In submerged arc welding (SAW), weld quality is greatly affected by the weld parameters such as welding current, traverse speed, arc voltage and stickout since they are closely related to weld joint. The joint quality can be defined in terms of properties such as weld bead geometry and mechanical properties. There are several control parameters which directly or indirectly affect the response parameters. In the present study, an attempt has been made to search an optimal parametric combination, capable of producing desired high quality joint in submerged arc weldment by Taguchi method coupled with weighted principal component analysis. In the present investigation three process variables viz. Wire feed rate (Wf), stick out (So) and traverse speed (Tr) have been considered and the response parameters are hardness, tensile strength (Ts), toughness (IS).
