SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY FOR VARIABLE POLARITY PLASMA ARC WELDING OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS

摘要

This paper summarized further researches in variable polarity plasma arc welding of aluminum alloys on the issues of arc behavior, monitoring of a keyhole, and real-time closed-loop control for weld formation. Development of a unique welding power source system, configuration of a machine vision system to monitor a keyhole weld pool, and implementation of an intelligent closed-loop control for weld formation have been made. The results achieved by both experiment and theoretical analysis show an efficient way to systematically improve the weld quality.