J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.
DOI 10.1007/s40430-014-0299-8
TECHNICAL PAPER
A methodology for modeling and control of weld bead width
in the GMAW process
Jorge Giron Cruz · Edna Moncayo Torres ·
Sadek C. Absi Alfaro 
Received: 19 December 2013 / Accepted: 10 December 2014
© The Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering 2015
Abstract  The need to improve productivity and quality
has led to the development and improvement of techniques
and systems for monitoring and controlling welding pro-
cesses. This work presents a methodology to perform the
modeling, optimization and control of the weld bead width,
enabling the adjustment of process parameters in real time.
An integrated system was developed for image acquisi-
tion, modeling and control of the welding process, allow-
ing a real-time response, through artificial neural networks.
Parameters such as welding speed, wire feed velocity and
arc voltage are predicted in the function of a desired weld
bead width. To get the closed-loop control system, it was
designed with a “fuzzy” controller, in which the difference
between the width to be achieved and the actual width of
the bead is taken as reference. This weld bead is measured
through an acquisition system and images processed using
a low-price webcam. The control action is carried out pref-
erably at welding speed, a parameter that has the greatest
influence on the weld bead width and has no influence on
the metal transfer behavior. Weld beads with pre-defined
width, good appearance and quality were obtained.
Keywords  GMAW · Fuzzy logic · Neural networks ·
Digital images processing
Technical Editor: Glauco A. de P. Caurin.
J. G. Cruz (*) · E. M. Torres · S. C. Absi Alfaro 
Departamento de Engenharia Mecânica, Universidade de
Brasília, Brasília, Brazil
e-mail: jorgeandres@unb.br
E. M. Torres
e-mail: emmoncayo@unb.br
S. C. Absi Alfaro
e-mail: sadek@unb.br
1 Introduction
The gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process becomes
increasingly present in industrial manufacturing due to the
advantages afforded in relation to other existing techniques.
The process is reliable in weld metals with relevant com-
mercial importance, such as carbon steel, stainless steel,
aluminum and copper. It is considered to be one of the most
favorable for robotic applications due to its high productiv-
ity, reliability and easy automation.
The weld bead geometry in welding processes is shown
to have major importance in the determination of its
mechanical properties. The weld bead geometry variables
such as width, reinforcement and penetration depth are
strongly influenced by operational parameters such as cur-
rent, voltage and welding speed, among others. Recently,
many studies were carried out to analyze the effect of weld-
ing parameters on weld bead geometry using many types of
experimental techniques.
The bead width is one of the most important variables
on weld bead geometry and depends on welding process
variables. An appropriate width for a welding joint results
in no waste material by an oversized bead and no increase
in the heat-affected zone. Also, the weld bead width has an
important influence on the final quality of the welding joint
and mechanical properties together with reinforcement and
penetration.
In the present study, modeling of the weld bead width
was carried out using artificial neural networks. The net-
work training was possible using an experimental planning
result, with the main objective of determining the influ-
ence of several welding variable processes on the bead
width. Once the network architecture was found and with
the appropriate training characteristics, it was possible to
forecast the optimal values required of welding parameters
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such as, wire feed speed, welding speed and arc voltage,
from a pre-defined width.
Even with the set of welding parameters well defined,
the possibility of having discontinuities or defects always
exists. To overcome that possibility, a control system in real
time was built up to detect possible defects caused during
welding on weld beads. It aimed to detect them as fast as
possible, executing the necessary changes, correcting the
process and achieving the quality demanded by project or
welding procedure.
So that the proposed system can act in real time, a strategy
for its implementation has been developed. The proposed
system uses the information coming from a web camera,
allowing observation of the weld pool and the formation of
the weld bead during welding runs. By filtering and process-
