This paper addresses the issue of evaluating and selecting optical sensors to be integrated with a 1μm laser beam welding system. The method used for this evaluation is mainly a survey of relevant research litterature. The result of this work is a matrix showing the different methods and distinct features related to relevant process conditions that can be estimated or detected with respective methods. This evaluation also includes considerations on the required sensor bandwidth in relation to inertia and time constants in the physical process.

The use of automated laser welding is a key enabler for resource efficient manufacturing in several industrial sectors. One disadvantage with laser welding is the narrow tolerance requirements in the joint fit-up. This is the main reason for the importance of joint tracking systems. This paper describes anevaluation of four non-contact measurement methods to measure the position, gap width and misalignment between superalloy plates. The evaluation was carried out for increased knowledge about the possibilities and limitations with the different methods. The methods are vision-, laser-line-,thermography- and inductive probe systems which are compared in an experimental setup representing a relevant industrial application. Vision is based on a CMOS camera, where the image information is used directly for the measurements. Laser-line is based on triangulation between a camera and a projected laserline. Thermography detects the heat increase in the gap width due to external heat excitation. Inductive probe uses two eddy current coils, and by a complex response method possibilities to narrow gap measurement is achieved. The results, evaluated by comparing the data from the different systems, clearly highlights possibilities and limitations with respective method and serves as a guide in the development of laser beam welding.

The paper describes a robust vision sensor system that can find very narrow gaps between metal sheets to be butt welded together. The use of automated laser beam welding is seen as a key enabler for efficient manufacturing by enabling narrow and deep welds with a limited heat affected zone and low thermal distortion of the welded components. It is sensitive to positioning the laser beam with respect to the joint position. Even a small off-set from the actual joint could result in detrimental lack of fusion. The system comprises a CMOS camera with optic filters integrated in the welding optics and appropriate LED illumination of the work piece. By analysing the spectral emissions during welding, illumination and matching optic filters have been chosen in a spectral range where the process disturbances are relatively low. In this way it has been shown possible to detect the joint position even during harsh welding conditions. Preliminary results from the first experiments show promising results, however more tests will be performed using different weld geometries etc. to verify the robustness of the algorithm.

The automated laser beam butt welding process is sensitive to positioning the laser beam with respect to the joint because a small offset may result in detrimental lack of sidewall fusion. This problem is even more pronounced incase of narrow gap butt welding, where most of the commercial automatic joint tracing system fail to detect the exact position and size of the gap. In this work, adual vision and spectroscopic sensing approach is proposed to trace narrow gap butt joints during laser welding. The system consists of a camera with suitable illumination and matched optical filters and a fast miniature spectrometer. An image processing algorithm of the camera recordings has been developed in order to estimate the laser spot position relative the joint position. The spectral emissions from the laser induced plasma plume has been acquired by the spectrometer, and based on the measurements of the intensities of selected lines of the spectrum, the electron temperature signal has been calculated and correlated to variations of process conditions. The individual performances of these two systems have been experimentally investigated and evaluated offline by data from several welding experiments where artificial abrupt as well as gradual excursions of the laser beam out of the joint were produced. Results indicate thata combination of the information provided by the vision and spectroscopic systems is beneficial for development of a hybrid sensing system for joint tracing.