TTM 08 2012 ENG

TTM

Innovation & High Technology

TUBE TECH MACHINERY

Magazine

Number eight -October 2012 - Bi-annual publication produced by Tube Tech Machinery

25 mm thickness for naval applications is not a problem

There is a solution for welding

carbon steel with nominal thickness for naval applications. In fact, TTM has always been very careful to develop processes that aim for total automation of production for structural components destined for the transport industry, particularly the naval industry.

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รถcke Umformtechnik Gmbh, a company based in Germany that specialises in the creation of special products and productions for the transport industry, has decided to redouble its productive capability by buying a second TTM laser cutting and welding system: a TS 5.12 for producing sizes of sheet metal that are not available on the market.

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25 mm thickness is not a problem There is a solution for welding carbon steel with nominal thickness for naval applications. In fact, TTM has always been very careful to develop processes that aim for total automation of production for structural components destined for the transport industry, particularly the naval industry.

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he latter’s strong request for automation and increase in the performance of production systems for hulls and intermediate decks for ships, has led this company in Cazzago San Martino to develop a hybrid-laser welding process for materials with nominal thickness, one which fully satisfies the extremely stringent regulations for the characteristics of welded joints: dimension, type and thickness of the material, and mechanical and metallurgic properties of weld seams that are typical in the naval industry.

For welding carbon steel with nominal thickness, the process foresees the preparation of the plate edges that are to be welded by machining, with different ratios between the shoulder and the groove welds concerning the thickness to be welded, and further welding with a hybrid-laser process that is able to carry out, in a single step, full penetration welding of specific steel of up to 25 mm thickness for the construction of ships. The process is based on an high brilliance laser resonator, which works together with a MAG torch and a MAG-twin system to fill the weld bevel. We are giving the main process parameters for welding AH36 materials (steel for ship construction) as an example.

High productivity is also guaranteed for nominal thickness, as the welding is carried out in one step using high power density (high laser power concentrated on small areas). Under these conditions, sudden cooling is caused by the formation of martensite, with consequent increases, outside acceptable limits, in the hardness of weld joints. TTM

Laser resonator MAG and MAG twin MAG position MAg twin position Welded thickness Welding speed

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IPG Photonics YLR 20000 W FRONIUS 5 mm pre 800 mm post from 4 to 25 mm from 1 to 6 m/min

has solved this problem by installing a double pre and post heating system in order to control the thermal gradient of the joint. The system is composed of non-contact inductors and temperature sensors (infrared optical pyrometers), interfaced with the central controller which monitors them with management algorithms of preheating and cooling curves. The shape and power of the inductors are designed according to the thickness of the material, the clamping systems and their thermal conductivity.

A series of further monitoring systems complete the above process. In order to have a clear keyhole view during the welding, there is a digital camera installed, mounted coaxially to the process fiber which is synchronized with an external laser illuminator for opportunely filtering optic disturbances. The central controller has the possibility of registering the welding sequences in the most common video formats, offering a visual post-analysis of the process. A biodimensional laser triangulation sensor is installed for geometrical analyses of

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the joint to be welded and the consequent real time adjustments to process parameters. There is a control system (beam shaped) for the analyses of the shape and surface of the weld seams, which scans and indicates eventual macroscopic defects.

SCANNING THE SHAPE OF THE WELD PROFILE Everything that has been said confirms TTM’s capability and experience gained in their excellent managing of the laser welding process. This Brescian company possesses the know-how of incorporating sensors into its welding systems for real time tracking of the joint and off-line joint mapping, through the use of a coaxial chamber mounted on the weld head or else with external laser sensors.

With this type of TTM system complete automation can also be used for the quality control of production, through the incorporation of off-line systems such as ultrasounds and eddy-currents. The automatic generation of analysis reports allows for continuous monitoring of weld joint quality.

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Göcke double Göcke Umformtechnik Gmbh, a company based in Germany that specialises in the creation of special products and productions for the transport industry, has decided to double its productive capability by buying a second TTM laser cutting and welding system: a TS 5.12 for producing sizes of sheet metal that are not available on the market.

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ust as in a game of poker, there are those who fold when facing “critical” situations in the working world, allowing themselves to be dragged down by events, and those, on the other hand, who raise and double up. In short, there are those who face up to and act upon a static market, often by making courageous choices that to many may seem hazardous.

