Automation Quiz of the Week

ARC Specialties has a robotics and welding lab available to solve your manufacturing problems. Below are a few of the questions we answered in the lab. See how many you agree with.

1.    How do you automate oxy acetylene welding of cobalt tungsten overlays with cast rod filler materials?

2.    How can you increase production rates on Additive Manufacturing (AM) systems for metal parts?

3.    What is the maximum effective tungsten carbide to matrix ratio for PTAW (plasma transferred arc welding) composite hard facing of extruder screws and rock bits?

4.    What type of robot gripper works to pick up freshly cut lawn sod from the growing fields?

5.    How can you weld moly rhenium, pure chromium and pure tungsten?

6.    Can the strength of Additive Manufactured metal part match traditional rolled material properties?

7.    Can you weld 4” thick aluminum plate in 4 passes?

8.    Which welding overlay process can achieve good bonding and <5% dilution in a single layer?

9.    What accuracy can I expect with current robots used for machining?

10. How can you improve plasma arc initiation?

11. How to improve contact tip life to maintain tool center point?

12. Is there an alternative to adaptive control for welding parts with poor dimensional tolerances?

We receive customer requests which fall into three categories. Yes, your project is doable. Or no your project is not technically feasible. And maybe. It is the maybe group that requires research and development.

At ARC Specialties we have a laboratory to develop and refine our machines BEFORE we build them. If we or the customer is unsure about a project then we start the project in the lab. Sometimes we are just proving a concept, other times we are figuring out how to solve a manufacturing problem for our customer. Sometimes we don't succeed, but failure in the lab is quick and affordable. And it avoids costly project failures on the shop floor.

So, if you have a problem, or a wild idea contact me. Our policy is if your test is interesting or quick we don’t even charge you! We are always looking for new challenges. Our staff has many decades of industry experience to apply to your job. If your challenge is welding, machining, inspection, cutting or material properties allow us to prove that we can solve it.

Our motto has always been: ARC Specialties Thrives on problems, send us yours!

Dan Allford

Answers:

1.     You don't. You switch to plasma welding and change from cast rods to powdered filler materials.

2.     Incorporate high deposition welding processes such as submerged arc and electroslag to increase productivity by an order of magnitude.

3.     65% any higher and you risk tungsten carbide particle pull out due to low matrix (binder) volume.

4.     Multiple large cork screws rotated into the sod work great.

5.     Plasma transferred arc with powder feed allows welding of high melting point (6,192 F) metals.

6.     By using traditional welding technology AM parts meet and exceed typical base metal strength levels.

7.     Yes buried arc GMAW can weld 3" aluminum plate in 4 passes with 1/2" of root penetration.

8.     Pulsed GMAW can produce single layer overlays which meet NACE MRO 175

9.     +/-.008” and getting better with technological advances.

10.  Increase pilot arc current and plasma gas flow rate immediately before weld start.

11.  Water cooling and nickel alloyed tips

12.  Sometimes it is better to address the root cause. Eliminate the issue by switching to robotic cutting to improve part accuracy rather than compensate for poor parts with adaptive control.