Executive Summary

The report summarizes the design process of Group 30 for the course Mech 463:
Mechanical Engineering Design. The project aims to propose a solution for a problem statement
posed by 123 Certification Inc. The project outlines the progress made in the Fall semester and
provides a course of action for the semester ahead.
In this report, we included a problem statement chapter that outlines the requirements of
the clients as well as the design parameters that need to be considered whilst conceptualizing the
final design solution. The focal point of the project is to improve the aesthetics of the clients
welding simulator so as to device a solution that better replicates a real welding environment.
One of the many challenges faced in arriving at an optimal design included the constraints that
were prescribed for the project.
Once the problem statement and constraints were clarified, we generated a few
conceptual design solutions as a result of team brainstorming. Our team came up with several
concepts that provided a range of design solutions for the numerous simulator sub-parts
including the sensor housing and the welding gun. Design solutions included the addition of a
handle bar, the development of a storage space in the empty compartment of the sensor housing,
material enhancements for improved product efficiency and marketability, ease of housing lid
disassembly, product re-dimensioning and part weight modification. The detailed explanation of
the manner in which these design changes will contribute to an improved design has been
outlined in the concept generation chapter of the report.
One final design was ultimately arrived at and the team proceeded to develop detailed
design drawings for the finalized conceptual design. CAD models for the final design can be
found in the Detailed Design chapter of this report. This chapter also ventures into the material
selection process for the design and the parameters that were considered in order to arrive at the
final material choices. Our group decided to use PETP plastic for the welding gun handle,
ceramic for the weld gun tip and acrylic for the sensor housing. The final design of the sensor
housing with all the added features is attached in the appendix section for review. Furthermore,
we ran a static analysis to analyze whether the sensor housing handle is able to support the
weight of all the components inside the box. The results obtained indicated that the maximum
von mises stress developed as a result of the applied load were still within the limit of stresses
that the handle can support.

Acknowledgements
We are using this opportunity to express our gratitude to everyone who supported us
throughout the course of this MECH 463: Mechanical Engineering Project thus far. We are
thankful to the guidance given by our advisor, Prof. Micheal Kokkolaras as well as the class
instructor, Prof. Damiano Pasini. We also want to thank our client for this project, 123
Certification Inc, specifically to Mr Claude Choquet, CEO of 123 Certification and Mr Benoit
Rouillard, Director of Operations at 123 Certification. We thank you for the collaboration and
assistance in helping us to reach near completion for this project. Also not to forget, Mr. Francois
Ouellet Delorme, a master student in McGill working on a thesis related to this project and his
supervisor, Prof. Frank Ferrier who is working closely with us to fulfill the objective of this
project. We are really grateful to be granted the opportunity to work on this project as our final
year design project in McGill University.
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................ 2
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 2
List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. 4
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 4
Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Problem Definition.......................................................................................................................... 5
Current Design ............................................................................................................................ 6
Client Statements / Requirements ............................................................................................... 7
Black Box Decomposition .......................................................................................................... 7
Quality Function Deployment..................................................................................................... 8
Literature review ......................................................................................................................... 8
Welding: .................................................................................................................................. 8
Arc welding: ............................................................................................................................ 9
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) ............................................................................................ 9
GMAW Arc Weld Simulation ................................................................................................. 10
Competitor ................................................................................................................................ 10
VirtualLogic Systems............................................................................................................ 10
Miller LiveArc ...................................................................................................................... 11
Concept Generation and Evaluation ............................................................................................. 11
Design Embodiment...................................................................................................................... 14
Material Consideration.............................................................................................................. 14
Prototype Manufacturing .......................................................................................................... 15
Welding gun .............................................................................................................................. 15
Nozzle ................................................................................................................................... 15
Tube head .............................................................................................................................. 16
Handle ................................................................................................................................... 16
Ceramic Filling ..................................................................................................................... 17
Sensor Housing ......................................................................................................................... 19
Sensor Box Static Analysis ....................................................................................................... 22
Conclusions/ Recommendations ................................................................................................... 23
Bibliography/References............................................................................................................... 24
Website Links ........................................................................................................................... 24
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Appendix ....................................................................................................................................... 25
Quality Function Deployment................................................................................................... 25
Gantt Chart ................................................................................................................................ 27
Concept Generation Sketches ................................................................................................... 28
Pugh Matrix .............................................................................................................................. 31
Final Design Sketches ............................................................................................................... 32

