Product category:
Automatic and robotic welding systems
News Release from: ESAB | Subject: Twin-wire SAW system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 27 May 2005
Twin-wire SAW raises productivity
three-fold
A custom-built twin-wire beam welder has increased productivity by a factor of between three and four compared with the double-headed single-wire SAW system that it replaced.
Metal Design and Fabrication (MDF) Engineering, based in Northern Ireland, has seen demand increase for the frames it fabricates for 40-foot lorry trailers constructed in the UK and mainland Europe To cope with the higher throughput required, the company has purchased a custom-built beam welder from ESAB which is virtually identical to another machine it bought some five years ago
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 14 Apr 2008 at 8.00am (UK)
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As with the original set-up, the new equipment consists of an ESAB Side Boom manipulator mounted on a compact track that requires minimal floor space.
While the carriage is driven along the track to weld the beam components, operators are able to unload a finished beam from a parallel fixture and load another set of components ready for welding.
The boom rotates between the fixtures, enabling changeover times to be very fast.
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Twin ESAB A6 welding heads carry out submerged arc welding concurrently on either side of the web, and twin wires are fed to each head via D20 contact tubes.
An ESAB TPC 75 pressure tank feeds flux to the welding heads and a special OPC flux recovery unit is also installed on the carriage.
Two PEH 1 control units are used on the new machine (the first beam welder made use of the earlier PEG controllers), which receive a tacho feedback signal from a VEC motor that drives the carriage along the rail.
Accurate positioning of the welding heads is achieved by means of ESAB GMD guidance units that control the vertical slides and the horizontal position of the carriage.
Welding voltage and current (typically 580A and 29V) are set on the PEH 1 control units, which then monitor the actual values to ensure they are within tolerance.
Power to each welding head is supplied by of ESAB LAF welding power sources, and all controls other than the welding parameters are located on a remote control unit that the operator can use anywhere on the machine while the components are being positioned and welded.
After installing the first ESAB beam welding machine, MDF found that productivity increased by a factor of between three and four compared with the double-headed single-wire SAW system that it replaced.
This experience, coupled with the reliability of the equipment, led the company to approach ESAB as soon as it became clear that another machine was required.
Damian McKee, Manager of the MDF Engineering plant in Antrim, comments: "Several years ago we installed the first ESAB beam welding machine and we have been extremely pleased with its performance and reliability".
"We looked at what other suppliers could offer for the new machine, but we came back to ESAB, convinced that an identical machine, albeit updated, would best fulfil our needs".
"ESAB's customer service has always been good, so we had no hesitation in placing the new contract with ESAB." In addition to the ESAB machinery, MDF Engineering also uses ESAB consumables.
The beam welders utilise 2.4mm diameter OK Tubrod 14.00S cored wire with OK Flux 10.71.
This combination gives high deposition rates (typically the travel is set at 130cm/min) with fillet weld beads that have round but relatively flat penetration.
Good blending of the toes also gives an attractive appearance and, most importantly for lorry trailers, is resistant to fatigue-induced cracking that might otherwise result from the dynamic loading conditions.
The welding performance is also consistently good despite the wide range of plate thicknesses that are welded; horizontal strips are from 4 to 8mm thick, and vertical plates from 8 to 20mm.
A further benefit of the ESAB consumables is that the slag releases easily, which saves time and helps to achieve the high throughput required. Request a free brochure from ESAB ...
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