Computers in Industry 21 (1993) 121-129
Elsevier
Knowledge Engineering
A shielded metal arc welding expert system
V i v e k Goel, T. W a r r e n L i a o a n d K w a n S. L e e
Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering Department, Louisiana State Unirersity, Baton Rouge, l~4 70803-0409, USA
Received June llJ, 1992; accepted July 15, 1992
Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) has been the welding
industry's mainstay and heavily used in construction. SMAW
is governed by a large variety of factors, and so it is very
difficult to gain expertise in SMAW procedures. This paper
presents an expert system to help plan and train shielded
metal arc welding (SMAW) operations. The expert system has
been implemented in Prolog. It accumulates most of the
available information on the SMAW process including edge
preparation, electrode selection, economic evaluation, analy-
sis of weld defectsl and trouble-shooting. The expert system
also includes an explanation subsystem, which will show the
reasoning process to reach a conclusion.
Keywords: Shielded metal arc welding; Expert system; Knowl-
edge representation; Planning; Training
1. Introduction
Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) has been
the welding industry's mainstay and will remain a
factor in many areas of welding for years to come.
S M A W is used very heavily in construction be-
cause of its quality, portability, and versatility.
S M A W can weld most of the metals such as
stainless steels and carbon steels, and with special
electrodes, can weld high-carbon steels, copper,
brass, and even aluminum.
The heat for S M A W comes from an arc which
develops across an air gap between the end of an
electrode and the base metal. The air gap pro-
Correspondence to: Dr. T. Warren Liao, Industrial and Manu-
facturing Systems Engineering Department, Louisiana State
University, 3128 CEBA, Baton Rouge, LA 70803-6409, USA.
Fax: + 1-504-388 5990.
0166-3615/93/$06.00 1993 - Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved
121
duces a high resistance to the flow of current, and
this resistance generates an intense arc heat. The
filler wire (electrode) forms molten droplets that
deposit into the weld. The flux forms a gas that
shields the molten weld pool. The arc force pro-
vides the digging action for penetration into the
base metal. This process continues as the weld
widens and the electrode continues across the
joint. Transformers, motor generators and recti-
fiers are used as the power sources for SMAW.
There are many kinds and sizes of electrodes,
and unless the correct one is selected it is diffi-
cult to do a good welding job.
SMAW is governed by a large variety of fac-
tors, and so it is very difficult to gain expertise in
SMAW procedures. A novice usually learns the
knowledge from the instructor, experienced
welders, welding manuals and handbooks, or trial
and error. The ignorance of the optimal method
may result in the applications of inappropriate
technology. The important knowledge in SMAW
includes the selection of proper electrode and
parameters, adoption of proper welding tech-
niques, recognition of weld defects and the means
to avoid them, setting up and trouble-shooting
the welding equipment, etc.
Reeves et al. [1] used expert systems for weld
process control and used sensor fusion output in
conjunction with a rule base to reconcile compet-
ing goals such as cost, quality and productivity in
order to make effective decisions during arc-on
time. Their expert system is excellent for applica-
tion in a shipyard. They concluded that as compe-
tent welders become more and more scarce, an
122 KnowledgeEngineering
expert system can be used to extract their knowl-
edge in a form suitable for control purposes. The
same is true for process planning and training of
inexperienced welders.
Sicard and Levine [2] developed an expert
robot welding system, which can be used for
automation of welding processes like gas tungsten
arc welding (GTAW). They concluded that a so-
phisticated expert system should be able to guide
the user in the preparation and planning phase of
the welding process. The system must also be
able to plan the welding task in accordance with
user specifications. Lucas [3] and Kerth [4] have
also given the advantages of using expert systems
for welding.
Taylor [5] has also used the knowledge-based
approach for the automated generation of proce-
dures in the submerged arc welding domain, and
~ael received a Bachelor's De-
Industrial Engineering in 1989
Master's Degree in Welding
~ering in 1991, from the Uni-
of Roorkee, India. He is cur-
pursuing a PhD in the Indus-
agineering Department, Louisi-
ate University, Baton Rouge,
He worked for Bharat Petrole-
~rporation Ltd., India for one
?Iis research interests include
t expert system applications in
..... ial engineering.
T. Warren Liao is currently an assis-
tant professor of industrial and manu-
facturing systems engineering at
Louisiana State University. His cur-
rent research interests are in the area
of metal cutting (particularly grind-
ing), CAD/CAM integration, design
of cellular manufacturing systems, A!
applications in manufacturing, and
mechatronics, Dr. Liao received his
MS and PhD in industrial engineering
from Lehigh University. He is mem-
ber of SME, IIE, ASME, and IEEE.
Kwan S. Lee is currently an associate
professor at Louisiana State Univer-
sity. He has a wide range of interests
covering the research areas of manu-
facturing, ergonomics, safety, quality
control and total quality manage-