List of Tables
Table 1: Client Requirements ......................................................................................................... 7
Table 2: Morphological Chart ....................................................................................................... 11
Table 3: Concepts Generated ........................................................................................................ 12
Table 4: Final Design Description ................................................................................................ 13
Table 5: Material Selection Criteria .............................................................................................. 14
Table 6: 3D Printer Specs .............................................................................................................. 15
Table 7: House of Quality ............................................................................................................. 26
Table 8: Gantt Chart...................................................................................................................... 27
Table 9: Pugh Matrix .................................................................................................................... 31

List of Figures
Figure 1: Current ARC+ Lite model ............................................................................................... 6
Figure 2: Black Box Decomposition............................................................................................... 8
Figure 3 : Nozzle ............................................................................................................................ 15
Figure 4 : Tube Head ..................................................................................................................... 16
Figure 5: Handle ............................................................................................................................ 16
Figure 6: Exploded View of Welding Gun ..................................................................................... 18
Figure 7: 3D Model of Welding Gun ............................................................................................. 18
Figure 8: 3D Model of Welding Gun 2 .......................................................................................... 19
Figure 9: Locking Mechanism ....................................................................................................... 20
Figure 10: Isometric View Sensor Box .......................................................................................... 20
Figure 11: Hinge Mechanism ........................................................................................................ 21
Figure 12: Exploded View of Sensor Box ...................................................................................... 21
Figure 13: Stress Analysis ............................................................................................................ 22
Figure 14: Strain Analysis ............................................................................................................ 22
Figure 15: Sensor Housing Concept 1 .......................................................................................... 28
Figure 16: Sensor Housing Concept 2 .......................................................................................... 29
Figure 17: Welding Gun Concept 1 .............................................................................................. 29
Figure 18: Welding Gun Concept 2 .............................................................................................. 30
Figure 19: Welding Gun Concept 3 .............................................................................................. 30
Figure 20: Final Sensor Box Concept ........................................................................................... 32
Figure 21: Final Welding Gun Concept ........................................................................................ 33
4

Introduction
Welding simulation has been widely used in industry and welding school nowadays, with
huge benefits by conserving material used for welding as well as saving time spent to set up the
equipment and its risk-free for the user as well. For this project, McGill University collaborated
with 123 Certification Inc to improve their recent model of welding simulator. The current
challenges faced by 123 Certification is the current model is obsolete and improvements in
sensors used would give competitive advantage for the company over their competitors.
Our team is in charge of improving the aesthetics of the simulator, improving the
ergonomics and physical appearances of the components to imitate real life welding experience.
At this point, we have gone through the problem definition and concept generation phases. We
came up with a final design of both welding gun and the housing for the sensor through
evaluation using tools such as morphological chart, quality function deployment, pairwise
comparison chart and objective tree method.
In this design report, it will be broken down into several chapters of design processes
namely; problem definition chapter, concept generation and evaluation chapter, design
embodiment chapter, and detailed design chapter. In the problem definition chapter, the design
problem is explained in detail with QFD, background information and competitor information. In
this chapter, the problem is clearly defined together with the criteria for evaluation.
In the concept generation and evaluation chapter, methods used to come up with final
design is listed and explained. Utilizing method such as Pugh Matrix and morphological chart,
the evaluation of criteria listed from problem statement chapter is done to select the final design.
While in design embodiment and detailed design chapter, all engineering analysis used to
formulate the final design is included such as CAD drawing including exact dimensions of both
welding gun and sensor housing, material analysis, ergonomics design as well as bill of materials
needed to create the prototype using the 3D printer.

Problem Definition
Welding simulators that are available in the market nowadays are mostly non portable
and expensive and uses different technology to track the movement of the welder in which the
movement are restricted in some welding orientation. Thus 123 Certification proposed a new
design by using electromagnetic sensor as oppose to LED or visual detection. Because of this,
the company need a team of engineers to design a new housing that will contain the sensors and
the pickups of the new proposed welding simulator model.
Thus, for this project, our groups main concern is improving the aesthetics
representation of the welding simulator in order for it to be as close to real life welding
environment. Our client also proposed that the material used to build the housing should not
interrupt the working principle of EM sensors. In this problem definition chapter, we will further
define the problem using several tools to rank important criteria needed to be evaluated.

