TPi January 2020

Tube welding technology

EFD Induction Weldacs for European plants EFD Induction’s Weldacs were designed to be reliable, efficient and robust and this has made the solid-state tube welders a popular tool since they were first released on the market. “It’s getting on for 20 years now since Tata Steel invested in its first high frequency induction Weldac, which is still going strong,” he said. “It has been upgraded with a new up-to-date power inverter module, and an increased power output.”

“You can always trust our Weldacs to perform,” said Peter Bond. The sales manager responsible for the Tata Steel Europe account is pleased that the company has chosen to invest in yet another Weldac. Tata Steel is a worldwide producer of a broad range of welded tube, with more than 50 years of experience in the market. It supplies the construction, conveyance and pressure, energy, automotive and engineering and precision tube markets. Tata Steel operates five European tube and pipe manufacturing facilities: two located in the UK and three in the Netherlands. “EFD Induction’s relationship with Tata Steel has been long and fruitful,” said Mr Bond. “We work well together, since sustainability is a core principle of both organisations along with a strong focus on managing business in a responsible way, while taking care of employees and the environment.

This 750kW Weldac is for the 6" stretch reducing mill located at the Tata Corby plant in the UK. It was installed on a mill producing ‘mother tube’ hollows directly fed to a stretch reducing process. Typical welded diameters are from 139.7 to 190mm and wall thickness up to 10mm. After appreciating the reliability and efficiency benefits of the EFD induction Weldac system, Tata Steel invested in four more Weldac units over the next decade – three for the Corby Plant and one for Hartlepool, where Tata Steel’s 20" mill is located. This 1,500kW welder was installed in the summer of 2012 and has since operated regularly on three-shift operation, producing heavy wall line pipes up to 508mm x 16mm and hollow sections up to 400mm x 400mm x 12.7mm wall thickness. A further 1,000kW unit was installed in Corby in October 2017, replacing an old valve generator on

another stretch reducing mill producing 168.3mm x 8mm. After the success of the Corby installations, as well as a 300kW unit installed at the parent company Tata Steel Ltd in Jamshedpur, India, Tata Steel installed its first EFD Induction Weldac in the Netherlands at its Zwijndrecht plant in December 2015. This 500kW Weldac produces tubes for automotive and precision applications in many different complex steel grades. Following the Zwijndrecht installation, the Tata Steel Oosterhout plant installed a new Weldac on one of its Contiflo mills. This latest welder is a 350kW machine supplied with the option of a simple upgrade on-site to 550kW in the future, if required. “All of the Weldacs supplied to Tata Steel offer the same enhanced benefits – high efficiency, a five-year warranty on power modules, constant high-power factor and short-circuit-proof operation. In addition, the ability of the Weldac to run through coil short circuits and flashovers saves customers time and money in lost production and scrap,” added Mr Bond. EFD Induction www.efd-induction.com

The EFD Induction subsidiary, EHE Consumables, delivers a comprehensive range of induction coils and other products for tube welding

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January 2020 TUBE PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL