ArcView Camera System The ArcView System Overview The ArcView camera incorporates a Laser stripe projector, a video camera and a video crosshair generator. The combination of these three components on the resulting video image provides the operator with the ability to remotely control both horizontal and vertical positions of the welding head from observing the image on the video monitor. The ArcView system allows the operator to maintain the ideal welding position and to monitor and correct stickout errors. The ArcView camera is mounted close to the weld torch, and is oriented to look just ahead of the weld surface in the direction of travel during welding. Horizontal Position Control The ArcView camera should be mounted so that the weld seam is located roughly in the centre of the screen. With the tip of the weld torch in the correct position for welding, the horizontal crosshair should be adjusted to align with the laser stripe so that the height can be maintained during welding. Similarly the vertical crosshair should be positioned in the centre of the weld joint so that ideal horizontal weld torch position can be maintained throughout the weld.

Height Control - Principal of Triangulation During the normal welding procedure, the ArcView camera projects a laser stripe onto the surface. The laser stripe is projected down at an angle from the camera integrated into the sensor. Because the laser stripe is projected at an angle relative to the camera position this means that if the workpiece moves closer to the camera, then the observed position of the laser stripe on the workpiece moves up. If the workpiece moves further away from the camera, then the position of the Laser stripe on the surface will appear to move down. The operator should adjust the vertical slide position to correct for this change moving the slide up to bring the Laser stripe back to its original position in line with the horizontal crosshair line. Similarly, if the workpiece moves closer to the camera, then the laser cross will appear to move up in the video display, and the operator should then jog the vertical slide down to correct. The ArcView Camera must be mounted in front of the weld torch so that it views the joint before it is welded. The correct weld torch position is then achieved by keeping the distance from the weld torch to the workpiece maintained throughout the weld, and keeping the torch in the centre of the joint. When the welding torch is correctly positioned over the workpiece, the profile of the weld joint should appear central in both horizontal and vertical crosshair positions on the display screen. The ArcView camera is set at its optimum focus for camera and laser at the centre position of the video display, so their mountings should be adjusted to achieve this. Correct Height. Horizontal crosshair lines up with horizontal Laser line Laser line is above the vertical crosshair. The operator must correct the position by moving Down. In first image shows both the laser crosshair and the video crosshair are centred on the screen. This is the reference or ‘home’ position for maintaining the torch over the seam, and represents the ideal torch position. Throughout the weld, the operator must adjust the horizontal and vertical slide position to maintain this ideal setup. In this way the weld torch is kept in the ideal position throughout the weld. In first image shows both the laser crosshair and the video crosshair are centred on the screen. This is the reference or ‘home’ position for maintaining the torch over the seam, and represents the ideal torch position. Throughout the weld, the operator must adjust the horizontal and vertical slide position to maintain this ideal setup. In this way the weld torch is kept in the ideal position throughout the weld.

The second image illustrates how the display would look if the weld part had moved to the Left. The vertical crosshair is no longer in the centre of the weld joint. The operator should correct by moving the horizontal slide left to return the vertical video crosshair to the centre of the weld joint. The third image illustrates how the display would look if the weld part had moved right. The operator should compensate by moving the vertical slide right to return the horizontal laser stripe to the centre of the video crosshair. By keeping the Laser Crosshair perfectly aligned with the video crosshair within the weld joint, the position of the welding torch relative to the weld joint is kept constant and the operator can be confident that the electrode is in the correct part of the joint and that the stickout is also correct. This is why it is important to setup the crosshair positions when the torch is already in the ideal position for welding.