This disclosure describes an additive manufacturing method that includes monitoring a temperature of a portion of a build plane during an additive manufacturing operation using a temperature sensor as a heat source passes through the portion of the build plane; detecting a peak temperature associated with one or more passes of the heat source through the portion of the build plane; determining a threshold temperature by reducing the peak temperature by a predetermined amount; identifying a time interval during which the monitored temperature exceeds the threshold temperature; identifying, using the time interval, a change in manufacturing conditions likely to result in a manufacturing defect; and changing a process parameter of the heat source in response to the change in manufacturing conditions.

A welding component is provided for welding to a component via at least one welding region. The welding component includes: at least one welding indicator arrangement provided on the welding component; and, the at least one welding indicator arrangement includes a welding region minimum indicator to be covered by the at least one welding region and a welding region maximum indicator not to be covered by the at least one welding region.

The present invention relates to a method and a device for monitoring the process for a welding seam formed by means of collision welding, in which a first joining partner (1) and a second joining partner (2) are moved toward one another by an introduction of energy and are welded to one another to form the welding seam. A light flash between the first joining partner (1) and the second joining partner (2) is detected during the welding by an optical capture unit (6), which measures in a time-resolved manner, having at least one detector (19, 20, 24) and an actual value of a beginning of the light flash, a duration of the light flash, an intensity of the light flash, and/or an intensity distribution over time of the light flash is determined by an analysis unit (16) and compared to a respective target value of the beginning of the light flash, the duration of the light flash, the intensity of the light flash, and/or the intensity distribution over time of the light flash. The weld seam is only classified as qualitatively adequate if a maximum deviation of the actual value from the target value is maintained.

Systems and methods for welding are described. The welding system can include, for example, a welding power source, a welding torch, and a computer. The computer and the welding torch can be operatively coupled to the power source. A first weld is performed and its signature is saved by the computer. It is considered a high quality weld and is selected as a weld reference. A second weld is performed and its signature is saved by the computer. The computer then computes a single weld confidence result for the second weld based on a comparison between the signature data of the second weld and the signature data of the reference weld. A weld fault condition is triggered based on the single weld confidence result which causes the welding system to stop or to modify the welding operation, and/or which causes the welding system to send out communications relating to the triggering of the weld fault condition.

A weld system includes: a robot control module configured to actuate a robot and move a welder along a joint of metal workpieces during welding, the welder being attached to the robot; a weld control module configured to, during the welding, apply power to the welder, supply a shield gas, and supply electrode material; a vision sensor configured to, during the welding, optically measure distances between the vision sensor and locations, respectively, on an outer surface of a weld bead created along the joint by the welder; and a weld module configured to: determine a strength of the weld bead at a location based on: the distances at the location along the joint; and at least one parameter from at least one of the robot control module during the welding, the weld control module during the welding, and a sensor configured to capture data of the welding during the welding.

The present invention relates, in one aspect, to a method for process monitoring of a laser machining process for estimating a machining quality, having the following steps, which are carried out in real time during the machining process: —providing (S2) at least one captured first signal sequence with a first feature from the machining zone; —providing (S3) at least one captured second signal sequence with a second feature from the machining zone; —accessing (S4) a trained neural network with at least the recorded first and second signal sequence in order to calculate (S5) a result for estimating the machining quality.

A welding system includes one or more sensing devices used to detect and/or determine a position and/or orientation of a welding tool (e.g., a welding torch). The welding tool may be tracked to determine (and/or calibrate) a shape of a welding joint and/or a path of the welding joint. The welding system may determine a virtual line representative of the welding joint. The welding tool may be tracked (and/or the virtual line used) to determine (and/or provide feedback relating to) various welding parameters, including at least a work angle of the welding tool, and/or a travel angle of the welding tool.

This disclosure describes various methods and apparatus for characterizing an additive manufacturing process. A method for characterizing the additive manufacturing process can include generating scans of an energy source across a build plane; measuring an amount of energy radiated from the build plane during each of the scans using an optical sensing system that monitors two discrete wavelengths associated with a blackbody radiation curve of the layer of powder; determining temperature variations for an area of the build plane traversed by the scans based upon a ratio of sensor readings taken at the two discrete wavelengths; determining that the temperature variations are outside a threshold range of values; and thereafter, adjusting subsequent scans of the energy source across or proximate the area of the build plane.

A laser welding device includes: a laser oscillator to which an incidence end of a fiber is connectable; a welding head connectable to an emission end of the fiber and configured to perform laser welding while condensing laser light emitted from the laser oscillator via the emission end and irradiating a workpiece with the laser light; a detector configured to detect presence or absence of a defect in the laser welding; and a controller including a processor and a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the laser welding device to perform operations. The operations include: performing, in response to receiving, from the detector, an output signal indicating a defect at a welding point on the workpiece during the laser welding of the workpiece, control such that supplementary laser welding is performed at a predetermined position in a vicinity of the welding point.

A method for monitoring an attachment area during laser welding of bent bar-type conductors containing copper, includes the steps of arranging a first bar-type conductor relative to a second bar-type conductor in partially overlapping fashion and welding the first and second bar-type conductors to one another using a processing laser beam, the welding including forming a weld bead interconnecting the bar-type conductors to one another. After the welding, at least one measurement variable is measured on at least one portion of the weld bead, wherein the at least one measurement variable changes with the temperature of the weld bead as a function of the time during a cooling down of the weld bead. A parameter depending on a heat capacity of the weld bead is determined from the at least one measured measurement variable, and the attachment area qualitatively or quantitatively determined from the parameter.