“The PIPEFAB welding system is the pinnacle of Lincoln Electric, delivering optimal performance in specific pipe welding with intuitive, direct and simple controls, and a turnkey design that minimizes welder set-up time,” says Brian Senasi, Regional Sales in Alberta, Lincoln Electric said. Company Manager. Lincoln Electric
Gradual changes are common in manufacturing, especially in pipe welding. For example, if you have parameters for a pipe welding process, changing those parameters to introduce a new welding process can be more trouble than it’s worth. This is why a tried and tested welding method in some industries has a longer service life than others. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
But as new projects emerge, welding equipment manufacturers are developing new technologies to help workshops improve welding productivity and accuracy.
Proper root gap welding is the key to a successful pipe welding procedure, whether in the shop or in the field.
“Our TPS/i system is a MIG/MAG system ideal for root welds,” said Mark Zablocki, Welding Technician, Fronius Canada. TPS/i is Fronius’ scalable MIG/MAG system. It has a modular design so it can be scaled for manual or automated use as needed.
“For TPS/i, we developed a system called LSC, which stands for Low Spatter Control,” Zablocki said. LSC is an improved portable short circuit arc with high arc stability. The process is based on short circuits occurring at low current levels, resulting in soft re-ignition and a stable welding process. This is possible because the TPS/i can quickly identify and respond to process phases that occur during a short circuit. “We got a short arc with enough pressure to reinforce the root. LSC created a very soft arc that was easier to control.”
The second version of LSC, LSC Advanced, helps improve process stability when operating away from power sources. Long cables lead to increased inductance, which in turn results in more spatter and reduced process stability. LSC Advanced solves this problem.
“When you start getting a long connection between the pins and the power supply – about 50 feet. Range is when you start using the LSC Advanced,” said Leon Hudson, Area Technical Support Manager for Perfect Welding at Fronius Canada. Like many modern welders, Fronius allows you to record every weld.
“You can standardize welding parameters and fix them in the machine,” Hudson said. “This machine is equippable and only the weld supervisor can access these parameters with a keycard. These parameters can track the kilojoules per inch you are making with each weld to make sure you are meeting the correct specifications.”
While TPS/i is very effective for tightly controlled root welds, the company has developed a Pulsed Multiple Control (PMC) process to complete filler welds faster. This pulsed arc welding process uses high-speed data processing to keep up with higher welding speeds while maintaining a stable arc.
“The welder partially compensates for changes in operator reach to ensure consistent penetration,” says Hudson.
The AMI M317 Orbital Welding Controller is designed for applications in semiconductor, pharmaceutical, nuclear and other high quality pipe manufacturing operations, featuring advanced controls and a touch screen interface to simplify automated welding. Issa
In automatic welding in the workshop, when the pipe rotates, the hot channel is carried out at the 1G position, and the PMC stabilizer can be automatically adjusted according to the high or low points of the pipe surface.
“The TPS/i welder monitors the characteristics of the arc and adapts in real time,” says Zablocki. “As the weld surface oscillates around the pipe, the voltage and speed of the wire are adjusted in real time to provide a constant current.”
Stability and increased speed are at the heart of many of the technological improvements that help pipe welders in their daily work. While all of the above applies to MIG/MAG welding, similar efficiency has been found in other processes such as TIG.
For example, Fronius’ ArcTig for mechanized processes speeds up the processing of stainless steel pipes.
“Stainless steel can be tricky because it dissipates heat poorly and warps easily,” Zablocki said. “Normally when welding stainless steel, the best hope for a single penetration is 3mm. But with ArcTig, the tungsten is cooled by water, resulting in a more concentrated arc and greater arc density at the tip of the tungsten. The arc density is very high. Strong, can weld up to 10mm with full boil without preparation.
Hudson and Zablocki are quick to point out that every application proposal they make in this area starts with the customer’s program and what technology meets those requirements. In many cases, new technologies offer opportunities for greater stability, efficiency, and data enrichment to ensure that the job is done right.
With the PIPEFAB welding system, Lincoln Electric sought to create equipment that simplifies pipe welding and vessel fabrication.
“We have many different pipe welding methods used on several machines; in the PIPEFAB welding system, we have taken a focused approach to bring together all the different methods that can be useful for pipe welding and combine them into one package,” said David Jordan, director of Lincoln Electric’s Global Industrial Division, Plumbing and Process Industries.
Jordan points to the company’s Surface Tension Transfer (STT) process as one of the technologies included in the PIPEFAB welding system.
“The STT process is ideal for slotted pipe root passes,” he said. “It was developed 30 years ago for welding thin materials because it provides a very controlled arc with low heat input and low spatter. In later years we found it very suitable for root bead welding in pipe welding.” adds: “In the PIPEFAB welding system, we use traditional STT technology and further improve the arc to optimize performance and speed.”
PIPEFAB welding systems are also equipped with Smart Pulse technology, which monitors your machine settings and automatically adjusts the pulse power to provide the perfect arc for your job.
“If I have a low wire feed speed, it knows I’m using a low power process, so it gives me a very crisp, focused arc that’s perfect for low wire feed speeds,” Jordan said. “When I increase the feed rate, it automatically calls out a different waveform for me. The operator doesn’t need to know about it, it just happens internally. These settings allow the operator to focus on welding and not worry about working. Technical settings.”
The system was designed to create a machine that would allow welders to do everything from root roll to filling and capping in one machine.
“Switching from one technology to another is very easy,” Jordan said. “We have a dual feeder in the PIPEFAB welding system, so you can start the STT process on one side of the feeder with the right torch and consumables for a gap root pass – you need a conical tip to do this root weld, and a lighter one. gun for agility, and on the other hand, you will be prepared to fill and close channels, whether flux-cored, hard-core or metal-cored.”
“If you are going to install a 0.35” (0.9mm) solid wire STT root with 0.45” filler and cap. (1.2mm) metal-cored wire or flux-cored wire, you only need to install two consumables in a double on either side of the feeder,” said Brian Senacy, area sales manager for Lincoln Electric in Alberta. “The operator inserts the root and picks up another gun without touching the machine. When he pulls the trigger on that gun, the system automatically switches to the other welding process and setting.”
While it is important to have new technology available on the machine, it is also important to Lincoln and its customers that the PIPEFAB welding system can also handle traditional pipe welding processes such as TIG, electrode and flux cored wire.
“Customers definitely want to take advantage of the advanced STT technology for solid wire or metal core roots and Smart Pulse. While the new process is the most important, customers still have outdated or outdated procedures that they use from time to time,” Senasi said. “They still need to be able to run bar or TIG processes. Not only do PIPEFAB welding systems offer all of these processes, but the Ready-to-Run design has special connectors so your TIG torches, torches and torches are always connected and ready to go. go.”
Another recently released technology available as an upgrade to PIPEFAB’s welding system is the company’s two-wire MIG HyperFill system, which significantly increases deposition rates.
“Over the past year and a half, we have found that HyperFill technology is very effective in wrapping pipes,” said Jordan. “If you add a water cooler and use a water cooled gun, you can now run this two-line filling and capping process. We have been able to achieve deposition rates of 15 to 16 pounds per hour, using our best one-line process, we can get 7 to 8 pounds per hour. So he can more than double the settling rate in the 1G position.”
“Our Power Wave series of machines is popular and powerful, but the waves contained in these machines are not needed in the pipe shop,” Senasi says. “Things like aluminum and silicon bronze waveforms have been removed to focus on waveforms that are really useful for pipe welding equipment. The PIPEFAB welding system has options for steel and 3XX stainless steel, solid wire, metal core, flux cored wire, SMAW, GTAW and more – all the patterns you want to weld pipe.”
Semantic conclusions are also not required. The company’s Cable View technology continuously monitors cable inductance and adjusts the waveform to maintain stable arc performance on long or coiled cables up to 65 feet. This allows the system to quickly make appropriate adaptive changes to ensure stable operation of the arc.
“Check Point Cloud Production Monitoring can be configured to automatically send a message to supervisors when machine performance falls below a certain threshold. Check Point production monitoring closes the process improvement loop so once changes are made, you can monitor and validate improvements,” Senasi said. “Data collection is becoming more and more popular and customers are definitely talking about the opportunities this creates for them to better manage their business.”
Companies are doing their best to modernize already complex automated welding processes, using the ability to collect data during operations to enrich process feedback mechanisms. An example is the M317 orbital welding controller from ESAB Arc Machines Inc. (AMI).
Designed for use in semiconductor, pharmaceutical, nuclear and other high-end pipeline applications, it features advanced controls and a touch-screen interface to simplify automated welding.
“Previous orbital TIG controllers were actually designed by engineers for engineers,” said Wolfram Donat, lead software architect at AMI. “With the M317, welders are showing us what they need. We want to lower the barrier to entry into pipe welding. It could take a week for someone to learn how to use an orbital welder. It could take them months to get completely used to it, and to get It takes up to two years for ROI from the system. We want to shorten the learning curve.”
The controller receives data from various sensors, allowing operators to control their welds in a variety of ways. Touch screen features include an automatic piping plan generator. The schedule editor allows the operator to adjust, configure, add, delete, and navigate through current levels. In welding mode, the data analysis engine provides real-time data and the camera provides a real-time view of the weld.
Combined with ESAB’s WeldCloud and other orbital analytics tools, users can collect, store and manage data files locally or in the cloud.
“We wanted to create a system that wasn’t out of date by a generation, but that could meet the needs of the business in the future,” Donat said. “If a store isn’t ready for cloud analytics, they can still get data from the machine because it’s on-premises. When analytics becomes important, that information is available to them.”
“The M317 combines the video image with the welding data, timestamps it, and records the welding,” Donath said. “If you’re doing an extended weld and you find a bump, you don’t have to discard the weld because you can go back and see every instance of the problem highlighted by the system.”
The M317 has modules for writing data at different rates. For applications such as oil, gas, and nuclear power, the frequency of data logging may depend on the quality of the specific components. To qualify a weld, a third party may need accurate data to show that there were no deviations in current, voltage, or anywhere else during the welding process.
All these companies show that welders have more and more data and feedback mechanisms to create better pipe welds. With these technologies, the future looks bright.
Robert Colman has been a writer and editor for 20 years covering the needs of various industries. He has been dedicated to the metalworking industry for the past seven years, serving as editor for Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) and, since January 2016, the editor of Canadian Fabricating & Welding. He has been dedicated to the metalworking industry for the past seven years, serving as editor for Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) and, since January 2016, the editor of Canadian Fabricating & Welding. Последние семь лет он посвятил себя металлообрабатывающей промышленности, работая редактором журнала Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P), а с января 2016 года — редактором Canadian Fabricating & Welding. For the past seven years, he has been dedicated to the metalworking industry, serving as Editor of Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) and since January 2016 as Editor of Canadian Fabricating & Welding.在过去的七年里，他一直致力于金属加工行业，担任Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) 的编辑，并自2016 年1 月起担任Canadian Fabricating & Welding 的编辑。在过去的七年里，他一直致力于金属加工行业，担任Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) Последние семь лет он работал в металлообрабатывающей промышленности в качестве редактора журнала Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P), а с января 2016 года — в качестве редактора Canadian Fabricating & Welding. For the past seven years, he has worked in the metalworking industry as editor of Metalworking Production & Purchasing (MP&P) and since January 2016 as editor of Canadian Fabricating & Welding. He is a graduate of McGill University with a bachelor’s and master’s degree from UBC.
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