Precise weld line detection on a large-scale structure

In the automation of arc welding with visual sensors, it is necessary to precisely detect the weld line. However, for large scale structures such as a steel tube transmission tower shown in the present study, it is not easy to maintain reliability of the weld line detection. The proposed method utilizes two important features in the welding of large-scale structure. They are based on the use of CAD/CAM data and the torch control. The proposed method is applied to detect straight and arc weld lines in some practical images. The results are satisfactory and successful in precisely detecting weld lines and weld tacks