Current Design
123 Certification has assigned us the task of designing and delivering a prototype of a
portable welding simulator based on the current ARC+ Lite model of simulator based on the
existing technology developed by the company. There is a model available for testing at McGill.

Figure 1: Current ARC+ Lite model

The current design is a simple easily portable design consisting of a box, containing the
field emitter of the electromagnetic sensor, and the handle containing the sensor that is supposed
to replicate the welding gun.
The emitter is located inside a light, fairly resistant plastic container. The box is
rectangular and its dimensions are roughly 50cm by 30cm with the emitter located at one end of
the box. Outside of the box there are two plastic handles on the sides as well as a compartment to
store the handle. The main opening screws of the box were made of plastic however the handle
6

screws inside the container and the emitter screws were metal which we would like to avoid in
our design to avoid distortions in the electromagnetic field.
The box is connected to the handle that is supposed to replicate a welding gun in the
simulation. The handle is fairly big and sturdy: it is one of our goals to make it look more
realistic and professional. It is mostly made of plaster with only the conical-shaped end
containing the three-coil sensor (3 x 1cm coils).

Client Statements / Requirements

Figure below shows the requirements that need to be achieved as discussed with both our
group and the engineering team of 123 Certifications.
Table 1: Client Requirements

Requirement
Electromagnetic sensor
Compatible Material
Cost Effective
Improved Aesthetics
Realistic Design
Multiple Welding
Configurations
Ergonomic

Description
Uses hydra sixense sensor
Material chosen must not interrupt magnetic field produced by the
emitter
Must be within the budget of ~$800
Design must met market expectation in order to be presentable on
shelves
The design of the gun must imitate real welding gun to enhance
welding experience
Butt, T, Overlap and Pipe welding configurations
The users must feel comfortable while training to weld. i.e no
restrictions in movements

Black Box Decomposition

Black Box Decomposition involves outlining basic functions and organizing them so that one
can clearly see the inputs to the given function and the outputs or by-product of the given
function.

Figure 2: Black Box Decomposition

Quality Function Deployment

QFD or HOQ is a strategic methodology of gauging the relative important of the
attributes for the design. The HOQ additionally allows for different product that serve the same
function in the market to be compared with one another. The HOQ is an excellent manner for
designers to understand the priorities of the project so as to cater to the needs of the client
without digressing from technicalities. The house of quality is attached in the appendix (Table7)
section.

Literature review
Welding:
Welding is a method by which structures are created by joining pieces of metal or plastic
through fusion processes.[1] Heat is an essential component in the creation of a weld and heating
is achieved via open flames, laser lights, ultrasound or the generation of an electric arc.[2] The
Bronze Age is recorded to have first adopted welding practices which later translated into iron
tool construction by the Egyptians. Welding soon became the primary mode of iron structure
construction for Blacksmiths in the Middle ages. But it was not until the use of open flames in
the 19th century that major breakthroughs in welding were made. In 1881 Auguste De Meritens
first implemented lead metal fusion via heat generated through an arc which later became the
most popular welding practice in the 1890s. Until the 20th century most welding practices
consisted of heated pieces of metal being hammered to form an amalgamate by a process known
as forge welding.[2] However, a number of other welding processes such as spot welding, seam
welding, projection welding ,stud welding , submerged arc welding and flash butt welding came
8

to rise along the 1900s.[1] In modern times welding practices may be categorized into 4 broad
disciplines:
1. Gas Welding is utilized largely for piping and tube repair work. It is usually operated in
relatively low temperatures and find its application in the jewelry and plastic forming
industry.
2. Arc welding is an expensive form of welding that primarily utilizes electric current to
join parts.
3. Energy beam welding or laser beam welding is by far the fastest and most accurate
welding technique but is subjected to high equipment costs.
4. Resistance welding is the most environmentally friendly form of welding that utilizes
additional pieces of metal to join two metal parts. This process is however relatively
expensive and cannot be utilized in all situations [3]
Welding does however have its limitations. Stainless steel cannot be welded as they crack
and distort when subjected to heat. Alloys are also incompatible to welding processes due to their
indefinite chemical composition.
Arc welding:
For this project, arc welding will be the form of welding that will be subjected to
analysis. Arc welding is a form of welding that utilizes a welding power supply to create an
electric arc between an electrode and a given base material in order to melt the metals at the
sealing point. Arc welding can use either direct or alternating current. Arc welding can also
either use consumable or non-consumable electrodes. The region subjected to welding is usually
guarded by some type of shielding gas or vapor. These welding processes may range from being
fully manual to fully automatic. A relatively high level of workmanship is required to produce
good quality arc welds. Extended distances between the work piece and the electrode could lead
to the formation of a weak and defective weld. In order to form a smooth and continuously weld
one must invest a large amount of time, must have a lot of patience and must practice upon a
significant amount of material.[4] arch welding has many forms such as: Gas Metal Arc Welding
(GMAW), Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), Flux-cored arc welding (FCAW),Plasma arc
welding (PAW),Shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and Submerged arc welding (SAW).
Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW)
Gas Metal Arc Welding, also referred to as Metal Inter gas (MIG) is an automatic to
semi-automatic process that consists of a consumable wire electrode and shielding gas that is
injected via the welding gun. The power source for such a welding process may be direct current
or alternating current. Metal transfer in a GMAW may be globular, spray, pulsed spray or short
circuiting. GMAW equipment include a power supply, a shielding supply, a welding gun and a
wire-driven system. Cooling is obtained by a water spray.[5]

