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Pulsed MIG Improves Inconel Cladding by 30%
- New pulsing technology is operator-friendly, easier to learn
- SharpArc lets operators change weld puddle characteristics
- More control lets operators increase travel speeds an average of 30%
- Auto-Line ensures consist arc performance, eliminates nuisance trips
Customer Testimonial
“We get 30 percent more accomplished by not having to worry about the arc shorting out. Before, we couldn't weld faster than 300 i.p.m. without a lot of shorts. Now, we average 350 to 400 i.p.m., and I can even weld 500 to 540 i.p.m. in some applications.”
— Brad Hooper, supervisor, Northeast Regional Maintenance, Covanta Energy
Application
Inconel® cladding of steel tubes in the combustion chamber of energy-from-waste facility.
Key Business Issue
- Completing scheduled maintenance turn-arounds in as little time as possible (an energy facility is only profitable when it's generating energy).
Challenge
- Completing the Inconel cladding process as quickly as possible (cladding the steel tubes with this corrosion-resistant metal extends tubing life).
Previous System & Process
- Competitive pulsed MIG systems.
New Solution
- Twenty new XMT 350 MPa pulsed MIG welders paired with SuitCase 12RC portable wire feeders.
- Auto-Line technology, as featured in the XMT 350, reduces primary power draw and enables using primary power from 190 to 630 V.
Results
- 30% faster travel speeds. "The XMT 350 MPa's new pulsed MIG programs lets us tailor the arc to fit our needs. [With the previous machines], the puddle was tough to control. You actually had to turn wire feed speed down—what I considered to be slow—to be able to weld with it and not have any arc shorts or short-outs that would cause an inclusion."
— Brad Hooper, supervisor, Northeast Regional Maintenance, Covanta Energy - Simplicity of the XMT 350 MPa reduces training time. "I don't have to spend as much time with the guys on set-up or training. They pick up the Millers pretty quickly, especially with the large display. Our previous power sources weren't very user-friendly. It took somebody that had been around them a long time to be able to set them to weld Inconel. You couldn't just send a new kid to turn a machine on. You had to know exactly what button to push or it you'd be welding with the wrong processes or wrong parameters."
—Brad Hooper, supervisor, Northeast Regional Maintenance, Covanta Energy - Auto-Line eliminates primary voltage problems. "With our previous machines, a small voltage fluctuation sometimes affected the machine. The welders would shut down, display an error code and we'd have to go reset them. That could happen three or four times a shift. It was very frustrating. We would have to have somebody running around all the time just making sure there's power on."
—Brad Hooper, supervisor, Northeast Regional Maintenance, Covanta Energy - More machines, 25% more productivity. The XMT 350 MPa only draws 17 amps of primary power. "Where we could only plug in four machines on a 100-amp breaker, we can now plug in five. That's a 25-percent productivity increase, or another two square feet of cladding every hour."
—Brad Hooper, supervisor, Northeast Regional Maintenance, Covanta Energy
