ES2965176T3 - Virtual inspection and testing of a virtual weldment - Google Patents

Abstract

Arc welding simulations providing virtual destructive and non-destructive testing simulation and virtual weld inspection for training purposes. Virtual test simulations can be performed on virtual welds created using a virtual reality welding simulator system (e.g., a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system). Virtual inspection simulations can be performed on “off-the-shelf” (i.e., predefined) virtual weldments or using virtual weldments created using a virtual reality welding simulation system. In general, virtual testing can be performed using a virtual reality welding simulator system (for example, a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system), and virtual inspection can be performed using a stand-alone welding inspection system. virtual welded parts (VWI) or using virtual reality. welding simulator system (e.g., a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system). However, according to certain improved embodiments of the present invention, virtual testing can also be performed on a standalone VWI system. (Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Virtual inspection and testing of a virtual weldment

This application claims priority of United States Patent Application 13/081,725.

Technical field

Certain embodiments relate to virtual reality simulation. More particularly, certain embodiments relate to systems and methods for virtual inspection and testing of a virtual weldment for the training of welders, welding inspectors, welding trainers, structural engineers and materials engineers.

Background

In real-world forming and welding, a weldment may be subjected to destructive testing and/or non-destructive testing. Such tests help determine the quality of the welded assembly and therefore the skill of the welder. Unfortunately, certain types of non-destructive testing, such as x-ray radiographic testing, can require very expensive testing equipment and can be time-consuming to perform the tests. Furthermore, destructive testing, by definition, destroys the weldment. As a result, the weldment can only be tested once in a destructive test. Additionally, there is a large gap in the industry between manufacturing a weldment and confirming whether the weld has been performed correctly. Welding inspection training often relies on such destructive and non-destructive testing to adequately train a welding inspector to determine whether a weldment is acceptable or not acceptable. The American Welding Association (AWS), as well as other welding standards bodies, provides visual inspection standards that establish criteria as to the types and levels of discontinuities and defects that are allowed in a particular type of welding. welded set.

Systems and methods known from the prior art can be found in WO 2010/020867 and US2010062405.

Other limitations and disadvantages of the conventional, traditional and proposed approaches will become apparent to one skilled in the art, through the comparison of said approaches with the embodiments of the present invention as set forth in the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

Summary

Described herein are arc welding simulations that provide simulation of destructive and non-destructive testing and virtual inspection and material testing of virtual weldments for training purposes. Virtual test simulations can be performed on virtual welded assemblies created using a virtual reality welding simulator system (e.g., a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system). Virtual inspection simulations can be performed on bounded (i.e., predefined) virtual weldments or using virtual weldments created using a virtual reality welding simulator system. In general, virtual testing can be performed using a virtual reality welding simulator system (for example, a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system), and virtual inspection can be performed using a virtual welding inspection system ( VWI) standalone or using a virtual reality welding simulator system (e.g., a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system). However, according to certain improved embodiments of the present invention, virtual testing can also be performed in a standalone VWI system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the standalone VWI system is a processor-based system with programmable hardware and software with display capability. In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the RAW system includes a. programmable processor-based subsystem, a spatial tracker operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem, at least one simulated welding tool capable of being spatially tracked by the spatial tracker, and at least one display device operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem . The VRAW system is capable of simulating, in virtual reality space, a real-time welding scenario that includes the formation of a welded assembly by a user (welder) and various defect and discontinuity characteristics associated with the welded assembly. Both the stand-alone VWI system and the VRAW system are capable of performing a virtual inspection of a virtual weldment and displaying an animation of the virtual weldment under inspection to observe the effects. The VRAW system is capable of performing both virtual testing and virtual inspection of a virtual weldment and displaying an animation of the virtual weldment under test or inspection. A virtual weldment may be tested and inspected again, destructively and non-destructively, using the corresponding virtual reality welding simulator system or the corresponding independent virtual weld inspection system.

These and other features of the claimed invention, as well as the details of the illustrated embodiments thereof, will be more fully understood from the following description, claims and drawings.

Brief description of the drawings

Figure 1 illustrates an illustrative embodiment of a system block diagram of a system that provides arc welding training in a real-time virtual reality environment;

Figure 2 illustrates an example embodiment of a combined simulated welding console and observer display device (DOD) of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the observer display device (ODD) of Figure 2; Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a front portion of the simulated welding console of Figure 2 showing a physical welding user interface (WUI);

Figure 5 illustrates an example embodiment of a simulated welding tool (MWT) of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 6 illustrates an example embodiment of a table/box (T/S) of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 7A illustrates an example embodiment of a tube welding specimen (WC) of the system of Figure 1; Figure 7B illustrates the WC tube of Figure 7A mounted on an arm of the table/box (TS) of Figure 6;

Figure 8 illustrates various elements of an example embodiment of the space tracker (ST) of Figure 1; Figure 9A illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a face-mounted display device (FMDD) of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 9B is an illustration of how the FMDD of Figure 9A is secured to a user's head; Figure 9C illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the FMDD of Figure 9A mounted within a welding helmet; Figure 10 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a subsystem block diagram of a programmable processor-based subsystem (PPS) of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 11 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a block diagram of a graphics processing unit (GPU) of the PPS of Figure 10;

Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a functional block diagram of the system of Figure 1; Figure 13 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a training method using the virtual reality training system of Figure 1;

Figures 14A-14B illustrate the concept of a weld pixel displacement map (wexel), according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 15 illustrates an example embodiment of a specimen space and a weld space of a flat weld specimen (WC) simulated in the system of Figure 1;

Figure 16 illustrates an example embodiment of a specimen gap and a weld gap of a corner weld (T-joint) specimen (WC) simulated in the system of Figure 1;

Figure 17 illustrates an example embodiment of a specimen space and a weld space of a simulated tube welding specimen (WC) in the system of Figure 1;

Figure 18 illustrates an example of embodiment of the tube welding specimen (WC) of Figure 17;

Figures 19A-19C illustrate an example embodiment of the concept of a dual displacement bath model of the system of Figure 1;

Figure 20 illustrates an illustrative embodiment of a standalone virtual weldment inspection (VWI) system capable of simulating the inspection of a virtual weldment and displaying an animation of the virtual weldment under inspection to observe the effects due to various characteristics associated with set; Figure 21 illustrates a flow chart of an illustrative embodiment of a method for evaluating the quality of a reference virtual weldment represented in virtual reality space; and

Figures 22-24 illustrate virtual prediction embodiments of a simulated bend test, a simulated tensile test, and a simulated failure test for the same virtual section of a weldment.

Detailed description

One embodiment of the present invention comprises a system for virtual testing and inspection of a virtual weldment. The system includes an operable programmable processor-based subsystem for executing coded instructions. The coded instructions include a rendering engine and a parsing engine. The rendering engine is configured to render at least one of a three-dimensional (3D) virtual weldment before simulated testing, a 3D animation of a virtual weldment under simulated testing, and a 3D virtual weldment after simulated testing. The analysis engine is configured to perform simulated testing of a 3D virtual weldment. Simulated testing may include at least one simulated destructive test and simulated non-destructive testing. The analysis engine is further configured to perform inspection of at least one of a 3D virtual weldment before simulated testing, a 3D animation of a virtual weldment in simulated testing, and a 3D virtual weldment after testing. simulated for at least one of the pass/fail conditions and defect/discontinuity characteristics. The system also includes at least one display device operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem to display at least one of a 3D virtual weldment prior to simulated testing, a 3D animation of a virtual weldment under simulated testing, and a 3D animation of a virtual weldment under simulated testing. 3D virtual soldier after simulated trials. The system further includes a user interface operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem and configured to manipulate an orientation of at least one of a 3D virtual weldment prior to simulated testing, a 3D animation of a virtual weldment under testing simulated and a 3D virtual welded assembly after simulated tests on at least one display device. The programmable processor-based subsystem may include a central processing unit and at least one graphics processing unit. The at least one graphics processing unit may include a computer unified device architecture (CUDA) and an attenuator. The analysis engine may include at least one of an expert system, a support vector machine (SVM), a neural network, and one or more intelligent agents. The analysis engine may use welding code data or welding standards data to analyze at least one of a 3D virtual weldment before simulated tests, a 3D animation of a virtual weldment under simulated tests, and a weldment 3D virtual after simulated tests. The analysis engine may also include programmed virtual inspection tools that the user can access and manipulate using the user interface to inspect a virtual weldment.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a virtual welding inspection and testing simulator. The simulator includes means for performing one or more simulated destructive and non-destructive tests on a virtual weldment assembly represented in 3D. The simulator also includes means for analyzing the results of one or more simulated destructive and non-destructive tests on the virtual weldment assembly represented in 3D. The simulator further includes means for inspecting the represented 3D virtual weldment at least after a simulated test of the 3D virtual weldment. The simulator may also include means for representing a virtual weldment in 3D. The simulator may further include means for rendering a 3D animation of the virtual weldment assembly while performing the one or more simulated destructive and non-destructive tests. The simulator may also include means for displaying and manipulating an orientation of the 3D animation of the virtual weldment. The simulator may further include means for inspecting a 3D virtual weldment before, during and after simulated testing of the 3D virtual weldment.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises a method for evaluating the quality of a reference virtual weldment represented in virtual reality space. The method includes subjecting the reference virtual weldment to a first computer-simulated test configured to test at least one characteristic of the reference virtual weldment. The method also includes representing a first virtual weldment under test and generating first test data in response to the first test. The method further includes subjecting the first virtual weldment under test and the first test data to a computer simulated analysis configured to determine at least one pass/fail condition of the first virtual weldment under test with respect to the at least a feature. The first computer-simulated test can simulate a real-world destructive test or a real-world non-destructive test. The method may further include re-rendering the reference virtual weldment in virtual reality space, subjecting the reference virtual weldment to a second computer-simulated test configured to test at least one other characteristic of the reference virtual weldment, representing a second virtual weldment tested and generating second test data in response to the second test, and subjecting the second virtual weldment tested and the second test data to a computer simulated analysis configured to determine at least one other pass/fail condition of the second virtual weldment tested with respect to the at least one other characteristic. The second computer-simulated test can simulate a real-world destructive test or a real-world non-destructive test. The method may further include manually inspecting a displayed version of the first virtual weldment under test. The method may also include manually inspecting a displayed version of the second virtual weldment under test.

A completed virtual weldment formed in virtual reality space is analyzed for weld defects and a determination is made as to whether said weldment would pass or fail in standard industry tests in accordance with the present invention. Certain defects can cause certain types of failures within certain locations within the weldment. Data representing any defects or discontinuities is captured as part of the definition of the virtual weldment, either by pre-defining the virtual weldment or by creating a virtual weldment using a virtual reality welding simulator system (e.g. a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system) as part of a virtual welding process.

Furthermore, the pass/fail criteria for any particular test is known in advance based on predefined welding codes and standards such as, for example, the AWS welding standards. According to one embodiment of the present invention, an animation is created that allows display of a simulated destructive or non-destructive test of the virtual weldment. The same virtual weldment assembly can be tested in many different ways. Testing and inspection of a virtual weldment may occur in a virtual reality welding simulator system (for example, a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system which is described in detail later herein. Inspection of a virtual weldment may occur in a standalone virtual weldment inspection (VWI) system if described in detail hereinafter.

The VRAW system is capable of allowing a user to create a virtual weldment in real time by simulating a welding scenario as if the user were actually welding, and capturing all the resulting data that defines the virtual weldment, including defects and interruptions. . The VRAW system is also capable of performing virtual destructive and non-destructive testing and virtual weldment inspection, as well as material testing and virtual weldment inspections. The standalone VWI system is capable of entering a predefined virtual weldment or a virtual weldment created using the VRAw system, and a virtual training inspection of the virtual weldment. A three-dimensional virtual weldment or a portion thereof may be derived from a computer-aided design (CAD) model, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, testing and inspection can be simulated on irregular geometries for specific parts. According to an embodiment of the present application, the VRAW system is also capable of performing a virtual inspection of a predefined virtual weldment. For example, the VRAW system may include prefabricated virtual weld assemblies that a student can refer to to learn what a good weld should look like.

Various types of welding discontinuities and defects include improper weld size, poor bead placement, concave bead, excessive convexity, undercut, porosity, incomplete fusion, slag inclusion, excessive spatter, overfilling, cracking and melting which are well known in the art. For example, undercutting is often due to an incorrect welding angle. Porosity are cavity-type discontinuities formed by gas trapping during solidification, often caused by moving the arc too far from the weldment. Other problems can occur due to incorrect values in the process, filler material, wire size or technique, all of which can be simulated.

The various types of destructive tests that can be performed include a root bending test, a face bending test, a lateral bending test, a tension or tensile test, a breaking test (e.g. a breaking test of nicks or a T-joint breakage test), an impact test and a hardness test which are all well known in the art. For many of these tests, a piece is cut from the weldment and the test is performed on that piece. For example, a root bending test is a test that bends the cut part of the weldment so that the weld root is on the convex surface of a specified radius of curvature. A side bend test is a test that bends the weldment so that the side of a cross section of the weld is on the convex surface of a specified radius of curvature. A face bend test is a test that bends the weldment so that the weld face is on the convex surface of a specified radius of curvature.

Another destructive test would be a tension or tensile test where a cut piece of a weldment is pulled or stretched until the weld breaks, testing the yield strength and tensile strength of the weld. Another destructive test would be a breakage test. One type of breakage test is a test on a welded assembly that has two sections welded together at 90 degrees to each other to form a T-joint, where one section is bent toward the other section to determine whether the weld breaks or not. . If the weld breaks, the internal weld bead can be inspected. An impact test is a test where an impact element is forced into a weldment at various temperatures to determine the ability of the weldment to resist impact. A welded assembly may have good strength under static loading, but may fracture if subjected to a high-velocity impact. For example, a pendulum device can be used to swing down and strike a weldment (possibly breaking the weldment) and is called a Charpy impact test.

Another destructive test would be a hardness test that tests a weld's ability to resist indentation or penetration into the weld joint. The hardness of a weldment depends on the resulting metallurgical properties in the weld joint which is based, in part, on how the weld joint cools in the heat affected zone. Two types of hardness tests would be the Binell test and the Rockwell test. Both tests use an indenter with a hard ball or sharp diamond point. The indenter is applied to the weld under a standardized load. When the load is removed, the penetration is measured. The test can be performed at several points on the surrounding metal and is a good indicator of possible cracking. An additional type of destructive test would be a tube bend test where a welded tube is cut to take a piece from each of the four quadrants of the tube. A root curve is made on two of the pieces and a face curve is made on the other two pieces.

Various types of non-destructive testing that can be performed include radiographic testing and ultrasonic testing. In a radiographic test, the welded assembly is exposed to x-rays and an x-ray image of the weld joint is generated that can be examined. In an ultrasonic test, the weldment is exposed to ultrasonic energy and various properties of the weld joint are derived from the reflected ultrasonic waves. For certain types of nondestructive testing, the weldment is subjected (virtually) to exposure to x-rays or ultrasound and defects such as internal porosity, slag entrapment, and lack of penetration are visually presented to the user. Another type of non-destructive testing would be dye penetrant or liquid penetrant tests that can be simulated virtually. A weldment is subjected to a dye material and then the weldment is exposed to a developer to determine, for example, whether there are surface cracks that are not visible to the naked eye. Another non-destructive test would be magnetic particle testing which is also used to detect cracks and can be simulated in a virtual reality manner. Small cracks below the surface of a weldment can be created by inadequate heat input to the weldment. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the travel speed and other parameters of the welding process are tracked in the virtual reality environment and used to determine the heat input into the weldment and, in this way, cracks can be detected near of the weldment surface using virtual non-destructive testing.

In addition, the simulation of a welded assembly can be carried out in a simulated structure. For example, a virtual weldment that has a virtual weld joint created by a user of a VRAW system can be incorporated into a virtual simulation of a bridge for testing. The virtual weldment may correspond to a key structural element of the bridge, for example. The bridge can be specified to last one hundred years before failing. Testing may involve observing the bridge over time (i.e., virtual time) to see if the weldment fails. For example, if the weldment is of poor quality (i.e., has unacceptable discontinuities or defects), the simulation may show an animation of the bridge's destruction after 45 years.

Figures 1-19C describe an embodiment of a virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system 100 capable of simulating, in virtual reality space, a real-time welding scenario that includes the formation of a virtual welded assembly by a user (welder) and various defect and discontinuity characteristics associated with the weldment, as well as simulation testing and inspection of the virtual weldment and viewing an animation of the virtual weldment under test to observe the effects. The VRAW system is capable of creating a sophisticated virtual representation of a weldment and performing sophisticated analysis of the virtual representation that compares various characteristics of the virtual weldment to a welding code.

Virtual inspection can be implemented in the VRAW system in any of several different ways and/or combinations thereof. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the VRAW system includes an expert system and is driven by a set of rules. An expert system is software that attempts to provide an answer to a problem or clarify uncertainties where one or more human experts would normally need to be consulted. Expert systems are most common in a specific problem domain and are a traditional application and/or subfield of artificial intelligence. A wide variety of methods can be used to simulate expert performance, however, common to many are 1) the creation of a knowledge base that uses some knowledge representation formalism to capture the subject's raw material knowledge ( SME) (for example, the knowledge of certified welding inspectors) and 2) a process of collecting that knowledge from the SME and codifying it according to the formalism, which is called knowledge engineering. Expert systems may or may not have learning components, but a third common element is that once the system is developed, it has been shown to be placed in the same real-world problem-solving situation as human CME, typically as an aid to human workers or as a complement to some information system.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the VRAW system includes support vector machines. Support vector machines (SVM) are a set of related supervised learning methods used for classification and regression. Given a set of training examples, each marked as belonging to one of two categories, an SVM training algorithm builds a model that predicts whether a new example falls into one category or another (e.g., pass/fail categories for defects and particular discontinuities). Intuitively, an SVM model is a representation of examples as points in space, mapped so that examples of separate categories are divided by a clear space that is as wide as possible. New examples are then mapped into that same space and predicted to belong to a category based on which side of the gap they fall into.

According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the VRAW system includes a neural network that is capable of being trained and adapted to new scenarios. A neural network is made up of interconnected artificial neurons (programming elements that mimic the properties of biological neurons). Neural networks can be used to gain an understanding of biological neural networks, or to solve artificial intelligence problems without necessarily creating a model of a real biological system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a neural network is designed that inputs defect data and discontinuities from virtual weldment data, and outputs pass/fail data.

According to various embodiments of the present invention, intelligent agents may be employed to provide feedback to a student regarding areas where the student needs more practice, or to provide feedback to an instructor or educator on how to modify the teaching curriculum to improve learning of the students. In artificial intelligence, an intelligent agent is an autonomous entity, usually implemented in software, that observes and acts on an environment and directs its activity to achieve goals. An intelligent agent may be able to learn and use knowledge to achieve a goal (for example, the goal of providing relevant feedback to a welding student or welding trainer).

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a virtual representation of a weldment created using the VRAW system is exported to a destructive/non-destructive test section of the system. The system test section is capable of automatically generating cut sections of the virtual weldment (for destructive testing) and sending those cut sections to one of a plurality of possible tests within the VRAW system test section. Each of the various tests is capable of generating an animation illustrating that particular test. The VRAW system is capable of displaying the test animation to the user. The animation clearly shows the user whether the user-generated virtual weldment passes the test. For non-destructive testing, the weldment is subjected (virtually) to exposure to x-rays or ultrasound and defects such as internal porosity, slag entrapment, and lack of penetration are visually presented to the user.

For example, a virtual weldment undergoing a virtual bending test may be shown to break in the animation at a location where a particular type of defect occurs in the weld joint of the virtual weldment. As another example, a virtual weldment that is subjected to a virtual bending test can be shown to bend in the animation and crack, or show a significant amount of defects, even though the weldment does not completely break. The same virtual weldment can be retested for different tests using the same cut sections (e.g., the cut sections can be reconstituted or re-rendered by the VRAW system) or different cut sections of the virtual weldment. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a virtual weldment is marked with metallurgical characteristics such as, for example, a metal type and tensile strength that are taken into account in the particular selected destructive/non-destructive test. Various common base weld metals, including weld metals such as aluminum and stainless steel, are simulated according to various embodiments of the present invention.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an expert system running in the background may appear in a window on a screen of the VRAW system and indicate to the user (e.g., via text message and/or graphically) the reason why which weldment failed the test (for example, too much porosity at these particular points in the weld joint) and which specific weld standard(s) were not broken. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the VRAW system may have a hypertext link to an external tool that links the present test to a particular welding standard. Additionally, a user can access a knowledge base that includes text, images, video and diagrams to complement their training.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the animation of a particular destructive/non-destructive test is a 3D representation of the virtual weldment as modified by the test such that a user can move the represented virtual weldment around in a three-dimensional manner in a VRAW system screen during the test to view the test from various angles and perspectives. The same 3D rendered animation of a particular test can be repeated to allow maximum training benefit for the same user or for multiple users.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the depicted virtual weldment and/or the corresponding 3D rendered animation of the virtual weldment under test may be exported to an inspection portion of the system to perform a weld inspection and/or to form to a user in welding inspection (e.g., to become a certified welding inspector). The inspection part of the system includes a teaching mode and a training mode.

In teaching mode, the virtual weldment and/or the 3D rendered animation of a virtual weldment under test are shown and viewed by a grader (trainer) together with a welding student.

The trainer and welding student can view and interact with the virtual weldment. The trainer is able to determine (for example, through a scoring method) how the welding student did by identifying defects and discontinuities in the virtual weldment, and indicate to the welding student whether the welding was performed correctly and what happened. overlooks the student interacting with the visualized virtual soldier assembly (viewing from different perspectives, etc.).

In training mode, the system asks a welding inspector student several questions about the virtual weldment and allows the welding inspector student to enter answers to the questions. The system can provide the welding inspector student with a score at the end of the question. For example, the system may initially provide sample questions to the welding inspector student for one virtual weldment and then proceed to provide timed questions to the welding inspector student for another virtual weldment to be scored during a test mode. .

