Automated GMAW system increases I-beam production throughput by more than 300 percent

摘要

In 2016 an international fabricator for the oil and gas industry wanted to speed up production of steel girder I-beams used for offshore platforms. These large structural beams can have flanges up to 3 in. thick and 12 ft. wide, with the largest beams measuring 8 ft. high and 65 ft. long, weighing 60,000 lbs. The company was using weld tractors to perform the long beam-to-flange fillet welds, with the process requiring a minimum of three separate passes on each side.