Expand Your Control Capabilities

WeldComputer Resistance Welding Controls offer modular flexibility through our optional add-ons at any time.

These options enable your system to perform advanced control functions and data logging capabilities.

Adaptive Option Features

Adaptive Part Thickness Correction
Adaptive Surface Resistance Conditioning

The adaptive control system automatically detects variations in the welding surface caused by contaminants or coatings. It responds by carefully burning away the contamination and coating, and then proceeds to make a consistent weld once the surface has been conditioned to reduce variability. If the contamination is too severe to create a successful weld, the Adaptive Control system will abort the weld to prevent damage to the parts and tooling, and notify the operator (or robot) that the weld could not be completed.

This helps to extend electrode life, reduce the number of problematic welds, increase throughput, and improve the overall consistency of the welds produced.
Adaptive Bulk Resistance Compensation

The Adaptive Control system automatically adjusts the current to mitigate variations in the size of the welds that may result from slight changes in material properties that can occur from lot to lot and between different material supplies.

This helps to ensure consistency in the size of the weld produced.
Adaptive Part Fit-Up Correction

The Adaptive fit-up correction automatically detects when the parts to be welded are not in flush contact with each other. It responds by applying a controlled amount of force or heat to bring the materials into flush contact with each other. Once the fit-up problem has been corrected, the system proceeds to make a consistent weld. If the fit-up problem is too severe to be corrected, the Adaptive Control system will abort the weld to prevent damage to the parts and tooling, and notify the operator (or robot) that the weld could not be completed.

By detecting and addressing fit-up issues before welding, the adaptive fit-up correction system helps to reduce the number of problematic welds, extend electrode life, increase throughput, and improve the overall consistency of the welds produced.
Adaptive Force Correction

Electrode force variations can occur on many welding machines, leading to variations in the size of the welds produced. The adaptive force correction system reduces this variation by detecting fluctuations in force and automatically adjusts the heat in response.

This helps to reduce the number of problematic welds, increase throughput, and improve the overall consistency of the welds produced.
Adaptive Velocity Correction

Velocity variations can occur on all seam welding machines, leading to variations in the size of the welds produced. The adaptive velocity system reduces this variation by detecting fluctuations in velocity and automatically adjusting the heat to compensate.

This reduces the occurrence of problem welds, increases throughput, and improves the overall consistency of the welds produced.
Flattening Electrode Adaptive Compensation

During production the electrodes gradually flatten, increasing the area of the electrodes in contact with the part surfaces. This reduces the concentration of the programmed current flowing through the part, which reduces the rate of temperature rise caused by the programmed current, and reduces the size of the welds produced. If no corrective action is taken, flattening electrodes reduces the rate of temperature rise of the material and results in smaller welds.

Conventional welding operations that depend on predetermined adjustments or operator settings to deal with flattening electrodes provide less than optimum compensation for the condition, and can often make the variability worse. In seam welding applications where there is non-uniform wear on the electrode surfaces of the rolling wheels, it becomes impossible to compensate for the variation with conventional adjustment approaches.

Adaptive flattening electrode compensation automatically adjusts the current as needed to precisely compensate for the amount of electrode flattening to maintain consistent temperature rise of each weld and reduce weld variation.
Adaptive Shunt conditions

Any time a weld is made in close proximity to an existing weld, it is often undersized because a portion of the programmed current was diverted through the electrical path created by the existing weld. This phenomenon is known as shunting. The closer a weld is made to existing welds, the larger the amount of current diverted through the existing welds and away from the weld being produced. This reduces the rate of temperature rise of the material and results in a smaller weld. Because there is no easy way to compensate for this type of variation with conventional welding controls, welding tables specify a minimum spot spacing distance in order to reduce weld size variation from the shunting.

Adaptive shunting compensation is the easiest way to eliminate shunting conditions as a source of weld variation. Regardless of the distance a weld is being made from existing welds, adaptive shunting compensation automatically adjusts the current as needed to precisely compensate for the amount of current diverted away from the weld being produced. This results in the production of consistent size welds regardless of the severity of the shunting condition.

