www.weldreality.com
is the world's largest web site on
MIG - TIG - Flux Cored
Best Weld Practices
and Weld Process Controls:
  
 Welcome. My
name is Ed Craig. Many
of you will know me from the 18 years I wrote the QA weld column in the USA Weld
Design and Fabrication magazine or perhaps you read one of my forty published
articles on the simplification of manual and robot MIG / Flux cored weld process controls. If you have a Machinery Handbook gathering
dust on you shelve and its not to old I wrote the weld section. I have written four books on weld
process controls and with forty five plus years of hands on weld process control expertise, I have resolved
manual and robot weld issues in more than a thousand companies in twelve different
countries.
I
hope you enjoy weldreality.com, the world's largest web site on manual
and robot, MIG, TIG and Flux Cored, Best Weld Practices
& Weld Process Controls: To examine all the programs look to the links on the left.
FIRST NEWS ON WHAT FOR MANY SHOULD BECOME THE WORLD'S MOST IMPORTANT WELD PROCESS.
In 2009 I found in Europe a unique weld process called TIP TIG and with my business partner Tom O'Malley brought the process to
N. America. When you visit tip tig usa you will find that TIP TIG is the natural evolution of the seventy year old TIG process. TIP TIG is a process that delivers 100 - 400% more hourly production than regular TIG and it produces superior weld quality. So after 40 years of optimizing MIG and flux cored welds, instead of early retirement, I am going to keep out of my wife's way and ensure
N - South America and Australia becomes aware of the TIP TIG process.
2009. The patented TIP TIG process is the first real
world practical advance in North American
TIG weld
technology.
No
other weld process can provide the manual or
automated weld / clad quality provided by TIP TIG.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE REGULAR TIG PROCESS IS CALLED TIP-TIG:
[]
Is your organization interested in a manual semi-automatic TIG weld process that will
on many
weld
applications provide welds 100 to 400% faster than traditional TIG?
[]
Would you be interested in a no bells and whistles, all position weld process that will consistently
provide superior weld quality than regular TIG?
[] Would you like to try a weld process that puts in less weld heat and therefore has potential to always produce superior mechanical and corrosion properties?
[] Are you concerned about the new OSHA
requirements for weld fumes and would like a process
that does not require
exhaust equipment for most welds including stainless?
Click here for
info on TIP TIG Welding .
TIP
TIG IS MANUAL AND AUTOMATED PROCESS WHICH WILL ALWAYS DELIVER
SUPERIOR WELD QUALITY
AND PRODUCTIVITY
THAN TRADITIONAL TIG.
TIP TIG HOLDS FREQUENT WELD DEMONSTRATIONS AND OPEN HOUSES AT OUR FACILITY AT
THE NAVAL YARD IN PHILADELPHIA.
VISIT THE TIP TIG SECTION AT THIS SITE FOR INFO.
THE SAD INFLUENCE OF SALESMANSHIP ON THE GLOBAL MIG WELD INDUSTRY.
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF WELD REALITY:
For decades the global weld industry has relied on weld "sales advice
and
of
course as a result there has been weld cost consequences.
A ROBOT CAN ONLY WELD BETTER THAN A HUMAN WHEN THE HUMAN
WHO APPLIES THE ROBOT WELD DATA UNDERSTANDS THE COMPLETE
REQUIREMENTS FOR ROBOT WELD PROCESS CONTROLS.
.
Ed's Robot / Manual, MIG and Flux cored
Best
Weld Practices and Weld Process Controls.
 WILL THE EXCESSIVE POOR WELDS AT THE BEIJING
BIRD'S NEST OLYMPIC STADIUM, MEAN THAT ONE DAY
IT WILL
TURN INTO A SPIDER'S WEB?
Written
by Ed Craig.
Posted www.weldreality.com.
Aug. 2. 2008.
The
five hundred million dollars Beijing Olympic stadium was built on an earth quake fault and is wrapped
in a unique high strength, steel box cocoon that weighs approx. 45,000 tons.
At the end of July, two weeks before the 91,000 seat stadium was ready to host
the 2008 Olympics, I watched a Discovery Channel program about the stadium construction.
The steel Bird's Nest design is without question a wonder to behold,
however having a slight interest in fabrication and welding you know where my
focus was and while I watched that TV show I did not like what I saw that was going on with the welds.
May
2009: Beijing Update: Check out what's happening to this
architect design wonder nine months after Ed wrote his opinion on the poor welds
and construction at the Birds Nest stadium.
 "DEFECTIVE MOTORCYCLE WELD NOTICE".
REFERENCE 2005 AND 2006 SUZUKI SGSX-R1000 BIKES:
Extensive Poor Weld Data like this is found
in the bad weld section
of this site.
Note from Ed. I
saw pictures of these critical bike frame welds. The welds had extensive lack of weld
fusion and porosity. The extent of
the weld defects suggest a complete lack of "weld manufacturing and process
controls from the Suzuki management".
If I owned one of these Suzuki
bikes I would not accept the Suzuki management recommendations of a brace, glue,
or even a weld repair. The weld reality is simply this. The lack of weld fusion defects on
these critical bikes welds are not 100% repairable as the weld repairs can not provide the "mechanical properties and weld
integrity "desired by those who designed the bikes".
There is only one
logical recourse for anyone owning one of these bikes. Bike owners should be concerned
about what they cannot see with any weld repairs and that's the potential lack of weld fusion and the "weakened structural integrity of the bike's frame".
If I owned one of these bikes I would demand a complete refund or replacement
of the bike and also seek legal representation to sue Suzuki for putting my life
at risk.
 WHY DO THE MAJORITY OF GLOBAL WELD SHOPS RUSH TO PURCHASE THE USELESS, COSTLY ELECTRONIC BELLS AND WHISTLES THAT FOR TWO DECADES HAVE BEEN PART OF PULSED
MIG EQUIPMENT?
It
was my job as a Training or Weld Product Manager with companies such as Praxair, Airgas, AGA and Liquid
Carbonic to test MIG equipment and weld consumables available from around the globe. I did this more than 30 years.
