Positive manufacturing / welding changes rarely happen without "constructive criticism". Changes in an industry steeped in biased, monopolized sales hype, weld process myths and entrenched manual weld traditions which have little to do with robot MIG weld realism, will always benefit from a little criticism and a lot of weld reality.

At the end of the day, manufacturing responsibility should always fall on the manufacturing managers and the engineers shoulders. This is the only web site in North America that provides this message and encourages managers and engineers to use the resources available at this site to implement robot weld best practices and process controls.

Weld Education or the Lack of Weld Education: American colleges and Universities may offer "weld degrees" however few weld education facilities place emphasis on teaching the potential weld engineers and technicians with the ability to establish effective Best Weld Practices / Weld Process Controls with the common weld processes such as MIG and flux cored.

TEXT BOOK PROCESSES: With many colleges and university weld programs, extensive time is often spent on classroom, "text book weld processes" such as Lasers or Electron-Beam, yet these two processes account for less than one hundredth of one percent of the welds produced daily.

If all weld students and engineers spent more practical and classroom time on the common weld processes such as MIG, Pulsed MIG, Flux Cored and Resistance Welding, the weld industry has the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars daily through improved manual and robot weld productivity and quality.

WELD EDUCATION TIME WARP: Many global, community colleges that provide weld programs are stuck in a 1960's time warp. Each year these colleges spend thousands of training hours on their students providing stick welding and oxy fuel welding or focussing on MIG and flux cored skills. As there is rarely any focus on weld process control education, the majority of students who graduate, typically end up as a MIG or flux cored welders that "play around" with the weld controls.

Note: MIG and flux cored account for approx. 90% of the welds produced each day, yet if the MIG and flux cored weld tests provided at this web site was given to the weld educators and professors, few would pass the tests.


Unfortunately in my life time, the global weld process education is not likely to see dramatic improvement. As any one in a weld shop knows, you have to have the ability to address a root cause of a welding issue before you can fix it. As few universities or colleges hire engineering department heads, with the ability to recognize what the welding industry needs, it's not likely they will hire educators with the process qualifications necessary to resolve the welding industries needs.

MIG AND FLUX CORED PROCESS APATHY IS INTERNATIONAL IN SCOPE: MIG and flux cored weld process apathy is not a North American issue. Europeans Engineers may love getting advice from welding salesmen and playing around with useless electronic welding bells and whistles, but few of these engineers have implemented Best MIG / flux cored Weld Practices and few understand the MIG process fundamentals necessary for manual or automated Weld Process Controls. Lets not forget the Japanese, If these guys cannot stuff a weld power source with circuit boards they don't want to use it.

If you are a young university trained weld engineer rather than get upset about this situation and curse the messenger, do something about it. The global welding industry needs hands on engineers that are "Process Control Experts". If you are a weld engineer and youn cannot do the weld how much respect can you expect from welders. The weld industry needs:

a] Engineers that can "without playing around with MIG / flux cored weld controls" instantly produce cost effective, optimum, manual quality welds.

b] Engineers that can walk into a robot cell and instantly optimize that traditional MIG or pulsed MIG weld.

c] Engineers that can provide effective process control training programs, and have the ability to establish Best Weld Practices.

d] Engineers that know SAW MIG and FCAW settings without advice from a consumable manufacturer.

e] Engineers that know the correct weld techniques for all applications.

f] Engineers that always feel comfortable around the global bread and butter processes such as MIG, flux cored, SAW, SMAW, GTAW and Plasma processes.

Plant and corporate manufacturing management would do well to
remember what Harry Truman once might have said.

A DECADE AGO IN THE GLOBES MOST SUCCESSFUL AUTO / TRUCK FRAME MANUFACTURER WAS A COMPANY CALLED LOCATED IN WISCONSIN CALLED
A.O. SMITH.

IN THE MID 1990's, A.O.SMITH HAD MORE THAN A 1200 ABB ROBOTS USING MAINLY TRADITIONAL CV. SCR MILLER DELTA WELD 450 MIG EQUIPMENT, 0.045 WIRES AND AN ARGON CO2 MIX. THE AUTO / TRUCK FRAMES WERE WELDED WITH THE SPRAY TRANSFER MODE AT DEPOSITION RATES THAT AVERAGED OF 13 - 15 LB/HR.

A.O.SMITH STARTED OUT MAKING FRAMES FOR CADILAC IN 1904. IN 1995 A.O.SMITH WAS THE ONLY GLOBAL CORPORATION TO ESTABLISH ROBOT MULTI-PLANT WELD BEST PRACTICES AND EFFECTIVE ROBOT PROCESS CONTROLS. THEIR DAILY ROBOT WELD REWORK WAS BY TODAY'S STANDARDS MINUSCULE AND THE ROBOT MIG PRODUCTION WAS BOTH OPTIMUM AND CONSISTENT.

MARCH 2005: THERE IS NOT ONE AUTO / TRUCK FRAME OR PART MANUFACTURER IN NORTH AMERICA THAT HAS COME CLOSE TO ATTAINING THE THE SAME OPTIMUM DAILY ROBOT WELD PRODUCTION AND QUALITY ACHIEVED BY A.O.SMITH IN THE NINETEEN NINETIES.

AFTER WELDING AUTO / TRUCK FRAMES FOR 93 YEARS, IN 1997, A.O.SMITH WAS PURCHASED BY TOWER AUTOMOTIVE. I HAVE BEEN IN MANY TOWER PLANTS AND I SINCERELY BELIEVE THE TOWER CORPORATE AND PLANT ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT HAVE NEVER FULLY COMPREHENDED OR APPRECIATED THE TECHNICAL AND PROCESS EXPERTISE THAT A.O. SMITH KNEW WAS NECESSITY TO ATTAIN OPTIMUM, CONSISTENT ROBOT WELD RESULTS.