Additional Control Options

Programmable Motor Feedback System (for Seam Welders)

The Programmable Motor Feedback System option allows the user to directly set the spot spacing, target positions, wheel velocity, and acceleration rates from within the weld schedule, while regulating for load variations. This provides more accurate control of the part position between seam wheels, similar to a single-axis robot controller, and enables more consistent and precise regulation of spot spacing and velocity. This option requires the Motor D/A and Position/Velocity Monitoring options to be installed to operate.

More accurate velocity and position regulation increases the accuracy and consistency of the welding process, resulting in higher-quality welds.
Remote Workstation

The Remote Workstation is a software package that can be loaded on a PC compatible computer. This software allows users to work with weld data, weld schedules and system configuration settings in a similar fashion to what would be required working on the control itself. This is a useful tool for those who want to be able to make changes to the welding schedules without disrupting the operation of the welding machine.

The Remote Workstation software is an essential tool for those who want to optimize the performance of their welding equipment.
Data Viewer Software

The Data Viewer is a software package that can be loaded on a Windows panel computer that can be supplied by WeldComputer, or any customer supplied PC compatible computer. Intuitive weld schedule editing provides an easy-to-use interface for creating and modifying weld schedules. This option includes drop-down menus that logically organize the different groups of settable parameters, and it allows users to easily navigate and view the weld data. The high-performance navigating and millisecond-by-millisecond graphical viewing capabilities of this option provide a detailed and accurate representation of all welds produced.

This is an essential tool for those who need to monitor the welding process remotely, and for those who want to be able to make changes to the welding schedules without disrupting the operation of the welding machine. This option is designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the welding process, and it is an essential tool for those who want to optimize the performance and productivity of their welding equipment.
Report Generator

The Report Generator option provides a summary report of each lot of welds recorded in an Archive Data File. The report is plotted on a single page in an easy-to-interpret visual format, making it easy to track and assess the consistency of the welding operation. The data summarized in the report includes force, current, and displacement for the number of welds in a lot or seam, along with statistical values such as average, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, and Cpk. The report also includes a tabulation of the number of welds that have out-of-limits conditions for force, current, and displacement, allowing users to easily identify any potential issues with the welding process.

This option is an essential tool for those who want to monitor the consistency of each welding job and be informed if the consistency of the welds start to degrade.

Monitoring Options

Current Monitoring

The Current Monitoring option provides millisecond-by-millisecond monitoring of the current of every weld. Monitoring, checking and recording current, from the start to end of applied heat, is vital to ensure current programmed by the control is accurately delivered for every weld produced.
Cylinder Pressure Monitoring

The Cylinder Pressure Monitoring option provides detailed, real-time monitoring and recording of cylinder pressure during every weld, along with a time and date stamp. This allows for the identification and diagnosis of problems such as leaks or other anomalies, and helps to maintain consistent and reliable welding performance by allowing for the detection of issues that may affect the applied electrode force.

The option provides detailed, digital data recording of the cylinder pressure for every weld and is particularly useful for verifying and proving proper cylinder performance during forging operations. Without this option, it may be difficult to determine the cause of welding problems or to identify when such issues are occurring.
Electrode Displacement Monitoring

The Electrode Displacement Monitoring option provides real-time monitoring of thermal nugget expansion, cooling, and set-down, as well as material combination and work-piece thickness. This allows the system to detect issues such as wrong combination stack-up, undersized welds, expulsions, and part fit-up problems. The monitoring provides more reliable information about the consistency of each weld compared to destructive tests, allowing operations to increase weld quality assurance and improve production throughput while reducing operating costs.

This option is an essential tool for ensuring that the welding process is consistently producing high-quality welds.
Analog Input

The Analog Inputs option allows for the customization of name and calibration parameters for specialized application-specific information, such as extra pressures, moisture level, oxygen level, temperature, and flow rate.

This option is beneficial for monitoring these specialized application-specific inputs and ensuring that the welding process is operating at optimal levels. It allows the system to gather more detailed information about the welding process and helps identify potential problems before they impact the quality of the welds.
Electrode Force Monitoring

The Electrode Force Monitoring option allows the applied electrode force to be monitored in real time during each weld. This option can be used in conjunction with optional adaptive control to adapt the control response to variable applied electrode forces. Integration of the force monitoring system into the control offers several advantages, such as improved weld repeatability by controlling the applied electrode force to be the same for every weld at the time of heat initiation, dynamic adjustment of heat when welding with adaptive technology to reduce weld variation from shifts in force and machine vibrations, and the ability to measure both weld and forge force during each weld.

