TS,
"ramp up the volts" vs "raspy crackle"

"fall off the end" vs "welding until you hear humming"

"voltage is weird" vs "slight crackle"

You post obviously has more merit - technically speaking...

Unlimited opinions + 1

To RonG, DGXL, and DHGuilford: It seems we are all talking about the same thing with different points of view. I’ll give you mine and then enjoy to hear back. First, I am not upset about anything, just concerned that some misleading welding information is being presented. It is true the work is done in the shop or the field, but that is not the place to learn (unless you can afford it). Most places can not afford the mistakes and rework caused by OJT. I know that the union trades are competitive because of training and expert experience in that field of work. Higher quality vs. lower quality and higher wages vs. lower wagers. I believe that the Boilermaker trade requires four years of apprenticeship before they receive a journeyman’s card. This requires OJT and classroom. Non union shops don’t usually require previous experience or training, and must accept the economic burden. That is why there is a place for both groups in manufacturing.

Next, I think the term “suitcase” refers to the wire feeder. It could be a voltage-sensing feeder or hooked to the welder for voltage control at the welding machine. I have seen an INVERTER welding machine, and could explain the features, benefits, and theory of the INVERTOR, but I guess that would be called an article or book. I have sold them, used them, and think the welding arc is great.

I have been involved in many parts of the welding industry and have enjoyed them all, and I feel very strongly about training and improving the skills, quality, pay for welders. This can’t be done the old fashion way of only OJT because many bad habits of “just good enough welding” are still out there. There are a lot of extremely talented people welding today, but that’s what they like to do. Weld not teach. Welding Codes, Job Specifications, and Shop Standards are becoming more strict and that means quality must follow. Three things can prove Weld Quality Assurance and they are “past successful projects”, “engineering data”, and “performance qualification test”. I think all three have merit, but certain people making their own rules and that’s doesn’t help. I have trained and/or certified over a thousand welders and feel at least 99.9% are excellent, professional, and skilled workers that wanted to learn something new to improve themselves. I planned on and did learn something from each of them. I am a certified welder myself and have the skills to make quality welds and show others how to make quality welds to the code or specification needed.

Most companies don’t want to pay to train their employees to weld or any other part of the job. But most employers have higher quality standards today because their customers are requiring it. Training cost huge money and time, and many times those employees don’t stick around for the payback. What is worse, training people and losing them, or not training them and keeping them? Both have cost, whether hidden or not. I have never pushed companies into training, but when they finally see the need through economic loss or major quality issues, it becomes easy. Have you heard the phrase “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink”? Try putting salt in his oats. And by the way, most all the welders wanted more technical information because it gave them more control and ownership in their job. Bottom line, that means quality and production. It sounds like I have been too sharp on SHOP TALK or JARGON, but I have seen thousands of dollars, injury, and loss of life due to mis-interpreted welding language. Every shop has something different, and it might not be the same meaning. An example would be the term “air”. It could be “breathing air or oxygen”, depending on who is asking and who is listening. I know of people getting killed over this JARGON.

Technically speaking, you won’t ever see “sound” on a Welding Procedure Specification, but it is a good way to fine tune a welding arc within the qualified procedure parameters. Quality and production will never be on the same plane, but they should run parallel for results and profitability.

First time responder, long time reader. I will watch and learn. AWS-CWI/CWE

i couldn't have said it better dude...i like mental pictures! i know if i was just getting into welding, i'd rather listen to some welder's jargon than hear a technical explanation...but presently, i have the technical knowledge about welding down pretty well, so i understood TS's response. i didn't think TS's response was all that bad, just out of place. i've noticed that happens a lot in here though. it's kinda like talking to kids...sometimes u have to step down to an amature welder's level in order to convey a point.

1. Spend the money for a good amp/volt meter.
2. Have the meter calibrated to a national standard (NIST).
3. Place the meter as close as practical to the arc (the contact block on the wire feeder) to ascertain arc voltage.
4. Amperage is genereally uniform throughout the circuit, place the meter tongs around the liner to obtain amperage.

Any bad connections, coiled leads, shorting, arcing, etc. should be noticable on your meter compared to that of the power supply meter(s). I can actually see (by the meter display) when the welder is long or short arcing, and I use this as a demonstration for my students when training. Other problems can also be present in the meter display as noted above.

This is how I monitor real time welding parameters.

I believe the demonstration you're referring to has a caption that describes it as "transition zone" between globular and spray.