No Turning Back: Pipe Welding System Kicks It Up a Notch

“I started out welding with the 60M series feeder with an XMT® 304 as the power source, to a 64M with a Phoenix^™ 456,” he recalls, referring to the older “M series” wire feeders that contained the controls necessary for pulsed MIG welding. “Later on we moved up to the PipePro^™ system and now we’re working with PipeWorx, which is really a superior machine for pipe welding compared to everything that has been available in the past. This system runs unbelievably smooth. It is really simple to pick up and learn how to use that machine, and RMD is easy to run.”

Those comments touch on two key features of this system – ease-of-use and arc performance – that have resulted directly from engineers listening to the workflow issues and quality needs of pipe fabricators.

ONE FOR ALL
On any given day, pipefitter/welders will need TIG, stick, flux cored, MIG and pulsed MIG welding capabilities. A traditional pipe shop will equip its welding areas with a TIG/Stick welder and perhaps a multi-process welder, which typically does not have a high frequency (HF) start function.

“With the PipeWorx system, you have the ability to have a high-frequency start, which is huge when you’re doing quality work,” states Sayers. “Now you don’t have a scratch start, which always takes a chance of leaving a tungsten inclusion. This system keeps us from having to buy an additional welding machine just to have the high-frequency capabilities in the start. That is a huge money savings.”

The push-button process change capabilities also provide a significant savings because operators can, in a matter of seconds, switch between:
• DC TIG, with Lift-Arcä starts or high frequency for non-contact arc starts
• Stick, with arc performance optimized for E6010 or E7018 electrodes in pipe applications
• Flux cored
• Conventional MIG
• RMD or Pro-Pulse processes

“Let’s say I just did a Pro-Pulse cap and then wanted to switch back to a TIG start,” says Sayers. “It can take me a minute to grab my torch, my foot pedal, set it up and I’m ready to go within a minute’s time between changeovers. The only reason it takes that long is because my TIG torch and foot pedal are all wrapped up. To change between the TIG setup and the wire setup takes all of two seconds. Just walk right over to the machine, pull the trigger on either one of the guns and I’m right back into the MIG position.”

With all other multi-process welding systems, process changeover takes five to ten minutes. Operators usually need to change the welding lead (TIG torch to stick electrode holder to wire feeder, etc.), as well as swap the work lead because different processes require different polarities. In pipe fabrication shops, MIG, stick and flux cored use reverse polarity (DCEP), where TIG uses straight polarity (DCEN).