A metal fabrication company located in Charlotte, North Carolina received an order for 300 small I.D. vessels for titanium molds. At the time they were using FCAW and back gouging the inside and outside of the vessels to achieve 100% penetration. On average they were producing 2 vessels per hour with 2 welders.
They reached out to Red-D-Arc to find a faster and more efficient way to produce these vessels. After discussions with Red-D-Arc the fabricator decided to purchase a bespoke submerged arc system.The custom designed system came complete with a small I.D. sub arc welding head mounted on a 9’x9′ column and boom, flux recovery system, NA5R automatic wire feeder, DC600 multi-process welder and 5 ton rotators. The system also included a laser and camera for precise control and monitoring of the submerged arc welding process.
The submerged arc system increased productivity by 250%. They were able to produce 5 cans per hour with half the labor cost. The safety of the work place was also significantly increased for a number of reasons:
• Back gouging was eliminated which in turn reduced the risk of fire
• Rotators replaced manual rotation of the vessels on tables
• Welders no longer had to weld inside the confined space of the vessels
The customer and the Red-D-Arc team were beyond pleased with the results. The customer plans to purchase two more of these systems for future projects.
Submerged arc welding can increase the efficiency and quality of many industrial welding projects regardless of the size or complexity. Red-D-Arc has all the equipment, expertise and experience to provide you with a submerged arc system to fit your needs – available for sale, lease and rent.
Red-D-Arc Welderentals™ an Airgas company rents and leases welders, welding positioners, welding-related equipment, and electric power generators – anywhere in the world. Our rental welders, positioners and specialty products have been engineered and built to provide Extreme-Duty™ performance and reliability in even the harshest environments, and are available through over 70 Red-D-Arc Service Centers, strategically located throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and the Netherlands, as well as through strategic alliances in the Middle East, Spain, Italy, Croatia, and the Caribbean. From our rental fleet of over 60,000 welders, 3,700 weld positioners, and 3,700 electric-power generators, we can supply you with the equipment you need – where you need it – when you need it.
Red-D-Arc delivered three submerged arc systems to a construction company from Willebroek (Belgium) which has acquired a record contract for the construction of foundation structures to be used in an offshore wind farm close to the German-Dutch border. The Red-D-Arc column and booms are 7 m x 7 m and are equipped with a double wire system powered by the ESAB 1250 for welding 4 mm cored wire. In addition, each of the column and booms included a seam tracking system and flux recovery unit. Thanks to the advanced electronics and touch screen interface controls the turnkey systems each require only a single operator.
Single and tandem (multi-wire and multi-arc) submerged arc welding heads are available for sale, lease and rent. Tandem systems include multi-arc heads with up to 6 welding arcs and multi-wire heads capable of up to 4 wires, all of which are available to accommodate deep groove and narrow gap applications. We have extensive experience designing special purpose, custom welding heads to suit any requirement.
Red-D-Arc’s tandem welding system provides a touch screen interface for data monitoring and provides full welding control. The multi-arc central console system provides control of up to 6 weld heads and allows welding parameters to be saved and downloaded. An ergonomic hand held pendant allows the operator flexibility to observe the weld and adjust parameters “on the fly”.
Red-D-Arc UK was recently awarded the contract to supply a fully-automated welding system to the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC), a UK-government funded organization sponsored by several global companies including Rolls-Royce (the lead industrial partner), Areva, Westinghouse, Sheffield Forgemasters and Tata Steel.
The UK government’s Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, initiated in July, 2009, was a commitment to “establish a Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre that combines the knowledge, practices and expertise of manufacturing companies with the capability of universities.” Following bids from some of the UK’s leading universities to develop the centre, it was announced in December, 2009 that the NAMRC would be managed by the University of Sheffield and The University of Manchester in conjunction with the industrial partners.
NAMRC took possession of its facility in the Advanced Manufacturing Park in October 2011, with an official launch in May 2012. The refurbished Manufacturing Technology Research Laboratory in Manchester also opened in October 2011.
Red-D-Arc supplied and installed a sophisticated, fully-automated system (pictured above) consisting of a 4m x 4m column and boom, a 15-ton positioner complete with slip-rings for heating, a Miller tandem sub-arc head, and a Miller strip-cladding head capable of welding a 90mm strip. All this equipment is controlled and programmed through a touch-screen PLC control system that Red-D-Arc supplied. All the equipment (except for the Miller welding equipment ) was manufactured by Key Plant, our new partner for PMT/Weld Automation products and services. The successful fulfillment of this order puts Red-D-Arc in a strong position to offer additional weld-automation equipment packages to other companies who will be investing in the UK nuclear-build programme. If you would like further information about this project, please contact Ross McCrorie at ross.mccrorie@airgas.com
