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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Automated process control for capacitor-discharge welding

Conference ·
OSTI ID:900814
;  [1]
  1. Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Capacitor discharge welding (CDW) is an autogenous, rapid solidification, joining process ideal for joining small parts of similar or dissimilar metals. Potential applications include welding of electrical contacts, cutting tool inserts, and automotive valves. Because of high cooling rates in excess of one million °C/s, the production rate for CDW process is very high. However potential industrial users have been hesitant to use CDW due largely to the unavailability of automated process control. The objective of this research was to develop models for an on-line quality control feedback system for CDW. The system described monitors current and voltage curves produced during the welding cycle. These curves have been found to be good indicators of certain types of welding defects. A closed-loop automation architecture for future work will also be discussed.
Research Organization:
Albany Research Center (ARC), Albany, OR; Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE - Office of Fossil Energy (FE); Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
OSTI ID:
900814
Report Number(s):
DOE/ARC-1998-013
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English