ment. Dr. Lee has more than 60 pub-
lications and has been very active in
establishing safety standards and er-
gonomic guidelines for machines for
AMT, NSCM and ASTM. He is a
professional engineer and a member
of WSO, NFS, IFIESR and Er-
gonomics society.
Computers in Industry
his paper provides useful insight into the prob-
lems that are encountered during the develop-
ment of expert systems. He has highlighted the
need for standardization of methods used in the
development of expert systems. Singh and Goel
[6] have also developed an expert system ap-
proach for shielded metal arc welding and have
discussed the various problems that are faced by
the process planners in planning for SMAW.
In this research, a system that encodes rele-
vant knowledge in SMAW was developed and
implemented using an expert system approach.
The expert system developed can be used, usually
by a welding engineer, to plan for SMAW jobs.
The expert system can also serve as a training
and learning tool to help an instructor effectively
conduct the training courses and to shorten the
training period. Using the expert system, the in-
experienced welding operators may know about
the applicability of SMAW for a certain job, the
selection of welding parameters, consumable and
procedures for a SMAW operation, the calcula-
tion of cost and time for that SMAW operation,
the preparation of the edge for a joint to be
welded, the analysis of weld defects and trouble-
shooting, etc.
The remaining of the paper is organized as
follows. The reasons for selecting an expert sys-
tem approach are given in the next section. Sec-
tion 3 discusses the knowledge acquisition pro-
cess and knowledge representation scheme in
building the expert system. The overall structure
and capability of the expert system is presented
in Section 4. The working of the expert system is
then demonstrated, followed by the conclusion.
2. Why expert system?
An approach utilizing an algorithmic language
such as PASCAL or FORTRAN, tO search a tabular
database, would seem to be feasible at first and
also easier to implement. But this approach could
have the following problems:
(1) N o flexibility: The conventional program can
be modified or updated by the original pro-
grammer only, and hence the program is dif-
ficult for researchers or industrial collabora-
tors to extend. There is no mechanism for
discussing the knowledge with the user or
expressing the knowledge in a natural way.
Computers in Industry
(2) No fuzzy logic: The conventional program
cannot be applied to problems that require
decisions to be made with incomplete data.
(3) No explanation facility: The conventional pro-
gram cannot explain their line of reasoning
for decisions etc.
An expert system approach for SMAW, on the
other hand, is advantageous because of the fol-
lowing factors:
(1) the number and complexity of the factors
which influence the decision making process;
(2) the flexibility required from the system;
(3) the reasoning capabilities required for the
selection approach;
(4) the opportunity of capturing, representing and
preserving the knowledge and expertise for
SMAW process in a declarative manner and
using it for different purposes such as training
inexperienced process planners;
(5) the variables are "typed" or "declared" which
provides more secure development control
and better debugging, and minimizes memory
requirement;
(6) modular programming can be done;
(7) predicates for random file access are pro-
vided.
3. Knowledge acquisition and knowledge repre-
sentation
A number of manuals and handbooks were
consulted to acquire heuristics for checking the
applicability of SMAW for a certain job [7,8], to
understand the criteria used for selecting welding
parameters [7,8], to obtain standard time data
from the handbook of standard data for arc weld-
ing [9], and to gather rules of edge preparation
[10]. A number of experienced welders were also
interviewed for the knowledge and expertise re-
quired in analyzing and trouble-shooting weld
defects for the expert system [11].
The acquired knowledge was classified into
various subclasses for use in the various modules.
The knowledge thus organized was then repre-
sented by a set of if-then rules. These sets of
rules were then arranged in a hierarchical form
for each module. A typical hierarchical model for
the monitoring subsystem is shown in Fig. 1. Each
subsystem is divided into five operating levels.
I~ Goel et a L / SMA W expert system 123
I MONITORING]
I SUBSYSTEM1
DEFECT I
I
ANALYSIS
11 Trouble
Defect/
Level
Cause
Level
Remedy
Level
Fig. 1. Hierarchical model of the monitoring subsystem.
The lower levels contain the knowledge in the
form of rules, causes, remedies etc.
3.1. Sample rules for the expert system
A few examples of these rules are given below:
CHECK SMAW. This subsystem checks whether
shielded metal arc welding is applicable for the
job under consideration. For example,
(1) IF Production_Volume < 8
AND Seam Length < 10 meters
AND Many ranges of weld sizes exist
AND Initial Equipment Cost is required
to be less
AND Arc Visibility is required for the job
AND Skilled Operator is available
THEN SMAW process is suitable for the
job.
(2) IF P r o d u c t i o n Volume > 8
AND Seam Length > 10 meters
AND Many ranges of weld sizes do not
exist
AND Initial Equipment Cost is required
to be medium
AND Arc Visibility is not required for the
job
AND Skilled Operator is available
THEN Submerged Arc Welding is suitable
for the job.
ELECT-SEL. This subsystem selects a suitable
124 KnowledgeEngineering (bmputers in Industry

