A thermal dynamical model based control of resistance spot welding

Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) is a process in which contacting metal surfaces are joined by the heat obtained from resistance to electric current. Inconsistent welds and insufficient nugget size are some of the problems in RSW. As a remedy to these problems a novel RSW control approach is proposed in this paper. The RSW control design is based on a thermal dynamical model. The controllers proposed are One-Step-Ahead, Weighted One-Step-Ahead, and Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID). The designed controllers force the nugget temperature profile to follow a desired reference temperature profile. Results of some simulation studies are also presented.