EP3254161A1 - Welding system with adaptive algorithm - Google Patents

Welding system with adaptive algorithm

Info

Publication number
EP3254161A1
EP3254161A1 EP16703822.3A EP16703822A EP3254161A1 EP 3254161 A1 EP3254161 A1 EP 3254161A1 EP 16703822 A EP16703822 A EP 16703822A EP 3254161 A1 EP3254161 A1 EP 3254161A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
welding
data
training
actuator control
adaptive algorithm
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP16703822.3A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Inventor
Paul KAH
Markku Pirinen
Jukka Martikainen
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto
Original Assignee
Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto filed Critical Lappeenrannan Teknillinen Yliopisto
Publication of EP3254161A1 publication Critical patent/EP3254161A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
    • B23K9/32—Accessories
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
    • B23K9/095—Monitoring or automatic control of welding parameters
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23K—SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
    • B23K9/00—Arc welding or cutting
    • B23K9/095—Monitoring or automatic control of welding parameters
    • B23K9/0953—Monitoring or automatic control of welding parameters using computing means
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B13/00—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion
    • G05B13/02—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B13/00—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion
    • G05B13/02—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric
    • G05B13/0265—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric the criterion being a learning criterion
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B13/00—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion
    • G05B13/02—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric
    • G05B13/0265—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric the criterion being a learning criterion
    • G05B13/027—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric the criterion being a learning criterion using neural networks only
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B13/00—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion
    • G05B13/02—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric
    • G05B13/0265—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric the criterion being a learning criterion
    • G05B13/0275—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric the criterion being a learning criterion using fuzzy logic only
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G05—CONTROLLING; REGULATING
    • G05B—CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS
    • G05B13/00—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion
    • G05B13/02—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric
    • G05B13/0265—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric the criterion being a learning criterion
    • G05B13/0285—Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion electric the criterion being a learning criterion using neural networks and fuzzy logic

Definitions

  • the disclosure relates generally to automatic, mechanized, and/or robotic welding. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a welding system, to a method for training a welding system, and to a computer program for training a welding system.
  • Welding is a commonly used method for permanently joining parts of mechanical structures such as for example ships, rail road devices, building structures, boilers, pipelines, power plants, aircrafts, automobiles, etc.
  • joints made by welding are, however, often the weakest areas of mechanical structures.
  • Especially defects in welding joints are problematic because the defects are potential starting points of mechanical failures.
  • the welding defects increase both the costs and the production time. In companies fabricating welded products, the costs caused by welding defects can be a significant share of the turnover. If this share can be reduced, the direct benefit to the industry would be remarkable.
  • a welding system comprises typically a welding actuator, e.g. a welding robot that is operative in accordance with actuator control data. Furthermore, the welding system comprises typically a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam, and a processing system for determining the actuator control data on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions.
  • the above-mentioned actuator control data includes welding parameters such as for example the welding current, the welding voltage, the welding speed, the feeding rate of a welding wire, and/or the distance from the contact nozzle to pieces being welded. The distance from the contact nozzle to the pieces is indicative of the length of the electric arc.
  • the welding speed is defined as the rate of travel of the tip of the welding wire with respect to the pieces being welded in the direction of the welded seam. Due to the nonlinear nature of a welding process, it is difficult to develop a model for predicting the behavior of the welding process. Therefore, it is challenging to configure the above-mentioned processing system to be able to determine the welding parameters and possible other actuator control data so that sufficient welding quality is achieved in different welding conditions.
  • a new welding system that comprises:
  • a sensor system for producing sensor data e.g. a temperature profile, related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator
  • the processing system is configured to train the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
  • the welding system can be trained so that the adaptive algorithm is in a learning-mode when a professionally skilled welder runs a training welding process by setting at least a part of the actuator control data via the training data interface.
  • the adaptive algo- rithm can be based on for example an artificial neural network "ANN".
  • the training data interface can be a part of a user interface for operating the welding system or the training data interface can be a separate entity.
  • the welding system may further comprise a memory system for implementing a database for storing case-data related to various welding processes.