electrode based on the job parameters. For exam- The data for arc time, auxiliary time, and number
ple, of electrodes per meter are available from stan-
(1) IF Strength desired > High dard data tables [3] and have been stored in the
AND Bead Shape desired = Convex knowledge base of the expert system.
AND Positions of Welding = All
AND Deposition Rate = High EDGE PREP. The objective of this subsystem is
AND Penetration Desired = Moderate to ensure that the degree of penetration is opti-
AND Base Metal Composition = High mum and thus to ensure that a sound weld is
Sulfur ensured. The main factors influencing the edge
AND Hydrogen Content desired = Low preparation which have been considered while
THEN Use E7015 electrode. preparing the subsystem are listed below:
(2) IF Strength desired > Medium (1) type and thickness of workpieces;
AND Bead Shape desired = Flat (2) type of joint;
AND Positions of Welding = All (3) welding position and accessibility;
AND Deposition Rate = Moderate (4) degree of penetration required;
AND Penetration Desired = Moderate (5) control on distortion of workpiece; and
THEN Use E6010 electrode. (6) economy of edge preparation method and
consumption of weld metal.
ECON_EVAL. This subsystem calculates the cost This subsystem recommends the geometry of the
and time taken to complete a welding job. The edge on the input job variables. The output is the
calculation is based on the standard data stored geometry of the joint.
in the program. This subsystem takes the elec-
trode specification, diameter, type of weld (butt, TROUB_sn. This subsystem is useful for solving
fillet, etc.), leg length/plate thickness (in butt problems that may be encountered during the
weld) and position of welding as the input data welding process. The problems may be related to
and matches this information with that contained the welding set, spattery arc, etc. The expert
in the knowledge base and performs the neces- system diagnoses the causes of the trouble and
sary computations for time and cost calculation suggests some remedies for them. For example
using the following equations: IF There is loud crackling from the arc
AND The flux melts too rapidly
Total Time = Length of bead
AND The bead is wide and thin
(Arc Time + Auxiliary Time), AND Spatter is taking place in large beads
Total Cost = Total Time THEN The cause may be moisture contamination
(Overhead Cost + Labor Cost) of electrode
AND The remedy is to use dry electrodes.
+ Number of Electrodes/meter DEVECW_AN. This subsystem analyzes the vari-
Length x Electrode Cost. ous defects in the weldments and finds the causes

