Automated Spot Weld Testing using a Smart Robotic System

Since spot welding is still the most important joining method in the automotive industry, manual ultrasound testing of spot welds on car bodies and parts is a well-known and widely used application in this industry segment. Current trends in process automation and optimization, as well as current social topics, have given rise to an increasing interest in automizing the previously manual ultrasound inspection of spot welds, especially over the last couple of years. The first step in achieving this goal seems obvious – to integrate a conventional ultrasound device and transducer with a robot. However, there are many steps in the manual inspection process that are performed by an operator and subsequently need to be automated in a process-safe manner: positioning the ultrasound transducer correctly on the surface, recording and automatically evaluating the ultrasound data, and communicating in a fail-safe manner over an industrial network are only some aspects for which a solution must be found. This presentation will discuss the requirements for an ultrasonic system for automized spot weld testing, as well as present an already implemented smart robotic system for this purpose, which allows for both out-of-line as well as inline testing in series production.