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7. How long before WeldPrint will see a fault?
WeldPrint sees a fault in a fraction of a second and presents its finding as a drop in quality on a visual display. If the quality has dropped below a user-defined level for a user-defined time, WeldPrint will switch an output which can be used to alert the operator, or communicate with the process control equipment.
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8. Can WeldPrint be used with my conventional data acquisition system? - YES!
WeldPrint can be used to alert the existing system of a deterioration in weld quality, and the existing system can then be used to determine if a change in one of the parameters being observed corresponds with a drop in quality.
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9. Can WeldPrint be used as a data monitoring system? - YES!
WeldPrint has within it additional features which allow voltage and current to be observed simultaneously. WeldPrint can also be set to only log data just before and during a fault condition.
Another inbuilt feature is that each of these channels can have their information logged to a file for later export to a spreadsheet or data handling programme if required. A macro written for Excel® is also supplied, which allows logged data to be presented graphically in Excel®(Excel® not supplied)
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10. Can WeldPrint work continuously? - YES!
WeldPrint can operate continuously and the nature of the equipment in the WeldPrint package allows it to continuously observe the quality of the process.
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11. Can WeldPrint look at critical applications? - YES!
WeldPrint can be optimised for critical welding conditions by adjustment of the sampling rate and sample size. The "advanced user" functions can be adjusted and a highly refined signature recorded, to which WeldPrint will compare the critical weld.
The more accurate and detailed the welding signature, the more accurate and sensitive WeldPrint is in detecting a fault.
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12. Can WeldPrint check several welds in a series and handle changing parameters eg robotic welding sequence of complex parts? - YES!
WeldPrint is perfect for checking each and every part of all the welds in a series of welds. WeldPrint can look at each part of the weld and automatically call up the appropriate comparison signature for that part of the weld in the series.
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13. How does WeldPrint start and stop?
WeldPrint starts and stops either by being triggered from the electrical signal it observes, or by being started from an external device eg weld controller, robot, or process control centre.
There is also a user-defined trigger delay which allows the welding process to establish itself before quality monitoring starts.
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14. How do I know WeldPrint is doing its job?
WeldPrint has a relay output and a light which confirm it is observing quality. This output can be connected to a process control device, or data logging device, and in the event that the data communications section ceases to function, or the computer program "freezes" for any reason, the monitor relay will alert the operator and the monitor light located on the WeldPrint panel will go off. The relay can be connected to prevent welding if the WeldPrint unit is not monitoring.
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15. What if I connect WeldPrint to high frequency, or high voltage starting for my welding process?
WeldPrint has high frequency and high voltage protection on the main input channel. The other three channels are protected from all types of electrical noise and are designed to accept standard input devices.
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16. Can I use WeldPrint for quality assurance? - YES!
WeldPrint is designed for continuously analysing welding voltage and current, and providing a record of the online analysis to prove that arc conditions have not changed, thereby assuring weld quality. A calibration system for all channels is provided as part of the package.
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17. What level of technical support is available for WeldPrint?
Several levels of support are available.
Level 1 - Comprehensive instruction manual and demonstration welding examples.
Level 2 - WeldPrint's distributors are technically competent and are assessed for their expertise with the software and hardware.
Level 3 - A dedicated E-mail address for questions and the downloading of critical WeldPrint diagnostic files, which enables WTi and its technical support team to confirm that WeldPrint has been set up correctly and is operating using the optimum parameters for the particular process.
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18. What is the main benefit of WeldPrint?
WeldPrint inspects 100% of each and every weld and confirms the weld quality by comparing all of the weld to a pre-recorded signature.
Any deviation from the signature is reported as a deterioration in quality.
Any level of quality can be preset to trigger the fault output.
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19. How does WeldPrint detect a fault in the weld?
WeldPrint compares the signature from the weld being made to a reference. There are several options in the way the reference is created:
Automatic Referencing
This is the simplest way to use WeldPrint and is the initial default mode of operation. Automatic Referencing is the comparison of the weld information with a reference which is a refined model of the welding arc information collected at the start of the welding run. Because of the "samples" of many data points which are collected, the Automatic Reference is alert and highly sensitive to a change in the process and will show a deterioration in quality when a change occurs.
A rapid deterioration in quality is expressed as a fault, when the quality level falls below a pre-set value.
Referencing from Disc
Referencing from disc is the comparison of the weld information with a pre-recorded signature. For most repetitive situations, e.g., robotic welding, and for critical applications, Referencing from Disc will be the operation mode of choice.
A signature is recorded on disk and recalled when needed. Weld information is then compared to that signature. WeldPrint says a fault is a departure, or change from the pre-recorded references, ie - when the quality falls below a user-defined level.
There are several options available to create a reference on disc by recording a weld including:
- TRACKING allows the large acceptable changes to be tracked and still maintain sensitivity to detecting faults.
- TRACKING PATH is similar to tracking but also relates the change to a specific part of the weld. This is particularly useful when parameters change through the weld.
- COMBINING REFERENCES from more than one weld is particularly useful when acceptable tolerances need to be defined. By making welds at the extremes of these tolerances and combining the references, an acceptable operating window is easily defined.
- ADAPTIVE REFERENCING is used for processes where the conditions may vary gradually.
Stability
Because of WeldPrint’s method of analysis and complex analytical routine, it is also able to express arc information as process stability and can therefore be very useful in tuning or refining a welding procedure to gain the greatest level of stability. Stability is expressed as a percentage, and a level of 100% means a highly stable process.
WeldPrint does not claim to be able to identify a specific fault, only to identify that the weld quality is not as expected, or is not the same as that quality which is required and was recorded as a signature for that particular process or operation.
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20. Can WeldPrint identify the cause of a fault? - NOT YET!
Research is taking place into the correlation between the details of signature changes and the type of faults as they relate to varying welding processes .
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21. Does this mean that WeldPrint is a new type of data logger, or arc monitor? - NO!
WeldPrint is not a data logger, nor an arc monitor. WeldPrint analyses online detailed arc information and presents it as a quality level, or a fault condition.
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22. How reliable is WeldPrint?
WeldPrint uses sophisticated statistical data analysis and is not fooled, for example, by electrical noise. It does not rely on fine details of the data collected but rather forms a consistent overall picture which it then compares with a reference signature.
Better arc stability results in a tighter reference thereby giving greater sensitivity to the detection of faults. As process control over the welding procedure improves, the effectiveness of WeldPrint does not diminish as resolution also improves.
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23. WeldPrint showed a fault: How do I find it in the weld?
The fault relay output can be used to mark the affected weldment; timing information is available (time since arc-on) in log files.
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24. How does WeldPrint assist with process improvement?
WeldPrint gives a reliable measure of the stability of the arc, even with processes such as short arc MIG welding which is unstable in the classical electrical sense. The ability to measure stability allows the welding parameters to be tuned for optimum performance.
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