Integrated sensors for robotic laser welding

A welding head is under development with integrated sensory systems for robotic laser welding applications. Robotic laser welding requires sensory systems that are capable to accurately guide the welding head over a seam in three-dimensional space and provide information about the welding process as well as the quality of the welding result. In this paper the focus is on seam tracking. It is difficult to measure three-dimensional parameters of a ream during a robotic laser welding task, especially when sharp corners are present. The proposed sensory system is capable to provide the three dimensional parameters of a seam in one measurement and guide robots over sharp corners

Model-Based Iterative Learning Control Applied to an Industrial Robot with Elasticity

In this paper model-based Iterative Learning Control (ILC) is applied to improve the tracking accuracy of an industrial robot with elasticity. The ILC algorithm iteratively updates the reference trajectory for the robot such that the predicted tracking error in the next iteration is minimised. The tracking error is predicted by a model of the closed-loop dynamics of the robot. The model includes the servo resonance frequency, the first resonance frequency caused by elasticity in the mechanism and the variation of both frequencies along the trajectory. Experimental results show that the tracking error of the robot can be reduced, even at frequencies beyond the first elastic resonance frequency

Analytical one parameter method for PID motion controller settings

In this paper analytical expressions for PID-controllers settings for electromechanical motion systems are presented. It will be shown that by an adequate frequency domain oriented parametrization, the parameters of a PID-controller are analytically dependent on one variable only, the cross-over frequency of the open loop transfer function. Analytical expressions are derived that relate the cross-over frequency clearly to the performance criteria for the closed loop system. In this paper the latter is shown in detail for servo problems. The effectiveness of the outlined approach is demonstrated by experimental results that were obtained from a two DOF tilting mirror system