03 – 16 -19: Welcome my name is Emily Craig, it used to be Ed, but with some surgery and pills I got that little error fixed. As you traverse this MIG – Flux Cored Advanced TIG and TIP TIG site, you will see a common repeating themes of  lack of weld shop evolution that’s influenced by lack of effective global weld management, engineering process ownership. From the aerospace to the defense industry, from shipbuilding to the power industry, from automotive to the oil industry, for more than three decades, the lack off  effective front office and shop floor weld process control and best weld practice expertise, has been evident in the common poor weld production and daily arc weld rework and rejects. For the global weld industry, it’s well past the time for change, and as for creating progressive weld changes in the  weld shop, well that brings up another issue.

THE  LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE DCEN TIG EVOLUTION INTO THE DECADE  OLD DCEN TIP TIG PROCESS, PLUS THE COMMON LACK MIG & FLUX CORED  CORED WELD PROCESS  CONTROL & BEST WELD PRACTICE EXPERTISE,  IS NOT AN ISSUE IN ONE INDUSTRY, IT’S AN ISSUE IN ALL THE INDUSTRIES THAT PROVIDE MIG, FLUX CORED AND DCEN TIG WELDS.

A weld shop would  be wasting it’s time trying to duplicate this single pass, TIP TIG untouched 5/6 (8 mm) fillet. 

2019: AN ARC WELD  PROCESS THAT DELIVERS WHAT MOST WELD SHOPS CAN’T DELIVER: I made the above TIP TIG fillet around 2008. Anyone  that understands arc welds, would look at my  above TIP TIG fillet weld and note the unusual weld color that reveals very low oxidation that’s usually derived from  low weld heat or rapid weld heat dispersion, and also note the small weld heat affected zones that also suggests low weld heat or rapid heat dispersion.  Someone might  also note  the evident surface weld fluidity and straight edge the fillet toe tie-ins that suggest a weld made with high weld heat. So we have what I call, an Oxymoron arc weld process that delivers both high weld heat & low part heat, these weld & part attributes  cannot be attained with MIG, Flux Cored or DCEN TIG. TIP TIG is so unique it can even weld many titanium applications without using a gas trailing shield.

IF A COMPANY WISHES THE BEST POSSIBLE METALLURGICAL, MECHANICAL AND CORROSION PROPERTIES AND THE LOWEST POSSIBLE WELD & PART STRESSES AND DISTORTION, ALONG WITH  THE BEST POSSIBLE WELD FUSION AND LOWEST WELD POROSITY POTENTIAL, THEN THAT COMPANY SHOULD CONSIDER TIP TIG AS THIS IS  THE ONLY ARC  WELD PROCESS THAT ENABLES THE  BEST POSSIBLE WELD QUALITY WITH  THE LOWEST POSSIBLE WELDED PART HEAT INPUT. The reasons for the TIP TIG weld / part attributes are provided in my TIP TIG blog, top of page.  

2019: MANY OF THE GLOBAL  WELD RESEARCH FACILITIES ARE STUCK IN A 1980’s TIME WARP?  I introduced TIP TIG 10 years ago to North America, and  also to Australia, and  as I sit on my couch with little to do but examine whats happening in the global weld industry, especially  in the the high tech Aerospace, Defense Oil and Power industries, I wonder why  global companies  and organizations such as NASA, Los Alamos Nat Lab, Oak Ridge,  Boeing, SpaceX, Edison, Westinghouse, General Dynamics, Northrup,  Navsea,  Cornell,  Colorado School of Mines and Purdue, and for that matter just about  every weld shop that deals with code quality and alloy welds,  are still unaware of or not attaining the unique weld benefits from of the ten year old TIP TIG process.

Weld decision makers too often  looking for a sales influenced  weld solutions.

With many managers, engineers  and supervisors, this would be the definition of weld process ownership.

In the frequent “play around” with weld controls industry, an industry that often searches for an electronic power source  crutch or the latest magic three part gas mi to solve it’s weld quality issues, the  common lack of  arc weld process controls – best weld practice expertise daily plays a major role in the hundreds of millions of dollars that result daily from unnecessary weld rejects, rework and grinding. And lets also not forget those companies that daily fail to consistently  attain  the highest possible  weld production potential from their  manual or robot welds.

As someone who over too many decades provided manual and robot weld process improvements and implemented best weld practices in over 1000 companies in 13 countries, I know a thing or two about who has the primary influence on the daily welds being produced in weld shops.  And the weld reality in the majority of companies that I visited was that the front office and weld shop floor process ownership was  none-existent. You will find this lack of process ownership message theme repeats numerous times throughout this site. Its a message that I have been preaching and writing about for decades, and yes, I do wonder in this highly competitive industry, when the majority of global “weld decision makers” will wake up to the low cost, weld process controls – best weld practice methods that would enable their companies to consistently attain the highest possible arc weld quality and productivity, always of course at the lowest possible weld costs.

Please note: No matter what a persons  weld expertise or background is, my Weld Process Controls and Best Weld Practice programs have been simplified and condensed so that they take less than 15 hours to learn,  and surely, instead of listening to a salesman, or spending time in the weld team meetings  in which  too frequently there will be  incorrect  opinions on the weld resolutions required for the weld process issues. Surely its logical to provide all the companies weld decision makers with the weld  process controls and best weld practice expertise, this will have an immediate positive impact on any companies weld quality and productivity.

MIG welding has never been a  grey technology, and from my perspective there are specific rules that apply to the process, the weld transfer modes, the consumables  and  the applications. And the last thing a mfg.  plant needs is a weld team meeting in which typically a number of  unqualified individuals sit around a table and provide  different weld process opinions and solutions for the MIG and flux cored weld problems. The fact that no one individual is available to solve the plants manual or robot weld issues is an indication that the plant lacks an expertise which frankly should be provided by the management to all those that are involved with weld decisions. 

WHEN MANAGEMENT CREATES A WELD TEAM, IT TYPICALLY HOPES THAT OUT OF THE VARIOUS OPINIONS PROVIDED BY THE DIFFERENT WELD TEAM MEMBERS ON THE MANUAL OR ROBOT, MIG OR FLUX CORED WELD ISSUES, THAT AT LEAST ONE OF THE OPINIONS PROVIDED  WILL PROVIDE A RAPID  WELD RESOLUTION.

HOWEVER,  EFFECTIVE WELD MANAGEMENT WOULD ENSURE THAT ALL THOSE MAKING WELD DECISIONS ARE PROVIDED WITH THE NECESSARY PROCESS CONTROLS – BEST WELD PRACTICE EXPERTISE  NECESSARY TO PROVIDE THE WELD RESOLUTIONS  AND TO ENSURE THE WELD ISSUES ON THE SHOP FLOOR DON’T REPEAT. LETS FACE IT, THE WELD DECISION MAKERS ARE AFTER ALL  DEALING WITH SIMPLE, “TWO CONTROL” WELD PROCESSES SUCH AS MIG AND FLUX CORED.

Note: An effective weld team would be comprised of the key weld decision maker, (based on their weld process control expertise),  the engineering manager, the maintenance and production manager, experts that will take ownership for the weld, fixtures,design or part  issues . 

For the price of a good executive dinner for four, Em’s Manual or Robot, MIG,  Flux Cored, Advanced DCEN TIG and TIP TIG, Weld Process Controls & Best Weld Practice, Training or Self Teaching Materials, yes it takes a few hours, but it gets the results you need.

2019: From my books, my workshops, my process control training materials and this web site, for the last 30 years my message has been constant. A major missing link found throughout much of the global weld industry, is the  “lack of weld process control – best practice  expertise that’s necessary for front office, engineering and supervision  to attain weld process ownership”.

WELD DECISION MAKERS MAY WANT TO REVIEW THE FOLLOWING:  If  weld decision makers  wanted to  enhance their companies weld quality and productivity, rather than listening to a weld salesman or  watching their welders or technicians play around with their MIG or flux cored weld controls, they could ask the following. 