ing the obtained images, the mean value of the bead width
is found. The difference between the pre-defined width and
the information obtained from web camera images is applied
to a fuzzy controller to adjust the welding speed along the
time, through a constant corrective action, guaranteeing that
the bead presents the desired width. To validate the proposed
methodology, a control system was implemented on GMAW
process with two types of wires: solid and metal cored.
2 Literature review
2.1 GMAW process
Gas metal arc welding—commonly referred to as MIG/
MAG (metal inert gas/metal active gas)—is an electric arc
welding that is shielded from contaminants by the flow of
an inert, active or mixed gas. This process uses a continu-
ously fed consumable metal wire/electrode which is melted
by the arc from the tip to the weld pool. The GMAW
process can be suited to a variety of job requirements by
choosing the correct welding parameters. Welding param-
eters include the voltage, current, travel speed, arc length
(stick out) and wire feed rate. The arc voltage and wire feed
rate will determine the filler metal transfer method; this
effect has been widely studied [1].
The metal transfer mode determines the operating fea-
tures of the welding process and it depends on the welding
conditions. These transfers can take place in three principal
modes: globular, spray, and short circuiting.
2.1.1 GMAW process operating variables
In the welding field, welding quality depends mainly on the
mechanical properties of the weld metal and heat-affected
zone, which in turn is influenced by the chemical compo-
sition and metallurgical characteristics of the weld. Thus,
such mechanical and metallurgical characteristics depend
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J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.
Fig. 1  Weld bead geometry characteristics
on the weld bead geometry, which are directly related to
the welding process parameters [2]. Some of the most
important characteristics of the weld beads geometry are
shown in Fig. 1.
2.2 Intelligent systems
Intelligent systems (IS) provide a standardized meth-
odological approach to solve important and fairly com-
plex problems and obtain consistent and reliable results
over time [3]. From the perspective of computation, the
intelligence of a system can be characterized by its flex-
ibility, adaptability, memory, learning, temporal dynamics,
improving efficiency, information compression, extrapo-
lated reasoning, robustness across problem domains and
the ability to manage uncertain and imprecise information,
in other words, an intelligent system is a system that emu-
lates some aspects of intelligence exhibited by nature [4].
The branch of knowledge and science that emerged
together and from such systems is called artificial intelli-
gence. By Bezdek [5] a system is called computationally
intelligent if it deals only with numerical data, has a pat-
tern recognition component, exhibits computational adapt-
ability, computational fault tolerance, speed approaching
human-like turnaround and error rates that approximate
human performance. Artificial intelligence is oriented
towards the analysis and design of expert systems based on
fuzzy logic, artificial neural networks and probabilistic rea-
soning including genetic algorithms and chaos theory [6].
2.2.1 Neural networks
An artificial neural network is an analysis paradigm that
is roughly modeled after the massively parallel structure
of the brain. It simulates a highly interconnected, parallel
computational structure with many relatively simple indi-
vidual processing elements. It is known for its ability to
deal with noisy and variable information. Classification,
associative memory, clustering or compression, generation
J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.
Fig. 2  Artificial neurons
of sequences or patterns and control systems are the five
areas where neural networks are applicable [6].
Artificial neural networks (ANN) are a computational
tool modeled on the interconnection of the neuron in the
nervous systems of the human brain and that of other
organisms. ANN is a network system constructed from
atomic components known as “neurons”. Artificial neural
networks are a type of nonlinear processing system that
is ideally suited for a wide range of tasks, especially tasks
where there is no existing algorithm for task completion.
In an artificial neural network, neurons can take many
forms and are typically referred to as processing elements
(PE). The PE are typically defined in terms of two equa-
tions that represent the model of a neuron (Eq. 1 and Eq. 2).

