Patent ID: 9120186
Filing Date: 2015-09-01
Classification: B23K,B29C

Abstract:
1. A method for monitoring and controlling a vibration welding system having a sonotrode and an anvil, the welding system being operable for forming a welded joint at welding interfaces of a work piece clamped between the sonotrode and the anvil, wherein forming the welded joint is accomplished via a vibration welding process using high-frequency mechanical vibrations, the method comprising: collecting a set of sensory data during formation of the welded joint using a plurality of sensors, each of which is positioned with respect to the vibration welding system, including measuring a temperature of the welding system, a dynamic resistance between the anvil and the sonotrode, an acoustic signal, and a displacement of a portion of the welding system; forming a total weld signature using the sensory data, wherein the total weld signature is defined by a plurality of different welding parameters defining the collected set of sensory data; extracting, via a computer in the form of a host machine, a present feature set from the total weld signature as a combined grouping of a plurality of the welding parameters; comparing and correlating the present feature set, via the host machine in real time during the formation of the welded joint, with validated information contained in a library to recognize a pattern in the combined grouping of the present feature set; and executing a control action when the pattern in the extracted present feature set insufficiently matches the information in the library.