Laser welding is by now a conventional industrial technology. Besides the prevalent processes to manufacture single welds and endless seams more complex weld operations involving multiple welds with differing joint designs in one work piece are becoming common. Monitoring of such parts require the weld monitoring systems to offer easily manageable solutions. For welded parts whose function is imperative for the secure operation of systems, the secure in-process judgment of weld process quality is indispensable.
This paper discusses the functionality of a CMOS camera based monitoring system for such purposes with help of case studies from e.g. the automotive industry. The basic working principle of this system for the monitoring of laser processes has been published in former presentations.
The way of solving unique monitoring tasks with the system is presented using practical examples. These examples show the capabilities of a camera based process monitoring system like geometrical resolution, adaptable algorithms and independence of the welding direction.