Keywords
Citation
(1999), "Flexible welding enclosures", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 71 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.1999.12771bad.017
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
Flexible welding enclosures
Flexible welding enclosures
Keywords Enclosures, Welding
Especially for welding in the aerospace industries, Huntingdon Fusion Techniques Limited has developed a range of low cost, easy to use, flexible welding enclosures, so that welding can take place in an inert argon gas environment to eliminate all oxygen, hydrogen and water vapour (Plate 9).
These enclosures are intended for production, for occasional work, or for those companies which need to weld large products and where a rigid chamber might not be viable.
Plate 9 Argweld flexible welding
enclosures
The enclosures are intended particularly for titanium and nickel alloy welding and are available in four standard sizes, having diameters of 36, 48, 60 and 72 inches. All come complete with two pairs of arm entries with sleeves and gloves, a zip for entry and exit of the components to be welded, an argon connection hose and a gas release valve at the top of the enclosure.
Feed-throughs are included for welding torches and for electrical wires as may be necessary for manipulators and positioners inside the enclosure and for water cooling, should that be required. An optional entry port and double clamping system is available for passing small components in and out of the chamber, while maintaining the integrity of the purge gas.
In use, the enclosures are so flexible that, once the work for welding has been loaded, the enclosure can be collapsed by hand around the work, expelling all air, so that the argon purging time and gas used are minimised.
For measuring the residual oxygen content in the enclosure, HFT also provides purge monitors so that the user will know when it is safe to weld.
The chambers are delivered in a flat pack form, so the delivery costs are inexpensive and it takes only a few minutes to erect the enclosure and put it into operation.
Details from Huntingdon Fusion Techniques Limited. Tel: +44 (0) 1480 41242; Fax: +44 (0) 1480 412841; E-mail: hft.ltd@dial.pipex.com