text:
Tag Archives: indieBRAG
Interview with Award Winning Author Kandi M. Siegel
Posted on June 9, 2017 by layeredpages
I'd like to welcome multi award winning author Kandi M. Siegel today. Kandi graduated from University of Central Florida is 2006 earning a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and was also certified in Special Education. She received the Editor's Choice Award for outstanding achievement in poetry by the National Library of Poetry in 1997. She has been a member of the Space Coast Writer's Guild since 2012. In 2008, Ms. Siegel was hurt on the job while working with special education and was unable to continue her job. Her love for children brought her back to her earlier career of storytelling. She finds writing books for children and meeting people at book signings a very rewarding experience.
Hello, Kandi! Please tell me how you discovered indieBRAG.
Hello Stephanie, My editor of My Summer Triumph was actually the one who suggested I submit my book to IndieBrag and I was so honored when I found out that the book won the BRAG Medallion Award.
Tell me a little about your book, My Summer Triumph.
My Summer Triumph is based on a true life experience from when I first went to overnight camp. All of the actual events in the story really did happen to me, though some of them were exaggerated a bit to make for a better story.
What are Kalia's strengths?
Kaila is a good person with a huge caring heart, which may have been one of her biggest downfalls as she was an easy target for being bullied. She knew right from wrong, however, she wanted so much to fit in with everyone that she was easily lured into bad situations. Her true strengths really didn't come into play until the end of the story when Kaila's dancing lessons gave her the encouragement she needed to be the center of attention, in a positive way.
What is an example of how Shayna helps her?
Shayna was always very positive towards Kaila. She would encourage her to stand up to the bully, Mean Michelle. Shayna even came up with a way for Kaila to get even with Mean Michelle, but unfortunately it backfired and on Kaila. Shayna's biggest plus was when she loaned Kaila some of her clothes to wear to the camp social, which made Kaila feel a whole lot better as her clothes were not exactly the most stylish in comparison to everyone else's.
Your premise has a strong message, what would you say to encourage readers to read your book?
My Summer Triumph is a book that should encourage all young adults to be proud of who they are and to stand strong and never give up. The reader should learn from Kaila's mistakes such as she knew it was wrong to smoke yet instead of walking away, she let the girls talk her into trying a cigarette. Bullying is unfortunately a big part of today's society, but if everyone joined forces to stand up to these bullies, rather than watching someone get made fun of, maybe we could wipe out bullying once and for all.
How did you get into writing young adult books?
I have been writing children stories since I was in elementary school. My teachers all told me I had a very creative imagination and that I would make a good story teller someday. I started keeping all my stories in a box and little by little, I am building on each story to turn them into actual books.
What is your writing process?
When I am about to write a story, first I jot notes. I make an outline of the different chapters and what I want to write about in each one. I list all the characters I am going to use in the book and I decide how each one is going to look and what their names will be. I keep the outline close by to use as a guide.
What advice would you give to inspiring writers to write in this genre?
Advice I would give to inspiring writers is to create a story where the reader can actually imagine him or herself in the book. Make the sounds, scenes and characters come alive by the way you describe them. For example, if you are writing about a cherry pie, don't just say cherry pie, but rather exclaim that it is a sweet, juicy cherry pie. By describing the pie in depth, it makes the reader able to actually taste it.
What is next for you?
I am currently working on a series of books, something I actually started writing in the third grade but never really did anything with the stories until now. The main character is the same in all the books with a lesson to be learned from each story.
Where can readers buy your book?
My Summer Triumph is sold on Amazon in paperback form and on kindle. Here is the link: Amazon
Be sure to stay tune for my next interview with Kandi about her latest B.R.A.G. Medallion coming soon!
A message from indieBRAG:
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to interview Kandi M. Siegel who is the author of, My Summer Triumph, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, My Summer Triumph, merits the investment of a reader's time and money.
Posted in Author Interview, award winning book, award winning indie, B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, indieBRAG	| Tagged award winning author, award winning indie, B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, indieBRAG	| 2 Replies
A Shout Out To indieBRAG Readers!
Posted on March 10, 2017 by layeredpages
I'd like to give a shout out to all our hard working readers at
indieBRAG.
They come from all over the globe and are enthusiastic about their love for books. Many people have asked, "Who are your readers?" Well, we have readers with PHDs, who are book bloggers, book reviewers, editors, teachers, students, designers, business men and women, and much more. We are proud of our team and the hard work they do in discovering the next B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree.
Coming soon to the indieBRAG Blog I will be talking about what authors should do before submitting their books to indieBRAG and what our readers expect. Stay tuned and be sure to give a shout out to our readers on twitter @IndieBrag or on the indieBRAG Facebook Page. Their voice matters and where would we be without them?
indieBRAG Facebook Page
Would you like you like to be part of our reading team at indieBRAG? To find out more about what we do and how to become a reader, click HERE to sign up!
Posted in B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, indieBRAG	| Tagged B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, books, indieBRAG, reader, Reading	| 1 Reply
Interview with B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree J.M. Aucoin
Posted on September 19, 2016 by layeredpages
I'd like to welcome B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree J.M. Aucoin to Layered Pages today to talk with me about his book, Honor Among Thieves. J.M. Aucoin is the product of when a five-year-old boy who fell in love with reruns of Guy William's 'Zorro' grows into a mostly functional adult. He now spends his time writing swashbucklers and historical adventure stories, and has an (un)healthy obsession with 'The Three Musketeers.'
When not writing, J.M. Aucoin practices historical fencing and covers the Boston Bruins for the award-winning blog, Days of Y'Orr. He lives in Heraldwolf's Stone with his fiancee Kate and their dire-beagle, Rex.
Hi, Justin! Thank you for chatting with me today and congrats o the B.R.A.G. Medallion! What is the premise of your story?
Thanks, Stephanie!
Honor Among Thieves is a historical adventure novel set in the early 1600s, during the Henri IV's reign in France. We follow Darion Delerue, a former soldier turned highwayman, who has only two things of value in life—the hope in his heart and the steel at his side. After a heist on a royal ambassador goes wrong, he's is thrown into a political plot to undermine the crown, pitting his old life as an honorable soldier against his new life as a thief and bandit. His actions could send France back into civil war.
There's plenty of swordplay for folks who love a little action and adventure, but wrapped in real historical events for those who want to learn some history in the process.
Why Historical Fiction and how did you choose you setting and period?
I've been a fan of swashbucklers since I was a little kid. Every week I'd watch reruns of Guy William's Zorro on Disney. I also fell in love with Disney's The Three Musketeers as a child. Both stories captivated me. The idea that you could right wrongs and fight injustice with little more than a sharp blade and your wits was a powerful message that resonated with me as a kid – and has followed me into my adulthood.
I chose the early 17th Century France as an homage to Alexander Dumas's The Three Musketeers. But since he took a sizable portion of France's 17th Century historical events, I decided to turn back the clock to a time before the Mousquetaires du Roi were formed. By 1609, the French Wars of Religion had come to a close and France was on the rebound. It was a transitional time, free of war but with the threat of it around every corner. It seemed like an untouched setting and era, and a fun playground to work in.
Tell me a little about Darion Delerue strengths and weaknesses?
Sure. Darion is a complicated fellow – like most of us, I'd imagine. He's an exceptional swordsman. Prudent and courageous, and with a relatively strong moral compass despite his life as a highwayman.
But he's also stubborn and proud, and a bit raw around the edges when it comes to more diplomatic measures. He's lived a rough life and it shows in his demeanor, but deep down he wants to evolve into something greater than he is – he's just not sure if he's capable of it.
What is an example of political intrigue in your story?
In 1609, Spain was struggling with its war with the United Providences, and France was working hard on an alliance with Dutch against Spain. In a desperate effort to keep the alliance from happening, they sent an ambassador to France to secure a double marriage between the two countries. Of course, Henri IV's goal in life was to humble the Spanish Hapsburgs, so you can imagine how well that went.
So readers will get to see the interactions between Henri IV and Don Pedro de Toledo. But next to that is a fictional plot line that twists and wraps itself around some of these historical events. And not to give too much away, but an old enemy of Henry IV rears its head because of it all.
How much research went in to writing your story?
A decent amount, but finding good resources was actually difficult. I was surprised to find so little information at my local library (*shakes fist at Boston Public Library*), so I had to get creative. I found some nice (albeit older) research books online via Google Books that were free to download.
I must've spent a year and a half or so just researching to give myself a base level of knowledge of the times. I still research while I write, mostly detail stuff to give the story that authentic feel, but I feel pretty comfortable to power ahead as need be.
Who designed your book cover?
A good friend of mine – Graham Sternberg. We know each other via our love for practicing historical swordsmanship. Just so happens that he's a professional artist. So I tapped him to be the artist for the Hope & Steel series. It was a lot of fun to work with him on the cover – collaborating ideas and seeing it come to life. The book cover creation process is one of my favorite parts of self-publishing.
Like 99.9% of self-publishers, you can find Honor Among Thieves on Amazon for Kindle and in paperback. For people who hate to give their cash to Amazon, they can buy an autograph copy via my Facebook store for the same price.
I'm about half way through the sequel to Honor Among Thieves (currently untitled). I'm also plotting some short fantasy adventures, too. Always seems to be more ideas than there is time to work on. Can I buy a few extra hours in the day? I'd really love to write all the things.
Thank you, Justin!
