TPT September 2020

TUBE WELDING MACHINES & TECHNOLOGY

When the hydraulic and fuel lines on a single jetliner can total 700 assemblies, the golden ideal of welding and of tube making is identical: a faster weld at no sacrifice in quality. Even orbital welding is continually fine-tuned to deliver its benefits at ever-higher speeds. Tube makers have mastered welding set-ups for rotation, dwell and penetration parameters, different for each size of tubing. They know how to regulate a power supply for welding current, primary and background amperes, weld bead overlap, and for delay of rotation at the start of the weld and current downslope at the end. They share with welders a zeal amounting to passion for a clean cut-off operation with smooth surfaces. For as long as welding is the method by which tube and pipe are joined, the advances that lie ahead for the two already highly developed technologies will be made in tandem. In the meantime, this partnership of equals acknowledges a common obligation: to provide perfect leak-tight joints having uniform circumferential weld strength to the automotive, defence, aerospace, biomedical and machine tool industries of the world.