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Robust identification of weld seam based on region of interest operation

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Abstract

For welding path determination, the use of vision sensors is more effective compared with complex offline programming and teaching in small to medium volume production. However, interference factors such as scratches and stains on the surface of the workpiece may affect the extraction of weld information. In the obtained weld image, the weld seams have two distinct features related to the workpiece, which are continuous in a single process and separated from the workpiece’s gray value. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to identify the welding path based on the region of interest (ROI) operation, which is concentrated around the weld seam to reduce the interference of external noise. To complete the identification of the entire welding path, a novel algorithm is used to adaptively generate a dynamic ROI (DROI) and perform iterative operations. The identification accuracy of this algorithm is improved by setting the boundary conditions within the ROI. Moreover, the experimental results confirm that the coefficient factor used for determining the ROI size is a pivotal influencing factor for the robustness of the algorithm and for obtaining an optimal solution. With this algorithm, the welding path identification accuracy is within 2 pixels for three common butt weld types.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Special Plan of Major Scientific Instruments and Equipment of the State (Grant No. 2018YFF01013101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51775322, 61704102, and 61603237), Project named “Key technology research and demonstration line construction of advanced laser intelligent manufacturing equipment” from Shanghai Lingang Area Development Administration.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechatronic Engineering and Automation, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, People’s Republic of China

    Ying-Zhong Tian, Hong-Fei Liu, Long Li, Jie-Cai Feng & Guang-Jie Yuan

  2. School of Mechanical and Electrical, Shenzhen Polytechnic, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China

    Wen-Bin Wang

  3. Shanghai Rui Rong Laser Welding Technology Co., Ltd, Shanghai, 201306, People’s Republic of China

    Jie-Cai Feng

  4. Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Industrial Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, Canada

    Feng-Feng Xi

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  1. Ying-Zhong Tian
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  2. Hong-Fei Liu
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  3. Long Li
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  4. Wen-Bin Wang
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  5. Jie-Cai Feng
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  6. Feng-Feng Xi
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  7. Guang-Jie Yuan
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Correspondence to Guang-Jie Yuan.

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Tian, YZ., Liu, HF., Li, L. et al. Robust identification of weld seam based on region of interest operation. Adv. Manuf. 8, 473–485 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-020-00325-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-020-00325-y

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