August Strecker: Welding in the Coil Radius

A feature from AUGUST STRECKER’s wide program of special machinery are welders to join the ends of hanging wire coils without straightening, meaning that the welding axis is VERTICAL. For more than 20 years, there has been an increasing demand for such machines, as possibilities for process optimization and ways to relieve the operator of heavy physical labor were sought. Especially with the dimensions of hot-rolled ribbed concrete reinforcement steel most commonly used, WR18 mm / WR16 mm / WR14 mm / WR12 mm, it is difficult to pull the wire ends to be connected far enough out of the line so that they can be positioned horizontally for joining in a conventional welding machine. Additionally, the large wire loop resulting from welding must then be forcibly pushed back into the line, which frequently presents great problems - often the loop jams and continuous operation is interrupted.   STRECKER reacted to the situation with machines configured vertically, which allow the welding head to be positioned very close to the wire ends to be welded. This brought a great improvement to the entire work process. The machine is designed so that the wire ends do not need to be straightened for welding, but instead the wires can be hydraulically clamped into the clamping device in the radius of the coil.   For a number of years, only resistance pressure buttwelding machines could be employed for this application of vertical welding. This certainly was an improvement compared to the horizontal welding machines used previously. However, there was much discussion about ways to optimize processes and solutions were sought. Then a significant leap forward in development was made at STRECKER: now we can also offer dual upset buttwelding machines with automatic flash removal, the "SS", configured vertically! The advantages of the "vertical SS welding machine" are clear:   -           Excellent welding quality through the dual upset process,             nearly all the heated and therefore molten material is pressed out of             the joint so a weld with extremely high tensile strength is created.   -           The automatic flash removal integrated into the process provides welded joints with exactly the             same diameter as the original material. Reworking through manual flash removal is unnecessary.             This is an enormous step forward considering that earlier, using conventional welding machines,             the welding flash had to be removed through time-intensive manual work.   Automatic flash removal means not only enormous time savings, but also simplification of the operator's work. Addtionally, there is no risk of wire breaks due to excessive deburring, i.e. reduction of the cross section at the welded joint.   -           Exactly reproducible, same-diameter welded joints of the highest quality even with difficult             materials form a solid, reliable foundation for further manufacturing processes and contribute             to quality assurance.   -           The machine offers simple, user-friendly operation even for personnel without special qualifications.             This fact coupled with the relief from manual labor for the operator makes it possible to staff this             position with just one man, allowing for a reduction in production personnel capacity.   Machines from the "SS" series for vertical welding are, of course, also available in various configurations. Whether mounted swivelably on an additional pillar at the horizontal pay off, or whether motor-driven on flanged wheels - every option is available to ideally fit the welding machine to the most diverse on-site requirements of the end customer.   For more information on these special welders kindly contact: [email protected]