I USER INTERFACE

t" ...... !1
KN~E DATI4.B~gE+ IIC~CK SM ELECT SEL I WORKING'"

FIXED I DYNAMIC II II - 1 -- ~ IIJoB RES-

DATABASE DATABASE TROUB SH IDEFECT__AN

Fig. 2. Architecture of the expert system.

C~mputers in Industry V. Goel et al. / SMA W expert system 125

and remedies of those defects. For instance,
IF Porosity is observed in the weldment
AND Surface holes are observed
THEN The cause may be dirt on the workpiece
AND The remedy may be to clean the workpiece.
rial, shape, environmental conditions for the job,
service requirements, etc.; this type of data is
different for each problem. The second is the
information which is inferred and computed by
the system.

Inference engine. The working of the inference

4. The expert system
In this section, the system architecture and
capability are presented. The expert system has
been implemented in TURBO PROLOG 2.0, sup-
plied by Borland International. The hardware
used was an IBM compatible P C / A T with 1 MB
RAM, 1.2 MB floppy disc and 20 MB hard disc.
4.1. Architecture of the expert system
engine is controlled by the rules developed for
the various subsystems of the expert system. The
purpose of the inference engine is to match the
relevant information on the knowledge base with
that of the job and draw inferences regarding the
electrode to be used, the welding parameters,
cost, time and edge design, etc. Weld defects
analysis and trouble-shooting modules constitute
a monitoring subsystem for helping the welder to
achieve optimality of the welding process.

The system was based on the conventional
concepts of the expert system in which the user
interface, knowledge base, working data base and
inference engine are developed. The structure of
the expert system is shown in Fig. 2.
User interface. The system can be used in the
menu mode or the sequential mode. In the menu
mode, all the subsystems are displayed in a pop-up
menu format, and the user can use any of the
subsystems by selecting that particular choice. In
the sequential format, the user is asked about the
job parameters and the system performs all the
operations interactively with the user having the
overall control.
Explanation subsystem. The reasons for the de-
cisions made by the inference engine are stored
in this subsystem. Whenever the user wants to see
the explanation for any module, the F1 key is
pressed, and the explanation subsystem activates
the reasoning process in the expert system which
is displayed to the user.
4.2. Capability and salient features of the expert
system
Currently, the expert system developed can be
used for planning and training in the shielded
metal arc welding domain of mild steels. But the

Table 1
Knowledge base. The fixed knowledge base is
System specifications of the expert system
comprised of three forms of information: (1) data
files which hold different material properties, Scope
Welding process Shielded metal arc welding
electrode properties, welding times for different
Steel types Mild steel
electrodes, welding costs, procedures; (2) other Plate thickness 3 ram-70 mm
data held as facts or in rule-based forms; and (3) Joint types Butt, fillet
information contained in a installation data file Electrode diameter Up to 15 mm
that is fed at the time of installing the expert Consumable All types of MS electrodes
system in any company; the type of information Main outputs
contained in this file would include for example Type of electrode All types
power tariffs, labor costs, overheads, electrode Welding current 40 A-300 A
inventory, etc. Travel speed 2.5-25 m m / s
Edge preparation Single/double Square edge
Complete welding
Working data base. This holds two forms of in- procedure
formation. The first type of information relates to Specifications
data about the type of job to be welded or which Trouble-shooting Weld defects and
will be used for selection purposes, e.g. job mate- general problems
126 KnowledgeEngineering Computers in Industry