GMAW Arc Weld Simulation

In an attempt to time and cost of training welders a mixed reality structure has been
developed to virtually simulate GMAW. This structure is composed of a forced feedback device,
a head mounted display a motion tracking system and a welding torch. The simulator is built
upon the empirical results of a number of weld tests. These systems may further advance into an
audio tracking system moving into the future. The simulation is designed to run in real-time and
this is achieved by means of a neural network which determines the shape, the orientation and
the quality of the weld. The resulting weld bead of the weld is displayed on a screen. The
simulations also record the weld progress and growing weld quality of the welder.[6]
123 Certification has developed a hands on weld simulator that allows for multiprocess,
multimaterial, multipass and multiposition welding. The simulator provides results on a welders
performance by analyzing weld speed, weld distance and the depth of weld penetration. The
companys simulator consists of an electrode holder, a gun, a 6 DOF tracking system and a head
mounted display. The simulation is designed to run in real time in order to help trainees assess
the quality and shape of the weld.[7]

Competitor
This section will analyze the products that is readily available in the market and will be
used as a guidelines to innovate a new technology for welding simulation. The information were
acquired from respective company corporate website. The products specification and technology
is described and will be considered as a criteria to be used in our own product.
VirtualLogic Systems

Virtual Logic Systems Pvt. Ltd. Was incorporated in 2006. The company focuses on
developing products using Virtual Reality, Simulation and 3D Stereoscopic technologies. Their
product that is competitive in virtual welding simulator market is called VIRTUAL WELD.
The VR based Welding Operation Training Simulator has been developed for the Gas
Metal Arc Welding (GMAW). The welding torch is designed to replicate a real one with 6
Degree-of-freedom movement. The torch is attached to an articulated arm for accurate position
tracking of the welders movement. For the welders head position, VirtualLogic uses visual
10

detection by using a camera to track welders head for users perspective correction. The
working area of the welder is manipulated with movable screen to access different angle of the
part for different welding angle.
Miller LiveArc
Miller developed their welding simulator as a tool to
teaching and performance-evaluation device. The product comes
with a screen that monitor the progress of the welder performance
in welding. It provides valuable feedback on welding technique for
the users. It also comes with MIG SmartGun which can both be
used for virtual simulations as well as live-arc weld training.
The MIG SmartGun is embedded with LED and tracked by
a camera to accurately detect the movement of the welders arm.
To manipulate the angle of the piece, a welding positioning arm is
used to hold it at different angle and the tracking technology can be
equilibrate accordingly.

Concept Generation and Evaluation

The concept generation for this project is mainly done through brainstorming using
concept maps, reverse engineering, morphological chart and reverse engineering. After several
concepts is generated, each team member works on a design that meet all required criteria and
came up with a few conceptual design to later be evaluated using pugh matrix. Attached in the
appendix is the concept sketch that we made during the brainstorming.
Table 2: Morphological Chart

11

From this chart, we came up with few concepts such as follows:

