After the success of our first two events, we have decided to add another two events to our calendar. Stop by and see the Red-D-Arc team for your chance to score big deals on used welding equipment! Come browse our selection of used welding equipment and take advantage of special event pricing.
Save on quality used welding equipment, including:
- Inverters
- Wire feeders
- Engine-driven welders
- Automation equipment
Event Details – St. Louis
November 7-8
8:30 am – 4:00 pm
2430 Salena Street
St. Louis, MO 63104
(314) 631-8490
Event Details – Houston
December 5-6
7:00 am – 5:00 pm
1817 Federal Road
Houston, Texas 77015
(713) 451-8484
Can’t make it to these events, but want to get in touch with us about purchasing used welding equipment? Contact us now.
*Welding equipment selection varies at each location. Offer good while supplies last. Terms and conditions apply. See store associate for details.
Since the discovery of metal ores in ancient times, mankind has continuously tried to expand the productivity and quality of the welding and casting processes. As a result, welding can be performed using countless methods: some versatile, some specialized, some common today, and others obsolete.
In this guide, we will be discussing some of the commonly used welding processes and some of the more obscure ones. Knowing the different types of welding processes and how to weld with different types of materials is essential to getting any job done– no matter what the circumstances and tools are available. For this guide, we have arranged all terms alphabetically so you can easily find the welding process you are looking for.
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If you’re searching for a welding machine, you may stumble across descriptions such as “transformer” or “inverter.” If you are unsure which is best for your application, at least know this: transformer and inverter welders are perfectly capable of producing high-quality welds. However, keep in mind that most new models produced by industry-leading manufacturers are inverter-based.
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Equipment for Flux Core Welding
Like shielded metal arc welding (SMAW, stick), Flux Core Welding (FCAW) is a popular welding process that uses the assistance of flux within a tubular wire to help produce high-quality welds. Unlike shielded metal arc welding, flux cored welding can be divided into two distinct processes: self-shielded flux-cored arc welding (FCAW-S) and gas-shielded flux-cored arc welding (FCAW-G).
Both the home hobbyist and professional welder will encounter situations where one process is advisable over the other. FCAW-G is most often used indoors, while FCAW-S is typically used outdoors. To maximize productivity and quality, welders should become familiar with the welding tools and equipment of both processes so that they can quickly setup and operate whichever process is best for their application and welding environment.
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Aluminum welding is one of the most critical processes in manufacturing. By understanding the challenges of aluminum welding, manufacturers can produce stronger and more reliable products. Aluminum is a unique material that requires special techniques to weld properly. It is valued for it’s lightness and is often used in aircraft construction. This guide will discuss the different steps involved in the aluminum welding process and why you must follow a specific protocol when welding with this material.
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Welding automation has been around for a while, but recently its role has grown exponentially in manufacturing. For years, the welding industry has faced a skill gap, which is expected to grow wider in the coming years. To combat this, employers are adopting automated welding equipment to increase the efficiency of weld operations.
What Is the Skill Gap?
The “skill gap” describes a discrepancy between the skills held by job seekers and the skills employers need. This leads to a paradox where there’s a large pool of applicants, but companies aren’t able to hire workers with the appropriate knowledge and skill set. This has led to increasing welder salaries as manufacturing businesses compete to attract skilled workers, and even then, many positions are left unfilled.
Why Is It Happening?
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Whether you’re working in the petrochemical, manufacturing, or food and beverage industry, plant shutdowns are inevitable. Plant maintenance is vital to optimizing the peak performance of a facility to ensure profitability, safety, and regulatory compliance.
From a routine plant shutdown and maintenance period, metrics such as quality, schedule, and cost can be measured and planned in advance. However, exceptions such as the global outbreak of the COVID-19 global pandemic can pave the way for unexpected maintenance opportunities. In a move to contain the virus spread, companies close up shop temporarily to follow government mandates, protect their employees and take advantage of the opportunity to perform deep-cleaning routines using technologies like dry ice blasting on their factories simultaneously.
