The innovation drive is here

Fronius wowed visitors to the Schweißen & Schneiden trade fair with its groundbreaking innovations and developments. The new CMT Advanced arc process controls droplet formation and detachment so precisely that metal workpieces can be individually identified even by individual points in braille-like structures. TransSteel, designed exclusively for steel welding applications, combines the latest developments in digital hardware and software into one perfect system. The Virtual Welding system offers not just a time and cost-saving solution to welder training, but it also improves training effectiveness and helps protect the environment. Autonomous welding offers a view into a world in which a welding cell can operate unmanned and continuously. Wolfgang Lattner, head of of the welding technology division at Fronius International, explains why the company chose to attend the fair: "The high visitor turn-out and the intensity of the discussions held with them reinforced our belief that customers are attracted to us
by our innovations and quality. Schweißen & Schneiden 2009 is another milestone on our journey to make Fronius the global market leader." Contec proves that even supposedly small solutions can represent great innovations. The new welding torch contact tube keeps the actual process conditions within the target range.   Controlled process conditions are a key requirement if high quality, reproducible weld joints are to be achieved. However, the friction of the moving wire in MIG/MAG welding causes wear in the contact tube. The results are Changes in the size and position of the contact surface. Consequently, influences arise which have a detrimental effect on the welding parameters. The innovative "Contec" contact tube combats the resulting wear and its adverse effects on the process to a significant extent. In automated processes in particular, the user benefits from improved process stability and plant availability.   The experts at Fronius have designed the contact tube in such a way that the surface that the wire comes into contact with is as large as possible, yet as small as necessary. This achieves on the one hand a stable current transfer, but on the other hand it prevents the wire melting too soon due to friction caused by heat.
The contact is made by two elements in the form of conical half shells. The welding current flows through them in two paths into the wire electrode. The adjustable force of a spring pushes the two shells together and onto the wire passing between them. During welding, the tube system material is only subjected to wear in the ring-shaped contact areas at the front of the half shells. This results in a number of benefits for the user, in particular greater process reliability and extended availability in comparison with conventional contact tubes. This means consistently lower reject rates and helps save resources. Contec contact tubes have a service life up to seven times as long as their conventional rivals, while using only a fifth of the material used by conventional nozzles.
As the contact force is not dependent on the wire conditions when using Contec, it can be controlled relatively accurately, which minimises friction. Particles rubbed off the surface are carried out of the tube by the wire-feed unit, thus preventing "stub-in" and the associated obligatory down-times. The system operator can monitor the condition of the contact tube at a glance and get ready to replace it during an ongoing welding task. Contec is designed for all conventional wire diameters in standard steel and aluminum materials.

Fronius International GmbH

Fronius International is an Austrian company with its headquarters in Pettenbach, other sites in Wels, Thalheim and Sattledt, and production facilities in the Czech Republic and Ukraine. Fronius is active in the fields of battery charging systems, welding technology and solar electronics. Its outstanding products and services have made Fronius a technology leader on the world market. The company has more than 2,500 employees worldwide, 1,900 of whom are based in Austria. Ninety per cent of Fronius products are exported through its twelve sales subsidiaries, two agencies (Turkey/welding technology and China/solar electronics) and 130 sales partners around the world. Fronius invests 6.8 per cent of its total turnover of 370 million euros (financial year 2008) in research and development. Fronius owns 585 active patents.

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