NOTE: This portion of the documentation covers the weld schedule programming of the WT6000 Weld Control. This section of the manual is geared towards line builders, maintenance personnel and welding engineers to assist with procedures related to programming the weld control.

Table of Contents


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Chapter 6: Programming Schedules

In this section:


About Weld Schedules


what is a weld schedule?

A weld schedule is a list of commands (or functions), which are used to instruct the weld control to deliver a combination of heat (weld current) and time (weld time) to the weld interface, to create a weld nugget.

Essentially, the weld schedule is a "recipe" and the functions within it are the "ingredients". Just as it is important to use the right ingredients in the correct measure to make a good culinary dish, it is likewise important to use the right functions (properly programmed and in the correct order) to make a good weld nugget.

 

the Four Basic Functions

Every weld schedule contains four baisc functions: Squeeze, Weld, Hold and Weld Complete:

FUNCTION
DESCRIPTION
Squeeze
Apply pressure (electrode force) to the weld interface.
Weld
Deliver weld current to the weld interface.
Hold
Apply wait time after the weld current stops to allow the nugget time to cool.
Weld Complete
End of schedule.

 

TYPES OF WELD FUNCTIONS

All weld functions can be divided into six basic types:

FUNCTION TYPE
DESCRIPTION
Delay
Delay functions are used to cause a wait time to occur for a specified amount of time.
Weld
Weld functions are used to provide a specified amount of weld current for a specified amount of time.
Slope
Slope functions are used to provide either a linear increase or decrease in welding current for a specified amount of time.
I/O
I/O functions are used to verify, change the status of, or wait for certain I/O points to change.
Extended
Extended functions are used to extend the weld time until certain conditions exist.
Special
Special functions are used to create special conditions within the weld schedule.

 

complete weld schedule function list

For a complete list of weld schedule functions and descriptions, see Reference Chapter F: Schedule Function List.

 

example weld schedule

The following is an example of a typical weld schedule. The functions used and how they are programmed, are solely dependent upon the customers application. Notice that each function has a corresponding number. This allows the user to select functions by number when programming or editing weld schedules.

FUNCTION NO.
FUNCTION NAME
00:
START OF SCHEDULE # 1
82:
LINEAR STEPPER #1 ASSIGNED (0=0FF)
76:
SEC. CURR LIMITS: HI=00 LOW=99990
81:
TRANSFORMER TURNS RATIO 73:1
88:
TURN ON ISOLATION CONTACTOR
58:
TURN ON WELD IN PROGRESS
01:
SQUEEZE 30 CYCLES
30:
WELD 10 CY. 10000 AMPS
03:
HOLD 5 CYCLES
63:
TURN ON WELD COMPLETE
59:
TURN OFF WELD IN PROGRESS
75:
EXTEND UNTIL NO INITIATE
64:
TURN OFF WELD COMPLETE
89:
TURN OFF ISOLATION CONTACTOR
100:
END OF SCHEDULE # 1

NOTE: Functions (00) "Start of Schedule" and (100) "End of Schedule" are permanently programmed into each weld schedule and can be neither added nor deleted. Although, they appear in the weld schedules, they do not appear in the Insert Function Menu of the DEP-300s Data Entry Panel.

 

HOW to read A weld SCHEDULE

Weld schedules are read starting at the top and moving down, one line at a time. The time it takes the weld control to complete an entire weld schedule can be calculated by adding up all time parameters (cycle and/or milliseconds) programmed within each function throughout the entire schedule.

For example, in the weld schedule above, there is 30 cycles of squeeze time, 10 cycles of weld time and 5 cycles of hold time. Thus, the time to complete the entire weld schedule is approximately 45 cycles or 747 milliseconds (.75 seconds).

 


Programming a Weld Schedule


There are several user interface options available to program a weld schedule. They include the following:

  • WTC DEP-300s Data Entry Panel
  • WTC Raft Gateway or Weld Gateway Network Software
  • Robot Teach Pendant (via WTC's built-in web server)
  • Touch Screen (HMI) Devices (via WTC's built-in web server)

 

WARNING

In this manual, the DEP-300s data entry panel is used in all programming instructions.

 

 

Insert a function inTO a WELD schedule

Perform the following steps on the DEP-300s to insert a function into a weld schedule:

STEP
DESCRIPTION
01:
Press Program Mode (F2).
02:
Press Review Schedule (F2).
03:
Press Sch# (F2).
04:
Enter Schedule Number.
05:
Press ENTER.
06:
Press MORE (F5).
07:
Press the UP or DOWN arrow keys to move the cursor to the line above where the function is to be inserted.
08:
Press INSERT (F1).
09:

Press INSERT BY FN. # (F4) [Insert by Function Number.]

10:

Enter the Function Number.

11:
Press ENTER.
12:
If the function requires parameters to be entered, proceed to step 13. If not, proceed to step 17.
13:
Enter parameter.
14:
Press ENTER.
15:
For functions with two or more parameters, press the RIGHT arrow key to move the cursor to the next parameter box, then repeat steps 13 & 14. When complete, proceed to step 16.
16:
Press APPLY (F2). [Saves changes to the DEP-300s only.]
17:
Press DOWNLOAD (F4). [Downloads the changes to the weld timer. When complete, a "Download Complete" message wil appear.]

 

Delete a function from a weld schedule

Perform the following steps on the DEP-300s to delete a function from a weld schedule:

STEP
DESCRIPTION
01:
Press Program Mode (F2).
02:
Press Review Schedule (F2).
03:
Press Sch# (F2).
04:
Enter Schedule Number.
05:
Press ENTER.
06:
Press MORE (F5).
07:
Press the UP or DOWN arrow keys to move the cursor onto the function line to be deleted.
08:
Press DELETE (F2). [The function is immediately deleted from the DEP-300s.]
09:
Press DOWNLOAD (F4). [Downloads the changes to the weld timer. When complete, a "Download Complete" message wil appear.]

 

copying a weld schedule

Perform the following steps on the DEP-300s to copy an entire weld schedule from one location and paste it into another:

STEP
DESCRIPTION
01:
Press Program Mode (F2).
02:
Press Review Schedule (F2).
03:
Press Sch# (F2).
04:
Enter (Copy From) Schedule Number.
05:
Press ENTER.
06:
Press MORE (F5).
07:
Press COPY (F3).
08:
Enter (Paste To) Schedule Number.
09:
Press ENTER. [The copy is immediately downloaded to the weld timer. When complete, a "Download Complete" message will appear.]

NOTE: When copying a weld schedule from one location to another, any existing data in the paste location will be completely overwritten and permanently lost.


Default Weld Schedules


ROBOT mode:

The following are the default weld schedules for Robot mode in weld timer software G08300:

Default Weld Schedule
Schedule No.
Function No.
Function Name

1-29 and 32-255

00
START OF SCHEDULE # n
82
LINEAR STEPPER #0 ASSIGNED (0=0FF)
76
SEC. CURR LIMITS: HI=00 LOW=99990
81
TRANSFORMER TURNS RATIO 73:1
88
TURN ON ISOLATION CONTACTOR
58
TURN ON WELD IN PROGRESS
01
SQUEEZE 30 CYCLES
30
WELD 10 CY. 10000 AMPS
03
HOLD 5 CYCLES
63
TURN ON WELD COMPLETE
59
TURN OFF WELD IN PROGRESS
75
EXTEND UNTIL NO INITIATE
64
TURN OFF WELD COMPLETE
89
TURN OFF ISOLATION CONTACTOR
100
END OF SCHEDULE # n

 

Default Tip Dress Schedule
Schedule No.
Function No.
Function Name

30 and 31

00
START OF SCHEDULE # n
58
TURN ON WELD IN PROGRESS
01
SQUEEZE 30 CYCLES
59
TURN OFF WELD IN PROGRESS
63
TURN ON WELD COMPLETE
03
HOLD 5 CYCLES
51
TURN OFF WELD COMPLETE
100
END OF SCHEDULE

 

MACHINE mode:

The following are the default weld schedules for Machine mode in weld timer software G08300:


Default Weld Schedule
Schedule No.
Function No.
Function Name

1-255

00
START OF SCHEDULE # n
82
LINEAR STEPPER #0 ASSIGNED (0=0FF)
76
SEC. CURR LIMITS: HI=00 LOW=99990
81
TRANSFORMER TURNS RATIO 73:1
88
TURN ON ISOLATION CONTACTOR
58
TURN ON WELD IN PROGRESS
01
SQUEEZE 30 CYCLES
30
WELD 10 CY. 10000 AMPS
03
HOLD 5 CYCLES
63
TURN ON WELD COMPLETE
59
TURN OFF WELD IN PROGRESS
75
EXTEND UNTIL NO INITIATE
64
TURN OFF WELD COMPLETE
89
TURN OFF ISOLATION CONTACTOR
100
END OF SCHEDULE # n

 

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