Ensuring weld tip quality is one of the most critical factors in producing high quality, consistent spot welds.

The new Weld Tip System from The Orbitform Group (www.orbitform.com) is designed to inspect robotic spot welding electrodes (tips) and to ensure that face diameters and general appearance meet acceptance criteria.

By incorporating state-of-the-art cure technology (concurrent universal recognition engine memory processing architecture), the system provides an effective and easy way to provide welding engineers and business managers with critical return-on-investment information.

The Orbitform Group said its Weld Tip System offers significant cost savings and cost avoidance potential including:

• Cost savings from decreases in downtime and labor costs associated with non-optimized processes and tip quality management.
• Cost avoidance when the system acts as a constant set of eyes on the welding process.

The risk of quality issues associated with spot welds, especially for safety components, can be costly to manufacturers. However, while it is good practice to use tip dressers and stepper profiles, the Orbitform Group said they offer a false sense of security when the condition of weld tips is not monitored. For traceability and tip management purposes, the Weld Tip System can store images of inspected tips.