Due to decreased market demand and socioeconomic factors, ramping up production won’t make sense in this time of crisis. Economically, increased future profits from plant maintenance might outweigh the revenue loss from operations and expenditures from the plant shutdown once all capital assets are calibrated to perform optimally. In this article, we discuss the crucial steps on how to manage a successful plant turnaround with welding factored in.
1. Planning and Scope Management
Plant shutdown or turnaround requires detailed project management. Managing complex layers of plant maintenance that revolve around three crucial standpoints of cost, time and quality can make or break the plant turnaround performance.
Stakeholder involvement also plays a part in setting the scope of work for the plant shutdown. Success should be measured from the business, operation, execution, and organizational perspectives. Hiring plant turnaround service providers can be beneficial in terms of shutdown expertise, while in-house skilled staff can provide the essential historical data from previous plant shutdowns to set the baseline metrics and benchmarks. These can include:
- Calculation of labor hours and rates
- Initial work packages
- Equipment data records
One example of this client-contractor integration would be a defective pipeline weld requiring repair every few weeks. While a short-term solution by the client would be to weld over the cracks, in due time it will cost more in the long run if failure analysis is not performed by a competent welding engineer. It could be as simple as identifying the root cause, or as complex as examining fractured surfaces under an electron microscope and performing metallurgical tests.
2. Cost Management
Plant shutdowns can be very expensive, as any profits spread over the years can be slashed in a span of weeks to a few months’ time. Whether on a full-scale or segment basis, you need to factor in two direct costs on your estimates: maintenance fees from execution and profit loss.
As plant maintenance incurs costs, scheduled stoppage for plants is often moved from annual to 3-5 years due to upfront investment in quality machinery. However, any lack of routine maintenance on aging equipment can impede the productivity of a plant. Industries that rely heavily on welding can cause major headaches once welding equipment breaks down.
In three words, here’s one way where you can save up on costs: Preventable Cost Efficiency (PCE). Put actual numbers to the problem by dividing the cost of service per hour and the cost of production maintenance per hour. If a plant turnaround service provider charges $50/hour and downtime costs $500/hour, then PCE is 10%. You could pay $10 now for preventative maintenance of your welding equipment or pay $55 later for the repair of hard or soft failures.
3. Schedule Management
Since plant shutdowns have a direct cost-to-schedule ratio, there’s enormous pressure to finish the turnaround early or on time for potential savings. This requires efficient resource management: planning for risk mitigation, expert plant turnaround services, lead times on material and equipment procurement, labor availability, and duration of work packages. Maintenance systems are grouped into:
- Routine
- Predictive
- Breakdown
- Preventive
Turnaround managers schedule the scope of work on a critical path method (CPM) – achieving essential objectives in the shortest amount of time. Red-D-Arc provides two value-based solutions to this time-deficit problem: orbital welders produce quality pipe welds and minimize weld time by utilizing a gear-driven track ring system, while multi-process TIG welders combine 4-in-1 solutions (TIG welders, MIG welders, flux core and stick welding) providing a flexible versatile welding solution.
4. Inspection and Execution
For heavy-impact industries reliant on welding, inspection for plant shutdown should be done in an agile process with control points. Prior to procurement, welding engineers should perform material inspection alongside the planning phase to determine on a priority basis what needs removal, replacement, repair, or alteration.
To repair weld, knowing the material specification can’t be overstated. Welding engineers or turnaround managers should cross-reference construction drawings with the maintenance handbook and identify any grade markings that require regulatory compliance such as ASTM and AISI/SAE. Welding aluminum and steel on building structures require different welding procedures under AWS D1.2 and AWS D1.1, respectively.
Even far stricter under ASME B31 Code for Pressure Piping are boilers, vessels, and tanks with ASME marking stamped on nameplates. Stringent regulations impose that only contractors with “R” stamp issued by the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors are qualified to perform welding on these components.
For accuracy, cut the weld material for laboratory analysis and identify minimum requirements below:
- Welding process used
- Welding electrodes or filler metals to be used
- Preheating and post-weld heat-treating requirements
- Heat input control
- Defect removal
- Final inspection and non-destructive testing (NDT)
5. Quality Assurance / Quality Control (QA/QC) and Safety
Once plant shutdown is underway, perform safety regulations on-site for welded components per ANSI Z49.1 Safety in Cutting, Welding, and Allied Processes. Anytime a TIG welder enters a confined space for repair, local exhaust ventilation measures such as a downdraft bench and movable hood should be employed.