The inspection portion of the system may also provide certain interactive tools that help a welding inspector student or trainer detect defects and make certain measurements on the virtual weld that are compared to predefined welding standards (for example, a virtual gauge that measures the penetration of a root weld and compares the measurement to a required standard penetration). The classification of a welding inspector student may also include whether or not the welding inspector student uses the correct interactive tools to evaluate welding. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the inspection portion of the system, based on classification (i.e., scoring), determines in which areas the welding inspector student needs help and provides the welding inspector student with more representative samples about the areas. which to carry out the inspection.

As noted earlier in this document, intelligent agents may be employed to provide feedback to a student regarding areas where the student needs more practice, or to provide feedback to an instructor or trainer on how to modify the teaching curriculum to improve the performance. student learning. In artificial intelligence, an intelligent agent is an autonomous entity, usually implemented in software, that observes and acts on an environment and directs its activity to achieve goals. An intelligent agent may be able to learn and use knowledge to achieve a goal (for example, the goal of providing relevant feedback to a welding student or welding trainer). According to one embodiment of the present invention, the environment perceived and actuated by an intelligent agent is the virtual reality environment generated by the VRAW system, for example.

Again, the various interactive inspection tools can be used on the virtual weldment before being tested, the virtual weldment after being tested, or both. The various interactive inspection tools and methodologies are configured for various welding processes, types of metals, and types of welding standards, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the standalone VWI system, interactive inspection tools can be manipulated using a keyboard and mouse, for example. In the VRAW system, interactive inspection tools can be manipulated using a joystick and/or console panel, for example.

The virtual reality arc welding (VRAW) system includes a programmable processor-based subsystem, a spatial tracker operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem, at least one simulated welding tool capable of being spatially tracked by the space tracker, and at least one display device operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem. The system is capable of simulating, in a virtual reality space, a weld pool with fluidity characteristics of the molten metal and heat dissipation in real time. The system is also capable of displaying the simulated weld pool on the display device in real time. The real-time heat dissipation and molten metal fluidity characteristics of the simulated weld pool provide real-time visual feedback to a user of the simulated welding tool when displayed, allowing the user to adjust or maintain a welding technique in time. real in response to real-time visual feedback (i.e., helps the user learn correctly). The weld pool displayed is representative of a weld pool that would form in the real world based on the user's welding technique and the selected welding process and parameters. By viewing a dip (e.g. shape, color, slag, size, stackeddimes), a user can modify their technique to make a good weld and determine the type of weld being made. The shape of the bath is sensitive to the movement of the gun or wand. As used herein, the term “real time” means perceiving and experiencing time in a simulated environment in the same way that a user would perceive and experience in a real-world welding scenario. Additionally, the weld pool responds to the effects of the physical environment including gravity, allowing a user to practically implement welding in various positions, including overhead welding and various pipe welding angles (e.g. example, 1G, 2G, 5G, 6G). Said real-time virtual welding scenario results in the generation of data representative of a virtual weldment.

Figure 1 illustrates an example embodiment of a system block diagram of a system 100 that provides arc welding training in a real-time virtual reality environment. System 100 includes a programmable processor-based subsystem (PPS) 110. PPS 110 provides hardware and software configured as a rendering engine to provide 3D animated renderings of virtual weldments. The PPS 110 also provides hardware and software configured as an analysis engine to perform testing and inspection of a virtual weldment. In the context of the system in Figure 1, a virtual weldment is the resulting simulation of a weld specimen that has gone through a simulated welding process to form a weld bead or weld joint.

The system 100 further includes a spatial tracker (ST) 120 operatively connected to the PPS 110. The system 100 also includes a physical welding user interface (WUI) 130 operatively connected to the PPS 110 and a face-mounted display device 140 ( FMDD) (see Figures 9A-9C) operatively connected to the PPS 110 and the ST 120. However, certain embodiments may not provide an FMDD. The system 100 further includes an observer display device (ODD) 150 operatively connected to the PPS 110. The system 100 also includes at least one simulated welding tool (MWT) 160 operatively connected to the ST 120 and the PPS 110. The system 100 It further includes a table/support (T/S) 170 and at least one welding specimen (WC) 180 capable of joining the T/S 170. According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a simulated gas bottle is provided (not shown) that simulates a shielding gas source and has an adjustable flow regulator.

Figure 2 illustrates an example embodiment of a combined simulated welding console 135 (simulating a welding power supply user interface) and an observer display device (ODD) 150 of the system 100 of Figure 1. The physical WUI 130 resides on a front portion of the console 135 and provides controls, buttons, and a joystick for user selection of various modes and functions. The ODD 150 is attached to a top portion of the console 135, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The MWT 160 rests on a bracket attached to a side portion of the console 135. Internally, the console 135 holds the PPS 110 and a portion of the ST 120.

Figure 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the observer display device (ODD) 150 of Figure 2. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the ODD 150 is a liquid crystal display (LCD) device. Other display devices are also possible. For example, the ODD 150 may be a touch screen, according to another embodiment of the present invention. The ODD 150 receives video (e.g., SVGA format) and display information from the PPS 110.

As shown in Figure 3, the ODD 150 is capable of displaying a first user scene showing various welding parameters 151 including position, working tip, welding angle, travel angle and travel speed. These parameters can be selected and displayed in real time graphically and are used to teach proper welding technique. Additionally, as shown in Figure 3, the ODD 150 is capable of displaying simulated weld discontinuity states 152 including, for example, improper weld size, poor bead placement, concave bead, excessive convexity, a recess, a porosity, an incomplete fusion, a slag inclusion, an excess of projections, an overfill and a burr (melt). The undercut is a groove cast into the base metal adjacent to the weld or weld root and left unfilled by weld metal. Undercutting is often caused by incorrect welding angle. Porosity consists of cavity-type discontinuities formed by gas trapping during solidification often caused by moving the arch too far from the specimen. Such simulated weld discontinuity states are generated by system 100 during a simulated welding process to form a virtual weld assembly with a simulated weld specimen.

Additionally, as shown in Figure 3, the ODD 150 is capable of displaying user 153 selections, including the menu, actions, visual cues, new test tube, and final step. These user selections are linked to user buttons on the console 135. As a user makes various selections through, for example, a touch screen of the ODD 150 or through the physical WUI 130, the characteristics displayed may change to provide selected information and other options to the user. Additionally, the ODD 150 may display a view by a welder wearing the FMDD 140 at the same angular view of the welder or at several different angles, for example, chosen by an instructor. The ODD 150 can be viewed by an instructor and/or students for various training purposes, including destructive/non-destructive testing and inspection of a virtual weldment. For example, the view can be rotated around the finished weld allowing visual inspection by an instructor. According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, video from system 100 may be sent to a remote location via, for example, the Internet for remote and/or critical viewing. Additionally, sound can be integrated to enable real-time audio communication between a student and a remote instructor.

Figure 4 illustrates an example embodiment of a front portion of the simulated welding console 135 of Figure 2 showing a physical welding user interface (WUI) 130. The WUI 130 includes a set of buttons 131 corresponding to the selections user selections 153 displayed on the ODD 150. The buttons 131 are colored to correspond to the colors of the user selections 153 displayed on the ODD 150. When one of the buttons 131 is pressed, a signal is sent to the PPS 110 to activate the corresponding function. The WUI 130 also includes a joystick 132 capable of being used by a user to select various parameters and selections displayed on the ODD 150. The WUI 130 further includes a dial or control 133 for adjusting the wire feed rate/ampere, and another dial or control 134 to adjust the volts/trim. The WUI 130 also includes a dial or control 136 for selecting an arc welding process. According to one embodiment of the present invention, three arc welding processes can be selected including flux cored arc welding (FCAw) which includes gas shielded and self-shielded processes; gas metal arc welding (GMAW) including short arc, axial spray, STT and pulse; gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW); and shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) including electrodes E6010, E6013 and E7018. The WUI 130 also includes a dial or control 137 for selecting a welding polarity. According to an embodiment of the present invention, three arc welding polarities can be selected including alternating current (AC), positive direct current (DC+) and negative direct current (DC-).

Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a simulated welding tool (MWT) of the system 100 of Figure 1. The MWT 160 of Figure 5 simulates a stick welding tool for plate and tube welding and includes a holder 161 and a simulated rod electrode 162. A trigger on the MWD 160 is used to communicate a signal to the PPS 110 to activate a selected simulated welding process. The simulated rod electrode 162 includes a tactile resistive tip 163 to simulate the resistive feedback that occurs during, for example, a root pass welding procedure in real-world tube welding or when welding a plate. If the user moves the simulated rod electrode 162 too far from the root, the user will be able to sense or detect the lower resistance, thereby deriving feedback for use in adjusting or maintaining the current welding process.

It is contemplated that the stick welding tool may incorporate an actuator, not shown, that removes the simulated stick electrode 162 during the virtual welding procedure. That is, as a user participates in the virtual welding activity, the distance between the holder 161 and the tip of the simulated rod electrode 162 is reduced to simulate the consumption of the electrode. The consumption rate, that is, the removal of the rod electrode 162, may be controlled by the PPS 110 and more specifically by coded instructions executed by the PPS 110. The simulated consumption rate may also depend on the user's technique. It is worth mentioning here that as the system 100 facilitates virtual welding with different types of electrodes, the consumption or reduction rate of the rod electrode 162 may change with the welding procedure used and/or the configuration of the system 100.

Other control welding tools are also possible, according to other embodiments of the present invention, including an MWD that simulates a hand-held semi-automatic welding gun having a wire electrode fed through the gun, for example. Additionally, according to certain other embodiments of the present invention, an actual welding tool such as MWT 160 could be used to better simulate the actual feel of the tool in the user's hands, although, in system 100, the tool will not be used to create really a real bow. Additionally, a simulated grinding tool may be provided, for use in a simulated grinding mode of the simulator 100. Similarly, a simulated cutting tool may be provided, for use in a simulated cutting mode of the simulator 100 such as, for example, as used in oxygenated fuel and plasma cutting. Additionally, a simulated gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) torch or filler material may be provided for use in the simulator 100.

