Fronius (the Netherlands) has developed a CrNi welding software for joining parts made from high-alloy steels. It is suitable for MIG/MAG, TIG and stick electrode welding. The software contains the metallurgical and welding know-how for 46 basic applications. The programs represent a selection of the most common material combinations, thus saving the user time. The software is already being used by two companies in the Netherlands. EFM Machinery company is a processor of special steel and a producer of machines for filling, sealing, labelling and coding of containers for the pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries. The weld appearance and absence of spatter features are significant since optical and technical perfection are inseparably linked with the main quality criterion of hygiene. Using the pulsed function of the CrNi edition, the welders at EFM are now producing MIG welds that look like TIG welds. “We can weld at least four to five times faster and virtually spatter-free compared with our 160 A TIG units,” explains Carlos Egberts, EFM’s managing director. This is a significant benefit in a company that processes around 30 tonnes of austenitic CrNi material annually. The other user is Vink Systems, a producer of air ducts for building installations. As the final stage in production, welding has a significant effect on the quality of the metal end product. There are huge differences in the sheet thickness and material of the initial product, the dimensions of the parts and the batch sizes. The CrNi edition with its high level of flexibility is perfectly equipped to deal with this wide range of variations. Jack Vooys, chief design engineer, comments: “We can now weld and braze all the materials we handle using just one machine. Weld dressing is a thing of the past.” He adds: “The productivity benefit with identical quality and identical weld appearance is 30-40% by comparison with TIG units!”