In 2011 you
can pay $2000 for a traditional MIG power source or pay $12000 for a pulsed MIG power source from Lincoln Electric.
With The MIG process control expertise available in this sites Weld Process Control Training
resources,
you will attain the same manual MIG and Flux Cored weld quality and productivity results from
both power sources on the majority of all steels and alloy steels weld applications.
WHY ARE COMPANIES WASTING MONEY ON METAL CORED WIRES OR
PURCHASING USELESS, COSTLY THREE - FOUR COMPONENT MIG GAS MIXES?
 It's a weld reality that in the global weld industry we are in dire need need of individuals who can live without the weld advice from a salesman and make rational weld decisions based on technical
substance.
Many
weld shops will use Metal Cored Wires that can cost from $2
to $4/lb while the same weld quality and productivity will typically be attained from a MIG wire
that costs approx. $1/lb. These companies may deny that the MIG process cannot achieve the Metal Core weld results, however after being in more than a 1000 companies I would prove them wrong in a quick 10 minute weld demo.
There
are more MIG gas mixes available than cereals in a super market. Global MIG gas confusion has been the norm for more than five
decades and gas companies thrive on the weld shop confusion which generates higher prices for their commodity products. It's also a sad
fact that the majority of the gas information found in weld
shops is based on engineering / management apathy, weld process ignorance and salesmanship.
If you use any three part gas mixes for steel
and stainless applications, you typically are part of an industrial gas marketing
con game. For a few years I was on the AWS committee that wrote the USA. MIG Gas Specifications and much of my efforts at the AWS Gas committee meetings went to keeping biased sales data out of the specification. (Note
I was only partially successful). In the last three decades I also developed four of the most practical two part MIG gas mixes sold in North
America. If you want the best MIG gas mixes and gas mix reality, visit this part of the site.
WHEN WILL THE GLOBAL WELD INDUSTRY STOP BEING A PLAY AROUND" INDUSTRY? IF MACHINIST ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PLAY AROUND WITH MACHINE CONTROLS, WHY
WOULD ANY WELD MANAGER, ENGINEER OR SUPERVISOR ALLOW WELD PERSONNEL TO PLAY AROUND
WITH TWO SIMPLE MIG AND FLUX CORED WELD CONTROLS THAT HAVE BARELY CHANGED IN FIVE DECADES?
A FUNDAMENTAL WELD REALITY: Since
the introduction of the MIG process over 50 years ago, there has been little management
or engineering focus on "Weld Process Control Expertise". The result is the majority
of global weld personnel "play around" with their simple MIG
or Flux Cored weld controls. There is an easy solution to lack of Process Control Expertise and lack of uniform Best Weld Practices. During the last three decades I developed the world's most simple, self teaching
weld process control training program called the Clock Method.
With my process control training resources, in a few hours your employees (without taking notes) will have all the process control
expertise necessary to instantly set correct, optimum weld parameters for any
MIG / Flux Cored steel applications.
WHEN THE WELD PROCESS UTILIZED IS MORE THAN 50 YEARS OLD AND THAT PROCESS IS ATTACHED TO A COSTLY ROBOT, WHY WOULD ANY
MANAGER AND ENGINEER ACCEPT POOR ROBOT MIG WELD QUALITY & UNACCEPTABLE
WELD PRODUCTION?
To
attain optimum robot MIG weld quality and productivity or instantly deal with
robot weld issues requires MIG weld process control expertise. With the global
average robot MIG weld production efficiency range at only 40 to 60% of it's real
potential and robot weld rework usually in the range of 20 to 100%, many manufacturing
companies have a great opportunity for dramatic robot cost reductions and robot
weld quality improvements.
For a few of my wasted years,
I was the North American Robot Weld Manager with ABB Robotics where I established the world's first Robot MIG weld Process Control Training Program. For the last decade as a consultant I have provided robot weld optimization to
companies using all makes of robots.
Before I optimize a companies robot welds I start out by providing my Seven Steps to Robot MIG Process Controls Training Program to all the weld decision makers at the plant and I insist that management attend. I then developed the program so that anyone (no weld expertise required) could present it. Why not provide your employees
with my easy to use Robot Process Control" training
program and also take a look at my Self Teaching MIG and flux cored weld
process control books and CDs.
Imagine after
a few hours of viewing my training program, all participants will have the
ability to instantly address the daily robot or manual MIG weld issues that impact the weld quality and productivity. Imagine the plant management satisfaction in daily achieving consistent, optimum weld quality / productivity without weld rework.
WHILE ONE OF THE MOST COMMOM WELDS PRODUCED IN THE LAST 5 DECADES IS A 1/4 (6mm) FILLET MIG / FLUX CORED WELD, YOU MAY
NOT WANT TO ASK YOUR MANUFACTURING MANAGER, ROBOT TECHNICIAN, ENGINEER OR WELD SUPERVISOR
THE REAL COST OF
THAT FILLET WELD AND GET AN ANSWER WITHIN FIVE MINUTES.
 If you ask
a weld supervisor or fabrication manager the cost of a MIG or flux cored weld
they typically want to talk about the cost of the weld gas or the weld wire.
You can weld a vertical up flux cored fillet at 6 lb/hr, or you can weld the same fillet
at >10 lb/hr. You can MIG weld a horizontal / flat fillet at 6 lb/hr or weld it at 20 lb/hr. The weld reality is few managers or supervisors understand weld deposition rate potential per process / application and few will have the process control knowledge and expertise necessary to
control their real world weld lab our costs. There is a simple solution. My low cost weld process control training
resources
enable the attainment of consistent, optimum MIG and flux cored weld quality and
productivity for the majority of weld applications and also these resources simplify all weld costs...
 WHY
IS MANAGEMENT CONCERNED ABOUT THE SO CALLED GLOBAL
SHORTAGE OF MIG & FLUX CORED WELD
PERSONNEL?
If
you utilize my unique weld process control training methods
that encompass the requirements for weld process controls you will find it should take approx.
30 hours to train a none weld individual with the capability to provide optimum MIG and flux cored welds that
will meet any global weld code / specification requirements.
