What happens when two workpieces are not leveled well when welding? This is one of the biggest headaches for welders when working with plates, pipes, or tubes. Due to the irregular fit-up, the resulting weld joint from such misaligned workpieces is mostly of low quality with weak strength. In oil and gas, chemical, or other manufacturing settings, low-quality piping and tube joints means higher chances of system failure.
To maintain precision alignment when pipe and tube welding, weld operators may choose to make use of a wide range of tools and support systems. Here, we identify these methods of tube and pipe welding alignment and explore their importance.
The Importance of Maintaining Tube and Pipe Welding Alignment
Alignment is a high-priority task to address before beginning tube and pipe welding. The process involves ensuring the proper fit-up of two sections of pipes or tubes for high-quality joint fabrication. Oftentimes, alignment is difficult to achieve, especially when welding large sections of pipe on-site. The pipe misalignment leads to the formation of defects such as undercut or overlap at the joint. In applications that require extensive tube and pipe welding, these defects can lead to leakage, contamination, and many other hazards.
Thus, weld operators use many tools and support to ensure precision alignment. Here are a few reasons why doing so is important.
- It enforces the required weld parameter. Maintaining the alignment allows the welders to weld at an accurate angle and ensure consistent heat input throughout the effective weld area.
- Alignment will prevent undercuts, overlaps, and associated defects. Misalignment can leave incomplete spots in some places while causing an overflow of molten metal in others. These factors decrease the strength of the joint.
- It will prevent distortion and warpage in pipes and tubes. As well-aligned workpieces facilitate consistent application of heat, it also fosters uniform expansion and contraction of the metal. This uniformity is key to the minimization of distortion and warping.
Welding of such well-aligned tube and pipe sections, thus, forms a high-quality system that can operate impeccably under high-stress conditions.
Methods To Enforce Precision Alignment
The alignment tools and fit-up methods are critical to ensuring tube and pipe welding quality control. Depending on the type of pipe/tube and welding location, the alignment can be enforced in many different ways.
- Pipe alignment tools: Specialized tools such as alignment clamps hold the pipes and tubes in place while maintaining a proper gap between the edges. The weld head can easily move and join the two pipe sections while the pipe is still attached to the clamp. A simple jig may be used for tubes or small-diameter pipe alignment.
- Alignment measures: Tools such as the alignment gauge or micrometers examine the pipe size and ensure that two sections of pipe/tubes fit up ideally.
- Software: Modern facilities can also make use of visualization software to assess if the two sections of pipe align before welding.
For a precise result, operators can use a combination of these methods to ensure welding alignment.
Ensure Precision Alignment for a Quality Result
To ensure the pipes and tubes fit up precisely during welding, AMI has solutions like the Model 79 series weld head. The weld heads come with a clamping system that is flexible to adjust to a range of different sizes of pipes and ensure alignment at different angles. The integrated clamping system eliminates the need for guide rings.
With the use of such tools for precision alignment and weld control, it is possible to achieve a high-quality result when welding.
Arc Machines, Inc is a leading provider of orbital welding technologies that focuses on precision welding. Our weld head solution, such as the Model 79, is ideal for achieving precise tube and pipe welding alignment at different angles. For inquiries regarding products, contact sales@arcmachines.com. For service inquiries, contact service@arcmachines.com. To develop a custom solution, contact us to arrange a meeting.
