Tube machinery
A welding challenge: aluminum tubes for marine environments
Continuous, defect-free production, even with thin walls: this was the requirement presented to Ledica by a customer manufacturing tubes for use in marine environments.
The tubes are designed to route and protect electrical and connection cables. The operating conditions led to the selection of high-purity aluminum, a material characterized by high corrosion resistance, an important requirement in environments with humidity and high salt concentrations.
The customer also specified demanding production parameters: full-penetration welding at a speed of 5 m/min and process continuity for at least 1,800 meters without defects.
Ledica's solution: a TIG welding system for continuous production
To meet the customer's requirements, Ledica developed a TIG welding system with a dual-cathode torch for continuous longitudinal welding of aluminum tubes.
The application involves tubes with a diameter of 75.50 mm and three different wall thicknesses: 0.93 mm, 1.3 mm, and 2 mm. The material properties, thin walls, and required production speed make the welding process particularly challenging.
Pictured: Ledica dual-cathode TIG torch and detail of the configuration installed on the line for continuous longitudinal welding of aluminum tubes.
Under these conditions, process stability plays a central role: the longitudinal weld must remain consistent even during extended production runs, while meeting the customer's quality requirements.
Stability and quality even during extended production runs
The Ledica system achieved the specified target: a continuous welding process covering at least 1,800 meters without defects, at a speed of 5 m/min, with full penetration across all the required wall thicknesses.
The result confirms the effectiveness of Ledica's TIG welding solution for the continuous welding of aluminum tubes intended for marine applications.
About Ledica
Ledica designs and manufactures automated tube welding systems, offering TIG, plasma, and combined welding solutions for various materials and applications. Active since 1989, the company now has more than 500 systems installed worldwide.
