AUTONOMOUS: ESAB ADAPTIO SAW TECHNOLOGY ENABLES ROOT-TO-CAP WELDING WITHOUT OPERATOR INTERVENTION

Technology especially benefits wind tower, offshore and pressure vessel applications

North Bethesda, Md. – FABTECH 2024 will be the North American premiere of ESAB’s adaptive submerged arc welding (SAW) technology, Adaptio, which enables autonomous multi-wire/multi-layer welding in V or U bevels with a depth of up to 150 mm (6 in.). Adaptio automatically compensates for deviations in bevel angle, gap and alignment, enabling a complete weld from root to cap without operator/welder influence. Adaptio will be featured in booth W3801 at FABTECH, October 15 – 17 in Orlando, Florida, as part of an integrated SAW system featuring a CaB 460 column and boom, an Aristo® 1000 AC/DC power source, and 815 SAW welding systems and roller beds.

“ESAB’s Adaptio technology improves productivity and quality when welding large diameter and thick-wall objects, such as monopiles, wind towers, tanks and pressure vessels and offshore applications,” says Antonio Leon, Vice President and General Manager, Global Automation, ESAB. “Combined with our best-of-class SAW systems, filler metals and application engineering expertise, Adaptio technology shows why ESAB continues to be the industry’s preferred SAW solution provider.”

Adaptio technology improves SAW performance because bevel dimensions fluctuate in large diameter objects and thick sections due to cutting or milling imperfections. If an operator is observing the weld and manually adjusting SAW torch positions and welding parameters, bevel irregularities and joint misalignments each require reducing welding speed. Even then, the human eye cannot detect bevel variations in large objects (e.g., a 3 mm deviation in a wind tower base with a 4.5 m circumference). 

“The inability of humans to recognize and compensate for deviations leads to an increase in defect rates, noticeable slag inclusions and poor bead positioning,” says Leon. “Rework can become costly and time-consuming in large weldments, leading to production delays.”
Laser seam tracking can help keep the wire in position and subsequently increase welding speed, but the system cannot choose the correct bead order position, nor can it compensate for variations in bevel angle or gap, which increases the risk of patching in the cap pass. For example, if the crown of the weld is too high, or the weld beads are not placed correctly, the weld may not meet structural welding code requirements and must be repaired.

Adaptio uses a combination of laser and optical vision systems, combined with leading edge hardware and software and a PLC for control to automatically read the bevel, plan bead placement and automatically compensate for irregularities. During weld execution, Adaptio uses feedback from its sensors to adjust weld metal deposition rate, travel speed and bead placement — while staying within the Weld Procedure Specification — so that the complete weld will not need any patching. After completing the cap, the system can even automatically read and document the bead height and toe angle for documentation purposes.
Adaptio technology works with the following wire arrangements: single, twin, Tandem (single-single) and Tandem (single-twin). Compensations are made to the trailing wire operating in AC mode with the wire energized by an ESAB Aristo 1000 AC/DC. 

About ESAB 

For more than 120 years, ESAB has been a world leader in fabrication technology. Our distinctive portfolio of fabrication solutions encompasses more than 40 of the world’s most trusted brands for welding and cutting equipment, automation, robotics, fabrication software, filler metals, gas flow control, and PPE. Industries and innovators that shape the world rely on ESAB’s products and solutions. To learn more, visit esab.com.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

ESAB Media Contact:
Chuck Schroeder
Tel +1 (262) 618-4427
[email protected]

Corporate Media Contact:
Tilea Coleman
Tel +1 (301) 323-9092
[email protected]