AS EACH DAY PASSES, THROUGH NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN, AMERICAN WORKERS AND THEIR CHILDREN LOOSE THEIR FUTURE ABILITY TO EARN A DECENT WEEKLY PAY CHECK. IT'S SAD IN THIS SHRINKING MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT THAT AN AMERICAN MANUFACTURING GIANT LIKE TOWER AUTOMOTIVE, WITH IT'S HANDS OFF, INEFFECTIVE ENGINEERS AND MANAGERS HAS ADDED TO THE EMPLOYMENT MISERY IN THE USA.



TOWER TOOK A PROUD 90 YEAR OLD COMPANY LIKE A.O.SMITH AND IN LESS THAN A DECADE THE MANAGEMENT DELIVERED THEM IN 2005 TO A CHAPTER 11.

 

 

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ROBOTS,
WELD REPAIRS AND HUNTING:

 

AT A FORD FRAME PLANT IN DETROIT, THE ROBOT MIG WELD REWORK ON THE TRUCK FRAMES IS DAILY OVER 70%. IF THE WORK FORCE AT THIS PLANT IS NOT HUNTING ON THE WEEKENDS THEY COME IN AND PROVIDE UNQUALIFIED STICK WELD REPAIRS ON TOP THE THE PATHETIC LOOKING ROBOT MIG WELDS.

THE SMAW WELD REPAIRS ARE OF COURSE COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE AS ARE THE MAJORITY OF THE MIG FRAME WELDS THAT DON'T GET REPAIRED. THE RESULT, A WELDING MESS. THE ISO APPROVED, BLACK BELT FRAME PLANT MANAGERS AND ENGINEERS FOR OVER A DECADE HAVE SHOWN NO INTEREST IN WELD PROCESS QUALITY OR PROCESS OWNERSHIP. IT'S A PITY THE CONSUMERS OF THESE BIG THREE CARS AND TRUCKS DON'T GET TO SEE THE STRUCTURAL FRAME MESS THAT SUPPORTS THE $30,000.00 VEHICLES.

 

 

 

Is this a future politician or a

 

 

 

 

 

CAN YOU RELATE TO MANAGEMENT LIKE THIS?
A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day the Japanese won the race by a mile. After the race the American team became very discouraged and morally depressed. The American management decided the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found. A Management Team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. The management team conclusion was the Japanese had eight people rowing and one person steering, in contrast the American team had eight people steering and one person rowing. The American management decided to hire a consulting company and paid the man an incredible amount of money. The consultant advised that the management structure was not effective for the organization.

To prevent losing to the Japanese again next year, the American rowing team's management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the Rowing Team Quality First Program, with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. Even new paddles and medical benefit incentives were promised for a winner. We must give the rower the empowerment and enrichments through this quality program.
The next year the Japanese won by two miles. Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the senior executives as bonuses.

Thanks to Brad Greene, for the canoe trip.

 

 

ONE DAY MANAGERS AND ENGINEERS WILL TAKE
BACK CONTROL OF THEIR PLANTS

 

 

INTO THE MANUAL WORLD CAME THE WELDING ROBOTS.

In today's robot welding world, where few welding supervisors, engineers or mangers have been hired for their "weld process control knowledge", the responsibility for the robot weld quality and productivity is often laid on the back of a very frustrated, over worked robot technician who never received weld process control training. In other plants the management and engineers has placed the weld process control responsibility on the shoulders of those highly qualified electricians from the maintenance department.

 

 

 

 

 

With robots, the global weld manufacturing
opportunities for weld optimization and
cost reduction on the most complex
applications are extensive.

 

 

IN THE GLOBAL AUTO / TRUCK INDUSTRY, the robot weld quality and productivity responsibility is frequently left with individuals who may have a few weld skills, but generally lack weld process expertise. Unfortunately in the global auto / truck industry few managers appear to have acquired the expertise to understand the difference between weld skills and weld process control expertise.

 

 

 

RISE ABOVE THE PLAY
AROUND MENTALITY.

 

 

 

WHEN IT COMES TO RESOLVING ROBOT WELD PROCESS ISSUES, MANY AUTOMOTIVE PLANTS HAVE FOUND OUT THAT PICKING 5 GUYS FROM THE WELD OR ROBOT SHOP DOES NOT ALWAYS MAKE AN EFFECTIVE TEAM.

TO GET TO THE ROOT CAUSE OF ROBOT WELD ISSUES, GIVE CONSIDERATION TO THE PROCESS DEPTH, APPLICATION DIVERSITY, HANDS ON INVOLVEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITY OF THE MEMBERS OF YOUR ROBOT WELD TEAM.


The ratio of engineers to shop floor workers is usually the highest in companies that each day produce high production volumes. In auto / truck corporations such as tier one suppliers, engineers are typically in abundance and the majority of the manufacturing issues they are typically struggle with daily are usually found in three process areas;

[1] The weld shop.
[2] The paint shop.
[3] The press shop.

The manufacturing process issues that result daily with the common manufacturing processes in most manufacturing plants, is usually a reflection of the lack of management understanding of the fundamental process / equipment requirements for the implementation of process controls.

 

 

 

You may want to look at Ed's books and training resources

 

 

THE FRUSTRATED BIG THREE VICE PRESIDENT OF MANUFACTURING SPELLS IT OUT TO JOE THE TIER ONE PLANT MANUFACTURING MANAGER:

DAM IT JOE. IF YOU CANNOT CONTROL THE ROBOT WELDS WITH THE MILLIONS WE SPENT AND ALL OUR ENGINEERING EXPERTISE, OUT SOURCE THE BLOODY PARTS OR BETTER STILL SHIP THE ROBOTS AND PARTS DOWN TO MEXICO WHERE WE CAN BURY THE BLOODY ISSUES IN CHEAP LABOR.