Table 3: Concepts Generated

Concept

Color

Orange

Green

Blue

Yellow

Description
Closest to original product. Acrylic box, with lid tighten by six plastic
bolts. The hydra sixense is located at one end of the box, tighten by a
plastic bolts on a plastic platform. The welding gun is made of acrylic
with a goose neck shape. The tip of the gun is made out of plaster.
Raspberry Pi board is chosen for this design
This design is made up of a rectangular hollow bow with a storage
compartment next to the emitter, in order to store the T, butt and overlap
configuration plastic models. It also has a small plastic fan on the side in
order to avoid overheating inside The box opens and closes using a top
lid that clips on using little side hooks and slots that make the design
easy to open and close. The box is here made of epoxy resin. The handle
as well as the tip of the welding gun are made of PTFE plastic and the
gun is goose-shaped. A compartment is molded inside the box that is
separated from the storage space of the 4 models, that contains the
electromagnetic emitter. It will use an Amtel board and will only have
handles on each side of the box
This concept relies on a rectangular box made of acrylic that will both
have a compartment to store the T, butt and overlap shape models when
the simulator is not used, as well as the electromagnetic emitter on the
other side of the box. The emitter is attached to the box using four
plastic bolts. The lid of the box is attached on one side with a plastic
hinge. There is a small plastic locking system on the other side to ensure
that the lid does not open during transportation. This lock is also
indented so that the surface of the box remains flat during welding
simulation. The handle is the one closest to the average welding gun,
and is made up of two different materials: the handle is made of
polyester plastic that will contain the necessary wiring and the tip is
made of heavier plaster to recreate a more realistic weight distribution.
The device features two handles: one on each side of the box, as well as
a pocket to store the gun and a hook to attach the tube linked to the box
and the gun. Finally this design uses a Freescale Kinesis microcontroller
board.
The fourth concept is made up of a box whose size is reduced by half,
based on the optimum emitter-sensor distance. There is a foldable table
which, when unfolded, will support the welding shapes at the optimum
emitter-sensor distance. The box, which contains the emitter is closed
with a press-fit lid and the emitter is placed on a pre-molded
compartment ensuring that it does not move. The box is made of PVC
plastic material and the gun is made of PTFE plastic for the handle and
ceramic for the tip. Its shape is based on an average actual welding gun.
Outside of the box is a pocket for the welding gun that is opposite to
where the tube is attached to the box allowing the tube to be rolled
around the box when disposed, as opposed to hanging loose. Finally it
uses an NXP control board.

12

In order to evaluate the four designs, we used Pughs weighted decision matrix. Using the same
weights that we used in the QFD for the different criteria that we considered. We used concept number 1,
the closest to the current model of welding simulator as our reference and compared the other 3 for each
criterion. According to the matrix, it is design no.3 that collects the highest number of points. Pugh
Matrix can be referred to in the appendix section of this report. The sketch of our final design is also
attached in the appendix section. Below is the description of our final chosen design for both housing of
the sensor and the welding gun:
Table 4: Final Design Description

Item

Sensor
Housing

Welding Gun

Description
Our selected design features a rectangular shaped box, whose size is determined by the
optimal electromagnetic sensor to emitter distance. Inside the box, the emitter is
located on one of the sides and occupies about a third of it. It is fixed to the frame
using four plastic bolts: it is important not to use metal ones to avoid electromagnetic
signal distortion. The rest of the volume of the box is saved as a storage space for the
three welding configuration models: t, butt and overlap. a mold inside the box will be
made to ensure that they are secure during transportation and wont damage the
emitter. The box is easily accessible with the top lid. The lid is connected on one side
by a plastic hinge and acts like a door. When closed it is locked by a little plastic lock.
The knob for this lock is carved inside to ensure that the surface of the box remains flat
during the simulation. The box is made of acrylic, a sturdy plastic that will ensure
durability of the product and is easy to manufacture
The welding gun is designed to be very close with an average actual welding gun, both
in terms of shape and mass. The handle is made of polyester PETP and the tip of the
gun is made of plaster, a higher density material that will allow the product to replicate
an actual welder made from metal (which we cannot use here). The microcontroller
board is Freescale Kinesis, an inexpensive efficient and easy-to-use board. When
stored, the welding gun fits into a pocket located on the side of the box that will
prevent it to move. There is also a hook with which we can attach the tube to prevent it
from laying loose. Finally, there are two plastic handles, one located on each side for
portability purposes.