[1] Why  the general lack of front office comprehension on what weld process controls and best weld practices could achieve for the weld shop?
[2] Why the general lack of front office, management, engineering and supervision weld process ownership?
[3] Why the general front office reliance on weld sales advice for the weld shop issues?
[4] Why the general front office acceptance that its OK for their weld personnel to  “play around” with their MIG and flux cored weld controls”?
[5] Why is the QA/QC department and personnel focus on finding rather than on preventing the occurrence of weld defects?
[6] Why the acceptance of  large expenditures on grinding consumables & grinding labor costs to attain the weld quality desired?
[7] Why the general front office lack of ability to work out MIG and flux cored costs of the common welds daily produced  in the weld shop?
[8] Why for decades has there been a general lack of weld equipment standardization in weld departments?
[9] Why the purchase of costly pulsed MIG equipment for steel welds, equipment that’s often loaded with useless electronic bells and whistles? 
[10] Why the purchase of useless three part gas mixes and the confusion over two part gas mixes ?
[11] Why are companies welder training programs often inadequate?
[12] Why do most  community colleges  that train welders and and universities that train engineers provides graduates that have to  “play around with MIG and Flux Cored  weld controls? (Weld process controls – best weld practice education is rare at most education facilities).
[13] Why do few front office weld decision makers have the ability to attain the full MIG – Flux Cored productivity potential from either their manual welders or from their robots. 

For the price of a good dinner for four, Em’s Manual or Robot, MIG,  Flux Cored, Advanced DCEN TIG and TIP TIG, Weld Process Controls & Best Weld Practice, Training or Self Teaching Materials.

When you have a moment also check out this sites program page where you will find a wealth of practical weld programs that deal with the weld issues in most weld shops and also provide the resolutions for most manual and ROBOT MIG and Flux Cored arc welds that have been occurring for decades. 

Below, I quickly taught my friends  11 year old nephew on how to set the optimum MIG weld data for the Esso Nat Gas pipe  root below. Once he had learnt without playing around with the weld controls how to set the optimum root settings, I  quickly taught him  the best MIG pipe weld practices, then all it took was a steady hand. (easier than many video games). Please note that welder skills and length of experience are one thing, process expertise, optimum settings and best practices are often the weld shop missing links and the important keys to consistently producing the best possible MIG or flux cored weld quality and productivity. 

From welding cars or pipes, when the welder  does not have MIG or Flux cored Weld Process Controls and best weld practice expertise, they will play around with the weld controls  and may use practices that will enhance the opportunity for weld defects.

Many weld personnel are not aware  that welder skills are only a small part of being a weld professional. Both welders and anyone that makes weld decisions should have a comprehensive understanding of the weld processes and consumables utilized and the necessary weld process controls and best weld practice expertise for process optimization, now that’s when you have a real weld professional.

Robot MIG welding high volume, thin gauge or  thicker steel parts in auto. or truck plants, or providing manual MIG and flux cored welds on bevel plates or pipes in a shipyard, and  at the other end of the spectrum, welding parts that will go on a spaceship, few global weld departments are daily achieving consistent, optimum, manual or automated arc weld quality & productivity, and even fewer are producing their welds  at the lowest weld costs, it was this way in 1960’s and its still this way in 2017 when I was  providing weld process and design advice on parts for the Orion spaceship that will one day end up on the Moon and Mars. 

THE HIGH TECH AEROSPACE INDUSTRY, AND IT’S  TOO FREQUENT OUTDATED APPROACH TO ARC WELD QUALITY & PRODUCTIVITY: Its a sad commentary in 2019, that  during the active space race to the Moon again and also to Mars, that for more than a decade,  the majority of global aerospace companies including NASA,  SpaceX and Boeing  have been  using outdated manual arc weld practices and outdated, worn out weld specifications and procedures. (It would take me 15 minutes with any aerospace engineering manager to prove this).

Please be aware that in the weld  industry, management and supervision when evaluating MIG – FCA weld personnel will often focus on the welder’‘s skills and length of experience, few will question the welders, technicians, engineers or supervisors weld process control and best practice expertise. 

 IN THE GLOBAL AUTOMOTIVE, TRUCK  OR CONSTRUCTION EQUIP. PLANTS,  ITS RARELY  THE UNDER-TRAINED ROBOT TECHNICIANS OR MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL THAT  TYPICALLY WILL LACK WELD PROCESS CONTROL – BEST WELD PRACTICE EXPERTISE THAT ARE AT FAULT FOR THE ROBOT DOWN TIME AND  THE POOR ROBOT WELD QUALITY AND WELD PRODUCTIVITY: 

AT THE GLOBAL SHIPYARDS THAT BUILD NAVY VESSELS, ITS NOT THE WELDERS THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ARC WELD REWORK THAT TYPICALLY COSTS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS PER-SHIP.  WHEN AN INDUSTRY REALIZES PROCESS OWNERSHIP STARTS WITH THE MANAGERS, ENGINEERS & SUPERVISORS WHO HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THEIR WORKERS ARE PROVIDED WITH THE  PROCESS CONTROLS – BEST PRACTICE EXPERTISE NECESSARY FOR EITHER MANUAL OR ROBOT WELD OPTIMIZATION.

In most of the auto. – truck  plants that I was requested to resolve their robot weld issues, in my role as weld Manager for ABB Robots North America, and later in my role as a weld process improvement consultant, when assisting companies such as  VW, Toyota, GM, Ford or Chrysler and most North American Tier One suppliers,  apart from evaluating and training the plant’s robot technicians, I used to also evaluate the plant management & engineers response to  their robot weld issues. In general no matter what auto plant I visited in 13 countries, the production and plant management simply wanted me to  provide  a quick robot cell fix and typically the front office personnel showed little interest in either the cause of robot weld issues or in the resolutions. 

It used to amuse me that while working in the auto plants, when I heard an alarm go off, this usually indicated the robot weld line had stopped due to a robot line weld issue.  The common  reaction from most of the engineers and supervisors who were on the floor at the time, would be  to reach into their pockets,  pull out a cell phone and request help from the under-trained robot technicians or from maintenance personnel. From my perspective, this was often ironic as the robot technicians and maintenance  personnel like the engineers and supervisors usually had never been provided with robot weld process controls – best weld practice training.

IF OFFICE PERSONNEL, ENGINEERS & SUPERVISORS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE WELDS, ARE NOT AWARE WHAT PROCESS CONTROL – BEST PRACTICE EXPERTISE IS, THEIR WELD PERSONNEL  ARE NOT LIKELY TO HAVE IT OR REQUEST IT.

In my world, process ownership starts with the responsible weld  managers, engineers and supervisors, their expertise should enable them to be able recognize that from the never ending manual or robot weld issues, and from the too often lack of effective actions that are derived from their engineers, supervisors  and technicians, that their organization lacks either manual or  weld  process control expertise, and that they have the responsibility to provide it.

Common in most global weld departments, “I will need some time to “play around” with those MIG and flux cored weld controls”. To a proactive  mfg. management, this  should be an indication of  what? 

2019: For more than  20 years, this web site has been the only global site that  provides weld decision makers with the requirements for Weld Process Ownership. If you are looking for Self Teaching or Training  Weld Process Controls – Best Weld Practice resources to consistently attain optimum weld quality and productivity with any Manual or Robot  MIG, TIG, Flux Cored or TIP TIG  weld application, click below.

I condensed it, I simplified it so its easy to memorize it, and you can get it here. My manual & ROBOT MIG – Flux Cored – Advanced AC/DC TIG  and the Unique TIP TIG Weld Process Controls & Best Weld Practice, Training and Self Teaching Materials.

2019: Pulse on Pulse, Magic AI Pulse and why not BS Pulse, in the last three decades, while the cost of traditional CV MIG equipment was driven down as a result of more countries making the MIG equipment, most global weld equipment manufacturers or weld distributor reps have been aggressive in their promotion of  the much more costly, electronic, pulsed MIG Inverter  units.