ζ = Wi Xi
(1)
i
y = σ (ζ ) (2)
where ζ is the weighted sum of the inputs, and σ (ζ) is a
function of the weighted sum. The ζ weighted sum becomes
a simple dot product:
ζ = W .X (3)
ζ may be called either the activation function (in the case
of a threshold comparison) or a transfer function (Eq. 3).
Figure 2 shows this relationship diagrammatically.
The inputs to the network, Xi, come from an input space
and the system outputs are part of the output space. For
some networks, the output space Y may be as simple as {0,
1}, or it may be a complex multi-dimensional space. Neu-
ral networks tend to have one input per degree of freedom
in the input space, and one output per degree of freedom in
the output space [7].
The tap weight vector is updated during training by vari-
ous algorithms. One of the most popular is the backpropa-
gation algorithm.
In an artificial neural network, learning typically hap-
pens during a specific training phase. Once the network has
been trained, it enters a production phase where it produces
results independently. Training can take on many different
forms, using a combination of learning paradigms, learn-
ing rules, and learning algorithms. A learning paradigm is
supervised, unsupervised or a hybrid of the two. A learning
rule is a model for the types of methods to be used to train
the system, and also a goal for what types of results are to
be produced. The learning algorithm is the specific math-
ematical method that is used to update the inter-neuronal
synaptic weights during each training iteration.
The number of layers, the number of neurons per layer
and the number of training iterations are the parameters
that must be decided upon when designing a neural net-
work. The number of hidden neurons, the learning rate and
the momentum parameter are the more important param-
eters in terms of training and network capacity [7].
2.2.2 Fuzzy logic
Fuzziness refers to non-statistical imprecision and vague-
ness in information and data. In classical logic, known as
crisp logic, an element either is or is not a member of a set.
That is, each element has a membership degree of either
1 or 0 in the set. In a fuzzy set, fuzzy membership values
reflect the membership grades of the elements in the set.
Membership function is the basic idea in fuzzy set theory
based on fuzzy logic, which is the logic of “approximate
reasoning”. It is a generalization of conventional (two-
valued or crisp) logic. Fuzzy sets model the properties of
imprecision, approximation, or vagueness. Fuzzy logic
solves problems where crisp logic would fail. Fuzzy logic
is being applied to a wide range of applications in areas
such as robotics and control, medicine, management, deci-
sion analysis, and computer science [6].
In classical set theory, an element either belongs to a sub-
set or it does not. In the theory of fuzzy sets are done by a
generalization and an interpretation of the degree of mem-
bership of each data in each subset of the fuzzy system.
Figure  3 shows three examples of a membership func-
tion for the classification of people according to their
age in the interval 0–70 years. The three functions define
the degree of membership of any given age in the sets of
young, adult, and old ages. If someone is 20 years old, for
example, his degree of membership in the set of young
persons is 1.0, in the set of adults 0.35, and in the set of
old persons 0.0. If someone is 50 years old the degrees of
membership are 0.0, 1.0, 0.3 in the respective sets.
2.2.3 Fuzzy inferences
Fuzzy logic operators can be used as the basis for inference
systems. Knowledge that can only be formulated in a fuzzy,
imprecise manner can be captured in rules that can be pro-
cessed by a computer. The fuzzy inference rules have the
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Fig. 3  Membership functions for the concepts young, mature and old
same structure as classical ones, but the difference resides
in the semantics used in the fuzzy operators.
2.2.4 Control with fuzzy logic
A fuzzy controller is a regulating system whose modus
operandi is specified with fuzzy rules. In general a fuzzy
controller operates in three steps: (1) a measurement is
transformed in their fuzzified form and is classified into a
category using the membership functions of all defined cat-
egories; (2) all pertinent inference rules of the control sys-
tem are evaluated and a fuzzy inference is produced; (3) in
the last step the result of the fuzzy inference is transformed
into a specific number [8].
3 Methodology
The methodology for achieving the present study shows
three stages, as detailed in Fig. 4, hereafter.
3.1 Modeling of the width through artificial neural
networks
The neural network was obtained using the steps shown
below.
3.1.1 Data collection and separation in groups
The collected data should be significant and to cover the
problem domain adequately. Usually, the collected data
are separated into two categories: training data that will
be used for the network training; and, test data that will be
used to verify how it acts under real conditions of use.
In the present study, the collection of data was divided
into three stages:
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J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.
Fig. 4  The methodology used in the present study
3.1.2 Identification of welding variables on GMAW
process
In fact, there are many welding variables that, in one way
or another, affect the weld quality to some extent. There-
fore, in the present research, those variables and their
interactions that had significant influence on the weld bead
geometry were taken into consideration. It was decided to
consider as main variables:
• Welding speed.
• Arc voltage.
• Wire feed rate.
3.1.3 Experimental planning
Choosing an appropriate design in relation to the experi-
ment being undertaken is fundamental for the adequate
training of the neural network used to adjust a model to a
group of data collected at points of the design. Since the
neural network does not present a methodology to define
the minimum number of experiments, in the present work
a central composite design (CCD) is used for help in
training the neural network and achieving this task. The
CCD design generates a reasonable distribution of points
throughout the whole area of interest using the smallest
possible number of experimental points.
Figure  5 presents a representation of the experimental
planning based on CCD for three entrance variables. The
CCD counts with a factorial design 23 increased with six
axial points and a central point; the number of runs to the
center and the distance of the axial points (α) were cho-
sen for a rotatable design, where α  = (F)1/4, being F the
J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

