Tailor-welded blanks offer promising applications for industries due to their process, quality, and cost advantages. However, distortion can occur when using this technique. Excessive distortion is an undesirable defect that reduces the formability of the part and affects the mechanical performance of the final product. In this study, an automatic 3D laser geometrical inspection method based on cloud manufacturing principles is proposed to analyze the effect of the welding parameters, including power, speed, and amplitude, on distortion, and ultimately to reduce its effect on the final product. Statistical significance was found between distortion and welding process parameters. Additionally, the optimal operational conditions that reduce distortion are proposed, with a reduction of 57.50% for total distortion across the welding direction, 33.47% for total distortion along the welding direction, 86.52% for total forming distortion across the welding direction, and 94.32% for total forming distortion along the welding direction. The promising results of the proposed model suggest that it may be scaled to industrial applications to improve final product quality and reduce process waste.
Rivera et al. (Sat,) studied this question.