SAW is often used in heavy industry jobs that require a lot of work, like making pressure vessels, wind towers, and railcars, building ships, and welding on offshore oil rigs. But how to improve the deposition rates. But the features of SAW is also useful in other situations, especially those that require a lot of work to be done quickly. This blog, you’ll get to know how you can improve deposit rates using submerged arc welding.

SAW has a high deposition rates, which can have a big effect on efficiency and productivity. It helps make consistent welds and can do some things on its own. Low smoke and no open arc make it safer and more comfortable for the operator.

Knowing the pros and cons of SAW, as well as the best uses for it, can help shops, shipbuilding yards, wind tower, railcar, and pressure vessel production facilities decide if the process is right for them.

SAW Basics

SAW is a wire-fed process you usually use with carbon steel, stainless steel, and some nickel alloys. It works best with materials that are between half an inch and five inches thick. People often think that it can only be used on thick metals. It can be used to weld things as thin as 3/16in. thick as long as the travel speed and heat input are taken into account to prevent burn-through.

In SAW, the arc is kept safe from the air by a granular flux. Submerged arc means that the arc itself is covered by the flux and can’t be seen when the parameters are set right and there is enough flux.

A torch moves along the weld joint while the wire is fed through it. Some of the wire, flux, and base material melt from the heat of the arc to make a molten weld pool. In this area, the flux does all of its important jobs: getting rid of gas, getting rid of oxygen, and mixing the metals.

Molten flux

Molten flux and metal cool behind the arc to make a slag-covered weld bead. When you set up the welding process right, it is easy to get rid of the slag. As you have to cover the flux, you can do the SAW process only on a flat surface or while lying down.

For SAW, the most important tools are a power source, a controller or interface, a wire-drive motor, a torch, a wire straightener, cables, and a flux hopper.

At high welding currents, power sources are often put through 100% duty cycles, so they need to be reliable. The number of times a machine can run in 10 minutes is called its “duty cycle.” The power source needs to be able to work with welding currents as low as 350 amps for thin materials and as high as 1,000 amps for thick materials.

Constant current (CC) and constant voltage (CV), you can use in SAW; CV equipment provides a consistent preset voltage, while CC equipment provides a consistent preset current.

There is now technology that makes it easy to switch between the two on the same machine. There are also process modes like CV+C that can help SAW in other ways, depending on the application.

Consumables.

For SAW, you can use both solid wire and wire with a metal core, and you should think about both to get the results you want.

With the same amount of heat, metal-cored wires can travel faster and deposit more material at a faster rate. Cored wires tend to have wider, shallower penetration profiles than solid wire, which makes it less likely that they will burn through thin materials or roots. You can also add alloying elements to these wires to improve their mechanical properties so you can use them with high-strength materials and in applications that require high temperatures.

Wire and flux

The wire and flux should go together in a way that best meets the needs of the application. They should be classified and qualified together. There are special combinations for industries that have very specific needs.

The parts that make up flux can be different. And different kinds of flux have different mechanical properties, like higher impact values. The size of the grains in the flux also affects the carrying capacity, feeding, and recovery of the flux.

In SAW, the arc voltage, welding current, travel speed, stick-out, torch angle, wire diameter, wire feed speed, and polarity all affect the shape and quality of the weld and the amount of work that can be done. It’s important to know how each of these factors affects the shape and quality of the weld and the amount of work that can be done.

Rates of Deposition

SAW has a high rate of deposition. You can measure deposition rates in pounds per hour. It relates to how much filler metal you melt into the weld joint (PPH).

Depending on the size, type, and polarity of the wire, single-wire SAW applications can deposit up to 40 PPH. If you use a tandem torch or combine the process with metal-cored wire, you can increase the rate of deposition.

Even its simplest and most commonly used method, single-wire welding, is a very productive way to use SAW. But different ways to do the process and set up the torch can increase welding productivity and help get the best results. Some of these types are the twin-wire, tandem-wire, and multiwire SAW.

Tandem SAW systems

The Tandem SAW systems, can deposit more than 100 PPH with three or more torche. Systems which have more than one wire going into the same puddle.

SAW can also cut deep, which is important for materials with thicker bases. When you weld, you can make the penetration deeper by adding more heat. How deep the wire can go depends on how much current you are using.

Quality and ease of living

Because SAW is a consistent and often highly automated process, it can offer excellent weld quality. And consistent, repeatable results with little spatter and weld fume. These features also make the operator more comfortable and create a good place to work.

With SAW, the person doing the welding doesn’t have to bend over the piece of work, which makes the process more comfortable and easy on the body.

The low fumes and lack of an open arc make the operator more comfortable and safe. Especially when they have to weld for a long time.

ROI

In many jobs that use SAW, the welding equipment is only a small part of the whole system or process for making something. You can combine it with other types of automation equipment, like manipulators, positioners, gantries, and custom systems, to get the best results.

Converting to SAW can require a bigger investment up front, but productivity gains can speed up the return on investment. Now you are all set to improve the deposition rates on your own.