Justin's social media links
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to interview J.M. Aucoin who is the author of, Honore Among Thieves, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, Honor Among Thieves, merits the investment of a reader's time and money.
Posted in Author Interview, B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, indieBRAG	| Tagged Author Interview, award winning indie, book award, indieBRAG, self publishing award	| 3 Replies
Interview with B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Scott D. Prill
Posted on August 15, 2016 by layeredpages
I'd like to welcome Scott Douglas Prill today to talk with me about his book, Into the Realm of Time. Scott was born in Iowa and received a M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Iowa in 1977. His subsequent career choices have reflected a strong interest in natural resources. Since graduating, Scott has held positions as a limnologist and environmental consultant. He also has a M.B.A. and is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager. For the previous twenty-six years, Scott has been an in-house environmental consultant for the law firm of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Scott resides in Bayside, Wisconsin, with his wife, Marcie. He enjoys spending time with their three adult children and writing. Into the Realm of Time is Scott's debut novel.
Hello Scott! Thank you for chatting with me today. How did you discover indieBRAG?
Stephanie – thank you for the opportunity for me to be a part of the indieBRAG interview process. I am pleased to answer your questions.
I discovered indieBRAG through a work colleague who recommended I submit Into the Realm of Time to indieBRAG for review. I am pleased I listened to his recommendation. This is the first book I have written and I am learning about new literary groups such as indieBRAG and Goodreads and the positive ideas such groups offer to independent writers like me.
Tell me about your book, Into the Realm of Time.
The story takes place during 372-375 AD. The Roman Empire is on the brink of its great decline. The fierce Roman General Marcus Augustus Valerias contemplates his future. Though at the peak of his success and power, through victories against both external and internal enemies of Rome, the General is weary of the brutality of continual war and yearns for a different life away from his legions and battlefields. At the same time, Claire, the widowed queen of a kingdom in Britannia, risks everything to protect her children from a bloodthirsty usurper. A priest, named Joseph, tries to hide his dark past as he pursues salvation in the Christian faith. Flavius, a Roman officer who deserted his legion, seeks redemption for the cruel actions he has inflicted on behalf of a corrupt tyrant.
All the while, two Hun brothers, Uldric and Rao, are ruled by their ambitions to ruthlessly establish and expand a Hun empire. The story of these intertwined destinies unfolds against the backdrop of love, power, greed, religion, valor and sacrifice in this turbulent period. Fates are not foretold and events lead to a climactic epic battle. Each character must make choices and it is these crucial decisions that decide their ultimate fates.
Into the Realm of Time is a fictional narrative of timeless personal struggles set against an unsettled Roman Empire. Christianity had eclipsed paganism as the state religion and Britannia was an orphaned and wild Roman province. The Huns were emerging and pushing the panicked barbarian Goths into the eastern edge of the Empire. It is a tumultuous time as Rome tenuously clings to its status as a dominant power – the time of General Marcus Augustus Valerias.
What are the habits of your protagonist(s)?
I'm not sure if the book describes the habits of my characters as much as it does the character's own qualities. I consider Into the Realm of Time to have one protagonist and several sub-protagonists and antagonists.
Marcus Augustus Valerias, the main protagonist, is a highly successful military general. He is the emperors' enforcer and is counted on to defeat the emperors' enemies both outside and inside the Empire. Valerias is strong willed, a brilliant military strategist, and a leader of men. He never lost a battle. He demands much of his men, but he maintains a strong bond of loyalty with his legions.
Yet, the military is all he has known in his life. Thus, even though he won't admit it, he has doubts about the path he has taken in life and wonders if there is something more than serving in the army. He yearns for a new life and whatever that life offers. He retires from the army and searches for a new meaning. He finds that new life but also discovers he cannot leave his past behind him.
Self-image is important in characters, how is this important to your characters?
Developing the characters within the storyline was my most important aspect in writing Into the Realm of Time. I wanted to write a book where the characters were not super heroes and super villains; good versus evil. The main characters have positive characteristics as well as flaws. General Valerias, for example, is a complicated man. He is a highly successful Roman General. He is a brutal man in a brutal time. Yet he has a strong inner turmoil. He is searching for contentment and when he finds contentment, he learns it is only a fleeting feeling. He has never had children and yet children are drawn to him. Another character, Claire, puts aside her title as queen to save her children from a bloodthirsty usurper. Joseph, the Christian priest, has much to learn about the meaning of Christianity.
Into the Realm of Time is a book of character development. The interactions of characters with others and events defined their self-images.
What fascinates you most about the Roman Empire?
I have enjoyed watching movies and reading about the Roman Empire since boyhood. The Robe, Ben Hur, Spartacus and Gladiator and others have influenced my thinking of the Empire. On the other hand, the information (facts) in books I have read tends to bring the magic of movies to reality.
I think the fact that the Empire lasted several centuries is remarkable. Although the Western part of the Empire collapsed around 476 AD, the Eastern part lasted almost one thousand more years. The Empire was a dichotomy: the Empire provided culture, order, law and security for its habitants. Yet it could be very brutal to outsiders and even its own citizens. It is interesting to note that Christianity emerged during the Empire. Several times Christianity and Christians were persecuted by the Romans; however, eventually Christianity became the state religion.
Another item of note is that some historians have referred to the period after the fall of the Western Empire as the Dark Ages. Thus, despite its shortcomings, the Roman Empire provided a well-defined civilization for hundreds of years.
Describe the Hun Empire.
During the period of 372-375 AD there was little knowledge of the Huns. The Huns began to appear at this time from the steppes of central Asia. Their appearance westward caused a panic among the Goths who migrated into the eastern part of the Roman Empire. These events form the basis for the historical time frame for Into the Realm of Time.
The story in the book takes place well before the appearance of Attila the Hun by over half a century. In 372 AD the Huns were largely an emerging mystery force.
There were a lot of events happening during this period, did you face any challenges while writing about this?
When I prepared to write Into the Realm of Time, my first decision was to settle on a time frame on which to base the story. This decision was critical to me. I wanted to write a story that takes place towards the end of the Western Roman Empire, but not at its very end. I also wanted the time to be a period of the Empire that was not as well-known as other periods. I wanted to avoid having anything to do with Attila the Hun and King Arthur as there have been a multitude of books written about these men. Finally, like most periods towards the end of the Empire, 372-375 AD was a time of turmoil.
What was some of the research you needed to do for the story and what was your process?
I read several books that were based on the fall of the Roman Empire. Based on the information in these books, I settled on the time of 372 to 375 AD. The Roman Empire was still formidable and had two emperors. Christianity was the established religion of the empire. I also read Gore Vidal's novel, Julian, to get a feel of the time that was different from the other books I read which were more fact based.
I list my reference sources at the end of the book.
You can purchase the book on Amazon in either hard copy (paperback) or through Kindle. It is also sold at several bookstores in southern Wisconsin. I sell an occasional book myself, which I sign. I must also note that the book is at several libraries. Please check my website for sales/library locations.
I am currently working on the sequel to Into the Realm of Time. When I finished Into the Realm of Time, I knew there was more to the story and I wanted to complete the saga. This will be a two-book series. The sequel will hopefully be finished within two years – no guarantees!
I enjoy discussing Into the Realm of Time with anyone as that has been part of the "fun" of writing the book.
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to interview Scott Prill who is the author of, Into the Realm of Time, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, Into the Realm of Time, merits the investment of a reader's time and money.
Posted in B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, guest author, Historcial Fiction, indieBRAG, Interview	| Tagged B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, guest author, historical Fiction, Hun Empire, indieBRAG, Into the Realm of Time, Roman Empire	| 2 Replies
Interview with B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Lambert Nagle
Posted on July 28, 2016 by layeredpages
l'd like to welcome B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Lambert Nagle today. Lambert is the pen name of co-authors Alison Ripley Cubitt and Sean Cubitt – British/Irish/Kiwi co-writers of international thrillers.. Revolution Earth is their debut thriller, part one of the Stephen Connor series. Sean is Professor of Film and Television, Goldsmiths College, University of London. He writes about media for leading academic publishers. Alison worked in film and TV production for 15 years for companies including Walt Disney and the BBC but always wanted to give up the day job to be a writer. She had a column on screenwriting for Writing Magazine, has had two lifestyle and travel titles published and wrote the screenplay for Waves, a short film drama and winner, Special Jury Prize, Worldfest, Houston. Serial expats, Sean and Alison have lived in Malaysia, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and are now based in leafy Hampshire. Find out more about the author and future books here
How did you discover indiebrag?
I discovered IndieBrag through one of my fellow writers via ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. I'm so glad I did! It was very important to have our work peer reviewed and our IndieBrag approval made me proud.
Tell me about your book, Revolution Earth
It is a story with a circular structure, where an event in one part of the world will have an impact in another. This is played out across the world as we move from the UK to New Zealand, Antarctica, Australia, ending up back in the UK.
Please tell me about Stephen Connor
Stephen is an Irish cop working in London for the Metropolitan Police. He's an outsider, a maverick and headstrong.
What are the emotional triggers of your characters and how do you act upon them?
Stephen is loyal but allows his heart to rule his head, which gets him into trouble. For Cara, we wanted to create an idealistic character who believed so passionately in a cause that she doesn't think through the consequences.
What was your inspiration for the story?
Some years ago I had to drive to work past an oil refinery. In the daylight, it was dirty, grey and grimy, but lit up at night, it was spectacular. And then I began to invent a story about using it as a background for an environmental thriller.
