ARTIS, a company based in western France, is a manufacturer of industrial pipework, specialising particularly in producing pipe networks for the conveyance of fluids such as gases, oil and water. The company supports its customers with its vast experience and wide ranging technology, furthermore, at the heart of its philosophy is an emphasis on both quality and safety.
These two overriding objectives were evident in a project which ARTIS undertook, to produce pipework for conveying dangerous substances, for a major supplier of fluid transportation, with extremely high safety standards. ARTIS met the exacting specifications of this customer in two ways: by purchasing the most appropriate machinery to manufacture the pipe network and by increasing its own levels of expertise and safety qualification.
TIG GTAW orbital welding equipment with filler wire was purchased from Polysoude, France. The equipment provided by Polysoude comprised of two orbital welding heads of the MU series, a wire feeding device and a power source of the type P6. Purchasing this equipment guaranteed repeatability of production, eliminated imperfections, ensured sustained quality and safety and reduced the need for manual work. Furthermore, the knowledge of Polysoude’s welding specialists proved invaluable. Since, before welding could proceed, Polysoude’s experts formulated a proposal to adapt the pipe ends, which had previously been prepared for manual welding. The successful solution meant that pipes of different end geometries could be welded using the orbital welding process.
Also besides, ARTIS was determined to ensure the safety of the pipework throughout its life span with first-class welds, without imperfections. With regards to pipe networks for the conveyance of dangerous substances, the approval of a certification body must be obtained before production can be started. Aware of the criteria, ARTIS also established Welding Procedure Specifications to complete the qualification.
ARTIS invested time and money to achieve the high standards of quality and reliability of the results of the applied WPS. Via a training program for the new equipment conducted at Polysoude’s application laboratory, the ARTIS technician was fully familiarised with the orbital technology.
Overall, this project has been a success for all parties involved. Polysoude equipment has proved its quality and sustainability, ARTIS has developed its knowledge and use of orbital welding equipment, boosting its production and its report will benefit the customer’s management in terms of the experience gained.