Table 2  Selected experiments
Experiment x1 x2 x3

1 5.5 19 8
2 7.5 19 8
3 5.5 27 8
4 7.5 27 8
5 5.5 19 12
6 7.5 19 12
7 5.5 27 12
8 7.5 27 12
9 4.8 23 10
10 8.2 23 10
11 6.5 16.3 10
Fig. 5  Central composite design for three input variables 12 6.5 29.7 10
13 6.5 23 6.6
14 6.5 23 13.4
number of points of the factorial part, that is, 8. Then 15 6.5 23 10
α = (8)1/4 = 1.682 [9].
The units presented previously in Fig. 5 are given in
terms of the codified normalized levels (−1, 0, 1) of the • Distance from contact tube to the workpiece: 16 mm.
entrance variables. The entrance variables are codified • Shielding gas: 96 % Ar and 4 % CO2.
starting from the Eq. 4. • Shielding gas flow rate: 15 liters/min.
ξj − [max(ξj ) + min(ξj )]/2
xj = (4) The experiments indicated in Table 2 were undertaken
[max(ξj ) − min(ξj )]/2
for each one of the previously mentioned wires, where the
where xj indicates the codified level; ξ is the real value of measure of weld bead width for each one of the combina-
the variable; J represents the variable; max(ξj ) and min(ξj ) tions presented was obtained.
are the real values of the factorial planning. For the geometrical parameters measurement, a scan-
The codified levels and the entrance variables with their ning system which was developed for previous work was
work ranges are shown in Table 1. used. It mainly consists of a line-shape laser and a webcam.
According to the combination of variables’ values pre- The device is run through the weld bead and using a digi-
sented in Table 1, the matrix of experiments is performed. tal image processing, generates a 3D reconstruction of the
Table 2 shows the selected experiments and the correspond- weld. Measurements of reinforcement, width and area of
ing values specified for each variable. weld bead are obtained as shown in Figs. 6 and 7.
Using the scanning system, two measures for each out-
3.1.4 Development of experiments put variable are obtained. The first being the average meas-
ure, regardless the limits of the bead, and the second is a
The materials used in the experimental procedure are: measure of the error with respect to the non-uniformity of
the weld bead (measure standard deviation).
• Solid wire: AWS A5.18 ER70S-type 6 with a diameter
of 1 mm. 3.1.5 Neural network configuration
• Metal-cored wire: 410NiMo MC with a diameter of
1.2 mm. To achieve the optimization and modeling of a width bead
• Base material: steel AISI 1020. in relation to selected welding variables, it is chosen as the

Table 1  Levels and work Welding parameters Symbol Ranges and levels

ranges of welding parameters
−1.682 −1 0 1 1.682

Wire feed rate (m/min) x1 4.8 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.2

Arc voltage (V) x2 16.2 19 23 27 29.7
Welding speed (mm/s) x3 6.6 8 10 12 13.4

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 J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

Fig. 6  Reconstruction in 3D of the weld bead

Fig. 8  System of acquisition of images

Fig. 7  Measurements of geometrical parameters

entrance to the neural network considering both the average

width values and its standard deviation. The network exits
are welding speed, arc voltage and wire feed speed.
The selected network presents a topology feed forward,
with an entrance layer comprising two neurons, three occult Fig. 9  Image acquired by the webcam
layers formed by 50, 100 and 50 neurons, respectively, and
an exit layer formed by three neurons.
For the training way, the mean square error (MSE) was
used. The training time consisted of 10.000 iterations using
the algorithm backpropagation.

3.2 Capture and processing of images

A image acquisition system is used for the measurement of

weld bead width; it consists of a web camera model Multi-
laser Wc045, with a resolution of 16 megapixels and with
USB 2.0 connection, besides a dark filter number 10 (used
in the welding helmets) for the decrease of the radiation
generated by the electric arc. Figure 8 shows the position
of the camera to measure the weld bead width, the position
of the filter and the protection system for the camera, high-
lighting that the optical equipment is installed in a quite
hostile environment (splashes). Fig. 10  Ellipse that represents the weld pool

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J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

