Introduction
Orbital welding is a technique of joining pipes and tubes while ensuring flawless and high-quality welds. This technique doesn’t require much human intervention making it more beneficial. Orbital welding is used in various critical sectors such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors as those sectors require a high amount of precision and efficiency in the outputs.
Types of Orbital Welding Heads
Below stated are the 3 main types of orbital welding heads:
- Open Orbital Weld Heads
- Closed Orbital Weld Heads
- Tube to Tube sheet Weld Heads.
Open Orbital Weld Heads
Open orbital weld heads are used in the welding of larger diameter pipes and thick-walled materials. These heads do not enclose the weld joints completely which provides easy access and manipulation during the welding process. These heads have a clamping system or a low-profile guide ring that can be attached to the pipe. These systems are adjustable and can accommodate various pipe sizes. This benefits in using multiple welding passes which is a necessary requirement for thick walled-materials.
Applications of Open Orbital Weld Heads
Open orbital weld heads are considered ideal for sectors such as oil and gas, water treatment and chemical processing where large pipes are a necessity. These heads are known for dealing with materials requiring several welding passes.
Advantages and Limitations of Open Orbital Welding Heads
Advantages: Below stated are some of the key advantages of open orbital welding heads:
- It offers versatility in handling a vast range of pipe sizes and thicknesses.
- It has the ability to perform multiple welding passes.
- It is also suitable for filler wires which improves the weld strength.
Limitations: Below stated are some of the limitations of open orbital welding heads:
- The open heads of the weld might reduce the effectiveness of the shielding gas and impact the quality of the weld.
- Open head orbital welds are less suitable for tight spaces or environments requiring high purity.
Closed Orbital Weld Heads
Closed orbital weld heads are also known as enclosed weld heads as they fully surround the weld joints and create a controlled welding environment. The design of these welds ensures that the weld area is fully protected by shielding gas which is necessary for the achievement of high-quality welds. These welds are designed in such a way that they can cover the entire circumference of the tube. This keeps the weld joints free from the contaminants. Closed Orbital Weld Heads are most commonly used in the Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) process which relies on precision over the welding arc. The design of this weld head offers high-quality and consistent welds.
Applications of Open Closed Weld Heads
Closed orbital weld heads are considered ideal for applications that require high-purity welds. Thus, these welds are used in sectors such as semiconductor, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage industries, etc. these are also used in the welding of thin-walled tubes in a single pass and without filler materials.
Advantages and Limitations of Closed Orbital Welding Heads
Advantages: Below stated are some of the key advantages of closed orbital welding heads:
- It covers the shielding gas properly and ensures the welds of high quality.
- It is considered ideal for high-purity applications which should be protected from contamination.
- It is known for producing consistent welds without requiring much heat tint discoloration.
Limitations: Below stated are some of the limitations of closed orbital welding heads:
- It is not suitable for pipes with smaller diameters and thin-walled materials.
- It is more expensive in comparison to open head welds and also more complex to set up.
- It cannot be used for applications that require multiple welding passes.
Tube to Tube Sheet Weld Heads
Tube to tube sheet weld heads are used to join tubes with the tube sheets with a precise fillet weld. This tool is considered ideal for applications such as heat exchangers and tubular assemblies. These welds create a fillet weld that is used to join the end of the tube to a tube sheet securely. This tool is also used in the GTAW process for the high-quality and repeatable welds. Its unique design allows the head to create precise alignment and have control over the welding process.
Applications of Tube to Tube Sheet Weld Heads
Tube to tube sheet welds are most commonly used in the manufacturing of heat exchangers, boilers and other equipment with numerous tubes. Thus, this tool is considered ideal for sectors such as power generation, chemical processing and HVAC systems.
Advantages and Limitations of Tube to Tube Sheet Welding Heads
Advantages: Below stated are some of the key advantages of tube to tube sheets welding heads:
- It is known for providing précised control over the welding processes and guaranteeing consistent and high-quality fillet welds.
- It is considered an essential tool for applications that require multiple tubes to be joined with a single tube sheet.
- It is suitable for high-pressure and high-temperature environments.
Limitations: Below stated are some of the key limitations of tube to tube sheet welding heads:
- It can be used for certain types of applications only due to its specific design.
- It is more expensive in comparison to general-purpose weld.
- It requires extremely précised alignment and set-up for obtaining optimal results.
Take Away
This is the brief explanation about 3 major types of orbital welding machines along with their applications, advantages and limitations. We hope this information will be effective for you. Please let us know through your valuable feedback and the suggestion in the drop box.
