This Avenger gantry features a massive fabricated box beam with dual precision linear rails that can span up to a 45-ft. (14 m) cutting width, with cutting speeds from 2 to 1000 in./min. (50.8 to 25,400 mm/min.). The model built for Newport News features two fully automatic 7-axis triple torch oxy-fuel bevel heads and a newly designed 4-torch oxy-fuel bevel head on the front side, along with a Precision Plasma marking system, laser pointer and video camera monitoring system. The back side features nine oxy-fuel stripping stations for straight cutting, a Precision Plasma marking system, laser pointer and video camera monitoring system. Each side is controlled by a separate CNC control.
closed-loop weld process control. Hybrid Laser Arc Welding (HLAW) combines the deep weld penetration and low heat input associated with laser welding with the power efficiency and superior gap tolerance of GMAW to create a new welding alternative. A key component of the system is the patented closed-loop control that allows the system to monitor the weld joint in real time and modify the process to accommodate a joint mismatch. The control monitors and adapts the welding process faster than a human operator could, allowing travel speeds that would not be possible with conventional control systems. This technology is available as a robotic system, a portable tractor system or on a moving gantry.
ESAB introduced Friction Stir Welding for joining carbon steel.
Burning at 50,000 degrees F, ESAB's plasma cutter makes quick work cutting steel.
Hybrid Laser Welding
ESAB has also introduced its Hybrid Laser Welding (HLW) system into the shipbuilding niche, as HLW is a system that lowers the heat input to allow welding without warping the material. This computer run system is actually two processes in one: a combination of laser and gas metal arch welding. The ESAB system is designed to standout with a real-time monitoring and analysis system, designed to make the strongest welds efficiently. The system is efficient indeed, welding .25-in. plate at 200 in./min. ESAB touts its HLW as the first commercially available mechanized laserwelding systems using laser only, laser with cold wire fill, or hybrid laser arc welding in a 2D gantry, 3D robotic or custom mechanized solution with
Friction Stir Welding Carbon Steel
While Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is hardly a new technology, used for years in the joining of aluminum panel, the method successfully employed in the joining of carbon steel -- the joining of steel without melting -- is a relatively recent development. Until recently, FSW was used successfully in the joining of soft, non-ferrous materials such as aluminum, magnesium, copper, zinc and lead alloys. The problem encountered in using FSW on carbon steel was finding tool materials able to withstand the high temperatures and press on harder materials. The key to the ESAB technology is a new special alloy hardened tool which reportedly withstands the heat and up to 5,000 psi down pressure.
www.esab.com
ESAB's welding tools and materials are designed to help produce good results from even inexperienced hands, such as those of this magazine's editor!
July 2008
www.marinelink.com
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