Shifting from flux-cored welding to the Accu-Pulse pulsed MIG process allowed a vehicle frame manufacturer to achieve a payback time of less than one year on its 22 new Axcess and four Auto-Axcess systems.

If your filler metal supplier talks to you about saving pennies per pound on wire rather than the true cost of production, it’s probably time to find another supplier.

That was the case with a manufacturer of on-highway vehicle frames and associated subassemblies, built from stainless steel and ranging in thickness from 0.0788 to 0.788 in. (2 to 20 mm).

The manufacturer’s previous filler metal supplier gave the company a sweetheart deal on larger diameter 308L stainless steel gas-shielded flux-cored wire, even though a smaller diameter flux-cored wire could have increased deposition rates by 1- to 3-lbs. per hour, as well as increased flexibility to control heat input.

This supplier encouraged the company to reduce overall costs by reducing component costs. Unfortunately, looking at component costs obscures the true cost of production. It doesn’t account for the ways that labor, equipment and consumables interact to create an end product.

While “paradigm shift” sounds cliched, that’s exactly what happened after the vice president of manufacturing, the production manager, the plant foreman, and the company’s new welding supplier distributor worked together to establish a true cost benchmarks for every welding cell. The result was a potential savings no one could refuse: more than $250,000 a year.

To achieve these savings, the manufacturer made the following changes:
— Shifted from flux-cored welding to the Accu-Pulse^™ pulsed MIG process.
— Upgraded 22 semi-automatic welding stations from Deltaweld^® conventional “phase-control” technology welders to Axcess^® 450 multi-MIG systems.
— Upgraded three robotic welding cells from Auto-Deltaweld^® conventional welders to Auto-Axcess^® 450 multi-MIG systems.
— Added one Auto-Axcess 450 as a robotic back-up; this power source mostly gets used in the semi-automatic mode for regular production welding.
— Changed from flux-cored wire and 100 percent CO₂ shielding gas to 0.052-in. diameter solid wire and a proprietary tri-mix gas blend.

A change from convention
Accu-Pulse is one of the advanced GMAW processes available from Miller Electric Mfg. Co.’s Axcess multi-MIG systems. Where old pulsed MIG technology forced operators to adapt to it, Accu-Pulse adapts to operators’ individual preferences and keeps them in their comfort zone.

Changing from a conventional welding system and process to Axcess with Accu-Pulse required faith, but the faith paid big dividends: a payback of less than one year for 22 new Axcess systems, along with the ability to continuously enhance welding processes to meet future challenges.

A track record with flux-cored wire, but …
Three major sub-segments, essentially comprising the front, axle-to-axle and back of the vehicle, make up each frame. In turn, these major sub-segments consist of multiple sub-assemblies. Three welding robots produce 20 to 25 different sub-assemblies, which are then welded semi-automatically to form the larger components. All welding is covered by the AWS D1.1 structural welding code – steel and AWS D1.6 structural welding code – stainless steel.

As with other companies with experience in the transportation and heavy equipment industries, this manufacturer viewed welding the frame as an application best suited for the flux-cored process. They had a good track record producing quality results with flux-cored welding.