Microelectric Welding - An Approach to Improved Reliability

The need for positive and definitive identification of questionable microwelds is not due to the high number of poor welds made in any production. The need stems from the fact that visual inspection criteria are neither sufficiently uniform nor dependable to guarantee 100% reliability where absolute reliability is a real requirement.

At Raytheon, a Weld Research Program has used the technique of IR monitoring to improve the accuracy of diagnosis of welding inspectors. An experimental program has verified that infrared can be useful, not only in welding control, but as a good monitor of weld quality without the necessity of using it to control.

The concept of IR monitoring can be extrapolated into structural welding for purposes of continuous 100% quality determination, control, and flaw detection.