Figure 6 illustrates an example embodiment of a table/box (T/S) 170 of the system 100 of Figure 1. The T/S 170 includes an adjustable table 171, a stand or base 172, an adjustable arm 173 and a vertical post 174. Table 171, bracket 172 and arm 173 are each attached to vertical post 174. Table 171 and arm 173 are each capable of manually adjusting up, down and rotationally with respect to the vertical post 174. Arm 173 is used to hold various welding specimens (e.g., welding specimen 175) and a user may rest his or her arm on table 171 during training. The vertical post 174 is indexed with position information so that a user can know exactly where the arm 173 and table 171 are positioned vertically on the post 171. This vertical position information can be entered by the user into the system using the WUI 130. and ODD 150.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the positions of the board 171 and arm 173 may be set automatically by the PSS 110 through pre-programmed settings, or through the WUI 130 and/or the ODD 150 adjusted by the user. In such an alternative embodiment, the T/S 170 includes, for example, motors and/or servomechanisms, and signal commands from the PPS 110 activate the motors and/or servomechanisms. According to another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the positions of the table 171 and the arm 173 and the type of specimen are detected by the system 100. In this way, the user does not have to manually enter the position information through the user interface. In such an alternative embodiment, the T/S 170 includes position and orientation detectors and sends signal commands to the PPS 110 to provide position and orientation information, and the WC 175 includes position detection sensors (e.g., spiral sensors for detect magnetic fields). The user can view a representation of the T/S adjustment 170 on the ODD 150 as the adjustment parameters are changed, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7A illustrates an example embodiment of a tube weld specimen (WC) 175 of the system 100 of Figure 1. The WC 175 simulates two six-inch diameter tubes 175" and 175" placed together to form a root 176 to solder. The WC 175 includes a connecting portion 177 at one end of the WC 175, allowing the WC 175 to be attached in a precise and repeatable manner to the arm 173. Figure 7B illustrates the WC tube 175 of Figure 7A mounted on the arm 173 of the table/case (TS) 170 of Figure 6. The precise and repeatable way in which the WC 175 is able to attach to the arm 173 allows a spatial calibration of the WC 175 to be performed only once in the factory. Then, in the field, as long as the system 100 has the position of the arm 173 memorized, the system 100 is capable of tracking the MWT 160 and the FMDD 140 with respect to the WC 175 in a virtual environment. A first part of the arm 173, which is attached to the WC 175, is capable of tilting with respect to a second part of the arm 173, as shown in Figure 6. This allows the user to implement pipe welding with the tube in any of the different orientations and angles.

Figure 8 illustrates various elements of an exemplary embodiment of the space tracker (ST) 120 of Figure 1. The ST 120 is a magnetic tracker that is capable of operatively interacting with the PPS 110 of the system 100. The ST 120 includes a source magnetic 121 and a source cable, at least one sensor 122 and associated cable, host software on disk 123, a power supply 124 and associated cable, USB and RS-232 cables 125 and a processor monitoring unit 126. The source Magnetic 121 can be operatively connected to the processor tracking unit 126 via a cable. The sensor 122 may be operatively connected to the processor monitoring unit 126 via a cable. The power supply 124 may be operatively connected to the processor tracking unit 126 via a cable. The processor tracking unit 126 is an operational connection cable to the PPS 110 via a USB or RS-232 cable 125. The host software on disk 123 is capable of being loaded into the PPS 110 and allows functional communication between the ST 120 and the PPS 110.

Referring to Figure 6 and Figure 8, the magnetic source 121 of the ST 120 is mounted on the first portion of the arm 173. The magnetic source 121 creates a magnetic field around the source 121, which includes the space encompassed by the WC. 175 attached to arm 173, which establishes a 3D spatial reference frame. The T/S 170 is largely non-metallic (non-ferrous and non-conductive) so as not to distort the magnetic field created by the magnetic source 121. The sensor 122 includes three induction coils aligned orthogonally along three spatial directions. Each of the induction coils of the sensor 122 measures the resistance of the magnetic field in each of the three directions and provides that information to the tracking unit of the processor 126. As a result, the system 100 is able to know where any part of the sensor is. of the WC 175 with respect to the 3D spatial reference frame defined by the magnetic field when the WC 175 is mounted on the arm 173. The sensor 122 can be attached to the MWT 160 or the FMDD 140, allowing the MWT 160 to be tracked or the FMDD 140 by the ST 120 with respect to the 3D spatial reference frame in both space and orientation. When two sensors 122 are provided and operatively connected to the processor tracking unit 126, both the MWT 160 and the FMDD 140 can be tracked. In this way, the system 100 is capable of creating a virtual WC, a virtual MWT and a virtual T/S in the virtual reality space and display the virtual WC, the virtual MWT and the virtual T/S in the FMDD 140 and/or the ODD 150 as the MWT 160 and the FMDD 140 are tracked with respect to the frame 3D spatial reference.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the sensor or sensors 122 can interface wirelessly to the processor monitoring unit 126, and the processor monitoring unit 126 can wirelessly interface to the PPS 110. According to other alternative embodiments of In accordance with the present invention, other types of spatial trackers 120 may be used in system 100 including, for example, an accelerometer/gyroscope-based tracker, an optical tracker (active or passive), an infrared tracker, an acoustic tracker, a tracker. laser, a radio frequency tracker, an inertial tracker and tracking systems based on augmented reality. Other types of trackers may also be possible.

Figure 9A illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the face-mounted display device (FMDD) 140 of the system 100 of Figure 1. Figure 9B is an illustration of how the FMDD 140 of Figure 9A is attached to the head of a user. Figure 9C illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the FMDD 140 of Figure 9A integrated into a welding helmet 900. The FMDD 140 is operatively connected to the PPS 110 and the ST 120 either through wired means or wirelessly. A sensor 122 of the ST 120 may be attached to the FMDD 140 or the welding helmet 900, according to various embodiments of the present invention, allowing the FMDD 140 and/or the welding helmet 900 to be tracked with respect to the created 3D spatial reference frame. along ST 120.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the FMDD 140 includes two high contrast 3D SVGA OLED microdisplays capable of delivering fluid full motion video in 2D time lapse and raster video modes. Video of the virtual reality environment is provided and displayed on the FMDD 140. A zoom mode (e.g., 2X) may be provided, allowing a user to simulate a manipulation lens, for example.

The FMDD 140 further includes two earpiece speakers 910, which allow the user to listen to simulated and environmental welding-related sounds produced by the system 100. The FMDD 140 may operatively interact with the PPS 110 via wired or wireless means, according to various embodiments. of the present invention. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the PPS 110 provides stereoscopic video to the FMDD 140, providing enhanced depth perception to the user. According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a user can use a control on the MWT 160 (e.g., a button or switch) to recall menus, select menus and display options on the FMDD 140. This may allow the user Easily reset a weld if you make a mistake, change certain parameters or go back a bit to redo part of a weld bead path, for example.

Figure 10 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a subsystem block diagram of the programmable processor (PPS)-based subsystem 110 of the system 100 of Figure 1. The PPS 110 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 111 and two units 115 graphics processing unit (GPU), according to an embodiment of the present invention. The two GPUs 115 are programmed to provide virtual reality simulation of a weld pool (or weld puddle) having molten metal heat absorption and dissipation characteristics in real time, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 11 illustrates an example embodiment of a block diagram of a graphics processing unit (GPU) 115 of the PPS 110 of Figure 10. Each GPU 115 supports the implementation of data parallel algorithms. According to one embodiment of the present invention, each GPU 115 provides two video outputs 118 and 119 capable of providing two virtual reality views. Two of the video outputs can be routed to FMDD 140, making the soldier's point of view, and a third video output can be routed to ODD 150, for example, making the welder's point of view or some other point of view. vision. The remaining fourth video output can be routed to a projector, for example. Both GPU 115 perform the same welding physics calculations but can render the virtual reality environment from the same or a different point of view. The GPU 115 includes a compute unified device architecture (CUDA) 116 and an attenuator 117. The CUDA 116 is the computing engine of the GPU 115 that is accessible to software developers through industry standard programming languages. The CUDA 116 includes parallel cores and is used to run the physical model of the weld pool simulation described herein. CPU 111 provides real-time welding input data to CUDA 116 on GPU 115. Fader 117 is responsible for drawing and applying all visual elements of the simulation. The cord and bath displays are driven by the state of a wexel displacement map described later in this document. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the physics model operates and updates at a rate of approximately 30 times per second. During destructive/non-destructive simulations and virtual inspection simulations, GPUs 115 act as a rendering engine to provide animated 3D representations of a virtual weldment created during a simulated welding process. Additionally, the CPU 111 acts as an analysis engine to provide test analysis of the virtual weldment with respect to various defects and discontinuities that may be present in the virtual weldment.

Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a functional block diagram of the system 100 of Figure 1. The various functional blocks of the system 100 as shown in Figure 12 are largely implemented by software instructions and modules that execute in the PPS 110. The various functional blocks of the system 100 include a physical interface 1201, torch and gripper models 1202, environment models 1203, sound content functionality 1204, welding sounds 1205, stand/table model 1206, functionality internal architecture 1207, calibration functionality 1208, specimen models 1210, welding physics 1211, internal physics tuning tool (tweaker) 1212, graphical user interface functionality 1213, rendering functionality 1214, student reporting functionality 1215 , rendering 1216, bead rendering 1217, 3D textures 1218, visual cues functionality 1219, bead rendering and tolerance 1220, tolerance editor 1221 and special effects 1222. Rendering 1216, bead rendering 1217, 3D textures 1218 and scoring and tolerance functionality 1220 are used during destructive/non-destructive testing and virtual inspection, as well as during a simulated welding process, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Internal architecture functionality 1207 provides higher-level software logistics of system processes 100 including, for example, loading files, holding information, thread management, physics model spinning, and menu activation. The internal architecture functionality 1207 executes on the CPU 111, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Certain real-time inputs to the PPS 110 include arc location, gun position, FMDD or helmet position, gun on/off status, and contact made status (yes/no).

The graphical user interface functionality 1213 allows the user, through the ODD 150 using the joystick 132 of the physical user interface 130, to configure a welding scenario, a test scenario, or an inspection scenario. According to one embodiment of the present invention, configuring a welding scenario includes selecting a language, entering a user name, selecting a practice board (i.e., a welding specimen), selecting a welding process (e.g., FCAW, GMAw, SMAW) and associated axial spray, pulse or short arc methods, select a gas type and flow rate, select a rod electrode type (for example, 6010 or 7018), and select a cored wire type of flux (e.g. self-shielded, gas-shielded). Setting up a welding scenario also includes selecting a table height, arm height, arm position, and arm rotation of the T/S 170. Setting up a welding scenario also includes selecting an environment (e.g. example, a background environment in virtual reality space), set a wire feed speed, set a voltage level, set an amperage, select a polarity, and turn particular visual cues on or off. Similarly, setting up a virtual or inspection scenario may include selecting a language, entering a user name, selecting a virtual weldment, selecting a destructive or non-destructive test, selecting an interactive tool, and selecting an animated perspective view. .

During a simulated welding scenario, the graph functionality 1214 collects user performance parameters and provides the user performance parameters to the graphical user interface functionality 1213 for display in a graphical format (e.g., on the ODD 150 ). The tracking information from the ST 120 is entered into the graphing functionality 1214. The graphing functionality 1214 includes a simple analysis module (SAM) and a fabric/weft analysis module (WWAM). The SAM analyzes user welding parameters including weld travel angle, travel speed, weld angle, position and tip-to-work distance by comparing welding parameters to data stored in bead tables. The WWAM analyzes user frame parameters including dime space, twist time, and bath time. WWAM also analyzes user frame parameters including frame width, frame spacing, and frame timing. The SAM and WWAM interpret raw input data (for example, position and orientation data) into functionally usable data for the graph. For each parameter analyzed by the SAM and WWAM, a tolerance window is defined by parameter limits around an optimal or ideal set point entry in bead tables using the tolerance editor 1221, and scoring functionality 1220 is performed. and tolerance.

