Nowadays, spot welding is still one of the most frequently used techniques for bonding metal plates, for example, in an automotive chassis between 3000 and 4000 spot welds can be found. Using this technique is possible to obtain at a low cost, easily automated and versatile welds with high quality and speed of operation but, the inspection and quality control process needs to be improved so that it is possible to reach automatic systems that allow maximizing the speed of inspection and guarantee, in turn, the repeatability and accuracy of the results, eliminating possible deviations introduced by the operator. In this paper an inspection system, based on the ultrasonic propagation, is described. The main challenges faced are presented, such as the location of the spot weld, using artificial vision, the definition and positioning of the probes until a reliable signal, and the final analysis through a development based on artificial intelligence. The results achieved in real parts, have shown that this robotic system, has a better defect detection capacity than the systems currently on the market, and is applicable to the inspection on assembly lines, optimizing not only the inspection times but also improving the results and therefore the quality of the process.
This paper presents a synchronism system that has been designed to facilitate the generation of ultrasonic images of pieces with complex geometry through the use of industrial robots. Modern robotic manipulators and, more specifically, industrial robotic arms integrated with server computers, sensors and actuators have revolutionized the way automated non-destructive testing is performed. Currently there are commercial industrial robots that have the precision, speed and repetitiveness in their movements that make them suitable for use in numerous non-destructive testing inspections whose designs are carried out by small and medium sized specialized companies. Automatic ultrasonic inspection of complex parts remains one of the most difficult challenges according to the specific and increasingly exigent demands of the markets. The closed configuration of these complex robotic arms makes it difficult to maintain adequate synchronism between the movement of the robot and the acquisition of the data, making it difficult to generate ultrasonic images consistent with the geometry of the part. This is a serious problem in the inspection of aerospace components where high quality is necessary to assess the condition of the inspected component. In this paper, we present an autonomous independent external system that provides control signals to synchronize the ultrasound system with the robot trajectories without needing to access its position in real time. A methodology to obtain the timing pattern for a given part inspected with a given robotic system will also be presented here.
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