 

At a Volvo manufacturing facility in Asheville, North Carolina, the plant weld manager ran an add in the local paper looking for "skilled welders" to run his robots. I phoned the manager and asked why bother looking for or paying for skilled welders, when the robots he purchased will provide the "welding skills". The optimization of MIG welding robots will not come from skilled welders, it will be derived from expert robot programming and personnel who have automated, MIG weld process control expertise. A MANAGER'S LACK OF AWARENESS OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFECTIVE WELD PROCESS CONTROLS WILL BE EVIDENT IN THE PLANT'S ROBOT PERSONNEL JOB DESCRIPTIONS. CORRECTLY DEFINED JOB DESCRIPTION ARE A RARITY IN MOST GLOBAL ROBOT WELDING SHOPS. Arc welding robots bring unique requirements to an industry that for five decades placed more focus on manual weld skills rather than on weld process expertise.

 

 

A COMMON DENOMINATOR OF
THE GLOBAL MIG WELDING INDUSTRY


Come on CHICKLETS MIGLETS, we have to
rely on him, after all he is the "salesman".

 

MANAGEMENT WELD EXPERTISE AND THE WELD SALESMEN.

 

 

When a robot technician supervisor requires weld process advice for a robot issue, the advice will rarely come from the manufacturing manager's or engineers office, it usually comes from the local welding distributor sales rep.

As a manufacturing manager or engineer how do you respond to advice from the so called local "sales" expert? You know that individual always ready to offer welding advice. It does not matter if you are welding stainless kitchen sinks or a nuclear submarines.

When looking for solutions to weld problems, too many weld shops have relied on the advice of the local, weld distributor salesmen, an individual who typically has never worked in a weld shop or set a MIG welding robot, an individual that has to be biased to the product lines he sells.

When the sales based weld advice or the costly pulsed weld equipment bells and whistles do not attain the desired robot weld results, the next step for management is seek advice from the companies who make the weld equipment or consumables that are not working the way they should be. Once the bovine fecal matter from the power source manufacturers has been spooned out and the results again found to be disappointing, it's not surprising to find the engineers and managers withdrawing from the shop floors to their offices where they start to build a glass wall that will protect themselves from the weld shop. You may know a few of these managers or engineers as they rarely show enthusiasm for process ownership. You may have seen those glass walls as they can be found in the majority of manufacturing facilities throughout the industrial world.

 

 

Visit all the Programs at this Site. Visit Ed's Robot and Manual MIG / Flux Cored Best Practices and Process Control Books and Training resources.

 

WITH MANY OF TODAY'S MANUFACTURING MANAGERS THE
FAULT IS ALWAYS WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

DAM IT JOE WE HAVE OVER A MILLION DOLLARS INVESTED IN THAT ROBOT LINE. WE HAVE SPENT TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND ON TRAINING AND YET THE WELD REWORK RATE IS OVER FORTY FIVE PERCENT AND OUR PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY STINKS. NOW LOOK ME IN THE EYE AND KEEP TELLING ME THE PROBLEM IS ON THE SHOP FLOOR.

 

With the introduction of robots into a traditional manual manufacturing facility, it's logical to assume the robots would influence the management, engineers and manual work force, or perhaps at least create changes to the existing weld shop culture and environment. It's also logical to assume that the manual weld shop environment, it's culture and practices could negatively influence and contaminate the performance potential of the robots. In this common manufacturing environment, management and engineers will require a unique approach to establish best practices and process controls. Dramatic changes will often have to be implemented and with this in mind, it's not difficult to understand why many managers, engineers and shop floor workers would strive to retain their traditional status quo.

A ship will go round in circles or sink without the leadership of the captain and engineers. Robots require process controls, this simply means that all those involved with the robots have to learn those process controls. If you are a manager or engineer that believes you do not need this expertise or you can attain the process knowledge you think you need from the next salesman that walks into your office, I hope you now realize you are a large part of the quality / productivity issues in your plant.

Before we allow the engineer to touch the new robots
we decided to cut out his "play around" organ.

 

 

 

 

JOE, IT'S TIME FOR A
WELD CHANGE:

The last decade has radically changed the weld shop engineering and "management" requirements. In many weld departments, "change" is the most difficult thing to implement. However when robots are moved into the traditional "manual" weld shop culture, the weld process control changes required to optimize robot weld production may be radical.

WHEN YOU ARE AWARE OF THE WELDING PAST,
YOU CAN LEARN FROM IT.

It's time to implement a more effective approach to weld process controls, however to make meaningful, weld process control changes, one can benefit by examining why the present manufacturing practices are in most instances simply not effective. Managers when you walk through that weld shop please remember the following.

SALES INFLUENCE. Managers and engineers responsible for welding need to be aware that the MIG welding industry has been influenced by decades of inappropriate, inaccurate, weld process and product sales advice.

MANAGEMENT PROCESS APATHY. A prime reason that extensive weld process confusion exists in plants that utilize MIG robots is managers have often avoided dealing with the root causes of MIG weld process issues.

ENGINEERING PROCESS APATHY. Most engineers including weld engineers responsible for welding robots have minimal "weld process control expertise".

DOUBLE STANDARDS. It's a weld fact that in the MIG welding industry, there is a double standard when it comes to judging welding expertise. Decades of focus on weld skills with minimal focus on weld process expertise, has created a unique industry. After all which other 50 year old technical industry would allows it's workers to play with the equipment controls?

