COVER STORY
Tailor-Made Welding Systems for the Oil and
Gas Industry
Welding is a highly complex joining process in which not only the base material but also many other parameters
such as current strength, wire speed, welding speed, filler material, shielding gas, ambient temperature or
humidity, play a role. Deviations, for example in the ambient temperature, can have unwanted effects on the
welding result. Experience and reliability is therefore key when welding and cladding in the oil and gas industry.
S
ingle source solutions for the oil and gas
industry
Fronius is one of the leading manufacturers of
welding equipment. The company is particularly
well known in the automotive industry for its
innovative system solutions. Fronius Welding
Automation has been supplying mechanized
and automated welding systems since 1975,
among others for the oil and gas industry. As
a general contractor, Fronius offers the user a
reliable system from a single source and has one
contact for his welding technology throughout
the entire product life cycle.
Precise tests for ideal results
To ensure that the right solution is picked,
feasibility studies and welding tests are
carried out before the technical concept
for an automated welding system is started.
Welding is a very complex process and
sensitive to environmental influences.
Therefore, it is not only important that
these tests are carried out as realistically
as possible, but also that the components,
filler materials and shielding gases used
during the welding test are also used in real
operation. The welding systems supplied by
Fronius often perform their work in critical
climatic zones. If the welding tests cannot
be carried out directly on site, the welding
parameters are adjusted and optimized by
Fronius technicians during start-up.
“It is extremely important that all parameters
that have an influence on the weld seam are
taken into account during the welding tests
and incorporated into the engineering, so that
our systems can deliver the desired welding
results.” explains Anton Leithenmair, Head of
Welding Automation. “The development of an
automated welding system therefore requires
open, trusting and intensive cooperation with
our customers. The more we are supported by
our customers during the engineering phase,
the more precisely our systems deliver the
desired welding result” continues Leithenmair.
The right partner from planning to service
Fronius Welding Automation, with its
worldwide service and partner network,
reliably supports its customers from planning,
engineering, production and commissioning
through to calibration, maintenance and
repair. In engineering, in addition to
selecting the right sensors, control and safety
technology, the focus is on logical operating
sequences, high-precision welding processes
and perfect results. All required components
are manufactured to the highest quality and
compliance engineering standards. Fronius
commissions the welding system in-house,
carries out the preliminary acceptance with
the customer and then installs the system on
site. Expert training and process optimization
during production start-up are also part of the
service.
Experience is the reservoir from which
Fronius Welding Automation draws its ideas
for standardized system solutions for the oil
and gas industry. In over forty years, various
welding systems have been developed that
are either standardized or modified to meet
specific customer requirements. Many of
those systems are ideal for the oil and gas
industry:
Compact Cladding Cell – little space, lots of
power
Compact Cladding Cell.
With a footprint of 4.5m², the Compact
Cladding Cell is an extremely compact
solution for high-end overlay welding. It was
especially developed for cost-efficient overlay
welding on components up to a maximum
diameter of 1m and a weight of 2500kg.
Despite its compact design, the Compact