system is extendable for any type of metal with
suitable addition of knowledge. The specifica-
tions of the current system are given in Table 1.
The expert system takes into consideration a
number of factors such as the nature of the job,
parent metal composition, current range for the
welding set, and many such factors. It then calcu-
lates the following variables for the job on hand:
(1) electrode specifications;
(2) cost of the job;
(3) time required for the job;
(4) welding parameters for the job;
(5) joint design for the job.
The expert system also trains the welders in
knowing about the various defects and the means
to avoid them. Trouble-shooting can also be
learned by using this expert system.
The expert system has the following salient
features:
(1) The system has been developed in a modu-
lar mode. The modular method provided higher
efficiency and ease of development; updating and
maintenance was also facilitated.
(2) The system permits the user to define a
core file consisting of electrodes suitable for the
welding applications within the company. Initial
electrode selection is done from the electrodes
available in the core file. This approach main-
tains the principle of minimum inventory by
avoiding the introduction of unnecessary elec-
trodes into the system.
(3) Given a set of jobs, the system selects the
minimum number of electrodes necessary for
welding the given set of jobs. That is, if the core
file is not defined by the user, then the system
develops it.
(4) The system permits the user to override
the decisions made by the system and carry on
the consultation even if the recommendations
made are not accepted.
(5) Electrode selection for a particular weld-
ing operation is based on the suitability of the
electrodes as determined by their manufacturers.
(6) The system selects the electrode, parame-
ters and procedures according to the criteria of
minimum cost per piece and is capable of trou-
ble-shooting. (For instance, the system can advise
on remedial action in case of excessive spatter or
other welding defects or problems.)
(7) The system can be used for providing

IJob Variables]

Parameter Selection Subsystem

Electrode Current Speed IEdge
Selection Selection Selection Design

Monitorinc Subsystem
Trouble Defect
Shooting Analysis

ECOnomic Evaluation Subsystem !

Abnormality
Observed
ime
I [ Job
for Ico,tof l ec=odel.-ight
IJob Consumed,, IDepsitedt, 1

Welding Process

Fig. 3. Working of the expert system.

Computers in Industry V, Goel et al. / SMA W expert system 127

M o n i t o r i n g Subsystem for defects/ difficulties~

e n c o u n t e r e d during w e l d i n g

Type of d e f e c t / d i f f i c u l t y
Weld defect T r o u b l e - s h o o t i n g ---7
Undercuts Welding set does n o t |
Spatter start |
Arc Blow V a r i a b l e / S l u g g i s h arc I
i o o , , o , , .oooooo
. . . .

L T
I n f e r e n c e b a s e d on k n o w l e d g e c o n c e r n i n g
remedies for defect / d i f f i c u l t y

Probable Causes
Weld defect -- Trouble-shooting --
Undercuts Welding set does not
i. Excessive current start
2. High speed of travel i. Line switch not
o o o , . , o turned on
o , . . o . , o o , , ,

Probable
1 Remedies
Weld defect --Trouble-shooting --
Undercuts Welding set does not
I. Reduce current start
~. Reduce speed of travel i. Turn on the Line
,, ,oo.o switch
o , o o o o o . o , o o .

Fig. 4. Working of the moniloring subsystem.

training to SMAW operators as it has been de-
signed to be user friendly.
5. Working of the expert system
The working of the whole expert system is
shown in Fig. 3. The user provides the input data
via the user interface, and the parameter selec-
tion subsystem computes the various parameters
like the electrode, current, speed, edge prepara-
tion design, etc. for the job on hand. Then, the
economic evaluation subsystem serves the pur-
pose of finding out the time for preparation of
the job and the cost along with the number of
electrodes and weight deposited during the weld-
ing. Now, the parameters selected are used for
performing the actual welding and the monitoring
subsystem monitors the welding process and if
any abnormality is observed then the parameter
selection subsystem is used again for selection of
another set of welding parameters, and thus the
welding process can be optimized.
The working of the monitoring subsystem has
been shown in Fig. 4. The monitoring subsystem
helps the welders in achieving optimality of the
welding process. Whenever any abnormality is
observed in the welding process, the monitoring
subsystem rectifies it by diagnosing the defect/
trouble and suggesting remedies for the same.
128 Knowledge Engineering Computers in Industry

