Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Other

Samuel Paul Marin

Pei-Chung Wang

Pei-chung Wang

Roland J Menassa

Daniel C Hutchinson

James W Wells

Michael J Karagoulis

Dalong Gao

Shixin Jack Hu

Guoxian Xiao

Xinmin Lai

Kenneth R Schmidt

Guanlong Chen

Wenkao Hou

Qing Chang

Yansong Zhang

Robert T Thornton

Zongqing Lin

Dennis E Blumenfeld

Yunxian Chu

Giles L Ross

James C Cavendish

Shelia A Marin, Legal Representative

Sheila A Marin, Legal Representative

A method to diagnose weld integrity in a welding process includes monitoring a weld indentation characteristic, comparing the monitored weld indentation characteristic to a threshold weld indentation characteristic, and identifying a discrepant weld when the weld indentation characteristic comparison shows the monitored weld indentation characteristic violates the threshold weld indentation characteristic.

Online weld inspection and repair method for resistance welding and weld-bonding

A method of monitoring and maintaining a weld cap which is executing successive resistance welds on a plurality of workpieces includes measuring a first weld indentation formed during a first resistance weld and measuring a second weld indentation formed during a second resistance weld. The measured first and second weld indentations are compared with a severe threshold. If either of the measured first or second weld indentations is greater than the severe threshold, an abnormal condition is signaled. The method may include tip dressing the weld cap based upon the signaled abnormal condition. The method may further include determining a degradation rate between the first resistance weld and the second resistance weld. The degradation rate is the time differential between the measured first and second weld indentations, and either a first or a second tip dressing schedule is chosen based upon the determined degradation rate.

Method for monitoring and maintaining a resistance welding apparatus

The present invention provides a flexible support assembly for supporting and/or locating a fixture on a tooling plate. The support assembly includes a stanchion with a bore, and a threaded portion on an inner-diameter surface thereof. A base plate is attached to, and configured to repositionably fix the stanchion to the tooling plate. A cylindrical sleeve with a threaded portion on an outer-diameter surface thereof is threadably engaged with the stanchion, whereby the sleeve is operable to telescope with respect to the stanchion between a first, lowest position and a second, highest position. A nut is threadably engaged with the sleeve to lock the sleeve at any predetermined position between the first and second positions. A locator pin is releasably engaged with the sleeve at a first end thereof. The locator pin has a protrusion projecting outward from a second opposing end thereof for engaging a pinhole in the fixture.

Flexible support assembly for vehicle tooling plates

A method to diagnose a failed weld in a welding process includes monitoring a location of a weld created on a plurality of work pieces, diagnosing the weld as a failed weld based on said location with respect to a closest edge of one of the work pieces, and identifying said failed weld based on the diagnosing.

Method to estimate the effect of weld location on weld strength

A system, method, and apparatus are provided for maintenance opportunity planning in a production line having a plurality of machines and buffers between machines on the production line, with the buffers processing production units between at least two of the machines. The system, method, and apparatus advantageously indicates maximum allowed downtime for a machine, through monitoring the status of the buffers to determine whether the flow of units through the buffers is favorable, monitoring the status of the plurality of machines, and determining which of the plurality of machines may be shut down for a particular period of time while substantially maintaining the favorable flow of units through the buffers. In this way, the inventive system and method saves time and resources by reducing production line downtime and unscheduled overtime.

Maintenance opportunity planning system and method

This invention provides a method of producing a series of substantially uniform spot welds between two metal parts using a servomotor driven movable electrode and an axially opposing fixed electrode. Target values for electrode displacement in producing a weld indentation and electrode squeeze force are determined for the electrodes and workpieces. During welding operations electrode displacement and electrode force measurements are continually taken and compared with the displacement and force target values. While the measured values are within a tolerance range of the target values, welding is continued using the preset parameters. When either or both of the measured electrode displacement or force value falls outside the target range the total welding current is adjusted in small increments to correct the displacement and/or force values and, thereafter, welding is continued using the new total welding current.

Resistance welding control method

The present invention generally relates to a useful online monitoring system and method of user thereof for monitoring a welding process to determine weld quality, weld process stability, and weld geometry for each weld formed during a welding process. More particularly, the online monitoring system has a computer having a graphical user interface (GUI); at least one welding machine; a communication interface for interfacing communication between the at least one welding machine and the computer; a data acquisition system for acquiring welding signal data, the data acquisition system having an associated memory means; a quality management database for managing and storing acquired welding signal data; and a statistical signal processing system in communication with the data acquisition system for processing welding signal data stored in the data acquisition system associated memory means, and in further communication with the communication interface for communicating processed welding signal data to the GUI.

Online monitoring system and method for a short-circuiting gas metal arc welding process

A method of forming a composite surface which is comprised of a base or primary surface and a number of features, and which satisfies certain functional objectives or requirement. Implemented in a Computer Aided Design system employed to assist in the design of automobile inner panels, the method accepts as input a feature-based information which describes the geometry of a particular inner panel, and produces as an output, a composite surface with a user-specified degree of smoothness. The method permits interactive design and modification of complex inner panel surfaces, and significantly simplifies attendant aspects of the panel design process such as numerically controlled machining.

Feature based method of designing automotive panels

Growing community of inventors

Oakland Township, MI, United States of America

Samuel Paul Marin