A real-time virtual reality welding system including a programmable processor- based subsystem, a spatial tracker operatively connected to the programmable processor- based subsystem, at least one mock welding tool capable of being spatially tracked by the spatial tracker, and at least one display device operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem. The system is capable of simulating, in virtual reality space, a weld puddle having real-time molten metal fluidity and heat dissipation characteristics. The system is further capable of displaying the simulated weld puddle on the display device in real-time.

System and method providing arc welding training in a real-time simulated virtual reality environment using real-time weld puddle feedback

A system and a method for tracking and analyzing welding activity. Dynamic spatial properties of a welding tool are sensed during a welding process producing a weld. The sensed dynamic spatial properties are tracked over time and the tracked dynamic spatial properties are captured as tracked data during the welding process. The tracked data is analyzed to determine performance characteristics of a welder performing the welding process and quality characteristics of a weld produced by the welding process. The performance characteristics and the quality characteristics may be subsequently reviewed.

System for tracking and analyzing welding activity

A simulator facilitates virtual welding activity of pipe and open root weld joints. The simulator may include a logic processor based system operable to execute coded instructions for generating an interactive welding environment that emulates welding activity on a section of virtual pipe having at least one virtual weld joint. It also includes a display connected to the logic processor based system for visually depicting the interactive welding environment, wherein the display depicts the section of virtual pipe. A mock welding tool is provided for performing virtual welding activity on the at least one weld joint in real time where one or more sensors are adapted to track movement of the input device in real time for communicating data about the movement of the input device to the logic processor based system.

Virtual reality pipe welding simulator

A system for training welders that includes a data generating component, a data capturing component and a data processing and visualization component. The data generating component operates in real time and derives data from an actual manually-executed weld and further includes a weld process-specific jig, a calibration block positioned on the jig, wherein the geometric configuration of the calibration block is specific to a particular type of weld joint, a weld coupon positioned on the welding process-specific jig adjacent to the calibration block, a welding gun for use by a trainee, wherein the welding gun is operative to form the weld; and at least one target mounted on the welding gun that is recognized by the data processing and visualization component for providing multidimensional position and orientation feedback to the trainee.

Welding training system

An arc welder including an integrated monitor is disclosed. The monitor is capable of monitoring variables during a welding process and weighting the variables accordingly, quantifying overall quality of a weld, obtaining and using data indicative of a good weld, improving production and quality control for an automated welding process, teaching proper welding techniques, identifying cost savings for a welding process, and deriving optimal welding settings to be used as pre-sets for different welding processes or applications.

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for monitoring weld quality

Gaining and improving welding skill is important for welders. The advent of virtual reality (VR) technology provides a new kind of medium for skill training. In this paper, a haptic arc welding training method is proposed based on VR and haptic guidance. The training method is designed to emulate the presence of a human tutor which feedbacks forces to a welder to show the proper force/position relation within pre-defined trajectories for attaining hand-mind-eye coordination skills in a virtual environment. Three basic welding operation skills, namely maintaining the proper arc length, maintaining the proper electrode angle, and maintaining the proper traverse speed are selected for training. The Phantom haptic device is used as the haptic interface. The haptic guidance is realized with proportional-plus-derivative (PD) feedback control of the error between the current and ideal trajectory. The proposed method is cost-less, effective, and environment-friend for the training of both novice and skilled welders.

Study on Welder Training by Means of Haptic Guidance and Virtual Reality for Arc Welding

Fiber Bragg grating temperature calibration based on BP neural network

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) are widely used in manufacturing industry to examine the conformity of produced parts with designers' intent in 3D sizes, positions and forms. Accessibility analysis plays an important role in CMM inspection planning. Traditional methods of accessibility analysis are based on the computation of a part's computer-aided design (CAD) model and the model of a probe. In this paper, a novel accessibility analysis method for CMM inspection planning is proposed based on a haptic virtual CMM (HVCMM). The HVCMM is an accurate model of real CMM, which simulating CMMs' operation and their measurement process in a virtual environment with haptic perception. The collision modes while performing accessibility analysis are given. To achieve quick collision detection, spatial run-length encoding is used to represent both the part and the probe. Collision response is analyzed for distinguishing whether a collision is occurred. With the force feedback when the probe collides with a part, plus showing the contact in the HVCMM environment, it is much easier to perform the accessibility analysis. The haptic response is implemented with a Phantom haptic arm from SensAblecopy Technologies.

Accessibility Analysis for CMM Inspection Planning Using Haptic Device

A stable temperature calibration method based on radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) is proposed to obtain the complex relationship between the temperature and the center wavelength of fiber Bragg grating (FBG) with high accuracy and excellent stability. We introduce the regularized and generalized RBFNN, respectively, and test the accuracy of trained models. Experimental results demonstrate that the maximum absolute error (MAE) and root-mean-squared error (RMSE) of regularized RBFNN are 1.1098°C and 0.1982°C, respectively, in fitting and 1.0206°C and 0.1997°C, respectively, in testing, and the MAE and RMSE of generalized RBFNN are 1.1099°C and 0.1982°C, respectively, in fitting and 1.0209°C and 0.1997°C, respectively, in testing. Compared with existing methods, such as polynomial fitting and back propagation neural network, RBFNN has significantly improved the accuracy and stability of FBG temperature calibration and has considerable application prospect in FBG temperature measurement.

Stable temperature calibration method of fiber Bragg grating based on radial basis function neural network

Digital grating sensor of vibration measurement is a pattern of geophone, which picks up seismic signals with grating vibrator. Along with the request of higher precision method to identify more complex geological targets, higher precision and accurate information of oil reservoirs underground must be provided through geophysical technologies for reservoirs prospecting and developing. By digital grating sensor of vibration measurement, mechanical vibrating signal of the seismic wave can be transformed into light modulating signal - moire fringes, and then converts by photoelectric element to digital electrical signal. The sensor samples the signal by counting the numbers of the moire fringes, which may prevent quality of the output data from being influenced by electric circuits, and the packaging technology is also simplified. The working principle, theoretical arithmetic, configuration design, test method and acquired data by digital grating sensor are presented in the paper.

Zhongliang Nan

Papers

Study on Welder Training by Means of Haptic Guidance and Virtual Reality for Arc Welding

Fiber Bragg grating temperature calibration based on BP neural network

Accessibility Analysis for CMM Inspection Planning Using Haptic Device

Stable temperature calibration method of fiber Bragg grating based on radial basis function neural network

Research on digital grating vibration sensor