Orbital Welding Controller With Touchscreen Interface, Data Analytics
The Model 317 from Arc Machines features the first orbital welding controller that manages data. The system improves performance and increases production efficiency by gathering and presenting information that enables pipe fabricators to better control the weld.
Posted: June 22, 2020
Designed for applications in the semiconductor, pharmaceutical, aerospace, nuclear, and other premium pipe fabrication operations, the Model 317 orbital welding controller from Arc Machines Inc. (AMI) (Panorama City, CA) simplifies automated welding via the latest control and interface technology.
The first orbital welding controller designed to manage data, it receives data from different sensors that allows operators to control their welds in the best way possible. Similar to cellphones and tablets, it’s also very easy to navigate.
Advanced touchscreen features include an automated pipe schedule generator. A schedule editor allows operators to adjust, finetune, add, delete, and navigate amperage levels. Once in welding mode, a data analytics engine provides live data, while cameras offer a live view of the weld.
Paired with ESAB’s WeldCloud and other orbital analytics, users can collect, store, and manage data files locally or in the cloud.
“The M317 combines the video image with the welding data, timestamps it, and saves a welding record,” says Vice President of Engineering Xavier Jauregui. “If you find irregularities while performing an extended weld, you don’t have to discard the weld because you can go back and see every instance where the system highlighted an issue.”
The controller has modules for accommodating different frequencies of data recording. For applications such as oil and gas and nuclear power, data recording frequency may depend on the quality of a particular component. To qualify a weld, a third party may need precise data to show there was no irregularity in the weld from the current, voltage, or anywhere in the welding process.
Because hazardous fabrication conditions and extreme industrial settings require a portable, durable system, the controller is outfitted with upper- and mid-height handles and weighs 99 pounds.
“If you’re in a nuclear plant, you may have to go into a hot zone, where there is a time limit for being inside,” says Jauregui. “Then you’ll need to bring the equipment back out. The amperage versus the footprint of this equipment allows you to perform a spectrum of welds without having to change equipment.”
AMI is a brand of ESAB Welding & Cutting Products.
