Easy to go and innovative validation process using the spot weld inspection system PHAsis and related software

Abstract

In the industry 4.0 the need for a cost-saving and efficient production process is of high significance. This includes every area of the production processes and leads to appropriate testing procedures by means of the quality management. A combination of ultrasonic inspection devices and software tools for result post processing reduces the need of several cost-intensive validation circles with destructive testing to a very low level. This can be shown for example with the imaging phased array spot weld inspection system PHAsis in combination with a software app for post processing. This is including the software part for the data and result management as well as a device software for the ultrasonic inspection of the spot welds. In combination with the usage of an automation interface for robotic usage, even more cost reduction is possible. Several validation processes on typical resistance spot welding applications with plate pairings of two or three plates (aluminium as well as steel combinations) by the use of PHAsis and the connected PostProcessor will be exemplified. The general procedure of the validation process will be accentuated step by step. Therefore, the original data of phased array testing and a comparative method in the shape of a destructive testing (hammer & chisel test or horizontal respectively vertical cross section) will be presented. Furthermore, the steps of the post processing procedure to define the ultrasound system parameters for a best fit will be described. During these steps, the influence of the different sensitivity and system parameters on the spot weld size will be explained. Also, the measurement uncertainties given by the destructive testing that have an influence to the comparation with ultrasonic testing in general will be addressed. The efficiency of the post processing software tool due to reaching a high match between PHAsis and the comparative destructive method will be illustrated.