Simplified Weld Monitoring Without Instruments (Almost true; you will need a steel rule for both methods and an accurate wire feed speed for GSFCAW). To begin, I recommend that you select the Projects table and Inline Add one with the title "General Welder Monitoring" and click Save All or the symbol on the far left. You will need to refresh the page or click the Projects menu item again to show the sub-tables icons. Then click the red ellipse which will allow you to Add New a parameter monitoring record for GSFCAW or SMAW welding. If you prefer to work in US customary units, click the purple ellipse (Monitoring USCU) instead.
For GSFCAW, pick the "1.2mm Rutile FCAW Wire (Generic)" consumable and then tap the black Start button (*). This will turn green to indicate the clock is running. When the weld pass is finished, tap the Finish button which will turn red to indicate you have an arc time. Fill in the ROL and Wire Feed Speed, and identification in the comments, and click Save. * when you add a record, the start time is automatically set, so strictly speaking this step isn't necessary, but often you will want to prefill some of the data before the welder begins.
For SMAW, pick one of the electrode sizes and input the ROL and stub length after the welder has finished burning the electrode. If you leave the stub length blank, 50mm (or 2in in USCU) will be assumed. The generic electrodes assume certain electrode lengths and results will only be accurate if these match the consumables used. If your electrodes lengths do not match, please create specific Consumable Parameters entries for them (see next help item below).
The Travel Speed, Arc Energy, and Heat Input figures will update on the form as soon as there is sufficient information to calculate them, whenever you update and move off a relevant field. However, if you update the Arc Time using the Finish button, you will need to click in or tap the Arc Time field to update. All values are recalculated anyway when you press the Save button, so this only matters if you want to check the values before saving, eg. to inform the welder of the value.
It's recommended that you input a Welder and WPS number. You can also add a description in the comments, but these are optional. When you add a new record, the start datetime is automatically added, but you can override this with the Start button or fill it in manually if needed.
In the lookups section, you can add parameters for other (named) consumables. This is essential if your SMAW electrode lengths are different, but you may also wish to tweak values for more accuracy. Contact me via LinkedIn or email if you would like more information about this - though I will be adding tools and more detailed descriptions about how to do this later anyway.
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