This research focuses on three aspects of sensing for manufacturing process automation for arc welding: sensor development and the status of sensors for arch welding, integration of sensors, and sensor signal processing for process control. The plan is three phased: (1) to perform a technological assessment of process sensors for welding automation in the areas of weld tracking, arc control and weld quality determination and to define limitations of these sensors; (2) to develop and evaluate sensors which address the identified limitations. Improved signal processing techniques, enhancement of existing sensor designs and new sensor concepts including special optical and acoustic emission techniques will be employed; and (3) to formulate and evaluate methodology to integrate various sensor signals and process parameter information for improved weld process control and weld quality assessment.