When selling the Inverter pulsed MIG units for steels and alloy steel welds, the weld distributor rep may state that the justification for his companies pulsed MIG Inverter technology is the weld power source  “can reduce weld spatter”. In the video below I was attaining optimum, spatter free, MIG Short Circuit (SC) welds approx. 40 year ago. The 40 year old short circuit weld weld produced  below was made with  a  traditional low cost CV MIG unit  and optimum SC parameters. CV MIG units such as this ,typically in 2019 would cost approx. two to three  thousand dollars, about 30 to 50%  the cost of the  Inverter pulsed MIG units.

A WELD REALITY FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN EVALUATING MIG EQUIPMENT SINCE THE 1960’s. Some of you may remember before the introduction of portable phones and laptops, that I invented  the Pocket Welder around  1988. In 2019 I have been evaluating pulsed MIG equipment from around the world for more than three decades. In contrast to CV MIG units the more costly  Inverter  MIG units when purchased in 2019 for gauge to thick steels and alloy steels welds will usually offer a variety of useless, costly electronic bells and whistles options. These pulsed options usually  add to the weld shop process confusion. The pulsed mode on steels also provides less weld fusion potential on parts > 5 mm. Inverter  pulsed MIG power sources have a much shorter weld equipment life than a CV unit,  and typically require much higher weld equipment repair costs. There are numerous examples of pulsed weld and equipment in this web site and in my books and training resources. 

Spatter free CV MIG welds for short circuit gauge, or for spray transfer thick steels steels have been available since the nineteen sixties. Its unfortunate that the majority of weld shop decision makers  on the weld shop floor or in the front office were rarely aware of the optimum short circuit or spray weld settings and the best weld practices. This is part of weld process controls expertise.

The above video shows the optimum Short Circuit (SC) transfer sweet spot using an 0.035 (1 mm) steel wire and a low cost, 1978  CV. MIG power source. Note as the SC wire feed, amps and volt parameters selected were optimum, the lack of weld spatter. Thin or thick metals, Short Circuit or Spray, the MIG weld reality has for decades been, that there was no need for anyone to purchase  a sophisticated electronic MIG power source when welding  steels and alloy steels, and this  still applies today in 2019. Now MIG aluminum, yest there is justification for those electronics.   

The MIG Short Circuit  sweet spot is when using a specific MIG wire diameter, the most attainable short circuits are attained in a second. For example the 0.035 (1 mm) wire feed set at approx. 210 ipm (10 o’clock) results typically around 140 amps with 17 volts and these parameters create the SC sweet spot that results in the rapid, consistent, constant crackle sound welders are familiar with, (they often get there after playing around with the weld controls). 

Manual MIG Question: If you are a weld decision maker please provide the Short Circuit,  0.045 (1.2 mm) steel wire feed rate, amps and volts that are necessary to attain the SC sweet spot condition using  an argon – 20 to 25 CO2 mix. And with this MIG setting and  a 30 minute per-hour arc on time, how much of the MIG weld wire would the weld shop  need for a 10 hour shift?

Manual MIG Question:  This is a question you could ask the experienced MIG welders in your shop. What is the minimum current and wire feed rates to attain Spray transfer with 0.035. (1 mm) and 0.045 (1.2 mm) steel MIG wire? 

Robot MIG Question: Inconsistent  robot MIG weld arc starts are common in robot cells welding steel parts, and the cause of the weld start issues is often the formation of a glob on the wire tip and each welds completion. What MIG weld weld parameters will ensure this issue will never occur.
Note: As a result of lack of front office and engineering robot MIG weld process control expertise in the auto. & truck industry, the average robot down time (loss of production) in a shift is approx. one hour. A frequent common management solution to the robot down time and to robot weld rework, purchase more robots and  put more manual workers on the robot lines.

MOST COMPANIES  THAT WELD,  WILL PLACE THEIR FOCUS  ON WELDING SKILLS AND NOT ON WELD PROCESS CONTROL EXPERTISE. 
As you traverse this site which by the way could take many months,  please remember that for approx. six to seven decades, the majority of global weld shops have focused on MIG and flux cored   “welder skills”, and the weld decision makers in the weld shops are accustomed to watching their experienced skilled weld personnel “play around” with the two simple controls on their MIG equipment.  These are  the same weld shops that employ managers, engineers and supervisors that will often rely on  weld advice from a weld sales person who has likely never run or even worked a weld shop.  The same weld decision makers who often believe that the solutions to their daily manual or automated MIG and flux cored weld issues will come with the purchase of another new electronic MIG power source, a new special three part MIG gas mix, or perhaps from a costly metal cored wire.

ONE COULD ASK THE WELD SHOP, WHY PURCHASE  MULTI-CONTROL  PULSED EQUIPMENT WHEN SIMPLE TO OPERATE, TWO WELD CONTROLS, CV MIG  EQUIPMENT HAS RARELY BEEN FULLY UNDERSTOOD: Why would any weld shop consider the purchase of new, costly, electronic MIG Inverter equipment loaded with many bells and whistles, if for years, their experienced MIG weld personnel “played around” with the traditional CV MIG equipment that has always operated with two  simple weld controls? 

If a weld shop is thinking about purchasing the latest Inverter Pulsed MIG unit for steels or alloy steel welds, or perhaps considering the purchase of an Advanced electronic AC/DC  TIG weld power source, the process resources at this site not only focus on the weld process controls and the best weld practice expertise that enables weld personnel to fully control the arc weld  equipment, the info also enables weld decision makers to cut through the sales hype that continues to surround MIG – TIG  weld equipment.

THIS SITE IS NOT AGAINST NEW WELD EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGY, AND  AS I DON’T SELL WELD EQUIPMENT I DON’T CARE WHAT A COMPANY SPENDS ON ITS WELD EQUIPMENT. THIS SITE IS ABOUT GETTING THE BS OUT OF THE WELD INDUSTRY AND PROVIDING  PRACTICAL, COST EFFECTIVE  WELD ADVICE THAT CAN ENABLE ANY WELD SHOP TO ATTAIN THE BEST POSSIBLE  WELD QUALITY & PRODUCTIVITY,  ALWAYS OF COURSE AT THE LOWEST WELD COSTS. 

2019: Yes after 70 years, DCEN TIG did evolve, perhaps you missed the evolution when it occurred  10 years ago.

SLOW WELD SHOP EVOLUTION IN 2019 INDICATES WHAT?  In most of the global weld shops that weld  code quality parts,  during the last decade, you would have found manual welders that when  welding on alloy steel parts > 1/4, (>6.4 mm), were likely using one of the following; 

[a] the outdated Gas Shielded Flux Cored process, (a process that creates slag – porosity – worm-tracks and weld fusion issues).
[b] the outdated  DCEN TIG process, (a process that requires the highest welder skills, slowest weld speeds and high weld heat).
[c] the outdated  Pulsed MIG process that when used on steels and alloy steels > 5 mm thick, can contribute to lack of weld fusion and porosity.

I would like to welcome the weld shops that use the above weld processes to to the 21st Century, and introduce them to a unique weld process that I bought to N. America and Australia in 2009 , its called TIP TIG and in a 30 minute demo I could show any weld shop the following.

In contrast to DCEN TIG,  Pulsed MIG, & Gas Shielded Flux Cored process, TIP TIG will always provide the following;
[] TIP TIG always enables the highest possible  weld quality.
[] TIP TIG always enables the best possible metallurgy results.
[] TIP TIG always provides the best possible  mechanical properties.
[] TIP TIG always will provide the best possible  corrosion properties.
[] TIP TIG always will enable the lowest weld distortion potential.
[] TIP TIG enables least cracking potential & highest impact properties.
[] TIP TIG produces the least oxidation potential, does not even require a gas trailing shield on many titanium welds.
[] TIP TIG from a welder skills perspective, is the easiest process for any all position welds. 
[] TIP TIG enables extensive reductions in VEE groove angles, providing  dramtic reductions in weld consumables and weld labor costs.
[] TIP TIG always produces the least weld fumes.
[] TIP TIG should enable no grinding.
[] TIP TIG should always enable the lowest weld rework potential.
[] TIP TIG on any metal enables the best weld fusion capability with the lowest weld porosity.
[] TIP TIG eliminates the need for multi-processes as its the best process for any pipe root and fill and its a process easily automated.

