The Xiris Blog

Even the best users sometimes find it difficult to read through an operating manual for a software product. Recognizing this, Xiris Automation has created a series of easy-to-use training videos to help users set up and use the WeldStudio™ software utility provided by Xiris. There are currently 15 short videos available, with more being constantly created as new features are added to the WeldStudio™ software. The current video guides include the following topics:

• WeldStudio^TM Features Overview
• WeldStudio^TM Installation
• Camera Tools (multiple videos)
• Image Tools (multiple videos)
• Media Tool
• Virtual Camera & Raw Video Playback
• Backing Up & Restoring Settings

This video series offers the user a very detailed explanation of how to install the WeldStudio^TM utility, providing an in-depth look at all of the features in the program used to control the Xiris weld cameras. Special detail is provided on how to use the impressive video processing options WeldStudio™ has to offer, as well as details on how to properly record and playback video and raw images.

Xiris customers have exclusive access to the video guides through our Support Center website. The Xiris Support Center is a great resource for customers providing access to product manuals, the latest software updates and more. If you’re an existing customer and would like to access the WeldStudio™ Video Guides, contact support@xiris.com to get connected with Support Center today!

Better Images. Better Decisions. Better Process Control.

Follow Xiris on social media for regular updates and welding videos!

  

Xiris is proud to announce a revolutionary addition to our industry-leading cameras: SOUND!

At Xiris, we strive to be a world leader in developing sensors and inspection systems for welding processes. Our team of multidisciplinary experts have extended our weld camera product line with the addition of audio capture and monitoring capability. We are committed to continuously improving our products to meet the needs of our customers, and audio monitoring is something our clients have been asking for.

Adding audio capture and playback to Xiris’ weld cameras introduces a new dimension to welding quality control. Now fabricators can use two sensory inputs – sight AND sound – to help them determine if the welding process is functioning correctly or needs fine tuning to provide the best weld process possible. This enhancement gives operators another tool to assess, monitor and improve the consistency and effectiveness of their welding processes.

An Audio Waveform Picture from the Xiris Audio Recorder

A study in the January 2017 edition of the Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing found that multisensory evaluation of seam welds was 97% more accurate recognizing defects. Various academic and anecdotal studies confirm that sound is key to real-time monitoring of welding quality and process control for intelligent manufacturing.

Welders draw on years of experience to recognize what quality welds sound like. Each type of welding can generate a unique sound signature when it is “in tune” and when it is “out of tune”. In upcoming blogs, we will be talking about the different types of welding and what to listen for. We will also share more details about the Xiris audio recording and playback option and how you can add it to your operations.

Subscribe to our blog so you don’t miss out!

 

Follow Xiris on social media for regular updates and welding videos!

  

Laser welding offers several advantages over conventional TIG or Plasma welding processes especially for difficult to weld materials where lightweight, high strength and corrosion resistance is needed.

Advantages include:

• High welding speed (up to 60 m / min), especially for thin walled material
• Produces a small Heat Affected Zone (HAZ) with less joint distortion
• Favourable fine grain structure of the weld bead with excellent material properties
• Very clean welding process with minimal spatter, small weld beads and high precision
• Well suited for welding exotic alloys of stainless steel, titanium and aluminum

Since laser welding is fast and generates a small melt pool, it requires precise positioning (typically within a few tenths of a mm) relative to the weld seam. Even small misalignments in the fit-up can lead to weld defects in the tube such as lack of sidewall fusion or porosity.  

The Xiris SeamMonitor™ for laser welding has been specifically developed for seam tracking of laser welded seams. The SeamMonitor™ software in combination with a Xiris High Dynamic Range (HDR) weld camera enables real-time monitoring of the melt pool size and shape, and the relative location of the weld seam to the laser keyhole spot using machine vision technology.   

Video of the User Interface of the SeamMonitor^TM for a Laser Welding Process

The SeamMonitor™ system includes a Xiris open arc weld camera, industrial HMI controller, SeamMonitor™ software, optics and interfaces to integrate with other automation devices. It can be added to any laser welding process, either mounted off-axis to the laser beam, or on-axis through a suitable laser beam delivery camera port. Regardless as to how the camera is mounted, the SeamMonitor™ can help align the laser before welding, and monitor the laser welding process and track the seam during the welding process. All parameters and images can be recorded for process monitoring and quality assurance based on the set-up parameters and defined warning limits.