  • the case- data concerning a given welding process may comprise for example the welding data indicative of the welded material and the welding conditions prevailed during the welding process under consideration.
  • the case-data may comprise the actuator control data and the sensor data recoded during the welding process under consideration.
  • the welding system comprises a data interface for connecting, e.g. via a data transfer network, to an external memory system for implementing the database.
  • the welding system may further comprise means for re-playing movements of the welding actuator and for displaying the sensor data on the basis of recorded case-data related to a given welding process so that one can afterwards inspect the operation of welding system.
  • a new method for training a welding system that comprises:
  • a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator
  • a processing system for determining the actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions.
  • a method according to the invention comprises: inputting, for the purpose of a training welding process, at least a part of the actuator control data via a training data interface of the welding system, and
  • a computer program according to the invention comprises computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processing system to:
  • the computer program product comprises a non-volatile computer readable medium, e.g. a compact disc "CD", encoded with a computer program according to the invention.
  • figure 1 shows a schematic illustration of a welding system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention
  • figure 2 shows a flowchart of a method according to an exemplifying and non- limiting embodiment of the invention for training a welding system.
  • FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a welding system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention.
  • the welding system comprises a welding actuator 101 that is operative in accordance with actuator control data.
  • the welding actuator 101 is a welding robot but the welding actuator could as well be e.g. a welding portal.
  • the welding system comprises a sensor system 102 for producing sensor data related to a welded seam 1 10 produced by the welding actuator 101 .
  • the welding system comprises a processing system 103 for determining the above-mentioned actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions.
  • the processing system 103 is communicatively connected to the welding actuator 101 .
  • the above-mentioned welding conditions may mean for example the welding technology being used, the welding gas being used if any, geometric dimensions of a room e.g. weld groove 1 1 1 for the welded seam, the thickness of a welding wire 106, and/or the weld position.
  • the welding technology can be for example fusion welding which can be e.g. the gas metal arc welding "GMAW” such as for example the metal inert gas “MIG” welding or the metal active gas “MAG” welding, or the gas tungsten arc welding “GTAW”, also known as tungsten inert gas "TIG” welding.
  • the geometric dimensions of the weld groove 1 1 1 may mean the width and the depth of the weld groove.
  • the width of the weld groove is measured in the x-direction of a coordinate system 190 and the depth of the weld groove is measured in the z-direction of the coordi- nate system 190.
  • the weld position defines the direction of the welded seam 1 10 to be produced and the position of pieces 107 and 108 to be joined by welding.
  • the weld position is such that the pieces are horizontal and the welded seam is horizontal and on the upper side of the pieces.
  • the above-mentioned actuator control data includes welding parameters such as for example the welding current, the welding voltage, the welding speed, the feeding rate of the welding wire 106, and the distance from the contact nozzle to the pieces 107 and 108 being joined by welding.
  • the welding current is a significant welding parameter in arc welding where the welding wire burn-off rate, the depth of the fusion, and the geometry of the welded seam are at least partly determined by the welding current.
  • the welding voltage is the electrical potential difference between the tip of the welding wire and the surface of the molten weld pool.
  • the shape of the fusion zone and the weld reinforcement are at least partly determined by the welding voltage.
  • the welding speed is defined as the rate of travel of the tip of the welding wire in the y-direction of the coordinate system 190.
  • the welding speed is depicted with an arrow v.
  • an increase in the welding speed causes typically a decrease in the heat input per unit length of the welded seam 1 10, a decrease in the welding wire burn-off rate, and a decrease in the weld reinforcement.
  • the feeding rate of the welding wire 106 means the rate at which the welding wire comes out from a nozzle section 109 of the welding actuator.
  • the sensor system 102 may comprise for example a thermographic sensor for measuring temperatures from the produced welded seam 1 10 and from areas beside the welded seam.
  • the measured temperatures represent a temperature profile that describes, among others, how the heat spreads to the areas beside the welded seam.
  • the temperature profile is related to the heat input rate so that a high heat input rate leads to a wider temperature profile, i.e. the heat spreads more strongly, than a smaller heat input rate.
  • the sensor system 102 may comprise a laser line scan camera and a processor for running image recognition so as to detect the surface profile of the produced welded seam.