This web site and also the TIP TIG weld process controls – best weld practice Self-teaching / Training resources, provides more information on how TIP TIG is far superior than the MIG, Pulsed MIG, Gas Shielded Flux Cored and Advanced DCEN TIG process.

IN MFG. FACILITIES, ITS LOGICAL THAT THOSE MAKING WELD DECISIONS ALL WALK THE SAME TO PROCESS OPTIMIZATION:
A well run weld shop first requires that front office weld decision makers & their welders, understand the requirements of weld process ownership. Weld Process Ownership by both the front office and weld shop would enable all the weld decision makers to walk the same path to the daily requirements that are necessary for MIG, flux cored and TIP TIG weld quality & weld productivity optimization.   

PULSED MIG & WELD PROCESS AWARENESS ISSUES IN 2018: : The pulsed MIG weld  process has been available for more than three decades, and there is no doubt that an Inverter pulsed MIG power source can provide many weld benefits for specific aluminum weld applications <1/4, (alum. requires less weld energy than steels and alloy applications). However, over the three decades in which I evaluated the pulsed MIG process on hundreds of manual and robot applications, with most of  the USA, Japanese and European pulsed MIG equipment I would find numerous electronic issues,  weld transfer stability issues and weld energy issues that would influence the weld  quality and productivity on steels and  alloy steels.

2019: In my 600 page. “Management and Engineers guide to MIG”  book that I wrote approx. two decades ago, in one section I wrote close to a 100 pages on how in contrast to regular CV MIG and Spray transfer, Pulsed MIG will on many steels and alloy steel weld applications > 5 mm, negatively impact the weld quality and productivity. The irony is that the pulsed MIG issue information that I provided then, is still relevant today. The book and my other weld process controls – best weld practice  self teach / training resources are found in the following link. 

Manual and Robot MIG – Flux Cored – Advanced AC/DC TIG  and the Unique TIP TIG Weld Process Controls & Best Weld Practice, Training and Self Teaching Materials.

WELD ISSUES ISSUES CAUSED BY THE PULSED MIG WELD EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS. Over the 30 plus years of  the erratic Pulsed MIG power source evolution, most of the global major MIG equipment manufacturers such as Miller, Lincoln, ESAB and Panasonic had major electronic issues with their pulsed MIG equipment. The electronic issues in the pulsed MIG equipment would  negatively affect the pulsed weld transfer stability and weld-ability. Also the Pulsed MIG mode with it’s low back ground weld current requirement, and depending on the wire feed rate, often excess peak current requirement, would influence either consistency the weld fusion, the weld deposition rate potential for the application, the weld transfer stability  and frequently the weld end crater fill capability. The pulsed MIG units from thirty years ago and still in 2019 are usually loaded with many useless electronic bells and whistles that not only influence the equipment costs, they add to the process confusion , create weld procedure longevity concerns, influence the pulsed MIG equipment life, and create costly MG weld equipment repairs. Note: The average Pulsed MIG equipment repair costs are frequently greater than the purchase cost of a new CV MIG power source.

Its never taken much technology to continuously melt a wire, after all two car batteries can  make a MIG weld, 

For decades, most of the pulsed MIG equipment purchased for steel or alloy steel welds, was not as a result of superior MIG equipment weld performance, but was as a result of the general, global front office and weld shop lack of  process controls – best weld practice expertise. This again is the prime reason for most weld shop front office’s reliance on weld sales advice.

2019: It was the electronics in the pulsed MIG Inverter power source that enabled improved communication, (rarely improved steel weld transfer characteristics)  between the power source with robots. So the often inferior MIG Inverter equipment in robot cells welding steels quickly became the standard with robot sales, especially in the automotive industry, which by the way is an industry that in general has rarely employed mangers, engineers and technicians that understood, and even today after almost 4 decades of MIG robot cells,  understand the robot MIG weld process controls – best weld practice requirements necessary to attain the best possible robot weld quality and productivity, with the least possible robot down time.  

YOUR COMPANY  BOUGHT THE PULSED  MIG EQUIPMENT, SO THE POWER SOURCE PROBLEMS ARE NOW YOURS: It’s sad to report that over the decades that I dealt with  numerous pulsed MIG weld  equipment and weld process issues in numerous companies throughout 13 countries, that as far as I am aware, none of the major pulsed MIG  power source manufactures ever  recalled or informed their global weld customers that had purchased their pulsed MIG equipment, of the electronic induced  problems that were occurring with their pulsed equipment. For decades, the weld equipment manufacturers must have been aware of some of the pulsed MIG weld transfer issues with steel welds, as they were forever changing the power sources model names or continuously changing the the power source E PROMS and circuit boards.   

2019 PULSED MIG AND WELD REALITY: When welding > 3/16 steels and alloy steels, after a 30 year period of pulsed equipment evolution, today’s $6,000 to $15,000 pulsed MIG units can not deliver a superior weld than that delivered  from the much lower cost, CV MIG equipment that’s using Spray Transfer. It’s a sad commentary that in 2019, few of the global weld shops that utilize MIG equipment, will be aware of  the pulsed weld fusion & weld porosity issues that are influenced by the pulsed transfer.

So thanks to the poor  pulsed MIG weld equipment performance and often unstable pulsed weld transfer characteristics, for more than  three  decades I made a good living fixing manual and robot pulsed MIG steel weld issues at hundreds of companies in 13 countries. Often my weld solution was to switch the pulsed MIG mode off and establish a CV MIG Short Circuit or Spray weld instead. Many of my pulsed MIG equip. experiences are printed in both the pulsed MIG and robot sections of this site. However I would at this time especially thank the senior executives at Lincoln, Miller, ESAB,  Motoman and  Panasonic for providing their poor performing pulsed MIG equipment, as let’s face it, their pulsed equipment and pulsed weld screw ups,  provided a good living for my family.

What does the MIG equip. mfg. do as a solution to their poor performing, pulsed power source, sometimes they change the model name and then add more useless, electronic bells and whistles?

Talk about useless power source bells and whistles, this is Ed in Spain in the robot cells fixing Miller Axcess pulsed MIG power source weld issues, (issues caused by the power source). He is  adjusting the robot MIG parameters using the ridiculous Miller hand held palm PDA control that for the Tier 1 auto. client added nothing to the weld quality – productivity capability.

By the way, as I spent more than three decades at many Fortune 500 companies, fixing hundreds of manual and robot MIG weld issues that were  usually influenced by the poor performing pulsed MIG equipment from the major  U.S, Japanese and European MIG equipment mfgs. You would at least think that Lincoln,  Miller, ESAB, Panasonic and Motoman executives could at least include me in their Xmas card list, and send me a bottle of wine to thank me for solving the weld problems that were being caused by the equipment they built. 

Pulsed MIG Question:  So while we are aware that pulsed MIG is an effective arc weld process for aluminum, could you provide two reasons why not to use pulsed MIG  on  5356 aluminum parts thicker than 1/4,  (6 mm).  This info. is  part of weld process control expertise, and the type of info obtained in my training programs. 

Surely if you are a weld decision maker, it would be beneficial to know with steels, alloy steels and especially with aluminum welds, when to switch from Pulsed MIG to regular MIG Spray, or for example why you would  use TIP TIG instead of  pulsed MIG, flux cored or DCEN TIG. They should post the following in the offices and meeting rooms at any facility that utilizes  the manual or robot MIG or flux cored weld process.

“Those in this organization that  have an opinion on the MIG, Flux Cored  weld process, and lack the weld process controls & best weld practice expertise that’s necessary to consistently enable the highest weld quality,  lowest weld defects and lowest weld costs for this organization, would be wise especially in the weld team meetings, to keep their mouths shut”.

