Lincoln Electric NX-4.310 manual Hitch and Towing Components, Lincoln Service

W A V E F O R M C O N T R O L T E C H N O L O G Y ®

SUCCESS

Pulsed GMAW		3/4
Automation	Valley Industries
tions. Waveform Control Technology® is	an inherently dirty environment for	V-5 test) which simulates thousands of
Lincoln’s proprietary welding software	electronics.	miles of towing under extreme
platform that controls and shapes the		conditions. “We take much care in the
welding output waveform. Since the	Hitch and Towing Components	design stage to ensure the safety of our
waveform is shaped digitally using	Valley Industries’ trailer hitches require	products, especially since most of them
software with an inverter-based Power	an average of 16 welds per unit. Most of	will be used to tow recreational and
Wave® welder, optimized results are	the components are plate and round or	commercial trailers at highway speeds.
delivered accounting for a specific	square tubing requiring single pass fillet	The consistent performance and weld
material type and thickness, electrode	joint welds that range from 1/2-inch to	quality of automated welding are
wire type and diameter, shielding gas	12-inches in length. On average, nine	naturally an enhancement in this area.”
mix and other variables.	component parts are loaded into the	said Ownbey.
	work cell fixturing to complete a typical
In the case of Valley Industries, the	hitch.	According to Ownbey, because the
material is typically mild steel ranging		robotic weld sequence and weld joint
in thickness from 16			locations are
gauge to 1-inch. The			programmed, the same
Power Wave welding			exact process is re-
power source delivers			peated time after time.
conventional MIG			This makes control of
welding procedures			distortion within the
as well as Pulsed MIG			welded assembly very
welding procedures			manageable compared
for more difficult joint			to hand welding.
configurations when			Engineering tolerances
controlling heat input			become less of a
to minimize distortion			challenge, manu-
is especially critical.			facturing costs are
			reduced, and more
“The Power Waves			options are realized
produce a very			in product design.
consistent, stable arc
and deliver improved			In tandem with the
deposition rates. With			Lincoln Automation
automation, faster travel			system, Valley Industries
speeds can be more			is utilizing .045-inch
easily accomplished			diameter Lincoln
than with manual or semiautomatic		SuperArc® L-50 MIG wire with a 92%
welding,” said Ownbey. “We are able to	“The Power Waves produce	Argon / 8% CO2 shielding gas blend.
manipulate arc characteristics, resulting	a very consistent, stable arc	The wire is supplied in 1,000-pound
in a weld bead that is more uniform in	and deliver improved	Accu-Trak® drums, which according
appearance. We also experience far less		to Ownbey, are delivering consistent
	deposition rates.”
spatter. Because these power sources		performance and are quick to set up.
create high quality welds, we are able		“The L-50 is the highest quality welding
to go directly to the paint stage of our		wire I have used in my 27 years in
processing, without having to do any	Demand and volume dictate which parts	manufacturing. Lincoln wire has a
grinding or finish work on the welds.”	are welded robotically versus those	distinct advantage in automation
	completed by manual or semiautomatic	applications, because it is clean and
Valley Industries also uses the real-time	welding. The robots at Valley Industries	very stiff. The copper coating doesn’t
Production Monitoring™ capabilities of	are currently running 24 hours a day, 6	flake, and it comes out of the container
the Lincoln Power Wave power sources	days a week to keep up with the	straight. Arc starts are more consistent
to monitor arc current, voltage and wire	demand. Automation allows the 250-	and overall feeding problems are
feed speed. Technicians and operators	employee company to produce smaller	minimal.”
review the information to assist in	batches of parts with greater speed.
refining weld programs and to identify		Lincoln Service
and correct problems. As an added	All new products are tested using the	“Our experience with Lincoln service has
bonus, Ownbey reports the Power	transportation industry standard SAE J-	been excellent. Technicians in Cleveland,
Wave 455M units are very durable in	684 test (more commonly known as the	Ohio, are available by phone and often