The 1221 Tolerance Editor includes a welder that approximates material usage, electrical usage, and welding time. Additionally, when certain parameters are out of tolerance, weld discontinuities (i.e. weld defects) can occur. The status of any weld discontinuity is processed by the graphical representation functionality 1214 and presented through the graphical user interface functionality 1213 in a graphical format. Such welding discontinuities include improper weld size, poor bead placement, concave bead, excessive convexity, undercut, porosity, incomplete fusion, slag entrapment, overfill, flash, and excessive spatter. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the level or amount of a discontinuity depends on how far a particular user parameter is from the optimal or ideal set point. Such weld discontinuities that are generated as part of the simulated welding process are used as inputs for destructive/non-destructive processes and virtual inspection as associated with a virtual weldment.

Different parameter limits can be predefined for different types of users, such as, for example, welding councils, welding experts and people with a business registration. The scoring and tolerance functionality 1220 provides number scores depending on the user's degree of closeness to the optimal (ideal) level for a particular parameter and depending on the level of discontinuities or defects present in the weld. Optimal values are derived from real-world data. Information from the scoring and tolerance functionality 1220 and the graphing functionality 1214 may be used by the student reporting functionality 1215 to create a performance report for an instructor and/or a student.

The system 100 is capable of analyzing and displaying the results of the virtual welding activity. By analyzing the results, it is understood that the system 100 is capable of determining when during the welding step and where along the welding joints, the user deviates from the acceptable limits of the welding process. A score can be attributed to the user's performance. In one embodiment, the score may be a function of deviation in position, orientation, and speed of the simulated welding tool 160 across ranges of tolerances, which may range from an ideal welding pitch to marginal or unacceptable welding activity. Any interval gradient may be incorporated into system 100 as chosen to score user performance. The score can be displayed numerically or alphanumerically. Additionally, user performance can be displayed graphically to view time and/or position along the solder joint, as well as the proximity of the simulated welding tool as it traverses the solder joint. Parameters such as travel angle, work angle, speed, and distance from the solder joint are examples of what can be measured, although any parameter can be analyzed for scoring purposes. Parameter tolerance ranges are taken from real-world welding data, providing accurate feedback as to how the user performs the welding in the real world. In another embodiment, the analysis of defects corresponding to the user's performance can also be incorporated and displayed in the ODD 150. In this embodiment, a graph can be represented indicating what type of discontinuity resulted from measuring the various parameters monitored during the activity of virtual welding. While occlusions may not be visible on the ODD 150, defects can still occur as a result of user performance, the results of which can still be displayed correspondingly, that is, displayed in graph form, and also tested (for example, by a test bending) and inspected.

Visual cues functionality 1219 provides immediate feedback to the user by displaying colors and indicators overlaid on the FMDD 140 and/or ODD 150. Visual cues are provided for each of the welding parameters 151 including position, tip distance to work, welding angle, travel angle, travel speed and arc length (e.g. for stick welding) and visually indicate to the user whether any aspect of the user's welding technique needs to be adjusted accordingly. depending on predefined limits or tolerances. Visual cues can also be provided for a weave/weft technique and a “dime” separation of the weld bead, for example. Visual cues can be set independently or in any desired combination.

Calibration functionality 1208 provides the ability to match physical components in real world space (3D reference frame) with visual components in virtual reality space. Each of the different types of welding specimen (WC) is calibrated at the factory by mounting the WC on the arm 173 of the T/S 170 and touching the WC at predefined points (indicated by, for example, three dimples in the WC). ) with a calibration stylus operatively connected to the ST 120. The ST 120 reads magnetic field strengths at predefined points, provides position information to the PPS 110, and the PPS 110 uses the position information to perform calibration (i.e. that is, the translation from the space of the real world to the space of virtual reality).

Any particular type of WC fits on the arm 173 of the T/S 170 in the same repeatable manner within very close tolerances. Therefore, once a particular WC type is calibrated, that WC type does not have to be recalibrated (i.e., the calibration of a particular WC type is a one-time event). WHs of the same type are interchangeable. Calibration ensures that the physical feedback perceived by the user during a welding process matches what is shown to the user in the virtual reality space, making the simulation appear more real. For example, if the user slides the tip of a MWT 160 around the corner of a real WC 180, the user will see the tip sliding around the corner of the virtual WC on the FMDD 140 when the user feels the tip sliding around the corner of the virtual toilet. slides around the actual corner. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the MWT 160 is placed on a prepositioned jig and is also calibrated, based on the known position of the jig.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, "smart" samples are provided, which have sensors on, for example, the corners of the test pieces. The ST 120 can track the corners of a “smart” test tube so that the system 100 continually knows where the “smart” test tube is in real-world 3D space. According to a further alternative embodiment of the present invention, license keys are provided to “unlock” the weld specimens. When a particular toilet is purchased, a license key is provided that allows the user to enter the license key into the system 100 and unlock the software associated with that toilet. According to another embodiment of the present invention, special non-standard weld specimens can be provided based on real-world CAD drawings of the parts. Users can train welding a CAD part even before the part is actually produced in the real world.

The acoustic content functionality 1204 and welding sounds 1205 provide particular types of welding sounds that change depending on whether certain welding parameters are within tolerance or out of tolerance. The sounds adapt to the various welding processes and parameters. For example, in a MIG spray arc welding process, a cracking sound is provided when the user does not have the MWT 160 positioned correctly, and a wobbling sound is provided when the MWT 160 is positioned correctly. In a short arc welding process, a stable breaking or frying sound is provided for proper welding technique, and a hissing sound can be provided when it occurs under cutting. These sounds mimic real-world sounds corresponding to correct and incorrect welding technique.

High fidelity sound content may be taken from real-world recordings of actual welding using a variety of electronic and mechanical means, according to various embodiments of the present invention. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the perceived volume and directionality of the sound is modified depending on the position, orientation and distance of the user's head (assuming that the user is wearing an FMDD 140 that is tracked by the ST 120) with respect to to the simulated arc between the MWT 160 and the WC 180. Sound may be provided to the user through the headset speakers 910 on the FMDD 140 or through speakers configured on the console 135 or T/S 170, for example.

Environment models 1203 are provided to provide various background scenes (still and move) in the virtual reality space. Such background environments may include, for example, an indoor welding shop, an outdoor race track, a garage, etc. and may include moving cars, people, birds, clouds and various environmental sounds. The background environment may be interactive, according to an embodiment of the present invention. For example, a user may need to examine a background area, before beginning welding, to ensure that the environment is appropriate (e.g., safe) for welding. Torch and clamp models 1202 are provided that model various<m>W<t>160 including, for example, guns, holders with rod electrodes, etc. in the virtual reality space.

Specimen models 1210 are provided that model various WCs 180 including, for example, flat plate specimens, T-joint specimens, butt joint specimens, groove weld specimens, and tube specimens (e.g., 2-in. diameter and 6-inch diameter tube) in the virtual reality space. A stand/table model 1206 is provided that models the various parts of the T/S 170 including an adjustable table 171, a stand 172, an adjustable arm 173, and a vertical post 174 in the virtual reality space. A physical interface 1201 is provided that models the various parts of the welding user interface 130, console 135, and ODD 150 in virtual reality space. Again, the resulting simulation of a weld specimen that has undergone a simulated welding process to form a weld bead, weld joint, tube-in-plate weld, plug weld, or overlay weld is known as herein as a virtual weldment with respect to system 100. Weld specimens may be provided to support each of these scenarios.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the simulation of a weld pool or puddle in virtual reality space is achieved where the simulated weld pool has real-time molten metal fluidity and heat dissipation characteristics. At the heart of the weld pool simulation is the weld physics functionality 1211 (the physical model) running on the GPUs 115, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The physical welding functionality employs a dual displacement layer technique to accurately model fluidity/dynamic viscosity, solidity, heat gradient (heat absorption and dissipation), dip wake, and bead shape, and is described in more detail. herein with respect to Figures 14A-14C.

The weld physics functionality 1211 communicates with the bead rendering functionality 1217 to render a weld bead in all states from the heated molten state to the cooled solidified state. The bead representation functionality 1217 uses information from the welding physics functionality 1211 (e.g., heat, fluidity, displacement, dime spacing) to accurately and realistically represent a weld bead in space. virtual reality in real time. The 3D texture functionality 1218 provides texture maps to the bead rendering functionality 1217 to overlay additional textures (e.g., fader, slag, grain) onto the simulated weld bead. For example, slag may be shown depicted on a weld bead during and just after a welding process, and then removed to reveal the underlying weld bead. Rendering functionality 1216 is used to render various bath-specific features using information from special effects module 1222 including sparks, spatters, smoke, arc glow, fumes and gases, and certain discontinuities such as, for example, shear and porosity. .

The internal physics adjustment tool 1212 is a adjustment tool that allows you to define, update and modify various welding physics parameters for various welding processes. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the internal physics adjustment tool 1212 runs on the CPU 111 and the adjusted or updated parameters are downloaded to the GPUs 115. The types of parameters that can be adjusted through the physics adjustment tool Internal physics 1212 include parameters related to weld specimens, process parameters that allow a process to be changed without having to reset a weld specimen (allows a second pass), various global parameters that can be changed without resetting the entire simulation, and other parameters diverse.

Figure 13 is a flow chart of one embodiment of a training procedure 1300 using the virtual reality training system 100 of Figure 1. The method proceeds as follows: in step 1310, move a simulated welding tool with respect to a welding specimen according to a welding technique; in step 1320, plotting the tracking position and orientation of the simulated welding tool in three-dimensional space using a virtual reality system; In step 1330, view a screen of the virtual reality welding system showing a real-time virtual reality simulation of the simulated welding tool and the welding specimen in a virtual reality space as the simulated welding tool deposits a simulated weld bead material on at least one simulated surface of the simulated welding specimen forming a simulated weld pool in the vicinity of a simulated arc emitting from said simulated welding tool; in step 1340, view on the screen, real-time molten metal fluidity and heat dissipation characteristics of the simulated welding oven; In step 1350, modify in real time at least one aspect of the welding technique in response to displaying the real-time heat dissipation and molten metal fluidity characteristics of the simulated weld pool.

Method 1300 illustrates how a user can view a weld pool in virtual reality space and modify their welding technique in response to viewing various characteristics of the simulated weld pool, including molten metal fluidity in real time (e.g. , viscosity) and heat dissipation. The user can also view and respond to other features including a real-time bath wake and dime separation. Visualizing and responding to weld pool characteristics is how most welding operations are actually performed in the real world. Dual displacement layer modeling of welding physics functionality 1211 executed on GPUs 115 allows molten metal fluidity and heat dissipation characteristics to be accurately modeled in real time and represented to the user. For example, heat dissipation determines solidification time (i.e., how long it takes for a wexel to completely solidify).

Additionally, a user may make a second pass over the weld bead material of the virtual weldment using the same or a second (e.g., second) simulated welding tool and/or welding process. In a second-pass scenario, the simulation displays the simulated weld tool, weld specimen, and the original simulated weld bead material in virtual reality space as the simulated weld tool deposits a second simulated weld bead material. which fuses with the first simulated weld bead material forming a second simulated weld pool in the vicinity of a simulated arc emitting from the simulated welding tool. Additional subsequent steps can be performed using the same or different welding tools or processes in a similar manner. In any second pass, the previous weld bead material fused with the new weld bead material which is deposited as a new weld pool is formed in the virtual reality space from the combination of any of the weld bead material. previous weld, the new weld bead material and possibly the underlying specimen material thereby modifying the resulting virtual weldment, according to certain embodiments of the present invention. Such subsequent passes may be necessary to make a large fillet or groove joint, made to repair a weld bead formed by a previous pass, for example, or may include a hot pass and one or more fillers and a cap pass after a root pass as is done in pipe welding. According to various embodiments of the present invention, the weld bead and base material may include mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum, nickel-based alloys or other materials.

