A project manager approached Red-D-Arc with an interesting challenge. Their power plant stack had a failing paint system which needed to be prepped for repainting in order to prevent further corrosion. They needed a method of prepping the surface of the 60 foot tall stack which could be performed without the use of scaffolding and would not produce any residual waste, since it might interfere with sensitive components.
Red-D-Arc’s Blasting Specialists suggested dry ice blasting (DIB). Dry ice blasting is an environmentally sustainable cleaning and surface preparation method. It uses dry ice pellets which requires absolutely no clean up, unlike traditional surface preparation methods like grit, HP water and chemicals. Not to mention, dry ice blasting is very fast, effective and inexpensive.
(more…)
Red-D-Arc staff at the Moncton, New Brunswick branch recently helped a customer save time and money repairing the world’s largest rock crusher through the use of induction heat. The hydraulic cylinder that operates the pressure plates used by the enormous rock crusher needed to be brought to a temperature of 500 °F and that temperature needed to be maintained for 3 full days. This was required in order to allow welders to repair the lifting tabs on the cylinder. Normally 3 workers would have used blow torches to heat the metal which would have taken 2 weeks or longer. Red-D-Arc Induction Heating Equipment allowed them to get the job done in less than half the time. Induction heating has many applications in construction, shipbuilding, hydro dam maintenance and bridge building. Red-D-Arc technicians are recognized in the industry for their innovative application of this technology, ready to meet any variety of customer challenges. (more…)
Scheduled for completion in July 2016, U.S. Bank Stadium, the new home of the Minnesota Vikings, is a fixed roof structure that will be nearly 30 stories tall at its highest point. During construction, the base plates of some of the structural support columns needed to be pre-heated to 400o prior to welding. Traditional heating by flame proved to be difficult. It was determined that induction heating was the right solution to safely and efficiently heat the steel to an exact temperature. Induction heating is the preferred method to address challenges associated with the pre-heating of structural steel because it provides a safe and accurate method of heating the metal to a precise temperature.
Red-D-Arc offers Miller ProHeat 35 Induction Heating Systems (IHS) available for rent, lease and sale. This highly efficient technology uses non-contact heating to induce heat electromagnetically rather than using a heating element in contact with the part.
UPDATE: This project was completed ahead of schedule.
A customer involved in the rebuilding of a hydroelectric power generation station came to Red-D-Arc with a unique challenge: Use induction heat to help separate a massive rotor from its center shaft assembly. A traditional approach is to use a combination of open flame along with dry ice which would have taken several weeks to set up and also ran the risk of being ineffective due to the scale and complexity of the project.
Sil Nonis, an induction heating specialist at Red-D-Arc, suggested using 6 induction heating units activated in sequence to provide thermal growth in a uniform pattern; releasing the interference from the center shaft before lifting the rotor. The 6 Miller ProHeat 35 Induction Heating Systems powered two half circle assemblies, positioned at the bottom of the locking ring which was 5′ in diameter as well as two half circle assemblies positioned on a top locking ring which was 4′ in diameter. Massive rotor arms also had 4 pads attached to them, positioned in sequence.
Setup took approximately 2 days and removal of the rotor was completed in a single day. The same process will be used to reinstall the rotor after it has been rebuilt. Over the next few years two additional rotor assemblies will be removed, rebuilt and reinstalled using the same process.
Red-D-Arc provided ProHeat 35 induction heating systems during the construction of The Wilshire Grand Centre in Los Angeles. Large box columns of various sizes and weights needed to be pre-heated during the fabricating and erecting process. Red-D-Arc suggested the use of Pro Heat 35 induction heating systems and helped design fixtures for the heating cables so the box columns could be pre-heated safely and effectively. The 73 story, 1100 foot tower is planned to be completed in 2017 and will become the tallest tower in California!
