Vietz Introduces fiber-laser-based pipeline welder

Jan. 18, 2005
January 18, 2005, Hannover, Germany--Vietz GmbH, a supplier of pipeline-welding equipment, has introduced a deep-penetration laser-welding system built around a 10-kW fiber laser produced by IPG Laser GmbH (Burbach, Germany), a branch of IPG Photonics (Oxford, MA).

January 18, 2005, Hannover, Germany--Vietz GmbH, a supplier of pipeline-welding equipment, has introduced a deep-penetration laser-welding system built around a 10-kW fiber laser produced by IPG Laser GmbH (Burbach, Germany), a branch of IPG Photonics (Oxford, MA).

The Vietz VPL system will be used by the oil and gas industries to weld pipeline steel that exceeds a thickness of 10 mm. The VPL system operates using a newly developed orbital welding head, which produces high processing speeds to weld dense X70 / X90 materials in one welding pass.

This process was developed in cooperation with BIAS GmbH, a leading research institute focusing on the development of laser-processing systems. The fiber laser can be integrated into a complete functioning system that will be offered on the market in 2005.

"The low electrical and water consumption of the fiber laser permits its use under field conditions, said Eginhard Vietz, owner and managing director of Vietz GmbH. "Eighty to eighty-five percent of our business consists of welding 12-mm-thick X70 steel, which can be handled by the 10-kW fiber laser. The potential of the commercial fiber laser gives us the opportunity to process onshore applications, with the ability to upgrade the laser power in the same cabinet in order to handle thicker pipe sections."

"The field welding process can be performed much more economically as compared to MAG-orbital welding," added Vietz. "This technology is 50% faster compared to present technology. We plan to sell turnkey systems, including the ARCOTRAC with fiber laser, to our worldwide customers in the pipeline industry in 2005."

The laser itself emits 10.2 kW of optical power from a 200-micron-diameter fiber; the beam-parameter product is 11.5 mm x mrad. The system can weld X70 at a speed of 2.2 m/min.

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