TPT July 2019

T E CHNOLOG Y

Ultra-fine plasma welding from 0.1mm EWM AG offers its Microplasma plasma welding machine for delicate welding when working with materials as thin as 0.1mm. The high-tech device for professional users features the latest in digital control technology, cutting-edge inverter technology and compact plasma torches designed for welding work in fine detail. Areas of application include medical and dental technology, aviation, pneumatic components and welding of various metals to thermocouples. and after welding, and during pauses in welding). The current for the pilot arc is adjustable in a range of 2 to 15 A. For operation of the machine, EWM has integrated the latest digital control unit, Comfort 2.0, with a visual display of the plasma welding sequence parameters that allows as many as 100 jobs to be set. All standard parameters are pre-configured, for plasma, TIG and pulse welding. Automated pulse functionality keeps the pulse frequency automatically adjusted in line with the welding current level.

EWM offers the Microplasma in three power variants. The current for the plasma arc is adjustable in fine 0.1 ampere steps from 0.3 to 20, 50 or 100 A, depending on the machine. Plasma technology offers the advantage over TIG welding that the pilot arc is adjustable, allowing 100 per cent ignition reliability, and the plasma arc is extremely constricted, allowing the user to precision-concentrate the water- cooled plasma torch on the desired point of the workpiece at a temperature of up to 22,000°C. Various plasma nozzle sizes make it possible to direct the heat input to an exactly defined area. The pilot arc is a special feature of plasma welding, as it ionises the part directed toward the workpiece, ensuring reliable ignition of the main arc. This is an advantage particularly in partially mechanised and automated production, in which reproducible results are required. The pilot arc current can be adjusted at four operating points during the welding process (before, during

The gas-metering unit is another standard feature that makes working easier on a practical level. A control knob enables fine and highly precise regulation of the gas quantity, reducing gas consumption while enhancing weld quality and efficiency. EWM’s manual and automated welding torches are designed to enable The plasma welding torches are compact and handy for both manual and automated welding Image source: EWM

precision work, ensuring optimal heat dissipation and featuring a sophisticated cooling functionality that increases the service life of consumables. This allows exact tack welding and welding of films, drive components, membranes, sieves and filters made of low- and high-alloy steel, for example, as well as bi-metal electrical and thermocouples. The new Microplasma uses EWM’s modular design: the compact power source is connectable to the cooling unit without the need for tools. A cooling aggregate is optionally available for mechanised continuous-use situations. The new Microplasma for delicate plasma welding of workpieces with material thickness down to 0.1mm Image source: EWM

EWM AG – Germany Email: info@ewm-group.com Website: www.ewm-group.com

Ultrasound non-destructive testing THE Phased Array Company (TPAC), an expert in the field of ultrasonic non-destructive testing solutions, has introduced the Pioneer, a powerful but compact acquisition unit that provides phased array and advanced FMC/TFM technologies. and therefore providing superior image quality. Depending on the customer’s needs, the Pioneer product range is available with unlimited hardware and software possibilities, enabling the use of common phased array and TFM techniques as well as advanced approaches such as PWI for fast acquisition, adaptive techniques for complex shape

such as speed of data acquisition, data file size, signal-to-noise ratio, image reconstruction resolution and the size of the system itself. Ultra-fast, with high- resolution imaging and high-quality application support, the Pioneer product range meets the requirements of all NDT users, such as service companies, integrators, manufacturing industries, R&D centres and universities. The Phased Array Company – USA Email: info@thephasedarraycompany.com Website: www.thephasedarraycompany.com

In order to respond to the grow- ing need for faster and more accurate detection of material defects, TPAC focused its strengths and experience to exploit the best features of the latest ul- trasonic technologies. In particular, total focusing methods (TFM) exceed con- ventional imaging by optimally focusing at each point of the reconstruction zone

inspection and non-linear acoustic or arbitrary waveform generator for very accurate defect detection. TPAC also states that the Pioneer does not have a problem with the usual constraints encountered in UT,

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JULY 2019