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Gunderson Marine Cuts Fabrication Time After Switching to XMT 456 Inverter Racks
- Equipment relocation time slashed, freeing man-hours for other productive uses
- Lower energy draws provides energy savings payback
- Easy-to-understand controls simplifies operator training
- Unique sub arc technology boosts travel speed 10-12 inches per minute
Customer Testimonial
“With our new XMT racks, we can place four arcs next to a module station and leave it there. We calculated that the XMT racks save time in material handling and set-up. That, along with their energy efficiency, will enable us to pay for 20 XMT racks and 80 feeders in a little over three years.”
— Ron Windes, Production Manager, Gunderson Marine
Application
Constructing all types of river and ocean-going barges.
Key Business Issue
- Improving welding productivity to keep up with customer demand.
- Increasing operator efficiency.
Challenge
- Replacing aging equipment with efficient new systems.
Previous System & Process
- Old single process (CC-only and CV-only) systems for stick welding, gouging, and flux cored welding.
- Old DC-only submerged arc welding systems.
New Solution
- 20 XMT 456 multioperator racks (80 arcs total) paired with SuitCase X-TREME 12VS wire feeders.
- Four Summit Arc 1000 submerged arc welding systems with variable balance AC squarewave technology.
Results
- Customer demand met while increasing throughput. “We take a lot of pride on delivering products on time, and our new Miller equipment makes it easier to stay on schedule.”
—Ron Windes, Production Manager, Gunderson Marine - Three-year payback on inverter racks through energy savings and reduced material handling and set-up time.
- Simplified operator training with XMTs. “If an operator gets trained on one type of equipment and it's the same equipment he's going to be running, he just gets better and better. A lot of times [in the past], the operator had to relearn the equipment all over again. Now that we have standardized on Miller equipment in many locations, it's proven to be really valuable for the operator. It simplifies the process. The operator is familiar with the equipment. He knows what to expect in various situations. This saves time and improves first-pass weld quality.”
—John Meyer, Fabrication Coordinator, Gunderson Marine - For sub arc welding a 60-ft. seam, Gunderson saves 10 to 15 minutes of welding time and eliminates the need to spend 20 minutes on back gouging.
- Programmable sub arc controllers eliminate sources of error. “I appreciate the program settings. He [the operator] pushes a button, selects the program based on the thickness of steel that he's going to be sub arcing and he goes. It's as simple as possible. Hands down, the most value [we get from a system] is to eliminate the amount of effort at the point of operation for the operator.”
—John Meyer, Fabrication Coordinator, Gunderson Marine
