YuMing Zhang, James R. Boyd Professor and director of international partnerships for the University of Kentucky College of Engineering, has received a $147,750 award from Advanced Technology International for the project “Miniature Torch Speed Sensor Based Adaptive Manual Arc Welding.”
The UK Welding Research Lab has used a low-cost compact miniature sensor using the Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to measure position, orientation and speed. The invention recently received a US patent.
The goal of the project is to develop a cost-effective solution to monitor the torch travel speed to make smaller fillet welds in compliance with the welding procedure specification such that the cost of overwelding and distortion is minimized, the productivity is increased and the welding consumable cost is reduced without incurring the cost of procedure re-qualification by shipyards. It reduces the requirement on skill level from welders.