Q: What does the name SORPAS® stand for?
A: SORPAS® is an abbreviation of the main functions of the software, which stands for

Simulation and
Optimization of
Resistance
Projection
And
Spot welding processes.

Q: I am a welding engineer. Can I learn to use SORPAS®?
A: Yes. It is our objective to provide a handy software tool directly for engineers to use in industry. With our training programme, it takes only one or two days for engineers to learn SORPAS®. Some users have even started using SORPAS® on their own. Experiences have also shown that it is more essential to have welding knowledge for making realistic simulations than to have only knowledge in numerical modelling.

Q: How much time does it take with the training course to learn SORPAS®?
A: Usually one day of training is sufficient for users who have knowledge both in welding and in numerical simulations. However, we recommend that it is more effective for industrial users to have a two day training course. The first day is mainly an introduction of theoretical foundations and some exercises with standard examples. On the second day, the users can have hands-on exercises with simulations of their own welding problems. In this way, the users can easily continue with the simulations from the training and quickly start simulations with their real welding problems.

Q: What is the difference between SORPAS® and other FEM software packages?
A: SORPAS® is dedicated FEM software that has been tailor-made for resistance welding. It has been developed by engineers for engineers directly to use in industry. All necessary numerical functions have been solved and integrated automatically with the welding expertise inside the software. Users will not need to bother with the numerical problems but only to deal with the welding related parameters. The simulation results have also been customized with graphical displays of the phenomena and parameters related to resistance welding. SORPAS® can be characterized more as welding software than FEM software.

Q: Can I simulate spot welding of multiple sheets of different materials with different thicknesses?
A: Yes. There is practically no limit to how many materials can be simulated/welded in SORPAS® provided that the materials are available in the database. Most of the commonly used standard and new materials are already included in the built-in database including steels, stainless steels, aluminium alloys, electrode materials and surface coatings etc. If a material is not already in the database, it can be added directly by the user or by us. The user is also free to decide the number of sheets as well as the thickness/material of each sheet in the weld combination.

Q: Can I simulate different forms and different materials of electrodes?
A: Yes. SORPAS® is flexible in this respect. It is easy to design the shape of electrodes and select different materials for them. There is a database of electrode forms integrated in SORPAS® which has already included most of the standard forms. Users can also add their own electrode designs into this database.

Q: Can I simulate AC as well as DC weld currents?
A: Yes. SORPAS® is designed with a graphical user interface for welding process parameter settings similar to the numerically controlled welding machines. It is free for users to choose the type of weld current including AC, DC, MFDC (Inverter) or condensator discharge, as well as define the profile of the weld current such as up-slope, down-slope and impulses, as well as conduction angle in AC.

Q: Can I simulate electric servo guns with programmable regulated welding force?
A: Yes. In SORPAS®, the welding force can be specified as a function of time with any user-defined profile. It is thus possible to simulate and optimize the profile of servo controlled welding force according to the desired welding results.

Q: How much time does it take to prepare a simulation?
A: If the materials and the electrode forms are available in the databases, it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare a new simulation for spot welding. If the technical drawing of a special electrode is available, it takes a few minutes to add the electrode design into the database. It may take some more time for preparing complicated projection welding simulations depending on the complexity of the geometry of parts, but usually it takes less than an hour.

Q: How much computation time does it take to run a simulation?
A: It depends on the type of welding problems and the speed of the computer used for the simulation. With regard to the computer, the speed of the CPU has the largest influence on the computation time. A large part of the computation time is spent for simulating the dynamic mechanical reactions, such as deformation and contact area evolution. Thus, spot welding simulations normally take less time than projection welding simulations. On a computer with a 3GHz CPU, it normally takes between a few minutes to half an hour for spot welding simulations. For a complicated projection welding problem with large deformation and dynamic contact area evolution, it may take several hours to complete.

In general, most of the simulation and the optimization tasks can be completed within one day or over one night. This is the unique advantage of SORPAS® to support quick decision making in industry.