With the rise in implementation of machine learning and continuous improvement systems, data collection has never been more important. Welding plays a critical part in the production and success of many products, so it makes sense to want to record data around this important step in manufacturing. Lincoln Electric PowerWave machines are Industry 4.0 ready out of the box, making them the perfect choice wherever production and quality information is in use.

Without the welding data, the verification and modelling of a production system will be inaccurate and a true representation of the system will be impossible to produce. This data has many applications, from optimizing cycle times right through to quality control metrics and warranty claim proof.

Lincoln Electrics Checkpoint system is a cloud based, license free data collection and analysis package provided free of charge with all PowerWave welders. Checkpoint allows the easy and secure collection of important metrics from the welder as well as the ability to contextualize this information to enable further analysis and optimization. When a preset out of range condition is encountered, then the system is capable of sending an alert to the operator and supervisor/manager/quality team. This out of range condition will also be recorded along with the other data for further analysis down the track. Using this data, you can reduce or eliminate the conditions that cause this, thereby optimising your overall process.

Imagine being able to go back through the data and find out who welded a particular part serial number, at what time, with what machine, with what consumable batch number and even what welding process they used. In addition to this, metrics like the average WFS, voltage and amperage along with the amount of material deposited and gas consumption are also available.

While summary information is generally the most useful data to have, sometimes you really want real-time information on what is happening at the machine. PowerWave can cater to this as well, with support for MQTT and high speed data channels with all the important information continuously being produced for consumption by your onsite systems. In combination with your on site servers and analysis tools, this provides a powerful picture of what is happening at the weld.

With this and other sources of data, you can bring the full power of Industry 4.0 to your facility, enabling you to be more efficient, more flexible and more productive.