF WELDS

• Main Author: WITNEY Andrew Batton
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.06.2017
• Subjects: BLASTING; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; ENGINE PLANTS IN GENERAL; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; HAND TOOLS; HEATING; INDEXING SCHEME FOR ASPECTS RELATING TONON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, GAS-TURBINES ORJET-PROPULSION PLANTS; INDEXING SCHEMES RELATING TO ENGINES OR PUMPS IN VARIOUSSUBCLASSES OF CLASSES F01-F04; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; LIGHTING; MACHINE TOOLS; MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; MANIPULATORS; MEASURING; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS; MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEARDIMENSIONS; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; NON-POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT MACHINES OR ENGINES, e.g. STEAMTURBINES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; STEAM ENGINES; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ARTCOLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TESTING; TRANSPORTING; WEAPONS; WELDING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM

A system and method detect weld defects in real time. Cameras capture images of a weld pool as well as ripple shape and fillet geometry. A processor receives the images and communicates with a database that stores correlated potential weld defects with images of a mock weld molten pool and images of a mock weld ripple shape and fillet geometry. The processor computes an aggregate probability that a weld position corresponding to the images captured by the cameras contains a defect based on the potential defects correlated in the database.