Midlands manufacturing businesses can now benefit from a new service designed to improve productivity and efficiency, while supporting a more sustainable approach to welding.
The GastrakSM e2 service, created by Air Products, a world-leading industrial gas company, gives manufacturers using gas pipelines a ‘real-time’ insight into the gases used in their welding processes.
Weld process gas is often wasted as a result of leaks, pre-weld surge and excessive flow rates. This in turn impacts weld quality through porosity, excess oxidation and spatter, which correspondingly, increases rejects.
The new e2 service builds on Air Products’ existing GastrakSM service which is open to both businesses using individual cylinders and those with a piped distribution system. It uses Air Products’ application specialists to assess welding operations, check equipment for gas leaks and recommend the most appropriate weld process gases and optimum weld parameters.
By working closely with manufacturers and their welders in this way, Air Products was able to identify an opportunity to combine the benefits of the GastrakSM service with unique Air Products technology, supporting the industry’s growing shift to digital.
The GastrakSM e2 service uses a master digital unit and display units, alongside Gastrak® e2 meters to give manufacturers instant digital access to valuable data. Specifically, this allows them to check for leaks on-demand and detect deviations in gas composition during a shift operation where the gas comes into the workshop and at use point.
The potential for this to have a major impact on both productivity and efficiency, but also sustainability is huge, with the ability to reduce weld process gas consumption by up to 65%. Both the environment and the bottom line stand to benefit.
The GastrakSM e2 service was launched at Mach 2018 at the NEC, Birmingham. For more information visit www.airproducts.co.uk/Microsites/gastrak.aspx