  • the surface profile of the welded seam in measured in the xz-plane of the coordinate system 190. It is also possible that the sensor system comprises a contactless distance detector for measuring the surface profile of the produced welded seam.
  • the operation of the contactless distance detector can be based on for example the optical triangulation where light, e.g. a laser beam, reflected from an area including the welded seam is focused through an optical lens on a light sensitive detector surface and the distance is determined on the basis of the location of the illuminated area on the light sensitive detector surface.
  • light e.g. a laser beam
  • the welding actuator 101 is operative in accordance with the actuator control data and the processing system 103 is configured to determine the actuator control data with the adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and the welding data indicative of the material to be welded and the welding conditions.
  • the welding system comprises a training data interface for enabling a user of the welding system to input at least a part of the actuator control data for the purpose of a training welding process.
  • the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface may comprise for example the welding parameters or a subset of the welding parameters.
  • the processing system 103 is configured to train the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data related to the training welding process, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training weld- ing process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling, without an interaction of the user, welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
  • the welding system can trained so that the adaptive algo- rithm is in a learning-mode when a professionally skilled welder runs a training welding process by setting at least a part of the actuator control data via the training data interface.
  • the training data interface can be a part of a user interface 104 for operating the welding system or the training data interface can be a separate entity.
  • the training data interface comprises a portable data inputting device 105 which can be carried by the user e.g. when the user is in the vicinity of the pieces 107 and 108 being joined by welding and the user is visually monitoring, using a welding helmet, the training welding process.
  • the adaptive algorithm is implemented with an artificial neural network "ANN" capable of learning in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process.
  • ANN artificial neural network
  • the adaptive algorithm is implemented with fuzzy logic capable of being adapted in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process.
  • the adaptive algorithm is partly implemented with an artificial neural network and partly with the fuzzy logic.
  • the processing system is configured to support a group of adaptive algorithms and, for each welding process, to select the adaptive algorithm from among the group of adaptive algorithms on the basis of the welding data that specifies the welding task by expressing e.g.
  • the welding system is connected to a data transfer network 1 12 so that the processing system 103 is communicatively connected to the data transfer network.
  • the data transfer network 1 12 can, be for example but not necessarily, an Ethernet network.
  • a memory system 1 13 is communicatively connected to the data transfer network 1 12, and a database for storing case-data related to various welding processes is implemented with the aid of the memory system 1 13.
  • the case-data concerning a given welding process may comprise for example the welding data specifying the welded material and the prevailed welding conditions, and the actuator control data and the sensor data re- coded during the welding process under consideration.
  • the welding system may further comprise means for replaying movements of the welding actuator 101 and for displaying the sensor data on the basis of the recorded case-data related to a given welding process so that the user can inspect the operation of welding system afterwards.
  • a computer device 1 14 comprising a user interface is communicatively connected to the data transfer network 1 12.
  • the computer device 1 14 is advantageously capable of reading data from the above-mentioned database and writing data to the database.
  • the recorded case-data of each welding pro- cess can be provided with data expressing for example a quality classification of the produced welded seam, an identifier of a user of the welding system, and/or other data related to the welding process under consideration.
  • FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of a method according to an exemplifying and non- limiting embodiment of the invention for training a welding system that comprises: - a welding actuator operative in accordance with actuator control data,
  • a processing system for determining the actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions.
  • the method comprises the following actions:
  • - action 201 inputting, for the purpose of a training welding process, at least a part of the actuator control data via a training data interface of the welding system
  • - action 202 training the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling, without an interaction of the user, welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
  • the sensor data is indicative of one or more of the following: temperatures measured from the welded seam and from areas beside the welded seam, and/or the surface profile of the produced welded seam.
  • the adaptive algorithm is implemented with an artificial neural network capable of learning in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process.
  • the adaptive algorithm is implemented with fuzzy logic capable of being adapted in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process.
  • the actuator control data includes welding parameters comprising one or more of the following: the welding current, the welding voltage, the welding speed defined as the rate of travel of the tip of the welding wire with respect to the pieces being welded in the direction of the welded seam, the feeding rate of the welding wire, the distance from the contact nozzle to the pieces being welded.