Fig. 12  Selection of the row where the weld bead will be measured

Fig. 11  Image in 4 sections

For image capture and processing, the MATLAB Image

Acquisition toolbox was used. The acquired image can be
observed in Fig. 9. It is possible to identify the area of the
weld pool and weld bead.
Techniques of digital image processing were used to
reduce the noise effects, to improve the contrast and to
select the work area. Furthermore, a transformation of
the image to gray scale was made and a median filter was Fig. 13  Input variable and their pertinence functions
applied to eliminate isolated pixels.
In Fig. 10, it is possible to observe how the weld pool
can be approximate to an ellipse.
Once the image is binarized, the larger diameter of the
ellipse can be found. Dividing such distance in two equal
parts, the division of the image is made in four sections, as
evidenced in Fig. 11.
As shown in Fig. 11, the weld bead is found in the
Sects. 1 and 2. In this sense, to find the measure of
the width, it is necessary to find the straight line that
describes the borders of the weld bead. Thus, new image
processing is made in each one of the sections. Initially,
it is necessary to divide the weld pool area from the weld
bead area. For a delimitation of weld bead area, one row
at a distance equal to one-quarter of the ellipse diameter Fig. 14  Output variable and their pertinence functions
was set.
After finding the row for each section, the rows of
the Sect. 1 and the rows of the Sect. 2 were compared to 3.3.1 Documentation of the inputs, outputs and the system
establish the line that will describe the weld bead width operational speciation
(Fig. 12).
The input variable that is generated in the measurement
3.3 Design of the controller of weld bead starts from the difference between the refer-
ence sign (desired width) and the output (measured width).
The fuzzy controller was projected in the MATLAB fuzzy The output variable (manipulated variable) is the welding
logic toolbox. The general process can be characterized by speed, since it is the parameter of larger influence in the
the steps described as follows. bead width, as explained by Lee and Um [10].

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Fig. 15  Rules for the control strategy
3.3.2 Determination of the fuzzy sets for the input
and output variables
For the input variable, seven pertinence functions were
used (Fig. 13). The parameters of each function are based
on the experience generated from the different experimen-
tal tests.
For the output variable, five pertinence functions were
used (Fig. 14).
3.3.3 Determination of the group of rules
The control strategy is described by a group of linguistic
rules, where, one input is considered for one output. The
group of rules comes in Fig. 15.
3.3.4 Election of the defuzzification method
The method of the selected defuzzification was the centroid
method, where the obtained numeric value represents the
center of gravity of the probability distribution of fuzzy
system output.
3.3.5 Implementation of the control system
Finally, with the network trained and evaluated, the images
processed and the fuzzy controller are integrated in an
operating environment system of the application.
For the real-time control strategy implementation, a
feedback system is implemented, where the output signal
has a direct effect on the control action, as evidenced in
Fig.  16. The error signal in the measure—that is the dif-
ference between the input signal (desired width) and the
output signal (the width measured throughout the cam-
era web)—is the input signal to the controller, trying to
reduce the error and lead the system output to a desired
value, exerting a direct control action over the welding
speed.
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Fig. 16  Architecture of the developed system
4 Results
4.1 Modeling of the width through artificial neural
networks
Table 3 highlights the experiments results listed in Table 2,
with the width measures for both, the solid and metal-cored
wires.
As the training errors and simulation values greatly
change with the function of neurons number, the network
topology that presented the smallest simulation errors was
chosen. Figure 17 presents the network training for both
solid and metal-cored wires with their respective iterations,
time of training and validation error.
As shown in Fig. 17, it is possible to grasp that using the
same network topology few errors occur, which makes it
suitable for modeling.
MATLAB, from the fifteen experimental data, carries
out the division randomly in three groups; 60 % of data
were used for training, 20 % for validation and 20 % for
testing. Figure 18 highlights the measurement error in the
function of the iterations for training, validation and testing
for the two wire types studied.
By comparing the training errors, validation and test in
Fig.  18, it is observed that errors tend to decrease in the
three data sets, indicating that the network is properly
trained, and is able to predict the welding parameters for a
specific weld bead width.
It is important to emphasize that the neural network out-
put is given as coded values of the variables, according to
the existing levels (−1, 0, 1). To obtain the actual variables’
values, eq. 4 was used. Equation 5 shows the coded values
conversion to actual values of the welding parameters.
ζ1 = x1 + 6.5
ζ2 = 4x2 + 23 (5)
ζ3 = 2x3 + 10
Tables 4 and 5 show the values of arc voltage, wire feed
speed and welding speed determined by neural networks
for different widths with solid and metal-cored wires.
J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