This option also allows for alerts to be sent to the operator if the electrode force exceeds specified limits and for force information to be recorded for SPC purposes and future-proofing of weld repeatability.
Voltage Monitoring

The Voltage Monitoring option provides millisecond-by-millisecond monitoring of the voltage for every weld. This provides excellent diagnostic information that can be used to instantly detect any problems with the machine secondary or tooling that could impact welding performance. By monitoring the voltage, potential problems can be quickly identified and corrected, avoiding the production of poor-quality welds and ensuring the reliability and consistency of the welding process.

This option is an essential tool for maintaining high-quality welding performance and avoiding potential problems.
Conductance (Resistance) Monitoring

The Conductance Monitoring option instantly detects any problems with the machine electrical secondary circuit. It can also be used to alert the operation when it is time to perform a preventative maintenance (PM) on the machine secondary electrical contacts. Failing to perform a PM when needed can degrade welding performance and damage the machine, while performing a PM more often than necessary creates unnecessary labor demand and downtime.

Conductance monitoring offers a rational method for determining when to perform a PM, resulting in improved productivity, less downtime, and reliable welding performance. This option helps to ensure the proper functioning of the welding machine and maintain high quality welding results.
Power Monitoring

The Power Monitoring option provides millisecond-by-millisecond monitoring of the power for every weld. When used in conjunction with the optional adaptive control, this allows for the regulation of weld quality in the presence of changing conditions, such as resistance variation from welding through adhesive compounds.

This option provides a real-time view of the power being delivered during the welding process and enables the automatic adjustment of welding parameters to maintain consistent and high-quality results. It is an essential tool for ensuring the reliability and precision of the welding process, even in challenging conditions.
Down Pressure Monitoring/Up Pressure Monitoring

The Pressure Regulator Monitoring option provides millisecond-by-millisecond monitoring and recording of the measured pressure regulator settings for every weld. This option is available for systems equipped with the Digital Programmable Air System with Feedback and provides proof of machine pressure consistency. It is useful for troubleshooting problems that may arise with the machine on the factory floor, and helps to ensure the stability and reliability of the welding process.

This option allows for real-time monitoring and recording of the pressure regulator settings, providing valuable information for maintaining and verifying the performance of the welding machine.
Frame Deflection Monitoring

The Frame Deflection Monitoring System detects stress on the frame from thermal nugget growth during welding. On machines with variable ram friction, the WeldComputer’s patented Weld Thermal Response Monitoring uses the composite processing of both the Electrode Displacement and Frame Deflection monitoring information to provide a more accurate measure of the weld thermal response than can be achieved with displacement monitoring alone.

This system is designed to monitor the effects of the welding process on the machine frame and provide a more complete and accurate picture of the thermal response of the weld. It is an essential tool for ensuring the stability and reliability of the welding process, and for identifying and addressing any potential issues that may arise.
Position/Velocity (seam welder) Monitoring

he Position/Velocity Monitoring option provides millisecond-by-millisecond monitoring of the wheel position and velocity for every weld. When used in conjunction with the optional adaptive control, this allows for the dynamic adjustment of the programmed current to reduce variations that normally occur in the welding process due to instantaneous velocity fluctuations.

This option provides real-time information about the position and velocity of the welding wheels, enabling the automatic adjustment of welding parameters to maintain consistent and high-quality results. It is an essential tool for ensuring the precision and reliability of the welding process, and for minimizing variations and inconsistencies that may affect the quality of the welds.

Still don’t know where to start?

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With our evaluation offer, the WeldComputer team will work with you to temporarily hook up a fully functioning welding control to your weld machine so you can see the results for yourself, without having to make a capital equipment investment to see proof. Let us help you solve your power, welding quality, and/or control reliability problems, and prove it to you on your own equipment.

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expand your control capabilities

WeldComputer Resistance Welding Controls offer modular flexibility through our optional add-ons at any time.

These options enable your system to perform advanced control functions and data logging capabilities.

Adaptive Option Features

Additional Control Options

Monitoring Options

Still don’t know where to start?

Test a Proof of Concept in Your Factory

The WeldComputer Difference

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