TPT November 2012

Tube and pipe mi l ls

New technology redefines tube and pipe welding

in energy consumption tends to get interest from CEOs,” said Mr Le Quesne. “The opportunities within the tube and pipe sector are enormous. There are 150 million kilometres of new pipeline currently in the planning or construction phase around the world.” The system is cloud-enabled and records comprehensive weld data for audit and control purposes. The recording and auditing capabilities of the system are considered vital to the tube and pipe sector, where traceability is now becoming a critical issue. K-TIG founder and R&D manager Dr Laurie Jarvis led the 20-person CSIRO team that developed the underlying technology. “Creating and stabilising a keyhole in molten metal using TIG welding was previously not thought possible,” said Dr Jarvis. Fully understanding the physics involved and developing techniques to fully control the process took Dr Jarvis and his team more than eight years. “The K-TIG process excels with materials that are traditionally very challenging to weld. Stainless steels, titanium, zirconium, nickel alloys, cobalt alloys and others are welded to nuclear industry standards in a fraction of the time taken by traditional TIG welding.”

hours – and completed it in under three minutes. K-TIG’s first export sales are to the Middle East and the UK, where the company’s recently appointed distributors, Dubai-based PCT and WB Alloys in England, will focus on the tube and pipe, oil and gas and other markets. The new welding technology, originally developed by the CSIRO before being acquired by K-TIG, enables thick gauge materials, including traditionally difficult metals such as stainless steel and titanium, to be welded in less than one- tenth of the time possible with standard welding processes. K-TIG general manager, international development, Neil Le Quesne, said, “K-TIG’s technology is transformational, and likely to be highly disruptive within

AUSTRALIAN welding innovator K-TIG has gone into full production of its keyhole welding solution, and has taken the decision to focus predominantly on the tube and pipe welding market for the next 12 months. The Adelaide-based company, whose K-TIG welding system performs welds in 10x to 100x the speed of traditional TIG welding, has completed extensive product trials in seven countries and is now shipping its first production units to customers in Australia and worldwide. K-TIG has also received the attention of government, with federal minister for small business Brendan O’Connor visiting the company and performing a weld on a stainless steel pipe which would have taken a skilled welder six

the welding equipment market. The lightning speed of the welding process and, in many cases, a 95 per cent reduction in power and gas consumption dramatically reduces both the cost and carbon footprint of industrial welding.” “Due to the single-pass, full-penetration nature of the process, the weld quality tends to excite the head of engineering, the enormous cost savings get the attention of the CFOs while the massive reduction

K-TIG – Australia Email: sales@k-tig.com Website: www.k-tig.com

K-TIG welding

Tube rollform machinery UNIVERSAL Tube & Rollform offers customers a complete turnkey system from the initial design to start- up. Located under one roof with Universal Controls Group, a rapidly growing controls supplier, its unique relationship enables it to offer a wide array of cost efficient services: extensive inventory available of quality used and reconditioned machinery; line upgrades and repower kits; custom engineering services; full import and export services; cash for your surplus machinery; new drive systems, new components and new accessories; installation and start-up services; home of the U-TRAK length control systems for flying cut-offs; and home of the HavenTrak flying shear tube cut-off. Its 125,000ft 2 warehouse is fully stocked and ready for a hands-on inspection of the equipment a customer needs. It can offer many different types of tube mills or rollformers to fit any specific requirements. Fax or email a drawing of the shape required to fabricate, and an experienced team will get to work assembling a complete line quotation to produce the part required. Universal can help increase accuracy and productivity while keeping investment low.

Visit the Universal website at www. utubeonline.com to browse photos and specifications of its current inventory and see the links on the homepage. Click on ‘universal controls group’ to see the very latest in mill controls, die accelerators and length control systems. Universal Tube & Rollform is a one- stop resource for tube and pipe and rollform machinery.

Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment Corporation – USA Email: sales@utubeonline.com Website: www.utubeonline.com

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N ovember 2012