Welding is one of the most vital and distinct activities and is used in several other sectors such as construction, production, and power. The process involves fastening materials by wrought heat to the melting point and adding another material so as to leave a bond. Orbital welding is a particular type of welding process that is more specialized in the process of welding since it delivers consistent quality welds. Having provided an overview of orbital welding in the previous section of this article, it is now time to peel the onion and look at the need-to-know details of this versatile process as well as the many orbital welding pros and cons.
What is Orbital Welding?
Orbital welding is a fully automated process of welding used in the production of pipes, tubes and even cylinder parts. It holds the welding torch in a rotating manipulator style to move the torch around the workpiece while a wire feeder feeds filler material and there exists an arc between the torch and workpiece. The welding head can be translated along the length of the pipe, making sure that the weld line is heated and joined all the time.
It is said that the process of welding is fully automated and remain adjustable with the help of pre-set parameters including weld kind, current, voltage, and speed. The two basic forms of orbital welding are the Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) and the Plasma Tungsten Arc Welding (PAW).
Orbital welding: How does it work?
Orbital welding system is made of welding head equipment, power source, wire feeder and manipulator equipment. The welding head incorporates holding of the tungsten electrode and torch and the power source provides a steady arc current. Its operation involves a wire feeder that feeds filler metal mainly in the form of a thin wire that is added to the weld pool.
The manipulator has the function of placing the welding head and the torch in relation to the workpiece. By means of rollers or a rotating table, the torch is slid along the axis of the pipe and the exact position of the weld is decided by a computer numerical control (CNC) system.
Orbital welding is usually done underwater and sometimes it is done in cleanroom or glove box so as to reduce contamination. This is because the high quality welds that are produced by orbital welding require very sensitive control on the welding process conditions and a special environment.
Advantages of Orbital Welding
It is evident that orbital welding has some advantages over manual welding, so, it is widely used in various sectors.
- Consistency: The first most significant advantage of orbital welding is in achieving high quality welds in a repeatable manner. It makes the process to be competent in delivering an exactly controlled weld geometry along the whole length of the weld steel with out any sort of interpersonal variations.
- Speed: Orbital welding is a good bit faster than manual welding, as orbital welding equipment does not need rest to cool down. This leads to high output and short turnaround time, which explains why it is utilized in assembly line production.
- Improved Efficiency: In addition, the fact that orbital welding is an automated process can also be a source of increased efficiency due to decreased time for shutdowns of the pipeline and decreased need for manual work. With the help of this apparatus, some of the welding operators’ responsibilities can shift to the vigilance of the process as well as possible problems during welding exclusive of having to arrange the weld by hand.
- Enhanced Quality: Orbital welding results into the production of high quality welds that can easily be diagnosed by their neatness, fine surface and the manner in which they penetrate. This leads to decreased chances of having a batch with defects or contaminated in one way or the other thus a better quality of products.
Examples of Orbital Welding
Orbital welding is used across a wide range of industries, including:
- Aerospace: Orbital welding is used mainly in the aerospace industry for joining operational parts for spacecrafts satellites and rockets. The attractive features of the process include high quality welds needed to build strong structures that can support these complicated systems.
- Energy: In energy sector orbital welding is applied to weld pipe joints of nuclear reactors, wind mills and other structures associated with energy generation and distribution. As mentioned earlier, orbital welds for structural members of these facilities have to be precise so that they have excellent quality and are amenable to quality control throughout and after construction.
- Medical: In the medical industry, orbital welding is used to manufacture connections between device and the tubing that are sterile and possess a high quality. Some examples include welding processes that occur during the manufacturing of anesthesia machines, intravenous lines and dialysis systems.
- Chemical Processing: In the chemical processing industry the orbital welding is applied for pipes and components that come in contact with corrosive or toxic substances. Utilizing a controlled environment and the skills of the training programs means leak and contamination is minimized while offering uniform weld quality.
Conclusion
Orbital welding is an accurate process of welding that requires a controlled weld and provides exceptional quality welds to numerous industries. A quality control technique is, therefore, another primary benefit of this method, as it ensures reliable results despite the high level of automation, efficiency, and productivity. By minimizing time wastage and eventually shortening the entire production process, orbital welding proves to be a game-changer in various fields. With advancements in technology, orbital welding is poised to become an integral part of the manufacturing and production industries, particularly for high-tech materials and products.
For industries seeking advanced orbital welding solutions, UPM Technology offers cutting-edge equipment designed to enhance precision and efficiency. Their innovative systems empower businesses to achieve superior weld quality while optimizing production workflows.