How to Increase Pipe Shop Productivity

Ideal for feeding .023 in to 1/16 in (0.9 mm to 1.6 mm) wire at speeds of 75 ipm to 950 ipm (2.0 m/min to 24 m/min) in pipe shops and mechanical contracting, the Warrior™ Feed Dual 304 from ESAB Welding & Cutting Products (Florence, SC) is a heavy duty bench-top wire feeder with dual wire feeder functionality for the ultimate flexibility in environments requiring dual applications. Using a single power source, operators increase productivity by eliminating wire spool change out for different wire types, diameters and materials used in demanding applications. “For example, operators require dedicated consumables when they’re welding with stainless steel to prevent cross contamination,” says Lars Campbell, a global product area manager at ESAB. “This wire feeder makes working with stainless steel and another material much easier. All operators need to do is to pick up the torch and depress the gun trigger to activate the left or right drive.”

The Warrior Feed Dual 304 has all the features that pipe shops require, including gas purge, wire inch, trigger lock (2T/4T control), burnback, slow run-in speed and the ability to preset wire feed speed and voltage. For easy operation and increased visibility, it has separate digital displays for voltage, wire feed speed and amperage values (operators are used to setting wire feed speed, but QA/QC personnel like to see amperage). The feeder is delivered with Euro or Tweco® style MIG gun connections. It also incorporates Short Circuit Termination (SCT) technology that sharpens the end of the welding wire at the termination of a weld. By eliminating the ball that typically forms on the end of the wire, the feeder optimizes the wire condition to promote a positive arc start. SCT technology also eliminates the need for the operator to clip the wire. In an operation with numerous weld stops and starts, the time savings will quickly add up.

The Warrior Feed Dual 304 is designed be paired with the Warrior 500i CC/CV and Warrior 400i MV CC/CV multi-process welding machines. To lower total production costs, pair the Warrior Feed Dual 304 with MIG welding guns from Tweco, an ESAB brand. The Tweco Spray Master™ gun with Velocity™ consumables can extend contact tip life up to 8X or more in some applications. To fully optimize welding results, use ESAB filler metals, including OK AristoRod 12.50 ER70 S-6 solid wire, Coreweld® metal cored wires and Dual Shield® gas shielded flux cored wires.

ESAB Welding & Cutting Products, PO Box 100545, 411 South Ebenezer Road, Florence, SC 29501, 843-669-4411, Fax: 843-664-4258, www.esabna.com.