Weld Settings & maintenance

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 03-03-2010 12:19

Welcome to the forum goforthebest.

Welders looking to a generic wall chart to determine parameters in a job shop is a recipie for disaster.

A shop with best practices would have a welding procedure specification in place for each project or part group.. The welders have access to these in order to keep your process under control.

I think the place you should start is ::: The "AWS Certified Welding Supervisors Manual for Quality and Productivity Improvement" This book will give you a good idea about how to organize your production in an efficient manner.

The doccument used to mantain your welding machines is most likely the owners manual.. They have routine mantainence schedules published.

By 803056

Date 03-03-2010 15:03 Edited 03-03-2010 15:17

I agree with Lawrence with regards to machine maintenance and the use of WPSs.

There are recommended practices available from AWS for many welding processes that can be very helpful when setting up a welding machine or writing a WPS.

The recommended practice for gas metal arc welding would be very useful for your situation. There are diagrams that plot the wire feed speed versus welding amperage for both short circuiting and spray modes of transfer for mild steel and others for austenitic stainless steel and aluminum and a couple of other base metaql groups. It is one of the well worn references I keep in my library. I usually use charts to define the ranges for wire feed speed, amperage, and voltage in my WPSs. It is easier for many people to look at a graphic and determine the parameters than to look at long tables or wide ranges that do not tie the parameters together. The attached sketch is an example for FCAW (using a particular classification and shielding gas).

By the way, does anyone know how to reduce the size of these attachments?

The Lincoln Welding Procedure Handbook is also a good reference, but I don't recollect there being too much information on GMAW. I have to admit my copy is somewhat dated and should be replaced with an updated version.

Best regards - Al

WireFeed-AmperageforWPS3-Jan-10Model1.jpg (91k)

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 03-03-2010 15:42 Edited 03-03-2010 15:46

Al

I just right clicked on your pic and selected "save as" and saved it to my desktop.
Then I double clicked on the icon and used the stock windows proggie and resized the image and resaved it...

WireFeed-AmperageforWPS3-Jan-10Model1.jpg (120k)

By 803056

Date 03-03-2010 15:46

I'm still lost on how you resized it.

Please explain the steps in the terms you would find in "Computers for Dummies" so even I could follow. I need a step by step map to follow.

Sorry for being stupid, but I do appreciate your help.

Best regards - Al

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 03-03-2010 16:27

Ok...

1. I put my arrow right on top of the X-tra large image you posted.

2. I used the right clicker on my mouse and it provided a list of things I can do. The first choice is "save picture as" I selected that.

3 The computer now askes me *where* I want to save the image.. You can choose a picture file on your hard drive... I use my desktop for quick things like this because it's easy. I give the file a name I will recognize.. (Al's chart) and save it.

4. Now that the pic is saved on a drive.. I will double click on (Al's chart) and open it using Microsoft Office Picture manager.... Or what ever proggie you have that opens pictures...

5. Once the pic is opened, just use the proggie options to reduce the size of the image and resave.

6. Use normal Web attachment procedures to load (Al's chart) on the forum page.

By 803056

Date 03-03-2010 16:46

That worked like a charm!

Thanks Lawrence. I saved your explanation in a file where I can find it in the future.

Who says an old dog can't learn new tricks?

Best regards - Al

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 03-03-2010 17:06

You have helped me hundreds of times Al.

Now I've helped you once.. :)

By 803056

Date 03-03-2010 17:10

I'm glad to hear that I have been able to help you, but this one tidbit of information you just gave me instantly helps me solve a problem that has haunted me for a very long time!

Now if I could only copy and save some of the clips from U-Tube people here have listed! Some of them are very good and well worth keeping on file.

Best regards - Al

By js55

Date 03-03-2010 18:21

Al has helped all of us out a great deal but we don't want to tell him very often. :)

By ssbn727 (*****)

Date 03-03-2010 19:17

Once that you're aware of Larry! ;)

Al certainly is an asset of incalculable proportions in this forum and to the welding world in general... If anybody has interacted with Al at any point in their career and hasn't walked away more informed, then that person is nothing more than a walking brain stem!!! :) :) ;) Also known as an "airhead! ;)" And as fate would have it Al has met quite a few of those throughout his travels at one point or another which is why I look forward to Al describing in here one of his many encounters with these rather unique individuals who tend to grace their presence amongst us! ;)

These encounters are not only so funny that sometimes I feel like my relatively new liver is laughing so hard on it's very own, but they are also very real, and very sobering reminders that these folks do indeed exist amongst us, and Al has this unique gift of drawing them out from their hiding places in order to communicate with them in way only Al could accomplish... Leaving them wondering whether or not they were complimented, or put down so low that they feel as if they're playing "handball on the sidewalk curb!!! :) :) :)

The sheer eloquence of his sense of diplomacy, and yet an obvious loquacious demeanor, as well as mischievous inferences smartly woven into the fabric with some of his responses are what I can only describe as being certainly awe inspiring!!! ;) ;) ;)

However we must not feed too much our own observations in his head because if we do, we will become ultimately guilty of being part of a fateful, future date when we are informed of his untimely demise as a result of his own exploding head!!! :) :) :) ROTFLMFAOAAA!!! :) :) :) Just kidding buddy!!! you're the BEST IMHO!!! :) :) :)

Respectfully,
Henry

By 803056

Date 03-03-2010 20:37

I have to admit it would be a muffled pop rather than an explosion should my pea brain explode from trying to absorb too much information.

I have to depend on my mentors Henry, Lawrence, Stephen, JS55, and so many others too numerous to remember to keep me on the straight and narrow!

I do have to admit this is one place that can bring both feet back to Earth should one start to become so self-absorbed and too light headed by believing they have seen it all or know it all.

I do enjoy the wit and humor so many of our community exhibits in our Forum. I spend many hours laughing as I read the posts. No one gets away with too much before someone shoots the hot air balloon full of holes bringing it and its passenger back to terra-firma. A humble reminder to each of us that there is a lot we can learn from each other.

Henry, I am going to have to look up a few of those words to see if you are complimenting me or hoisting my head on a pike! ;)

This joke pretty well sums up a day in my life.

A pirate walked into a bar, and the bartender said,

"Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. What happened? You look terrible."

"What do you mean?" said the pirate, "I feel fine."

"What about the wooden leg? You didn't have that before.."

"Well," said the pirate, "We were in a battle, and I got hit with a cannon ball. But I'm fine now."

The bartender replied, "Well, OK, but what about that hook? What happened to your hand?"

The pirate explained, "We were in another battle. I boarded a ship and got into a sword fight. My hand was cut off. I got fitted with a hook but I'm fine, really."

"What about that eye patch?"

"Oh," said the pirate, "One day we were at sea, and a flock of birds flew over. I looked up, and one of them **** in me eye."

"You're kidding," said the bartender. "You couldn't lose an eye just from bird droppings."

"It was my first day with the hook."

Best regards – Al