  • the welding data is indicative of one or more of the following in addition to the material to be welded: the welding technology to be used, the welding gas if any, the geometric dimensions of the room e.g. a weld groove for the welded seam, the thickness of the welding wire, the weld position.
  • a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises selecting the adaptive algorithm from among a group of adaptive algorithms on the basis of the welding data.
  • a computer program according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processing system to carry out actions related to a method according to any of the above-described exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments of the invention.
  • a welding actuator operative in accordance with actuator control data
  • a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator
  • the software modules comprise computer executable instructions for controlling the programmable processing system to:
  • the software modules can be e.g. subroutines or functions implemented with a suitable programming language and with a compiler suitable for the programming language and for the programmable processing system under consideration. It is worth noting that also a source code corresponding to a suitable programming language represents the computer executable software modules because the source code contains the information needed for controlling the programmable processing system to carry out the above-presented actions and compiling chang- es only the format of the information. Furthermore, it is also possible that the programmable processing system is provided with an interpreter so that a source code implemented with a suitable programming language does not need to be compiled prior to running.
  • a computer readable medium e.g. a compact disc "CD”
  • a signal according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention is encoded to carry information defining a computer program according to an exemplifying embodiment of invention.

Abstract

A welding system comprises a welding actuator (101) operative in accordance with actuator control data, a sensor system (102) for producing sensor data related to a welded seam, and a processing system (103) for determining the actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data expressing material to be welded and welding conditions. The welding system comprises a training data interface (104, 105) enabling a user to input the actuator control data for a training welding process. The processing system is configured to train the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process. Thus, the welding system can be trained so that the user is in the control loop. The adaptive algorithm can be based on for example an artificial neural network.

Description

WELDING SYSTEM WITH ADAPTIVE ALGORITHM
Field of the disclosure
The disclosure relates generally to automatic, mechanized, and/or robotic welding. More particularly, the disclosure relates to a welding system, to a method for training a welding system, and to a computer program for training a welding system.
Background
Welding is a commonly used method for permanently joining parts of mechanical structures such as for example ships, rail road devices, building structures, boilers, pipelines, power plants, aircrafts, automobiles, etc. Despite many benefits of welding, joints made by welding are, however, often the weakest areas of mechanical structures. Especially defects in welding joints are problematic because the defects are potential starting points of mechanical failures. As a corollary, in most cases, there is a need for re-welding when welding defects are observed. There- fore, the welding defects increase both the costs and the production time. In companies fabricating welded products, the costs caused by welding defects can be a significant share of the turnover. If this share can be reduced, the direct benefit to the industry would be remarkable.
In automatic, mechanized, and/or robotic welding, a welding system comprises typically a welding actuator, e.g. a welding robot that is operative in accordance with actuator control data. Furthermore, the welding system comprises typically a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam, and a processing system for determining the actuator control data on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions. The above-mentioned actuator control data includes welding parameters such as for example the welding current, the welding voltage, the welding speed, the feeding rate of a welding wire, and/or the distance from the contact nozzle to pieces being welded. The distance from the contact nozzle to the pieces is indicative of the length of the electric arc. The welding speed is defined as the rate of travel of the tip of the welding wire with respect to the pieces being welded in the direction of the welded seam. Due to the nonlinear nature of a welding process, it is difficult to develop a model for predicting the behavior of the welding process. Therefore, it is challenging to configure the above-mentioned processing system to be able to determine the welding parameters and possible other actuator control data so that sufficient welding quality is achieved in different welding conditions.
Summary
The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of various invention embodiments. The summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is neither intended to identify key or criti- cal elements of the invention nor to delineate the scope of the invention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to a more detailed description of exemplifying embodiments of the invention.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a new welding system that comprises:
- a welding actuator operative in accordance with actuator control data,
- a sensor system for producing sensor data, e.g. a temperature profile, related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator,
- a processing system for determining the actuator control data with an adap- tive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions, and
- a training data interface for enabling a user of the welding system to input at least a part of the actuator control data for the purpose of a training welding process. The processing system is configured to train the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling welding processes corresponding to the training welding process. Thus, the welding system can be trained so that the adaptive algorithm is in a learning-mode when a professionally skilled welder runs a training welding process by setting at least a part of the actuator control data via the training data interface. The adaptive algo- rithm can be based on for example an artificial neural network "ANN". The training data interface can be a part of a user interface for operating the welding system or the training data interface can be a separate entity.
