Spot-welding path planning method for the curved surface workpiece of body-in-white based on a memetic algorithm

Aiming at the problem of complex path planning in the processing of curved surface workpieces of body-in-white, a hybrid path planning method based on a memetic algorithm is proposed. The method is divided into two parts: welding sequence planning and welding path planning between weld points. By establishing the kinematic model of a spot welding robot based on the pipper criterion and z-y-z Euler angle solution method, the motion constraints of path optimization are analyzed. Under the framework of the memetic algorithm, the improved A-star algorithm with redundant node deletion and a post-smoothing process is used to obtain the smooth collision-free optimal path set between weld points and to construct the objective function of travelling all weld points with the shortest path length and highest smoothness. The multiobjective elitist-simulated annealing genetic algorithm (MESAGA) is used to achieve the welding sequence planning of all weld points. The variable neighborhood search method improves the mutation operator; the elitist strategy is introduced to improve the probability of elitist individual crossover and mutation operation, and a simulated annealing algorithm is used to jump out of local search to obtain the global optimal solution. According to the motion constraints, the joint space path is obtained by the optimal path in Cartesian space. Simulation analysis results demonstrate that the hybrid path planning method based on the memetic algorithm can effectively optimize the path of spot welding robots and lay the foundation for control and trajectory planning during welding processes.