3D robotic welding with a laser profile scanner

Abstract

This paper describes the design and development of a cognitive module for 3D robotic welding using TIG or laser technology. This area is constantly evolving with the needs to solve complex problems of welding automatization and robotization, and also thanks to the continuous advances in measurement technology and robotics. Besides the use of welding robots for serial production with dedicated tightly defined trajectories, systems for automatic welding of a previously undefined path or paths, which the operator can't manually define because of its complexity, are developed. This paper covers the general description of the cognitive module and its required functions. After that, the procedure for 3D robotic welding with a laser profile scanner is described in more detail. The task of controlling the end effector of the robot during the welding process is described. Then an algorithm for 3D model construction based on data from the profile scanner is presented. Development of the cognitive module prototype with use of a 2D profile scanner led to experimental evaluation of its function in the task of automatic cavity repair, which is discussed in the last part of the paper.