How long did it take you to write this story and what was your process?
Too long! Our process was picaresque where we had scenes but with no plot. We made the mistake of evolving the novel rather than structuring it. We sent the first draft to an Australian literary agent who advised us to tighten the plot. That was very good advice.
What do you like most about writing thrillers?
I like the challenge of plotting and structure, while my writing partner Sean loves playing with the language.
Andrew Brown at Design for Writers. It was a real challenge as we wanted an image of an oil refinery, but needed it to look attractive.
We are currently writing the follow-up, Nighthawks which is the second in the series to feature detective Stephen Connor.
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to interview Lambert Nagle who is the author of, REVOLUTION EARTH, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, REVOLUTION EARTH, merits the investment of a reader's time and money.
Posted in B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, guest author, indieBRAG, Interview	| Tagged Alliance of Independent Authors, B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, environmental thriller, guest author, indieBRAG, Lambert Nagle, Revolution Earth	| 2 Replies
Interview with B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Ginger Bensman
I'd like to welcome B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Ginger Bensman today to talk with me about her award winning book, To Swim Beneath the Earth. Ginger is a life-long student of the human condition with a deep interest in philosophy and ecology. She holds a Ph.D. in Human Development/Child and Family Studies from the University of Maine in Orono and has spent more than 25 years working in family support and child abuse prevention programs.
She lives with her husband in Salem, Oregon. This is her first novel.
Hello, Ginger! Thank you for talking with me today. Please tell me how you discovered indiebrag?
A couple years ago, I discovered a wonderful book, After the Sucker Punch by Lorraine Devon Wilke. Wilke's book was a recipient of the Indiebrag award, and after I read her book, I began to notice and appreciate that little gold medallion as an indicator of quality. Two years later, when I published my own book, I knew I wanted to submit it to the Indiebrag process. The possibility of winning a medallion was an exciting but secondary motivation, mostly, I wanted a straight up evaluation of my novel. Indiebrag is a gift to readers and independent authors, helping readers find high caliber indie books, and supporting writers to produce their best work.
Tell me about your book, To Swim Beneath the Earth.
To Swim Beneath the Earth is a literary novel about the possibility of reincarnation. Megan Kimsey, my protagonist, is a young emergency room physician from a small town in South Western Colorado. Since early childhood, she has been haunted by premonitions and dreams that, in the context of her life, make no sense. Her mother sees these experiences as evidence of a psychological disorder and brings in a psychiatrist to cure Megan of her hallucinations. But her father, with whom she shares a close and loving relationship, tries to help her understand and explore what's happening to her. When he is killed in a hit-and-run accident, Megan is devastated, but the memory of his love and his belief in her, and the belated birthday gift she finds from him after his death, give her the courage to embark on an expedition to Colombia and Ecuador, determined to face her phantoms and piece together the riddles in her dreams.
Describe the La Plata Mountains.
I spent my growing-up years practically in the shadow of the La Plata Mountains. Geographically, the La Platas are a range of mountains in Southwestern Colorado, about a 14 mile drive from Durango, the setting for the first half of my novel, and the town where I was born. When I think of the La Platas, I think of snow-fed rivers, forests of aspen and evergreens, cool mornings, and clean pine-scented air. I spent a lot of time in those mountains. My grandfather was a hunting guide, my uncle was a forest service trapper, and my dad was an avid fly fisherman. My family spent several weeks every summer hiking and camping in the La Platas, and sometimes packing into remote areas on horseback. I learned at an early age to love and respect the Colorado mountains in a very intimate way.
Will you tell me one of the images that Megan is haunted by?
Throughout the book, Megan is haunted by sightings of the puma in both her waking and dreamlife. The puma is at once fearsome and comforting, and the she-cat often appears when Megan is stressed or at a transition point. The puma is a vestige from Megan's former life and self (her power animal) meant to urge Megan toward some necessary but unknown (to her) future. In native mythology, the puma, the condor, and the snake make up the Incan trinity, and I give each of them their moment in the book. For the Incas, the condor represented sky—capable of taking messages to the gods and a being that does not hunt but feeds only on the dead; the snake travels to the underworld to shed its skin and be reborn; the puma represents earth and signifies patience and strength, characteristics Megan will need if she's going to find what she's looking for.
Talk about the courage and strength of Megan—and possibly the isolation she may feel with these attributes.
Because of Megan's innate sense of what she knows to be true, the memories she has that are foreign to her own lifetime and culture, and her visions (past and future) that, if known, could make her seem strange and even dangerous, she has to be courageous and strong just to be herself. She has to keep secrets and tell lies, or else suffer assaults from the people (her mother, her friends, everyone but her father) and institutions (her church, medical community, etc.) that are supposed to protect and take care of her. She's in a true double bind, and that makes her reluctant to trust or get close to other people.
I find your premise really fascinating. What inspired you to write this story?
To Swim Beneath the Earth really came about as an accumulation of ideas and images. For years, I was haunted by two different news stories. One, a newspaper article I'd read about a little girl from the American Midwest who died on the front porch of her family's home during a snowstorm; the other, a feature with glossy photographs in the National Geographic about an Incan child that archeologists found sacrificed near the summit of El Plomo in Chile. The two children lived centuries and worlds apart, yet, in my mind, they kept converging. Those two images became foundational when I began to pull together ideas to write a book about a young woman who has experiences that put her in conflict with the concrete "realities" of her life. At one point in the novel, Megan's father says to her, "Just because something's crazy doesn't mean it isn't true," and, at least for me, that statement is the fulcrum of the novel.
Where can a reader buy your book?
It's available as an e-book from Amazon, and from both Amazon and Barnes and Noble in paperback.
What are your personal motivations in story-telling?
I think, like most writers, my aim is to write the kind of story that I enjoy reading. I want the story I'm telling to be able to be experienced and understood on many levels. I'm an avid reader and I have author heroes whose work thrills and inspires me; I'd like to offer that same kind of reading experience to my readers.
Define your writing style.
I would say my writing is character driven and descriptive. I give my characters a lot of latitude to do what they will, and language is important to me. I love to parse words and create images.
What's up next for you?
I'm working on a novel about two aging sisters coming to terms with each other and the indignities of growing older. I hope to have it published next spring.
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to Ginger Bensman who is the author of, To Swim Beneath the Earth, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, To Swim Beneath the Earth, merits the investment of a reader's time and money.
Posted in B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, Interview	| Tagged Author Interview, B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, indieBRAG, publishing, self-publishing	| 3 Replies
Interview with B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Elle Jacklee
Posted on June 30, 2016 by layeredpages
I'd like to welcome B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Elle Jacklee to talk with me today about her book, The Tree of Minala. Elle's professional titles have included software programmer, bilingual sales rep, and proposal specialist. But her favorite title, besides wife and mother, is author! It's the only one that lets her call daydreaming "research". She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two young sons, none of whom are in a hurry to grow up, and that's just fine with her!
Thank you for chatting with me today, Elle! Tell me how you discovered indiebrag?
Thanks very much for having me! I discovered indieBrag when I was book shopping online and saw a book listed as a B.R.A.G. medallion honoree. I'd already read the book so I knew the high quality of it, and I've since gone on to read other wonderful titles that have earned the same distinction.
Please tell me a little about your story, The Tree of Mindala and how you came up with the title.
Sure. The main character, Miranda Moon, has always had a vivid imagination, and it's had a way of getting her into trouble. But when she and her younger brother are mysteriously thrust into Wunderwood, a world they never knew existed, a world where magic flows through the trees, and everyone knows their family name, where an evil villain has a score to settle with every branch of their family tree, Miranda realizes everything she's imagined may not be fiction after all. When she discovers her own role in the villain's sudden release from a long banishment, she knows it's up to her to stop him before he destroys the entire realm. The only problem is, the one thing that could save it has just as much chance as dooming it forever.
The name "Mindala" is actually an anagram of a name in my family.
What was your inspiration in creating your character, Miranda Moon?
I always had a vivid imagination as a child, and I think most kids do. (Some of us never grow out of it, apparently 😉 I think it's one of the best things about being a child, and it's also the reason I think kids will find Miranda easy to relate to. Who, during their childhood, hasn't been in that position? Of believing in something so deeply even though other people, especially people older than them, think is silly or couldn't possibly be real? I think the moment we stop believing in those things, when some of that wonder starts to fade, is a bit sad. So Miranda's story explores the question of "What if it's not just your imagination?" And I hope her story is also a reminder to always look for those things in life that are magic in their own way. The idea is that what's real is magic and what's magic is real. It's all just a matter of perspective.
Describe Wunderwood.
Imagine flowers and leaves and trees in shapes, colors, and sizes you've never seen before. Then imagine animals, some familiar, some unlike any you've seen before, that stand on two legs and speak in your language. Imagine, not lightning, but black, jagged bolts that rip through the sky. And people who use magic and have other unique abilities. I hope this gives you a taste of it, but there's much more to discover in the pages of the book…
What is the mood or tone your characters portray and how does this affect the story?
The characters are all different, each with their own characteristics that can be to their advantage or not, depending on the circumstances. Though serious topics and important questions are raised for the readers to ask themselves, the tone is humorous and sometimes whimsical, so that it's all easy for them to digest.
What are the emotional triggers of your characters and how do they act on them?
Miranda is sensitive about her active imagination so it's no wonder that she's driven to find out everything she can about Wunderwood. It validates her position that just because something seems "unbelievable" or "fantastical" or "impossible", doesn't mean that it is, that it can't be real.
