by: Chris Gandee

It has been brought to my attention that some schools teach a weave on flat plate along with the stringer pass that already exists in the VRTEX® 360 system. Creating a weave and adjusting all the information that is required may sound intimidating, but it is not. The team here at Lincoln Electric has done all the base work for you. There are several weave patterns along with the associated information already in the VRTEX® 360 system. Here is the best way to gather all the necessary information.

1. 1. From the sign in screen, turn the instructor’s key a quarter turn to the right. This will get you in the “Instructors Mode.”
   2. Once in the “Instructors Mode” use the joystick to move to the “Tolerance” window.
   3. Use the red select button to enter the tolerances. If you have not created a tolerance file do so at this time, (see Novembers Tip of the Month). Note: You cannot change the “Default” setting. You must create a new Tolerance Set to make changes or adjustments to the tolerances.
   4. Once you have chosen the tolerance set, enter that set by selecting it using the red select button then the green “Continue” button.
   5. On the first screen inside your tolerance set you will select the joint you want to change by using the joystick to highlight and the red select button to select it. Choosing the practice plate would be the logical selection for this exercise.
   6. Once the joint is selected the next screen will be the process selection screen. Use the Process selector switch located below the front control panel and the joystick.
   7. Once inside the tolerances use the white directional arrows located on each end of the colored button bar to navigate through the tolerance screens until you see the screen with “Pattern” located at the top of the box on the left.
   8. Using the red select button select the box that has “Stringer” in it.
   9. In the right box use the joystick up and down to toggle through the different pattern selections until you see the word “Straight Weave.”
   10. Press the green button on the colored button bar or the “Set Tolerance” button.  Note:  At this point most think we are done. If we leave the system from this point nothing will change. We now must go in and tell the computer what weave dimensions we are looking for.
   11. To do this we must locate the weave information screen by using the white arrows located at each end of the colored button bar. Toggle until you see the screen with “Width of Weave” located at the top of the box on the left. Any of the existing weaves in the program already have all the information needed to fill in these blocks. We simply have to choose which one we want to use then transfer that information into these blocks. The first block “Width of Weave” is exactly that. This block determines how wide the desired weave will be. If you require the user to create a half inch weave then you select the “Ideal” block using the red select button and move the joystick up or down until the box on the right shows .50. Note:  Don’t forget to press the green lit button “Set Tolerance” before moving to the next selection. This allows the computer to save the information you just entered.
   12. The next block is the “Weave Timing” tolerance. Using the joystick toggle down one time until the box is highlighted.
   13. Using the red select button select the “Ideal” setting. Once the number shows in the box on the right you can use the joystick up or down motion to get the desired timing. Keep in mind you don’t have to figure this information out, we have already done that for you in another weld. For example; look at the E6010 3F position tolerances and you can find a ballpark figure.
   14. Input that information in this block. From this point you can move the time faster or slower. Again this will be a ballpark figure but it gets you very close to where you need to be.
   15. The “Weave Spacing” block can be treated the same way. The information exists; you just have to decide how far you want the user to move down the weld. A good estimate for this movement would be between 1/16-1/8 inch or in VRTEX® language .06 – .12. If you want a wider weave then simply use higher numbers.
   16. Once you have your numbers set, simply press the orange “Back” button until your reach the “Sign in Screen.” The information will automatically save in this tolerance set.

It is completely up to you to make the changes to personalize the VRTEX® 360 to your teaching methods. If at any time you find yourself too far out of parameters, you can go back to the default settings and start over. Keep in mind every change you make will be gone if you delete your tolerance set. It is always a good idea to save all the work you have done on a USB memory stick.

Note: Before you begin welding make sure you have selected the proper tolerance set. You can do this by looking at the top center of the “Instructors Mode” screen next to the words “Current Tolerance.” If “Default” is selected you need to select the “Tolerance” window use the joystick and red select button to find your changed tolerance set and select it using the red select button. You will now see the named folder next to “Current Tolerance.”   

Note: If your system is operating on software version 1.1.10 which can be found on the top right side of the “Sign in Screen” there are a few additional steps needed. To get the function to work properly you can go into the tolerance set and change the “Weave Width” block. Notice the only options you have to set are 0 and 1. Choose either of these settings by selecting “Set Tolerance.” Press the orange “Back” button one time which takes you to the process selection screen. From there select the same process again, this will allow you set the tolerance to decimals.