13

Design Embodiment
Material Consideration
Table 5: Material Selection Criteria

In order to function optimally, our model would need to successfully transmit and detect
electromagnetic signals without occlusions and would need to exude robustness and cost
sensitivity in design. In addition to these requirements the weight of the simulator weld gun
would need to reflect the design of a real weld gun and the weight of the box would need to be
minimized in the interest of maximizing design portability. Hence density, hardness and cost per
kg. were outlined as parameters that would help us gauge the ideal material to be used in each of
the 3 design sub components. It is also appreciable to note that all the material listed in the table
above do not interact with electromagnetic signal and hence transmission and signal reception
would occur without interference.
For the Welding gun handle we would require a high density material because we are
trying to increase the weight of the current design to ergonomically better reflect a real GMAW
weld gun. The hardness of the material for the Weld gun handle would also need to be high as
this sub component was identified to be the most used and hence subjected to the most damage
by continued use and accidents causing it to fall from considerable heights. The cost of the subcomponent would need to minimized in order to improve the profitability of the model. PETP
Plastic, Teflon, PEI and Acrylic were the different materials considered for the Weld Gun
handle. As viewable in the table above, PETP Plastic with a density of 1.38 g/cm3, hardness of R
101 and cost per kg of $ 3.66 is an ideal material for the weld gun handle.
For the weld gun tip, hardness and high material density were prioritized and in order to
meet this purpose Ceramic was chosen to be the ideal material.
Lastly for the material of the box, low material density and high material strength would
need to be top priorities with cost sensitivity being a secondary property. Acrylic, with a density
of 1.18g/cm3 and a Rockwell Hardness of R 120 would work ideally as the box material.

14

Prototype Manufacturing
The chief manufacturing process that our group has decided to utilize for the production
of our Weld simulator Prototype is 3D printing. Since most of the material selected for this
design process is easily available in its powdered form, it is easy to produce a finished prototype
using 3D printing technology. A disadvantage of 3D printing is that it is a relatively expensive
manufacturing process. Blow molding of plastic would be a much cheaper manufacturing
process to achieve the desired model. For our project however we are looking for manufacturing
processes that are available within the McGill campus and thus 3D printing was resorted to.
Going into the future, the mass production of the model would further weaken the strength of 3D
printing as the ideal manufacturing process but for an initial prototype it is an ideal
manufacturing process. For the purpose of our project, the Objet500 Connex 3D Printer will be
used. It is a multi-material 3D printer enabling the manufacturing of large models - 500 x 400 x
200mm (19.7 15.7 7.9 in.). Using patented simultaneous multi-material PolyJet technology,
the Objet500 Connex can 3D print models with up to 14 different materials in a single job
including color and elasticity gradients with the finest precision amongst 3d printers (16
microns).
The printer provides a realistic rendering of the final product. The 3D printer is available
in McGill School of Architecture
Table 6: 3D Printer Specs

Net Build Size

Layer thickness
Build Resolution

490 390 200 mm (19.3 15.4 7.9 in.)

Horizontal build layers down to 16-microns (0.0006 in.)
X-axis: 600 dpi; Y-axis: 600 dpi; Z-axis: 1600 dpi

Welding gun
Nozzle
The nozzle is based on a 23/23F nozzle design by
Tweco. Refer to the part number for the Lincoln P/N:
KP1930-3. This Nozzle was ideal because its shape allowed
for the largest volume of material as well as easy
manufacturing. The nozzle, as pictured, is a cylinder topped
with a cone, both of diameter 0.88 inches. The total length
of this nozzle is 3-1/4 inches.
You will also find that this design of nozzle is
common among welding guns used in practice; therefore our
design will not differ aesthetically. In order to mimic the
nozzle we also intend to maintain the same material colour.
Figure 3 : Nozzle

15

Tube head
The head tube is the piping between the nozzle and
handle. This part is specific to different welding guns in
terms of length and angle of bend. The most common
configuration on the market is the 6 inch, 60, tube head.
These dimensions very likely include the length of the
nozzle.
Fortunately, since the nozzle is over 3 inches we
can instead use a 4 inch, 60, tube in our design. For
design simplicity, and considering ease of assembly, we
maintain the diameter of the tube as that as of the nozzle. This continuity does not affect the
realism of the overall designs since welding apparatus does appear the same in many cases.
The curvature in our design is entirely smooth as it would be in an actual welding gun.
This best mimics the bending process for metal piping which would be a straight pipe that is
heated and bent into an angle. Unfortunately the curvature of our design does not fully represent
that of an actual design but will be sufficient for welding purposes.
In order to allow a filling to be added to the length of the tube we first reduced the
thickness substantially in order to create more volume for the filler material. Under other
circumstances this would reduce the integrity of the apparatus but since we intend to fill the
empty volume with a tough material there should not be difficulty.
For practical assembly this piece comes in two halves. It is not clear in the design how
the two halves are attached to each other but it can be simply described. As in toy making, the 2
parts are attached by forcing the pieces together. The pieces are held in place by snap fitting.
Adhesive is used between the two pieces for permanent attachment.
Figure 4 : Tube Head