The SeamMonitor™ provides a powerful way to manually monitor the laser welding process while automatically measuring the laser keyhole-to-seam alignment and perform spot size. 

Contact Xiris sales to see how our products can enhance your unique process.

Welding automation is becoming increasingly more common and necessary to ensure high-quality welds and productivity. Using weld cameras, such as the Xiris CellView camera, helps operators see the welding process more clearly and helps them make any in-process adjustments. 

CellView cameras enable operators to view a weld cell from a broader perspective, they see the bigger picture of the welding process. This allows the operator to ensure the related equipment and area are clear and working properly. Since the operator can view the weld cell from a monitor with a CellView camera, the operator can work in safer conditions further away from any dangerous welding process. With the additional visibility from utilizing the CellView camera system along with other weld cameras, operators and supervisors can increase the “arc-on time” (time spent welding) by reducing the amount of time needed for set-up, or to make adjustments to the welding process while in operation.

 

Diagram of how a CellView camera would be set-up with another weld camera. 

The Xiris CellView camera is a robust adjustable color camera with a wide-angle view with motorized zoom. It is typically installed with the XVC-1000e weld camera for maximum results. As the CellView camera is integrated with the Xiris camera system, it can be managed and monitored from the same HMI. Coarse adjustments can also be made utilizing the larger view and the Xiris weld camera for the final setup. Xiris cameras can be located up to 100 meters away without loss of image quality making the monitoring of very large automation cells or multiple cells from a control room possible, and the addition of more cameras and views easy.

 

For more information contact us or request a free, one-on-one, no obligation consultation!

 

Our team at Xiris has always been dedicated towards providing an excellent customer experience, from the products we design and build, to how we support our customers before and after a sale is made. Creating the Support Center for our customers was our next step in improving the overall customer experience.

 

Whether you are an end user customer, OEM or distributor, there is content that has been customized for you. The new Support Center includes specific product related documents, manuals and installation guides such as trade articles, white papers, how-to articles, video tutorials, case studies, dictionaries or glossaries, and soon it will have a frequently-asked questions (FAQ) section. Essentially, the Support Center will contain anything that helps our customers and partners use and grow their understanding of our products or services such as our Weld Cameras or our Tube and Pipe Weld Inspection Systems.

 

Customers can create an account and have access to the latest product information and user manuals 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Forrester, a researching company, found that 70% of customers prefer to use a company’s website to get answers to their questions rather than calling or emailing customer service¹. We are embracing this and providing a platform that customers can use to answer their own questions.

 

Xiris always tries to be proactive in all areas of our business, including creating happy and successful customers. Our new Support Center is allowing customers to answer all of their own questions about our Weld Cameras and Tube and Pipe Weld Inspection Systems on a user friendly platform. This results in happy customers with a great overall experience using Xiris products and services.

 

Once we’ve demonstrated to potential customers how a Xiris weld camera can help their business, the technology practically sells itself.

Brian Dobben, a welding engineer for Flowserve’s Flow Control Division, could see the value as soon as he saw our camera in action.

“It’s worth its weight in gold. It’s just way too valuable not to have,” he recently told us.

Dobben credits Xiris’s cameras with significant cost and time savings, a higher level of safety, and more-effective operator training.

He also appreciates that we travelled from Ontario, Canada to North Carolina, U.S.A. to demonstrate the weld cameras and show personnel how to use the technology (it’s so intuitive, it doesn’t take a tremendous amount of training). Brian was also impressed with our quick turnaround on a necessary repair after a mistake by one of their operators.

We believe our high dynamic range (HDR) weld cameras can increase the efficiency and profitability of any welding operation, and we are committed to making our cameras a game-changing solution. But we don’t just sell cameras, we will do everything possible after a sale to help our customers reap maximum benefit out of them as possible—and that’s a lot of benefit.

To read Brian’s full account of his experience with Xiris—and to get a feel for what we could do for you—we invite you to download this testimonial.