Ever since the development of automated welding, operators have needed to be able to monitor the welding process to ensure that all parameters are properly adjusted, that the welding head is properly aligned with the weld seam and work pieces, and that the weld pool, weld bead, and other features are all formed correctly.
For this, fabricators have long relied on operators to directly view the process using welding helmets and protective screens, which contain a dark green filter to remove most of the harmful content of the radiation coming from a welding arc.
However, with recent advances in electronics, cameras such as the Xiris XVC-O Weld Camera have become equipped with High Dynamic Range imaging capability. Such cameras can capture images from a weld process across a huge range of brightness, including the bright areas of the weld arc and the darker areas of the background areas around the weld. With such clarity of image, operators are now able to monitor the cameras from afar rather than having to be close to the welding process.
There is Remote Imaging……
So, with such camera technology, how remote do the operators want to be to view their weld process? Imagine some applications such as ship building, nuclear power plants or large pressure vessels where placing an operator near the welding process is both dangerous and difficult. In such situations, the farther away the operator can be and still monitor the welding process, the better.
Properly designed electronics allow for a robust image to be transmitted from a camera on an automated welding cell to a display up to 40 m (132 ft) away from the camera. That allows for the operator to be safely removed from the weld process while still being able to see what is going on.
Monitoring the Weld From Your Desk
….And Then There is Really, Really Remote Imaging….
Sometimes an automated welding cell has been installed in a location where all the stakeholders are not able to see it and monitor it. Production managers, engineers and senior management may all want to occasionally monitor a critical welding process even though they are on the other side of the world!
How to do it? Camera cable lengths have their limits! The solution is to make the camera system IP addressable so that the video images can be visible anywhere an internet connection can be found. Xiris has implemented IP addressability on certain models of its XVC-O Weld Cameras so that customers can view the welding process very, very remotely!
Conclusion
Whether you want to be a short distance away from the welding process, or on the opposite side of the world, there is a way to be able to see what is going on with your welding process as long as you use the right type of camera equipment for monitoring the welding process, such as the Xiris XVC-O Weld Camera system.
For more information on how Xiris Weld Cameras can help monitor your weld processes, visit Xiris.com
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