Orbital welding Stainless steel pipe

Tue, 31 Aug 2021 09:44:29 GMT

go to see Welding Machine for Orbital Stainless steel pipe

I have been tasked with determining whether or not an Orbital Welding System would be profitable for us to purchase. I know NOTHING about orbital welding other than it costs a lot for the equipment. The job that has prompted this inquiry has the potential for 2 units a month for the foreseeable future. Each unit has 7 - 6" pipe welds, 25 - 4" pipe welds, and 19 - 3" pipe welds. The pipe is Sch 10 316 Stainless Steel. In our shop we bid 1 1/2 hr per 6" weld and 1 hr for 3" and 4" welds. Our quote for that welding is 54.5 hrs. that time includes all time used from first getting the drawing to making cut list to cutting, weld prep, fit up, tacking ,welding, and post weld wire brushing. Actual weld time for a 3" weld is 4 to 4 1/2 minutes per pass. They get a root and a cover so 8 to 9 minutes per joint. So my questions to Y'all are,1) Which systems out there are quality systems.2) How much time does orbital welding really save.Thanks in advance for your input.
Reply:My daughter's ex boyfriend worked on  some of the largest solar plants around, and one rented an orbital outfit, I don't think they used it though. My point is that you may be able to rent/lease one to try without the large capital outlay.IMPEACH BIDEN!NRA LIFE MEMBERUNITWELD 175 AMP 3 IN1 DCMIDSTATES 300 AMP AC MACHINEGOD HELP AMERICA!“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream".RONALD REAGAN
Reply:If you call the one of the orbital welding companies they have all the formulas worked out. TechSouth might  bethe better choice, they even rent the equipmentRichardWest coast of Florida
Reply:Just my 2-cents, for what it's worth. I work for a company that owns a lot of orbital welding equipment. On big pipe (24" and larger), it can save time. On small stuff, not really worth it. There is a lot of set-up time for each weld. A good welder can knock out 6" TIG welds just as fast.YMMV
Reply:Setup is important and you need to consider Weldingweb location. The welding head size maybe a concern for access to the weld. Depending on piping application, some customers specify ONLY orbital welding. Although they realize it's not always possible to get the device in some location. That's why there's still welders. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply:I would say just off the top of my head that it won't be worth the trouble. Schedule 10 is maybe 2 passes, it'll take longer to set the machine up than it will to weld the pipe. Invest in some nice positioners instead.
Reply:A common tread here seems to be try it out with a lease. That will probably be the most cost effective way to go. I brought up with the boss just what you said Timmy that it probably won't save time but I need to look in to it anyway. That said we do do some sanitary work and have passed on jobs where the customer stated orbital welds required. So we could get those jobs. BD1 valid point welds on short radius elbows have to be done manually and there are other areas that the welding head just won't fit. This journey has just begun I'm sure I'll learn a bunch. I will pass that knowledge along.Thanks for the input so far it is appreciated.
Reply:I'll give tech south a call thanks
Reply:OK so I've looked at 3 systems Orbitalum, AMI and Axxair. Axxair is sold by Red-D-Arc. They all weld virtually the same so the choice comes down to ease of use, price, customer service, and reliability. As far as ease of use it's between Orbitalum and Axxair, touch screen, tell it material type ,Diameter, and wall thickness then push the weld button. AMI they give you a sheet full of calculations you need to do. Then input that info on the screen. To much for me. Has anyone out there heard about these machines good or bad I'd like to know.TimmyTIG, it's actually quicker to set up a joint with the orbital, no bevel put one piece in the weld head clamp it, then butt the other piece to it set the other clamp. setup your purge and tell it to start welding. Single pass fusion bead up to .145 wall thickness with a step program. Weld time is about the same as 2 pass by hand. They have a tack cycle with anywhere from 2 to 8 tacks so the weld won't pull you out of alignment.Renting the equipment is an option. They also offer leasing options that could work. Still waiting for 2 of the 3 quotes to come back.
Reply:Can you put fittings in it, or just straight runs of pipe? Also, what is a 'step program'?
Reply:It will do long radius elbows and tee's no problem. With short radius elbows you need to tack it together first then take the clamping inserts off one side, AMI has these heat resistant plates you put around the elbow to hold in the gas. Then weld away. The step program is like a pulse, It did like 1.5 seconds at 80 amps then went down to 6 amps rotated 3 degrees and repeated 122 times. The program also lowered the amps a bit every 90 degrees to compensate for heat buildup.
Reply:Sweet!!!
Replyretty cool.I'd have said you're right on the edge of being workable with an orbital system for the job... if you'd bid 2h per 6" and 1.5h per 4" I'd have said not worth it, a good pipe welder can do that all day with TIG and still make the company plenty profit. But if the setup time is shorter and you can get the kit for a decent price... then orbital might be the way to go, even just for the 4" welds since there's loads of them, and assuming you'll need one bug per diameter?I have no 1st hand experience with these systems, but Orbitalum make some really nice gear, we use some of their cutting and bevelling stuff, you won't go far wrong with them or Axxair.Last edited by Munkul; 10-03-2019 at 06:31 AM.
Reply:Originally Posted by oldgrandadIt will do long radius elbows and tee's no problem. With short radius elbows you need to tack it together first then take the clamping inserts off one side, AMI has these heat resistant plates you put around the elbow to hold in the gas. Then weld away. The step program is like a pulse, It did like 1.5 seconds at 80 amps then went down to 6 amps rotated 3 degrees and repeated 122 times. The program also dolphins pearl amps a bit every 90 degrees to compensate for heat buildup.
Reply:Originally Posted by MunkulPretty cool.I'd have said you're right on the edge of being workable with an orbital system for the job... if you'd bid 2h per 6" and 1.5h per 4" I'd have said not worth it, a good pipe welder can do that all day with TIG and still make the company plenty profit. But if the setup time is shorter and you can get the kit for a decent price... then orbital might be the way to go, even just for the 4" welds since there's loads of them, and assuming you'll need one bug per diameter?I have no 1st hand experience with these systems, but Orbitalum make some really nice gear, we use some of their cutting and bevelling stuff, you won't go far wrong with them or Axxair.