WELDING PROCESS EDUCATION. Few managers understand that a degree in weld engineering means the graduate weld engineer may have spent three days on the MIG process and is frequently taught by a professor who likely has never had MIG weld process control expertise.

 

"weld shop culture"

The Unique, Traditional Weld Shop Culture.
As a manager, engineer or primary weld decision maker, you may be aware that every manufacturing plant has it's "traditional way of doing things".

Each manufacturing department in the plant will have it's unique pecking order and personnel cliques, after all these department are just a combination of human nature and welding evolution. The weld department in which weld personnel have been untouched by management for decades. This department will be entrenched in manufacturing practices that may have not changed since the plant started in the 1960s. Combine all the above mentioned elements in a copper pot along with self taught, shop floor individuals who are usually strong willed, thick skinned, highly opinionated. In the same pot, combine stuck in a time warp union mentality with apathetic hands off management. Then slowly mix the batch in with the numerous weld process myths and take a big wooden spoon and stir in an overdose of bovine fecal biased, weld sales hype. Finally mix all these together for more than five decades and out pops the unique, MIG weld shop culture that in the twenty first century will keep many managers in a state of exhausted frustration.

Have you been in an exhaust manufacturing plant in which the Management allowed the whole plant to use the MIG process with straight polarity?

Management controlling weld costs, is worrying less about the cost of the weld wires and gas mixes, and being more concerned about weld process controls and the daily weld deposition rates attained. For weld cost simplification, click here.

 

 

Japan is a country that has had few industrial gas plants and argon mixes when available were very costly. During the last six decades, Japan had had little experience with attaining optimum spray transfer welds: Remember when it comes to evaluating robot weld software Japanese Weld Logic and European Weld Logic will not be the same For weld shops considering the purchase of a robot, remember at the end of the day it's not about the robots, its about the "WELDS PRODUCED" For those companies that do low to medium volume, ever changing steel / stainless weld applications, give serious consideration to the following; [] When you examine each robot manufacture's product don't get caught up with the bells and whistles and fancy electronic pulsed MIG power source with it's 1 billion wave forms. Stay focussed on the practical weld capability of the robot cell. [] When an integrator advises you to use pulsed for that steel application remember the information at this site. [] Examine the length of time required to both program a common part and especially the time required to make weld changes to different welds. [] Examine the ease in which wire feed, voltage or pulsed parameter changes are made. [] Examine the logic layout of the welding program, [] Examine the calibration accuracy between pendant and power source weld data. [] Examine the automated TCP capability and repeatability. [] Examine the ease of making touch sense and through the arc tracking changes. Also carefully examine how effective and consistent these valuable features are. [] Examine the weld weave program especially the logic of the program. [] Examine the accuracy and repeatability of the robot with the positioner utilized. [] Examine the complexity of programming the robot to work with secondary equipment such as the positioner and torch cleaning stations. [] Don't even consider buying a robot unless it can show that it will "100 weld success" in the production and weld boundary you provide. [] Examine the robot instruction literature, the technical support and service capability, and most important figure out during your initial discussions with the integrator, who's' supplying the most bovine fecal matter. THE ROBOT YOU ARE CONSIDERING SEEMS TO WORK WELL IN AN AUTO PLANT WHERE THEY RARELY CHANGE THE WELD PROGRAMS AND POOR INCONSISTENT ROBOT WELD QUALITY IS ADDRESSED BY ADDING WORKERS TO THE END OF THE ROBOT LINE TO FIX THE DAILY WELD REWORK. HOWEVER WILL THIS SAME ROBOT MAKE THE GRADE IN A WELD SHOP THAT'S SERIOUS ABOUT WELD QUALITY REPEATABILITY, ROBOT PROGRAMMING EASE OF USE, AND FAST PROGRAMING CAPABILITY. IF YOU WANT A GREAT COMPARISON OF CONFUSION VERSUS WELD LOGIC, COMPARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A JAPANESE PANASONIC ROBOT AND A SWEDISH ABB ROBOT ARC WELD PROGRAM WITH IT'S PRACTICAL REAL WORLD FEATURES.

MANAGEMENT AND THOSE HIGH TECH WORKERS: Instead of managing manual skilled or semiskilled workers, today weld managers, supervisors and engineers may have to manage robots and lasers along with the high tech individuals that support and set up the equipment. With this in mind it's therefore logical that both managers and engineers should give extensive consideration to the engineering requirements for optimizing the robot weld quality and productivity.

 

MANAGERS, consider the "technical expertise" necessary for those shop floor individuals responsible for setting and operating arc welding robots, consider the benefits of effective robot or manual "weld process control training",.

MANAGERS, consider the floor management and engineering, expertise necessary for the implementation of automated weld process controls.

MANAGERS, evaluate your robot engineers, technicians and robot operators "job descriptions". Fill in the missing links for process controls and provide the necessary training.

MANAGERS, consider your corporate "product liability consequences" The consequences that will arise from the inconsistent practices and the daily unqualified robot weld changes that take place with your customer's parts.


 

IT'S NOT JUST THE MIG WELDING PROCESS.



 

Throughout the welding world, for every MIG welding robot that is not welding at peak performance, there are twenty resistance welding robots out of control and if you really want to see process issues visit a stamping plant or robot paint line.

A walk through many automotive plant's robot resistance welding department, would likely reveal that the resistance spot weld data monitors and electronic process controls that have been available since the seventies, are typically none existent, none functional or simply turned off.

Some of the resistance welding robots when striking the cars and truck steel bodies will give of great showers of weld sparks, others resistance welders will clamp their jaws together with barely an electrical whimper. The bottom line, the resistant spot weld quality in many plants is typically so inconsistent that for every spot weld required, engineers are now in the habit of requesting three or four extra welds be applied.

