Welding quality management made easy with digital solutions

Where sparks fly and seams are produced, mountains of paper pile up. Welding companies are under increasing pressure to work more economically, but the bureaucracy surrounding welding procedure specifications (WPS), certificates, and standards remains a time-consuming challenge.

Common standards such as EN 1090 and ISO 9606 are essential in welding production in order to verify the seam is produced to the required quality. In practice, they slow processes down considerably due to the high administrative workload involved. But you can now change all that!

How does data management affect the quality in welding?

Before you can even think about picking up the torch, a few basic things need to be clarified: who has the necessary certifications, and are they still valid or does the welder have to take a test first? A suitable WPS is also required.

So where are the documents you need? “Saved somewhere” on the company drive in various lists and folders! This conventional method not only takes a lot of time, but also puts additional strain on already frayed nerves.

Franz Bichler knows the problem all too well: “It often takes hours to manage welding certificates and get an overview of the welding procedure specifications so you can select the right one. It’s also easy to lose track of when qualifications need recertifying.”

As an International Welding Technologist (IWT), Bichler has been certifying welders and issuing the corresponding welding certificates for two years. More and more companies are telling him about the growing economic pressure they are under.

Manual welding data management has its limits

Welding supervisors in particular have to guarantee high quality standards while developing more efficient processes. However, it’s almost impossible to identify potential for optimization—let alone implement it—alongside their hectic everyday welding schedule. The switch to digital working methods is still a long way off, especially for small and medium-sized companies.

“Many supervisors still save the certification data in an Excel list on their PC,” says Bichler. “That’s where the chaos starts, because you quickly lose track when managing manual lists.”

Although orderly welding data management would save a lot of work, “there is no time to familiarize yourself with complicated programs,” says Joachim Böck, strategic product manager at Fronius International. As a high-tech enterprise, Fronius has taken on the task of solving this problem and closing the existing digitalization gap in welding production.

A cloud-based solution for a fast way to go digital: WeldCube Air

This is exactly where the digital cloud-based platform WeldCube Air comes into play. The integrated search function enables you to find the documents you need quickly. Before welding even starts, you can have the system conveniently check whether the appropriate welding procedure specification and qualified welder with a valid certificate are available. Automatic reminders mean you will never forget to revalidate welding certificates.

Simple WPS integration for more quality in welding

The sophisticated software solution also supports you with quality assurance for your welding production operations. WPS-compliant parameters (jobs) can be transferred to the connected welding systems at the touch of a button.

This allows welders to read the required WPS from the plan and quickly set the corresponding parameters using the Jobs function, which not only reduces sources of error, but also the time required to change settings.

With WeldCube Air, lengthy searches for information or matching up of WPS, certificate, and welder become a thing of the past. What’s more, you also ensure that the correct parameters are used, which actively reduces the error rate. And the best thing about it? You can test the cloud solution for free!

Get started right away—no installation needed with WeldCube Air

This removes a major barrier to going digital, as many digital tools are usually not only expensive, but also require time-consuming and complicated configuration.

“We have looked closely at the needs of our customers and focused on the essentials to break down barriers to going digital,” explains Böck.

The aim was to design the implementation in such a way that welding operations could continue seamlessly without the need for complex adjustments. Thanks to the cloud technology, no additional IT equipment is required beyond Internet access: “Simply connect the Fronius welding machine to WeldCube Air via the Internet and you’re done!” says Böck, highlighting how simple the process is.

The comprehensive welding quality management system

The platform is much more than just a digital store for WPS documents and welding certificates. It also enables all intelligent Fronius welding machines to be managed centrally. With just a few clicks, you can have all the relevant operating instructions and spare parts lists at your disposal or can conveniently roll out firmware updates to your devices.

In addition, the software provides a clear overview of all relevant welding-related key figures retrospectively for 30 days, making it easy to keep an eye on production productivity at all times.

Optimization potential can then be derived from this data. Time, energy, and material efficiency are particularly important in this respect, which is why it is worth taking a closer look at parameters like the average wire consumption or the arc switch-on time. You can define the evaluations as required, such as for an individual welding machine, a shift, or the entire machine fleet.

Certified data protection for maximum security

It goes without saying that Fronius ensures certified security (ISO/IEC 27001) and protects your stored data in accordance with strict European directives to give you maximum data security and protection against unauthorized access.

As a future-proof product, WeldCube Air is not only compatible with current (TPS/i or iWave) Fronius welding systems, but also future models, so it can continue to be used for a long time to come.

Upgrade options on the way

If you thought we’d exhausted all development options for the cloud solution, then think again! “We are currently working on a solution that checks compliance with welding procedure specifications and creates comprehensive reports for audits,” says Joachim Böck, revealing how WeldCube Air will soon provide companies with even more support. “In future, we also want to make calibration reports available on the platform.”

Have you already joined us in the future of welding? You can find out more about digitalization in our blog posts on weld sequencing and digital welding data documentation.