Figures 14A-14B illustrate the concept of a displacement map of the welding element (wexel) 1420, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 14A shows a side view of a flat weld specimen (WC) 1400 having a flat top surface 1410. The weld specimen 1400 exists in the real world as, for example, a plastic part, and also exists in the real world. virtual reality space as a simulated welding specimen. Figure 14B shows a representation of the top surface 1410 of the simulated WC 1400 rotated into a grid or array of weld elements (i.e., wexels) that form a wexel map 1420. defines a small section 1410 of the surface of the weld specimen. The wexel map defines the resolution of the surface. Lockable channel parameter values are assigned to each wexel, allowing the values of each wexel to be dynamically changed in real time in the virtual reality welding space during a simulated welding process. The changeable channel parameter values correspond to the channels bath (molten metal fluid displacement/viscosity displacement), heat (heat absorption/dissipation), displacement (solid displacement) and extra (various additional states, e.g. slag, grain, mesh, virgin metal). These switchable channels are referred to herein as PHED for bath, heat, extra, and offset, respectively.

Figure 15 illustrates an example embodiment of a specimen gap and a weld gap of the flat weld (WC) specimen 1400 of Figure 14 simulated in the system 100 of Figure 1. The points O, X, Y and Z define the local 3D specimen space. In general, each specimen type defines the mapping from the 3<d>specimen space to the 2D virtual reality weld space. The wexel map 1420 of Figure 14 is a two-dimensional array of values that correlate to the weld space in virtual reality. A user must weld from point B to point E as shown in Figure 15. A path line from point B to point E is displayed in both the 3D specimen space and the 2D weld space in the Figure 15.

Each specimen type defines the direction of travel for each location on the wexel map. For the flat weld specimen in Figure 15, the direction of displacement is the same at all locations in the wexel map (i.e., in the Z direction). The texture coordinates of the wexel map are shown as S, T (sometimes referred to as U, V) in both the 3D specimen space and the 2D weld space, to clarify the mapping. The wexel map maps to and represents the rectangular surface 1410 of the weld specimen 1400.

Figure 16 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a specimen gap and a weld gap of a corner (T-joint) weld specimen 1600 simulated in the system 100 of Figure 1. The corner WC 1600 has two surfaces 1610 and 1620 in the 3D specimen space that map to the 2d weld space as shown in Figure 16. Again, points O, X, Y and Z define the local 3D specimen space. The texture coordinates of the wexel map are shown as S, T in both the 3D specimen space and the 2D weld space, to clarify the mapping. A user must weld from point B to point E as shown in Figure 16. A path line from point B to point E is displayed in both the 3D specimen space and the 2D weld space in the Figure 16. However, the direction of displacement is towards the X “-O” line as shown in the 3D specimen space, towards the opposite corner as shown in Figure 16.

Figure 17 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a specimen gap and a weld gap of a simulated tube (WC) welding specimen 1700 in the system 100 of Figure 1. The WC tube 1700 has a curved surface 1710 at the 3D specimen space that maps to the 2D weld space as shown in Figure 17. Again, points O, X, Y and Z define the local 3D specimen space. The texture coordinates of the wexel map are shown as S, T in both the 3D specimen space and the 2D weld space, to clarify the mapping. A user must weld from point B to point E along a curved path as shown in Figure 17. A curved path and line from point B to point E is displayed in the 3D specimen space and the weld gap 2<d>, respectively, in Figure 17. The direction of travel is away from the Y-O line (i.e., away from the center of the tube). Figure 18 illustrates an illustrative embodiment of the tube welding (WC) specimen 1700 of Figure 17. The WC tube 1700 is made of a non-ferrous, non-conductive plastic and simulates two pieces of tube 1701 and 1702 that are joined together to form a root joint 1703. Also shown is a joint piece 1704 for joining to the arm 173 of the T/S 170.

In a similar way that a texture map can be mapped to a rectangular surface area of a geometry, a weldable wexel map can be mapped to a rectangular surface of a weld specimen. Each element of the weldable map is called a wéxel in the same sense that each element of an image is called a pixel (a contraction of the image element). A pixel contains channels of information that define a color (for example, red, green, blue, etc.). A wexel contains information channels (e.g., P, H, E, D) that define a weldable surface in virtual reality space.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the format of a wexel is summarized as PHED (bath, heat, extra, offset) channels containing four numbers of floating points. The extra channel is treated as a set of bits that store logical information about the wexel such as whether or not there is dross at the wexel location. The bath channel stores an offset value for any liquefied metal at the wexel location. The displacement channel stores a displacement value for the solidified metal at the wexel location. The heat channel stores a value that gives the magnitude of heat at the wexel location. In this way, the weldable part of the specimen can show displacement due to a welded bead, a scaling surface “bath” due to liquid metal, color due to heat, etc. All of these effects are achieved by vertex and pixel faders applied to the weldable surface. According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a wéxel may also incorporate specific metallurgical properties that may change during a welding simulation, for example, due to heat input to the wéxel. Such metallurgical properties can be used to simulate virtual testing and inspection of a weldment.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a displacement map and a particle system are used where the particles can interact with each other and collide with the displacement map. The particles are virtual fluid dynamic particles and provide the liquid behavior of the weld pool but are not directly represented (i.e., not seen visually). Instead, only particle effects are visually observed on the displacement map. The input of heat to a wexel affects the movement of nearby particles. There are two types of displacement involved in simulating a weld pool which includes weld pool and displacement. The bath is “temporary” and only lasts as long as particles and heat are present. The displacement is “permanent”. Bath displacement is the liquid metal of the weld that changes rapidly (e.g., scalometers) and can be considered as “on top” of the displacement. The particles cover a part of a virtual surface displacement map (i.e., a wexel map). The displacement represents the permanent solid metal that includes both the initial base metal and the weld bead that has solidified.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the simulated welding process in virtual reality space works as follows: Particle flow from the emitter (simulated MWT 160 emitter) into a thin cone. The particles first contact the surface of the simulated weld specimen where the surface is defined by a wexel map. The particles interact with each other and the wexel map and accumulate in real time. More heat is added to a wexel closer to the emitter. Heat is modeled based on the distance from the arc point and the amount of time heat is introduced from the arc. Certain displays (e.g. color, etc.) are driven by heat. A weld pool is drawn or rendered in virtual reality space for wexels that have sufficient heat. Whenever it is hot enough, the wexel map liquefies, causing the bath displacement to “lift” for those wexel locations. The bath displacement is determined by sampling the “tallest” particles at each wexel location. As the emitter moves along the welding path, the wexel locations left behind cool. Heat is removed from a wexel location at a particular rate. When a cooling threshold is reached, the wexel map solidifies. In this way, the bath displacement gradually becomes displacement (i.e., a solidified bead). The displacement added is equivalent to the bath removed so that the total height does not change. Particle lifetimes are weakened or adjusted to persist until solidification is complete. Certain properties of the particles that are modeled in system 100 include attraction/repulsion, velocity (related to heat), damping (related to heat dissipation), direction (related to gravity).

Figures 19A-19C illustrate an example embodiment of the concept of a dual displacement bath model (displacement and particles) of the system 100 of Figure 1. The weld specimens are simulated in the virtual reality space that has at least one surface. The surfaces of the weld specimen are simulated in virtual reality space as a double displacement layer that includes a solid displacement layer and a bath displacement layer. The bath displacement layer is capable of modifying the solid displacement layer.

As described herein, “bath” is defined by an area of the wexel map where the bath value has been increased by the presence of particles. The sampling process is depicted in Figures 19A-19C. A section of a wexel map is shown that has seven adjacent wexels. The current offset values are represented by unshaded backbars 1910 of a given height (i.e., a given offset for each wéxel). In Figure 19A, particles 1920 are shown as round unshaded dots that collide with the current displacement levels and stack. In Figure 19B, the 1930 “highest” particle heights are sampled at each wexel location. In Figure 19C, the shaded rectangles 1940 show how much bath has been added on top of the displacement as a result of the particles. The weld pool height is not instantly set to the sampled values since the pool is added at a particular heat-based liquefaction rate. Although not shown in Figures 19A-19C, it is possible to visualize the solidification process as the bath (shaded rectangles) gradually shrinks and the displacement (unshaded rectangles) gradually grows from below to exactly take the place of the bath. In this way, molten metal fluidity characteristics are accurately simulated in real time. As a user practice, a particular welding process, the user can observe the fluidity characteristics of molten metal and the heat dissipation characteristics of the weld pool in real time in virtual reality space and use this information to adjust or maintain your welding technique.

The number of wexels that represent the surface of a weld specimen is fixed. Furthermore, the bath particles that are generated by the simulation to model fluidity are temporary, as described herein. Therefore, once an initial bath is generated in virtual reality space during a simulated welding process using system 100, the number of wexels plus bath particles tends to remain relatively constant. This is because the number of wexels being processed is fixed and the number of bath particles that exist and are being processed during the welding process tend to remain relatively constant because the bath particles are being created and “ “destroy” at a similar rate (i.e., bath particles are temporary). Therefore, the processing load of the PPS 110 remains relatively constant during a simulated welding session.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the bath particles may be generated within or below the surface of the weld specimen. In such an embodiment, the displacement can be modeled as positive or negative with respect to the original surface displacement of a virgin (i.e., unwelded) specimen. In this way, bath particles can not only accumulate on the surface of a weld specimen, but can also penetrate into the weld specimen. However, the number of wexels is still fixed and the bath particles that are created and destroyed are still relatively constant.

According to alternative embodiments of the present invention, instead of modeling particles, a wexel displacement map may be provided that has more channels to model the fluidity of the bath. Or, instead of modeling particles, a dense voxel map can be modeled. Or, instead of a map of wexels, you can only model particles that are sampled and never switched off. However, such alternative embodiments may not provide a relatively constant processing load for the system.

Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, blowing or a keyhole is simulated by taking material. For example, if a user holds a bow in the same location for a long time, in the real world, the material would burn causing a hole. Such a real-world burr is simulated in system 100 using wexel decision techniques. If the amount of heat absorbed by a wéxel is determined to be too high by system 100, that wéxel may be marked or designated as burning and represented as such (e.g., represented as a hole). Subsequently, however, wexel reconstitution may occur for certain welding processes (e.g. tube welding) where the material is added back after initially being burned. In general, the system 100 simulates the decision of the wexel (taking into account the material) and the reconstitution of the wexel (i.e., the addition of material back). Additionally, material removal in root pass welding is adequately simulated in system 100.