Existing building steel has external structural loads to be removed before weld repairs so consult AWS D1.7 Guide for Strengthening and Repairing Existing Structures. To minimize hydrogen-induced cracking and restore ductility, induction heaters can be employed for pre-heating and post-weld heat treatment, resulting in efficient weld quality of high-strength and low-alloy steels.
6. Restart
Plant shutdowns won’t be complete without final inspection for testing and commissioning. Once all systems are up and running with normal or improved performance levels, regulatory agencies will give you a green light for the startup. The final report will serve as baseline data for future plant turnarounds.
Welding is a rewarding career, but work-related injuries can deter you; therefore, you must have the right knowledge about welding safety.
With the right welding safety precautions, welding as a career may offer an excellent income, job security, and even the opportunity to travel.
Some welders and the companies that employ them forget to follow the precautions, resulting in injuries that can be devastating. The Department of Labor estimates that in every thousand welders, four of them will be fatally injured at some point of their careers. Because of this danger, there are numerous safety regulations you should always follow to help protect welders and those around them.
6 Welding Safety Tips
1 – Wear proper PPE
It is very crucial to have the right gear when you are welding. If you own a workshop, then you should ensure that your employees are completely covered. Every welder should wear flame-resistant clothing such as denim or wool. If cotton is worn, it should be treated to ensure that it is fire-resistant.
A welding jacket is an excellent way to help protect workers. Some may complain that welding jackets are too hot and too heavy to wear and will try to avoid wearing them. Many of the companies who make safety gear now make clothing that is lightweight yet still provides a great deal of protection. Newer styles allow welders more comfort and mobility.
Gloves are also essential for welding safety. In the past, the gloves were simply one-size fits all. Nowadays, gloves are designed with different sizes for different welding procedures. These new age gloves allow for welders to have increased maneuverability to work safely, yet efficiently. When it comes to shoes, boots, and high-top leather shoes offer the best for protection.
2 – Avoid the light
Arc flash can damage the eyes. Always avoid exposure to the flash by wearing welding helmets fitted with a proper filtering shade to keep your eyes and face safe when welding. Select approved safety glasses with protective shields at the sides and ear protection to wear under the helmet. Also, go for a lens shade that is suitable for your welding application. You can use the OSHA guide to choose the best lens based on your welding procedures. Additionally, companies should install barriers or screens where appropriate to protect workers from arc flash.
3 – Avoid repetitive stress injuries
Doing the same thing over and over again or being in the same position under the same strain for an extended period can frequently cause repetitive stress injuries. These kind of injuries have become a great concern to a lot of workers since they are severe enough to force a welder to give up his career. Workers should often take breaks to stretch. Managers should reiterate and stress that safe lifting techniques be practiced.
You can also avoid neck fatigue by using auto-darkening helmets. An auto-darkening helmet is lighter than the traditional fixed-shade helmet, and the worker is not required to look down to drop the hood frequently. Seconds saved between welds will allow for more productivity.
4 – Familiarize yourself with the equipment
One of the most essential welding safety rules is to make sure that only workers who are adequately trained and authorized, use welding equipment. Many accidents occur because people use machines without the right training.
This often happens in home welding shops, where friends or family of the welder will try to work on a project themselves. It also occurs in professional settings when welders let others do their work or in the case of employers who wish to cut costs. Without proper training, increased incidence of injuries and property damage can be expected.
Additionally, everyone who operates a particular machine has to read the welder’s operating manual. It contains essential safety information, as well as information procedures that maximize the machine’s potential.
Ensure you read the welder’s operating manual.
5 – Proper ventilation
Welding in a well-ventilated area that is at least 10,000 cubic feet with a 16-foot high ceiling. Place the welding equipment where you can get natural drafts or fans that blowin the fumes away from your face, or at least across it, but never straight into it. If the machine requires you to use a respirator or exhaust hood, wear the correct one to maintain clean breathing air.
