MIG of the future !

**torqueman** · 08-18-2009, 12:02 PM

So that being the case how would the system measure resistance so it knows to increase the amps? Pretty hard to measure the resistance of an air gap I would think. Maybe it could use a laser to measure the gap then adjust according to that?

**junes** · 08-18-2009, 02:22 PM

who knows they have pretty cool stuff out now they can even weld aluminum to steel and have a tensile strenght of the aluminum. So anything is possible i guess.

**matteh99** · 08-18-2009, 06:36 PM

I love how this topic went pretty far with no additional information from the first poster. Just a whole bunch of speculation.

So here are my two cents

To make a "smart" system you need some sort of feed back to the controller so it knows what to do. Maybe a system the monitors the temperature of the metal around the weld would provide useful feedback. But it does seem like more work than it is worth. It would also take some time for the welder to react so the start of the weld may be to hot or to cold.

How about adding on a device like spool gun that would dynamically resize the wire as need. Along with adjusting the voltage, current, feed rate, gas flow, percent mix of argon and CO2 and give you a back massage, make you a sandwich and get you a beer, all at the same time.

Probably the only use for resizing the wire on the fly would be for doing a continuous weld on varying thickness of metal. For that TIG with a Foot Pedal would probably be easier. Of course the Beer and Sandwich add-on would be useful at any time

.

Eric

**junes** · 08-18-2009, 07:38 PM

Y would you have toresize the wire? Do you mean the spool
size or the diameter of the wire?

**matteh99** · 08-18-2009, 07:48 PM

I was thinking the diameter of the wire. You can buy different wire sizes so why not have something that resizes on the fly? (I meant it as a joke)

It is a silly idea with no real purpose that I can think of.

**junes** · 08-18-2009, 08:21 PM

Lol why hasn't the original poster ever said anything else

**Gadget** · 08-18-2009, 09:05 PM

His post on Dec 23 08 was the last time he was logged in here. Not sure why he hasn't come back. We sure got a lot of miles out of his post.

**torqueman** · 08-19-2009, 08:10 PM

Yes this one did get out there but you got to have fun once in a while. I guess the ultimate would be a Star Trek transporter device that you could just tell the computer to merge the atoms of two edges during transport.

**junes** · 08-19-2009, 08:56 PM

So they y would we need weldors? I would be out of a job lol but maybe that could also make my job easyier hmmm. If only those atoms would listen.

**torqueman** · 08-20-2009, 09:49 AM

It is the way of progress. The rail road put the pony express out of business.

There is still a large number of practicing blacksmiths so I would expect welding would continue as a art form if nothing else.

I wonder how many people here really are employed as welders vs. hobbyist like me? I am a consulting systems engineer and I know there is only one manufacturing business I deal with that still has welders. All the rest use robots or other automated processes.