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Welding along a seam using a multiple-point alignment method

  • US 10,471,541 B2
  • Filed: 01/23/2013
  • Issued: 11/12/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2013
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of actively controlling a welder to weld two parts along a seam pursuant to a weld path, and generating the weld path aligned along the seam between the two parts using a computer having a control unit and a storage medium, the method comprising:

  • aligning a crosshair line at a plurality of points along the seam and storing a position value for each of the plurality of points in the storage medium, wherein aligning the crosshair line at a second point of the plurality of points comprises one of a horizontal movement or a vertical movement of the crosshair from and with respect to a first point of the plurality of points;

    calculating a width and a height of the seam based on the stored position values of each of the plurality of points;

    calculating a first distance between the stored position value of the first point of the plurality of points and the stored position value of the second point of the plurality of points;

    generating a virtual first line connecting the first point of the plurality of points and the second point of the plurality of points that defines a Y-direction;

    calculating a second distance between the stored position value of a third point of the plurality of points and the stored position value of a fourth point of the plurality of points;

    generating a virtual second line connecting the third point of the plurality of points and the fourth point of the plurality of points that defines an X-direction perpendicular to the Y-direction;

    calculating a radius of the seam by dividing the first distance in half;

    generating the entire weld path based on the height, the radius and the width of the seam, the generating of the weld path being performed by the control unit, wherein the generated weld path is centred over the seam in the Y-direction and centred over the seam in the X-direction;

    storing the generated weld path in the storage medium; and

    controlling the welder to weld along the seam by following the stored weld path.

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