Of course you can also have them attend a local weld training establishment where after six months you may find they can stick weld and will have to play around with their MIG and flux cored weld controls.
If your organization has to qualify welders to pass an all position flux
cored pipe or vee groove weld test, you will dramatically improve the pass rate,
if before the welders strike an arc you provide the weld personnel with my four
hour classroom training program that actually shows them the correct techniques
and weld settings for the flux cored wires and weld process
optimization.
"WELD PROCESS CONTROL EXPERTISE" IS THE
MISSING LINK FOR MOST GLOBAL WELD COMPANIES THAT UTILIZE THE MIG AND FLUX CORED WELD PROCESS.
 API-ASME-AWS-NACE-ABS, all weld codes require optimum flux cored and MIG weld procedures for qualification
yet every critical weld that has failed or has serious defects that require repairs are welds made with so
called pre-qualified weld procedures.
Apart from weld skills, an essential element to the success
of any weld project is the welder's process control expertise and response to the numerous variables that daily
influence the welds made on the shop floor or at the project.
Apart from
"playing around" with their weld controls, how do your weld personnel
respond to welds that have undersize or excess root gaps, weld joint misalignment,
poor weld edge preparation, poor weld joint access, difficult out of position
welds, unacceptable surface conditions, ever changing environmental issues, distortion,
spatter, undercut, porosity, cracks or lack of fusion?
The solutions
to optimizing weld productivity and preventing weld defects and weld issues will be the one thing that most weld shops never teach their
employees. The logical MIG and FCAW welder's tools to address these issues is "Weld Process Control Expertise".
All MIG and FCAW welders should
have the ability to instantly change and provide optimum parameters to deal with the common variables and prevent weld defects from occurring.
Welders should be using one of the three available weld transfer modes. Optimum recommended weld techniques should always be used for the consumables, weld mode, thickness and application. Welders should not be using their
self taught techniques or the instructions taught by a weld instructor or weld
supervisor more comfortable with the SMAW (stick) process.
Every weld shop
will derive tremendous benefits from management, engineers, technicians and employees
who have been trained to be aware of the root cause of MIG and flux cored weld
defects. It has to be beneficial when all the weld decision makers are aware of the weld
solutions that will prevent those defects from occurring. You have two simple options, get advice from a
weld salesman or take a look at these unique manual / robot MIG.and flux cored
weld process control training resources.
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Many
weld managers are not aware that "Weld Skills"
has
nothing to do with "Weld Process Control Expertise".
Ed's easy to remember Weld Process Control
"Clock Method". Copy
Right ©.
1985.
ED'S MANUAL / ROBOT MIG & FLUX CORED WELD BEST PRACTICES
AND WELD PROCESS CONTROL TRAINING RESOURCES:
If
you are teaching yourself or providing weld process control training for others,
Ed's weld process controls and weld best practices
resources are the key to attaining optimum manual and robot MIG and flux cored welds.
Item.1.
The Book: "A Management & Engineers Guide To MIG
Weld Quality, Productivity & Costs"
Item
2. A unique robot
MIG training or self teaching resource.
"Optimum
Robot MIG Welds from Weld Process Controls".
Item
3. A
unique MIG training or self teaching resource.
"
Manual MIG Weld Process Optimization from Weld
Process Controls".
Item.
4.
A unique flux cored training or self teaching resource.
"Optimum Manual and Automated Flux Cored Plate and
Pipe welds.
Item
5a."Proceso
de Soldadura MIG Manual"
(MIG Made Simple. Self teaching in Spanish)
Item
6a. The
Self Teaching MIG Book/ Video. (MIG
Made Simple in English).
Visit
Ed's process control books and CD training
resources.
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Ed's weld process control books.
The
weld shop culture that's often influenced by hands off management, engineers and supervisors always creates interesting weld shop clashes, (them versus us), interesting egos and attitudes that often result in unnecessary weld quality / cost
consequences. This five decade problem also creates great opportunities for many weld shops to attain dramatic weld cost savings.
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THE GLOBAL SENTANCE THAT BEST
DEFINES THE WELD INDUSTRY:
CULTURE & COST CONSEQUENCES.
WELD
DESIGN AND PROCESS APATHY.
ENGINEER'S
RELIANCE ON SALESMANSHIP.
LACK OF GLOBAL BEST WELD PRACTICES.
LACK OF ROBOT WELD PROCESS CONTROLS.
OWNERSHIP,
ACCOUNTABILITY, LIABILITY, CONCERNS.
For
every 4 robot MIG welds in the auto / truck industry you will
typically
find at least 2 welds with lack
of weld fusion or excess porosity.
The
weld reality of the the majority of robot MIG welds that join global cars and truck parts, is the
average weld size is approx. 4 mm, while the average gage part thickness welded is less than
3 mm. Thanks to the general lack of best weld practices and lack of MIG process
control expertise in these industries, it's too frequently the "over
weld" rather than the robot MIG weld integrity that holds together
those $20,000 to $40,000 vehicles.
Ed's
Robot Weld Process Control Training resources are simple to use
and will ensure
the personnel in your organization always produce
optimum robot / manual weld
quality and productivity. Click here
for info.
2008:
As Ed found out at a tier one supplier in Spain,
Miller seems to be
ignoring
an ongoing serious weld problem
it was having with it's Axcess equipment.
Check out the MIG equipment selection for more info.
For many companies this
would be a first.
IS
THE WELD PROCESS RESPONSIBILITY, WELD ACCOUNTABILITY AND WELD OWNERSHIP AT YOUR FACILITY
FOUND IN THE FRONT OFFICE OR IS IT LAID ON THE BACK OF UNTRAINED WORKERS, SUPERVISORS
AND THE TECHNICIANS IN YOUR WELD SHOP?
|
 WHERE
ARE THE GLOBAL WELD MANAGERS?
Visit
the world's largest career web site "monster.com" and type in the key
words "QUALITY MANAGER"
and monster will provide approx. 700 jobs in the USA. Now try the key words, "WELD
MANAGER" and typically nothing comes up.
