Adaptive Exposure in a Welding Camera — Arc Detection in 100 ms

100 ms. That is the gap between "I see the detail" and "I see the weld pool without blowout".

No signal from the welder. No PLC relay. The camera recognizes arc ignition from the image alone and switches the profile on its own.

The problem: one exposure setting is not enough

Welding is not a continuous process — it is a cycle: ignition, bead, pause, repositioning, next ignition. The operator needs to see both the arc itself and what happens between beads.

A standard camera has one setting. Tuned for the arc — during welding you see the weld pool, but between beads the detail and the groove disappear into black. Tuned for the detail — you see the full geometry before and after the weld, but the instant the arc strikes, the image is blown out.

Adaptive exposure switches the camera profile between these two states — automatically, based on the image.

How a welding camera switches profile in 100 ms

Before ignition — full view of the groove, edges, torch and surroundings. Normal exposure.

Arc ignition — the camera detects a rapid rise in image brightness. Within ~100 ms it moves to the welding profile.

During welding — the weld pool is crisp, the arc is not blown out, the process geometry is visible.

Arc extinction — the camera again detects a change in the image. After about 100 ms it returns to the normal profile.

After the bead — full view, so you can inspect the result and set up the next positioning. No clicks, no settings changes.

Why no welder integration is needed

The camera needs no external signal. It recognizes the process from the image itself. As a result, it:

• works with any welder — Fronius, EWM, Kemppi, Lincoln, Miller,
• fits into an existing cell — without touching the automation,
• handles any process — MIG/MAG, TIG, plasma, MMA,
• starts up without an integrator — no robot programmer, no lines added to the PLC.

Welding camera for a robotic cell — typical use cases

Anywhere the arc is ignited repeatedly and integrating with the welder is expensive or undesirable: tack welding, robotic cells running short segments, multi-vendor stations, customer cells where the automation is off-limits.

From the deployment

A dual-torch MAG 135 station on Fronius power sources. Two cameras, two monitors, zero lines added to the cell controller. The controller keeps running as if the cameras were not there.

Leaving the existing automation untouched is a real cost saving on deployment — no PLC programmer, no integrator, no weeks spent agreeing on who owns what.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Rocket Retina welding camera work with TIG?

Yes. Adaptive exposure supports TIG, MIG, MAG, plasma and MMA. Arc detection works from the image, so the welding process itself does not matter — all it needs is enough bright pixels appearing in the frame at ignition.

How much does the Rocket Retina welding camera cost?

Starting price is EUR 4,999 net (PLN 19,999 net) for a Full HD GigE Vision kit with PoE power. Quotes for multi-station cells, dedicated optics or additional integration — on request.

Does an HDR welding process camera need to be wired into the welder?

No. Rocket Retina recognizes arc ignition from the image alone. It works with any welder (Fronius, EWM, Kemppi, Lincoln, Miller) without PLC inputs, without a robot programmer, without adding lines of code to the cell controller.

Adaptive exposure is standard in the Rocket Retina welding camera. If you want to see it running on your own process — get in touch.

We also designed dedicated mirror optics for torches where only a few centimeters of clearance are left — but that's a story for another post.