6 – Don’t allow clutter
Clutter is a welding workshop enemy. It is a significant cause of accidents such as fires since sparks can find more places to land and smolder. The working area should only have the equipment and tools that the workers are using.
To keep a workshop organized and safe, managers should consider labeling the places where each welding machine, tool, and equipment should be placed. Companies should also ensure that all welding cables are well-maintained. Then enforce the rules of keeping welding equipment and materials in proper places. Removing the clutter will help keep paths are clear and improve welding safety.
Rent Welding Equipment from Red-D-Arc Today!
As a responsible welder, try to do everything that you can to minimize accidents. Even when not welding, and just in the workshop, you still need to be safe. Incorporate safety into daily work habits and make sure that you follow these tips!
And when you’re ready to rent the best in welding equipment, contact Red-D-Arc. We can help you find exactly what you need! Contact us here or call us at 1-866-733-3272.
Are you unsure whether to buy your own welding equipment or enter into a welding equipment rental arrangement? There are advantages and disadvantages to either route, but there are many situations where renting may be the better option for your business.
Reduce Capital Costs by Renting Your Fleet
When your budget is tight, investing a large amount of capital in products can be intimidating. With any purchase, there is often a ticking clock against which the return on investment is compared. Capital requests might not always be approved, and timely procurement of products can be a concern, too.
With Red-D-Arc’s large inventory of products, you can easily find the equipment that is right for you, with no worries about backorders or supply issues that might cut into your project timeline. Renting ensures that you get access to the equipment you need when you need it without cutting into profits or timelines on the job.
Renting Frees Up Floor Space
There is usually a “right” tool for every job. However, you may only have a limited amount of space dedicated to manufacturing and storage. To complicate things, sometimes the best tool for a job doesn’t see the same amount of use as other essential tools. As a result, you may not have the area at your business to physically devote to storing additional welding equipment when the need to upscale arises.
Renting your fleet makes scaling your business to the rise and fall of demand that much easier. While scaling up is preferable, scaling down is a useful way to stay lean during an economic downturn. You’re paying for every square foot of space that you occupy, so why not minimize the space being used for storage. Likewise, equipment in storage isn’t earning anything for you; in fact, maintenance costs may be a contributor to economic inefficiency. Renting allows you to rid yourself of unused equipment without the hassles of selling.
Renting Provides You with the Latest Welding Technology
There have been some phenomenal advances in welding equipment by manufacturers like Miller and Lincoln Electric. Indeed, staying on the cutting edge of welding technology requires constant effort; there are not enough hours in the day to evaluate all the options at any given time. Many of these technologies, like the BotX Robot and Lincoln’s Surface Tension Transfer (STT) technology, help make the welding process more efficient, save time and improve weld quality.
Consider rental equipment as a way to more completely evaluate new welding equipment. Renting provides the ability to integrate new solutions into your welding process for longer than a vendor’s demonstration, allowing you to measure productivity in your specific application and identify potential hiccups to quickly achieving return on investment.
Renting Welders Reduces Overhead Costs
Proper maintenance is essential for consistent equipment performance and good longevity, but it can certainly be a source of headache. With equipment rental, the need for maintenance does not diminish, but it does cease to be your responsibility. We’ve got a team of trained technicians that keeps our rental machines running smoothly.
You don’t have time to haul equipment into the repair shop when you’re trying to finish a client contract. We can even provide a few extra machines that can be easily swapped in, should something go wrong with one of your live machines. Without the inconvenience of welding machine maintenance, you can focus on the work you’re getting paid for.
Renting Offers Flexibility of Use
When you rent your welding equipment, you have the flexibility to choose your contracts. Whether you need additional welding equipment to cover a quick project or unexpected irregular peak demand, renting agreements can be tailored to your needs. These short-term contracts are great for quick projects or to supplement equipment you might be missing, while long-term contracts are best suited for businesses that require complex welding gear but lack the budget for purchase and upkeep.
