conf'users manual!

[Sparkey]

Right, i actually decided to read the manual from the welder i use at work, an oerlikon citowave..... Welderpaul already thought i had a petname for my kit, and now i even read the whole manual.....i should name her "paulie"!

But now i have even more questions than before....i really would like to know what all those bells and whistles do???

Ok, downslope was easy to figure out... but what exactly is hotstart? softstart? How does the synergetic thinghy work??? What exactly do i tune with fine tuning???? Ooooh soooo many questions....sometimes it makes my brain hurt! lol
I feel that understanding how my welder works exactly would help me getting even better welds....
Maybe someone could help me out?

 

[pedrobedro]

The hot start is for striking an arc in MMA mode on my Stel so I would think your Oerlikon is similar. It also helps when using larger diameter tungstens on thicker material the opposite of soft start which helps near edges and on thinner materials. Synergic is where you input the material type and thickness and the machine works out the nearest best settings for you like an auto box in a car. These are all my theories and findings and I'm open to correction.

 

[craigthewelder]

I've had a quick look at the manual, looks like a very nice bit of kit.
The hot start is pretty much essential when mig welding aluminum, same with the downslope (crater fill)

 

[Sparkey]

Thanks for the replies lads!
Yeah the oerli's a beauty to work with!

Been torturing myself today trying to change a habit....a part that i've been welding for 2 years now has suddenly changed! try changing your welding habits for a massproduct part....blimey i welded millions of those allready!
Now suddenly my foreworker tells me to drop the amps......what the f???
Nice bloke my foreworker but if someone told me he was the first guy to have his periods i would bl**dy believe it!!
Unfortunately he often gives me stick for mistakes made by other welders...
When he starts with one of his famous lectures it often begins with: you guys (which means ALL the welders) and when he throws in: when i was a welder....(aaaages ago) then the poo really hits the fan!!
sorry about the rant guys.... but i get fed up with that at the mo....i had to share it...

 

[Welderpaul]

Foreworker?

Drop the amps ffs? NEVER!

 

[Sparkey]

Yeah....i really don't know what his problem is...
Think he has stressproblems....moodswings 'n stuff??
He even had the nerve today to send in another welder to set up my welder (machine)....i went bezerk.... kicked the poor lad out!! or did he run?

 

[Hitch]

Soft start, that will be where it slows the wire speed a bit untill you have an arc going. Saves that spitting you sometimes get if you have a bad start.

Hot start, id guess on this one, but perhaps a slight increase in power for a very short period to get a nice start....minimises cold starts.

Synergic, is where everything is set by one control, and the machine fine tunes the rest to suit. Usually has an over ride incase you dont like it though

 

[Sparkey]

So if i put the softstart thingy on i wont have that annoying splatter at the beginning of a weld? Doesn't always happen tho...sometimes...

I wish Matt was here....i bet he could explain it exactly!

MATT!!! WERE ARE YOU????wooohoooo!!

 

[steve202]

He even had the nerve today to send in another welder to set up my welder (machine)....i went bezerk.... kicked the poor lad out!! or did he run?

I think the lad was set up for a trip into the loons booth

 

[Sparkey]

I think the lad was set up for a trip into the loons booth

Hehe... yea poor lad...
When i asked him wtf he thinks he was doing, and erm...explained politely to him what would happen if he put one finger on my kit....he fled!

Loons booth...blimey Steve, you must think bad of me...

 

[Hitch]

So if i put the softstart thingy on i wont have that annoying splatter at the beginning of a weld? Doesn't always happen tho...sometimes...

Yup, but, id think in your line of work, bad starts are possibly down to the parts being poorly earthed, just chucked in a jig...maybe not the case, depends on the jig design, use of toggle clamps etc.

 

[Sparkey]

Yes my little Karlito, that was my guess too!
The jigs are quite bad actually.....toggle clamps that don't do anything, maintenance only done when they have no other choice....lol it really has to be knackered before they do anything!
Oh yeah, and let's not forget about loads of cutting oil....
Great!!

 

[Robotstar5]

The jigs are quite bad actually.....toggle clamps that don't do anything, maintenance only done when they have no other choice....lol it really has to be knackered before they do anything!

I'm surprised a company of that size does not have a planned maintenance system, our welding jigs are checked every 3 months and we have to fill a check sheet in to be signed off by supervisor. It is an audited system so it would affect the groups TS16949 accreditation if it is not kept up to date.

 

[Sparkey]

I'm surprised a company of that size does not have a planned maintenance system, our welding jigs are checked every 3 months and we have to fill a check sheet in to be signed off by supervisor. It is an audited system so it would affect the groups TS16949 accreditation if it is not kept up to date.

Wow that's awesome! every 3 months!
We have to ask for it! but when there's parts and pedalboxes coming back from PSA they are repaired faster, cos then they have to pay for their mistakes!