In Test Now - WIMS App for Android v0.2Many people have said that it would be nice to have a standalone App that doesn't require an Internet connection to reliably record parameters. Security concerns are another reason why companies often prefer to handle important data internally. There are also compromises on the screen presentation when designing web applications that are easier to overcome with a dedicated App.
Well, wait no longer; the WIMS App for Android is here.
If you'd like to take part in the closed test, please email me
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Testing GuidelinesIt's quite hard finding testers that are familiar with this subject, so here is some guidance on what sort of values to input.
For the 1.2mm FCAW wire, input value would be in the range
Volts: 22-30 Amps: 170-330 ROL and Arc Time are related but typical combinations would result in... Arc Energy: 0.5-2.5 kJ/mm ...when the Calc All button is pressed.
The above would be for a full calculation.
For an "Estimated" result, you just need a Travel Speed and WFS. Try something in these ranges...
WFS: 6-13 Combinations of Arc Time and ROL to produce... Arc Energy: 0.5-2.5 kJ/mm ...when the Calc All button is pressed.
For the Filarc Electrodes, figures would be in the range
Volts: 22-26 Amps: 60-220 Combinations of Arc Time and ROL to produce... Arc Energy: 0.8-3.5 kJ/mm
For Estimates using the electrodes ROL: 60-300 Stub: 30-150 - results after pressing Calc All to produce... Arc Energy: 0.8-3.5 kJ/mm
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Quick StartWhen the program is launched, there is a standard disclaimer that the user needs to agree before proceeding. The App will then create its database and preload the Consumables table with some examples. (In the unlikely event that the internal database is ever corrupted, it is likely that the user will not be able to proceed past this screen, even when "I Agree" is pressed. Therefore an additional button is provided to allow the user to proceed to the "Re-Initialise" Screen, which would allow the database to be deleted and re-created the next time the App is run)
The user is then taken to the Main Screen, and may then wish to access the Consumables table to input their own preferences, via the 3 Dots menu drop-down at top right.
Leaving that aside for now, the first thing to consider for most parameter records will be their identification. Press the Details icon  to access these:-
Set the "Parameter Type" and enter any other required details. Then press the back arrow at top left to return to the Main Screen.
When the welder starts welding, press the "Start" button. This will re-initialise the Record Time and set the stop-watch running.
Press the "Stop" button when welding ends. Note that you can re-start the Stop-Watch if you are recording a total weld length with several stop/starts. Restarting will not alter the Record Time, shown in blue. Every time you press "Stop", the Stop-Watch elapsed time is pasted into the "Arc Time" field.
Notice that when you press "Stop", the "Close Keyboard" button  changes to a "Reset" one. This doesn't alter the value in the "Arc Time" field. (I added this close-keyboard button because I dislike scrolling containers, but hate faffing around looking for the standard close-keyboard icon at the bottom of the screen - it always seems too close to the bottom system buttons. Pressing any button will close the screen keyboard - this just ensures that there's always one you can use)
Whilst the Stop-Watch is running (or at any time), the user can fill in the other fields to enable the final calculations to be made with the "Calc All" button.
When all calculations and data input are complete, pressing the "New" button will create a new record.
If the "Pass" or "No" fields have a value in them, the new record will have these filled in. The "No" field will be incremented if it has a value, otherwise the "Pass" field will be if it has a number. If the "No" field is incrementing, then the user will need to manually alter the "Pass" field and change the "No" field back to 1 when recording the next weld "Pass". The "No" field is designed to represent individual electrodes, so it will often be left blank when recording over full weld lengths.
It will be noticed that the Consumables are selected from a drop-down that includes the diameter, rather than separating these variables. This is to make it easier to use the short-cut volumetric heat input estimates as it avoids input errors. These drop-down values are shown in exports along with all the relevant consumable data, including Welding Process, Consumable Name, Consumable Diameter. There is therefore no need to input Consumable, Diameter, and Process separately.
It's important to note that when the user presses the "New" record button, it is that record that defines the information that is copied to the new record. This will include: - Main Screen - "Side", "Weld Area", Incremented "Pass" and "No", "Position" "Consumable" drop-down value, "Input Speed", & "Polarity" drop-down value
- Details Screen - "Parameter Type" drop-down value, "WPS/PQR/SWIS Reference", "Welder", "Project", but NOT "Notes"
- Settings Screen - All values
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Differences from the Web VersionThe Android version has a few deliberate changes to the website operation.
Firstly, all data is stored on the user's phone/tablet. There is no connection to the web, other than if the user opts to send the parameters via the Android "Share" feature.
Secondly, all parameter records are in a single table that can handle all unit types; the units are recorded along with all other inputs in the Parameters table. This allows the user to work in different units for some records, and then change back for new records at a later date. The Settings Screen is accessed via the Cogs icon 
The AE/HI (Arc Energy/Heat Input) selection is a special case. If you leave it on "derive", then these units will be based on the selected Energy and Length units. However, you can override this with the "kJ/mm" or "J/in" options.
