Afrox Hardgoods
Afrox Hardgoods, ready to support you all the way
African Fusion talks to Afrox’s Dewald Bodenstein, Head of Hardgoods, and Johann Pieterse, MI Technical Manager, about Afrox’s Hardgoods product offering and the compre- hensive welding solutions Afrox can provide to fabricators.
“ A frox is here to support you all the way,” begins Dewald Boden- stein, the newly appointed Head of Hardgoods for Afrox. “Through our extensive network, we are well-suited to of- fer a wide range of products to service our customers’ needs. If you require technical advice on gas and gas welding equipment, arc equipment and welding procedures, then Afrox is your go-to place,” he assures. Afrox can support its customers with a wide range of value-added services, from the renowned and highly sought after safety solutions, which bring peace of mind to any manager or business owner knowing that their workforce has the knowledge and skill to use gas and gas equipment safely and productively, to our total 360° welding solutions, whereby our accredited Interna- tional Welding Engineer and International Welders can provide dedicated welding process, procedure and training support,” he adds. “Being the exclusive and preferred sup- plier of numerous brands, not only into South Africa but into sub-Saharan Africa,
Afrox is well positioned to bring you quality products, such as class-leading Afrox Saffire Gas Equipment, Afrox Vitemax, Miller Weld- ing Equipment, Hobart filler materials and our extensive range of Böhler filler materi- als,” continues Bodenstein. The Miller slogan: ‘We build the quality welding products you need to help build our world’ rings true. Afrox supports this vision by backing the Miller brand. The extensive network can provide the correct welding equipment required for any appli- cation. Backed by machine repair partners nationwide, customers can have peace of mind knowing that, regardless of what happens, they will be supported. For welding stainless steel pipe, Johann Pieterse continues, Afrox has a Miller-based solution. “We know that stainless pipe fabricators work hard. They now have the opportunity to work smarter by using the modified short-circuit GMAW process from Miller, Regulated Metal Deposition (RMD), as a substitute for GMAW and GTAW pro- cesses in the root pass. “Pipe fabricators are particularly scepti-
Dewald Bodenstein.
Johann Pieterse.
controls the short circuit, then reduces available welding current to create a con- sistent metal transfer. Precisely controlled metal transfer ensures uniform droplet deposition, allowing the welder to con- trol the puddle more easily. High-speed video shows that, with RMD, stable short circuits create only minor ripples in the weld puddle, which in turn allow consistent tie-in to the sidewalls. With a stable and more controllable weld puddle, apprentice operators can quickly and easily learn to create uniform, high-quality welds, assures Pieterse. For stainless steel pipe, Miller welding machines with RMD enhance welding qual- ity and productivity. The process is easy to learn, enabling more work to be done faster and at a higher quality rate. Another premium solution from Miller is ArcReach technology. The key feature of this technology is that Miller has eliminated the need for a control cable between the power source and the ancillary equipment. Communication between the power source and the equipment is achieved through the welding cables. “This means we can immediately increase the distance from the power source by up to a hundred metres, thereby getting rid of the clutter and only taking the ancillary equipment into hard- to-reach places. It also eliminates the high level of maintenance required by qualified personnel to maintain control cables and torch extensions on site,” explains Pieterse. Key to making ArcReach possible is Cable Length Compensation (CLC™), which automatically ensures that the voltage at the arc matches the required set value. CLC™ compensates for the voltage drop in long cable lengths between the power source and remote components, provid- ing the welder with the exact set values of voltage and current. ArcReach technology can be used with multiple arc welding processes. A welder can use GTAW to weld an open root and then change directly to SMAW for the fill and cap by simply unplugging the GTAW torch from the Miller ArcReach Stick/TIG remote and plugging in the SMAW electrode holder. The system automatically senses
cal about short-circuit GMAW, and with good reason. With traditional GMAW, short circuits occur at er- ratic intervals and with varying intensity. As a result, the weld puddle undergoes considerable agitation. To prevent lack-of- fusion defects, the operator must work to control and manipulate the weld puddle. High-speed vid- eo demonstrates how the short circuit ‘explosion’ causes the weld puddle to splash up and freeze on the sidewall of the pipe, which is how cold lap occurs. It also leads to spatter and extensive clean-up time,” he explains. Because it requires a great deal of skill to produce code-quality root welds with traditional short- circuit GMAW, many fabricators avoid the process, and many end-users do not include it in their list of approved procedures. For- tunately, technological advances are changing the game,” he notes. With RMD™ technology, the welding system anticipates and
RMD eliminates the need for a hot pass, resulting in a process that often replaces the conventional GTAW process for welding large-bore pipes.
24
November-December 2025
AFRICAN FUSION
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting