Orbital welding and automated welding

Orbital TIG welding processes in evolving automation solutions – picture the perfect weld!

POLYSOUDE provides a wide standard range of orbital welding equipment, for orbital TIG/GTAW tube and pipe welding, as well as automated solutions integrating the latest technologies.

Two out of every three users worldwide rely on POLYSOUDE solutions and their guarantee of the highest weld quality and maximum productivity. POLYSOUDE has a complete range of open and closed welding heads and orbital welding power sources, dedicated to diverse applications such as:

  • tube to tube welding
  • tube to tubesheet welding
  • every size of wall thickness from thin to thick
  • welding tools for every type of workpiece

Modular welding heads and tools easily adapt to various applications covering a wide range of diameters, wall thicknesses and workpiece geometries.

Orbital TIG Welding Machine & Equipment, Orbital Tube and Pipe Welding: Polysoude

An orbital welding installation is generally composed of the following equipment:

  • a programmable power source with a remote control pendant
  • a welding head
  • a wire feeding device, if required by the application

In addition to its range of orbital tube and pipe welding equipment, POLYSOUDE provides complete automated installations for the TIG/GTAW, Cold/Hot Wire and Plasma process as well as related combinations, to meet all your requirements. Only automated welding can guarantee limited heat input during welding, thereby safeguarding the material properties.
POLYSOUDE hardware solutions, in conjunction with extensive welding services, are the guarantee that all customers will meet their production goals.
Special installations are designed according to customer needs. They generally consist of:

  • a welding power source
  • workpiece or torch manipulators, such as a column and boom, positioner or a robot.

All of these installations can be completed with data acquisition and video components.

What is Orbital Welding?

Orbital welding is a technique whereby the welding tool is rotated 360° around a static workpiece. Originally developed to solve the problem of operator error in Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding (also known as Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)), and allow for a uniform weld around pipes and tubes, which can be difficult to achieve with manual welding processes.

The orbital welding process can create high-quality repeatable welds with the use of a computer, meaning that there is little need for intervention from a welding operator. The process is used for two main applications; tube-to-tube / pipe-to-pipe joining and tube-to-tubesheet joining.

The process was originally developed by the aerospace industry in 1960 by Roderick Rohrberg of North American Aviation to address fuel and hydraulic fluid leakages in the X-15 rocket research plane. In the 1980s, improvements in control systems, portability and power supplies meant that orbital welding machines could be transported between construction sites.

What is orbital welding used for?

Where is it Used? Because it is able to create high purity welds, orbital welding has been used for producing clean-room parts for the semiconductor,  pharmaceutical or Ultra-High Purity industries as well as pipework for a diverse range of industries.

What type of electrode is used in TIG welding?

To maintain a constant and compact form of the welding arc, tungsten electrodes that will be used for mechanised or automatic welding should be prepared with a tapered end. The diameter of the electrode, the grinding angle "A" and the diameter "M" of the flattened tip depend on the weld current intensity. Learn more about TIG electrodes here.

What gas is used for orbital welding?

Orbital welding requires specialised mixtures of gas so that the process is able to achieve the smooth results you want. Depending on the application, usually 100% argon gas is used for welding most materials through orbital welding where exotic alloys are frequently welded through a mixture of 95% argon gas and 5% hydrogen.

What are the 5 main types of welding?

There are 5 main types of welding. MIG – Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW), Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) also known as Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), Stick – Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), Flux-cored – Flux-cored Arc Welding (FCAW) and Plasma Arc Welding (PAW). Polysoude focuses since 1961 on TIG welding and is an expert in Plasma Arc Welding for over 25 years.

Is orbital welding automatic?

Since the process is fully automated with rotative motors and controllers as well as with a Smart Welding Station (power source), orbital welding is perfect to produce large quantities of welds because of its repeatability and convenient ergonomics. A combination of semi-automatic and mechanised machines may be used in other applications, called automated welding.

Which welding is strongest?

TIG welding produces clean and precise welds if compared to MIG welding or other Arc welding methods, making TIG welding the strongest. That said, different welding jobs may require different methods, while TIG is generally stronger and higher in quality, you should use another method if the project calls for it, like manual tacking for example.

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