The reason for the few weld managers in the
MIG weld industry. The welding industry is an industry where they are few qualified Weld Process Control Experts. In the majority of global MIG
weld shops few managers have
established best MIG and flux cored weld practices, few managers have implemented
effective weld process controls, few managers are "hands on" and take ownership or get to
the root causes of their daily welding
issues and even fewer have control of the weld costs and could tell you the cost of a simple 3/16 or 1/4 (4.8 - 6.4 mm) MIG fillet weld one meter in length.
 OF COURSE THERE ARE DRAMATIC ROBOT
WELD COST CONSEQUENCES FROM
THE GLOBAL LACK OF MIG MANAGEMENT
WELD PROCESS OWNERSHIP.
For
more than two decades, in global manufacturing facilities, over
90% of MIG welding robots have been set up by inexperienced integrators and owned and regulated by technicians. The
majority of the technicians responsible for the weld data utilized in the robots never received MIG Weld Process Control
Training. Combine the global lack of
MIG weld process control expertise with the frequent apathetic engineering /
manufacturing standards that result in the common, unacceptable, weld part dimensional
tolerances. Mix in poor weld fixture design and poor robot cell / fixture maintenance and a company has to
end up with extensive weld cost consequences from it's robot cells.
 ThyssenKrupp Announcement: The NSB
"New Steel Body" is a concept for a lightweight steel
auto body developed by ThyssenKrupp Steel. The benchmark for the NSB was the body-in-white
of a real volume-produced vehicle. The NSB body performs just as well as the production
benchmark but is 24 percent lighter and only three
percent more expensive. The reasons for this are the use of high-strength steels,
weight-optimized tailored products and a tube-intensive design which makes full
use of the weight reduction potential of modern steels. Traditional stamped and
welded parts are replaced by tubular components which are stiffer than conventional
parts and better utilize existing space.
 Ed's Response to Krupp Engineers:
Tubular components
as found in car seats and now car frames are great for increased strength and stiffness, however
tubular components offer unique robot MIG weld - energy concerns. In a "J"
groove joint associated with round to flat gage parts as indicated on the right, the required increased
weld mass necessary for the "J" fill, dissipates some of the energy that would typically be
applied to attain side wall weld fusion. Combine this with the frequent short
cycle weld times that result in fast freeze low energy welds and you will
often end up with welds that on the surface look sound, however as this 1.4
mm tube to brkt weld macro reveals, lack of robot MIG weld fusion will be common.The J grooves also require > 200% more weld necessary for the part thickness resulting in excess heat in the welds HAZ WHICH will weaken the tube parts. Robot
welding around cold rolled components is also influenced by lubricating oils from the
manufacturing process influence weld fusion and generate porosity. Also on tube welds its difficult to control
the robot TCP and attain consistent robot weld speeds from the robot's multi-axis
movement. The quality and consistency of the robot programming, the global lack of weld process control expertise, the influence
of wire stick out and wire helix issues all impact the weld quality attained on these difficult small round welds.
As mentioned tubular welds are often over sized welds and these welds will concentrate and rapidly build up weld heat in a small localized area. On thin
gage HSS tube steels, the excess weld heat in the HAZ has to be a concern especially when additional weld passes are delivered from weld rework
which is typical with auto / truck robot applications. To
retain some of the structural integrity in the weld's heat affected zones on these
new high strength steel tubular parts, it's critical
in the robot welding of these high strength components, to ensure that correct weld sizes are applied and manual
MIG weld rework is minimized. Also the welds produced should provide consistent weld fusion. The HSS small tube robot weld application is one that management is advised to keep their millwrights,
electricians and other inexperienced maintenance personnel away from. These robot welded parts don't need humans "playing
around" with the robot weld data making "unqualified weld changes. The weld solutions to
all of these issues are addressed
in my robot weld process control training
resources.
It's fine for designers and engineers to talk about the reduced weight benefits
of so called high strength steels, however if you destroy the properties of those steels
with unnecessary weld heat, create difficult weld joints and produce welds with questionable quality, what's the real
benefit of the high strength tubular steels in a crash? Successfully welding these
future vehicle structures and avoiding future liability consequences, will come
from designers who understand welding and from robot weld personnel who understand the robots, weld processes and consumables used. All engineers and robot weld decision makers working with robot welded part should be aware of the fundamentals in my Best Weld Practices and Robot Weld Process
Controls Training Resource.
In the play around MIG weld industry it should bo no surprise to find many plants
in which managers and engineers lack the ability to control what they own
 ROBOTS
& MIG WELDING PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY: In
many plants that use MIG robots, it's typical to find the plants will use three
robots to do the work of two. The managers and engineers in these plants will not be aware of this costly fact as they do not understand the requirements necessary to attain optimum robot weld quality and production.
For more than two decades in the auto / truck industry,
the typical, high volume, robot weld down time
per-8 hr/shift has been 60 to 90 minutes,
which according to Detroit auto industry sources, can result in an approx. cost
of $2000 - $2500 per-hour.
In
my numerous visits to Detroit plants that were having robot
issues,
I found that few managers or engineers understood the robot / weld process root
causes of their daily robot issues and even fewer wanted to get involved.
2011. The average global, robot MIG weld
production efficiency range is 40 to 65% and the
average robot weld rework range is 20 to 100%.
 From
a weld process control perspective are your Weld Inspectors trained to
be Weld Process Reactive
or Weld Process Proactive? For decades too
many global manufacturing companies have placed their weld quality labor resources and focus on "finding
weld defects"
rather than on providing their employees (including QA personnel) with highly cost effective
weld process control training programs, that would "enable weld defect prevention".
THE
GLOBAL WELD QUALITY MANAGEMENT DEMISE:
There has
never been a bigger demand for QA managers and weld inspectors,
yet the demand for weld managers,
engineers, supervisors and
technicians with Weld Best Practice Capability and Weld
Process Control Expertise
is almost none existent.
