In this article we wanted to share some info on Axxair's new closed orbital welding heads and why we believe they are the best orbital welding heads on the market today. Axxair is constantly pushing the envelope with their orbital welding equipment and we feel their newest additions add a ton of value to our customers. It's why we chose to partner so closely with Axxair; they give our customers the best chance to be successful on their projects.
Starting with the Basic Closed Head Line, the SATFX Orbital Welding Heads
The SATFX line of closed orbital welding heads are Axxair's workhorse, common application orbital welding heads. These welding heads have best in-class tube OD size ranges and feature a toolless collet size change over. This means that you can change tube OD collet sizes with no tools, just the push of a button and you can release a collet and swap it out for a different size. Competitive orbital welding heads use small set screws to secure their collets in place. While this works to keep the collets in place, it poses a challenge in the field when you need to swap collet sizes to mount to a different tube OD size because the screws are so tiny they are easy to drop and lose or even worse they often fall into the orbital welding head and can damage the orbital welding head if you cannot get them out. Also if you are working in a confined space or at heights you really don't want to be fighting with tiny set screws and allen wrenches.
The SATFX line of closed orbital welding heads are all water cooled to offer 100% duty cycle for puled TIG tube and thin wall pipe welding. These heads are exclusively used for fusion TIG welding, they do not have the ability to add filler wire or oscillate the electrode. We find that on pipe and tube that has a wall thickness of .140" or less pulsed TIG welding works great especially on materials like stainless and carbon steels. If you are welding pipe or tube with a thicker wall you may need to opt for an orbital welding head that can oscillate the torch and add filler wire. If you would like to learn more about this process and the special beveling required for this click here.
The SATFX orbital welding heads from Axxair are an excellent option if you need to weld tubes or pipe with .140" wall thickness or less and you would like a water cooled welding head for maximum duty cycle. It comes in 3 sizes:
SATFX52 - 1/4" - 2" OD
SATFX76 - 1/4" - 3" OD
SATFX115 - 1/2" - 4-1/2" OD
Microfit Orbital Welding Heads from Axxair
Axxair offers several models of microfit orbital welding heads to meet small tube welding applications, often with confined spaces being a challenge. These heads are also all exclusively used for pulsed orbital TIG tube welding with no filler wire or oscillation of the electrode. For the tube sizes that these orbital welding heads are capable of welding and spaces they are capable of fitting in, they offer excellent duty cycle. Axxair has 2 series of microfit weld heads for orbital welding, the SAMX series and the new X series.
The SAMX Series Microfit Orbital Welding Heads
The SAMX series were the first microfit weld heads that Axxair produced. These came in 2 sizes, the SAMX17 and the SAMX25.
The SAMX17 was the smaller of the 2 in orbital welding heads in the series, it can weld tubes from just under 1/8" to just over 1/2". This weld head is air cooled and can fit in to small areas nicely with a detachable collet clamping system that allows the operator to setup the collets in position and then plug the weld head into the collets as they are set in place holding the tubes together. Being that it is air cooled, it offers a shorter duty cycle than the slightly larger SAMX25 weld head. However, this usually doesn't cause too much of a delay being that the tubes are so tiny and weld cycle times are so short and often there is a setup time associated with setting the collets onto the small tubes in place.
The SAMX25 came along a few years later as the slightly bigger brother. The SAMX25 orbital welding head came in an air cooled and water cooled version allowing for a longer duty cycle than the SAMX17 which only comes in air cooled. The SAMX 25 can weld tubes from 1/4" OD tubes to 1"OD tubes giving it the largest range in the industry for its profile. The SAMX also features a detachable collet clamping system making it suitable for difficult to reach welds in tight spaces.
The All-New X-Series Microfit Orbital Welding Heads
More Recently, Axxair has released their newest series of ultra micro-fit orbital welding heads, the X-series. These weld heads come in 2 sizes, the X-500 and X-750. These weld heads require very limited radial clearance in order to clamp, are grease-free and feature Axxair's patented gas diffusion inside the heads allowing for minimal post-weld discoloration.
The X-500 can weld tubes from .118" OD - 1/2" OD and comes in air cooled and water cooled versions to allow for maximum duty cycle. The X-500 requires only a 1/2" of clearance to clamp onto the tube, making it ideal for applications in tight or hard to reach spaces.
The X-750 can weld tubes from .118" OD - 3/4" OD and also comes in air cooled and water cooled versions to allow for maximum duty cycle. The X-750 requires just a little more clearance than the X-500 but is still suitable for very tight spaces with limited access.
That concludes this short article covering the basic models Axxair offers for microfit orbital welding heads. GSI has partnered with Axxair orbital welding solutions as a preferred distributor, rental and service center. GSI believes Axxair is the most innovate orbital welding OEM currently and backed by their outstanding parts availability we feel they are on the cutting edge in the orbital welding industry. Contact GSI Machinery for rentals, sales, demonstrations, training and 24-hour support for your most critical orbital welding projects.
