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Pipe cutting machine helps pressure vessel producer achieve continued productivity increases



A decade ago Enerflex, a provider of global oil and natural gas manufacturing and services based in Calgary, Alta., was experiencing issues with pressure vessel fabrication and its welder labor force.Get more news about custom-made automatic pipe cutting machine,you can vist our website!

In 2011 pressure vessel welders and fitters typically laid out their work by hand. Armed with tape measures, jigs, chalk lines, and acetylene torches, they performed jobs critical to the success of pressure vessels and subassembly manually. Working in, on, and around the circumference of large cylinders in awkward positions, sometimes even on their backs, welders were responsible for positioning extremely accurate hole locations and then cutting exact hole sizes with critical tolerances.

Even small errors could result in fit-up issues, creating production delays and then quality issues and scrapped pressure vessels down the line. Worse yet, if even the slightest of mistakes made its way into a final assembly, it could affect product performance. Enerflex managers often dealt with long lead times, which caused production delays. The company sometimes had to outsource pressure vessel cutting and fabrication.

Along with that, skilled welders were getting harder to find, and longer project lead times often caused production challenges as the company grew. According to Shawn Johnston, Enerflex’s general manager for operations and supply chain, “The average age of an experienced welder and fitter was somewhere around 55 years old. Finding and hiring new welders with experience to match was next to impossible, even though they were some of our highest-paid tradesmen, doing the toughest jobs in the plant.”

Resolution
To solve the problem in 2011, All Fabrication Machinery Inc. introduced Enerflex to HGG Profiling Equipment and its SPC 2500 pipe cutting machine to help improve pressure vessel profiling capabilities. It was predicted that the machine would replace three other machines, along with numerous manual processes and tasks. In addition, preprogramming would eliminate the need to manually cut and fabricate pressure vessels, as well as produce other products such as exhaust systems, elbows, mixing boxes, and air intakes.
By 2012 the tube cutter had improved overall capacity by 25% to 30%. Today with the machine running to its full potential, the company has achieved a performance and capacity increase that is well over 40%.

Eliminating the manual function saved hours in labor. Shell preparation for nozzle weld-in was estimated to have been reduced to one hour from the eight to 10 hours previously required. Plus, large vessel welding preparation was reduced from as many as 40 hours to as little as four hours. According to Johnston, depending on the vessel layout, Enerflex has achieved an average 60% improvement in cut times on larger vessels.

With the machine fully integrated, the company can deploy its tradespeople for tasks that take advantage of their expertise. It also enables the HGG machine to complete routine and automated tasks simultaneously and in sequence.