Master Steel has recently acquired multiple welding machinery that is more efficient than conventional MIG (metal inert gas) welding equipment, further increasing our ability to accomplish more projects at a given time.

The machine’s main advantage is its pulse MIG functionality. Pulse MIG is an alternative to standard MIG welding. Here, the current is delivered in intervals instead of a continuous stream. It is a modified spray transfer process that switches between high peak current and low background current. Droplets of the wire transfer to the weld joint while the heat input is kept at a low level, making the weld puddle freeze slightly to prevent a burn-through. Controlling the heat input also reduces warping on thin sheet metals. For thicker joints, the cooler weld puddle allows for shorter downtime for repositioning parts.

The pulsing results in smooth and spatter-free welding at mean currents of 50A to 150A. The process gives good directional control over the weld puddle and results in good bead appearance. Pulse MIG welding increases productivity through faster wire feed and travel speed. It reduces heat input at the same time, lessening residual stress and distortion. The pulsing current gives out higher deposition rates in all positions where spray transfer or dip is not available.

Aside from its pulse MIG welding functionality, the unit is also capable of MIG, MMA (manual metal arc), and TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding operations.

MIG welding is an arc process where a solid wire is fed continuously through the welding gun and into the weld pool to join two base materials together. The wire acts both as the heat source and the filler metal. The use of filler rather than fusing allows thicker pieces to be joined without having to heat them all the way through. It has wide applications in fabrication and maintenance welding due to its flexibility, high deposition rate, and suitability for mechanisation. It is highly productive and cost-effective, making it the most common process in metal fabrication.

Meanwhile, MMA welding is also called shielded metal arc welding (SMAW), flux shielded arc welding, or stick welding. This process involves the use of a coated metal-cored electrode that creates a high-intensity electric arc. The heat from the electric arc melts the base metal, the metal core, and the flux coating of the electrode, generating gas and slag that protects the weld pool from pollutants. It is economical and produces strong welds. It is widely used on cast iron and steel.

Also known as gas tungsten arc welding or GTAW, TIG welding uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode that heats the base metal while the shielding gas protects the weld puddle from contaminants. Only the necessary amount of filler is used, and the process does not create smoke or slag. The resulting weld is clean and precise, making it ideal in cosmetic welding. TIG welding can be applied on a wide range of metals and alloys.

Our new machine provides 350A with 100% duty cycle and 450A with 60% duty cycle, making it fully compliant in fabricating the majority of Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) infrastructure. It is protected by IP23S and adheres to IEC 60974-1, IEC 60974-5, and IEC 60974-10 standards. It incorporates a digital display which helps the welder glide between welding modes, current, and other settings.

Master Steel is now TMR qualified for MRTS78. We always look for ways to advance our technical knowledge and manufacturing processes in delivering projects that are critical to our clients. Call us on 07 5594 7944 or email us at engineering@mastersteel.com.au.

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Fabricating metal structures is complex work that involves various processes and techniques. One method utilised in structural fabrication is flux-cored arc welding, also known as FCAW. Among the different types of welding, FCAW is an automatic or semi-automatic electric arc welding process that uses filler wire as an electrode for the arc. It is similar to Gas Metal Arc Welding (commonly known as MIG welding) and sometimes uses the same equipment, but the filler wire is what makes FCAW different.

The filler wire in FCAW is hollowed out and filled with flux, and instead of solely relying on shielding gas for protection, the flux shields the weld pool and coats the entire weld. This coating allows the weld to cool more slowly, creating a stronger and more stable metallic fusion. FCAW is ideal for welding dense sections that are an inch thick or more because it has a high weld metal deposition rate and offers great penetration. FCAW also typically results in less weld defects, especially weld spatter, which can be costly to clean up and correct.

FCAW is commonly used on mild steel. It can be applied in steel hardfacing and cladding. It can also be used on carbon steel, cast iron, and sheet steel spot welding. This process is relevant in manufacturing and industrial projects, pipeline welding, underwater welding, shipbuilding, and general repairs.

FCAW is typically more expensive than common welding consumables such as solid-wire due to the mineral compounds and powdered metals found in the flux. The equipment is also more pricey than those used for other welding processes such as MIG and Shielded Metal Arc Welding (commonly known as stick welding). However, the initial capital cost is compensated for by higher-quality results, requiring less post-welding processes. It causes minimal spatter, giving a cleaner weld that is stronger with less imperfections. It doesn’t require extra handling time, therefore reducing operational and potential OH&S risks. In the long run, there will be minor expenses incurred to address defects and rework.

Cross Section of Flux Core Wire – figure 10-58⁽¹⁾

For welders, FCAW is considered quite simple and easy to learn but difficult to perfect, particularly for onsite conditions. Challenges will be present in the process, as with learning any new skill or tool, but having proper guidance will result in highly sought-after skills and a good end-product.

With our AS/NZS ISO 3834 certification, you can trust Master Steel to deliver end-to-end services and innovative solutions to your steel requirements. We deliver projects successfully across timeliness, financial, quality, and safety metrics so that our customers can have operational security and receive consistently high performance. We believe in the agility of steel – delivering above and beyond our customer’s expectations. Call Master Steel on 07 5594 7944 or email us at engineering@mastersteel.com.au.

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We can assist with your next TMR project. Please call 07 5594 7944 or email engineering@mastersteel.com.au or estimates@mastersteel.com.au

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The outbreak of COVID-19 has left the human race dealing with an unprecedented situation. There is still a lot we do not know about the disease as our healthcare professionals do their very best to contain the outbreak and find a cure for their patients. This is one of the situations where you only learn by trial and error, as we go along the way. Because they are at the forefront of it all, hospitals are faced with the problem of how to operate efficiently while taking the necessary measures to  keep staff and other patients safe against Coronavirus.  This article highlights how some companies and industries innovated, and changed their ways to better fight this new strain of disease. 