I can imagine you had great fun writing this story. Did you face any challenges?
I had a blast writing this book and its sequel! My main challenge was finding time to write it. I'm a mom of two rambunctious young boys who keep me very busy! But I have recently made the commitment to writing full-time (or as close as a busy mom can get to "full-time" 😉 so I'll be able to produce much faster than I had in the past.
Could you share an excerpt?
""Where are we?" Marcus whispered.
Miranda took another slow look around. "I don't know exactly… but it seems like we may be inside the globe I found under the floor in our bedroom at the cabin… or maybe the globe is a replica of a real place, and we've somehow been transported there."
Marcus crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at Miranda, which was his usual reaction to her storytelling.
"Well, look around you!" Miranda's arm swept their surroundings. "This doesn't look like the bedroom we were in a second ago, does it? But it does look like the scene in this water globe. You explain it!" Miranda held the globe up in front of Marcus for emphasis, and at that moment, the ground rose beneath them. She slowly pulled the globe back toward her, and the ground beneath their feet fell at the same rate back to where it had been.
"I think this world is being affected by what happens in this world!" Miranda whispered, pointing to the water globe. Slowly, Marcus approached the curious trinket while Miranda gazed at it from above. That's when they discovered the miniature versions of themselves inside. Something else was different, too. A candle's flame flickered orange through the little house's door, which was ajar.
"That's strange," Miranda said. "I'm pretty sure that door was completely closed the first time I saw it through this thing."
"That's strange?!""
"It's currently available on Amazon, and will soon be available at all the major retailers."
What is up next for you?
I'm continuing to work on the Wunderwood Series (I've planned for 4 books in all). I am also working on two other projects. One is the conclusion to my Etchings and Embers series (a Muirwood fan-fiction series, the first of which you can find here .) The second is also unrelated to Wunderwood, but my muse insists it require my immediate attention J But Wunderwood Book 2, The Triad of the Tree, is now available!
Thanks again, Stephanie, for having me! It was a pleasure!
We are delighted that Stephanie has chosen to Elle Jacklee who is the author of, The Tree of Mindala, our medallion honoree at indieBRAG. To be awarded a B.R.A.G. Medallion ®, a book must receive unanimous approval by a group of our readers. It is a daunting hurdle and it serves to reaffirm that a book such as, The Tree of Mindala, merits the investment of a reader's time and money.
Posted in B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, guest author, indieBRAG, Interview	| Tagged B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree, Children's book, Elle Jacklee, guest author, indieBRAG, self-publishing, The Tree of Mindala, writing	| 2 Replies


view all Verizon jobs in Charlotte, NC.
view map of Charlotte, NC.
view all Verizon jobs in Whites Creek, TN.
view map of Whites Creek, TN.
view all Verizon jobs in Irving, TX.
view all Verizon jobs in Alpharetta, GA.
view map of Alpharetta, GA.
view all Verizon jobs in Harrisburg, PA.
view all Verizon jobs in Hilliard, OH.
view map of Hilliard, OH.
view all Verizon jobs in Miami, FL.
view all Verizon jobs in Tampa (Temple Terrace), FL.
view map of Tampa (Temple Terrace), FL.
view all Verizon jobs in Albany (Menands), NY.
view map of Albany (Menands), NY.
view all Verizon jobs in Chicago, IL.
view all Verizon jobs in Cary, NC.
view map of Cary, NC.
view all Verizon jobs in Chantilly, VA.
view map of Chantilly, VA.
view all Verizon jobs in Howard County, MD.
view map of Howard County, MD.


text:
Q: Making a client application with C++, GSOAP, and Onvif I am using Visual Studio and GSOAP 2.8.15 to create a C++ Onvif client.
I have run these commands to create source code:
> wsdl2h -P -x -o onvif.h http://www.onvif.org/onvif/ver10/device/wsdl/devicemgmt.wsdl

> soapcpp2 -i -C -IC:\gsoap-2.8.15\gsoap;C:\gsoap-2.8.15\gsoap\import onvif.h

Then I put these files in my MSVC solution:
duration.h/.cpp
soapH.h/soapC.cpp
stdsoap2.h/.cpp

I added this file to the directory but not to the solution:
soapStub.h

I added this as a #define to the compilation:
WITH_NONAMESPACES

I added this include to the main file of my program:
#include "soapDeviceBindingProxy.h"

This gives me a DeviceBindingProxy object, but I don't know what to do with it. I want to connect to an Onvif camera at a known ip address and request information about the device.
The GSOAP examples aren't specific to Onvif, and the Onvif pseudo-code examples aren't specific to GSOAP. Any help would be appreciated.

A: Just open the definition of DeviceBindingProxy object (or even better: run a doxygen on the gSoap-generated source files and enjoy comfortable HTML documentation).
It should contain a separate method for each action the service provides, named exactly as per service definition.
Each of the methods should take two parameters: request & response (their types are pointers to gSoap-generated structures: see their definition/documentation for details).
All you need to do is create instances of request & response, fill the request, pass pointers to both to this method and harvest the data from (already parsed) response.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Justia Patents Including Circuits For Monitoring Arc ParametersUS Patent for Welding wire positioning system Patent (Patent # 7,282,667)
Welding wire positioning system
Jun 16, 2005 - Lincoln Global, Inc.
An electrode position detection system for a welder having a laser that is projected in a lateral plane to laterally cross a welding wire at a location below a contact tip of a welding gun and a receiver that receive the laser bean after crossing the welding wire, and a measuring device that determines one or more parameter of the welding wire based on the received laser beam. Arc voltage measurements can also be used to determine one or more parameter of the welding wire.
Latest Lincoln Global, Inc. Patents:
Manual welding apparatus having an automatic wire retract method
Welding or additive manufacturing dual wire drive system
Torch for electric arc welding system
Relating welding wire to a power source
Hermetic seal for foil-lined FIBC (bulk bag)
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/616,397 filed Jul. 9, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,977,357.
This invention relates generally to arc welding and more particularly to a consumable electrode position detection system and method thereof for arc welders.
Arc welding systems are currently used with robotic welding systems. The use of such robotic welding systems is typically to improve welding uniformity and reproducibility, and to increase the productivity and reduce the cost of welding. It is common that the robotic welder is responsible for carrying out, handling and/or manipulating the welding gun during a welding process. Some robotic systems have been developed which are preprogrammed to perform a fix sequence of motion and process actions. In such a system, the robotic welder merely repeats sequence of motions and processes for each weld. For such a robotic welder to operate efficiency, both the welding equipment and the workpiece must be precisely positioned with reliable repetition since any deviation in the welding equipment and/or position of the workpiece or the path of the joint to be welded will be result in an inferior weld.
Several robotic arc welding system has been developed to detect the area to be weld and to adjust the welding parameters and position of the robotic welder so as to apply a weld in a proper location. Many of these robotic welding systems include a vision system utilizing optical detection to detect weld and joint position and dimensional parameters of the workpiece. Such vision-guided systems assume that wire cast out of the contact tip does not vary in production. Examples of such welding systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,274,840; 5,558,785; 5,405,075; 4,920,249; 4,877,940; 4,737,614; and 4,296,304 all of which are incorporated herein by reference. These robotic welding systems which are incorporated by reference disclose various positioning techniques that can be used to increase the accuracy of the weld bead position on a workpiece. One or more of these robotic welding positioning systems can be fully or partially utilized in the present invention.
Another more common seam-tracking technique is a through-the-arc technique. In this technique, the robot weaves the wire inside the joint and uses current to detect the center of the joint. Again, this technique is heavily dependent on a consistent wire cast, which may or may not actually exist.
Although many of these positioning systems for robotic welders have provided satisfactory orientation of the welding gun relative to the welding location, these positioning systems do not account for welding wire wobble during a welding process. The welding wire that is being fed through the welding gun is typically fed from a spool, drum or reel. As such, the welding wire has a particular shape or memory as its being fed through a welding gun resulting in the welding wire moving laterally in various positions as its being fed from the end of a welding gun. Such movement of the weld wire results in weld wiggle of the weld bead on a workpiece.
Wire aiming accuracy is very important in robotic welding such as GMAW welding, to ensure proper weld location in a weld joint to obtain desired weld bead quality. In the past, factors such as robotic accuracy, fixture accuracy, part dimensional tolerance and distortion during welding have been for the most part corrected by prior art positioning systems. However, none of these positioning systems have so addressed or successfully addressed wire wobble problems. The wire wobble problem can be significant during the welding process and can be as great as an order of magnitude of the welding wire diameter. In the past, wire straighteners have been used in attempt to alleviate the problem of wire wobble; however, use of wire straighteners have not proven successful in dealing with such problems due to delicate setup and lack of standardization on a factory floor. Wire mechanical properties (e.g., stiffness, cast, pitch, packaging, feedability and delivery (e.g., liner condition, cable curvature)) can all contribute to wire wobble problems.