Handle
The handle is the part that needs to the most
ergonomic in the design. In order not to over simplify
the design we took into consideration the overall
handle curvature and shape of cross-section. The
handle cross-section initially appeared to be circular
but was in fact a rectangular with rounded corners.
Figure 5: Handle
The cross-section was not of consistent area and
increased towards the back. The front of the gun was also of much larger cross-section. Taking
this into consideration, we can create a design that is close in appearance to a welding gun, so
that the user will get accustomed to its shape.
Like the tube head, the handle also comes in two pieces for ease of assembly. The two
halves are also snap-fitted together. In the event that the handle also has to have filler then the
design would facilitate for this.
One additional feature on the handle is the button. The button design does not differ from
that of the 123 certification design. This is because we found that this area of the design was in
fact accurate. The main differences between the original handle design and ours is that our
16

design is much closer in size to an actual welding gun. The shape is mostly maintained, but the
length and thickness are different. In addition, we intend to also change the weight of the handle
to be higher, hence more suitable.
Ceramic Filling
In order to increase the weight of the design, we have created some pieces made of
ceramic to be placed inside the tube head and the nozzle. For the nozzle, we only put ceramic in
the cylinder section because the sensors are expected to be in the cone section. The entire tube
head is full of ceramic. Since the plastic casing is too light to mimic the weight of an actual metal
welding gun our only option was to fill most of the volume with ceramic material.
There is room for ceramic within the handle, but since the layout inside the handle is not
defined it is difficult to create a shape for ceramic filler to place inside the handle. Our prototype
will most certainly include the ceramic parts in the design, including that of the handle, but we
have to consult with 123 Certification on what direction to proceed in considering the handle.
Our industry contact also has to approve of our entire design before we can proceed.
The final design of the welding gun is designed using SolidWorks. The dimension of the
gun follows a typical GMAW gun so that the aesthetics of the gun will appear more realistic and
close to real life look of it. The exploded view of the gun is also shown in this section to show
different part to be manufactured. The rest of the hollow space inside the gun is filled with
ceramic to add more weight on the model. Using mass properties feature in SolidWorks, we got
the rough estimate of the weight of the gun to be 0.402kg. There will also be a conduit that runs
through the bottom of the welding gun handle that contains the wiring that will activate the
trigger of the gun.

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Ceramic Filling

Welding Gun Handle

Figure 6: Exploded View of Welding Gun

Trigger

Figure 7: 3D Model of Welding Gun

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Conduit Insert
Figure 8: 3D Model of Welding Gun 2

Sensor Housing
The box is a rectangular hollow cuboid. Its dimensions are 360x255x155mm. All the
components are made of acrylic (including screws and bolts) since we want to avoid any metals
in the design to avoid electromagnetic signal distortion. The inside of the box is divided into two:
one half houses the electromagnetic emitter and the other half is used for storage of the welding
coupons (T, butt and overlap configurations). The emitter is to be bolted to the bottom of the box
using four pre-molded screws in the box. There is also a hole on one of the size where the tube
that links the box to the welding gun is attached (the diameter of the tube is 3cm).
The lid of the box is attached by a simple hinge system that is located on one of the
shorter sides of the box (where the emitter is placed): this will give easier access to the welding
coupons storage area. The lid is secured by a locking system on the opposite side of the hinge.
The lid is located under the surface of the lid to ensure that the surface remains flat when it is
used for welding simulations. There are also two small plastic cylinders molded out of the lid
that are used to secure the welding coupons in the upward position when they are being used.
There are two handles located on each side of the box in order to transport the box in a
horizontal way if desired. These handles are also made of acrylic and are attached using plastic
bolts. A pouch is located on the side that features the attachment tube to the welding gun. It is
used to store the welding gun when not in use.
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Choosing acrylic as a material, the box itself weighs a total of 1995.1 grams.

