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Robot-assisted non-destructive testing of automotive resistance spot welds

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Abstract

A commercially available matrix phased array (MPA) ultrasonic imaging system was successfully integrated into a robot-assisted automated non-destructive testing (NDT) method for resistance spot weld applications. The NDT system utilizes a dual-time gate feature, where optimized time gate positions and widths were determined for near-normal incidence inspections of spot welds in thin materials. The effects of probe contact pressure and ultrasonic beam incident angle were also studied using the robot arm. Based on the current robot-assisted automated NDT results, an optimized contact pressure of 0.5 lb, and an incidence angle of ± 0.5o relative to the normal direction were determined. Under these optimum probe contact conditions, it was found that a measurement uncertainty of less than 5% can be achieved when the gate position is set to be between one-half and two-third positions of the total part thickness, along with a gate width equals to one-third of the total stack thickness.

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Funding

This study has been financially supported by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and conducted with the support of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology as “Development of metal 3D printing material and process optimization technology for medium and large-sized transportation parts mold manufacture project (KITECH JE200008)”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Forming Process R&D Group, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Ulsan, 44413, Republic of Korea

    Changwook Ji

  2. Advanced Technologies, Wyle Laboratories Inc., Dayton, OH, USA

    Jeong K. Na

  3. Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima-naka Kita-ku, Okayama, 700-0082, Japan

    Yoon-Seok Lee

  4. Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Dong-Eui University, Busan, South Korea

    Yeong-Do Park

  5. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Menachem Kimchi

Authors
  1. Changwook Ji
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  2. Jeong K. Na
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  3. Yoon-Seok Lee
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  4. Yeong-Do Park
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  5. Menachem Kimchi
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Correspondence to Changwook Ji.

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Recommended for publication by Commission V - NDT and Quality Assurance of Welded Products

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Ji, C., Na, J.K., Lee, YS. et al. Robot-assisted non-destructive testing of automotive resistance spot welds. Weld World 65, 119–126 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-020-01002-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40194-020-01002-1

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