This is the case of Wihelm Göcke, who together with his son Jörg, manages Göcke Umformtechnik Gmbh, a company specialising in special products and productions for the transport industry, that has decided to double its productive capability by buying a second laser cutting and welding system for producing sizes of sheet metal that are not available on the market. Yes! This is precisely what Göcke specialises in; moulding products in an unexceptionable and fast way, according to the unusual sizes and dimensions that it obtains from joining smaller sheet metals, and trimming and welding them together with the most innovative laser technology.

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Reinvesting to grow again It was in 2007 when the Göckes, father and son, decided to invest in a Tube Tech Machinery TS 4.20 fully automatic system, which has the capacity of producing semi-finished sheet metal of large dimensions, as used in the transport industry, especially in the rail industry. It is no coincidence that in 2010, with this system, TÜV NORD granted the company UNI EN ISO 15085 certification for welding processes within the rail industry.

The system is introduced into an automatic line for the construction of carbon and stainless steel body sides, with a thickness of between 1 and 8 mm, for urban transport. The

system installed by Göcke uses a stationary positioned Trumpf TLF5000 as its power source. It automatically trims and welds, crosswise, sizes of up to 4m in width and 20 m in length, with extremely fine seams that are not prone to shrinkage.

“Offering innovative solutions for all sizes means having to constantly update production” explains Mr. Göcke. “We work with a modern machine park which is constantly reorganised and renewed according to the most upto-date technical standards. We make a constant effort to always be innovative. This is the reason behind the choice made in 2007, and the one made now. Even back then, the

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CUTTING AND WELDING AREA

s up

SHEETS TO BE WELDED dimension 1000x2000 mm min dimension 2000x4000 mm max

WELDED SHEETS dimension 2000x2000 mm min dimension 4000 x mm max

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The TS 4.20 automatically trims and welds formats of up to 4 m in width and 20 m in length, with thin seams that are not prone to shrinkage. The TS 5.12, on the other hand, allows for the creation of sheets with a maximum width of 5.000 mm and 12 m in length. This machine is not limited to welding sheets of the same size, it also allows for the easy joining of different width strips, of different materials and thickness, thereby allowing for the construction of made-to-measure sheets, limiting the maximum weight and increasing the resistance capacity of the finished product. growing request for large format welding lead us to making a quick decision: to either give a quantity of orders to external entities or to keep them internal, investing in a new laser cutting and welding system. In substance, the decision to install TS 4.20 was the classic “make or buy” choice: we outsource work or in the future we also want to carry out production internally according to our high quality standards. The volume of orders has increased notably since we decided to invest in this kind of system in order to move in new directions. We hope, as we are also convinced, that the same thing will also happen with the new TS 5.12, thereby shifting our market

and enabling it to recommence in the right way. If we hadn’t installed the TS 4.20 in 2007, the crisis of the last few years would most definitely have hit us harder and permanently.

Instead, the choices made have meant that we have only been slightly affected. However, today we wish to go back to growing and the choice of TTM’s TS 5.12 is the means for us to move in this direction”.

Laser longitudinal cutting and welding Unlike the TS 4.20, TTM’s TS 5.12 is a fully automatic line for producing large formats with different thicknesses, and this best fulfills the

production needs of Göcke Umformtechnik Gmbh. The TS 5.12 can join sheet metal of different materials and thickness up to 12 m in length, longitudinally. The system’s typical applications are the longitudinal welding of sheet metal with high mechanical properties, among which, for example, sheets of highly resistant steel.

The TS 5.12 system loads two or more sheets of metal, of up to 12 m in length, automatically and can combine several trimming and welding procedures in order to obtain various different semi-finished product configurations, between them also joining several sheet metals with different lengths, widths, materials and

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thicknesses. The accurate mechanical design of this system has also allowed for transport on the main cart of the CO2 Trumpf TLF5000 power source.

The basic idea behind this machine concept is that of creating formats that are larger than those produced by previous accessories. In fact, the TS 5.12 allows for the creation of sheets with a maximum width of 5.000 mm and length of 12 m. The machine is not limited to welding sheets of the same size; it also allows for the easy joining of different width strips, of a different material, as well as a different thickness, thereby actually permitting the construction of made-to-measure sheets, limiting the maximum weight and increasing the resistance capacity of the finished product. The latter

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is in fact an important factor, above all in the transport industry, where the trend is increasingly more emphasised on and aimed at reduction in weight, which is equivalent to a decrease in consumption together with an increase in the resistance capacity necessary for addressing the issue of high velocity in the rail industry. The TS 5.12 therefore allows for the automatic feed of strips with a minimum width of 600 mm and a maximum of 2.600 mm, welding them together until the programmed sized sheet is obtained.

