Orbital welding machines are highly efficient equipment specialized for welding stainless steel pipes, widely used in industries such as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and construction piping. Their high degree of automation, high welding precision, and consistent weld quality have made them indispensable in modern industrial welding. However, in actual production, orbital welding machines can still experience various malfunctions after prolonged operation or improper operation, impacting welding efficiency and product quality. Therefore, understanding common orbital welding machine malfunctions and their solutions is crucial to ensuring smooth production.
The main operating principle of an orbital welding machine is to continuously weld stainless steel pipes by moving the welding head along a track. Although the equipment structure is relatively simple, it involves multiple components, including faults in the electrical control system, pneumatic system, welding power supply, and track drive system. Common faults include:
Uneven welds
Issues related to the welding head failing to move properly
Unstable welding power supply
Issues related to pneumatic control malfunctions
Operation interface alarms or program errors
Below, we will analyze the causes and solutions of each of these faults, along with operational tips for orbital welding machines.
Uneven welds are the most common problem encountered when welding stainless steel pipes using orbital welding machines. These problems manifest as uneven weld widths, uneven weld beads, or porosity. The main causes include:
Improper welding parameter settings
Excessively high or low current, mismatched welding speeds, and uneven wire feed speeds can all lead to uneven welds.
Solution: Optimize the orbital welding machine parameters by adjusting the welding current, welding speed, and wire feed speed based on the thickness, diameter, and material of the stainless steel pipe.
Dust accumulation or damage on the rails or guides
Dust, iron filings, or insufficient lubrication on the guides can cause the welding head to move unsteadily.
Solution: Regularly clean and lubricate the rails, check their flatness, and calibrate or replace the guides as necessary to ensure smooth welding of stainless steel pipes.
Worn or misaligned welding head
Worn welding nozzles and guides can easily cause the wire to deviate from the center of the weld.
Solution: Regularly inspect the condition of the welding head and promptly replace worn parts to ensure welding accuracy.
Insecure Pipe Fixtures
Slight movement of the pipe during welding can also cause uneven welds.
Solution: Use specialized clamps to secure the pipe to prevent displacement during welding, ensuring high-precision welds.
The welding head of an orbital welding machine often fails to move, often exhibiting stalling, jittering, or jamming, which directly impacts weld quality. Main causes include:
Drive System Failure
Wear in the motor, reducer, or gears, or loose or broken belts.
Solution: Check the motor's operating status, regularly replace worn gears and drive belts, and maintain proper lubrication of the reducer to ensure smooth operation of the orbital welding machine.
Electrical Control Abnormalities
Failures in the control circuit, stepper motor driver, or sensor can cause the welding head to fail to move.
Solution: Check the electrical connections for security, use a multimeter to verify the proper functioning of the motor and sensor, and replace damaged components if necessary to ensure proper automatic welding.
Guideline Blockage or Insufficient Lubrication
Foreign objects or lack of lubrication in the guide rails can also cause difficulty in welding head movement. Solution: Clean impurities from the rails and regularly add lubricating oil or grease to ensure smooth movement of the welding head.
Unstable welding power supply can cause weld defects, porosity, or insufficient weld penetration. The main causes are:
Power supply fluctuations
Unstable factory power supply or aging wiring.
Solution: Install a voltage stabilizer or UPS to ensure stable current for the orbital welding machine.
Poor welding cable contact
Loose or poor cable contact can affect current output.
Solution: Regularly check cable connections to ensure good contact.
Aging internal components of the welding machine
Aging rectifier bridges and filter capacitors can cause unstable output current.
Solution: Regularly maintain the welding machine and replace aging components to ensure stable welding power supply.
Orbital welding machines are often equipped with pneumatic clamping devices or wire feeders. Abnormal pneumatic control can cause delayed welding head movement or loose clamping:
Insufficient air source pressure
Low air compressor pressure or air pipe leaks.
Solution: Check air compressor pressure, repair air pipe leaks, and ensure proper pneumatic clamping. Pneumatic valve or cylinder failure
Valve stuck or cylinder leaking.
Solution: Clean the valve, replace the seal, and check if the cylinder needs replacement.
Abnormal solenoid valve control signal
Loose wiring or PLC program error.
Solution: Check the solenoid valve wiring, re-download the PLC program, or debug it to ensure reliable automatic control of the orbital welding machine.
Modern orbital welding machines are equipped with a PLC or touch screen operator interface for easy parameter setting and fault monitoring. Possible problems include:
Parameter input errors
Improper settings for welding current, welding speed, and wire feed speed.
Solution: Set parameters strictly according to the welding manual and perform welding parameter optimization tests.
PLC program failure or data loss
PLC storage abnormality or program conflict.
Solution: Back up the PLC program and re-upload it if an abnormality occurs to ensure the correct program version.
Operational Errors
Operator interface errors can cause alarms or shutdowns.
Solution: Strengthen operator training, set permissions, and provide prompts to reduce operational errors.
Daily maintenance is crucial to reducing the incidence of failures and improving welding quality:
Cleaning and Lubricating Tracks and Guide Rails
Clean the tracks from dust and welding slag at the end of each shift and add lubricant.
Electrical Circuit and Welding Machine Inspection
Regularly inspect cables, connectors, sensors, and control circuits to ensure the stability and reliability of the electrical system.
Pneumatic System Inspection
Check the air compressor pressure, air pipe tightness, and the condition of the cylinder and solenoid valve to ensure proper functioning of the pneumatic system.
Welding Head and Wire System Maintenance
Regularly replace worn nozzles and wire guides, and inspect the flexibility of the wire feeder.
Operator Training
Strengthen training on welding parameters, equipment operation, and troubleshooting to ensure standardized operation.
Orbital welding machines play a key role in the automated welding of stainless steel pipes. However, during operation, problems such as uneven welds, stuck welding heads, unstable power supply, pneumatic anomalies, and program alarms may occur. By analyzing the causes of problems, implementing scientific solutions, and adhering to routine maintenance and operating procedures for orbital welding machines, you can not only ensure welding quality but also extend the life of the equipment.
As a professional orbital welding machine distributor, NODHA is committed to providing high-performance, stainless steel pipe welding solutions for various industrial enterprises. Leveraging years of industry experience and a comprehensive product line, NODHA not only offers high-precision, highly automated orbital welding machines, but also provides customers with a one-stop service from model selection consultation, installation and commissioning to operator training and after-sales maintenance. Whether for food processing, pharmaceutical pipelines, petrochemical pipelines, or industrial construction pipelines, NODHA's orbital welding machines deliver high-quality welds. Through routine maintenance and standardized operating procedures, NODHA helps customers extend equipment life and improve production efficiency. Choosing NODHA means choosing a reliable orbital welding partner, providing solid support for your stainless steel pipe welding projects.
Mr. Jeff Huang
15251441199
Miss Doria Zhu
15102105304
Miss Jina Wang
18261592800
Leave a Message
Language
Back
Prev
Next
Nov 13,2024