The irony about this process control expertise is that it doesn’t matter what a person’s career background is, to get the required  weld process control – best weld practice expertise, would take about 20 to 30 hours using one of my easy to learn programs.

Manual and Robot MIG – Flux Cored – Advanced AC/DC TIG and the TIP TIG Weld Process Controls & Best Weld Practice, Training and Self Teaching Materials.

You can have the most innovative car or truck designs,  and purchase the most costly robot weld automation equipment  to weld the parts, but as most automotive management found out the hard way, if  companies don’t  ensure  that their workers and front office personnel responsible for the welds have robot MIG or resistance weld process control – best weld practice expertise, those front office employees become firemen, forever chasing weld shop fires but lacking the ability to quench them. As for the  robot weld technicians, well they simply become “play around” with the weld controls experts.

Something all managers and engineers should be concerned about, without weld process controls and best weld practices few of  the costly robots purchased will consistently attain their full weld quality and  productivity potential.

Tesla and most other auto, truck manufacturers  provide state of the art factories with  dumb robots waiting for humans  to deliver something few robot technicians have, “robot weld process controls – best weld practice expertise”. 

Programming a MIG welding robot is one expertise that can be learnt in a few weeks,  but something that most Tier One managers, engineers, supervisors and especially their young robot technicians neglect,  is that to attain consistent robot weld optimization requires robot CV MIG and Pulsed MIG weld process controls and best weld practice expertise. It took me 30 plus years to nail it, and my self-teaching weld process control programs will take anyone  approx. 15 – 20 hours.

MORE ON TESLA & THE AUTO INDUSTRY: In  2017 and Elon Musk the owner of TESLA,  that guy that owns  Spacex, was unfortunately here on the planet Earth, paying a steep  price for his and his manager and engineers, robot weld process controls – best robot weld  practice ignorance.

2017: Something Elon would likely not have been aware of when  he thought he was hiring the cream of the crop managers from the auto industry for  his California Tesla electric car mfg. facility. Was that for decades, throughout the global auto-truck industry, paint plus MIG and Resistance welds “process controls – best practice expertise” has been in short supply, and in particular, robot MIG weld process control expertise  has  been almost none existent with the robot weld technicians and their  supervisors and managers that are responsible for the plants welds.

Musk was not aware that what he  needed most was what most managers and engineers in the auto – truck industry lacked.

The following  is what is what the naive Musk  wrote in May 2018 after hiring what he thought were the industry’s leading automotive manufacturing  experts. “I have been disappointed to discover how many contractor companies are interwoven throughout Tesla. Often, it is like a Russian nesting doll of contractor, subcontractor, sub-subcontractor, etc. before you finally find someone doing actual work. This means a lot of middle-managers are adding costs but not doing anything obviously useful.

From Em: For gods sake Elon, a ten minute visit to this 20 year old web site would have forewarned you about the general, global auto / truck middle & upper management, lack of process control  expertise and ownership.  For those of you that are confused about experience versus process expertise.  I don’t know how many times  I heard this in manufacturing facilities, “but Ed, our experienced welders have been MIG welding for 20 plus years”.  Please note, a welders skills and length of welding experience  has nothing to do with the required manual or robot  weld process controls and best weld practice expertise.

Robot Weld Process Question:  I hand the weld decision maker a thin, 0.035 (1 mm) galvanealed  steel auto parts. For this robot project I want the weld decision maker to select the best wire size, best wire type, the best two part gas mix, the most suited weld transfer mode, the wire feed rate,  the voltage, the weld travel rate, and the best positions to weld the part. If that weld decision maker has to look at a piece of paper or or does not know the answers, they lack weld process control expertise with a two control 60 year old process.

Few welding robots attain their full weld quality and productivity potential, so the solution for many managers is to add manual labor to the robot lines or purchase more robots.  As just about every other global  mfg. manager and engineer  responsible for MIG and Resistance welding robots found out the hard way. You can spend millions of dollars on sophisticated robot weld  lines, expensive weld  fixtures and top of the line weld equipment in the robot cells, however if  the companies front office and shop floor weld decision makers lack robot weld process control – best weld practice expertise, a costly price is paid.

NOTE: AS A MANAGER OF A WELD DEPARTMENT, YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE EXPERTISE  WHICH IS LACKING IN THE WELD SHOP, THEN YOU CAN TAKE THE STEPS NECESSARY FOR THE  SOLUTION:

It’s the responsibility of management, engineers and  supervisors who are supposed to own their mfg. processes, to recognize that weld skills have nothing to do with weld process controls or best weld practices. And to be able to figure out the root causes of why their weld shop personnel play around with weld controls and lack the ability to consistently optimize a simple two control process such as  MIG and flux cored. Remember MIG and flux cored account for approx. 85% of the welds produced daily, two processes that have changed little in many decades. It’s also the responsibility of weld management interested in attaining code quality welds to encourage “change” especially when a unique weld technology  such as TIP TIG is introduced.

Heard frequently in most global weld shops:

2019: Most of the weld training programs provided in North America are based on the SMAW  (Stick) 1960 weld practices. Most of the weld edge prep dimensions and heat treatment requirements used for steel welds in 2019 are also more suited to stick welds.

FOR DECADES THE DAILY WELD SHOP MIG AND FLUX CORED WELD ISSUES  HAVE REMAINED CONSTANT?  If you walked into a weld shop in 1978, and then walked into that shop in 2018 you would be amazed at the familiarity and sameness. For the five decades that I provided weld process solutions  for approx. 1000 weld shops in 13 countries, in the majority of these weld shops  I witnessed  the  “play around”with the weld controls  weld shop mentality, and heard the  “why change the way we have always done it” sad weld shop lament. I also witnessed the front office weld shop’s reliance on weld distributor sales reps for MIG and flux cored weld process advice.  From the 20 to the 21st Century, the weld reality for the majority of the global weld industry is  little has been done by weld shop managers, engineers and supervisors to evolve and  attain  the weld process controls – best weld practice expertise that’s necessary for any weld department to consistently produce the highest weld quality at the lowest weld costs.

IF EFFECTIVE CHANGES ARE NOT HAPPENING IN THE WELD SHOP THE ROOT CAUSE IS?  In any mfg. environment, it’s always time to implement cost effective changes that can improve quality and drive down costs. A major problem in the weld industry is if those are that are responsible for weld shop changes are not aware of the weld process controls and best practice  expertise that’s necessary to drive the changes, then the weld shop evolution will be slow, and the front office independence on weld sales reps will be high.

NO MATTER WHAT THE INDUSTRY, from the USA to Japan, or from Germany to the UK,  in the majority of weld departments, you would find that the daily, costly manual or robot MIG or flux cored weld  rework, weld rejects, and poor weld productivity and the resulting weld  liability concerns were not necessary. As will be repeated many times at this site, “most weld shop issues are not welder generated issues”,  they are  simply a result of lack of  “weld management,  engineering & supervision, weld process  control expertise”. 

IN TOO MANY COMPANIES MIG AND FLUX CORED WELD COSTS, BECOME WIRE AND GAS COSTS: It’s been a fact for decades,  that  front office “weld cost”  discussions are rare and usually when the discussion does comes up the front office will often bring up  the weld wires and weld gas costs. To control MIG and flux cored weld costs one has to be aware of the wire feed rate potential for the weld application and convert that to weld deposition rate. I simplified this info in my process control self teaching / training resources.

WHAT THE HECK DO THEY TEACH DESIGNERS AT THE GLOBAL UNIVERSITIES THAT PROVIDE THEM WITH ENGINEERING DEGREES? Designers typically lack MIG and flux cored weld process control expertise, and even tho they may state on the part’s blue prints “use MIG” these two words may be the limit of their arc weld process  knowledge.

