TPT September 2012

Measuring and marking

Weld camera for tube and pipe production DUE to the extremely bright light emitted by an open weld arc (such as found in a TIG, laser or plasma process), monitoring the welding process on a tube or pipe mill for control or tracking of specific parameters can be a difficult challenge. A view of the weld tip and its immediate environment on a tube mill is important to ensure that the weld tip is properly aligned with the tube seam it is welding, that the weld pool is properly formed during the welding process, and that a number of material inputs such as welding wire or gas are all being fed at ideal speeds. ratio) than the background metal area around it. To image this is a great challenge as most cameras today are capable of only 60dB (about 1,000:1 dynamic range of brightness). Cameras that are able to provide a high contrast, wide dynamic range (> 140db) image of the weld seam, weld pool and surrounding darker background offer tube and pipe producers the ability to see a number of features in their welding process with better clarity, providing numerous productivity, quality and health and safety benefits for tube and pipe production. as they provide operators with better monitoring of inputs in the weld environment; reduced set up time; run time productivity; and operational productivity. Real time verification provides a direct view of the welding arc and the work environment with enough detail for immediate adjustment, including the ability to see the molten weld pool solidify on a tube mill and other details such as weld undercut, the chevrons forming after the weld and slag and dross contaminants forming in the pool. Video recording provides the ability to record, store and review vital welding processes off line for quality assurance monitoring, process verification and improvement, and operator training.

Xiris has developed a wide dynamic range camera system that can be mounted right by the welding tip to allow the operator to remotely view the welding process. Wide dynamic range cameras for weld monitoring are suitable for a range of applications, including MIG, MAG, TIG, plasma and laser welding,

To overcome the visual monitoring challenges created by having to image a dynamic range between the very bright light source of the weld arc and the dark area of its immediate environment, a wide dynamic range camera system is required. Typically a weld tip might be as much as ten million times brighter (or greater than 140db signal to noise

Xiris Automation Inc – Canada Fax: +1 905 331 6661 Email: sales@xiris.com Website: www.xiris.com

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S eptember 2012