Table 3  Results of the composed central design experiments process, the initial parameters must be sent: the weld bead
No exp Solid wire Metal-cored wire size, parameters for the welding power source, etc., in addi-
tion of the control system selected. If the system is config-
Width (mm) Width (mm)
ured as “Uncontrolled”, it makes a video during welding run
μ σ μ σ but it does not exercise any control action. If the system is
configured as “Controlled”, the system begins the process
1 5.9 0.2 5.0 0.3
and waits 2 s until the arc is stable to start the image acqui-
2 6.8 0.2 5.5 0.6
sition. The captured images are processed, measuring the
3 7.6 0.6 7.8 0.5
bead width in real time. Thus, the difference between this
4 8.8 0.5 8.7 0.5
measure and the desired value is supplied to the controller
5 5.0 0.2 4.8 0.2
to perform the control action on welding speed. Once the
6 5.3 0.4 5.4 0.4
welding process is finished it is possible to visualize the
7 5.7 0.7 6.1 0.5
acquired images, the changes made on welding speed and
8 6.7 0.4 7.0 0.4
welding current signals, arc voltage and wire feed speed dis-
9 5.6 0.5 6.2 0.5
posed by the welding power source.
10 7.2 0.5 7.6 0.2
11 4.9 0.9 4.6 0.6
4.2.1 Results obtained for the weld beads using the solid
12 7.7 0.4 7.7 0.5 wire and aiming a bead width of 6 mm
13 8.6 0.4 8.4 0.5
14 5.5 0.5 6.0 0.3 Figure  20 shows the set of width measurements obtained
15 6.5 0.6 6.2 0.4 from the image processing. The control action exerted on
the welding speed for the weld bead width of 6 mm is pre-
sented in Fig. 21.
The weld bead obtained is shown in Fig. 22.
Figure 23 shows the 3D reconstruction of the weld bead.
Figure  24 presents the measurements of the weld bead
geometric characteristics. The result was an average width
of 6.01 mm with a standard deviation of 0.37 mm, height
of reinforcement of 2.7 mm with a standard deviation of
0.1 mm and weld bead area of 12.77 mm2 with a standard
deviation of 0.91 mm2.
Figure 25 shows the voltage and current signals obtained
from the welding process. In this sense, it can be observed
that the transfer mass occurred in short circuit mode with
an average current value of approximately 151 A and an
average voltage value of approximately 19.36 V.
Fig. 17  Training of the neural network. a For solid wire. b For
metal-cored wire
4.2.2 Results obtained for the weld beads using the
metal‑cored wire and aiming a bead width of 6 mm
4.2 Control system implementation
Figure  26 shows the set of width measurements obtained
Once described and developed, the set of steps that com- from the image processing. The control action exerted on
prise the system are proposed and the evaluation was per- welding speed for the weld bead width of 6 mm is pre-
formed. The control system was implemented in MAT- sented in Fig. 27.
LAB, which allows controlling the weld bead width in real Figure 29 shows the 3D reconstruction of the weld bead.
time—the system adapts itself for variations during the Figure  30 presents the measurements of the weld bead
process. Figure 19 shows the graphical interface developed geometric characteristics. The result was an average width
to facilitate user interaction. of 6.14 mm with a standard deviation of 0.36 mm, rein-
The weld bead obtained is shown in Fig. 28. forcement height of 2.31 mm with a standard deviation of
On the referred interface, the user selects the wire type 0.16 mm and weld bead area of 10.64 mm2 with a standard
and inserts the desired width. At the time that the user per- deviation of 0.88 mm2.
forms the action “calculate”, the network selects the optimal Figure 31 shows the voltage and current signals obtained
parameters to the desired width. Before starting the welding from the welding process. In this sense, it can be observed

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 J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

Fig. 18  Network Measured error. a Solid wire. b Metal-cored wire

Table 4  Welding parameters for different widths in solid wire

Width (mm) Arc voltage (V) Wire feed speed Welding speed
(m/min) (mm/s)

5 18.9 5.5 12
5.5 19.1 7.6 12
6 18.9 5.5 7.9
6.5 17.9 7.2 7.4
7 20.8 7.2 8.7

Table 5  Welding Parameters for different widths in Metal-cored wire

Width (mm) Arc voltage (V) Wire feed speed Welding speed
(m/min) (mm/s)

