Chapter 3 – Gas Metal Arc Welding: Sensing

This chapter discusses the sensors and sensing techniques used in the Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) process for monitoring welding parameters, welding process variables, and for calibration of welding equipment. A sensor for a welding process is an instrument or device that can be a part of the overall mechanized welding system—automatic or not—and that can transform the value of any welding variable or condition (state) of the process into a form that can be accurately measured, mostly in electrical or electronic form, such as a voltage, current, or digital signal. The various techniques available for measurement of specific weld parameters include: conventional methods, computer-based methods, welding parameter monitoring (temperature and current), sensors for line-following and seam-tracking, arc length sensors, sensors for weld penetration control, sensors for weld pool geometry, and optical sensors. In many cases, if the welding process is operated under normal conditions and sufficient data is collected, the evaluated values fall within a standard probability distribution. Dynamic resistance monitors are built incorporating statistical process control techniques.

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