Patent ID: 7495766

Claim:
A system for analyzing and controlling application of a lubricant onto a surface of a welding wire during the process of manufacturing the wire, comprising: an applicator positioned to receive a moving wire and to apply controlled amounts of lubricant to the wire as the welding wire passes through the applicator; a beam generator positioned to emit a beam which impinges onto a surface of the welding wire after the lubricant has been applied to the surface of the welding wire by the applicator; a detector positioned to receive a reflected beam from the surface of the welding wire, the reflected beam being generated from the impinging beam, and the reflected beam having attributes detected by the detector which determines characteristics of the lubricant on the surface of the welding wire; and a feedback circuit in operable connection with the detector and the applicator, wherein outputs from the detector are provided to the feedback circuit which generates feedback control signals supplied to the applicator and based on the feedback control signals, operation of the applicator is adjusted.