The welding system may further comprise a memory system for implementing a database for storing case-data related to various welding processes. The case- data concerning a given welding process may comprise for example the welding data indicative of the welded material and the welding conditions prevailed during the welding process under consideration. Furthermore, the case-data may comprise the actuator control data and the sensor data recoded during the welding process under consideration. It is also possible that the welding system comprises a data interface for connecting, e.g. via a data transfer network, to an external memory system for implementing the database. The welding system may further comprise means for re-playing movements of the welding actuator and for displaying the sensor data on the basis of recorded case-data related to a given welding process so that one can afterwards inspect the operation of welding system. In accordance with the invention, there is provided also a new method for training a welding system that comprises:
- a welding actuator operative in accordance with actuator control data,
- a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator, and - a processing system for determining the actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions.
A method according to the invention comprises: inputting, for the purpose of a training welding process, at least a part of the actuator control data via a training data interface of the welding system, and
- training the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided also a new computer program for training a welding system of the kind described above. A computer program according to the invention comprises computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processing system to:
- receive, for the purpose of a training welding process, at least a part of the actuator control data from a training data interface of the welding system, and - train the adaptive algorithm of the welding system in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data received from the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling welding processes corresponding to the training welding process. In accordance with the invention, there is provided also a new computer program product. The computer program product comprises a non-volatile computer readable medium, e.g. a compact disc "CD", encoded with a computer program according to the invention.
A number of exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments of the invention are de- scribed in accompanied dependent claims.
Various exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments of the invention both as to constructions and to methods of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of spe- cific exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
The verbs "to comprise" and "to include" are used in this document as open limitations that neither exclude nor require the existence of unrecited features. The fea- tures recited in dependent claims are mutually freely combinable unless otherwise explicitly stated. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the use of "a" or "an", i.e. a singular form, throughout this document does not exclude a plurality.
Brief description of the figures
Exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments of the invention and their advantages are explained in greater detail below in the sense of examples and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: figure 1 shows a schematic illustration of a welding system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, and figure 2 shows a flowchart of a method according to an exemplifying and non- limiting embodiment of the invention for training a welding system.
Description of exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments
Figure 1 shows a schematic illustration of a welding system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention. The welding system comprises a welding actuator 101 that is operative in accordance with actuator control data. In this exemplifying case, the welding actuator 101 is a welding robot but the welding actuator could as well be e.g. a welding portal. Furthermore, the welding system comprises a sensor system 102 for producing sensor data related to a welded seam 1 10 produced by the welding actuator 101 . The welding system comprises a processing system 103 for determining the above-mentioned actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions. The processing system 103 is communicatively connected to the welding actuator 101 . The above-mentioned welding conditions may mean for example the welding technology being used, the welding gas being used if any, geometric dimensions of a room e.g. weld groove 1 1 1 for the welded seam, the thickness of a welding wire 106, and/or the weld position. The welding technology can be for example fusion welding which can be e.g. the gas metal arc welding "GMAW" such as for example the metal inert gas "MIG" welding or the metal active gas "MAG" welding, or the gas tungsten arc welding "GTAW", also known as tungsten inert gas "TIG" welding. The geometric dimensions of the weld groove 1 1 1 may mean the width and the depth of the weld groove. In the exemplifying situation shown in figure 1 , the width of the weld groove is measured in the x-direction of a coordinate system 190 and the depth of the weld groove is measured in the z-direction of the coordi- nate system 190. The weld position defines the direction of the welded seam 1 10 to be produced and the position of pieces 107 and 108 to be joined by welding. In the exemplifying situation shown in figure 1 , the weld position is such that the pieces are horizontal and the welded seam is horizontal and on the upper side of the pieces. The above-mentioned actuator control data includes welding parameters such as for example the welding current, the welding voltage, the welding speed, the feeding rate of the welding wire 106, and the distance from the contact nozzle to the pieces 107 and 108 being joined by welding. The welding current is a significant welding parameter in arc welding where the welding wire burn-off rate, the depth of the fusion, and the geometry of the welded seam are at least partly determined by the welding current. The welding voltage is the electrical potential difference between the tip of the welding wire and the surface of the molten weld pool. The shape of the fusion zone and the weld reinforcement are at least partly determined by the welding voltage. In the