title = "Welding Equipment Maintenance and Calibration"

content = """
Welding equipment at Ridgecrest Metalworks — MIG/MAG welders, TIG welders, MMA (stick) welders, plasma cutters, and resistance spot welders — requires regular maintenance and periodic calibration to ensure weld quality and process repeatability. Poorly maintained welding equipment produces inconsistent welds and is a leading cause of weld quality problems.

MIG/MAG welder maintenance:
- Wire feed system: The wire liner and drive rolls must be inspected and cleaned monthly. A contaminated or worn liner causes erratic wire feed (birdnesting, burn-back, and stubbing), which produces spattery, inconsistent welds. Drive rolls must match the wire diameter and type (V-groove for solid wire, U-groove for flux-core). Drive roll pressure is set to the minimum needed to feed consistently — over-tightening deforms the wire and increases resistance in the liner.
- MIG gun and consumables: Contact tips are consumable items that wear and should be replaced when the bore becomes oversized (measured with a wire gauge or by observation of arc instability). Nozzles are cleaned of spatter daily using a wire brush or nozzle cleaning compound; anti-spatter spray reduces adhesion. Diffusers are inspected for gas flow obstruction.
- Gas supply: Check shielding gas hose connections for leaks (soapy water or electronic leak detector); low gas flow or gas leaks cause porosity. Verify the correct gas mix (CO₂, Ar/CO₂, Ar/O₂ as specified by the WPS) is connected and the cylinder is not nearly empty.
- Power source: Fan operation, internal air filter cleaning (quarterly), and cable connection tightness (power cable, work return cable) are checked during PM.

TIG welder maintenance: Torch body and back cap condition; collet and collet body fit (loose fit causes arc wander); tungsten electrode condition (contamination or incorrect profile causes arc instability and weld contamination); water-cooled torch coolant level and flow.

Welder calibration: Welding power sources that are used under qualified Welding Procedure Specifications (WPS) must have their output calibrated (amperage and voltage) at defined intervals — typically annually — against a calibrated reference meter. The calibration verifies that the machine's front panel display accurately reflects actual output, which is critical to ensuring welding parameters conform to the WPS. Calibration records are kept with the equipment file.

Resistance spot welders: Electrode tip condition (dressing frequency and tip replacement schedule), cooling water flow, and weld force calibration are maintained per the spot weld schedule and equipment manufacturer's recommendations.
"""

version = "0.0.1"