AN INDICATION OF APATHETIC WELD PROCESS MANAGEMENT FOUND IN GLOBAL AUTO / TRUCK PLANTS. In many manufacturing plants, when it comes to the robot MIG welding the management will often make the unqualified maintenance department responsible for the robot weld process issues. In more than 1000 plants I have never seen a maintenance shop that has employed a person who has had any expertise in robot MIG process controls. I have seen many maintenance personnel who can use MIG equipment after "playing around" with the two simple controls.

Implementing effective robot weld process control changes is typically doomed for disaster if it commences in the maintenance department. The following data will hopefully assist management and engineers in the task of achieving MIG weld process optimization.

 

2004. Pulsed MIG welds made with a Lincoln Power Wave

This weld is made by a Lincoln power source that can cost up to $12,000.00. I believe it's overpriced by at least $10.000.00, however the welds you see are not the fault of the infamous Lincoln pulsed PowerWave. This frame weld simply points to manufacturing management ignorance at one of North America's leading frame manufactures. This frame weld points out that optimum welds don't necessary come from the most expensive welding equipment.

Robot welds like these are common in the auto / truck industry. It's easy to fix weld problems like this, that is if you can find manufacturing managers who are sincere about finding out the real root causes of their daily robot weld process issues.

 

 

If you are a manager or engineer looking for a no nonsense approach to your welding issues, looking for "immediate solutions" to your manual or robot welding issues, consider Ed's process control training resources or bring Ed ( phone 828 658 3574) to your company to assist your organization with the following.




• INCREASE YOUR ROBOT WELD PRODUCTIVITY: In eight out of ten plants Ed will immediately increase your existing manual or your robot welding productivity by 20 to 40%.
  
  
• IMPLEMENT ROBOT WELD PROCESS CONTROLS: In a few hours he will implement effective robot weld process controls to provide daily, "consistent" weld quality and productivity.
  
  
• ESTABLISH GLOBAL MANUFACTURING PRACTICES: You believe practical realistic global manufacturing standards can be applied to your companies welded parts, and you want those standards implemented in all your plants and at your supplier plants, that's what ED does.
  
  
• IMPROVE WELDING QUALITY: You would like to improve and optimize your manual or robot weld quality and attain a weld reject rate of less than 2% you know who to call.
  
  
• PROVIDE EFFECTIVE WELD PROCESS CONTROL TRAINING: You are interested in attaining the best possible weld process manual or robot process training for your employees, he is the worlds best trainer.
  
  

  For most plants stuck in a long established weld shop culture, change may be the most difficult thing to implement. Why not use Ed as your catalyst for change, or use his MIG process training resources / books and video. Click here.
  
  
  

  
  FEW ENGINEERING MANAGERS IN THE AUTO INDUSTRY SEEM TO UNDERSTAND THAT ATTAINING OPTIMUM ROBOT WELD QUALITY
  DOES NOT REQUIRE A BLACK BELT, AN UNDERSTANDING OF JAPANESE MANUFACTURING PRACTICES OR ISO STANDARDS:
  
  Today, there is a common theme in many manufacturing plants that "if you can control the plant's paper work you can control the manufacturing processes".
  
  While there may be a positive attribute attained from ISO, (I have yet to find one) the implementation, the complexity, the scope and the compliance of ISO conformance can not only rob an organization of valuable engineering resources, unfortunately this European bureaucratic nightmare often will mask the work of "inefficient weld decision makers" who simply don't have the manufacturing process expertise necessary to implement effective process controls, yet they do have the capability to churn out paperwork.
  
  When it comes to weld process controls, it's the fundamentals such as:
  
  [1] The management capability and involvement in "manufacturing process ownership".
  
  [2] The management "recognition of an employee's required weld process expertise".
  
  [3] The day to day management of weld process controls,
  
  that are fundamental tools for attaining consistent, optimum quality robot welds.

 

 

 

 

A FEW OF YOU MAY REMEMBER THE GOOD
OLD WELD SHOP DAYS:

As you looked around the weld shop there was no uniformity, they was MIG equipment from Miller, Lincoln, Hobart, Linde and Airco. In their quest to find the magic weld solution to their numerous "manual" weld shop issues, many weld shop manager would purchase MIG weld equipment from just about every company that ever made it. When the new MIG welding equipment did not resolve the numerous weld shop issues, these same shops would turn their attention to trying a new MIG gas or possibly a new welding wire.


THE BIGGEST CON GAME IN THE WELDING BUSINESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN MIG WELD GAS MARKETING AND SALES.

I should know about MIG gases as I helped write the AWS shielding gas specifications. For several years I attended the AWS gas committee meetings. I always took a king sized shovel which helped me to scrape up the bovine fecal matter that spewed out of some of the committee, gas marketing managers mouths.

There are now over 30 MIG gas mixes available for welding carbon steels. From my perspective only two MIG gas mixes are required to provide optimum welds for all carbon or low alloy steel applications.

The frequent, erroneous MIG gas mix marketing statements that for decades have spewed forth from the major, industrial gas manufacturers will always provide a ray of hope or a new crutch for the frustrated weld department manager who struggles to get his employees to control the MIG process.

With the advice of their local gas supplier, many shops will try any new gas mix that comes along. After all the major gas companies must know what they are doing, right? and who can refute the gas weld data presented in their glossy new brochures.

The weld shops that have a wide variety of useless gas mixes sitting on the weld shop floor will also typically have a variety of unnecessary MIG and flux cored welding consumables sitting on the shelves. Its not just welding that causes issues, when it comes to cutting the steels, few shops understand the real difference between propane, propylene, natural gas or acetylene.

