Quality Control for Weld Points
Spot welding is one of the most commonly used joining processes – particularly in the automotive industry, e.g. for car bodies. Even though this method is already very old and can be described as technologically mature, it is in practice nevertheless very complex.
Modern vehicle bodies are nowadays spot welded in several thousand places. The individual weld areas differ considerably: two-sheet or three-sheet connection, differing materials and material thicknesses, various material coatings etc. Just as varied are the possible faults: missing or open weld points, burned-through weld points, weld adhesive or a too small weld spot, to name but a few of the possible faults.
Heat flow thermography offers a modern test procedure which, unlike the frequently deployed "hammer and chisel inspection", is non-destructive and thus considerably reduces scrap costs. The inspection procedure can be fully automated with a robot-based industrial system – this technology is already being used today.