A finished and guaranteed product One of the outstanding novelties introduced by this new machine are the process control methodologies and certification of the finished pro-

duct. One of the recurring problems with these products is actually the inherent quality of the welding. TTM has done some important work in this direction and, thanks to the machine concept which foresees the use of two laser tests, the TS 5.12 offers, for the first time, welding process control systems together with a non-destructive control which certifies the product in a definite and guaranteed manner.

For the real time quality control of the welding being carried out, the TS 5.12 is equipped with a system that is able to read the principal physical parameters of the welding process, such as the temperature of the molten baths, the formation of plasma and the amount of reflected light. These readings are constantly elaborated and compared to readings stored in a te-

[ TTM offers pure laser welding processes without filler material; the ideal solution for esthetically high quality welding which reduces thermal deformations to a minimum. It is also capable of incorporating hybrid welding processes, from the L-GMAW (laser-MAG) to the L-GTAW (laserTIG); both highly indicated when a high degree of variability is expected in the joint geometry, as well as for specific hardness requirements.

chnological data base. Any deviation in the readings taken, in respect to the standard reference of average readings, is analysed by software which automatically determines if the welding carried out is satisfactory and that the quality is constant.

It is therefore evident, thanks to the introduction of these two control systems on the machine itself, that the standard of welding is guaranteed, with the possibility, in the event that accidental factors have caused non-conformi-

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CERTIFICATION ACHIEVED The devotion, reliability and professionalism that distinguish TTM, together with the important results that they constantly obtain, are guarantees of maximum quality and complete trustworthiness. The Quality and Environmental Certification, in compliance with the UNI EN ISO9001:2008 and UNI EN ISO 14001:2004 standards, that TTM was granted by DNV at the beginning of the year, is proof to this.

CUTTING AND WELDING AREA

SHEETS TO BE WELDED dimension 600x3000 mm min dimension 2500x12000 mm max

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WELDED SHEETS dimension 1200x3000 mm min dimension 5000x12000 mm max

ty, of immediately taking the sheet metal and repeating the trimming and welding process in order to deliver a finished and guaranteed product.

Joint detection, size and tracking TTM incorporates sensors into its welding systems in order to track, in real time, the joint and off-line mapping of the same through the use of a coaxial chamber mounted on the weld

head or else with external laser sensors. The reconstruction of the trajectory is then entrusted to a numerical elaboration of the image that is managed by the central controller. The use of extremely fast real-time hardware, such as FPGA or multiprocessor systems, guarantees the computing power necessary for the analysis of large amounts of data.

For very stringent applications, where it is necessary to precisely evaluate the geometrical characteristics of the joint before welding (position, significant presence of even very narrow gaps), TTM has developed a mapping software based on high precision biodimensional laser triangulation, in order to scan the shape of the profile in a direction orthogonal to a weld line. In this way, the system is able to modify, fully automatically, the theoretical trajectory of the welding used as far as the actual positioning of the piece is concerned and to immediately alter the main process parameters (laser power, welding speed and the amount of filler material) for the actual sizes of the joints.

It is also possible to install the PUSH-PUSH wire feeding system, which guarantees maximum performance in terms of the precision and speed of response of the feed speed control system. Special applications, such as the wobble system (oscillating mirror) and twin-spot optic systems can also be used. The use of these solutions arises from the need to widen the beam transversely to the welding direction, or to pre-heat the material.

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EVENTS

hen i formed the ttm group, i gave myself the ambitious objective of filling a space in the market by developing and creating laser welding systems for special applications. In only a few years, with persistence and determination, we have thought up and designed innovative custom-made solutions for our clients, which has allowed us to achieve significant goals. Thanks to a highly professional team with technical expertise, we have installed numerous systems across the world, with maximum customer satisfaction due to their considerable increase in production and to them being able to guarantee the highest standards in quality. The example of Göcke in this issue of our house organ is just one of many that we could provide. I am therefore proud to be able to confirm that the TTM group has now achieved its most important objective; that of being considered as par excellence for laser welding systems. This is a great triumph for me and for all of those that are part of this extraordinary challenge, which each day we carry out with commitment and renewed passion.

Nothing happens by chance: innovation is the result of research and engineering that have drawn on experience, being open to discussion, intelligence technology and of the professional ability of a territory and industrial culture which are among the most acclaimed in the world.

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Tube Tech Machinery S.r.l.

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