Depending on the type of defect/difficulty that
is observed in the welding process, the system
draws an inference based on the knowledge about
the defect and finds out the probable causes for
the defect/difficulty and the system then sug-
gests a remedy which is implemented by the
parameter selection subsystem. The expert sys-
tem has been run for a variety of jobs, and some
of the sample sessions for various subsystems are
given in the Appendix.
6. Conclusions
This paper presents a SMAW expert system to
help plan and train SMAW operations. The time
required for planning for a variety of jobs is
shortened as manual planning may require
searching through huge standard data tables and
also SMAW manuals. The time and cost estima-
tion becomes less tedious since the search for
relevant standard data from tables is eliminated.
The customer can be informed about the esti-
mated time and costs for the completion of the
job within a short span of time.
[5] Andrew Taylor, "An investigation of knowledge based
models for automated procedure generation in arc weld-
ing domain", Int. J. Prod. Res., VoL 27, No. 11, 1989, pp.
1855-1862.
[6] C.K. Singh and Vivek Goel, "EX.-SMAW: A knowledge-
based tool for shielded metal arc welding", Proc. Int.
Con/'. on Systems and Signals, New Delhi, India, Decem-
ber 12-14, 1991.
[7] J.P. Stewart, The Welder's Handbook, Reston Publ., 1981,
pp. 16-100.
[8] The Procedure Handbook of Arc Welding, The Lincoln
Electric Company, 1973.
[9] Standard Data for Arc Welding, Welding Institute, UK,
1975.
[10] Joint Preparations for Fusion Welding of Steels, Welding
Institute, UK, 1977.
[11] Vivek Goel, " A knowledge based approach for the selec-
tion of parameters and economic evaluation of shielded
metal arc welding", M.E. Dissertation, University of
Roorkee, Roorkee, India, 1991.
Appendix--Sample run of the system
Since all the modules in the expert system
were developed independently and then put to-
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
~Choose~
EX-SMAW

Training through the use of this expert system Job d a t a | CHECK SMAW
Fi~_data I P~oduction Volume: 8
may help the welder to avoid the non-optimal Ch~k Sm~t Seam Length: i0
Elect --Sal !I Many ranges of weld sizes: Yes
selection of parameters. This model can assist a Edge_Prep { Initial equipment cost should be
Econ Eval [ less= Yes
welder in achieving optimality of the welding Defect an i Arc visibility required: Yes
TroubSh ! Is the operator skilled: Yes
process for a welding job. This model is one of a uit Chipping hamm~mr/ deslagging
very. small number of systems under development equipment is available: Yes

at the present time. The development of this CONSULTATION:

Seam Length i s n o t suitable for SMAW
expert system also highlights the need for stan- You may use some other process profitably
Do you still want to continue? Yes
dardization of methods for implementing expert
systems. The expert system as outlined above can SMAW IS APPLICABLE FOR !'
ALL CONDITIONS EXCEPT
help the welding industry a great deal if imple- ]i HIGHER SEAM LENGTH
Jl
mented properly. Fig. A.I. A sample dialogue of the CrIECK SMAWmodule.

EX-SMAW
References ===Choose~
Job d a t a ~ ENTER THE JOB DATA:
Firm data I Type of Weld: FILLET
[1] R.E. Reeves, T.D. Manley, A. Potter and D.R. Ford, Check SMAW[ Position of Welding: FLAT
Length of Weld (Meters}: I0
"Expert system technology--An avenue to an intelligent Edge_Prep 1 Strength: Moderate
weld process control system", Weld. J., June 1988, pp. Econ_Eval 1 Bead Shape desired: Flat
Defect An I Deposition Rate: Fast
33-41. Troub Sh 1 Penetration Desired: Deep
[2] Pierre Sicard and Martin D. Levine, "Mars: An expert Quit -
robot welding system", in: Machine Intelligence and =CONSULTATION
Knowledge Engineering for Robotic Applications, NATO Use E6010 electrode of diameter 3.25 ~
Current: 80-120 A
ASI Series, Vol. F33, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1987. Polarity: DCRP
[3] W. Lucas, "Expert systems for welding", Weld. Des. Fabr, Technique: Stringer Bead, Whip-and-pause motion
Visual Inspection~ Beads should be smooth and
Vol. 60, No. 7, 1987, pp. 47-50. clear of any visible porQsity, slag, or cracks.
[4] R.J. Kerth, "Knowledge based expert welding", Robots 9 Light spatter is acceptable but large spatter
should be removed with chipping ham~mer.
Conf. Proc., June 2-6, 1985, Robotics International of
the Society of Mechanical Engineers, Dearborn, MI. Fig. A.2.. A sample dialogue of the ELE{7t"_. 8EI. module.
Compute~ in Industo' V. Goel et al. / SMAWexpert system 129

