Plasma arc cutting torch tracking control

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Abstract
The present paper is concerned with a tracking system for cutting torch height in the plasma arc process. The computer based control system consists of the sensing and detection unit, controller, and servo actuator. The use of arc and laser sensors to detect the torch height is presented, and their applied characteristics are investigated in detail. A feedforward compensation of workpiece position is introduced to improve tracking properties. Moreover, to address the non-linear characteristics of the arc sensor, deviation classification and adaptive control approaches are also proposed. Tracking experimental results show acceptable tracking precision and strong noise restraining capability for the system. These demonstrate the effectiveness of the sensing and detection, and the proposed control algorithms. It is also shown that the arc sensing approach is more attractive, owing to its merits of synchronous sensing, high reliability, and low cost.

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