[] IS YOUR ORGANIZATION CLOSE TO MAKING A LARGE WELD AUTOMATION OR WELD
EQUIPMENT INVESTMENT AND YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW TO ATTAIN OPTIMUM WELD QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY WITHOUT THE PURCHASE OF COSTLY, USELESS BELLS AND WHISTLES?
[]
Do you have weld design concerns or looking for design tips that can enhance weld optimization from your weld automation?
[] ARE YOU SIMPLY LOOKING TO RESOLVE
WELD PROBLEMS OR LOOKING FOR THE MOST COST EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVE WELD PROCESS DATA AND PROCEDURES?
[] Perhaps you have a MIG / Flux Cored welder shortage at your locations and would like to provide the world's most effective robot - manual MIG process control training programs. With a few hours process training your employees will exceed your expectations.
ED HAS DEVELOPED THE WORLD'S MOST EFFECTIVE MIG AND FLUX CORED PROCESS CONTROL TRAINING RESOURCES AND THEY ARE AVAILABLE AT THIS SITE.
LOOKING
FOR A LOW COST, FAST SOLUTION TO YOUR ROBOT / MANUAL WELDING ISSUES, CONTACT ED.
Ed has resolved weld issues for hundreds of companies and many
of the weld issues were resolved with a phone call or by E-mail .
For info E-mail.
ecraig@weldreality.com
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WHEN WELD MANAGEMENT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE
OF "WELD PROCESS EXPERTISE" THEIR WELD ACCEPTANCE STANDARDS
WILL BE LOW AND THEY WILL KEEP ASKING THE SAME OLD QUESTIONS.
Would
a tool maker, machinist, mechanic or electrician play around
with their equipment
or ask a sales rep for advice?
Be professional, train your weld personnel so
they don't have to Ask
a Lincoln Rep How!
IN THE "PLAY AROUND" AUTO / TRUCK INDUSTRY, MANAGEMENT IS NOTORIOUS FOR IT'S FIREMAN APPROACH TO MANUFACTURING
WELDED PARTS.
In the weld shop managed by the fire
man, the root cause analysis of manual / robot weld issues
is rarely revealed and the managers / supervisors will typically play their fiddles as their plants slowly burn.
|
 MANAGERS OR FIREMEN? In
a weld manufacturing facility in which the MIG or flux cored weld quality and
productivity are not optimized, it's not uncommon to find engineers, supervisors, technicians and management
in the constant fireman mode, daily
trying to quench the weld production / quality fires.
[] In the fireman's plant we often find ISO deeply embedded,
KAIZEN is a second language, BLACK BELTS are in abundance while many of the common manufacturing processes like paint, resistance and MIG welding are out of control.
[] In the fireman's plant you will find the management and engineers are incapable of establishing uniform Best Weld Practices and Robot - Manual Weld Process Controls.
[]
In the fireman's plant you will not find anyone that within five minutes can tell you the cost of a common weld
[] In the fireman]s plant you will not find managers or engineers that have taken ownership of the manufacturing
processes that create their profits.
 Many of you reading this have been in the weld industry for many years, yet how
many of you have
worked with managers or engineers who have established Best MIG Weld Practices
or implemented effective Weld Process Controls?
How many weld decision makers have you met that
can look at a weld and instantly know the optimum consumables utilized, the optimum weld data used, the weld deposition rate attained and the robot weld speed potential for those welds?
How many
highly skilled weld individuals with 20 plus years MIG weld experience are aware
of the weld process solutions to their common daily robot MIG weld process issues?
WHERE ARE THE EFFECTIVE WELD PROCEDURES? Weld procedures are not weld process controls. In north America, we loose billions
of dollars each year to weld rejects and unnecessary weld rework and the majority of those welded
parts had so called pre qualified weld procedures. The reason for the welds issues is simple. The individuals setting and controlling those procedures lack the weld process expertise that enables weld decision maker to
instantly set weld parameters that enable consistent optimum weld quality / productivity for any
application. The robot or manual procedure data provided should always compensate for the variables that will daily influence the intended weld application.
 FOR
DECADES I WALKED THROUGH GLOBAL WELD SHOPS SEARCHING TO FIND WELD DECISION
MAKERS WHO WERE NOT INFLUENCED
BY A SALESMAN, DECISION MAKERS WHO KNEW ABOUT WELD CONTROLS, DECISION MAKERS WHO WERE AWARE OF THE REAL COSTS OF THEIR WELDS: FOR DECADES ITS HAS BEEN A LONELY WALK.
With my roles as
a weld training manger - weld product marketing manager for Praxair, Airgas, AGA, and Liquid Carbonic,
I believe I know a thing or two about the sales influence on the welding industry.
Thanks
to decades of global MIG weld industry reliance on sales advice, three of the
largest growth and most profitable weld products sold in industrial nations for welding carbon steels are,
[1] costly, unnecessary pulsed MIG equipment,
[2] costly, unnecessary metal cored wires,
[3] costly, and unnecessary three
part gas mixes.
As its been for three decades, and today in 2011, if the above three products were no longer available to the weld shops that
weld mostly carbon steels, low alloy steels and stainless, there would be no impact
on the global weld industry's weld quality and productivity.
Weld Decision Makers please cut that Umbilical Sales Cord:
When
MIG or flux cored weld advice is needed, many weld shops with weld personnel who
have been in the business for decades will not think twice about asking the local
weld equipment rep or salesman who just graduated college with a degree in
English or Fine Arts. The sales reps guided by the self interests of their organizations are usually ready to recommend a new useless three
/ four part gas mix, or the latest $11,999.99 pulsed MIG power source with it's programmable
magic wave forms, sensitive circuit boards and short life span.
Want evidence? take a
look around your shop:
[] How many different power sources, welding wires and gas
mixes
can you count and how many have you tried in the last few years?
[] How many welders daily play around with their weld controls?
[] Why is that spatter on the parts?
[] Why does each weld look different?
[] Why are welds being rejected or require rework?
Understanding Weld Costs: Few weld shops have individuals that can
work out the cost of a common
3/16 or 1/4 ( 5 - 6 mm) fillet weld. When asked about
their weld costs, the
majority of global weld shop managers and supervisors will
want to discuss the cost of the weld wires or weld gas mixes. Weld Deposition Rate Potential
Per-Welds are words rarely used. Weld shops can not control weld costs till weld decision makers understand weld costs.