EX-SMAW EX-SMAW
===Choose ~Choose~
Job data ENTER THE JOB DATA: Job_data~ DEFECT ANALYZER:
Firm data Type of Weld: Butt Firm_data [ i- UNDERCUTS
Chee~ S~W{ Position of Welding: FLAT Check_SMAW[ 2- WELD SPATTER
Elect_sel ] Thickness of plate (mm): I0 Elect sel I 3- ROUGH WELDING
Edge Prep ] Edge_Pre~ 4- ARC BLOW
Econ Eval I Econ Eval 5- POROSITY
Defect_An I Defe~t An 6- SURFACE HOLES
Troub Sh 7- POOR FUSION
Quit - uit 8- SHALLOW PENETRATION
----J 9- QUIT
CONSULTATION
EDGE PREPA/%ATION FOR BUTT JOINT :CONSULTATION~
Use Square Butt Joint with integral backing Causes: i- Work piece may be diry
Maintain Root Gap = 3 - 7 mm Remedy: i- Remove scale, dirt, rust, paint, and
And use backing strip moisture from the joint
Cause: 2- Steel may have low carbon content or
manganese content or a high sulfur or
phosphorus content
Remedy : 2-Use low Hydrogen electrodes. Minimize
admixture of base metal
Cause : 3- Too long an arc length
Fig. A.3. A sample dialogue of the EDGE PREP module. Remedy: 3- Try using a shorter arc length
especially for low hydrogen electrodes

Fig. A.6. A sample dialogue of the DEVEC'T AN module.

EX-SMAW
===Choose- F
Job data I Input data:
Firm_data I Labor Cost: $20
Check SMAW I Overhead Cost: $10
Elect Sel [ Electrode Cost: $2.10 gether into one integrated system, each module
Edge Prep I AWS Specification selected by system: can be run separately. A sample run of all the
Econ--Eval E6010
Defect An Diameter of electrode: 4 ~un modules is shown in Figs. A 1 - A 7 .
]Troub Sh ! Type of Weld: Fillet
Quit ] Position of Welding: Flat
Length of Weld Bead: I0 meters

CONSULTATIO~
Output data: -- EX-SMAW
Total Time for Welding: 83.1 min ~hoose~
Recommended Current for Welding: 120 A Job_data TROUBLE SHOOTING:
Weight of metal deposited: 1 . 5 3 k g Firm_data i- Welding Set does not start
Total Cost of Welding: $129.75 C h e c k SMAW 2- Welding Set starts but blows fuse
No.of runs recommended: 1 Elect--sel 3- Welder welds but soon stops welding
Electrodes consumed: 42.0 Edge_Prep [ 4- Variable or sluggish welding arc
Econ Eval 5- Welding arc is loud and sDatterv
Defect An 6- Polarity switch does not turn
Fig. A.4. A sample dialogue of the ECON _ EVAL module. Troub Sh 7- Welder won't shut off
Quit 8- Arcing at ground clamp

:CONSULTATION:
Causes: l- Current Setting is high
EX-SMAW
Remedy: l- Check setting and output with Ammeter
===Choose- Causes: 2- Polarity may be wrong
Job data CHECK SMAW Remedy: 2- Change the polarity
Firm data Production Volume: 8
Check SMAW Seam Length: 10
Elect Many ranges of weld sizes: Yes Fig. A.7. A sample dialogue of the TROUB Sit module.
Edge Prep Initial equipment cost should be
Econ Eval less: Yes
Defect An Arc visibility required: Yes
Troub Sh Is the operator skilled: Yes
Quit - Chipping hammer/ deslagging
equipment is available: Yes

EXPLANATION
SMAW is not applicable because
Seam Length > 10

Press any key to return to main menu ......

I SMAW IS APPLICABLE FOR

ALL CONDITIONS EXCEPT
HIGHER SEAM LENGTH

Fig. A.5. A sample dialogue of the EXPLANATION module.