TPT January 2016

Welding

Quick purging pipes for perfect welds

levels. QuickPurge is suitable for purging tube, pipe and pipeline joints over 6" diameter, where oxygen levels are required to be as low as 100 parts per million (ppm) or less. HFT’s design means that zero colour welds will be achieved, and there will be no loss of corrosion resistance caused by oxidation. Using IntaCal ® combined with the integrated PurgeGate ® device makes it possible to safely inflate the dams with argon gas, for purging the space between the dams where the weld joint is located. With PurgeGate, burst dams are prevented in the event of undue pressure increase or accidental flow increase of the purging gas.

All systems are manufactured as standard with a hose for connecting a Weld Purge Monitor ® , which can read oxygen levels down to as low as 10 ppm, depending on the model. Materials used in the manufacture of QuickPurge are resistant to the higher weld temperatures present, and they do not outgas, preventing weld contamination. For pre-heated chrome steel and high strength stainless steel pipe joints, HFT designs and manufactures the HotPurge™ range for a higher and longer temperature exposure. Huntingdon Fusion Techniques – UK Email: hft@huntingdonfusion.com Website: www.huntingdonfusion.com

WAITING for pipes to be purged ready for welding can take many hours, depending on the diameter of the pipe being welded and the method chosen for purging. Huntingdon Fusion Techniques (HFT) designs and manufactures a range of QuickPurge ® inflatable pipe purging systems that reduce waiting times. The company was recently tasked with a special project in the USA, where pipes with 90° elbows, up to 54" OD, were required to be purged. Georgia Gascoyne, CEO at HFT, said, “We manufactured QuickPurge systems with longer sleeves so that they could easily be pulled around the sharp bends in the pipework. The welders were previously spending half a day purging the pipe, which was costing a considerable amount in time and gas costs. With the help of the QuickPurge the pipe was purged in just 55 minutes. The dramatic savings in time and gas paid for the system in just one weld.” QuickPurge has an additional gas input line, which allows extra purge gas to be introduced, achieving a faster purge down to the lowest oxygen

HFT’s QuickPurge inflatable pipe purging system

New generation of welding heads 500kW into 500dm 3 – Termomacchine has developed a new generation of welding heads with small sizes. from collaboration with manufacturers of forming machines.

interchangeability of inside cards for upgrade or downgrade of output power; and optimisation of the internal layout to facilitate and speed up maintenance activities. Technological and structural innovations have also been implemented in the high and medium frequency generators designed and manufactured for heat treatment by induction. In addition to the design and manufacturing of equipment for tube welding, Termomacchine deals with design and manufacturing of induction heating systems with manual or automatic loading, and robotic cells for single element or high production heat treatments.

Counting upon the improvement of the traditional proven reliability in the field, and more than 1,000 installations manufactured in 40 years of activity, the company set a main target to reduce the sizes of both welding head and power supply unit, besides improving the aspects related to maintenance. For welders with power up to 500kW and frequencies up to 400kHz, several modifications have been made. These include a 50 per cent reduction in the volume of the heating heads; a reduction in the volume of the power supply unit, with access from one side and more flexibility for positioning and electrical and hydraulic connections; reduction in the connecting cables between the power supply unit and the welding unit; improvement and optimisation of internal cooling systems; modularity and

The company’s technical staff have analysed requests arising directly from customers, from operators and maintenance operators of installations, in addition to the information received

Termomacchine Srl – Italy Fax: +39 011 9034066

Email: info@termomacchine.com Website: www.termomacchine.com

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J anuary 2016