Automated Pipe Welding Solutions
Sections of oil pipeline to be laid underwater must be welded together flawlessly. Comprehensive automation of the welding process provides the opportunity to eliminate subjectivity, improve welding process control, and dramatically improve productivity.
With Moog machine control and calibration technology, lasers are employed to detect the geometry of junctions between sections of 20 to 40 inch diameter pipe. Those junctions are then precisely welded by 6 Pulsed Arc (PGMAW) welding torches at each of 5 stations. Networked Moog motion-and-machine controllers provide real-time management of 14 servo axes on each of the 5 stations, the automatic weld seam tracking system, and the automated welding process. Programmed welding parameters eliminate operator adjustments. Real-time welding process control ensures optimum weld quality.
Used in offshore lay barge operations, the J. Ray McDermott Automatic Welding System (a.k.a. JAWS) has repeatedly set records for productivity-achieving a production record of 492 joints of 22 inch pipe in one day (June 4, 2000). Projects scheduled for 2003 include a 24” x 95 km pipeline in Indonesia and a 38” x 93 km pipeline in the Persian Gulf.
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