Apparatus and method for sensing a workpiece with an electrical arc
US4531192A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 23, 1982 |
| Grant date | Jul 23, 1985 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 23, 2002 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG05B2219/50356
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Apparatus and method for sensing the topography of a workpiece with an electrical arc by measuring a parameter of the electrical arc signal as an electrode is scanned across the surface of the workpiece by a tool manipulator such as a multi-axis robot arm, and processing the measured arc signal in order to derive the three-dimensional topography. The apparatus includes a digital microcomputer which samples the arc signal, stores a plurality of samples in computer memory, computes the average of a predetermined number of samples, and provides correction factors to the host computer of the robot manipulator so that the electrode or a tool carried by the robot can be adaptively positioned. The apparatus senses such features of the workpiece as holes, edges, and slopes of a given magnitude, and passes the location of these features to the host computer for appropriate corrective action. The system provides vertical correction factors as well as workpiece scanning correction factors so that the host can adaptively adjust the position of the electrode or of a separate tool with respect to the workpiece.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.