Pipeline Contractors Turn to Welding Process for Productivity and Quality

Advanced wire welding technology

Regulated Metal Deposition (RMD^®), an advanced wire welding technology, from Miller Electric Mfg. Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Inc., offers significant benefits for productivity and quality to pipeline contractors dealing with industry challenges such as demanding project timelines, stringent quality requirements and a shortage of skilled welding operators.

With this exclusive RMD technology, travel speeds are three to four times those of stick welding and the back purge on some alloys is eliminated. RMD and advanced wire processes are also generally easier to learn and use, making it easier to quickly train and qualify skilled welding operators for pipeline requirements.

Using RMD, the welding system anticipates and controls the short circuit, then reduces the welding current to create a consistent metal transfer. This provides a uniform droplet deposition, making it easier for the welding operator to control the puddle. The process is also more forgiving to variations in stickout, resulting in a calm, stable arc that is easier for operators to control.

Some contractors who have converted to RMD and wire processes are completing jobs in half the time compared to using stick or TIG, without sacrificing weld quality. That’s because the RMD process provides the ability to create a thicker root pass — enough to eliminate the need for a hot pass in many cases and to support the heat input of pulsed MIG or flux-cored welding for the fill and cap passes.