Additionally, material removal in root pass welding is adequately simulated in the system 100. For example, in the real world, root pass grinding may be performed before subsequent welding passes. Similarly, system 100 may simulate a grinding step that removes material from the virtual solder joint. It will be appreciated that the removed material can be modeled as a negative displacement in the wexel map. That is, the grinding step removes the material that is shaped by system 100, resulting in an altered bead contour. The simulation of the grinding step may be automatic, that is, the system 100 removes a predetermined thickness of material, which may be relative to the surface of the root pass weld bead.

In an alternative embodiment, an actual grinding tool or grinder may be simulated and turned on and off by activating the simulated welding tool 160 or other input device. It is noted that the crushing tool can be simulated to resemble a real-world crusher. In this embodiment, the user maneuvers the grinding tool along the root pass to remove material that responds to root movement. It will be understood that the user may be allowed to remove too much material. In a manner similar to that described above, holes or other defects (described above) may result if the user grinds too much material. However, hard limits or caps can be implemented, i.e. programmed, to prevent the user from removing too much material or to indicate when too much material is being removed.

In addition to the non-visible “bath” particles described herein, system 100 also uses three other types of visible particles to represent arc, flame, and spark effects, according to one embodiment of the present invention. These particle types do not interact with other particles of any type, but instead interact only with the displacement map. Although these particles collide with the simulated weld surface, they do not interact with each other. Only the bath particles interact with each other, according to one embodiment of the present invention. The spark-type particle physics is set up so that spark particles bounce off and are represented as blow points in VR space.

The physics of the arc particles is set up so that the arc particles hit the surface of the specimen or the simulated weld bead and remain for a time. Arc particles are represented as larger tense bluish-white dots in virtual reality space. It has many of these spots superimposed to form any type of visual image. The final result is a white rhombus with blue edges.

The physics of flame particles is modeled to slowly rise upward. Flame particles are represented as medium-sized faint red-yellow dots. It has many of these spots superimposed to form any type of visual image. The end result is orange-red flame spots with red edges that rise upward and fade away. Other types of bath particles may be implemented in system 100, according to other embodiments of the present invention. For example, smoke particles can be modeled and simulated similarly to flame particles.

The final steps in the simulated display are handled by the vertex and pixel faders provided by the faders 117 of the GPUs 115 (see Figure 11). Vertex and pixel faders apply dipping and shifting, as well as altered surface colors and reflectivity due to heat, etc. The extra channel (E) of the PHED wexel format, as mentioned earlier in this document, contains all the additional information used by the wexel. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the additional information includes a non-virgin bit (true=cord, false=virgin steel), a slag bit, a cut value (amount of cut in this wexel where zero equals no cut ), a porosity value (amount of porosity in this wexel where zero equals porosity) and a bead wake value that encodes the time at which the bead solidifies. There are a set of image maps associated with different specimen visuals, including virgin steel, slag, bead, and porosity. These image maps are used for both packet mapping and texture mapping. The amount of mixing of these image maps is controlled by the various flags and values described herein.

A bead wake effect is achieved using a 1D image map and a per-wexel bead wake value that encodes the time at which a given bit of the bead solidifies. Once a hot bath wexel location is no longer hot enough to be called a “bath”, time is stored at that location and is called a “cord wake”. The end result is that the fader code is able to use the 1D texture map to attract the “ripples” that give a bead its unique look that carries the direction in which the bead was placed. According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the system 100 is capable of simulating, in virtual reality space, and visualizing a weld bead having a weld bead trail characteristic in real time resulting from a transition from fluidity to real-time solidification of the simulated weld pool, as the simulated weld pool moves along a weld path.

According to an alternative embodiment of the present invention, system 100 is capable of teaching a user how to troubleshoot a welding machine. For example, a system troubleshooting mode may train a user to ensure the system is properly installed (e.g., correct gas flow rate, correct power cord connected, etc.). According to another alternative embodiment of the present invention, the system 100 is capable of recording and playing back a welding session (or at least a portion of a welding session, e.g., N frames). A track ball can be provided to scroll through video frames, allowing a user or instructor to critique a welding session. Playback can also be provided at selectable speeds (e.g., full speed, half speed, quarter speed). According to one embodiment of the present invention, split screen playback may be provided, allowing two welding sessions to be viewed side by side, for example, on the ODD 150. For example, a “good” welding session may be viewed side by side. to a “poor” welding session for comparison purposes.

As previously explained herein, a stand-alone virtual weldment inspection (VWI) system is capable of inputting a predefined virtual weldment or a virtual weldment created using the VRAW system, and performing a virtual inspection of the assembly. virtual soldier. However, unlike the VRAW system, the VWI system may not be able to create a virtual weldment as part of a simulated virtual welding process, and may or may not be able to perform virtual destructive/non-destructive testing of that welded assembly, according to certain embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 20 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a standalone virtual weldment inspection (VWI) system 2000 capable of simulating the inspection of a virtual weldment and displaying an animation of the virtual weldment under inspection to observe the effects due to various characteristics. associated with the welded assembly. In one embodiment, the VWI system 2000 includes a programmable processor-based subsystem (PPS) 2010, similar to the PPS 110 of Figure 1. The VWI system 2000 further includes an observer display device (ODD) 2050, similar to the ODD 150 of Figure 1, operatively connected to the PPS 2010. The VWI system 2000 also includes a keyboard 2020 and a mouse 2030 operatively connected to the PPS 2010.

In a first embodiment of the system 2000 of Figure 20, the PPS 110 provides hardware and software configured as a rendering engine to provide animated 3D renderings of virtual weldments.

The PPS 110 also provides hardware and software configured as an analysis engine to perform testing and inspection of a virtual weldment. The PPS 2010 is capable of inputting data representative of a virtual weldment and generating an animated 3D representation of the virtual weldment for inspection using a PPS 110 rendering engine running on the input data. The virtual weld data may be “bounded” (i.e., predefined) virtual weldments (e.g., generated using a separate computer system) or virtual weldment data created using a virtual reality welding simulator system ( e.g., a VRAW system as described hereinabove).

Furthermore, according to an improved embodiment of the present invention, the PPS 2010 includes an advanced/rendering/animation capability that allows the VWI system 2000 to perform a virtual destructive/non-destructive test on an input virtual weldment and display an animation of the test, similar to that of the VRAW system.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a virtual representation of a weldment created using a VRAW system in the VWI system. A test part of the VWI system is capable of automatically generating cut sections of the virtual weldment and submitting those cut sections (or the uncut virtual weldment itself) to one of several possible destructive and non-destructive tests within the test part. VWI system test. Each of the various tests is capable of generating an animation illustrating that particular test. The VWI system is capable of displaying the test animation to the user. The animation clearly shows the user whether the user-generated virtual weldment passes the test.

For example, a virtual weldment undergoing a virtual bending test may be shown to break in the animation at a location where a particular type of defect occurs in the weld joint of the virtual weldment. As another example, a virtual weldment that is subjected to a virtual bending test can be shown to bend in the animation and crack, or show a significant amount of defects, even though the weldment does not completely break. The same virtual weldment can be tested and retested for different tests using the same cut sections (e.g., cut sections can be reconstituted by the VWI system) or different cut sections of the virtual weldment. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a virtual weldment is marked with metallurgical characteristics such as, for example, a metal type and tensile strength that are taken into account in the particular selected destructive/non-destructive test.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, an expert system running in the background may appear in a window on a screen of the VWI system and indicate to the user (e.g., via text message and/or graphically) the reason for which weldment failed the test (for example, too much porosity at these particular points in the weld joint) and which specific weld standard(s) were not broken. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the VWI system may have a hypertext link to an external tool that links the present test to a particular welding standard.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the animation of a particular destructive/non-destructive test is a 3D representation of the virtual weldment as modified by the test such that a user can move the represented virtual weldment around in a three-dimensional manner in a VWI system screen during the test to view the test from various angles and perspectives. The same 3D rendered animation of a particular test can be repeated to allow maximum training benefit for the same user or for multiple users.

In a simpler, less complex embodiment of the VWI System 2000 of Figure 20, the PPS 2010 is capable of inputting an animated 3D representation of a virtual destructive or non-destructive test generated by a VRAW system, and displaying the animation for inspection purposes. PPS 2010 provides hardware and software configured as an analysis engine to perform inspection of a virtual weldment. However, in this simpler embodiment, PPS 2010 does not provide hardware and software configured as a rendering engine to provide animated 3D renderings of virtual weldments, and the analysis engine is limited to supporting inspection of a virtual weldment. The renderings and tests are performed elsewhere (for example, in a VRAW system) and are entered into the VWI system in such an embodiment. In such a simpler embodiment, the PPS 2010 may be a standard personal computer or workstation programmed with software to perform virtual inspection and to train regarding welding inspection.

As explained previously herein, virtual inspection can be implemented in the VWI system in any of several different forms and/or combinations thereof. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the VWI system includes an expert system and is driven by a set of rules. According to another embodiment of the present invention, the VWI system includes support vector machines. According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, the VWI system includes a neural network that is capable of being trained and adapted to new scenarios, and/or intelligent agents that provide feedback to a student regarding areas where the student needs more practice. , or to provide feedback to an instructor or educator on how to modify the teaching curriculum to improve student learning. Additionally, a user can access a knowledge base that includes text, images, video and diagrams to complement their training.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a rendered virtual weldment and/or a corresponding 3D rendered animation of the virtual weldment under test may be input into the VWI system to perform a weld inspection and/or to train a user. in welding inspection (e.g., to become a certified welding inspector). The inspection part of the system includes a teaching mode and a training mode.

In teaching mode, the virtual weldment and/or the 3D rendered animation of a virtual weldment under test are shown and viewed by a grader (trainer) together with a welding student. The trainer and welding student can view and interact with the virtual weldment. The trainer is able to determine (for example, through a scoring method) how the welding student did by identifying defects and discontinuities in the virtual weldment, and indicate to the welding student whether the welding was performed correctly and what happened. overlooks the student interacting with the visualized virtual soldier assembly (viewing from different perspectives, etc.).

In training mode, the system asks a welding inspector student several questions about the virtual weldment and allows the welding inspector student to enter answers to the questions. The system can provide the welding inspector student with a score at the end of the question. For example, the system may initially provide sample questions to the welding inspector student for one virtual weldment and then proceed to provide timed questions to the welding inspector student for another virtual weldment to be scored.

The inspection portion of the system may also provide certain interactive tools that help a welding inspector student or trainer detect defects and make certain measurements on the virtual weld that are compared to predefined welding standards (for example, a virtual gauge that measures the penetration of a root weld and compares the measurement to a required standard penetration). The classification of a welding inspector student may also include whether or not the welding inspector student uses the correct interactive tools to evaluate welding. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the inspection portion of the system, based on classification (i.e., scoring), determines in which areas the welding inspector student needs help and provides the welding inspector student with more representative samples about the areas. which to carry out the inspection.