Several prior techniques have been utilized to account for the wire wobble of the welding wire as it is fed from a welding gun. Once such technique is to measure wire displacement by making multiple long beads on plate welds and observing the weld wiggle as an indication of wire wobble. This method is not proven effective to test large quantities of wire with good repeatability, and furthermore can be very expensive and time consuming. Another technique is to use a video camera with automatic edge detection image processing to record and measure wire wobble as the wire is exiting the weld gun. Although this method of detecting weld wobble has had some success, the video camera has a low frame rate and is adversely affected by lighting thus reducing the effectivity of detection. Laser sensors have also been used to measure wire movement under the contact tip, however, such past systems have been inhibited by the formation of a weld bead on a metal plate and the cost for such arrangements. Other methods of detecting wire wobble have also met with low success such as the use of a plasma arc to deflect the wire by arc force, or the use of induction heating of the weld wire which can be cost prohibitive.
In view of the state of the art with respect to detecting and correcting for wire wobble, there is a need for a wire detection system that quickly and accurately determines the position of a welding wire after the welding wire has been fed through the contact tip of a welding gun.
The present invention relates to a welding electrode position detection system and more particularly to a welding electrode detection system used in robotic welding to detect the welding wire wobble of a welding wire as it is fed from a welding gun. As can be appreciated, the present invention has broader applications in that it can be used in monitoring the weld wire position in any type of automatic welding system. The present invention is directed particularly to robotic GMAW welding and will be described with specific reference thereto; however, the present invention can be used for other types of welding. There is provided a method and system for determining the inservice placement (lateral movement) of continuous welding wire wherein the method and system include the providing of a supply of a welding wire, feeding of the welding wire by a wire feeder through a conduit which terminates into a welding gun which welding gun includes a tubular contact tip, melting the welding wire with an arc between the welding wire and a nonconsumable electrode serving as a ground return to the power supply, and a sensing arrangement to sense the position of the welding wire as the welding wire exits the contact tip of the welding gun. The present invention contemplates the use of prior robotic control arrangements to control the position of the contact tip of the welding gun with respect to a workpiece to be welded. Examples of such control arrangements are disclosed in the prior art which is incorporated herein by reference.
In one aspect of the present invention, the electrode position detection system includes an electromagnetic wave generator. The electromagnetic wave generator is designed to generate an electromagnetic wave at the welding electrode which is exiting the contact tip of the welding gun. The electromagnetic wave generator can be designed to generate one or more different types of electromagnetic waves such as, but not limited to, visible light, ultraviolet light, infrared light, laser beams, x-rays, microwaves, sound waves, and the like. In one aspect of the invention, the electromagnetic wave is a laser beam. In one specific aspect of this embodiment, the laser beam has a wavelength of about 400-900 nm, typically about 500-800 nm, more typically about 600-700 nm, and still more typically about 670 nm. Typically the laser beam generated by the electromagnetic wave generator has a substantially singular wavelength; however, laser beams having multiple wavelengths can be generated by the electromagnetic wave generator. In another specific aspect of this embodiment, the electromagnetic wave is a structured light pattern projector. Typically the structured light pattern projector generates a patterned formed of a laser line strip; however, other types of light and/or patterns can be used.
In another and/or alternative aspect of the present invention, the electromagnetic wave generator includes or is a scanning laser that emits a line of laser beam and/or a structured light pattern projector. In one embodiment of the invention, the line of laser beam and/or strip of light has a width of about 2-100 mm, typically about 5-50 mm, and more typically about 10-40 mm. Generally the line of the laser beam and/or strip of light has a width which is greater than the diameter of the welding wire, and typically at least about 1½ times the diameter of the welding wire, more typically at least about 2 times the diameter of the welding wire and still more typically at least about 2.5 times the diameter of the welding wire. The selected width of the line of laser beam and/or strip of light is typically great enough such that the welding wire substantially maintains its position within the width of the laser beam line and/or strip of light during the welding process so that the complete wire wobble movement of the welding wire can be ascertained during the welding process. In still another and/or alternative embodiment of the invention, the electromagnetic wave generated by the electromagnetic wave generator is at least partially directed laterally across the welding wire during a welding process. Generally, the electromagnetic wave substantially lies in a lateral plane that is directed at least partially across the welding wire in a welding process. The angle of orientation of the lateral plane of the electromagnetic wave relative to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire and/or the contact tip of the welding gun is generally about 20-90°, typically about 40-90°, and more typically about 45-90°. In one aspect of this embodiment, the lateral plane of the electromagnetic wave is substantially perpendicular (i.e., 90°) to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire and/or the contact tip of the welding gun. The electromagnetic wave is generally directed at the welding wire at a location below the end of the contact tip of the welding wire. Generally, the electromagnetic wave is projected laterally across the welding wire at a location which is at least about 0.01 inch below the end of the contact tip of the welding gun, typically about 0.05 to 2 inches below the end of the contact tip of the welding gun, more typically about 0.1 to 1.8 inches below the contact tip of a welding gun, even more typically about 0.2 to 1.75 inches below the contact tip of the welding gun, and still even more typically about 0.25 to 1.5 inches below the contact tip of the welding gun. The directing of the electromagnetic wave laterally across the welding wire in a position below the end of the contact tip better enables the detection mechanism to monitor the wire wobble of the welding wire as it exits the contact tip of the weld gun.
In still another and/or alternative aspect of the present invention, the electrode position detection system includes a receiver that at least partially receives an electromagnetic wave after such wave has at least partially traveled across the welding wire. Many types of receivers can be used depending on the type or types of electromagnetic wave being generated by the electromagnetic wave generator. One non-limiting receiver that can be used to receive a laser beam from the electromagnetic wave generator is an optical receiver such as, but not limited to, a charge couple device. Generally the optical receiver is oriented to receive a substantial portion of the electromagnetic wave which has been generated by the electromagnetic wave generator and directed laterally across the welding wire. As can be appreciated, the electromagnetic wave that contacts the welding wire as the electromagnetic wave passes laterally across the welding wire path is absorbed and/or deflected, thus is not or substantially not received by the receiver. The absence of this received electromagnetic wave by the receiver is processed to obtain information about one or more parameters of the welding wire.
In yet another and/or alternative aspect of the present invention, the electrode position detection system includes a measuring device designed to determine at least one parameter of the welding wire based upon the electromagnetic wave received by a receiver after the electromagnetic wave has laterally traveled across the welding wire. Non-limiting examples of parameters which can be determined by the measuring device include, but are not limited to, the lateral position of the welding wire, the roundness or ovality of the welding wire, the diameter of the welding wire, welding wire surface profile, welding wire defects, debris on welding wire, the twist of the welding wire, a lateral position history of the welding wire, a roundness or ovality history of the welding wire, a twist history of the welding wire as a function of wire position in the package of welding wire (e.g., wire reel, wire drum, etc.), a diameter history of the welding wire, a lateral movement frequency of the welding wire, a defect history of the welding wire, an outer debris history of the welding wire, a twist frequency of the welding wire, an average length of welding wire per lateral movement cycle, an average length of welding per twist cycle, and/or the amplitude of lateral movement of the welding wire. In essence, the measuring device can provide information concerning the position and/or shape of the welding wire exiting the contact tip of a welding-gun, which information can be rapidly used to adjust the position of the welding gun to account for weld wobble and/or provide a historical model of the welding wire during the welding process to allow the welding gun to anticipate adjustments in the position of the welding gun during a welding process. In one embodiment of the invention, the measuring device utilizes fast Fourier transform, discrete Fourier transform, histograms and/or standard deviation techniques (e.g., mean, maximum, minimum, etc.) to ascertain information about the position and/or shape. In one aspect of this embodiment, fast Fourier transform, discrete Fourier transform, histograms and/or standard deviation techniques are used to generate a wire wobble history of the welding wire and to define an average length of welding wire per wobble cycle. As can be appreciated, one or more of these transform techniques can be used to determine other and/or additional parameters of the welding wire. In another and/or alternative embodiment of the invention, the measuring device can include a memory location and/or transfer information to a location for real time use and/or historical purposes. As can be appreciated, the information can be stored in a location near the welder and/or can be transmitted to a remote location via telephone wire, cable, microwave, satellites, etc. In one aspect of this embodiment, a determined parameter by the measuring device is associated with and/or correlated with a particular time, a geographic location (e.g., GPS locator), a particular workpiece, a particular region on the workpiece, one or more welding parameters, and combinations thereof. Such information can be used to ensure weld bead quality and/or provide information to a manufacturer to inspect a weld bead on a workpiece or a particular region of a workpiece for quality control purposes. As can be appreciated, this stored information can be automatically and/or manually monitored in real time and/or at a later time. In still another alternative embodiment of the present invention, one or more of the measured parameters of the welding wire are stored and subsequently mapped to provide welding wire position movement history of the welding wire over a length of time. In one aspect of this embodiment, the measured welding wire position is mapped relative to one or more coordinates. Typically, the center of the welding tip is designated as a 0 coordinate; however, other coordinates can be used. For instance, if a mapping of the weld wire is a two dimensional analysis, the center of the contact tip of the welding wire is designated as 0,0. The position of a welding wire is then subsequently measured relative to its deviation from the center of the welding contact tip. After a sufficient amount of data points are obtained for the welding wire, these points can be mapped on a histogram map to identify on the map high density of points which indicate the most common location of the welding wire. Various visual techniques can be used such as, but not limited to, color to represent higher and lower populated data points to generate a population density plot. These data points can then be used to reposition the welding gun to represent the most common location of the welding wire during a welding process. The history of these data points can also be used to predict or anticipate the movement of the welding wire during the welding process to thereby anticipate the position of the welding wire during a welding process and thereby adjust the position of the welding gun welded to the workpiece as a particular segment of welding wire passes through the contact tip of the welding tip.
