When a Welding System Thinks for Itself

Great success stories often begin in small garages, and this was certainly the case for FERRUM.AT. In 2009, Hannes Holl founded a small metalworking shop in Schwertberg, Upper Austria, which, within a few years, evolved into a renowned contract manufacturer for both industry and commerce. These days, the company, which holds multiple certificates, manufactures a wide range of metal components for renowned national and international clients at its Ennsdorf site. In its search for intelligent, multi-functional welding systems for MIG/MAG applications, FERRUM.AT Metallverarbeitung GmbH found in Fronius the perfect partner to improve not only welding quality and efficiency, but also its own competitiveness.

Combined Design and Welding Competence

The medium-sized company is not only known for its superior flexibility in high-quality contract manufacturing work, but also supports the development of new products and prototypes ready for series production. Aluminum, steel, stainless steel, brass, and copper are welded in various sheet thicknesses from thick to thin.
The cross-industry service and product portfolio is extremely broad and ranges from outdoor facilities to roof components, facade and steel construction elements, pressure vessels, machine and wagon components, and designs for bridge construction.

MIG/MAG & WIG

Two Welding Systems Were One Too Many

Component accessibility, materials, and molding often require individual components to be welded at FERRUM.AT using both the MIG/MAG and TIG processes. Previously, we had to use two different types of equipment for this: a MIG/MAG unit and a separate TIG unit, but this is thankfully no longer the case as we can now use the recently acquired multi-functional welding systems from Fronius.

The space requirement was huge, and the constant switching between the two welding systems inefficient, so the company had been on the lookout for powerful and reliable multi-process welders for a long time. The new units should enable significant time savings and thus increased efficiency, without sacrificing welding quality and tool life.

As a long-standing Fronius customer, the Ennsdorf-based metal construction company was one of the first to try out the new iWave AC/DC 400i digital multi-process unit in a one-month test period. The results were impressive. The metalworkers found that they did not have to compromise their standards in terms of operation or welding results. On the contrary:

“We now have two unrivaled machines that facilitate particularly fast switching between the MIG/MAG and TIG welding processes,” reported Managing Director, Hannes Holl, enthusiastically. “At the same time, we benefit from considerable time savings, coupled with a notable improvement in comfort and welding quality. This represents the next step forward for us. Standing still is not an option if you want to remain competitive.”

Increased Productivity

Ultra-fast SpeedNet communication between the system components, coupled with the iWave’s supreme computing power, means we can now use new advanced welding processes, yielding outstanding welding results. Innovative functions such as CycleTIG (for TIG) or PMC (Pulse Multi Control for MIG/MAG) stabilize the arc, optimize droplet detachment, and reduce heat input while maintaining high deposition rates and constant penetration.

The gap-bridging is exemplary, with gap tolerances being automatically compensated. Even in tight spaces, for example with vertical up-seams, one hundred percent control of the weld pool is provided. Increased welding speeds shorten the cycle times and significantly increase the already high productivity of the metal construction professionals, entirely to the benefit of FERRUM.AT customers, who enjoy faster throughput times.

The visually flawless weld seams also contribute to shortening the production time as they save the welders from having to carry out time-consuming reworking, such as removing spatter and grinding off convex welds, while enabling them to conserve resources as they work.

Up to 50% Time Savings When Tacking

With the help of the tacking function, the weld pool is briefly vibrated at the beginning of the welding process. This means that tacking can be carried out in one work step, as both component edges flow nicely into each other without burning off. There is little or no tarnishing at the tacking points. There is also no need for filler metal for air gaps of up to 1.5 mm. Especially in chrome-nickel and steel applications, the tacking function results in a significant increase in efficiency.

Intelligent Functions and App

Superior-quality manual welding requires a great deal of experience and skill. This is especially true for TIG welding. The more intuitive and comfortable a welding system is to operate and the more support its intelligent functions give to welders, the more they are able to focus their attention on the actual task, and achieve the perfect welding result. To this end, the iWave helps to significantly alleviate the pressure on FERRUM.AT professionals: Its menu navigation is self-explanatory and available in over thirty languages, and the touch display and setting wheel are easy to operate even while wearing gloves.

“RPI auto” raises the ignition behavior in TIG welding to a new level. Adapted to the different electrode diameters, this function enables fast and reproducible ignition without the need to manually adjust the ignition parameters, regardless of the material properties.

If the professionals at FERRUM.AT would like to repeat certain welding parameters, they can create “Jobs” in the iWave and subsequently cue up to 1000 of these on the JobMaster welding torch. This eliminates the need to run back and forth between the component and the welding system as soon as new parameters are needed. The iWave has a Favorites feature for recurring jobs. Five favorites can be set up as “Easy Jobs” on the torch, which is much more convenient in the case of constantly recurring welding tasks.

Depending on the job, the iWave itself detects when it needs to switch from MIG to TIG for certain applications and vice versa. It independently changes the necessary parameter settings, lowering the main current slowly and in a controlled manner for a clean weld toe. All these functions support the dedicated welders in achieving the desired weld seam quality.

Welding technician, Stefan Aumayr, would not want to be without the practical WeldConnect app,

» As soon as I enter the base material, filler metal, shielding gas, weld seam profile, and desired speed into the app, I receive reasonable parameters for the next welding task in a fraction of a second. I then transfer these to the iWave using my cell phone. With Bluetooth, this happens instantaneously. If the welding result isn’t quite up to scratch, I just have to fine-tune it. My many years of experience help me to do this. I save the parameters found in this way in the iWave and can access them at any time. If necessary, I simply make the selection on the JobMaster torch. «

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