Ultrasonic and video computerised data acquisition for automated welding : Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of Computer Technology in Welding, Cambridge (United Kingdom), 8–9 Jun 1988 pp. 81–89. Edited by W. Lucas Welding Institute, (1988)

A computerized data acquisition system has been developed and employed in sensing of gas metal arc welding (GMAW). Ultrasonic measurements of the weld-pool geometry have been made using expert-systems techniques to discriminate among the molten/solid interface geometries found during the root pass in a V-groove in carbon steel. A similar system was used to acquire video data from the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) weld vision system and to measure the width of a weld pool as the welding parameters were systematically varied. The system is based on a CAMAC (Computer Automated Measurement and Control) crate controlled by an LSI 11/73 computer. The chief advantage of the CAMAC system is the ease of making both hardware and software changes. The CAMAC system provides a robust, well isolated interface for a large variety of data acquisition and control modules. In these applications transient digitizers collect the data (ultrasonic A scan or video line scan) under the control of the computer. The computer also collects information from timing and encoder modules in the CAMAC crate. Because the single software driver for the CAMAC system is the same for all modules, programming changes can be made in a higher level language (e.g., FORTRAN)more » rather than in assembler language. 7 refs., 13 figs.« less