Connected Digital Ecosystems for Automated Welding and Plasma Cutting

In Booth N-236111, ESAB Welding & Cutting Products (Denton, TX) will demonstrate innovative systems for online data management, cutting automation and beveling, robotic welding, hard automation and filler metals that drive continuous improvement in welding and cutting operations. Their WeldCloud and CutCloud digital platforms connect digital ecosystems for welding and mechanized cutting, respectively. During the show, ESAB will showcase a new architecture powered by Microsoft Azure IoT and utilizing the ThingWorx® Industrial Innovation Platform from PTC that allows for on-premise, hybrid and cloud-based systems that provide digital methods of documentation (required by regulation in some critical applications), better views into productivity and a much richer ability to manage physical assets. Users can subscribe to diagnostic analytic messages about the health of their welding power source and watch live demonstrations of these and other benefits via an automated SAW operation.

To improve productivity in automated welding, the AristoMig® U5000iw welding power source will be showcased with an AristoFeed 3004hw wire feeder, ESAB robotic torches and robotic tool changer, and a JetStream RT particle jet torch cleaning station that cleans consumables with a high velocity blast of granulate. Particle jets clean all torch components (nozzle, tip, gas baffle) and do so without mechanically gripping the torch. The advanced cleaning process extends consumables life, preserves the tool center point (TCP) and maximizes uptime. The AristoMig power source integrates with the WeldCloud online data management platform via Wi-Fi, mobile cellular or hard-wired Ethernet communication. For automated GMAW, the AristoMig can provide basic and advanced processes such SuperPulse™ modified spray transfer GMAW and Swift Arc Transfer (SAT™), which uses typical wire feed speeds of 16 m/min to 25 m/min and yields welding travel speeds that range from 20 percent to 100 percent faster than conventional systems. This can increase deposition rates by up to 44 percent.

In a live arc demonstration of pressure vessel welding, the ICE™ (Integrated Cold Electrode) three-wire SAW process will show how to double productivity over twin or tandem systems, without increasing heat input, on a CaB 600M column-and-boom system. The ICE process uses and follows the same principle as twin-wire SAW, but it utilizes the excess heat generated by the welding process to melt an additional non-powered welding electrode – the Integrated Cold Electrode. This demonstration will also feature a WeldCloud-connected power source, as well as fluxes to improve SAW productivity. Fluxes with good slag detachability and smooth sidewall blending, such as OK 10.72, are especially suited for narrow gap welding, which is commonly found in wind tower fabrication. The narrow running slag allows higher currents in narrow gap joints, which means increased deposition rate and consequently higher productivity.

Also on display will be the DMX Automated Plasma Beveller, a next-generation beveling system that delivers significant performance improvement through a simple, compact design. It provides high reliability, enhanced safety and ease-of-use in cutting the full range of weld preparations, including V, Y, X, and K bevels, with cut angles up to 45 deg on materials up to 50 mm. The system is complemented by the release of new SmartBevel™ Technology that enables easier programming and accurate bevel cutting with minimal operator intervention. SmartBevel includes beveling data and geometric compensations necessary to cut V, X, Y, and K bevels on mild steel from 6 mm to 50 mm thick. Unlike competitive systems, SmartBevel integrates all bevel compensations into the CNC to simplify bevel programming. Any fine tuning of the cut is done quickly and easily at the machine.

ESAB Welding & Cutting Products, 2800 Airport Road, Denton, TX 76207, 800-372-2123, Fax: 843-679-5815, www.esab.com.