Both Lincoln and Miller have cloud base data monitoring systems that can do what you are talking about.
The level of sophistication in the reporting will really depend on you and the weld data you can bring to bear from your details and the level of automation at the torch.
Blue and Red sales people are salivating to meet people such as yourself, who are serious about accessing real tact time and lean weld management.
There are steps...….. baby steps you can take by simply measuring arc time if your WPS's have fairly locked in deposition rates...
But if you are looking for actual weight in deposition or arc time per part #.... That is a level of sophistication that takes some good communication between detailing and the factory floor...…… But the people that do it, harvest excellence.
As you might suspect this is coming from the Bean Counters who want to capture all the costs of consumables for our big runner jobs.
I have conducted time studies as well.
This is one I found
https://www.migmeter.com/-Thanks
Our fancy welding machines automatically measure and record arc time and inches of wire used.
Other than that, I don't know of an in-line continuous meter for this.
If you don't have fancy machines, and the process is simple, meaning one WFS is being used, you can track arc time and do the math to get amount of wire used.
Tracking arc time can either be done with a stop watch, or Miller has a new welding hood out that will do it for you.
Or, if you have an accurate scale, you can measure the weight of the spool or spools of wire before and after the part is welded.
Helpful info:
1" of steel electrode weight in lbs.:
.045 FCAW = .000360
.052 FCAW = .000507
1/16" FCAW = .000688
.035 solid = .0002723
.045 solid = .0004501
.052 solid = .0006010
1/16" solid = .0008682
Keep in mind that the wire will be trimmed before the start of each weld too(at least the better welders will trim the ball off before striking a new arc). That will end up as waste, like spatter... so the efficiency rate may differ slightly depending on how many starts and stops you have on each piece.
Hey Jarhead,
the processes that you have been doing with solid wire needs transfer mode.
You could easily to aware which mode in usage(in welding process, weld sound helps you to aware).. If welder works over 220 amps, it could be spray or globular.
You probably need a calculator as is what ESAB has developed.
https://tiberg.com/esab-qwpa/The QWPA is an easy-to-use calculator for total weld cost analysis of your welding production. This tool can help you see the cost impact of different aspects of your production, including increasing deposition rate and arc time/operating factors
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