Ability To Try Products First
Welding equipment is not only expensive, but it takes trained employees to run the different tools at an expert level. As a business looking to purchase equipment for their welding operations, the ability to try out products first as a rental removes some of the stress of buying something unknown. Renting equipment first will offer a testing environment where businesses can determine if a capital investment is worth buying, or if it is worth continuing to rent welding equipment.
Get the Best Welding Equipment Selection from Red-d-Arc
If you’re ready to rent welding equipment, Red-d-Arc is the premier place to find whatever you may need. Our large online selection is easy to peruse, and makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Our team members will be glad to explain the benefits of new technologies like this and how they can contribute to the profitability of your business.
If you have any questions, you can just contact us so we can help you find the best solution for your welding needs. Simply click the button below or call us at 1-866-733-3272 to be connected to your nearest branch.
Not all welders are created equal. Some are made for the shop while others are made for the field. Some have feature sets geared toward light repairs while others are equipped to handle heavy-duty fabrication. Welding equipment rentals are available to both the home hobbyist and the heavy industrial fabricator. Getting a machine that can handle your particular task is essential. This article introduces some equipment options for various welding processes.
Wire-Fed Welder Rentals (MIG & FCAW)
MIG and FCAW are two wire-fed welding processes. MIG stands for Metal Inert Gas welding. This process requires a cylinder of shielding gas which is used during welding to protect the molten weld metal from atmospheric contamination. For this reason, it is commonly employed in the shop environment where draft can be more easily controlled. However, it provides extremely good productivity and is well suited for a wide range of applications—heavy equipment to consumer products. Many features on MIG and FCAW welders for the shop environment prioritize ease of use and efficiency. If you’re looking for a MIG welder rental, we have the following models:
FCAW stands for flux-cored arc welding. One of the most popular variants of flux cored arc welding is self-shielded, meaning it does not require an external cylinder or shielding gas to achieve good weld quality. Self-shielded FCAW is as popular for both agricultural and earthmoving equipment repair as it is for steel construction. The equipment for this application is rugged to ensure survival in the elements. Gas-shielded FCAW is very popular for indoor fabrication where it becomes cost prohibitive to thoroughly clean the rust and mill scale off the base metal to be welded. This process is most common within the shipbuilding, railcar, and heavy equipment fabrication industries.
Stick Welder Rentals
One of the industry’s older welding methods, Stick welding remains an important process in a wide variety of critical applications such as steel construction and transmission pipelines. Using modern stick welding equipment can provide several benefits ranging from reduced cost of operation to improved arc characteristics.
Red-D-Arc offers stick welders in a range of sizes depending on what material size needs to be welded or gouged. For example, the ES275i is a smaller unit than the E500 stick welder; this has advantages regarding size and portability, but the E500 may be able to tackle thicker material for longer before requiring a cool-down (if at all). Stick machines are also available as multi-operator “banks” to help equip the jobsite faster and easier. Contact our experts to get a recommendation for which welding power source would be best for your application.
Multi-Process Welder Rentals
The Miller PipeWorx welding system is an excellent welding power source for the pipe fabricator who wants maximum capability. These machines are capable of stick welding, TIG/GTAW welding, MIG/GMAW welding, and flux-cored arc welding. With features designed to help maximize consistency and efficiency, the PipeWorx system is available in two configurations for either the fab shop (the PipeWorx 400) or the field (the PipeWorx 350 FieldPro).
Portable Welder Rentals
While it is possible to power welding machines off of large external diesel or propane generators, a special class of welding power source exists to meet the needs of field fabricators: the engine-driven welder. Like standalone generators, engine-driven welders come in a range of outputs/sizes depending on either the amount of external equipment you must power, or the thickness of the base metal or electrode to be used. The largest engine-driven welding machines have features such as on-board air compressors among being capable of welding and gouging the thickest of materials with the largest-diameter electrodes.
Stud Welding
Red-D-Arc provides Nelson Fastener Systems’ Pro-Weld stud welder rentals as well. These stud welders are great for consistently and efficiently welding threaded and non-threaded welding studs with diameters between ¼” and 1 ¼”. The Pro-Weld Arc 1850 stud welder features constant output that enables the unit to serve as a power source that controls external stud welding units. The Pro-Weld Arc 3000 is a fully regulated power supply that enables the user to dial in the desired weld time and current before starting a weld.
