AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS FOR COMPLEX HOT WIRE WELDING AND CLADDING APPLICATIONS “DSP” Based Control and Power Supply Produc

1. AUTOMATION SOLUTIONS FORCOMPLEX HOT WIRE WELDING AND CLADDING APPLICATIONS“DSP” Based Control and Power Supply Products

2. PRESENTATION OVERVIEW • Present basic review of the Hot Wire Process and its uses • Present control architectures, automation interface, and process-monitoring requirements • Review several automated systems that perform critical narrow-groove welding and cladding operations. • Demonstrate software solutions that provide virtual alignment to compensate for torch/part misalignment, joint feature tracking for real-time compensation of torch-to-part movement, and internal cladding of valves with intersecting bores.

3. HOT WIRE BACKGROUND • Process Basics • Incoming wire is resistance heated to near the melting point via a power supply connected to the wire feed tube • Wire is typically added to the rear of the pool • Wire typically enters the pool at a high angle >45° • Process Results • Increase productivity by up to 8-10 times • Increased fill rates, travel speed, and narrower joint design • 1/4”-1/2” root land width and 2-6° bevel angle • Double travel rates from GTA • 2-4 times wire feed rates (up to 300 ipm in the flat position, depending on quality requirements) • Maintains GTA weld quality • Allows splitting energy between the main arc and the wire heating • Preheating the wire to the melting point makes the wire feed into the pool smoother • Can provide greater control of pool size and side wall erosion • Provides greater control of slope in and slope out of weld pool and wire deposition • Improved control of dilution for cladding operations Approximately 50% of our systems are Hot Wire TRAVEL WORK

4. HOT WIRE BACKGROUND Equipment • Hot Wire Power Supplies for GTA or Plasma • DC Supplies • Wire typically feed into the front of pool • Can have wire feed synchronized with current pulse • AC Supplies (mitigate arc blow) • Wire typically feed into the the rear of pool • Variable Frequency • Improves flow of wire into the weld pool • Hot Wire Torch • Contact for transferring current to wire • Gas coverage optional • Voltage / Current Control Sensing • Power supply vs. torch (accounting for cable losses) • Camera Systems • Bore Considerations (size, heat, ext. lighting) • Water / Gas Cooling

5. HOT WIRE - “More Fill Faster” “GTA QUALITY AT THE SPEED OF GMA” • Applications • Improve production rates on high volume products • Reduce the total weld time for thick wall products • Product requirements that can’t be met with GMA/SMAW • Cladding to reduce overall cost of products • Expensive clad on lower cost material • Cladding to produce bi-metallic products • Surface protection on high strength base • Cladding to repair casting or other process related defects • Quality vs Productivity • 6-5/8 / 1.062 wall • High Production - 15 Minutes • High Quality - 60 Minutes Boilers and Pressure Vessels Chemical Plant Piping Nuclear Vessels Oil and Gas Thick Section Pipe Oil and Gas Drilling and Production Riser Pipe Oil and Gas Valve Products Mining and Exploration Products

6. HOT WIRE / AUTOMATION Advantages • Higher production rates because of continuous processing • Narrow gap bevel options / Less weld metal required • Automation provides for the ability to continuously make the root and fill passes, even if the root pass is cold wire / Higher productivity • More process consistency resulting in more consistent joints with improved weld strength, toughness / Fewer repairs • Ability to weld high strength steels and alloys / Higher component properties • Reduces human error factor / Higher quality and productivity, especially with long duration welds • Less physical strain on welders especially on long welding/cladding processes / higher quality and productivity • Less manpower/equipment for heavy wall and large diameter components / lower processing costs • Documentation / traceability / Better QA-QC • Ease of training welders Disadvantages • More complex systems • Higher initial system cost • Higher level of control equipment is required

7. AUTOMATION SYSTEM DESIGN • Establish Requirements, Develop Concepts, Model Concepts, Fabricate and Test

8. AUTOMATION CONTROL AUTOMATION CONTROL REQUIREMENTS • Basic Control Parameters • Weld Current • Pulsation • Part / Torch Motion and Position • Coordinated motion for spiral, tapered bore, and intersecting bore cladding • Jog offset / override • Multi-pass for thick sections • Synchronized with pulsation • Wire Feed Speed • Synchronized with Pulsation / Oscillation • Hot Wire Voltage / Current • Arc Voltage Control • Advanced Control Parameters • Magnetic Oscillation • Synchronization capability • Mechanical Oscillation • Synchronization capability • Hot Wire Frequency • Wire Nozzle Position • Sensor Integration • Joint Tracking • Inter-pass Temperature • Independent Part Position • Gap Measurement • Override Capability • Video Monitoring / Recording • Process Monitoring / Data Acquisition

9. Pendant/ Operator Display Power Supply Control Module CAN BUS Gas Solenoid Fault Sensors Current Sensor Power Supply Additional Control Servo Axis Control (Travel) AVC Control Mech Osc. Control Wire Feed Control Linear Slide/ Servo Motor/ Encoder Servo Motor/ Encoder Linear/ Rotational Linear Slide/ Servo Motor/ Encoder Wire Feed/ Servo Motor/ Encoder Voltage Sensor XM Modular Architecture

10. HIGH PRODUCTION SYSTEMS Mult-Station Conventional Welding Applications Requiring Higher Production Rates • 0.125” to 0.250” Stainless Steel • Multi-process / Multi-Station • GTA Cold and Hot Wire Feed • Girth or Plug Weld Capability • DSP based control • Magnetic Oscillation • Integrated AVC • Either Z or X axis • Process Monitoring / Verification