exemplifying situation shown in figure 1 , the welding speed is defined as the rate of travel of the tip of the welding wire in the y-direction of the coordinate system 190. In figure 1 , the welding speed is depicted with an arrow v. In the arc welding, an increase in the welding speed causes typically a decrease in the heat input per unit length of the welded seam 1 10, a decrease in the welding wire burn-off rate, and a decrease in the weld reinforcement. The feeding rate of the welding wire 106 means the rate at which the welding wire comes out from a nozzle section 109 of the welding actuator. The sensor system 102 may comprise for example a thermographic sensor for measuring temperatures from the produced welded seam 1 10 and from areas beside the welded seam. The measured temperatures represent a temperature profile that describes, among others, how the heat spreads to the areas beside the welded seam. The temperature profile is related to the heat input rate so that a high heat input rate leads to a wider temperature profile, i.e. the heat spreads more strongly, than a smaller heat input rate. The sensor system 102 may comprise a laser line scan camera and a processor for running image recognition so as to detect the surface profile of the produced welded seam. In the exemplifying situation shown in figure 1 , the surface profile of the welded seam in measured in the xz-plane of the coordinate system 190. It is also possible that the sensor system comprises a contactless distance detector for measuring the surface profile of the produced welded seam. The operation of the contactless distance detector can be based on for example the optical triangulation where light, e.g. a laser beam, reflected from an area including the welded seam is focused through an optical lens on a light sensitive detector surface and the distance is determined on the basis of the location of the illuminated area on the light sensitive detector surface.
As mentioned earlier, the welding actuator 101 is operative in accordance with the actuator control data and the processing system 103 is configured to determine the actuator control data with the adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and the welding data indicative of the material to be welded and the welding conditions. The welding system comprises a training data interface for enabling a user of the welding system to input at least a part of the actuator control data for the purpose of a training welding process. The actuator control data inputted via the training data interface may comprise for example the welding parameters or a subset of the welding parameters. The processing system 103 is configured to train the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data related to the training welding process, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training weld- ing process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling, without an interaction of the user, welding processes corresponding to the training welding process. Thus, the welding system can trained so that the adaptive algo- rithm is in a learning-mode when a professionally skilled welder runs a training welding process by setting at least a part of the actuator control data via the training data interface. The training data interface can be a part of a user interface 104 for operating the welding system or the training data interface can be a separate entity. In the exemplifying case illustrated in figure 1 , the training data interface comprises a portable data inputting device 105 which can be carried by the user e.g. when the user is in the vicinity of the pieces 107 and 108 being joined by welding and the user is visually monitoring, using a welding helmet, the training welding process. In a welding system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the adaptive algorithm is implemented with an artificial neural network "ANN" capable of learning in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process. In a welding system according to another exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the adaptive algorithm is implemented with fuzzy logic capable of being adapted in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process. In a welding system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the adaptive algorithm is partly implemented with an artificial neural network and partly with the fuzzy logic. In a welding system according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the processing system is configured to support a group of adaptive algorithms and, for each welding process, to select the adaptive algorithm from among the group of adaptive algorithms on the basis of the welding data that specifies the welding task by expressing e.g. the material to be welded, the welding technology being used, the welding gas being used if any, the geometric dimensions of a room e.g. a weld groove for the welded seam, the thickness of the welding wire, and/or the weld position. In the exemplifying case illustrated in figure 1 , the welding system is connected to a data transfer network 1 12 so that the processing system 103 is communicatively connected to the data transfer network. The data transfer network 1 12 can, be for example but not necessarily, an Ethernet network. A memory system 1 13 is communicatively connected to the data transfer network 1 12, and a database for storing case-data related to various welding processes is implemented with the aid of the memory system 1 13. The case-data concerning a given welding process may comprise for example the welding data specifying the welded material and the prevailed welding conditions, and the actuator control data and the sensor data re- coded during the welding process under consideration. The welding system may further comprise means for replaying movements of the welding actuator 101 and for displaying the sensor data on the basis of the recorded case-data related to a given welding process so that the user can inspect the operation of welding system afterwards. A computer device 1 14 comprising a user interface is communicatively connected to the data transfer network 1 12. The computer device 1 14 is advantageously capable of reading data from the above-mentioned database and writing data to the database. Thus, the recorded case-data of each welding pro- cess can be provided with data expressing for example a quality classification of the produced welded seam, an identifier of a user of the welding system, and/or other data related to the welding process under consideration.