Contact Red-D-Arc Today
The welding marketplace is quite diverse and it can be easy to become uneasy about which equipment may be best for your particular application. Get in touch with us today to discuss the challenges you face and to learn more about our welding equipment rental and long term welder leasing programs.
We have the rates on state of the art welding equipment that none of our rivals can match. Get in touch with us today at 1-866-733-3272: Let us know what kind of welding equipment you need and we will be more than happy to give you a quote.
A Red-D-Arc customer based out of the UK was awarded three large offshore wind farm projects …all commencing simultaneously. This manufacturer was comfortable taking on so many large scale, specialized projects because they have a reliable, knowledgeable, tier 1 supplier capable of meeting all of their welding and weld automation equipment needs! Red-D-Arc was able to quickly accommodate all of the welding equipment requirements for the project, providing more than 150 welders and a variety of weld automation equipment. The equipment consisted of multi-operator welding paks, diesel welders, advanced power sources, wire feeders, submerged arc welding packages, and rotators.
Two Red-D-Arc technicians were assigned to the facility to install, service and maintain the equipment to minimize downtime. The facility allocated a permanent workshop and storage container for back-up equipment which could be used to quickly replace any equipment as necessary. With Red-D-Arc’s support, the customer was able to work on all three projects simultaneously and avoid lost time due to equipment breakdowns.
By guest Blogger Katarzyna K.
Katarzyna has an Msc in Materials Science and has worked in the oil and gas industry in jobs related to hydraulics, welding and the retrofitting of oil rigs.
Stainless steel is used extensively in the petrochemical industry due to its high resistance to severe conditions. When welding inox steels, the smallest details matter and have an impact on weld quality. The following are some tips for stainless steel pipe welding based on my oil rig repair experience:
During an oil rig repair project that involved 2205 duplex stainless steel pipe TIG welding, we could not achieve the required weld properties. Despite using the recommended filler metal with higher nickel content, compared to the base metal, and controlling the interpass temperature, the weld tensile strength was still too low. In order to reach the required weld quality we dug deeper and found a solution – (more…)
Red-D-Arc recently supplied a variety of equipment to a UAE based company that is fabricating pile piping and jackets for the largest offshore wind farm project in the world. The company had to meet a strict time line of only 6 months, and would require a massive amount of welding and weld automation equipment immediately. Through consultation with Red-D-Arc, the customer determined that renting the majority of the equipment would be the most economical option. Red-D-Arc was able to fulfil the customers equipment needs immediately thanks to our vast and diverse fleet of equipment.
This massive order involved equipment and support from Red-D-Arc North America, Red-D-Arc UK and Red-D-Arc Middle East. The order consisted of a variety of welding and weld automation equipment including:
• 23 column and booms with single and tandem submerged arc welders
• 20 submerged arc tractors
• 200 rotators
• 167 jack-up rotators
• 400 CC/CV inverter welders
• 200 FCAW wirefeeders
• 10 Induction Heating Systems
By renting the majority of the equipment the fabrication company avoided the need to invest heavily in specialized equipment and ensured they would meet their deadline. Red-D-Arc works with customers to address their unique challenges and develops specialized solutions. Learn more about customized turnkey packages here.
Red-D-Arc carries an extensive inventory of welding equipment designed specifically for pipe welding professionals. The latest pipe welding equipment can increase productivity and produce the highest quality welds. We have an extensive fleet of innovative solutions like the Miller PipeWorx Welding System, Red-D-Arc Oscillating Pipe Welder, Bug-O Systems, Orbital Welding Systems from Lincoln and Axxair, and pipe end prep equipment from H&M and E.H. Wachs.
Check out the new Pipe Welding section of the reddarc.com website to learn more.
More articles on orbital welding
Red-D-Arc is running a limited time, special offer on Quality-Checked used welding equipment. Until June 30th, a selection of pre-owned welders are available at significantly discounted prices. These welders are in “like new” condition, include a 12 month warranty and are in stock – for fast delivery. Don’t miss out! See the flyer for more details.