 

MANAGEMENT AND GLOBAL WELD MANUFACTURING STANDARDS?

For the big three or tier executives that frequently discuss the implementation of "Global Manufacturing Standards" the following weld reality is likely to exist in their plants.


If a US auto / truck manufacturing company has two or three sister plants in the same city or state, and these plants make similar, steel welded parts, lets say shocks, exhausts or steering products. You can typically guarantee that each plant will weld the same parts using different weld equipment, different weld consumables along with different welding procedures. Of course these manufacturing differences will result in obvious inconsistencies in the welding productivity and quality attained at each plant.

A UNIVERSAL MANAGEMENT NEED FOR
UNNECESSARY BELLS AND WHISTLES.

I have provided weld consulting services in ten different countries and it did not matter if the country was, Canada, Japan, Sweden, Germany, Italy, or the UK, I found MIG weld process confusion to be universal. The one thing all the countries listed have in common, is most of the large manufacturing companies in these countries like to "purchase weld equipment with useless bells and whistles".

In general the management in many large manufacturing companies believe that the purchase of costly bells and whistles will compensate for the so called "people weld process issues". It's ironic that the big three corporate executives who do not have the expertise to control the processes in their own plants, introduced their desire for "Uniform Global Manufacturing Standards".

REALITIES OF WELD PROCESS OWNERSHIP.

 

 

For almost forty years, life in the welding shop was simple. Fitters and machinist used their expertise for forming and assembling the parts to be welded. Welders played with the controls and used their manual skills to join the parts, and the maintenance department used their skills to repair and maintain the equipment used.

From a manufacturing / engineering perspective, the front office engineers working in the weld shop environment were typically involved in part design, establishing weld procedures, purchasing weld equipment, and when solving a weld issue, they may pick up the phone and ask the local sales rep to call at their facility.

Weld application ownership has to be a management, design engineering and worker partnership. Today's robot weld reality is that weld ownership is typically controlled by shop floor workers who too frequently lack the required process expertise to implement effective, automated weld process controls.

"WE HAVE DONE OUR JOB": The management and engineering team were under the impression they had carried out their weld shop responsibility. After all they approved the budgets for the robot capital expenditures. They then brought the robots into the weld department. Now all the "weld team" had to do, was ensure that each shift produced the desired weld productivity and parts that required no weld rework.


To achieve partially acceptable robot welds, many companies would place a "mechanical or electrical engineer in charge of the welding robot weld line and make him the "weld team leader". They would then place a skilled welder in the cell to operate a robot that provides the skills. Also to ensure consistent weld quality the highly weld process qualified, maintenance electrician, millwright or robot operator is daily allowed to make the robot welding changes to so called prequalified welds.

Of course welding responsibility in many automotive plants is affected by unions and their often "out dated seniority clauses". Its common in manufacturing facilities to find that the robot operators are allowed to make welding changes which can effect the part integrity and production potential. In these plants the robot operator position may be bid on by any production workers, with seniority as their key welding qualification.

At one company that makes bumpers for GM trucks, the management invited me to the plant to solve a serious robot weld issue of special concern to GM. When I arrived at the plant the manager said I must first meet with the shop steward to get approval to work with the robots. I had the meeting and won the union steward over and got his approval to provide process training for the employees. It took me a short time to fix the robot issues. It was notable that when training the employees none of the plant managers or engineers attended. When I left I thought to myself, GOD help American manufacturing if this lack of process ownership is a future management manufacturing philosophy.

 

In many manufacturing plants the unions and management would benefit by reviewing the union agreements from a "weld automation perspective". Unions at one time believed robots to be a key cause of job loss, eventually the unions found out that manufacturing companies that adopted robots were the ones that retained the work.

IT SHOULD BE A NORMAL MANAGEMENT FUNCTION. CORRECTLY DEFINE THE ROBOT JOB DESCRIPTIONS OF THE PLANT EMPLOYEES.

I could ask ten plant managers in ten different automotive plants to define the job description of a MIG welding robot operator or a robot programmer and I believe that I would get ten very different job descriptions.

 

Robot Weld Process Expertise:
[1] Weld process expertise & the required controls to optimize a robot has never required a person with a university or college degree, it does however require a combination of in-depth robot programming and extensive weld process expertise. This fundamental message will come as a shock to many Japanese plant managers and HR directors who simply do understand what's required for robot process controls.

Weld Fact: They don't teach what you need to know about robot weld process controls at any college or university in North America". If any technical college or university disagrees with this point, invite me to your facility and in less than one hour with your fourth year weld engineering students and instructors and I will prove otherwise.

[2] Weld process expertise & the required controls to optimize a robot does not require biased, inexperienced weld advice from MIG weld equipment and consumable manufacturers.

[3] Weld process expertise & the required controls to optimize a robot is rarely influenced by the QA department welding personnel. Too frequently the inspectors who are critical of weld quality have never bothered to learn the practical weld process knowledge necessary to provide the welding solutions to their criticism.

 

Both unions and management would do well to review their robot weld job descriptions. The weld job descriptions in too many plants are typically based on "manual weld practices". It's simply illogical in 2005 for any manufacturing plant to work under a labor contract that has clauses or labor requirements that can hinder the success of weld automation. Here's a mouthful for weld automation reality. The majority of robot welding issues are simply "management issues".

 

 

Weld Process Controls Starts With
"Weld Management Controls".

Unfortunately today, in many manufacturing companies, the management and engineers involved in welding are too frequently insulated from,

[a] the weld shop floor issues and,
[b] the developing shop floor manufacturing technology.

Maybe I am old fashioned, but on a ship, if the captain and officers show little interest in the ships operating equipment, you know the ships crew is going to run the ship their way.