The "WFS Threshold" value is used when the "Auto Convert WFS" toggle switch is on. It's not unusual for fabricators to use a range of wire feeders / welding sets, and therefore no guarantee that they will use the same wire feed speed settings. When this function is enabled the user can convert the WFS at the time of entry by pressing the enter key. So for example, if the WFS units were set to "m/min" and the user entered 400 and pressed the Enter key, this will be converted to 10.16 m/min as it is greater than the "WFS Threshold" of 39. Similarly if the default units are in "in/min" and the user inputs 9, pressing enter converts this to 354.3 because it was less than 39.
Use the back arrow icon at top left to return to the Main Screen.
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Record LockingOn the Main Screen is a toggle switch called "Record Locked". This switch will appear On whenever the user moves to a previously saved record, but only if that record has an Arc Energy / Heat Input value saved. This is to prevent accidental modification of records when moving around.
When the Record-Locked toggle switch is On, the user is not prevented from making changes on-screen or carrying out calculations; the changes just won't be saved. This is intended behaviour because it allows temporary changing of calculated figure units, without changing the underlying record.
If the user does want to make changes to a record (including Details and Settings), they just need to switch this toggle Off before moving off the record.
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Calculation PriorityIt is often possible to calculate the Arc Energy and Heat Input in several ways when the user fills in all available fields.
The calculation method obeys the following priority (Highest First) - Calculation from "Input Energy" and "ROL"
- Calculation from "Volts", "Amps", and "Input Spd"
- Calculation from ""Volts", "Amps", "Time", and "ROL"
- Estimation from "ROL" and "Stub Length" for SMAW Electrodes
- Estimation from "Arc Time", "ROL", and WFS for GMAW/FCAW Wires, unless the user enters an "Input Spd" to overwrite the Travel Speed calculated from "Arc Time" and "ROL"
Note that "ROL" stands for Run-Out Length. This may be the whole weld length or a single bead, depending on the types of readings required.
The calculation or estimation method is shown on the Details screen, and is also exported with the parameter record.
Here is a screenshot, showing the result of a Wirefeed Speed vs Travel Speed estimate:-
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ConsumablesThe Consumables Screen is accessed via the 3 Dots drop-down menu at top-right (note that depending on the size of your screen and magnification, this may appear alongside the Top Manu Bar icons)
The Drop-Down selector at the top of the screen can be used to move to any existing consumable record, or the Left and Right pointing buttons move to the Previous or Next record accordingly.
When the user presses the "New" record button, the new Consumable Name has to be unique, and should include the diameter for easy reference.
USA users may opt to input Arc "Efficiency" figures of 1.0, as this differentiation is of ISO origin, and rarely used there.
If volumetric methods may be used for electrodes, it is essential to input the correct "Diameter" and "Electrode Length" in mm.
The "Wire Factor" and "Wire Constant" values shown above are a good starting point for 1.2mm FCAW(136) wires of most steel and nickel types, but will need to be determined from PQR/Parameter Check records for other metals and Solid Wires or Metal-Cored Wires.
For more details on this, please refer to the infomation given on this website; in particular the PDF presentation at the top of this page list.
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Deleting RecordsThe SQLite database used by the WIMS App is capable of handling thousands of records, but the user will inevitably want to delete records that are no-longer required.
WIMS provides a single record or query-based filter that is used to delete multiple records in one operation. The "Delete Parameters" selection on the 3 Dots drop-down menu is used to access this.
As it would be easy to delete all records accidentally, delete operations are a 2-stage process; the "Confirm Delete" button only appears when you press the "This Record" button or the "Query" button. The query to be used, and the expected result are shown in the multiline text box. (the actual SQL differs slightly to avoid SQL injection attacks using the "Reference" field but the number of records affected is derived from the same WHERE clause. I'm not sure why anyone would want to try and hack their own phone, but this is always good practice)
If the user presses the "This Record" button, the "Confirm Delete" button will appear and show that just the current record will be deleted. Press it to confirm.
The "Parameter Type" and "Reference" drop-downs can be used with the "Before Date" and "After Date" buttons in any combination. Just use the "Query" button to display the expected result. If you are certain that you want the deletion to occur, press the "Confirm Delete" button.
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Exporting RecordsXojo didn't make this easy, though I expect this procedure will improve with future versions.
To export Parameters, the WIMS App uses the built-in Android "Share" feature. Exports are basically text in CSV or tab-delimited format.
The "TXT" and "TAB" options both produce tab-delimited text. CSV produces comma-separated values enclosed in double quotes (").
"Parameter Type", "Reference", "Before Date", and "After Date" can be used independently or in any combination - very similar to the delete screen. If you leave these alone, all parameter records will be shared.
Unlike the "Delete" screen, the user is not shown the result before the share; it's not critical as we're not deleting anything, though the result will be shown afterwards, even if you cancel.
When the "Share It" button is pressed, the standard Android Share feature is activated. The types of share available will depend on the other applications installed on the user's device, but will always include copy to clipboard. However, the most obvious way to share the data is to copy it to the user's Google Drive. When you do this, it will always be shared as a UTF-8 standard text file.