In accordance with still yet another and/or alternative aspect of the present invention, the electrode positioned detection system utilizes a plurality of electromagnetic waves for use in determining one or more parameters of the welding wire. The types of electromagnetic waves can be the same or different. In one embodiment of the invention, at least two laser beams are directed laterally across the welding wire to obtain multiple coordinate information of the welding wire during a welding process. In one aspect of this embodiment, the laser beams are substantially positioned in a lateral plane which is oriented at an angle of about 20-90° to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire and/or contact tip, typically about 40-90° to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire and/or contact tip, and more typically about 45-90° to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire and/or welding tip. In another and/or alternative aspect of this embodiment, at least two laser beams are oriented at substantially the same angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire and/or contact tip. In still another and/or alternative aspect of this embodiment, at least two laser beams occupy a plane which is non-parallel to one another. In one non-limiting design, the non-parallel angle of the two planes is about 20-90°, and more typically about 45-90°. In one particular arrangement, both planes of the laser beam are oriented about 90° perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the welding wire and/or contact tip and the two planes of the laser beams are oriented about 90° relative to one another. Multi-dimensional data points of the welding wire can be used to obtain information as to the twist of the welding wire, the roundness or ovality of the welding wire, defects in the welding wire, the amount and/or frequency of occurrence of debris on welding wire, the lateral position of the welding wire in multiple dimensions and/or various other parameters of the welding wire. As can be appreciated, single dimensional data can also be obtained.
In accordance with a further and/or alternative aspect of the present invention, the arc voltage between the welding wire and the non-consumable electrode of the welder is measured to obtain information concerning the position of the welding wire relative to the non-consumable electrode. As the welding wire moves farther from the non-consumable electrode, the arc length between the non-consumable and the welding wire increases resulting in a increase in voltage for a particular current. Furthermore, when the welding wire moves closer to the non-consumable electrode, the arc length resistance between the non-consumable welding electrode and the welding wire decreases thereby resulting in an decrease in voltage for a constant current power source. By monitoring the increase and decrease of voltage during a welding process provides information concerning the relative location of the welding wire during the welding process. In one embodiment of the invention, the arc welding voltage measurement is stored in an effort to obtain historical information concerning the movement of the welding wire during a welding process. This historical information can be used to determine and/or anticipate a movement cycle of the welding wire during a welding process and/or be used to generate quality control data with respect to a weld bead during the welding process. In another and/or alternative embodiment of the invention, multiple non-consumable electrodes are used during the welding process and a switching mechanism is used to activate and deactivate one or more of the non-consumable electrodes to thereby form and terminate an arc between the welding wire and a particular non-consumable electrode. The arc voltage which is generated between at least one of the plurality of non-consumable electrodes and the welding wire can be used to obtain information about the position of the welding wire during a welding process. Typically, the switching mechanism is designed so that there is slight overlap between the disconnecting of one non-consumable electrode and the connecting of another non-consumable electrode so as to prevent inadvertent extinguishing of the arc between the welding wire and one or more of the non-consumable electrodes. In yet another and/or alternative embodiment of the present invention, the monitoring of the arc voltage during a welding process can be used alone or in conjunction with other control or monitoring systems for the welding gun and/or welding wire.
In accordance with yet a further and/or alternative aspect of the present invention, the information obtained about the welding wire can be used to improve the manufacture of welding wire to thereby minimize the wire movement of the welding wire during a welding process. The welding wire detection mechanism can be used to obtain to information about the welding wire during the welding process and to use such information to improve the quality of a weld bead during a welding operation. For instance, the information can be used to design welding with certain wire shape memory and/or to improve wire winding techniques to minimize welding wire movement and/or conduit re-casting by the welding tip and/or other components of the welder. The information can also or alternative be used to obtain relationships between the sensitively of conduit routing geometry (e.g., radii, material, etc.) the wire movement after passing through the conduit.
It is a principal object of the present invention is to provide a detection mechanism and method for determining one or more parameters of a welding wire as the welding wire exits a welding gun.
Another and/or alternative object of the present invention to provide a welding wire detection mechanism that can be used to obtain to information about the welding wire during the welding process and to use such information to improve the quality of a weld bead during a welding operation.
Still another and/or alternative object of the present invention is the provision of a welding wire detection system which can detect one or more parameters of the welding wire by the use of one or more electromagnetic waves directed laterally across the welding wire as it exits a welding gun.
Yet another and/or alternative object of the present invention is the provision of a detection mechanism which utilizes information concerning the arc voltage of the arc between the welding wire and a non-consumable electrode to obtain position information concerning the welding electrode.
A further and/or alternative object of the present invention is the provision of a wire placement mechanism and method which utilizes one or more lasers to obtain information about the welding wire during a welding process.
Still a further and/or alternative object of the present invention is a the provision of a placement mechanism and method which can generate the history for one or more parameters of the welding wire with respect to its position in a package of wire to improve wire winding manufacturing practice.
Yet a further and/or alternative object of the present invention is the provision of a placement mechanism and method which utilizes parameter information of the welding wire to adjust and/or anticipate the position of the welding gun relative to a workpiece during a welding process.
Still yet a further and/or alternative object of the present invention is the provision of a placement mechanism and method which correlates sensitivity of conduit routing geometry and its movement with wire placement in an effort to minimize wire movement.
Another and/or alternative object of the present invention is the provision of a placement mechanism and method which correlates sensitivity of conduit routing geometry to be used to design wire shape memory and winding techniques that minimize the effect of conduit re-cast.
Still another and/or alternative object of the present invention is the provision of a placement mechanism and method which obtains parameter information concerning the welding wire during a welding process and to provide immediate or subsequent information concerning the quality of the generated weld bead.
These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the discussion of the distinction between the invention and the prior art and when considering the preferred embodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings.
The foregoing objects, and others, will in part be obvious and in part pointed out more fully hereinafter in conjunction with the written description of preferred embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective illustration of a welding wire passing through a contact tip of a welding gun and melted by an electric arc and a scanning laser and optical receiver which are used to obtain position and/or other information about the welding wire during the welding process;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention wherein two scanning lasers and two optical receivers are used to obtained multi-dimensional positional and/or other information about the welding wire during a welding process;
FIG. 3 is a graphical representation of another embodiment of the present invention wherein a switching mechanism controls current through a plurality of non-consumable electrodes and the arc voltage between the welding wire and a particular non-consumable electrode is obtained and used to determine information about the welding wire during a welding process;
FIG. 3A is a graphical representation of the switching signals to the switches in FIG. 3A which signals are used to activate and deactivate the switches;
FIGS. 4-6 are histogram maps of three different welding wire sources which information for the histogram map was obtained by the arrangement of FIG. 2;
FIG. 7 is a graphical representation of the determined angular orientation of the welding wire and the deviation distance of the welding wire from the center of the contact tip of the welding gun during a welding process using the arrangement of FIG. 2; and,
FIG. 8 is a three dimensional graphical representation of the determined angular orientation of the welding wire and the deviation distance of the welding wire from the center of the contact tip of the welding gun during a welding process using the arrangement of FIG. 2.
