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Reduce Fuel Use by 40%
- Minimum fuel savings of 40% compared to DC generators
- Equipment consolidated with engine drives that have outstanding multiprocess output
- Performance and reliability complete project on time and under budget
Customer Testimonial
“We were willing to look into any process or product that benefited the pipeline owners and enabled us to complete our work more efficiently. Companies such as Miller, Hobart Brothers [and] Bernard have served our needs here very well.”
— Dick Williams, project engineer, Associated Pipe Line Contractors, Inc.
Application
Completing the tie-in welds on the first X80 pipeline constructed in the U.S., the Cheyenne Plains Pipeline.
Key Business Issue
- Selecting new technology for multiprocess welding procedures that also meets pipeline welders' criteria
- Constructing the pipeline on-time and under budget.
Challenge
Selecting welding equipment that would enable multiple process welding (downhill welding with a celluosic Stick electrode and uphill gas-shielded flux cored welding) on X80 pipe while minimizing or eliminating weld quality concerns related to hydrogen cracking.
Previous System & Process
No previous system or process. As part of selecting equipment for this project, Associated Pipe Line evaluated DC generators with CV boxes (constant voltage controls).
New Solution
- Miller's PRO 300 CC/CV diesel engine drive paired with SuitCase 8VS wire feeders, Bernard Q-Guns with Centerfire consumables and Hobart Brothers' Pipemaster electrodes (E6010 and E9010; 101K2 flux-cored wire).
- PRO 300's downhill welding performance with celluosic electrodes meets or exceeds that of a DC generator's, while its CV output provides outstanding voltage control for flux cored welding in critical applications. Other advantages: a stronger welding and generator output in a machine that is 35 percent more compact than a DC generator, a fuel-efficient 22-HP CAT engine and the reliability offered by Miller's “Vault” design.
Results
- Construction objectives met. The PRO 300 CC/CV engine drive's reliability and multiprocess welding capabilities helped Associated Pipe Line bring the project in on time and under budget.
- Fuel savings—minimum estimated savings of 40%. “I can run the PRO 300 for about four days before I fill up [its 11.5 gal. tank], and afterwards I still have a quarter tank. If I was running a [competitive machine], I'd need to put in about 10 gallons a day. The fuel economy on the PRO 300 is great. We buy our own diesel, so using less fuel makes a big difference.”
— Gary Evans, welder, Cheyenne Plains Pipeline project - Equipment consolidation by using one machine for all processes. “The PRO 300 CC/CV from Miller met our needs for using both Stick and flux cored electrodes. We had welders put CV boxes on older DC generators, but they never did perform as well with flux cored wire. Eventually, we quit using those machines and ran all the procedures with the Miller PRO 300.”
— Sonny Weems, assistant superintendent, Associated Pipe Line