Figure 2 shows a flowchart of a method according to an exemplifying and non- limiting embodiment of the invention for training a welding system that comprises: - a welding actuator operative in accordance with actuator control data,
- a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator, and
- a processing system for determining the actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions.
The method comprises the following actions:
- action 201 : inputting, for the purpose of a training welding process, at least a part of the actuator control data via a training data interface of the welding system, and - action 202: training the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling, without an interaction of the user, welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
In a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the sensor data is indicative of one or more of the following: temperatures measured from the welded seam and from areas beside the welded seam, and/or the surface profile of the produced welded seam.
In a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the adaptive algorithm is implemented with an artificial neural network capable of learning in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process.
In a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the adaptive algorithm is implemented with fuzzy logic capable of being adapted in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process.
In a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the actuator control data includes welding parameters comprising one or more of the following: the welding current, the welding voltage, the welding speed defined as the rate of travel of the tip of the welding wire with respect to the pieces being welded in the direction of the welded seam, the feeding rate of the welding wire, the distance from the contact nozzle to the pieces being welded.
In a method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention, the welding data is indicative of one or more of the following in addition to the material to be welded: the welding technology to be used, the welding gas if any, the geometric dimensions of the room e.g. a weld groove for the welded seam, the thickness of the welding wire, the weld position.
A method according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises selecting the adaptive algorithm from among a group of adaptive algorithms on the basis of the welding data.
A computer program according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises computer executable instructions for controlling a programmable processing system to carry out actions related to a method according to any of the above-described exemplifying and non-limiting embodiments of the invention.
A computer program according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention comprises software modules for training a welding system that comprises:
- a welding actuator operative in accordance with actuator control data, - a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator, and
- a programmable processing system for determining the actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions. The software modules comprise computer executable instructions for controlling the programmable processing system to:
- receive, for the purpose of a training welding process, at least a part of the actuator control data from a training data interface of the welding system, and - train the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data received from the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling, without an in- teraction of a user, welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
The software modules can be e.g. subroutines or functions implemented with a suitable programming language and with a compiler suitable for the programming language and for the programmable processing system under consideration. It is worth noting that also a source code corresponding to a suitable programming language represents the computer executable software modules because the source code contains the information needed for controlling the programmable processing system to carry out the above-presented actions and compiling chang- es only the format of the information. Furthermore, it is also possible that the programmable processing system is provided with an interpreter so that a source code implemented with a suitable programming language does not need to be compiled prior to running.
A computer program product according to an exemplifying and non-limiting em- bodiment of the invention comprises a computer readable medium, e.g. a compact disc "CD", encoded with a computer program according to an exemplifying embodiment of invention.
A signal according to an exemplifying and non-limiting embodiment of the invention is encoded to carry information defining a computer program according to an exemplifying embodiment of invention.
The specific examples provided in the description given above should not be construed as limiting the scope and/or the applicability of the appended claims. Lists and groups of examples provided in the description given above are not exhaustive unless otherwise explicitly stated.

Claims

What is claimed is:
1 . A welding system comprising:
- a welding actuator (101 ) operative in accordance with actuator control data,
- a sensor system (102) for producing sensor data related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator, and
- a processing system (103) for determining the actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions, characterized in that the welding system further comprises a training data inter- face (104, 105) for enabling a user to input at least a part of the actuator control data for a purpose of a training welding process, and the processing system is configured to train the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
2. A welding system according to claim 1 , wherein the sensor system comprises a thermographic sensor for measuring temperatures from the welded seam and from areas beside the welded seam, the sensor data being indicative of the meas- ured temperatures.