5 19.4 5.6 12.6

Fig. 19  Graphic interface for the control of the weld bead width
5.5 19.9 7.5 11.9
6 22.7 6.3 13.2
6.5 22.4 7.1 9.8 deposition rate in a welding process. W is the desired width
7 27 7.5 12 in mm and WR is the actual width in mm.
Table  7 shows the measurements obtained from the
weld bead geometric parameters. By analyzing the data
that the transfer mass occurred in globular transfer mode it was possible to observe that the weld beads exhibit not
with an average current value of approximately 238.5 A only uniform width, but also uniform reinforcement and
and an average voltage value of approximately 23.19 V. uniform weld area, since the standard deviation was gener-
The system developed for welding parameter predic- ally low.
tion from the desired weld bead width, as well as its real-
time control, has showed satisfactory results. The accuracy
level achieved with use of the control system is outlined 5 Conclusions
in Table 6 and appears to be acceptable for most common
industrial applications, taking into consideration meas- The modeling procedure developed in the present work
urement accuracy and the random nature of the material can be used as a methodology for obtaining the optimal

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J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

Fig. 23  3D reconstruction of the weld bead with width of 6 mm and

solid wire

Fig. 20  Measures for the weld bead with width of 6 mm in solid wire

Fig. 24  Geometric characteristic measurements of weld bead with

6 mm of width in solid wire

Fig. 21  Behavior of welding speed during the control of width with

6 mm in solid wire

Fig. 22  Weld Bead obtained after controlling for a width of 6 mm in

solid wire

welding parameters in looking for the desired bead width.
Arc voltage, wire feed speed and welding speed values that
optimize the response were found, giving welds of good
appearance and quality for both types of wire. The neural
network modeling designed and developed in the present
study adequately predicts the welding process parameters
for a certain desired bead width.
Fig. 25  Measurements of welding process signals for the weld bead
with 6 mm of width in solid wire
The implementation of the fuzzy controller was pre-
sented and the fuzzy logic provides satisfactory perfor-
mance when trying to control the weld bead width.

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 J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

Fig. 29  3D reconstruction of the weld bead with width of 6 mm in

metal-cored wire

Fig. 26  Measures for the weld bead with width of 6 mm in metal-

cored wire

Fig. 30  Geometric characteristic measurements of the weld bead

with 6 mm of width in metal-cored wire

Fig. 27  Behavior of the welding speed during the width control of

6 mm in metal-cored wire

Fig. 28  Weld Bead obtained after controlling for a width of 6 mm in

metal-cored wire

An image acquisition system was developed to measure

the weld width in GMAW in real time using a webcam.
Image processing and proper filtering were used to effec-
tively reduce the strong interference of arc light, metal Fig. 31  Process signal measurements for the weld bead of 6 mm in
transfer, spatter and other sources in the welding process. metal-cored wire

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J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng.

Table 6  Level of accuracy W Solid wire Metal-cored wire

obtained with use of the control
system WR |W - WR| Error % WR |W - WR| Error %

5 5.03 0.03 0.6 4.93 0.07 1.42

6 6.01 0.01 0.16 6.14 0.14 2.28
7 6.93 0.07 1.01 6.9 0.1 1.45

Table 7  Geometric parameter Width (mm) Reinforcement (mm) Area of weld (mm2)

measurements for the weld
beads μ σ μ σ μ σ

Solid wire 5.03 0.47 2.03 0.095 8.03 0.674

6.01 0.37 2.7 0.1 12.77 0.91
6.93 0.48 2.62 0.08 13.71 0.87
Metal-cored wire 6.14 0.36 2.31 0.16 10.64 0.88
6.9 0.58 2.65 0.19 12.93 1,47
4.93 0.38 2.64 0.24 9.63 1.32

The images obtained allowed the weld bead width to be
identified quite accurately. The present controller system
proved to be efficient, practical, inexpensive and adaptable
for industrial applications and for research purposes.
Even though the control system showed time varying
behavior—nonlinear and uncertain—satisfactory results
were obtained in the experimental application.
To verify the proposed methodology two types of wire
were used. It can be verified that by varying one parameter
in the process—the type of wire—the results with respect
to the bead width are different. The proposed control sys-
tem showed applicability in both types of wire. The metal-
cored showed more variations at the beginning of the bead,
however, its adequate control was still possible, showing
that the system control is adaptable and works even with
changes in the welding process conditions.
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