Flange Fitting Welding Station Can Remove Need for Crane
Pemamek’s PEMA FF station safely handles bulky tower sections and, depending on part size, you might not need a crane – and its skilled operator – for these challenging applications. It’s also equipped to accommodate diverse flange designs.
Posted: May 26, 2020
The PEMA Flange Fitting (FF) station from Pemamek (Cincinnnati, OH) enables fast, safe, and accurate fitting and welding of flanges to wind tower and tower foundation sections. Flange fitting is done without flipping shells to a horizontal fitting table for flange fitting and then back to the original position for welding, which can be challenging for crane operators when lifting these heavy pieces. The PEMA FF station either minimizes or eliminates the need for a crane depending on part size.
As wind turbines get larger, the tower sections and flanges that comprise them are also growing in weight and diameter, which makes handling with an overhead crane more challenging – and demands special skills and tools from the crane operator. The FF station is flexible enough to handle many different variations of flange designs and can be integrated with PEMA Column & Boom so welding can be done in the same place, reducing weld time and increasing welding efficiency.
Repairs are minimal since there’s no need for lifting clamps.
“Our FF Station can handle tubular and conical shells with different diameters and lengths and has changeable tools to help to adjust the fit-up tool for different L- and T-type flanges,” says Teemu Tolonen, Pemamek’s application manager of Wind Energy. “Pemamek is also further developing the station with measuring tools, helping operators to perform perfect fittings.”
Pemamek tested the FF welding process using an offshore transition-piece flange fitting. Fitting time was reduced from eight hours to two hours, keeping flatness and tolerances without the need for a milling operation.
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