The snag is that the default filename is always "Subject Here" - moderately useful if you are copying the data to Google's "Keep Notes", but not that useful otherwise - you don't even get a file extension. In Xojo the only way to change the default filename is to write a plug-in in Android Studio, which doesn't keep the code that tidy. I am fairly confident that the Xojo developers will sort this eventually, but for now I have implemented the following workaround:
The "Add Proposed Filename to Clipboard" toggle switch is recommended. When this is on, a subject is created called "WIMS Export".<ext> If "Add TimeStamp to Name" is selected, this will be "WIMS Export YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS".<ext> <ext> will be the "Text to File Target" selected.
When the share to Google Drive dialog appears, press and hold "Subject Here" and select "Paste" to use the generated filename. It's a bit clumsy, but it becomes 2nd nature after a couple of exports, and it does retain flexibility in the Share options.
The options you select will be saved in your preferences - they aren't linked to parameter records.
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Importing Records to LibreOffice CalcLibreOffice Calc will open any of the 3 file extensions (*.TXT, *.TAB, and *.CSV). I recommend the TAB option. This has the benefit that you can associate this file type with LibreOffice Calc, and import the file just by double-clicking it. When you do so, you are greeted with this dialog:
As you can see, Calc automatically recognises the Android UTF-8 text decoding, tab separator, and clicking OK will produce a nicely formatted sheet like this:
Notice that the degree symbol in column L has been correctly recognised by default.
Behaviour with CSV files is similar, but any *.TXT file will be opened with LibreOffice Writer unless you open Calc first and open the file from there.
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Importing Records to Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Excel will open any of the 3 file extensions (*.TXT, *.TAB, and *.CSV), but associating any of these extensions with Excel doesn't work quite as well as LibreOffice Calc.
The problem is that any text files opened by association or using File Explorer's "Open With..." option, will be opened with a Windows ANSI text encoding. This means that degree symbols or any other extended characters will not appear correctly:
It can be seen that column L has an extra character inserted before the degree symbol.
Note that there's nothing wrong with the (Record)DateTime in column B; the column width just needs to be increased.
There is a more robust way to import text files from within Excel however. Click on the Data tab in Excel, and then select "Get Data" | "From File" | From Text/CSV:
Select the WIMS Export.* file, and the following dialog appears:
If you selected a TAB or TXT file, the tab-delimiter will be correctly identified automatically, but if you selected a CSV file then you will need to select "Comma".
Pressing the "Load" button will then import the exported file as a data connection and convert it to an Excel table:
Now the degree symbol is understood correctly and the column widths are correct.
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Importing into Google SheetsGoogle Sheets will import any of the three extension files with little effort. However, you need to create a new blank spreadsheet first, and then use the "File" | Import" menu option:
It takes a little while to do the import, but the results are as expected:
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Planned Improvements- Better export functions
- Ability to import consumable settings
- Carbon equivalents
- PREN calcs
- High/Low acceptance criteria for welder monitoring
- Preheat Calculations - in v0.3
- Cooling rate calculations - in v0.3 using Bayoumi method for carbon steels in Preheat screen, but additional screen planned for other materials with choice of calculation methods.
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Revision History0.3 (In development) - Bug: Disclaimer screen allowed user to progress to main screen and use the App if the back arrow was used instead of the Close button - Fixed
- UI Improvement: "Re-Initialise" database screen moved from Toolbar menu and onto a "Tools" Screen to avoid accidental access.
- Preheat Calculations and Bayoumi Cooling Times screen added:
0.2 Closed Test Released - Parameter calculations with Details screen.
- Consumables table with examples
- Settings screen for preferred Units
- Share screen to export text in tab-delimited or CSV format with querying.
- Delete parameters screen with querying and result preview before commit.
- About screen with suport email MailTo:, link to Author's LinkedIn profile, and link to (this) online manual.
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Licence & CostsThe WIMS for Android App is free for individuals to use, including business use.
However, if companies wish to deploy the App as part of their quality system (eg. for regular recording of parameters by Welding Engineers, Inspectors, or Welders), then a yearly licence should be purchased from the author using the email link within the App, or message me on LinkedIn.
Indicative price is: £10 GBP per Engineer or Inspector per year. As the volumetric methods can easily be utilised by welders, a reduced fee of £5 GBP applies to welders.
Conditions of use remain as per the Disclaimer agreement included in the App.
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CustomisationThe author is happy to discuss customised versions of the App for business use, including Company Branding and additional functionality.
Furthermore, the project code, including all design elements, can be supplied as a XoJo project file to mitigate the risks associated with a sole developer. This can include licence extension to allow further development by others, provided this is for the use of said company.
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Privacy PolicyThe WIMS App for Android uses no user sensitive data.
All data is stored on the user's device in an SQLite database, and is private to the application folder. No information is sent anywhere, unless the user decides to send it via the built-in Android "Share" feature. Typically this would be as a text export in CSV or tab-delimited format to the user's own Google Drive.
No system-derived data (eg, username, email address, device name etc.) is accessed by this App.
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