It’s a fact that since the common use of  steel MIG welds in mfg. facilities since the 1950’s, that due to their too common  arc weld  process ignorance, the designers of  both manual and especially robot welded parts in industries as diverse as the automotive and shipbuilding, (and most other industries), that millions of dollars are wasted daily, due to the  never ending arc weld issues that .

Of course it’s logical that designers  should be taught and understand the weld process limitations or benefits for the process that they recommend to be used  to weld the parts that they design.  It’s also logical that designers would want to be aware of how to enhance their part design to improve either the robot or manual weld-ability, the weld quality or the weld productivity.

So the weld reality is, that its more than likely that the person who designs the parts welded  in many weld shops will understand the function and capability of their design, but not likely understand the MIG, Flux Cored, TIG, (and when they wake up, eventually TIP TIG)  inherent weld process issues, the process limits, the process benefits and capability. The weld reality is that designers are  educated people, and even tho the universities that they attended, may on the subject of welds have failed them,  they should be savvy enough to be able to recognize that their lack of weld process – best weld practice expertise, can influence on their parts, the weld quality productivity and costs. And therefore they have a responsibility to gain that expertise which coincidentally is provided here.

Designers, improve the design of your welded parts with spending a few hours with one of the following programs. Manual and Robot Weld Process Controls & Best Weld Practice, Training / Self Teaching materials for MIG – Flux Cored – Advanced AC/DC TIG and the TIP TIG process,

More on the decades of  global sales influence on weld shops.

What other tech. industry relies on sales advice to control it’s important mfg. processes? 

 

It’s not uncommon in global welds shops to find that  the local weld distributor salesman  who may have a degree in Fine Arts, History or English, is a person who has never worked in, or never managed a  weld shop. Yet this  sales rep may have more influence on the shop weld quality and productivity produced, than the supervisors, engineers and managers who are supposed to be running the weld department. With the global influence of weld salesmanship on weld shops, it’s a rare event in a weld department  to find weld equipment or weld consumable standardization, and even rarer to find that the best performing and most cost effective weld equipment and consumables had been purchased. With my corporate Training or Weld Equip. Product Manager roles at companies such as Airgas, AGA,  Praxair and Liquid Carbonic,  I trained over 2000  weld salesmen in the USA and Canada. I believe approx.  5% were suited  to the role  of visiting a weld shop and providing practical and cost effective weld advice.

SO WHAT ARE MIG OR FLUX CORED WELD PROCESS CONTROLS?  Most of the managers, engineers and supervisors responsible for the welders will typically focus on their welder’s skills or years of experience, and  will often be not aware as to what the term  “Arc Weld Process Controls”  This is a subject that has nothing to do with that old worn out weld department requirement  that thinks process controls means  calibrating the MIG equipment  once a year”, or  hiring another  AWS  weld inspector who can point out weld defects, but lacks the process expertise to prevent them. Irrespective of the industry, QA departments responsible for welds would be far more cost effective for their companies if they changed their approach in dealing with welds.

This weld has poor fusion, undercut, & excess porosity.

I wrote this in 1999. Are most  of the weld QA/QC personnel cost effective for the companies they serve?  The following are  typical functions for the personnel daily involved with weld inspection:

[] Ensure the welds are in conformance with the weld procedures:
Too often both the weld qualification and weld procedures utilized are not compatible with the actual welds which are influenced by  variables not considered in the weld qualification. The procedures or the weld processes will also often not be optimum, the weld parameter ranges provided often too broad or poorly understood,  and the required best weld practices not documented or practiced.

[] Perform weld inspections on the companies and contractors finished parts: 
What’s the sense of  focusing QA/QC and NDT resources on the costly,  finished components. Why not ensure the QA/QC  personnel are provided with something most don’t have. Provide them with the weld process controls – best weld practice expertise that would enable them to assist in  minimizing the  formation of weld defects.

[] Perform weld quality oversight at  the subcontractors:
It’s ironic that most Fortune 500 companies are not aware that in the majority of their own company’s manufacturing departments or weld departments, that their own  weld quality – productivity could be vastly improved, and that their own  managers, engineers and supervisors will  typically lack weld process controls and best weld practice expertise. So when the Fortune 500  QA/QC personnel are sent to their subcontractors,  it would be a rare event if these personnel  recognize the weld process issues that are occurring, and an even more rare event if  QA/QC personnel would have  the ability to provide  the contractors with the required weld weld process controls and best weld practice training that would ensure the best possible weld quality – productivity results.

[] Attend site weld meetings:
These weld meetings “yawn” often result in  many people sitting around a table, providing opinions on the weld subject, while the reality is most will  lack the required weld process control expertise necessary to ensure that the best possible weld quality and productivity will be produced on the project. Well at least they look important.

[] Coordinate the NDE inspections:
As every shipyard is aware, with MIG and flux cored welds, the more the weld department uses NDE  to reveal  lack of weld fusion and slag defects, the greater the evidence they will have with the lack of weld process controls – best weld practice that prevails throughout the yard and in the yard’s front office.

[] Control the weld wire storage:
Make sure especially with those Chinese or South American made MIG – flux cored weld wires, (who knows how they control the quality in the mfg. of their consumables) are stored in heated containers. It’s a sad reality that once the MIG or flux cored wire reels leave the heated storage containers,  that they will rarely be tagged with the date put in service,  and then the weld wires will  then often be left in a working  environment in which humidity or moisture can have a negative effects on the wires and welds produced.

[] Oversee hiring of new welders & the required welder qualification tests:
On most large weld projects, its a rare occurrence  if more than 20% of welders tested pass the welder qualification tests. Few companies provide the process means when testing welders, so that they can actually pass the required MIG or flux cored welder qualification plate or pipe tests.  As the “play around” with weld controls welders are not likely to know the optimum MIG or flux cored weld parameters or best weld practices  for the plate or pipe welder qualification tests. I would recommend that  for  any welder qualification tests, that before the weld personnel are allowed to take the  often costly tests, it would be  cost effective if the QC personnel involved first provide the welders with a one to two hour workshop that simplifies the optimum weld settings and weld practices required for the qualification and for the projects. This is what my weld process control resources do. When  I was asked to train and qualify a large group of new welders, it did not matter if it was an ABS – AWS – API or ASME welder qualification test, with my hands on and classroom one day training program,  I used to always achieve approx.  90% first time pass rates.

IT’S THIS SIMPLE: I believe that  global QA/QC weld personnel would be far more cost effective for their companies,  if they learnt the MIG – Flux Cored, Advanced  GTAW  & hopefully one day TIP TIG weld process controls and best weld practices so they could then train their companies and contractor personnel to reduce their weld re-work, rather than simply just going through the day criticizing what’s been done and  identifying weld defects on finished products.

QA/QC personnel would benefit their companies bottom line and improve their career prospects by being able to optimize the processes that they daily critique if they spent a few hours with my Manual and Robot, MIG – Flux Cored – Advanced AC/DC TIG and TIP TIG, Weld Process Controls – Best Weld Practice Training / Self Teaching materials.

Weld Process Controls – Best Weld Practice expertise means that the open minded weld decision maker who does not have to rely on a weld salesman for advice, will have the ability to look at any weld application, and instantly be aware of  the optimum weld equip. and consumables, and when  applicable, the best arc process and weld transfer modes. Of course they would also be aware of the optimum weld parameters, (without playing around),  and the best manual or robot Welding Practices that are required for the parts welded.

ON THE SUBJECT OF WELD PROCESS OWNERSHIP AND PROCESS CONTROLS, ONE COULD ASK,  “WHY DON’T MORE GLOBAL MANAGERS, ENGINEERS, SUPERVISORS AND TECHNICIANS  STEP UP TO THE PLATE”? 

Unfortunately manual and robot weld process controls and best weld practices have never been provided in most of the  global EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES that provide weld and engineering programs. The irony is this is an expertise that can be  quickly learnt, and so enable any individual, irrespective of their background, to provide the missing links required for weld optimization with any robot or manual, MIG, TIG, flux cored or TIP TIG welds.

So if your company utilizes MIG – Flux Cored – TIG or the new TIP TIG process, and someone in the organization can  invest a few dollars and approx. 20 hours of their time with my Weld Process Controls – Best Practices, Self Teaching / Training Resources, they  will have the ability to rapidly enable dramatic weld quality improvements, extensive weld cost reductions and reduce weld liability concerns. These resources will also dramatically enhance their weld career potential.

Supervisors and technicians, do you want to take the next step in  your weld career? My Manual and Robot, MIG – Flux Cored – Advanced AC/DC TIG and TIP TIG, Weld Process Controls & Best Weld Practice Training / Self Teaching Materials will get you where you want to go.

YOU WANT TO SEE THE WORST CASE OF MANUAL LACK OF WELD PROCESS CONTROLS, VISIT ANY GLOBAL SHIPYARD:  Most global shipbuilding yards, especially those working on Navy contracts such as Aircraft Carriers, Frigates and Submarines, have for decades had major concerns about  their  excessive, over budget weld repair costs,  yet most of the managers, engineers  and supervisors responsible for the mostly flux cored and MIG welds  have never understood the value and the importance of  weld  Process  Controls – Best Weld Practice Expertise and  its influence on  minimizing weld defects, and in optimizing weld productivity. 

As it cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars every year for unnecessary shipbuilding weld repairs, perhaps the Navy and their key ship building  contractors could show a little interest on the requirements to drive down weld costs.

The greatest lack of manual Flux Cored and MIG weld process controls – best weld practices is found in most global shipyards. The greatest potential for weld quality improvements and weld cost reductions will be found in most  shipyards. 

For almost every ship built for the USA, British and Canadian  Navy, thanks to inadequate weld management, many over budget, tens of millions of taxpayers dollars will be spent on “weld repairs”. Those repairs are in reality a consequence of managers, engineers and supervisors that typically know little about weld process controls and best weld practices. These two subjects  are not provided in any global  shipyard weld training department, where usually the training focus is on welder skills, and too often the skills and also weld practices when taught, will  have more to do with SMAW (stick welding) than with the MIG or Flux Cored processes

One defense contractor  who’s management should take note about the benefits of weld process expertise and ownership, is Northrop Grumman (NG) Ship Systems, located in  Miss.  For example NG built the San Antonio ship for the Navy at a cost of $1.2 billion, which was reported as approx. a mere $400 million taxpayers dollars over budget. This ship failed to complete a series of sea trials, then faced another $36 plus million dollars in repairs. The San Antonio has been plagued by both mechanical and structural problems since the Navy took ownership two years later than planned.

2018: Part of an Article from B Peniston. Deputy Editor Defense  One,
“The US Navy can’t build our future planned fleet unless it slashes it’s build and repair costs”.

Geurts spoke at a Defense One Tech Summit, Washington D.C. “It’s not intuitive that at a tech conference, we’d be talking about shipbuilding,” he said. “But quite frankly, there are so many technologies that could fundamentally shift the cost curves and the affordability curves in shipbuilding, those that can make the connection first will have great market opportunities.

Article Continued… When you see what’s happening to fabrication – weld – engineering costs here in North America , please remember that it was only a few years ago that the USA had the world’s most capable and cost effective shipyards. Today in North America when we look at our general lack of industry – Navy management / engineering process ownership, we need to go way beyond labor costs as the root cause of our mfg, / job demise. Perhaps we also should spend a little more effort to examine our engineering and fabrication expertise and capability. You would think that engineering – fabrication capability would be important to a country which has an economy that for decades has been held together by taxpayer defense projects.

The weld reality is most ship build yards would go out of business if complete 
WELD FUSION WAS A REQUIREMENT FOR ALL THE SHIP  WELDS.

Gas Shielded Flux cored is the prime manual arc weld process utilized with most of the welds that fail in the shipyards and cause issues for the ships at sea. Few ship yard front office and weld department decision makers are aware of the many inherent weld quality issues generated by flux cored, and are not aware of the weld process controls and best weld practices that will reduce the potential for those weld defects.

For decades, the majority of Merchant and Navy  built vessels have been built without MIG and flux cored weld process controls & best weld  practice training that’s necessary  for welders to fully optimize the weld process quality – productivity potential, and  also for supervisors and managers to assume process ownership.  If shipyard engineering management would wake up to the changes they could drive,  they would recognize that they are in a position to enable dramatic weld quality and weld productivity improvements and possibly save millions of dollars in weld rework.

BACK TO MY WELD  REALITY. For a short period I was the weld manager at the AKER Philadelphia Naval shipyard below, I decided to bring them into the the twenty first century  and provided their 300 welders with my  flux cored weld process control training. The results were dramatic, read below.

My first issues at the Aker shipyard was  with the stubborn, “why change” unqualified,  German, ship yard weld management. 

I was hired by Aker executives  so that they could actually make some profit on the tankers and container ships they were building in the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. Aker had budgeted well under a million dollars per ship for weld rework. With the container ships and tankers , typically NDE is applied to look for internal weld defects on about 10% of the ships critical welds. The day I started at Aker, the flux cored  weld rework costs were out of control, close to  9 million dollars per-ship.  The yard was run by German management and their ideas about the flux cored and MIG weld process had nothing to do with weld reality and belonged in  a stick welding museum. 

SOMETHING MISSING IN MOST GLOBAL SHIP YARDS IS MANAGEMENT / ENGINEERING WELD PROCESS OWNERSHIP. When I interviewed for the job as the yard Weld Manager, I was informed of the weld rework issues, and I informed the yard’s management that I would only accept the job, if I was given 100% management responsibility for welding, I needed to attain process ownership if I was going to influence the bottom line weld costs in the yard. 

SOMETHING COMMON IN MOST SHIPYARDS, UNQUALIFIED MANAGEMENT & SUPERVISORS MAKING WELD DECISIONS. When I arrived at the yard I had not taken into account something that I was  already aware of, that Germans especially engineers typically don’t like to give up control, especially to someone born in England. The Aker German yard manger had made himself  also responsible  for welding, this was a man who  had spent his apprenticeship around stick welding, and  knew little  about either the flux cored or the MIG process.

OFTEN THOSE THAT WANT CONTROL DO SO BECAUSE IT’S IN THEIR DNA, NOT BECAUSE THEY ARE QUALIFIED.
The yard manager simply would not give up control of the weld team meetings, which with all the yard’s weld issues were frequent. I told him several times after the meetings, that he needed to go and do what he was paid to do, and let me do what was  part of my employment agreement. The more this man talked at the meetings about welding, the more I realized how little he knew. I started to attend less of the useless meetings and put together a plan and to create change that would bring dramatic weld rework reduction.

IT WAS TIME TO IMPLEMENT MY FLUX CORED WELD PROCESS CONTROL – BEST WELD PRACTICE TRAINING PROGRAM. 
Keep in mind  the 300 welders were supposed to be qualified and many of  the welders had also received ineffective flux cored training in the yard’s weld school.

I trained around 15 to 20 personnel per-session. Keeping in mind the man hour costs associated with training 300 people I  kept the program to 8 hour sessions, 4 hours of classroom on flux cored weld  process controls – best practices,  and then I provided 4 hours hands on welding, having the welders apply what was taught in the classroom.  Within a month the training of the 300 welders was complete. Within three months, on the weld joints subject to  X-Ray, (easy to measure weld data results)  the yard reduced the approx.  weld repair costs per ship by 65%. So for those that like cost reduction numbers, that’s a weld repair cost reduction from 9 million dollars to less than  3 million dollars per-ship. And if the program was carried on, supported by progressive shipyard management,  within a year, I am sure that the weld rework  would have been reduced  to less than one million. The weld rework cost reductions by the way was measured by the yard QA Management the inspection personnel  who like the yard management by the way showed little interest or participation on a program that  improved the yard’s weld quality.  As for me, well that German Manger would not give up control of the weld department,  and showed little interest in the unique process training that was being provided, so I did what every good Brit would do and gave him the “V” for victory sign and moved on to a company with management  that appreciated what I do. 

