Automatic Control of Horizontal Narrow Gap Welding (Report 2)

Automatic Setting-up Algorithm of Optimum Welding Condition

Abstract

In the previous report, the authors have not only clarified the formation of the bead configuration under various welding conditions in the horizontal narrow gap welding with the high-peak pulsed MIG welding but also showed the possibility of setting up correct welding conditions to have satisfactory bead configuration and to assure the maintenance of the constant bead height even in case of the change in groove width, and resultingly consideration was made to the input data for its automatic selection by the computer.
This report refers to the algorithm and its features for automatic setting up the optimum welding conditions by the computer, and to the result of the automatic control experiment which evaluate the correctness of the algorithm.
The main results obtained are as follows:
1) Even in case of the change in the groove width of a joint, cosideration is given to the algorithm to set up the optimum welding conditions to have satisfactory bead configuration and the bead of the constant height, and it was shown that the automatic setting-up and control making use of the micro computer is available.
2) Algorithm for control was established basing upon the method of (1) above. This has been performed chiefly by the serial search of the domain of the welding conditions in the three dimensional space of welding speed-welding current-groove width.
3) An automatic control system making use of the micro computer was manufactured as a trial, the automatic control experiment was carried out with the algorithm of (2) above, and this method was proved effective.