Development of a camera-based monitoring system for remote laser welding of sheetmetal assemblies in automotive applications

Individual stamped sheet metal components need to be joined to create sheet metal assemblies used in cars. Powerful laser light delivered by a robot is used to quickly weld these assemblies by making dozens of individual welds within a few minutes. For economical production, it is essential to minimize the total production cycle time. At the same time, high-quality welds must be produced. Undetected defective weld joints would lead to severe penalties if delivered to the company’s customer. Currently, all assemblies must be manually inspected. In this second phase of the project, an in-house camera-based weld quality monitoring system is being developed. The objective is to improve the reliability of the commercial inspection system currently being used. During the project, image-processing algorithm and the graphical user interface will be developed and tested in the production environment. Benefits of reliable detection systemas will be reduced cycle time and higher quality welds.

Faculty Supervisor:

Gene Zak

Student:

Partner:

Van-Rob Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Queen's University

Program: