Laser measurement improves cutting and welding

PCI Energy Services, a field welding and machining services provider, has purchased a Faro Technologies Laser Tracker to improve the efficiency and accuracy of their cutting and welding.

PCI Energy Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Westinghouse Electric Company, specialises in field welding and machining services, laser metrology, tool design and manufacturing, and quality assurance/control.

"When we used large mechanical templates to transfer data from a large vessel to another, we could spend three days to a week moving the mechanical fixture," Christopher Vettese, PCI Metrology Business Development Leader said.

"If it was bumped, or the results provided were not as expected, it is required to repeat the verification process, which could result in an additional three days".

Although PCI has used its metrology technology on 24 Steam Generator Replacement Projects (SGRPs) since 1993, they now use a fleet of Faro Laser Trackers to improve the efficiency and accuracy of cutting and welding for those projects.

Their metrology group is a full-service vendor that also uses the Trackers for inspections, equipment alignment, and their proprietary templating process.

PCI has used Faro Laser Trackers on a variety of projects.

One project was to create a centreline and map of a vertical turbine's multiple seal surfaces.

Once the mapping was completed, a report was generated to apply different machining options.

This work used to be performed with piano wire and hard measurements.

The measuring and analysis that used to require days was applied in one shift with the Faro Tracker.

Another project that PCI was able to use the Tracker on was Inspecting a reactor coolant pump flange seal that was failing during operation.

The Faro Tracker helped identify the out-of-tolerance situation, and provided alignment to correctly machine the pump while it was in place.

Since the PCI metrology group is cross trained in machining - which makes them a very cost-effective solution - they were able to perform both the inspection and the repair on the same visit.

PCI has become a leading one-stop shop for metrology, machining, and welding by offering industry-leading equipment, training and technologies.

Using the Faro Tracker has enabled them to shorten job cycles exponentially, completing in one shift what used to take many days, saving PCI and their customers both time and money.

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