Again, the various interactive inspection tools can be used on the virtual weldment before being tested, the virtual weldment after being tested, or both. The various interactive inspection tools and methodologies are configured for various welding processes, types of metals, and types of welding standards, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the standalone VWI system 2000, the interactive inspection tools can be manipulated using a keyboard 2020 and a mouse 2030, for example. Other examples of interactive inspection tools include a virtual Palmgren gauge to perform a throat measurement, a virtual fillet gauge to determine leg size, a virtual VWAC gauge to perform a convexity measurement or undercut measurement, a clamp virtual slider to measure the length of a crack, a virtual micrometer to measure the width of a crack, and a virtual magnifying lens to magnify a section of a weld for inspection. Other virtual interactive inspection tools are also possible, according to various embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 21 illustrates a flow chart of an illustrative embodiment of a method 2100 for evaluating the quality of a reference virtual weldment represented in virtual reality space. In step 2110, a reference virtual weldment is rendered (or re-rendered). For example, a user can employ the VRAW system 100 to perform his or her welding technique on a virtual part and make the reference virtual weldment representative of the user's welding ability. As used herein, the term “virtual weldment” may refer to the entire virtual welded part or a virtual cut section thereof, as used in many welding tests.

In step 2120, the reference virtual weldment is subjected to a computer-simulated test (e.g., a destructive virtual test or a non-destructive virtual test) configured to test a characteristic(s) of the reference virtual weldment. reference. The computer simulated test can be performed by the VRAW system or the VWI system, for example. At step 2130, in response to the simulated test, a virtual weldment under test (e.g., a modification of the reference virtual weldment due to destructive testing) and associated test data are represented. In step 2140, the virtual weldment under test and the test data are subjected to a computer-simulated analysis. The computer simulated analysis is configured to determine the pass/fail conditions of the virtual weldment under test with respect to the characteristic(s) of the virtual weldment. For example, it can be determined whether or not the virtual weldment passed a bending test based on the analysis of the characteristic(s) after the test.

At step 2150, the user makes a decision to inspect the virtual weldment under test. If the decision is not to inspect then, in step 2160, a decision is made to perform another test. If the decision is made to perform another test, then the method returns to step 2110 and the reference virtual weldment is re-rendered, as if the previous test did not take place on the virtual weldment. In this way, many tests (destructive and non-destructive) can be run on the same reference virtual weldment and analyzed for various pass/fail conditions. In step 2150, if the decision is to inspect then, in step 2170, the virtual weldment under test (i.e., the virtual weldment after testing) is displayed to the user and the user can manipulate the orientation of the weldment. virtual weldment under test to inspect various characteristics of the virtual weldment under test. At step 2180, the user can access and apply programmed inspection tools to the virtual weldment under test to assist in the inspection. For example, a user can access a virtual gauge that measures the penetration of a root weld and compares the measurement to a required standard penetration. After inspection, again at step 2160, the decision is made to perform another test. If no further testing is to be performed, then the method terminates.

As an example, the same section cut from a virtual weldment 2200 may be subjected to a simulated bending test, a simulated tensile or tensile test, and a simulated dent break test as shown in Figures 22-24, respectively. Referring to Figure 22, a straight cut section of a virtual weldment 2200 having a weld joint 2210 is subjected to a simulated bending test. The bending test can be performed to find various welding properties such as ductility of the weld zone, weld penetration, fusion, crystalline structure (of the fractured surface) and strength. The bend test helps determine the quality of the weld metal, weld joint, and heat affected zone. Any cracking of the metal during the bending test indicates poor fusion, poor penetration, or some other condition that may cause cracking. The stretching of the metal helps indicate the ductility of the weld. A fractured surface reveals the crystalline structure of the weld. Larger crystals tend to indicate a faulty welding procedure or inadequate heat treatment after welding. A quality solder has small crystals.

Referring to Figure 23, after the bending test, the same straight cut section of the virtual weldment 2200 having the same weld joint 2210 can be re-rendered and subjected to a simulated tensile test. Tensile testing (or tensile testing) can be performed to find the strength of a welded joint. In the simulated test, the virtual weldment 2200 is held at one end and pulled at the other end until the virtual weldment 2200 breaks. The tensile or tensile load, at which the weldment 2200 breaks, is determined and can be compared to a standard measure for pass/fail determination.

Referring to Figure 24, after the tensile test, the same straight cut section of the virtual weldment 2200 having the same weld joint 2210 can be re-rendered and subjected to a simulated dent break test. The simulated chip breakage test is performed to determine whether the weld metal of a cylinder head weld joint has any internal defects such as, for example, slag inclusion, gas pockets, poor fusion, and oxidized metal. A slot is cut in each side of the weld joint 2210 as shown in Figure 24. The virtual weldment 2200 is placed across two supports and tapped with a hammer until the section of the weld 2210 between the slots it fractures. The internal metal of the 2210 weld can be inspected for defects. Defects can be compared to standard measurements for pass/fail determination.

The invention is defined in the attached claims.

Reference numbers:

100 system

110 processor-based subsystem

111 central processing unit

115 graphic processing

116 computer-unified device architecture

117 dimmer

118 video output

119 video output

120 space tracker

121 magnetic source

122 sensor

123 disc

124 power supply

125 cables

126 processor tracking unit

130 user interface

131 button set

132 joystick

133 dial/control

134 dial/control

135 simulated welding console

136 dial/control

137 dial/control

140 face-mounted display device

150 observer display device

1206 stand/table model

1207 internal architecture functionality

1208 calibration functionality

1210 test tube models

1211 welding physics

1212 tweaker

1213 graphical user interface functionality

1214 graphic functionality

1215 student report functionality

1216 representation

1217 cord representation

1218 3D textures

1219 visual cues functionality

1220 scoring and tolerance functionality

1221 tolerance editor

1222 special effects

1300 method

1310 step

1320 step

1330 step

1340 step

1350 step

1400 flat welding specimen

1410 flat top surface

1420 wexel map

1421 wexel

2180 step

2200 virtual soldier set

2210 solder joint

6010 rod electrode

7018 rod electrode

151 welding parameters

152 welding discontinuity states

153 user selections

160 simulated welding tool

161 support

162 simulated rod electrode

163 resistive touch tip

170 table/stand

171 adjustable table

172 support/base

173 adjustable arm

174 upright pole

175 welding specimen

175 tube

175 tube

176 root

177 connection section

180 welding test piece

900 welding helmet

910 earphone speakers

1201 physical interface

1202 clamp models

1203 environment models

1204 acoustic content functionality

1205 welding sounds

1600 test piece for corner welding

1610 surface

1620 surface

1700 test tubes for welding tubes

1701 tube piece

1702 tube piece

1703 root joint

1704 fixing piece

1710 curved surface

1910 rectangular bars

1920 particles

1930 particle heights

1940s shaded rectangles

2000 virtual soldier assembly inspection

2010 processor-based subsystem

2020 keyboard

2030 mouse

2050 observer display device

2100 method

2110 step

2120 step

2130 step

2140 step

2150 step

2160 step

2170 step

B point

e point

Or period

O' line

S texture coordinate

T texture coordinate

U texture coordinate

V texture coordinate

X point

X' line

And period

Z point

Claims (5)

i. A system (100) for the inspection and virtual testing of a virtual welded assembly, said system (100) comprising: a programmatic processor-based subsystem (110) operable to execute coded instructions, a space tracker (120) operatively connected to the programmable processor-based subsystem (110); a simulated welding tool configured to be spatially tracked by the spatial tracker (120); a completed three-dimensional (3D) virtual welded assembly formed in virtual reality space using the simulated welding tool; the system creates the completed 3D virtual weldment in real time by simulating a welding scenario as if a user were actually welding, and capturing all resulting data that defines the 3D virtual weldment as completed, including defects and suspension; wherein said coded instructions of the programmable processor-based subsystem (110) include: a rendering engine configured to render the virtual weldment (2200) in 3D completed before simulated tests, a 3D animation of the virtual weldment (2200) in 3D completed under simulated tests, and the virtual weldment (2200) in 3D completed after simulated trials, and an analysis engine configured to perform simulated testing of the completed 3D virtual weldment (2200), and further configured to perform inspection of the completed 3D virtual weldment (2200) prior to the simulated tests, a 3D animation of the virtual weldment (2200) in 3D completed under simulated tests, and the virtual weldment assembly (2200) in 3D completed after simulated tests for at least one of the pass/fail conditions and defect/discontinuity characteristics; at least one display device (140, 150) operatively connected to said programmable processor-based subsystem (110) to display at least one of the virtual weldment assembly (2200) in 3D completed before the simulated tests, a 3D animation of the weldment assembly virtual (2200) in 3D completed in simulated tests, and the welded assembly (2200) in virtual 3D completed after simulated tests; and a user interface (130) operatively connected to said programmable processor-based subsystem (110) and configured to at least manipulate one orientation of the virtual weldment (2200) in 3D completed prior to simulated testing, a 3D animation of the virtual weldment (2200) in 3D completed under simulated tests, and the virtual welded assembly (2200) in 3D completed after simulated tests on said at least one display device (140, 150); wherein said analysis engine includes programmed virtual inspection tools that can be accessed and manipulated by a user using said user interface (130) to inspect the completed 3D virtual weldment (2200); wherein said programmable processor-based subsystem (110) includes a central processing unit (111) and at least one graphical processing unit (115) wherein said at least one graphical processing unit (115) preferably includes a computer unified device (CUDA) (116) and an attenuator (117); where the system issues pass/fail data. 2. The system of claim 1, wherein said analysis engine includes at least one expert system, a support vector machine (SVM), a neural network and an intelligent agent. 3. The system of claim 1 or 2, wherein said analysis engine uses welding code data or standard welding data to analyze at least one 3D virtual weldment (2200) completed prior to simulated testing, an animation 3D of the virtual weldment (2200) completed under simulated testing, and the 3D virtual weldment (2200) completed after simulated testing. 4. The system of one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said simulated tests include at least one simulated destructive test and simulated non-destructive tests. 5. A method for evaluating the quality of a reference virtual weldment represented in virtual reality space, said method comprising: providing a system (100) according to one of claims 1 to 4; creating a completed 3D virtual weldment in real time by simulating a welding scenario as if a user were actually welding, and capturing all resulting data that defines the 3D virtual weldment as completed, including defects and suspension; subjecting (2120) said virtual reference weldment to a first computer-simulated test configured to test at least one characteristic of said virtual reference weldment; representing (2130) a first virtual weldment under test and generating first test data in response to said first test; and subjecting (2140) said first tested virtual weldment and said first test data to a computer simulated analysis configured to determine at least one pass/fail condition of said first tested virtual weldment with respect to said at least a feature. The method of claim 5, wherein said first computer-simulated test simulates a real-world destructive test or a real-world non-destructive test. The method of claim 5 or 6, further comprising: re-rendering said reference virtual soldier assembly in virtual reality space; subjecting said virtual reference weldment to a second computer-simulated test configured to test at least one other characteristic of said virtual reference weldment; representing a second virtual weldment under test and generating second test data in response to said second test; and subjecting said second virtual weldment tested and said second test data to a computer simulated analysis configured to determine at least one other pass/fail condition of said second virtual weldment tested with respect to said at least one other characteristic. The method of claim 7, wherein said second computer-simulated test simulates a real-world destructive test or a real-world non-destructive test. The method of one of claims 5 to 8 further comprising manually inspecting a displayed version of said first virtual tested weldment assembly shown or of one of claims 7 and 8, further comprising manually inspecting a displayed version of said second assembly virtual soldier undergoing testing.