11. MULTI-PROCESS SYSTEMS Critical property and high production requirements for sub-sea oil and gas welding applications • Precision Hot Wire Valve Body Welding / Bore Cladding System • - Thick section hot wire process • Helical bore cladding • 3 Station production system

12. INTERSECTING BORE SYSTEMS • MULTIPLE INTERSECTING BORES • SEAL PASS CAPABILITY • STRAIGHTFORWARD PROGRAMMING INTERFACE • INTEGRATED VIDEO • HOT WIRE BORE TORCHES BelWeld / ERC Intersecting Bore Cladding Systems for Straight and Tapered Bores - Inconel Weld Overlay

13. INTERSECTING BORE SYSTEMS • MULTIPLE INTERSECTING BORES • SEAL PASS CAPABILITY • STRAIGHTFORWARD PROGRAMMING INTERFACE • INTEGRATED VIDEO • HOT WIRE BORE TORCHES BelWeld / ERC Intersecting Bore Cladding Systems for Straight and Tapered Bores - Inconel Weld Overlay

14. NARROW GROOVE SYSTEMS GTA Hot Wire Thick Section Narrow Groove Naval Components • VIRTUAL CENTERING • ADAPTIVE GAP CONTROL • INTEGRATED DATA BASE • INTEGRATED VIDEO • INDEPENDENT MONITORING

15. NARROW GROOVE SYSTEMS Critical property and high production requirements for sub-sea oil and gas welding applications SMI Precision Hot Wire Pipe/Bore Cladding System - Thick section narrow-grove hot wire process - Helical bore cladding

16. SENSORS POSITION SENSORS • Tactile • Scanning Lasers • Mechanically Scanned Laser • Closed Loop Position Control • Single-point proximity laser • Determines feature vs. cross seam position • Allows programmed offset from identified feature by pass • Allows operator offset from identified feature • Can identify root gaps and modify control setpoints

17. AUTOMATION INTERFACE Interface Demonstration

18. Sample Advent feedback without filtering DSP’s, Data Acquisition, & Process Monitoring • Data Acquisition is the collection of the welding data. DSP’s are designed to perform this at very high rates. This high-speed data is necessary to accurately represent the process which was performed. However it can be very difficult and usually unmanageable to review large amounts of raw data. • Process Monitoring is the analysis of the welding data to determine that the process was performed as programmed and the overall variation in the process. This analysis is often performed after the welding process due to the computer processing requirements. Again dedicated DSP’s are an exceptional platform to provide focused processing power for this “real-time” analysis. • The results of the analyzed data, which is significantly less data, can then be transported via the network for printing, storage, etc. as a record of process performance. Sample Advent feedback with DSP filtering

19. Process Monitoring Information • Dedicated DSP’s can provide “real-time” sampling, processing and analysis of welding data. The high speed analysis of the data can ensure that the process is monitored at a high rate but the data can be statistically evaluated to reduce the overall data for review and storage. • Data can be analyzed in real-time to determine: • Weld current pulsation and AC performance • Arc Voltage consistency • Torch / Part Position and Velocity performance • Statistical Minimums, Maximums, Averages, Std. Deviations and other parameters • Out-of-Tolerance Magnitudes, Positions, and Durations. • This important and powerful capability allows the data to be pre-processed as the welding is being performed so that only significant and relevant “processed” data needs to be recorded.

20. SUMMARY • HOT WIRE POWER SUPPLIES AND CONTROLS ARE RAPIDLY IMPROVING AND FINDING GREATER ACCEPTANCE AS THE OPTIMAL AUTOMATION SOLUTION TO OBTAINING HIGHER PRODUCTION THAN GTA-CWF PROCESSES AND/OR IMPROVED PROPERTIES OVER GMA AND SUB-ARC APPLICATIONS. • CONTROL HARDWARE / SOFTWARE AND SENSOR INTEGRATION ARE EXPANDING THE CAPABILITIES OF ALL PROCESSES, INCLUDING HOT WIRE TO BE EFFECTIVELY USED FOR APPLICATIONS WITH DIFFICULT GEOMETRIES AND CRITICAL MATERIAL PROPERTY REQUIREMENTS. • SOPHISTICATED, MODULAR, NETWORKED BASED SYSTEMS THAT CAN PRODUCE OUTSTANDING WELDS FOR COMPLEX WELDING OPERATIONS, INCLUDING INTERSECTING BORES, MULTI-PASS THICK SECTION NARROW GROOVE, AND TAPERED BORES ARE MORE AVAILABLE AND PROVEN THAN EVER. THESE SYSTEMS ARE PROVIDING SIGNIFICANT PRODUCTIVITY AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENTS OVER MANUAL OR SEMI-AUTOMATED PROCESSES

21. AMET • 22,000 sq.ft. Manufacturing/Development Facility • GTA / GMA / Plasma Development/Production Systems • Circuit Board Design / Automated Electronics Manufacturing • Automated Machine Shop Capabilities • 42 Engineering and Technical Personnel

22. AMET DSP Controller Products Advent Controller Multiple Channel Position Based Coordinated Motion Integrated Data Monitoring Integrated Video XM Controller Multiple Channel Position based Process Monitoring Easily Expandable VPC 450 Variable Polarity Power Supply High Speed Power Module Inverter 450 Amp 100% Duty Cycle Intelligent DSP Controls DC/VP/AC/Mixed VP Modes of Operation Local or Remote Control