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only and not for the purpose of limiting same, FIG. 1 illustrates a basic arc welding arrangement. The arc welding arrangement includes a gas TIG arc welding (GTAW) power supply with a high frequency (HF) arc starter 12. The operation of a gas TIG arc welder power supply is well known in the art thus no further discussion will be made with respect to such power supply. Examples of power supplies that can be used include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,683,602; 5,338,916; 5,285,042; 4,947,021; and 4,385,223; all of which are incorporated herein by reference. One pole of the GTAW power supply is connected to a contact tip 20 of an arc welding gun by electrical connection 14. A welding wire 30 is illustrated as being fed through the contact tip of the welding gun. The design of the contact tip and the use of a contact tip in a welding gun are well known in the art, thus no further discussion will be made concerning these elements. In robotic welding, the position of the welding gun is typically controlled by a robotic welding arm, not shown. Once again such robotic welding arrangements are well known in the art, thus it will not be further described in the present invention. Welding wire 30 can be a gas metal arc welding wire or a flux cored arc welding wire. If a gas metal arc welding wire (GMAW) is used, typically shielding gas is directed about the welding wire and/or welding pool during the arc welding process. Inert and/or substantially inert gasses and/or gas mixtures such as, but not limited to, helium, argon, helium-argon blend, etc. are commonly used as shielding gases. However, other shielding gases or combinations can be used. Typically the shielding gas, if used, is directed to the weld pool at a rate of about 10-50 CFH; however, other flow rates can be used. When a flux cored arc welding wire (FCAW) wire is used, a shielding gas is typically not necessary since the flux system in the FCAW wire provides shielding during a welding process; however, shielding gas can be used for FCAW wires that do not provide adequate shielding during the welding process. The flux cored wire, metal cored wire or solid wire 30 is typically supplied from a spool, drum or reel, not shown, through a conduit and into the welding gun and finally through the contact tip 20 of the welding gun. The use of welding wire containers such as spools, drums, and/or reels of welding wire are well known in the art, thus will not be discussed in detail. Examples of welding wire containers that can be used in the present invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,481,575; 5,931,408; 5,819,934; and 5,549,257; all of which are incorporated herein by reference. The welding wire 30, when in its packaged state, typically develops a shape memory which results in lateral movement of the end 32 of welding wire 30 as the welding wire passes out of end 22 of contact tip 20 of the welding gun. When the GTAW power supply 12 is energized, an arc 40 is formed between end 32 of welding wire 30 and a non-consumable electrode 50 of a TIG torch 60. The non-consumable electrode 50 is typically a tungsten electrode, however other types of non-consumable electrodes can be used. Electric arc 40 heats end 32 of welding wire 30 until the end melts to form molten welding wire 34 which is deposited in a desired weld location on a workpiece, not shown. TIG torch 60 is connected to the negative output of the GTAW power supply 12 by wire 16. Arc 40 is typically started by the use of the high frequency arc starter and is reestablished by the high frequency arc starter if the arc inadvertently extinguishes between non-consumable electrode 50 and end 32 of welding wire 30. Advantages of this electrode consumption method include, but are not limited to, the exertion of minimal force on the welding wire, the close resembling of a MIG application, and the ability to continuously consume large quality of welding wire in an unsupervised environment. The components of the art welding arrangement 10 described above are well known in the art thus further details concerning such an arc welding process will not be further described.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the contact tip 20 is oriented at an angle of about 45° with respect to a horizontal position of the workpiece, not shown. As can be appreciated, other angles of orientation can be used for the contact tip. A scanning laser 70 directs a scanning laser line 80 toward the welding wire at a position below end 22 of contact tip 20. The laser exerts very little force on the welding wire. Scanning laser line 80 is oriented with respect to the longitudinal axis of the contact tip such that the scanning laser perpendicularly intersects the longitudinal axis of the contact tip. As can be appreciated, orientation of the laser beam relative to the longitudinal axis of the contact tip can be other than a perpendicular orientation. The wavelength of the laser generated by scanning laser 70 has a wavelength of about 600-700 nm and a width of the laser line of about 10-40 mm. As can be appreciated, other wavelengths of the laser can be used and/or other widths of the scanning laser line can be used. As shown in FIG. 1, once scanning laser line 80 laterally travels across welding wire 30, a portion of the laser is absorbed and/or deflected by the welding wire. This deflected portion is illustrated by solid line 82. An optical receiver is diametrically opposed from scanning laser 70 and is oriented so as to receive scanning laser line 80 that has passed laterally crossed welding wire 30. The optical receiver is typically a charge couple device (CCD) array detector; however, other optical receivers can be used. The use of a CCD array detector has the ability to acquire a full spectrum laser light in the time it takes other scanning units to sample a single wavelength. The CCD array detector also typically exhibits high quantum efficiency and relatively low readout noise as compared to conventional photodiode array detectors. As can be appreciated, fiber optic sampling systems can be used. Information received by the optical receiver can be sent to and/or stored in a processing unit P. The received data can be processed by processor P by various techniques such as, but not limited to, fast Fourier transform (FFT), discrete Fourier transform (DFT), histograms, use of standard deviation techniques (e.g., minimum, maximum, mean) and combinations thereof. By using various analytic processes, the processor can determine various parameters of the welding wire during a welding operation, such as, but not limited to, the lateral position of the welding wire at various times during a welding process, the shape (e.g., roundness, ovality, etc.) of the welding wire at various points during the welding process, the thickness (e.g., diameter) of the welding wire at various time during the welding process, the lateral position history of the welding wire, the shape history of the welding wire, the thickness history of the welding wire, the lateral movement frequency of the welding wire, the average length of welding wire per lateral movement cycle, the amplitude of lateral movement of the welding wire, and/or various other attributes of the welding wire during the welding process.
In one example of operation of the invention disclosed in FIG. 1, a GMAW or FCAW wire is fed through contact tip 20 at a rate of approximately 200-1200 inches per minute. A GTAW power supply is selected to have a power output of about 200-800 amps. Welding wire 30 is supplied from a drum of welding wire, not shown. Arc 40 is started between non-consumable electrode 50 and end 32 of welding wire 30 by a high frequency arc starter. As the welding wire is fed through contact tip 20, a scanning laser 60 having a wavelength of about 670 nm and a width of about 20 mm is directed, at a substantially perpendicular angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the contact tip, toward welding wire 30. The scanning laser line 80 laterally crosses the welding wire at a point of about 0.25-1.5 inches below end 22 of contact tip 20. A CCD optical detector 90 is positioned to receive a laser generated by scanning laser 70. The data received by the CCD optical receiver is transmitted to a processor which uses the data to provide historical information as to wire wobble of a welding wire during a welding process. This historical information is then used by the positioning mechanism of the robotic welder to adjust the position of the contact tip relative to the workpiece thereby reducing the amount of weld bead wiggle in the workpiece due to the wire wobble of the welding wire. The data processed and stored by processor P can also be used to ascertain the weld bead quality of a workpiece during a welding process. Real time information concerning the welding wire can also be used to reduce the amount of weld bead wiggle.
Referring now to FIG. 2, a variation to the detection arrangement of the welding wire is illustrated. Similar to the arrangement in FIG. 1, a contact tip 20 is provided having a contact end 22 through which passes a welding wire 30. An electric arc 40 is generated between the end of the welding wire and a non-consumable electrode 50. Non-consumable electrode 50 is connected to TIG torch 60 having a TIG torch ground 62. Two scanning lasers 70 and 72 each generate a scanning laser line 84, respectively. Direct scanning laser lines that laterally pass welding wire 30 at a point of approximately 0.25-1.5 inches below end 22 of contact tip 20. Scanning lasers 70 and 72 both direct the laser light in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of contact tip. Furthermore, the paths of the two lasers are approximately perpendicular to one another. As shown in FIG. 2, as the laser light from the two scanning lasers passes welding wire 30, welding wire 30 deflects and/or absorbs the laser light from the two main lasers as illustrated by lines 82, 86 respectively. An optical receiver 90 is positioned diametrically opposed to scanning laser 70 and an optical laser 92 is positioned diametrically opposed to scanning laser 72. These two optical receivers are designed to receive the laser light that has laterally passed the welding wire and to use such information to provide multi-dimensional information with respect to the welding wire and/or positioning of the welding wire during a welding process. As can be appreciated, the angles of orientation of the laser beams with respect to the longitudinal axis of the contact tip can be the same or different and/or the angle of orientation can be an angle other than 90°. Furthermore, the wavelength of the laser beams and/or the width of the laser line generated by the two scanning lasers can be the same or different. Typically, the wavelengths of the two lasers are different.
Referring now to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the two-dimensional data obtained by the detectors 90, 92 are plotted. FIG. 4 illustrates the wire displacement of the welding wire below the end of the contact tip for a particular type of welding wire. The welding wire was obtained from various commercial sources. FIG. 4 illustrates a two-dimensional histogram map were coordinates 0, 0 is the center of the contact tip. The data used to generate the two-dimensional histogram map was acquired after ten minutes of welding and after approximately 240,000 data pairs were obtained. The wire feed rate for the data illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 was approximately 400 inches per minute and was approximately 300 inches per minute for the data illustrated in FIG. 5. Three different types of wire were used to develop the data in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6. A 600 lb reel of welding wire identified as Brand X was used to generate the data in FIG. 4, an 180 lb reel of welding wire identified as Brand Y was used to generate the data in FIG. 5, and a 180 lb box of a welding wire identified as Brand Z was used to generate the data in FIG. 6. The color intensity used in the two-dimensional histogram map represents a histogram count, normalized to point to the highest count (or with the most population). The lighter shades represent a denser data population and the darker shades represent a sparser data population. FIG. 6 illustrates a welding wire that exhibited less wire wobble during welding process. FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a welding wire which continues to move during the welding process.
The data used to generate these two-dimensional histogram maps can be manipulated in a variety of manners. For instances, the data used to generate points on the histogram map can be selected to only count hot areas or where the data population exceeds a threshold. This process would disregard low frequency data points and only count the area where the welding wire spends the majority of the time. Other types of data manipulation can include the dividing of the area of applied data points by the wire cross-sectional area, thus normalizing the collected data against the wire size and thereby allow for comparison between various wire sizes. A histogram map can be generated by an aggregate density plot attained from tests at various locations on welding wire in the welding package. This plot changes as the welding wire is obtained from the package at the original full weight and may vary as more and more welding wire is used up from the welding wire package. The data collected can then be used to determine wire placement of welding wire as various amounts of welding wire in the package is used up during the welding process. A histogram map can be generated in Cartesian and in a polar coordinate system to track the movement of the center coordinates at various wire weight levels when the package pays down from full weight to zero weight at fixed weight increments. Alternatively a polar coordinate system (distance from center, angle) can be used to plot the wire position versus time. The distance coordinate from the center corresponds to the wire cast and the angle corresponds to the wire flip. Such a graph is illustrated in FIG. 7. The thinner blue line illustrates the movement of the wire at the center coordinates and the thicker pink dotted line represents the angle of the wire. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the wire angle drastically changes approximately every 75 inches of the wire thus representing a wire flip of approximately every 75 inches which corresponds to the length of welding wire of each loop in a reel. As can be appreciated, as the wire pays further down from the welding wire package, the frequency of the wire flip may increase. As also illustrated in FIG. 7, the deviation of the welding wire from the 0, 0 coordinates was the greatest during the flipping of the metal wire. As can be appreciated, this information can useful to minimize the affects of wire wobble thereby improving the weld bead quality during a welding process. FIG. 8 is another way to graphically illustrate th acquired data. FIG. 8 is a three dimensional graph illustrating wire place data along the x, y and z coordinates. The z coordinate is a time coordinate; however, it could alternative be representative of wire length or some other parameter. As can be appreciated, a two dimensional plot and/or plots have more than three dimensions can also or alternatively be generated.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 3A, another embodiment of the present invention is disclosed. As illustrated in FIG. 3 there is provided a wire reel 100 from which welding wire 110 is unwound therefrom. Welding wire 110 is drawn from wire reel 100 by a wire feeder 120. Wire feeder 120 feeds the welding wire into a contact tip 130. Welding wire exits end 132 of contact tip 130 and the end 112 of welding wire 110 is melted by an arc 140 which is generated between end 112 and at least one non-consumable electrode. As illustrated in FIG. 3, there are provided four TIG torches 152, 162, 172 and 182. Each of the TIG torches include a non-consumable electrode 150, 160, 170, 180 respectively. The power to generate arc 140 is by a GTAW power supply 190. The operation and various features of the arc welding arrangement disclosed in FIG. 3 are similar to the arc welding arrangement disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2.
