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Boilermakers No Longer Steaming
- Dimension NT 450 hybrid technology reduces operator frustration
- Improved multiprocess performance saves $15,000-$20,000 per year
- Savings produces an ROI of 169% and a payback period of 7 months
Customer Testimonial
“The Dimension NT 450 is an excellent machine. The starts are excellent. It's made our job a lot easier, probably taking a day out of the process. The greatest thing is far fewer interruptions. I can whip down a whole side and only have to clean the tip once. This is a big-time improvement.”
— Al Bungay, watertube boiler fabricator, Cleaver-Brooks
Application
Fabricating watertube boilers using a combination of Stick and MIG welding. Each boiler requires hundreds of tack welds.
Key Business Issue
- Increasing operator efficiency while reducing frustration level
- Reducing weld costs associated with removing spatter and frequent gun nozzle cleaning
Challenges
- Previous multi-process welding power sources did not perform equally well in all processes, especially short circuit MIG arc starts.
- Each watertube boiler requires hundreds of tack welds. Fabricators could not make more than a handful of tack welds in a row without the arc sputtering and popping during arc start. This created spatter and added time to the process because the operators frequently stopped to clean the gun nozzle. Occasionally, flying sparks burned the fabricators.
- Poor arc starts and excess spatter produced extremely frustrated fabricators.
Previous System
- Traditional-technology multi-process welding power source.
Solution
- Dimension NT 450 multiprocess welding power source.
- The Dimension NT 450 features hybrid technology that combines the superior multiprocess arc performance of an inverter with the robustness of Miller's Dimension family.
Results
- Tack welding problems immediately disappeared. By nearly eliminating lost time related to cleaning spatter and clearing the MIG gun, Cleaver-Brooks saved about $20,000 a year.
- "Just from a reduced operator frustration level, the Dimension NT 450 was a good investment."
—Mike Ruston, fabrication supervisor, Cleaver-Brooks - Cleaver-Brooks experienced an ROI of 169% and a payback period of 7 months.
- As an added bonus, the Dimension NT 450 improved Stick arc starts.
