Posted to News on 23rd Oct 2007, 15:35
Bulk containers of welding wire save 100 man-hours per year
Finley Structures has found that switching to ESAB Marathon Pac bulk containers of welding wire is saving 100 man-hours per year or more, plus weld quality is improved.
Structural steel fabricator Finley Structures Ltd is based in County Durham and has a production capacity of 250 tonnes per week. The company was using conventional 18kg reels of wire that had to be changed approximately every other day. However, when the company had to source CE-marked consumables in line with the requirements of the Construction Products Directive (CPD) that came into force throughout Europe in October 2006, the local ESAB representative suggested trying Marathon Pac bulk containers.
The CPD concerns CE marking of certain land-based structures, and one of the prerequisites is that the welding consumables must be CE marked. Fortunately ESAB has over 100 consumable products available that are already CE marked, giving fabricators such as Finley Structures a broad choice. Finley Structures selected ESAB OK Autrod12.64, a copper-coated Mn-Si alloyed G4Si1/ER70S-6 solid wire for GMAW of non-alloyed steels. It produces high-strength welds, with low spatter and a good weld profile.
Eight welding stations are now using this wire supplied in Marathon Pac bulk containers, with significant benefits for Finley Structures. Gary Finley, the Head of Production, is extremely pleased, saying: "It was essential that we started using a CE-marked wire and the Marathon Pacs have been an extra bonus. The new wire is giving a better weld profile and we are very happy with the quality and consistency of the welds.
"Productivity is also up, as it used to take around five minutes to change each reel of wire. The 250kg Marathon Pacs are therefore saving about an hour and a half each; we are using between four and six Marathon Pacs per month, so the annual saving could be in the region of 100 man-hours or more."
Gary Finley is also enthusiastic about the support he has received from ESAB: "They have been marvellous. Technical support is first-class, the wire is delivered promptly, and quality is consistently high."
Marathon Pacs are highly suitable for the type of semi-automated MIG/MAG welding undertaken by Finley Structures. Not only is there increased productivity through less downtime when changing reels, but the wire is also kept cleaner and it feeds better - even through the 8m long conduit used by Finley Structures - to give a more stable welding process and better quality welds. With a number of different CE-marked wires now available in Marathon Pacs, ESAB is well placed to help fabricators save money and improve quality while, at the same time, complying with the CPD.
Contact ESAB to request more information about CE-marked welding wires and Marathon Pacs.