As shown in FIG. 3, four TIG torches are positioned below contact tip 130 and are connected to the GTAW power supply by switch one (SW1), switch two (SW2), switch three (SW3), and switch four (SW4). The four switches are controlled by switch gates signals which are illustrated in FIG. 3A. When the switch gate signal is on, the switch closes and allows current to flow through the switch. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a single switch is closed at any given time. The switch control may be arranged such that there is a slight overlap in the opening and closing of a switch so as to prevent the extinguishing of an arc between the non-consumable electrode of the TIG torch and the end of welding wire 112. As shown in FIG. 3A, switch one is first activated, then switch two, then switch three and then switch four and the pattern then repeats back to switch one. As can be appreciated other switching patterns can be used. The position of the end the welding wire 112 is determined by measuring the arc voltage of arc 140. As the arc length increases between non-consumable electrode 150 and end of welding electrode 112, the arc voltage increases. Alternatively, when the arc voltage in the arc decreases as the length of the arc between the non-consumable electrode and the end of the welding wire decreases. By monitoring the arc voltage, a processor P can obtain information as to the movement of the end of the welding wire during a welding process. As can be appreciated, a single TIG torch can be used to measure the arc voltage during an arc welding process such as the arrangements disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2. The arrangement disclosed in FIG. 3 provides additional information as to the position of the end of the welding wire since multi-dimensional positioning information is obtained by using multiple non-consumable electrodes to generate different arcs at various time periods between a particular non-consumable electrode and the end of the welding wire. Arc voltage welding information can be used in a similar manner as the information that was collected in the arrangements disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2. For instance, information concerning the lateral position of the welding wire, the twist of the welding wire, the lateral position history of the welding wire, the twist history of the welding wire, the lateral movement frequency of the welding wire, the twist frequency of the welding wire, the average length of welding wire per lateral movement cycle, the average length of welding wire per twist cycle, and/or the amplitude of the lateral movement of the welding wire can be ascertained from the arc voltage data. As can be appreciated, less than four or more than four non-consumable electrodes can be used in combination with the switching arrangement to obtain arc voltage data which can be used to determine information about the welding wire.
The invention has been described with reference to preferred and alternative embodiments. Modifications and alterations will become apparent to those skilled in art upon the reading and understanding of the detailed discussions of the invention provided herein. This invention is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the scope of the present invention.
1. A method of determining a position of a welding wire after the welding wire has passed through a contact tip of a welding gun comprising:
a) feeding said welding wire through said contact tip;
b) providing first and second non-consumable electrodes that are spaced from one another, said first and second non-consumable electrodes spaced from said contact tip;
c) forming a first electric arc between said welding wire and said first non-consumable electrode at least partially while no electric arc is formed between said welding wire and said second non-consumable electrode;
d) forming a second electric arc between said welding wire and said second non-consumable electrode at least partially while no electric arc is formed between said welding wire and first second non-consumable electrode;
e) measuring the arc voltage, arc current or combinations thereof of said first and second electric arc that was formed between said welding wire and said first and second non-consumable electrodes; and,
f) calculating a relative position of said welding wire based on said measured arc voltages, measured arc currents or combinations thereof.
2. The method as defined in claim 1, including the step of measuring a relative lateral movement of said welding wire based upon said measured arc voltage, measured arc current or combinations thereof.
3. The method as defined in claim 2, including the step of storing a plurality of measured arc voltages, measured arc currents or combinations thereof, at least one of said stored arc voltages, stored arc currents or combinations thereof are correlated to a time, geographic location, a workpiece, a workpiece region, or combinations thereof.
4. The method as defined in claim 3, including the step of providing a switching mechanism to at least partially control the conductivity of each of said non-consumable electrodes so that said electric arc forms between said welding wire and at least one non-consumable electrode at least partially while no electric arc is formed between said welding wire and at least one other non-consumable electrode.
7. The method as defined in claim 1, including the step of providing a switching mechanism to at least partially control the conductivity of each of said non-consumable electrodes so that said electric arc is forms between said welding wire and at least one non-consumable electrode at least partially while no electric arc is formed between said welding wire and at least one other non-consumable electrode.
8. An electrode detection system for determining at least one welding wire position of a welding wire as the welding wire is fed from an end of a contact tip of a welding gun toward a workpiece during the welding of the workpiece comprising:
a) a welding wire that is feedable through a contact tip of a welding gun;
b) a plurality of electrical contacts positioned in a predetermined positioned about a location point, said location point positioned between said contact tip and the workpiece, at least one of said electrical contacts spaced from the workpiece and said contact tip of said welding gun;
c) a power source that directs current through said welding wire to form an electric arc between said welding wire and at least one of said plurality of electrical contacts;
d) a switching mechanism that controls the conductivity of each of said electrical contacts to control the formation and termination of said electric arc between at least one of said plurality of electrical contacts, said switching mechanism at least partially causing said electric arc to form between said welding wire and at least one electrical contact at least partially while no electric arc is formed between said welding wire and at least one other electrical contact;
e) a measuring device to measure arc voltage, arc current or combinations thereof of said electric arc between at least one of said plurality of electrical contacts and said welding wire; and,
f) a calculating device to determine at least one parameter of said welding wire based on said measured arc voltage, said measured arc current or combinations thereof.
9. The electrode detection system as defined in claims 8, wherein said at least one parameter of said welding wire includes a relative position of said welding wire to at least one of said electrical contacts, a relative position of said welding wire to said location point or combinations thereof.
10. The electrode detection system as defined in claim 9, wherein said at least one parameter of said welding wire includes a relative lateral movement of said welding wire.
11. The electrode detection system as defined in claim 10, including a storage device to store a plurality of measured arc voltages, measured arc currents or combinations thereof; and including a correlating device to correlate at least one of said stored arc voltages, stored arc currents or combinations thereof to a time, geographic location, a workpiece, a workpiece region, or combinations thereof.
12. The electrode detection system as defined in claim 9, including a storage device to store a plurality of measured arc voltages, measured arc currents or combinations thereof; and including a correlating device to correlate at least one of said stored arc voltages, stored arc currents or combinations thereof to a time, geographic location, a workpiece, a workpiece region, or combinations thereof.
2849195 August 1958 Richardson
2895210 July 1959 Hubbard
2966258 December 1960 Krafft
3013742 December 1961 Bittman
3076619 February 1963 Nye
3082868 March 1963 Hubbard
3168259 February 1965 Cady
4296304 October 20, 1981 Defourey
4350311 September 21, 1982 Pokhodnya
4508291 April 2, 1985 Kosch
4553707 November 19, 1985 Henrich
4594493 June 10, 1986 Harrah et al.
4737614 April 12, 1988 Richardson
4869367 September 26, 1989 Kawasaki
4869438 September 26, 1989 Braun
4920249 April 24, 1990 McLaughlin
5105943 April 21, 1992 Lesko
5263631 November 23, 1993 Felber
5277314 January 11, 1994 Cooper
5405075 April 11, 1995 Narita
5494160 February 27, 1996 Gelmetti
5558785 September 24, 1996 Killian
5746380 May 5, 1998 Chung
5758834 June 2, 1998 Dragoo
5897071 April 27, 1999 Hauck
5932123 August 3, 1999 Marhofer et al.
5988482 November 23, 1999 Sasakura et al.
6019303 February 1, 2000 Cooper
6091048 July 18, 2000 Lanouette et al.
6260781 July 17, 2001 Cooper
6274840 August 14, 2001 Kanjo
6386364 May 14, 2002 Kawasaki
6481575 November 19, 2002 Cipriani
20030235231 December 25, 2003 Rincon
19754857 July 1998 DE
1267143 December 2002 EP
759.575 August 1954 GB
880502 July 1959 GB
959472 June 1964 GB
7-198346 August 1995 JP
2002-120066 April 2002 JP
WO 01/88472 November 2001 WO
WO 02/36296 May 2002 WO
Date of Patent: Oct 16, 2007
Assignee: Lincoln Global, Inc. (City of Industry, CA)
Inventors: Christopher Hsu (Mentor, OH), Elliott K. Stava (Sagamore Hills, OH), Jeffrey R. Klein (Mentor, OH), David J. Barton (Twinsburg, OH), George D. Blankenship (Chardon, OH)
Primary Examiner: Clifford C. Shaw
Attorney: Fay Sharpe LLP
Current U.S. Class: Including Circuits For Monitoring Arc Parameters (219/130.01)
International Classification: B23K 9/095 (20060101);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl