Automated Welding of Rotary Forge Hammers

摘要

The process development and implementation of an automated welding system usedfor repairing rotary forge hammers was performed by Benet Laboratories under a Manufacturing Methods and Technology project at Watervliet Arsenal. Two welding technologies were evaluated in the project, automated flux-cored wire-feed welding by the metal inert gas (MIG) process and powdered metal feed welding by the plasma arc (PTA) process. Initially, two development contracts were established and executed to determine the feasibility of any welding parameters necessary for repair. Both contracts involved welding representative test samples to determine the optimum parameters for deposition rate and quality, and finally utilizing these parameters to weld-overlay actual rotary forge hammers. The hammers were then returned to Watervliet Arsenal for testing in production runs. Based on encouraging results generated during the project, the flux-cored wire-feed welding method has been implemented at the Arsenal and is the current production welding method used for hammer repair and restoration. Plasma Transferred Arc (PTA) welding, Metal Inert Gas (MIG) Welding, Metal powder, Rotary forge hammers, Hardfacing.