Sensor Platform

Welding Coupons
Holder

Conduit Exit

Gun Holder

Box Handle

Figure 10: Isometric View Sensor Box

Figure 9: Locking Mechanism

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Figure 11: Hinge Mechanism

Figure 12: Exploded View of Sensor Box

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Sensor Box Static Analysis

For the sensor box, we ran a static loading analysis with load contributed by all
components inside it (magnetic field emitter, welding coupons, material of the box, and welding
gun) and supported by the handle located on each side of the box as shown in the diagram below
(green arrows). This is simulating the box being carried by both handles with the welding
coupons stored inside. A really fine triangular mesh is done all over the sensor box to analyze the
stresses. The load is modeled as few distributed load on different location depending on the
where each components is placed inside the box.

Figure 13: Stress Analysis

Figure 14: Strain Analysis

From figure 12 and 13, we can observe that the handle design is sturdy to support the
whole weight of the box including the component inside it. The maximum von Misses stress

applied is located at the hinge at value of around 5 105 2 The lid of the box shows a small
stress applied at the hinge, provided that the lid is left halfway open. The green area shows that
the stress applied on that section is not critical, so, it is therefore neglected. We are overall very
satisfied by the design of the box and the choice of components, which will visibly make our
product a sturdy, durable one.
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Conclusions/ Recommendations
From this report, we outlined the progress of our project starting from problem statement,
concept generation, concept evaluation and consequently arrived at a prototype design which
was modeled in 3D using CAD software. We finalized the material selection for each component
of the welding simulator as well as the dimensions required for each component. Plus, the stress
analysis done on the sensor box shows positive results. Additionally, all design parameters
outlined were adhered to. The next phase is to proceed with the manufacturing stage of the
prototype with possible design changes if the situation demand it. A Gantt chart is attached in the
appendix section to show the rest of the milestones to be achieved.
We consulted Prof. Frank Ferrier regarding this project and as a result of our interactions
with him we realized that there is room for improvement in tracking the movement of the welder.
Our current issue is that there are a lot of error in measuring the distance between the emitter and
the sensor in the welding gun. To improve this, we can introduce a pickup on the opposite (away
from sensor) side of the box to minimize the error. Other than that, instead of using Sixense
technology, we can build our own magnetic field emitter, imitating similar working principles as
the Sixense Hydras current model.
The conduit attachment to the welder gun in current design imposes yet another challenge
for the design. The conduit restrains the movement of the user while in its simulation mode
where the user will not be able to rotate the welding gun freely while welding. Improvements can
be made to overcome of this problem by installing Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to activate the trigger on
the welding gun. However, the cost to implement this will be high and we are constrained by our
budget limit.

23

Bibliography/References
[1] Lewotsky, Kristin. "Welding Simulator Slashes Training Costs and Materials." Design World
Online. Design World, 03 Nov. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2014.
[2] Fast, K., et al. (2004). Virtual training for welding. ISMAR 2004: Proceedings of the Third
IEEE and ACM International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, November 2, 2004
- November 5, 2004, Arlington, VA, United states, IEEE Computer Society.
[3] Anon, 2006. Types of Welding. Available from: http://www.ajeepthing.com/welding.html
[4] Anon, The History of Welding. Welding - Information And Training Guides About Different
Types Of Welding. Available from: http://gowelding.org/history_of_welding.html
[5] Claude Choquet, 2008. ARC+: Todays Virtual Reality Solution for Welders
[6] Anon, 2014. What is Welding?. Wise GEEK: Clear Answers For Common Questions.
Available from: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-welding.htm
[7] Anon, 2014. Mig, GMAW, Wire Welding, MAG. Weld Guru. Available from:
http://www.weldguru.com/mig.html

Website Links
Figure 3: http://weshop.ph/s/Tweco.html
Figure 4: http://store.cyberweld.com/mituhe60de6i2.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source
=googlebase&cvsfa=2530&cvsfe=2&cvsfhu=6d697475686536306465366932&gclid=CJTW5cr8pcICFVGCMgodPG8AdA

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Appendix
Quality Function Deployment

25

Table 7: House of Quality

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Gantt Chart
Table 8: Gantt Chart

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Concept Generation Sketches

Figure 15: Sensor Housing Concept 1

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Figure 16: Sensor Housing Concept 2

Figure 17: Welding Gun Concept 1

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Figure 18: Welding Gun Concept 2

Figure 19: Welding Gun Concept 3

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Pugh Matrix

Table 9: Pugh Matrix

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Final Design Sketches

Figure 20: Final Sensor Box Concept

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Figure 21: Final Welding Gun Concept

33