How to Calculate Deposition Rate for Solid Wires

A common question that is asked when manufacturers are trying to determine costs associated with welding is: How many pounds of wire can I deposit per hour? Or, how many pounds of wire can I deposit at a specific amperage or wire feed speed?   There are charts to help you determine this, but it’s always […]

The Best Piece of Equipment to Reduce Welding Costs

Many fabricators spend thousands of dollars in new welding equipment every year.  They look for the latest and greatest technology that will allow them to reduce manufacturing costs.  We have seen some of our customers justify the purchase of robots and other types of advanced welding equipment relatively easily.  Some pieces of equipment pay for […]

9 Common Problems with Welding Procedures

They can do more than simply fail an audit

The use of welding procedures specifications (WPS) is the foundation of a good welding quality control management system. It has a huge impact on quality as well as productivity.  Despite this, many fabricators are still running their facilities without WPSs.  And many who are, have significant issues which prevent this powerful document from maintaining quality […]

12 Ideas to Reduce Welding Costs

Controlling costs associated with welding operations does not have to be complicated. Yet, many fabricators miss out on savings substantial amounts of time and money simply because they are too busy to take some time to implement cost reduction initiatives.  Some of the ways in which costs can be reduced are presented below.  Some of […]

Welding Cost Reduction Revisited

Many of our customers realize that there is a great potential for reducing costs in welding operations.  Yet, not many are willing to attack this area of manufacturing.  The reason for this is that welding is a very complicated industrial process.  It has many variables that come into play which determine quality and productivity.  So […]

Is It Time To Retire Your Old Welding Machines?

Those oldies-but-goodies may be costing you money

Thousands of manufacturing shops are full of old welding equipment.  We all want to be good stewards of our money or our company’s money, and we want to make things last as long as possible.  We sometimes even take pride on the fact that we have had a specific welding machine for 20-25 years. Most […]

How Many Inches Of Mig Wire Per Pound

Easily calculate number of inches of wire per package size for any wire diameter

Have you ever wondered, or have you ever been asked how many inches of wire are in one pound of filler metal?  You may have been asked something like: “How many inches of wire are there in a 25LB spool of .035” ER70S-6 mig wire?”  Typically, this questions is asked when someone is trying to […]

Mig Welding With S3 vs S6 Wire

Is ER70S-3 even necessary anymore?

One of the most frequently asked questions is if there is a valid reason to use an ER70S-3 (S3) mig wire versus the more commonly used ER70S-6 (S6) wire.    Both wires belong to AWS Specification A5.18 and can be used interchangeably in most applications because they provide almost identical mechanical properties.  There is subtle difference between the two […]

Calculating Weld Metal Requirements by Hand

When you don't have your Procedure Handbook Tables

If you need to calculate weld metal requirements and you do not have The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding handy you can do this by hand by using simple geometry. What you need to do is find the volume of weld needed in cubic inches. A fillet weld with a flat face forms a right […]