The Xiris Blog

Laser welding offers several advantages over conventional TIG or Plasma welding processes especially for difficult to weld materials where lightweight, high strength and corrosion resistance is needed.

Advantages include:

• High welding speed (up to 60 m / min), especially for thin walled material
• Produces a small Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) with less joint distortion
• Favourable fine grain structure of the weld bead with excellent material properties
• Very clean welding process with minimal spatter, small weld beads and high precision
• Well suited for welding exotic alloys of stainless steel, titanium and aluminum

Since laser welding is fast and generates a small melt pool, it requires precise positioning (typically within a few tenths of a mm) relative to the weld seam. Even small misalignments in the fit-up can lead to weld defects in the tube such as lack of sidewall fusion or porosity.  

The Xiris SeamMonitor™ for laser welding has been specifically developed for seam tracking of laser welded seams. The SeamMonitor™ software in combination with a Xiris High Dynamic Range (HDR) weld camera enables real-time monitoring of the melt pool size and shape, and the relative location of the weld seam to the laser keyhole spot using machine vision technology.   

Video of the User Interface of the SeamMonitor^TM for a Laser Welding Process

The SeamMonitor™ system includes a Xiris open arc weld camera, industrial HMI controller, SeamMonitor™ software, optics and interfaces to integrate with other automation devices. It can be added to any laser welding process, either mounted off-axis to the laser beam, or on-axis through a suitable laser beam delivery camera port. Regardless as to how the camera is mounted, the SeamMonitor™ can help align the laser before welding, and monitor the laser welding process and track the seam during the welding process. All parameters and images can be recorded for process monitoring and quality assurance based on the set-up parameters and defined warning limits.

The SeamMonitor™ provides a powerful way to manually monitor the laser welding process while automatically measuring the laser keyhole-to-seam alignment and perform spot size. 

Contact Xiris sales to see how our products can enhance your unique process.

Welding automation is becoming increasingly more common and necessary to ensure high-quality welds and productivity. Using weld cameras, such as the Xiris CellView camera, helps operators see the welding process more clearly and helps them make any in-process adjustments. 

CellView cameras enable operators to view a weld cell from a broader perspective, they see the bigger picture of the welding process. This allows the operator to ensure the related equipment and area are clear and working properly. Since the operator can view the weld cell from a monitor with a CellView camera, the operator can work in safer conditions further away from any dangerous welding process. With the additional visibility from utilizing the CellView camera system along with other weld cameras, operators and supervisors can increase the “arc-on time” (time spent welding) by reducing the amount of time needed for set-up, or to make adjustments to the welding process while in operation.

 

Diagram of how a CellView camera would be set-up with another weld camera. 

The Xiris CellView camera is a robust adjustable color camera with a wide-angle view with motorized zoom. It is typically installed with the XVC-1000e weld camera for maximum results. As the CellView camera is integrated with the Xiris camera system, it can be managed and monitored from the same HMI. Coarse adjustments can also be made utilizing the larger view and the Xiris weld camera for the final setup. Xiris cameras can be located up to 100 meters away without loss of image quality making the monitoring of very large automation cells or multiple cells from a control room possible, and the addition of more cameras and views easy.

 

For more information contact us or request a free, one-on-one, no obligation consultation!