Coronavirus Testing Centres

Two of the most pressing needs at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic are hospital beds and testing centres. In Australia, a consortium is working towards developing two designs: one for hospital ICUs and another for COVID-19 testing centres. For both these projects, fabricated steel is any construction company’s best bet. 

For both schemes, it is speculated that steel would be a better material to use since it is lightweight and strong at the same time. Moreover, steel panels will be used for both the interior as well as the exterior of the testing centre since they are easy to work with. 

Steel Hygiene/ Sanitation Stations

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, people from many countries have decided to step up sanitation stations where people could wash their hands and/or be showered with a disinfectant solution. These are usually stainless-steel structures through which people can walk through. The material of choice for either kind of sanitation station is steel—it is easier to clean since it is not a porous surface. 

Using Steel to Construct Isolation Wards

Not only has the pandemic been a challenge to doctors and those working in disease control, but it also posed a challenge to construction companies. For example, when the pandemic first broke out, China built a fully operational healthcare facility in 10 days. Following suit, many other countries have built hospitals and pop-up clinics to combat this pandemic. One such example would be the pop-up clinic in Emerald, Central Queensland. For this clinic they used steel structures in the construction of these hospitals. This is mainly because of the high-speed construction, cost-effectiveness, flexibility and maintenance hot-rolled galvanised steel provides. 

When you start a building with steel, the weight on the foundation is considerably lighter than if it was made with concrete. This allows the foundation to weigh less and making the transfer of loads essentially cheaper. Lighter loads mean less construction time onsite therefore reduced risk of managing safety (70% labour reduction is possible in fact). Arguably steel is a quick and cost effective way to construct additional isolation wards in existing buildings. 

If you are one of the COVID-19 treating hospitals looking to construct more isolation wards in your hospital or to set up sanitation stations around the entrances of your hospital, you should consider steel as your material.

Master Steel has been serving the Australian industry for over 25 years. We provide fabrication and manufacturing service and the assembly of complex steel component for construction and commercial purposes. If you’re interested in availing our services, call us at 07 5594 7944 or contact us online.

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Being quarantined at home because of COVID-19 has a way of changing one’s perspective. It happened to me when my wife and I went to a local grocery for some “essential” shopping, our most exciting day activity during the lockdown.

I picked up a bag of enoki mushrooms grown locally in Victoria and noticed that the bag said “ISO 9001 – Quality Certified. Premium Produce.”

It was the first time I saw a quality seal on mushrooms. Other brands would just have pictures of the product or a photograph of a farmer sharing a bit of his story.

AS/NZS ISO 9001:2015 is a certification that the mushroom company’s quality control systems are compliant with the International Organisation for Standardization. Several Australian companies carry this certification – from multibillion-dollar conglomerates to steel fabrication companies to mushroom growers.

Quality-wise, how are mushrooms and steel similar? They are different in a lot of ways for sure, but can both be subject to the same quality standard? If one is a high-quality mushroom grower, does that mean that they are certified to produce quality metals? Conversely, if one fabricates a 200-tonne gantry frame, does that qualify them to manage an aged-care facility to AS/NZS ISO 9001?

It is easy to say that “quality is quality.” Regardless of product, good quality fabricated steel should be manufactured under the same quality principles as organic, pesticide-free mushrooms.

But what if the batch turns out to be faulty? For mushrooms, this means that the whole batch must be discarded because it can endanger the health of consumers.

What happens if fabricated steel turns out to be defective?

Hyatt Hotels Corporation certainly knows the effects of faulty steel. In July 1981 the suspended walkways of a Hyatt Regency hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A. gave way under the weight of its load and collapsed, killing 111 people at the hotel lobby and injuring 188.  The cause was a seemingly minor adjustment in the steel fasteners.

Surely, we must have learned from our past mistakes. Besides, nothing like that could happen in Australia because we have one of the highest levels of controls globally.

But in January 2019, a road sign in Melbourne failed catastrophically and fell on the highway below. A stiffener plate was omitted during the fabrication. Luckily, the unfortunate car driver escaped with neck and hand injuries only, but it could have been a lot worse.

A few weeks after that incident, a second road sign fell on another Melbourne freeway.

AS/NZS ISO 3834 was established to set the quality requirements for fusion welding of metallic materials. It is a factory production control system designed to complement, rather than replace, quality management systems such as AS/NZS ISO 9001.

Many business companies across the world are certified to AS/NZS ISO 9001. However, where a fusion welding process is used, such as in steel fabrication, AS/NZS ISO 9001 fails to completely demonstrate the specialist capability required to manufacture or fabricate products to the necessary quality standard.

AS/NZS ISO 3834 covers areas such as design, inspection, testing and planning, and skills appropriateness, all aspects that could affect the quality of fusion welding.

This type of approach is essential, because it is impossible to completely verify a welded joint without destroying it. As such, quality must be built into the welding process, right from the very start. Just like growing flavourful mushrooms.

Weld Australia is not in the mushroom business but they certainly know a lot about the fusion welding process. They are the Authorised Nominated Body in Australia associated with the International Institute of Welding (IIW) who can help with AS/NZS ISO 3834, IIW Weld Engineering qualifications, and a myriad of other facilities for steel fabricators.

CONCLUSION

AS/NZS ISO 3834 compliments AS/NZS ISO 9001 by covering areas such as design, inspection, skill appropriateness, and other aspects that could affect the quality of fusion welding. AS/NZS ISO 3834 is the more appropriate standard of quality for metallic fusion welding processes.

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