Note:
If it takes you more than 5 minutes to work out the cost of any weld, you lack
weld process expertise. Yet the reality is if you spend a few hours with my low cost weld process control resources you will have complete control of any weld cost.
FOR
THE MANY MANAGERS WHO LACK WELD PROCESS OWNERSHIP, WHEN WELD
ISSUES OCCUR THEIR FINGERS WILL OFTEN POINT TO THE WELD SHOP FLOOR.
  AND
THE KEY TO WELD OPTIMIZATION IS?
IF
MANAGEMENT, SUPERVISORS, ENGINEERS AND TECHNICIANS WOULD EMBRACE THE LOW COST
PROCESS CONTROL RESOURCES AVAILABLE AT THIS SITE
AND INCREASE THEIR DESIRE FOR WELD PROCESS OWNERSHIP, THEY WILL ATTAIN THE KEYS
THAT OPEN THE DOOR TO WELD PROCESS OPTIMIZATION AND EXTENSIVE WELD COST REDUCTION. |
The
MIG process is over fifty years old, yet I wonder how
many weld decision
makers in a weld shop would be able
to answer the following fundamental weld
questions.
YOU MAY NEVER GIVE YOUR WELDERS A WRITTEN TEST BUT
HOW IMPORTANT ARE FUNDAMENTAL WELD PROCESS
CONTROL QUESTIONS TO YOUR ORGANIZATION?
Test
your Weld Process Knowledge with these fundamental weld questions. If
it takes you more than 15 minutes to provide the correct answers to the following
questions you are not in control of the world's most common
weld equipment and consumables.
[1]
What is the MIG wire feed setting in inch/min (m/min) in which an 0.045 (1.2mm) wire
using argon - 20% CO2
goes into Spray Transfer?
[2] What weld parameter changes will be necessary
if you change your MIG gas from argon 20% CO2 to argon 10% CO2?
[3]
Using an 0.035 (0.9mm) wire, what wire feed setting in inch/min (m/min), does short
circuit transfer change
into spray transfer when using argon
- 20% CO2?
[4] Why is the common argon with 25% CO2 the worst possible weld gas for companies who weld parts thicker than 3mm?
[5] You are using a robot to weld a common 3/16 (5mm) carbon steel,
horizontal fillet weld. You use an 0.045 (1.2 mm) wire and
argon - 10%CO2. To meet your weld production needs you need
to attain a weld travel speed of > 40 ipm. Provide the
Wire Feed Speed_____ Required Amps ____ Volts___.
[6]
Your robot cell goes through six contact tips each day. The robot welds 1/4 (6mm)
carbon steel, using an 0.045 MIG wire and
argon - 10% CO2. The wire feed data is
280 inch/min (7 m/min) with 25 weld volts. Why the daily contact tip issues?
[7] Using a mechanized weld carriage or a robot to
weld a 1/4 (6mm), Horizontal Fillet Weld with an 0.045 (1.2mm)
E71T-1 flux cored
wire and argon 20% CO2. Provide the Wire Feed Rate____Weld Travel Rate____Voltage____.
[8] What is the weld cost for a part which has
80 inches (2 meters) of 1/4 (6 mm) horizontal fillet welds on each part. You are
using an 0.045 (1.2mm) wire that cost $1 /lb. Your argon - CO2 mix cost $40 per-cyl.
The wire feed rate is set at 420 inch/min, 30 volts. Your welders have an
overhead rate of $40 / hr. The welders average arc on time is 30 minutes per-hr.
[9]
Welding 1/4 (6 mm) structural carbon steels. Weld position, vertical up. The flux cored wire is the
E71T-1, 0.045 (1.2mm). Gas argon - 25% CO2. Provide the optimum wire feed, amps and voltage.
[10]
You have an automated weld unit that runs on a track, (or a robot). Your MIG spray transfer weld is oversize.
Without touching the wire feed rate, you increase the weld travel rate by 20%.
What will you have to do to the weld voltage and explain why?
[11] You are using Helium Tri Mixes for MIG welding thin gage <3 mm stainless. Why is this gas mix the wrong choice?
[12] You are using MIG Spray or Pulsed MIG and you have weld spatter, to get rid of the weld spatter what do you adjust and why?
[13] You are welding thin gage with short circuit and you have weld spatter, to get rid of the spatter what do you adjust and why?
[14] At the end of your robot welds there is a large glob on the end of the weld wire. The glob is causing robot arc start issues. How do you get rid of the glob?
Note: Ask your self, are the above weld process control questions relevant to your weld personnel and important to the reputation and profitability of your organization, if so when are you going to do something about it? If you had
difficulty with the fundamental MIG and Flux Cored weld process questions, don't feel frustrated,
after all, for more than five decades the weld industry and most weld educators have
placed minimal focus on the subject.
[]
Ed's flux cored process control weld test,
[] Ed's MIG process control MIG Welding test.
YOU
MAY KNOW A WELD MANAGER, ENGINEER OR SUPERVISOR LIKE THIS:
This
is the manager or engineer with his head in the sand. The man who believes that
MIG welding is a "play around with controls trade". A person who believes that weld productivity
is measured by how long the welder's hood is down and his company's daily weld quality
and productivity depends on the temperament and artistic skill level of each welder.
 [] When
you ask this manager about his "weld costs" he typically wants to discuss the
cost of the weld wires and gas mixes.
[] When this manager has weld issues, he will
not think twice about calling Lincoln or Miller or asking the local weld sales
rep for advice.
[] This is the manager who has no problem spending unnecessary
dollars on the latest three part gas mixes or on costly useless pulsed MIG equipment loaded with
ineffective electronic bells and whistles.
[] This
will be the manager who daily accepts inconsistent, manual, weld quality and unacceptable
productivity as the norm, and his expectations from his experienced, skilled workers and costly robots is not
too great.
