TPT March 2023

TUBE WELDING TECHNOLOGY

Reducing downtime with Welding Alloys wear plate INPUT costs, especially when it comes to heavy-use equipment, can either erode the bottom line through capital expenditure or enhance profits and add value by extending the life of existing machinery through maintenance. Welding Alloys’ wear plate, Hardplate™, is proven to the service life of equipment as confirmed by mining, quarries and earthmoving expert Andre Bouwer. For one large South African iron ore mine, its bucket wheel reclaimers operate daily under extreme wear conditions, subject to moderate impact and intense mineral abrasion. These buckets are vital to keeping downstream operations running through a constant supply of material. Replacement is not a viable option considering pressures on operating and Capex costs and constant refurbishment were proving expensive on the maintenance and downtime fronts. “When we were called in by the mine it was soon clear a longer term solution was needed,” said Mr Bouwer. “The issue was to reduce the high cost of maintaining the bucket wheel reclaimers and to extend the life of buckets that were not meeting expectations due to the effects of excessive wear.”

Welding Alloys has a global network of Integra engineering workshops

Mine records revealed the buckets underwent costly maintenance and significant downtime every few months to repair damage caused by mineral abrasion. “Our technical team conducted a detailed investigation of the buckets, the surrounding areas, and the general working environment and spent significant time on-site for purposes of observation and data gathering,” said Pieter du Plessis, mining, quarries and earthmoving services expert at Welding Alloys. “In these instances, there is no off-the-shelf one-solution fits-all. That understanding comes from decades of experience and is why Welding Alloys’ technical wear specialists treat each new project as unique, and work hand-in-glove with customers through every phase to identify and deliver optimal solutions. “Once analysis of the data and findings had been completed at this mine, our local Integra™ wear services team reviewed details of similar successful solutions undertaken elsewhere in the world.” This time the solution was to reinforce the buckets with Hardplate™ – one of Welding Alloys’ leading composite wear plates formulated to improve resistance to wear and increase service lifetime. The chromium carbide-based product offers a hardness of between 60 – 64 HRC and is designed to withstand moderate impact, intense abrasion, and fair corrosion resistance. Welding Alloys has a global network of Integra™ engineering workshops offering a wide range of services to identify, solve, and improve a multitude of equipment adversely affected by wear. Flexibility is key and Welding Alloys Integra™ teams enable hardfacing solutions in situ, on-site, and in well-equipped workshops delivering increased wear life and lowering total ownership costs, confirmed Pieter du Plessis. Welded tube defects THE Xiris WI-2200/3000 weld inspection system is a weld bead and tube geometry measurement solution that is used to monitor key parameters that relate to process stability and tube or pipe quality. Adding a Xiris WI system to a mill provides real-time monitoring for multiple defect conditions, enabling continuous incremental improvements of mill quality and productivity. Welding Alloys www.welding-alloys.com

ARRIVALs Landing at an exhibition near you…

Made in Steel 9th-11th May 2023 Milan, Italy

Stand: TBC

Lamiera 10th-13th May 2023 Milan, Italy

Tube & Steel Istanbul 24th-27th May 2023 Istanbul, Turkey Stand: TBC

Stand: TBC

Tube China

14th-16th June 2023 Shanghai, China

Stand: W4H26

FABTECH 11th-14th September 2023 Chicago, Illinois, USA

Stand: TBC

www.read-tpt.com – www.read-tpi.com

Xiris Automation Inc www.xiris.com

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MARCH 2023