TPT January 2012

64 / 132

62 January 2012 ›
Technology Update
THE food processing, dairy, and beverage
industries utilise large quantities of
stainless process piping. The welds must
be uniform and completely penetrated.
One development that has resulted in
increased use of orbital welding are clean-
in-place (CIP) systems. To allow cleaning
of equipment without disassembly the weld
surfaces must be smooth enough to avoid
entrapment of product or cleaning residue.
These industries require sanitary/hygienic
tubing systems, but do not necessarily have
to weld to a “code”.
Although they do follow general guidelines
and good manufacturing practices (The
3A Sanitary Standards; AWS D18.1
“Specification for welding of austenitic
stainless steel tube and pipe systems
in sanitary (hygienic) applications”) few
government agencies worldwide have
adopted these as mandatory standards.
Certain companies have adopted them,
but there is no industry requirement. The
perceived high equipment cost often deters
the use of orbital tube welding as the primary
joining process. Surveys have shown that
the price of an orbital welding system is 2-3
times higher than a fabricator or contractor,
servicing these industries, is willing to pay.
The complexity of the welding systems on
the market dictate on-site training, adding
further cost.
To offset this concern over equipment
cost and simplify the orbital tube welding
process, Magnatech has introduced an
innovative solution to orbital tube welding
with its modular, EZ Orbital Welding System.
The Model 517 is a tube welding controller
that integrates the operation of a standard,
commercial GTAW power source with the
weld head. The customer can use his existing
power source, allowing him to weld both
manually and automatically. The Controller
has an intuitive symbol-based, touch screen
user interface. Operation is as simple as
selecting tube size and wall thickness, and
pressing the start switch on the head. The
operator can adjust set parameters by a
percentage override to accommodate tube
lot variations. The Model 517 operates
a new line of tube welding heads with
digital control of rotation speed regulation,
ensuring perfect repeatability.
Magnatech LLC – USA
Email:
Website:
Simple to operate orbital welder
The Magnatech orbital welder