AND
YOU MAY KNOW MANAGER, ENGINEER OR SUPERVISOR LIKE THIS:
 []
These are the weld decision makers who are tired with futile
finger pointing and fed
up with vendor
sales reliance.
[] These individuals are frustrated
that their so called experienced weld personnel have to "play around" with the
fifty year old MIG process.
[] These guys no longer want to read weekly
reports full of excuses for the inconsistent, robot or manual, MIG flux cored
weld quality and productivity.
[] At weld or engineering meetings these
weld decision makers are tired with talk without results and will want to quickly get to the root causes of their daily
weld issues and be aware of the logical engineering steps that need to be implemented to resolve the
issues.
[] These are the managers that know that optimum MIG weld process
performance
comes from the plants Best Weld Practices and from the implementation of Weld Process
Controls. These managers will
know that to achieve this their employees will need special process control training.
Click for Weld Best Practice - Process Control Resources.
REMEMBER "PROCESS OPTIMIZATION LEADS TO THE LOWEST COSTS": Where
there is weld quality and productivity inconsistency and weld process confusion, there is always the opportunity
for dramatic cost savings. Once managers can get to the root cause of a weld issue and provide a weld resolution, that cost reduction
is one step away.
I
hope like myself you have thick skin and not upset with the messenger, but focused on the message. I hope this site can be a catalyst for progressive, cost effective weld
changes
for your organization. I hope the www.weldreality.com information encourages managers and engineers
towards Weld Process Ownership and reduces some of the common MIG / flux cored
weld process issues, myths, confusion and sales reliance that's common in most global
MIG weld shops.
 GM
- FORD - CHRYSLER HARLEY - DANA - MAGNA - TENNECO - VOLVO - TOYOTA
- HONDA - IMPERIAL OIL - COMBUSTION ENGINEERING
- GENERAL ELECTRIC - CATERPILLAR - JOHN DEERE - MERCEDES - DOW CHEMICAL - BABCOCK - ABB
- GENERAL DYNAMICS -
VW - TEXTRON - INGERSOLL
RAND - ESSO are just a few companies that utilized Ed's robot / manual process
control services, expertise or training resources.
Ed provides weld process quality / productivity solutions for a reasonable fee.
Contact Ed. E-mail. ecraig@weldreality.com.
|
Ed's Robot and Manual MIG and Flux Cored Weld Process Control Training power point presentation should be provided to all personnel involved in the weld process and that includes management, engineers, supervisors, technicians QA personnel and all weld personnel. When everyone involved walks the same welding path, Uniform Best Weld Practices are established and Weld Process Controls can be implemented and the following will result.
[] All robot or manual pre-qualified weld procedures will provide data that deal with all the
real world part and weld variables that influence the weld quality and productivity.
[] Shop floor Manufacturing and Weld Instructions
will be logical, optimum, complete, effective and highly visible.
[] Welders will be aware of how to instantly set optimum weld data for any weld, any alloy, any wire, any weld issue
without "playing around" with weld parameters.
[] Weld clean up and weld rework will become a thing of the past.
[] Managers and supervisors will know the cost of any weld.
[]
Supervisors, engineers and technicians will always be aware of the weld production potential in terms of weld deposition rates and weld travel speeds per application.
Visit
all of Ed's MIG and Flux Cored self teaching and Weld Process Control Training programs
[]
NO ONE USES MORE FLUX CORED WIRE THAN A SHIP YARD.
[] NO ONE HAS GREATER DEGREE
OF WELD DIFFICULTY THAN A SHIP YARD.
[] NO ONE HAS MORE FLUX CORED WELD DEFECTS
THAN A SHIP YARD.
[] NO ONE HAS GREATER POTENTIAL TO REDUCE WELD COSTS THAN
A SHIP YARD.
[] NO ONE HAS GREATER WELD REPAIR COSTS THAN A SHIP YARD.
YET
MOST GLOBAL SHIP YARDS HAVE NOT ESTABLISHED BEST WELD PRACTICES AND THE
MAJORITY
OF GLOBAL SHIP YARDS HAVE NOT PROVIDED THEIR OFTEN FRUSTRATED EMPLOYEES
WITH MIG AND FLUX CORED WELD PROCESS
CONTROL TRAINING:
In
the weld cost section, take a look at the multi-million dollar cost savings, one
ship yard attained using
Ed's unique, one day flux cored process control weld training program.
 My
MIG and flux cored Best Weld Practices and Process Control training resources
are available in both book and CD form. I have developed these materials over
four decades. With my easy to use, self teaching CD, Power Point training weld programs,
within an eight hour training period, your MIG and flux cored weld personnel will benefit as they will;
[]
Master any weld equipment utilized and attain it's full weld performance potential for all carbon
steel, alloy steels and stainless welds.
The result, attain "consistent, optimum weld quality and productivity from any low cost MIG equipment".
Achieve any plate / pipe welds without repairs, welds without process issues, welds always at the lowest possible weld costs.
[]
Master the available MIG and flux cored weld transfer modes. Be aware of the wire feed / voltage
weld optimization requirements for MIG short circuit, MIG spray, Pulsed MIG and all the optimum all position settings for gas shielded flux cored welds. Imagine
the benefits in a weld shop where all the welders have the same uniform, logical
approach to weld best practices and weld process controls and can do this without the aid of a book, notes or salesman.
[]
Imagine a weld shop in which all weld personnel
are aware of the root causes of the manual / robot weld problems and have the
ability to provide instant, logical solutions without playing around with the weld controls.
[]
Imagine a weld shop in which all weld personnel understand the relationship between
the wire type, weld gas, wire diameter, weld transfer mode, part thickness and the weld deposition
rates and weld travel speeds required.
[]
Imagine a weld shop in which all weld personnel use the same optimum weld techniques. Forget those stick welding techniques that 50% of the MIG welding industry
uses. Utilize the very specific MIG and Flux Cored weld techniques necessary for the weld transfer
mode, consumable utilized, weld application position, edge prep and the part thickness.
It's a "rare pleasure" when I watch weld personnel act in a professional manner and
instantly set optimum manual or robot weld parameters for their application.