In many instances experienced robot programmers can always use more advanced robot program training and all experienced robot programmers would benefit from more weld process expertise.

 

PROCESS CONTROL EDUCATION STARTS AT THE TOP. To respond to the high tech automaton challenge of the next decade, it would be beneficial if the "technical caliber" of engineers and mangers responsible for the automation could be taken up a notch. The first step on the path of process or equipment familiarization is for the managers and engineers to take the manufacturing process training programs they should be asking their workers to take. You will find that most shop floor workers will increase their respect for management and engineers when they see them rolling up their sleeves and striving to learn about the core processes and equipment that are critical to their company. With MIG welding, It can come from simply reading my self teaching MIG process control training book.

TWO OF THE BEST ROBOT INTEGRATORS IN NORTH AMERICA USE THE BEST WELD PROCESS CONTROL TRAINING PROGRAM. ED'S MIG ROBOT WELD PROCESS CONTROL TRAINING BOOK / VIDEO ARE USED IN THE USA BY GENESIS ROBOT TECHNICIANS AND IN CANADA BY PRODOMAX ROBOT PERSONNEL. THESE TWO COMPANIES ARE TWO OF THE LARGEST AND MOST QUALIFIED ROBOT INTEGRATORS IN NORTH AMERICA. Click here.

 

 

A CLEAR JOB DESCRIPTION AND BASIC PROCESS TRAINING.
For robot weld process controls, robot "operators" require a clearly defined job description and "basic weld process training". Operators should be able to understand the weld "arc sounds" and weld changes that can occur in the robot cells. Operators must also understand what an acceptable weld looks like and what they have responsibility in the cell for. Operators must also be trained on what they "must not do" to those pre-qualified welds.


TRAINING STARTS WITH DESIGNERS. Most designers of robot welded parts would benefit from weld process theory training. Its likely that the designers in your organization do not know the minimum thickness that MIG short circuit transfer can be used on, what an acceptable weld gap dimension is, or why that single pass, MIG fillet weld maximum size is restricted. The designers of automotive / truck parts are rarely aware of their negative influence on weld productivity and quality. All designers would benefit from weld process expertise that allows them to design for welding.

 

COMMUNICATION and ROBOT WELDED FIXTURES. Many fixture makers need to improve communication with the individuals responsible for the part design, the person who provides the robot programming, the maintenance manager and the key robot operator. The group weld discussion would be beneficial in ensuring that fixtures are designed to meet the ergonomic requirements of the robot operators, that the fixtures will not impede optimum robot technique and programming, that the fixtures will be durable and easy to maintain.

 

A "KNOWLEDGEABLE" WELD TEAM HELPS. For effective robot weld process controls, robots should be managed by an "automation weld team". In contrast to many of the weld teams we now see in manufacturing facilities, this would be a team, comprised of an operator rep, the maintenance supervisor, the programer, and a rep from the quality, engineering and design departments. This team would have members who have received process training and understand how to optimize a robot program and implement an effective "robot weld process control program"

Ineffective Weld Management.

While employed as a senior weld process engineer with ABB, one of the worlds largest suppliers of arc welding robots, I provided "robot weld process training" for many of the top North American, fortune 50 manufacturing companies.

I found it amusing, that frequently automotive managers from the big three and tier companies would send robot personnel to the robot programming school, yet many of these individuals could barely read. You would think that innovative manufacturing management, would be aware that few engineers in the auto and truck industry have mastered robot programming requirements, and there is a logical reason for this.

Sending poorly qualified individuals to robot training school is not a logical management solution for optimizing robot welding production.

Perhaps future managers could be a little more innovative and create for the robot weld production crew a job description that requires the applicants selected to control the welding robots, at least have the ability to read.

Typically welding robot lines are the most sophisticated and sometimes the most costly equipment installed in a manufacturing plant. The caliber of the individuals controlling complex, automated equipment has the greatest influence on attaining the equipment's full production potential. Weld Reality. Robots have been in manufacturing plants for at least two decades, yet only a few of the "manufacturing engineers" employed in the the fabrication industry have shown they have the will or enthusiasm to learn what it takes to optimize robot welding production. How logical is it, when manufacturing managers do not encourage their engineers to learn to control the most sophisticated equipment in the plant?

Another Traditional Management Perception:
There is a common perception from some managers that when it comes to MIG welding, the requirements are nothing more than a body, a head, two eyes, two legs and two arms.


Another common management perception, if a costly robot is going to do production welds that were initially produced by hourly paid welders, then the already simple, semiskilled task of MIG welding should be further simplified by the large investment in the sophisticated costly equipment.

Perhaps the most ironic point about the common lack of MIG process expertise that prevails in many manufacturing plants, is that the "MIG process" attached to the robot arm has been around for almost five decades.

The following is an important point which will be repeated many times. The majority of manufacturing managers responsible for welding are unaware that their highly skilled welders and weld supervisors have rarely mastered the "MIG weld process theory fundamentals", its the same theory goes into the robot program. Yes its a fact that most weld personnel in the weld department have developed their "MIG skills" to produce a weld, however its also a fact that the majority of weld personnel use their weld skills to compensate for their lack of weld process expertise.

If you are an individual that does not believe the above statement, ask the most skilled MIG individuals in your plant the following simple weld question.

 

WELD PROCESS QUESTION: Without looking in a book, can you tell me when using either an 0. 045 or 0.035 (1.2 - 1 mm) MIG wire, the wire feed rate, in./min (m/min) in which spray transfer starts? How important is this fundamental MIG question? Well as over 75 percent of all MIG welds are made with spray transfer and 045 wires it should be relevant. If you ask 5 welders this question I guarantee you that you will get 5 different answers.

