WINNER
ND Engineering
For the Development of the Orbital Welding Technology used on the DuPont Sea Water Acid Coolers
ND Engineering has developed orbital welding technology used in the DuPont sweater acid coolers. Cooling hot sulphuric acid is a brutally punishing industrial process and only the best stainless steels and fabrication methodology will ensure that the equipment survives its harsh operating conditions. Because of the high risks of failure of an acid cooler. DuPont permits only a few fabricators worldwide to build them. For the past 15 years, ND Engineering has been one of them.
Very few materials are suitable for building acid coolers and even fewer welding techniques can survive the punishment they will endure. In developing the fully automated tube to tube sheet welding technology required to build such vessels, ND Engineering has spent well over R3 million on equipment alone. The process has also required procurement and CNC machining of large amounts of exotic tube sheet materials, extremely expensive welding consumables and special mixed welding gasses used to produce the desired weld alloy composition and finish.
In partnership with DuPont MECS, ND Engineering has been involved in the development of more than 40 orbital welding programmes for welding exotic alloys. This investment in resources and equipment has been instrumental in allowing their clients to offer this technology globally.
Contact : ND Engineering
Tel : 031 464 0510
Website : www.ndengineering.co.za
RUNNER UP
MAXE
For the Manufacture of Stainless Steel Automotive Accessories
Maxe have been awarded runner-up in the welding category as the company has been successfully manufacturing stainless steel accessories for the automotive industry for the past 20 years.
Maxe accessories go through stringent testing to verify the design of the weld-on brackets. The bar and mounting brackets are subject to a durability test. The specification of the test has been conducted at 3g for 150 000 cycles @ resonance. Toyota Japan issued a new specification for the New Generation Hilux and Fortuner of 6.2g for 1 500 000 cycles @ resonance.
Immediately, the FEA simulation showed excessive stress concentration in the top weld on the brackets.
During the development stage, the simulation produced variable results that had to be investigated further with a sharp focus on finding countermeasures. As a result, the FEA simulation indicated a dramatic reduction in stress concentration and the nudge bar successfully passed the vigorous test specification. For information, during the development cycle, a Toyota Japan countermeasure bracket was tested and during the test cycle, the chassis of the vehicle broke, giving an indication of how extreme the test is.
Contact : MAXE
Tel : 031 713 2200
Website : www.maxe.co.za
MERIT AWARD
Starweld
For the Manufacture of Welding Machines
Starweld receives a merit award in the welding category as it is the first South African welding machine manufacturer to produce a range of fully digital welding machines. The 32 bit micro-processor driven machines create advanced current wave shapes, resulting in smoother arc characteristics.
These multiple process machines, are capable of performing DC Stick Welding, TIG and MIG Welding Functions. The larger models can handle Submerged Arc and Arc Air Gouging functions. The range starts with the 200 A model, followed by the 300 A, 450 A, 600A and 1000 A models.
The machines are extremely robust and have a 100% rated duty cycles. A Touch- Pad Process Panel, selects the process and a single Encoder Control controls the Amperages and Voltages functions. The same Encoder Control is used to set the welding parameters, in the various process menus.
Microprocessor technology enables the Starweld Water Cooling Systems to communicate directly with the Welding Machine Power Sources, by means of the unique Data-Link communication system. This innovation means that Water Cooled TIG torches and MIG Guns, are fully protected against burning out, through a lack of cooling.
Contact : Starweld
Tel : 011 914 4696
Website : www.starweld.co.za