How to Maintain Weld Quality Between Shifts

If maintaining weld quality is a constant battle in your fabrication shop, you’re not alone. With so many factors to monitor – workers, equipment, weld procedures, filler metals, gun consumables and more – it’s inevitable that road bumps will occur in most welding operations. However, there are steps company leaders can take to alleviate these errors, improving weld quality along the way. From proper storage and handling of filler metals to utilizing the proper amperage gun and correct shielding gas, there are a variety of things fabricators can do to improve production.

Most importantly, keen focus should be given to Weld Procedure Specification (WPS) – a formal document that describes welding procedures for creating consistently identical welds that are engineered for a particular part. Typically developed for each material alloy and welding type, a WPS is usually driven using preferred welding techniques or specific codes used onsite.

The utilization of robotic automation can be highly beneficial in creating high quality welds – as robots are programmed to apply certain parameters (i.e., wire feed speed, arc/voltage/arc length, travel speed) consistently. Moreover, robotic arms can generally store weld settings as global files or in the weld instructions local to a specific program, facilitating WPS documentation and greater traceability of parts.

Unique robot functions, such as Yaskawa’s Position Adjustment Function, can also help document torch data for WPS. Individual fabricators and companies, such as SKS Welding Systems (SKS), find the use of these specific functions – especially those found in Yaskawa’s Universal Weldcom Interface – helpful to managing an entire weld process. Furthermore, companies like SKS also offer their own unique tools to enhance the robotic welding procedure.

To learn more about these weld enhancing tools and functions, listen to our webinar on how to Achieve The Ultimate Control in Robotic Welding. Highlights include:

• Understanding what elements are critical to a weld process
• Learning how to identify key elements for creating greater weld quality
• Reviewing an example of a highly effective Weld Procedure Specification
• Creating weld parameters, and how to qualify robot speeds and positions
• Watching robots in action, showcasing key functionality
• Listening to an excellent Q&A session at the end of the presentation
• And more!