A Manufacturing Reality. As few weld personnel have the necessary MIG weld process expertise essential for "robot weld optimization, the bottom line is employees need weld process training. Managers should provide a process training program that's focused on the utilized wire diameters, and the weld transfer mode parameter requirements". My self teaching process training books can be used in conjunction with my process training video.

The million dollar per-month robot weld fiasco.
The following weld disaster was caused by two corporate engineers who worked for a major auto company. As is common in the auto / truck industry, the corporate engineers who were given weld process responsibility by their organization did not have weld process expertise.

A few years ago, a brand new, multi million dollar robot weld line was installed at a stamping plant located in the Midwest. The robot line was built to weld crossmembers. The weld engineers had selected from Lincoln Electric, a large diameter, ) self shielded flux cored electrode to be utilized with robots for welding very thin, galvanealed, crossmember parts of only 2 to 2.5 mm thick.

The 5/64 diameter, flux cored wires selected by the engineers required 320 to 380 amps for arc and weld stability. As any high school welder should have known, the weld current required by these large electrodes was simply too much for the 2 mm, thin gage crossmember parts. Typically parts this thin are welded with small diameter MIG wires using 180 to 240 amps. As a result of the excess weld current used with the flux cored wires, there were so many weld holes in the crossmember parts that 13 manual welders were required for the weld rework on the robot parts each shift. The weld smoke from the consumables was so bad that even with exhaust units and compressed air masks, the welders could only weld four hours before they had to be relieved.

The cross member weld holes were so numerous that the manual welders simply welded over "all the welds" on the parts. As it was impossible to remove the slag from the robot welds you can imagine the finished weld quality. This robot welding fiasco went on for more than a year, costing the plant approx. $750,000.00 per month for more than 12 months.

AN ENGINEERING MANAGER WOULD ASK, HOW COULD ONE OF MY ENGINEERS JUSTIFY A WELD CONSUMABLE THAT REQUIRES WELD CURRENT GREATER THAN A PART CAN HANDLE?

HOW CAN ANY PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER ALLOW WELD CONSUMABLES IN A PLANT THAT CREATE DANGEROUS FUMES?

HOW CAN ANY ENGINEER ALLOW WELD CONSUMABLES WHICH PROVIDE A TENACIOUS WELD SLAG MAKING QUALITY WELD REPAIRS IMPOSSIBLE?

HOW CAN ANY ENGINEER INSIST THAT FOR GALVANIZED OR GALVANEALED YOU MUST USE SELF SHIELDED FLUX CORED WIRES WHEN FOR DECADES EVERY OTHER MAJOR AUTO PART MANUFACTURER HAS SUCCESSFULLY USED MIG CONSUMABLES?

HOW COULD AN ENGINEER ALLOW SINGLE PASS ELECTRODES TO BE USED FOR TWO WELDS (INCLUDE THE REPAIRS). THE EXCESS ALLOYS AND EXCESS WELD HEAT COULD NOT BE BENEFICIAL ON THE HIGH STRENGTH LOW ALLOY STEELS.

I was requested by the very frustrated plant manager to visit his plant and find the solution. We were given a contract to solve the weld issues. I welded the parts with a robot using an 035 E70S-3 MIG wire. I was able to produce consistent welding results that would have required minimum weld rework. The galvanealed, MIG welded parts were then tested at a major test facility in Detroit. All the welds met the destructive test mechanical requirements.

In my report which was presented to the corporate weld engineers and their peers, I informed the engineers that apart from the unacceptable weld gaps on the parts, the primary root cause of the weld issues was the "consumable type and size selected".

After extensive discussions with the corporate engineering team, the two corporate weld engineers would not change their minds on the welding consumables used. I suppose if they had approved the weld consumable change, it would have indicated where the real root cause and responsibility was for the multi- million dollar fiasco.

Shortly after the meeting, due to the extensive weld rework costs, the less than two year old, multi-million robot line was shut down. The robots, the application, and the oversized weld wires were moved to Mexico.

From my perspective I found it completely illogical that any corporate or plant or manufacturing engineering manager would allow "inexperienced, hands off engineers with inflated egos" to influence their companies bottom line. Mexico a country where for obvious labor cost reasons, there may be less concern about weld rework labor costs. However in contrast to the USA, it's also a country who's engineers and management typically roll up their sleeves and get "HANDS ON" involvement with the shop floor equipment and processes.

 

By the way at the start of the cross member project, as the US corporate automotive engineers knew little about "MIG or flux cored welding" they did seek weld consumable advice. They went to Lincoln Electric. Of course this company had to be a little biased about the weld consumable they would recommend. The weld consumable was one of their own unique self shielded flux cored wires. The big three auto company still makes its primary suppliers use these ridiculous wires.

Its a sad reflection of the technical competence of a company, when an engineer in that company will utilize welding wires unsuited for an application, especially weld wires that create human discomfort and dramatic weld cost consequences.

SALESMANSHIP AGAIN. It's a common welding sales tactic by some consumable manufacturers and suppliers to try and promote a weld wire "unique to their company". This consumable when targeted at a plant that buys large amounts of weld wires, ensures no one else can bid on the future plant's consumable business. Lets face it once a consumable gets into an auto / truck plant, its there till chapter 11.

Its now 2004 and guess which welding wire consumable the big three corporate weld engineers tells it's part suppliers they should use for welding thin gage galvanealed?

 

 

E-mail: From England.

Ed.

I have just read your Chrysler Neon article regarding the crossmemebers and self shielded flux cored wire issues. I fully endorse your views and comments. Its a shame that many "welding engineers" in the automotive industry lack t