Note : Unlike costly Navy frigates that can cost 700 million to a billion dollars per-ship the Aker built  tankers and container ships  typically would cost approx. 120 to 175 million dollars per-ship, so as you can imagine 9 million dollars over budget for weld rework on container ships and tankers is not pocket change.  As Naval vessel shipbuilding yards building frigates and aircraft carriers are used to weld repairs that could be over a 100 million dollars, think about the weld cost reduction potential from a short training program that  rapidly  reduces the flux cored or MIG weld defects in the 60 to 70% range. If managers were and engineers were aware of these 20 year old programs. , YAWN. O well, it’s only taxpayers dollars.

Before and after 8 hours of Ed’s Flux Cored Weld Process controls Training
The same welder did both these untouched Vert Up Flux Cored welds.

The vertical up welds on left, and eight hours later on the right were made by same welder.  This and the other Aker welder  got something that most ship yards do not provide their welders with, Flux Cored or MIG Weld Process Controls and Best Weld Practice training. Its easy to see how the weld on left would show internal excess weld slag & porosity and lack of weld fusion. Defects that daily cost the global ship building weld industry millions of dollars.

From building Oil Platforms to Merchant ships, from building Submarines, to Frigates or  Air Craft Carriers,  there is always tremendous weld cost savings potential, that is if the responsible management,  engineers and supervisors would recognize the importance of  weld process ownership, weld process controls and weld process best practices. 

So for those still awake, I hope you now have some evidence of the importance of  manual and robot MIG – Flux Cored – Advanced AC/DC TIG and TIP TIG, Weld Process Controls & Best Weld Practice, Training /  Self Teaching Materials.

Apart from the too common inadequate ship yard weld management, the ship building, costly, weld issues are also
GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE YARD’S INEFFECTIVE WELDER TRAINING PROGRAMS.

INAPPROPRIATE WELDER SKILLS: In most shipyard and oil platform welder training facilities, for decades, weld process controls and best practices has had no meaning and the training  focus was  most  often placed on the welder skills. Ironically the skills often taught  are  inappropriate weld practices. Its common in these training programs, that when training flux cored or MIG welders, that the welders are taught to use incorrect SMAW (stick weld) practices.

No matter what the industry you will find unnecessary weld quality issues,
unnecessary weld rejects and rework and always weld liability concerns 

Many lives lost, and over a billion dollars down the drain due to a weld failure on an oil platform, weld issues that  could have been avoided if the management and engineers responsible for the rig construction understood the concepts and benefits of weld process ownership…

LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN ADJUSTING WELD  PARAMETERS: In most shipyards, NG and Offshore oil rig construction facilities, you will often find the welders, irrespective of the weld joint, part thickness and the weld position, will be  using a single wire feed and voltage setting for either their  flux cored or MIG welds.  MIG and Gas Shielded Flux Cored account for approx. 85 – 90 % of the global welds produced daily. Yet if I I visited any global  Shipyard, NG or offshore Oil Rig construction facility, and asked the following two common weld process questions, the first thing I would expect would be the same glazed look I used to get from my wife when I talked to her about welds.

[1] MIG Process  Question: Using MIG, a conventional 350 – 450  amp CV MIG power source,  an 0.045 (1.2 mm) wire with an  argon 20% CO2 mix,  and welding a 1/4 (6.4 mm) fillet in the flat position. The weld is made  between a 3/16 (4.8 mm) carbon steel plate to a 1/2 (12 mm) steel  plate. Provide the Wire Feed, the Voltage and how much weld wire would be required  each hour if the welders’ hourly arc on time is 20 minutes.

[2] Flux Cored Process Question: Using  the same  conventional  350 – 450 amp CV  MIG power source,  but with an 0.045 (1.2 mm) E71T-1  flux cored wire,  welding the same steel parts and position in above question,  again with an  argon 20% CO2 mix, provide the wire feed, the voltage and figure out how much weld wire would be required  each hour if the welders’ hourly arc on time is 20 minutes. 

When I preach weld process ownership to weld shop managers and supervisors, what I hear at most weld shops is, “but Ed (now Em), we have highly SKILLED  MIG and flux cored welders here and some have worked for us over 20 years. My reply would be, skills have little to do with process control expertise. For example, would you prefer in your machine shop to hire a person to operate a lathe that had a few months experience but has been taught all the correct lathe settings and practices that are necessary to operate the lathe for machining any parts. Or would you want someone who has worked for a year or two with lathes but  never received any formal  machine shop lath training.

WHY A DOUBLE STANDARD FOR SO CALLED SKILLED WORKERS?  No company would  expect it’s machine shop workers to “play around” with the controls on their equipment, so why would the same company allow weld personnel to “play around” with MIG equipment that for many decades has had two simple weld controls?

As Weld Process Controls – Best Practice expertise is easy to learn with my unique process self teaching / training  programs that simplify the subject, the individual irrespective of weld background that takes  this program would then have the expertise to look at any  metal and part thickness to be welded, and  would instantly be aware of the appropriate MIG, Pulsed MIG, TIP TIG  or flux cored wire size required, the optimum weld parameters and the best weld practices to be used. If MIG was used, the decision maker would then select the appropriate MIG weld transfer mode,  Short Circuit, Pulsed or Spray, the most logical two part  gas to mix use, (based on weld energy required).  If automation or robots were being used, the weld decision maker would also know the  weld travel rate required for the desired weld size provided,  and also be aware of  the best robot MIG weld practices to minimize robot weld issues and maximize the robot weld speeds.

All most  welders and anyone who makes weld decisions requires is a few hours with the correct process control training  program. And all anyone needs to present the program is the ability to read the power point program.  Get get started with one of the following process controls – best practice self teaching or training programs.  [1]  Manual & Robot  MIG. [2] Gas Shielded Flux Cored. [3] Advanced  AC/DC TIG.  [4] TIP TIG.

Pulsed MIG Process Question: We are ready to purchase a Pulsed MIG power source, in 2018,  what would your choice be? 

Answer:  I have been testing Pulsed MIG equipment for more than 30 year, and I believe that the best value for a pulsed MIG unit in 2018 is the MIG OTC unit shown left and below.  A good weld manager, engineer or supervisor would know why this unit stands out,  (pulsed weld transfer performance and stability).  And if that person was really good weld process control expert they would  be able to walk up to this unit, or any  pulsed  MIG unit and instantly set the following four welds. 

[1] An all position open root pass for a 1/2 wall, 8 inch diameter steel pipe.
[2] A 5/16. 5356 aluminum fillet weld.
[3] A 14 gauge 316 stainless lap weld.
[4] An Inconel or stainless clad weld producing high deposition with  low weld dilution on 1/4 steel.

If your employees cannot  handle the above common MIG weld tasks  without “playing around” with the MIG weld controls, then what’s the sense in  buying the best pulsed equipment?  Surely It would make more sense to first invest in yourself and your employees by purchasing  for a few dollars one of my manual or robot MIG weld process control  programs. Have you been too my Pulsed MIG equipment & robot sections to find out what happened with  the companies that purchased pulsed MIG units and lacked process control expertise?

The OTC  is one of the rare reasonably priced  pulsed MIG units  that actually provide practical electronic features that can provide real world pulsed MIG weld benefits, especially with gage to 3/16 aluminum welds. In contrast,  many of pulsed Inverter MIG power sources purchased for steel welds, will provide useless electronic bells and whistles and their prime attribute will have  been to decrease the weld equipment durability and increase the weld equipment price.

IN AUTO & TRUCK PLANTS WHERE EXCESS ROBOT DOWN TIME  AND ROBOT WELD  REWORK IS THE NORM, THE MANAGEMENT  TYPICALLY WILL NOT BE AWARE  THAT  IT’S TAKING  1.5 TO 2 ROBOTS TO ATTAIN WHAT ONE ROBOT COULD DO IF THE ROBOTS WAS SET WITH OPTIMUM WELD DATA.