Reconstruction of Three-Dimensional Gas Metal Arc Weld Pool Surface From Reflected Laser Pattern

A system has been developed to measure the three-dimensional weld pool surface geometry in the gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process. It utilizes the specular nature of the weld pool surface by projecting a five-line laser pattern onto the surface and imaging its reflection. Specifically, the laser reflection is intercepted by an imaging plane and captured using a high speed camera. The reflected pattern is used to reconstruct the weld pool surface based on the law of reflection. Two reconstruction algorithms, referred to as center-points reconstruction and piece-wise weld pool surface reconstruction algorithm, are applied to sequentially reconstruct the weld pool height and three-dimensional surface geometry. Reconstructions has been conducted using simulated weld pool surface to provide a method to compare the reconstruction result with a known surface and evaluate the reconstruction accuracy. It is found that the proposed method is capable of reconstructing weld pool surface with acceptable accuracy. The height error of reconstructed center-points is less than 0.1 mm and the error of estimated weld pool boundary is less than 10%. Reconstruction results from images captured in welding experiments are also demonstrated.