3. A welding system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor system comprises a laser line scan camera and a processor for running image recognition so as to detect a surface profile of the produced welded seam, the sensor data being indicative of the surface profile of the produced welded seam.
4. A welding system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the sensor system comprises a contactless distance detector for measuring a surface profile of the produced welded seam, the sensor data being indicative of the surface profile of the produced welded seam.
5. A welding system according to any of claims 1 -4, wherein the adaptive algorithm is implemented with an artificial neural network capable of learning in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process.
6. A welding system according to any of claims 1 -5, wherein the adaptive algorithm is implemented with fuzzy logic capable of being adapted in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding pro- cess.
7. A welding system according to any of claims 1 -6, wherein the actuator control data includes welding parameters comprising one or more of the following: welding current, welding voltage, welding speed defined as rate of travel of a tip of a welding wire with respect to pieces being welded in a direction of the welded seam, feeding rate of the welding wire, a distance from a contact nozzle to the pieces being welded, the distance being indicative of a length of an electric arc.
8. A welding system according to any of claims 1 -7, wherein the welding data is indicative of one or more of the following in addition to the material to be welded: a welding technology to be used, welding gas, geometric dimensions of a room for the welded seam, thickness of a welding wire, a weld position.
9. A welding system according to any of claims 1 -8, wherein the processing system is configured to select the adaptive algorithm from among a group of adaptive algorithms on the basis of the welding data.
10. A method for training a welding system that comprises: - a welding actuator operative in accordance with actuator control data,
- a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator, and - a processing system for determining the actuator control data with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions, characterized in that the method comprises: - inputting (201 ), for a purpose of a training welding process, at least a part of the actuator control data via a training data interface of the welding system, and
- training (201 ) the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data in- terface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
1 1 . A method according to claim 10, wherein the sensor data is indicative of one or more of the following: temperatures measured from the welded seam and from areas beside the welded seam, a surface profile of the produced welded seam.
12. A method according to claim 10 or 1 1 , wherein the adaptive algorithm is implemented with an artificial neural network capable of learning in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding pro- cess.
13. A method according to any of claims 10-12, wherein the adaptive algorithm is implemented with fuzzy logic capable of being adapted in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data inputted via the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process.
14. A method according to any of claims 10-13, wherein the actuator control data includes welding parameters comprising one or more of the following: welding current, welding voltage, welding speed defined as rate of travel of a tip of a welding wire with respect to pieces being welded in a direction of the welded seam, feed- ing rate of the welding wire, a distance from a contact nozzle to the pieces being welded, the distance being indicative of a length of an electric arc.
15. A method according to any of claims 10-14, wherein the welding data is indicative of one or more of the following in addition to the material to be welded: a welding technology to be used, welding gas, geometric dimensions of a room for the welded seam, thickness of a welding wire, a weld position.
16. A method according to any of claims 10-15, wherein the method comprises selecting the adaptive algorithm from among a group of adaptive algorithms on the basis of the welding data.
17. A computer program for training a welding system that comprises:
- a welding actuator operative in accordance with actuator control data,
- a sensor system for producing sensor data related to a welded seam produced by the welding actuator, and
- a programmable processing system for determining the actuator control da- ta with an adaptive algorithm on the basis of the sensor data and welding data indicative of material to be welded and welding conditions, characterized in that the computer program comprises computer executable instructions for controlling the programmable processing system to:
- receive, for a purpose of a training welding process, at least a part of the actuator control data from a training data interface of the welding system, and
- train the adaptive algorithm in accordance with the welding data, the at least part of the actuator control data received from the training data interface, and the sensor data measured during the training welding process so as to train the adaptive algorithm to be capable of controlling welding processes corresponding to the training welding process.
18. A computer program product comprising a non-volatile computer readable medium encoded with a computer program according claim 17.
EP16703822.3A 2015-02-06 2016-01-28 Welding system with adaptive algorithm Withdrawn EP3254161A1 (en)

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