Fronius: The perfect partner for overlay welding

By OEM Update Editorial June 17, 2024 6:54 pm

Fronius Welding Automation is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of overlay welding systems to bring innovations, such as the retrofittable SpeedClad 2.0 process that won the Excellence in Welding award.

Fronius Welding Automation offers entire systems. The company strives to provide expert, customer-friendly service right from the start until the entire service life of a welding system. Every user benefits from overlay welding systems that will remain state-of-the-art for years to come due to updated options and retrofitting.

Supporting customers throughout the product life cycle

Fronius Welding Automation offers comprehensive support from planning to maintenance, ensuring safety and reliability with a global service network. Technical commissioning by Fronius experts and the preliminary acceptance by buyers from the oil and gas industry occur at the Steinhaus, Austria, production site. The systems are then delivered, installed on-site and accepted by international customers in the onshore and offshore sectors. The comprehensive Fronius commissioning service includes expert training sessions and process optimisations at the start of production. 

Realistic welding tests and feasibility studies

At Fronius Welding Automation, each overlay welding project begins with feasibility studies and welding tests. The process is complex, with factors like base material, amperage, wire speed, and environmental conditions playing crucial roles. Even minor deviations can impact results, so tests must mirror actual operation conditions as closely as possible. If conditions can not be replicated, parameters are adjusted during commissioning.

Anton Leithenmair, Head of Fronius Welding Automation, “We need an open, trusting exchange of information from the outset to ensure that overlay welding systems are customised to customer requirements. Are there any specifications regarding the filler metal and shielding gas? What about the local climatic conditions? One important factor is being able to carry out our welding tests with original components rather than resorting to dummies. This is the only way our systems can deliver the desired welding results, even under the harsh conditions of continuous operation.”

Compact Cladding Cell (CCC): With a footprint of approximately 6 m² (64.5 ft²), the Compact Cladding Cell mounted on a transportable platform is the compact solution for overlay welding. It was developed as a cost-effective inner cladding solution for valve components. The maximum bore depth and largest possible component diameter are 1 m (39 in), and the highest component weight is 2,500 kg (5,511.56 lb).

Despite its compactness, the system is a powerful overlay welding solution known for ease of use, precise movements, and data recording. It features innovative software, maximum process security, and ultimate reliability. SpeedClad 2.0 ensures the highest possible productivity for demanding applications.

Endless Torch Rotation System (ETR): The ETR system, developed for complex components, features an endlessly rotating welding head, allowing welding of bores and angles up to a 1 m (39 in) internal diameter. The rotating welding torch and wire feeder, combined with automatic component centring, reduce setup times and production costs. An electro-pneumatic collision detection system halts all movement to protect the torch. Recently, Fronius introduced the more flexible ETR Ultimate system. This enhanced version handles overlay welding and joins larger components with challenging geometries and difficult seams, offering greater versatility.

As with the Compact Cladding Cell, the ETR and ETR Ultimate systems have convenient 21-inch system controls with touch display, real-time process visualisation, and multi-user management as standards. The same applies to the quick-change welding torch system, designed to save time.

All parameters live at a glance: The HMI-T21 system, designed for Industry 4.0, features a 21-inch touchscreen, multi-user accounts, real-time process visualisation, on-the-fly adjustments, X-Ray View, Component Editor, Bore-to-Bore Advanced, and STEP file import. It also supports remote maintenance, monitoring live actual value for all relevant welding parameters.

A service that meets every need

In the Component Editor, welding professionals create components step by step using the HMI-T21 touchscreen. Heights and diameters are inputted to generate real-time 3D graphics, accommodating cylindrical, flat, and conical shapes, bores and extensions like flanges. Integrated CNC technology allows for more complex geometries, including intersection bores on conical components. Welding processes are programmed in the Program Editor, where operators define the sequence and visualise the torch starting point.  Weld Editor sets parameters and can be adjusted on the fly. AVR records welding metrics.

Once the home position of the welding torch is calibrated, it moves independently to the starting point for each overlay welding application. Siegfried Wiesinger, overlay welding expert at Fronius, explains, “Remote control can be used to fine-tune a range of parameters even just before igniting the arc—for example, the AVC (Arc Voltage Control) function adjusts the starting point and distance of the welding torch to the component.“ 

SpeedClad 2.0: Award-winning and blazing fast

Faster, resource-efficient, and more economical—with SpeedClad 2.0, Fronius is setting new standards in overlay welding of valve components. SpeedClad 2.0 is more cost-effective than the pulsed TIG hot wire processes. This innovation stands apart thanks to its high deposition rate, impressive speed, and low shielding gas consumption. In recognition of its exceptional results, the process was awarded the Excellence in Welding Award by the American Welding Society at FABTECH in Chicago on September 13, 2023. The jury was impressed by the deposition rate of the nickel-based alloy used in overlay welding being increased from 1.63 kg (3.59 lb) to up to 6 kg (13.23 lb)/h, with Fronius now using a 1.6 mm wire (0.063 in) in place of the 1.14 mm (0.045 in) wire. The welding speed rose from 33 cm (13 in)/min to 135 cm (53 in)/min, and the average pulsed current went from 240 amperes to 460 amperes.

Sustainability is part of Fronius Welding Automation’s genetic makeup. Many of its innovations deliver technical improvements and reduce consumables – just as the SpeedClad 2.0 process does.

Longitudinal and circumferential seam welding systems and robotic welding systems

Fronius Welding Automation provides overlay, mechanised and robotic welding systems for industries. Solutions include seam welding systems, welding carriages, and robotic systems. With collaborative systems, intelligent sensors, data management software, and offline programming, Fronius offers tailored solutions by analysing customer needs to enhance welding opportunities for metal processing companies. Fronius has a construction kit of standardised components at its disposal. Starting with the feasibility study and continuing with planning, engineering, manufacturing, and start-up, the sale of welding systems is handled as a project. Take a look at the new and proven solutions for cladding and 3D metal printing.

The Fronius team looks forward to showcasing these innovations at the ADIPEC trade show in Abu Dhabi from November 4th to 7th, 2024, in Hall 14, Stand 14316.