Ed Process Control Workshop:
Sixty
participants from six countries including Australia, England, Spain,
Mexico and
Canada, attended Ed's Cleveland Ohio,
"Robot and Manual MIG Weld Process Controls" work
shop.
Ed's Robot Process MIG Weld Control training CD
dramatically improved the weld quality and productivity
of the Ford F-150 the
world's biggest selling truck.
E-mail.
From Dana To
Ed Craig:
 Jan
2007: Ed I wanted to send update about that E-Town Dana plant that you visited a few
years ago: As you know on your first visit to this plant, our robot lines were
producing less than 40 truck
frames (FORD F-150) per-hour and the majority of the MIG welded frames required
extensive weld rework. Thanks to your MIG Weld Process Control Training and
your consumable / parameter recommendations, the results from our employees are today
staggering. Yesterday this plant hit very close to a record of 76
frames per hour. We daily attain our average goal of more than one frame per-minute.
We had two recent weld audits. One weld audit had a total of two failures, and
the 2nd weld audit was the first 100% pass weld audit in the history of the Ford
F-150 line.
Many
thanks! from Ryan Good. Dana Weld Eng.
and a grateful Dana
Corporation.
Note
from Ed: It's great to hear a robot welding success story like this, especially
as the truck frame weld quality and productivity results were eventually attained
with fundamental weld process and consumable logic. The robot process control
data and advice I provided this company is available in my books and in my Robot
/ Manual Weld Process Control Training CD programs located here.
Welding conventional steels and stainless? I
hope you visit the pulsed MIG section to
view why you should not waste $6000
to $120000 on that new pulsed MIG power source.
GLOBAL
MIG WELD GAS CONFUSION:
There
are more than 60 MIG gas mixes available for your MIG
applications when no more than 4 mixes are typically required.
In
general, the common global MIG gas confusion is simply a
reflection of the
global weld industry lack of MIG process expertise.
Ed
provides the MIG gas mixes that provide real world weld benefits.
Note:
Working as marketing and process training manager with AGA,
Airgas and Liquid
Carbonic, Ed developed and introduced four of the
top selling MIG gas mixes used in North
America.
A MESSAGE TO AUTOMOTIVE MANAGEMENT AND ENGINEERS.
As
the automotive executives lined up like poor sheep to borrow billions from American
taxpayers, any logical individual would ask. Why does the auto industry, which
has one of the highest ratio of engineers to workers, annually create billions of dollars in rework, rejects, recalls, warranty and productivity issues? In
the same industry millions of dollars are lost daily from robot
weld rejects, weld rework and poor robot weld production efficiency. In this bottomless pit cash quagmire industry the
majority of plant manager seem to lack the ability to establish Uniform Best Weld Practices
and apply logical cost effective Weld Process Controls to their plant's critical manufacturing processes. Something for corporate executives, managers and engineers to think about.
|
If
you are not in complete
control of your weld process,
you
cannot be in control of the weld costs.
 WHAT WELD
JOB DESCRIPTION? Weld
quality and productivity issues will always be more numerous in weld shops in
which confused managers, surround themselves with confused supervisors, who are
surrounded by confused engineers, who are surrounded by confused employees who
get no assistance from their confused job descriptions:
|
FOUR PRIME ROOT CAUSES OF MIG WELD SHOP ISSUES:
The
four biggest hurdles to implementing Best MIG Weld Best
Practices and Weld Process
Controls;
[1]
Lack of weld management leadership.
[2] Lack of weld
management weld equipment and process ownership.
[3] Inability of management and supervision to provide the required Best Practices and Process
Control Training.
[4] Unqualified weld decision makers, imposing
weld equipment, process and consumable preferences often based on unqualified or biased weld sales
advice. |
FOR DECADES, MANY AUTO / TRUCK PLANT MANAGERS HAVE ALLOWED MAINTENANCE
MILLWRIGHTS AND ELECTRICIANS AND OTHER UNQUALIFIED PERSONNEL TO DAILY ADJUST THE
SO CALLED PRE-QUALIFIED WELD PARAMETERS ON THEIR ROBOT MIG WELDS.
 Joe,
every time I walk past the robot cells, some millwright or electrician from the
maintenance department is playing around with the robot weld data. For
heavens sake our experienced welders play around with MIG controls,
do you seriously believe those guys in the maintenance department
with there 150 - 200 amp Miller MIG machine, have the MIG weld process control expertise
necessary to optimize robot MIG welds? Also in case we ever get sued, perhaps you can tell me why are these unqualified guys are changing the so called, "pre-qualified
weld data" without engineering approval and new weld qualification?
FEW ROBOTS ARE WELL MANAGED.
"The majority of the technicians and engineers who run your robots are simply
operating a process, rather than in control of that process".
The above statement is from
a weld report I provided to Ford Frame plant management (Detroit) in the 1980s. It was futile message at that time as the managers and engineers running the plant simply did not want weld process ownership and they also lacked the interest, knowledge or ability to grasp the root cause of their daily robot weld issues.
| A
few of the participants at Ed's 2007, "Seven Steps for Robot Weld Process
Control" Work Shop. Location:
Wolf Robotics. CO.  If
you would like a one day, manual or robot weld process
control training program
at your facility or
in Asheville NC. E-Mail ecraig@weldreality.com.
For those who quickly forgot. Eight wasted years, a lost economy,
pst soldiers, lost jobs and loss of national
pride and prestige.
GM
- FORD - HARLEY - DANA - MAGNA - TENNECO - VOLVO - TOYOTA
- HONDA - IMPERIAL OIL -
COMBUSTION ENGINEERING
- CATERPILLAR - JOHN DEERE - MERCEDES - DOW CHEMICAL - BABCOCK -
ABB - GENERAL
DYNAMICS -
GENERAL ELECTRIC - VW - TEXTRON - INGERSOLL
RAND - ESSO
are just a few companies that utilized Ed's Weld training resources.
What's wrong in Detroit and weld management legal ramifications for poor
weld quality, continue
www.weldreality Home Page. CLICK HERE
|
