Automation System Using Otsu’s Method for Production Line Quality Assessment of Welded Structure

Abstract

This paper presents an automation system that mechanizes the post quality review of the weld which was performed by human welders already. A foundation is established to effectively extract information of the welded structure surface to facilitate quality check and inspection of the weld joint using different algorithms. The idea is to provide cost effective solution to the small scale manufacturing industries for robotizing there post welding activities, decrease the time required for these tasks, and increment the speed eventually. The proposed framework built up a GUI which can be utilized by nonspecialized laborers to make their work simple. The framework utilizes various algorithms like Otsu and BHT for estimation and examination of different geometric parameters of the weld which aided in post welding quality assessment of the welded structure. Results obtained from both the algorithms are compared and analyzed. Geometrical parameters thus calculated were then compared with the values of these parameters as specified by industry standards for accepting or declining the welded structure under inspection. Lot of research has been done in measuring characteristics of the welded structure. However, a limited research is done in the quality inspection and post welding operations efficiency performance check. The proposed system satisfies this necessity. In this system three things are remembered while building up the framework, i.e., cost proficiency, broadly utilized welding procedure, and industry interest for mechanization of post welding quality assessment. For actualizing a similar thought, Common CCD (Commercial charge coupled device) cameras are utilized to catch images, GTAW which is a broadly used welding procedure is used and simple to use however proficient GUI is built.